Happy Little Trees

Not going to lie. It has been a tough week. A heavy week. It goes without saying, really.

At times like this, it’s really easy to fall into a huge funk, especially if you are really plugged into social media. The news comes at you faster than you can process it.

The arguments are even worse. I mean, would you invite a bunch of people you know, who are of differing beliefs, ideas, and faiths, to your house and then start an argument with them about gun control or protesting the national anthem or whether Donald Trump is presidential?

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with spirited debate, and plenty of parties include spirited discussions, but there’s nothing spirited about the crap people spew at each other on social media. You have literally invited people into your “house” and are now announcing loudly your controversial opinion. Then, you’re really pissed off when someone disagrees with you in your “house” that you invited these people to.

Ask yourself…would you do that in “real” life?

Conversely, if you’re invited to someone’s “house” and your host does happen to pop off about something for which they feel strongly, do you call them an idiot? Libtard? Fascist? Deplorable? Snowflake? Neanderthal? Redneck?

If you would, please remind me not to ever invite you to my house.

Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with spirited debate. It’s just the douchebaggery that I can’t stand and it’s why I scroll past 99% of what I see on social media these days. I don’t know if douchebaggery is even a word but I’m declaring it a word today, so please don’t send me hate mail, threatening to take away my Language Arts degree.

My point in all this, is that I COULD turn this into a political blog and spout off all kinds facts, “fake” or “fair and balanced” news and even worse opinions, but I don’t consider myself educated enough on the topics to offer anything other than a “this is what I sort of think”. Besides, there are plenty of blogs out there doing that, and they’ll give you all the name-calling and verbal diarrhea your little heart desires.

Incidentally, I’m an excellent speller but I had to use spell check to figure out how to spell diarrhea. Then I STILL got it wrong! A reader had to correct me. English is hard. Just ask any one of the douchebags that try to comment on the local news stories online. Not only can they not form a clear thought, but punctuation is apparently completely optional.

Sorry. I digressed a little.

I COULD be one of those politicos that you go to for your sound bytes, your memes to piss off your liberal/conservative family members, or your ONE version of events. But there are plenty of those and I’m sure you already know where to find them.

I decided long before I actually went live with this blog that I wanted it to be my own little happy place. My online “house”, if you will.

In my “house”, the only rule is “NO DOUCHEBAGGERY”. I think it’s self-explanatory. If you’re not sure what would constitute “douchebaggery”, you’re probably one of the worst offenders and would be better served running your comments past a panel of judges. If they veto, you’re not allowed to post.

I want my “house” to be the happy little place you come to when you need to unplug from the douchebaggery of the internet. I want my “house” to be that five minutes out of your day when you can say, “Wow…that was hilarious.” Or, “Wow…she’s WAY more fucked up than I am, so GO ME!”

That’s not to say I won’t occasionally post more “serious” topics or even my own personal opinions. I just promise not to keep it heavy all the time and I promise not to fan the fires of douchebaggery. A happy little place like Bob Ross and his happy little trees. Doesn’t that sound nice?

I really like my new word, though. Douchebaggery. Douchebaggery. Douchebaggery.

Anyhoo…we all need some cheering up right now, so here are some things that made me happy this week. Enjoy.

 

From The Family

My cousin’s dog, Angus, in a sweater.

The Husband Dude getting into the Halloween Spirit.

From The Internet

Robert Downey Jr. as the Easter Bunny.

Kitten in a sweater.

Bad crayon color names.

Pinterest

Me Love Cookies!

Work Humor

And Finally, This…

So long, Tom Petty. We’ll miss you…