We've all been there

 Hey, we've all been there.  You think, "Just a little.  It won't hurt."

But you're wrong.  It seems harmless.  You give in, just that little bit.  But it doesn't stop there, does it?  It feels good.  Just that little bit feels soooo good.  But then, you can't stop.  You think, "Just a little bit more will be alright."  But that's not the end.

Every little bit of ground you give weakens your resolve more.  The pleasure, the high, it's almost sexual.  You surrender more and more ground.

Pretty soon, you're avoiding the public eye, looking for ways to make it feel better, all the while, deep inside, just wishing you could stop.

Because you know that, at some point, it won't feel good.  You know that when you reach rock bottom, it's no longer about pursuing pleasure, but avoiding pain.  And you know that it's only going to get worse.

But there is hope.  Sometimes, you need medical intervention.  Sometimes, just some willpower is enough.

But sometimes, all you need is a friend.  A family member.  Someone who understands.  Someone who has been where you are now, and knows what it's like.  Someone who can give you the emotional support you need to make it through the night.

Someone to say, "Stop scratching!"

Let's Talk About Progress

 I hear some of you talking about the "good ol' days".  You want things to go back to the way they were, before they turned "bad".  You want to return to a simpler time, with ye olde values and morals

I hear you.  And I agree.  Let's do that.

And let's start with you.

How far back should we go?  To the 50's?  Native Americans weren't considered US citizens, still, but you "good ol' days" people don't care about that.  Why would you?  You weren't affected.  

How about the crime rate?  You complain about the increase in crime, so let's turn back the clock.  In the 50's, lead pipes were commonplace, and weren't properly treated.  Everyone's taps basically served lead dissolved in muddy water.  The result?  Mental deterioration leading to violence.  Diminished intellectual capacity.  Shortened life spans.  Forget that the violent crime rate has been steadily declining since the 70's, when the governments started taking environmental lead levels seriously.

Or maybe you want to go a bit further back.  Jim Crow isn't enough for you, you like the antebellum days.  Okay, let's see what we have...

Are you a woman?  You can't vote.  You can't have a bank account without your husband's permission.  No husband?  Then you can't have a bank account at all.  And don't you dare get caught wearing pants.

Are you a man?  Great!  You'll love the life you have, dominating the world because of an accident of birth.  Granted, you have no access to air conditioning, you smell like a wet dog, and you're going to die before you reach 40 (if you're lucky).  Sure, instead of taking your car to a mechanic four times a year, you have to spend two hours a day tending to your horse, but these are the "good ol' days", right?  Before modern medicine, before television, of course if you need to send an emergency message to family across the country, perhaps telling them that your child died of typhoid fever, since vaccines haven't been invented yet, you can always walk to the nearest town and pay to send a telegraph, assuming you're lucky enough to live where one is available.  Just be careful if you can't afford shoes, antibiotics haven't been discovered yet, so if you have to lose your leg to a bone saw while you're wide awake, you'll be using a peg leg.

Perhaps you just feel that we should keep the benefits of the very technology that the clergy forbade, and just return to the religious values.  After all, people knew right from wrong, because they all went to church and learned from a good, wholesome preacher (or to temple and learned from a rabbi, etc.).  Great!  Nothing could go wrong.  And it's a good thing that man is honest, right?  Because since so many people couldn't read, they had to take his word on what the book in question said.

Are you left handed?  Too bad, you must be possessed.  You will be burned at the stake.

Are you reading this post on a computer?  Communing with spirits.  You will be burned at the stake.

Epilepsy? Possessed.  Too dumb?  Possessed.  Too smart?  Possessed.  Eyes an unusual color?  Born with a club foot?  Your canine teeth came in before your others?  Lazy eye?

You get the picture.  But that's alright.  None of those apply to you.  Of course, when you're accused by the person who wants to marry your spouse and wants you out of the way, you'll need to prove your innocence.  Simple enough.  We can tie you up and toss you in the river.  If you sink to the bottom and die, you're innocent.  If you float, you're guilty and must be burned.

I hear some of you talking about the "good ol' days".  You want things to go back to the way they were, before they turned "bad".  You want to return to a simpler time, with ye olde values and morals.

You're wrong.  This year (2020) notwithstanding, we're living in the best time to be alive.  The poorest people in most countries have a higher standard of living than royalty did in the past.  We have longer lifespans, lower crime rates.  We can cure diseases, grow food crops in warehouses.  We've been to the moon.  We have robots exploring Mars.  More information is available to more people than ever before.

It's called "progress".  But progress includes racial justice.  It includes gender equality.  It includes gay people being allowed to marry, and trans people being allowed to use public restrooms.

Yes, we have a long way to go, but the way might not be in the direction you expect.  If you're one of the people I was talking about earlier, then you think the way to go is backward.  Back to the filth, the war, the ignorance.  But you're wrong.  The way to go is forward.

That's what progress is.