I wake up most mornings with questions on my mind.

Generally, they’re relatively innocuous or inconsequential things like: Why do I have the theme from Mannix stuck in my head? Do bald men think toupees are fooling anybody? Why do so many people believe in gravity? Why do some Kindle books cost more than the same books in print? If I pay my Social Security taxes, why am I taxed on the Money I paid into Social Security when I get it back? If Santa Claus knows if you’ve been bad or good, why did he bring me anything, ever? Who the hell did let the dogs out? If an asp in the grass is a snake, why is a grasp in the ass a goose?

There are days, however, when I wake up with more serious questions on my mind. As an even dozen examples, do you ever wonder what life would be like if we:

1. Stopped trying to impose Western thought on Eastern people?
2. Stopped expecting jihadists to be rational?
3. Stopped trying to impose contemporary narratives on history?
4. Stopped imagining people can change the climate of an entire planet?
5. Stopped pretending science can be settled?
6. Stopped pretending equality can be legislated?
7. Stopped believing what’s good for you is good for me?
8. Stopped thinking contemporary journalists could define journalism?
9. Stopped pretending feeling is the same as thinking?
10. Stopped believing all people progress intellectually beyond the level of college freshman?
11. Stopped expecting governments to take care of us?
12. Started taking care of ourselves and each other?

I recognize those questions put me in the company of incorrigible pragmatists like Don Quixote. But it seems inevitable that someone else might ask them at some time. No? Really? Are we that far gone?

Tangents

I happen to have three other questions on my mind, too: (A) Why is it politically incorrect to fly the flag of the United States of American in the United States of America? That feels like a national out-of-body experience, doesn’t it? If not, why not? (B) Why isn’t antisemitism discussed in DEI training? Wouldn’t we imagine equity and inclusion would pertain to one the most — if not THE most — envied, misunderstood, hated, abused, and murdered cultures in the history of the world? Do we really believe we can make people equal, except Jewish people? (C) What the hell is wrong with us?

But I’ll save those for another time. Maybe if we’re ever able to answer the first 12 questions, the last three will take care of themselves. And what do I know anyway? As has been pointed out to me on occasions numerous enough that I’d be rich if I’d collected a buck for each of them, I’m too logical. And maybe that’s true.

Nevertheless, sometimes I wonder.

Originally Published on https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/category/lifecolumns/notes-to-self/

Mark O'Brien Writer, Blogger

I'm the founder and principal of O'Brien Communications Group (obriencg.com) and the co-founder and President of EinSource (einsource.com). I'm a lifelong writer. My wife, Anne, and I have two married sons and four grandchildren. I'm having the time of my life.