2003-08-10 ~ 5:16 a.m.

You Were Born Loved, And You Will Die Loved

"You were born alone, and you're going to die alone."

Ya know. I was thinking about this quote the other day, and it really started to piss me off.

SERIOUSLY piss me off.

When I was born, my mom and dad were there. Actually, ya know, I'm not sure my dad was right there (he could have been away. He was a truck driver and all) I'll have to ask my mom about that. But I know for DAMN sure my mom was right there, dopey as she may have been since there was no doctor to deliver me right away, they gave her "da druuuug."

So, that's what I mean. I was with people who loved me. People who I meant the world to. And all that.

When I die. As near or as far as it may be, I will be surrounded by those that I love and who love me and who I (still) mean the world to. Now, the actual time of death, if I die in a freak elephant accident, sure, I may be alone, aside from the elephants, but there will be many people who will gather for a moment in my memory.

And I've realized that this quote, with, I'm sure, many others is why people have no respect for each other. They believe so much that they are alone and no matter what they do that they will continue to be alone, that it doesn't matter what people think of them. And it's just not right.

I mean, in the grand scheme, what does *my* opinion matter to you? But in the smaller scheme, if you don't even want to bother to be decent to someone you don't know, why should people who *do* matter think you a better person.

Sure, we're always friendlier with people that we love. But how did they get to love us? I mean, besides family. Family is "supposed" to love you, or whatever. But our friends, we didn't start out as friends. Stuff happened that brought us together and for one reason or another (the grace of the gods?) we weren't an asshole to them. So, if we're not an asshole to a lot more people, maybe we can get to know them too, eh? And even if we don't, the reason wasn't 'because you're an asshole'.

If you die alone, it's simply your own damn fault. (With the exception of a genocide, of course). We give ourselves obstacles, for whatever reason, but it's not the rule of thumb that we have to live by. There are more people in the world today that have ever been before (thank you, modern medicine) and there are simply more people like "us". You find them. And it is good.

We go out. And we find people. Unless you're really fucking weird, which is certainly a possibility. But if you're really weird, start asking people why they think you are weird. Someone is bound to be off on their medication enough to not give a rat's ass if they're being civil to you and tell you what your problem is.

If you'd like, I could even be that person.

Most importantly, the next time someone says, "You were born alone, and you're going to die alone," I would like for you to scream at the top of your lungs and then jump on top of their head.

This is my crusade. I will beat this quote out of the American conscience. Join my quest.

{ previous ~ next }