Time to CHANGE - Lesson 1

We as a people must rise up and learn to treat one another better. We cannot realistically expect a better, more united world if we continue to remorselessly partake in behaviors anathema to righteousness. Kindness, tolerance, and compassion must not merely be preached, but they must be practiced. This entails ridding ourselves of harmful thoughts, malicious intents, and immoral behaviors. As much as I would like to believe genuine change in society's mentality is just around the corner, I honestly have my doubts. Although finding unity in Obama has revitalized our desires for a Utopian existence, one cannot deny that society has recently sunken to a disastrously shallow low. The tendrils of evil constantly try to impair our thought processes and pull us from pursuing the most mature, intelligent, and reasonable solution. Therefore, to help alleviate this syndrome and rise from these unfortunate predicaments, I present my 'Time to CHANGE' lessons, starting with this:

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LESSON #1: BE MORE DIRECT

Always opt for the more direct, mature, and intelligent solution whenever possible.

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Earlier today, I grew incredibly angry at the constant, early-morning stomping from my upstairs neighbor. Fed up with his behavior, I chose to promptly call the apartment complex office and leave a voice-mail rant about the frustrating situation. I had in effect 'snitched' on the young man and put his residence at the complex in potential jeopardy. Although what I did is not fundamentally wrong, I sincerely do believe that I could have selected a more reasonable route first instead of immediately relying on the most severe solution. In no way, shape, or form was I trying to make the young man's life difficult. I merely needed to discover a way in which I could open up the lines of communication with him so that I could tell him to, "Shut up!"

At this point, you may be wondering why I did not just speak directly with the young man. Quite frankly, I am an extremely shy fellow who dreads face-to-face confrontations. I quickly lose my demeanor and transform into a bumbling, incoherent fool with my eyes glued to the floor. Obviously, knocking on his door and speaking to him face-to-face may have worked against me. So after careful consideration, I decided to write and submit a postal letter to him. By utilizing this more direct approach (versus snitching), I am therefore working to alleviate the problem instead of make it worse. Snitching may have temporarily resolved the situation, but it did nothing for the growing animosity between me and my neighbor. In fact, it may have actually worsened the divide. So from now on, I intend to always opt for the more direct, mature and intelligent solution whenever possible.

I encourage everybody else to follow suit. If somebody's actions disturb you, do not be afraid to confront them. If speaking directly does not suit your fancy, then perhaps write a letter. But do not just ignore the problem or use sly tactics (e.g. snitching) to resolve the situation. That is what a punk does and Mamma Ain't Raise No Punk! Mind you, if confrontation fails to resolve the issue and the other party refuses to listen and modify their behavior, then hey........ do what you gotta do!