Pah!

Do you know? I hate the show Glee. I just...I hate it. When it first came out, I received it with interest, which quickly turned to befuddlement as all the characters created problems for themselves and then dealt with them in the worst way possible. The choices people made, the pathetic dodges they tried to avoid the consequences, the way they flung themselves about hither and thither, like a bunch of marionettes desperate for attention, began to get a bit galling. About seven weeks into it, I managed to tear myself away from the growing addiction and dedicate the time to the Office instead. Since then, still having to hear about it and put up with it, my befuddlement has turned to disgust, and now I'm at the point where I just hate it.

I hate how it preaches at you and then condemns preaching. I hate how it tells you what to think and then pretends that it was only echoing something you thought all along, I hate how it takes the work of countless artists, most of whom had something to say when they were writing their songs, and contorted it into something that had nothing the hell to do with the original intent, it's like tossing an extra bucket of paint on a Jackson Pollock and saying "hey, it's still pollock, right? I mean it looks similar." I hate how it teaches people to think, and treats everyone who doesn't think that way with a pat on the head and a pretense of big squishy love. It crams pseudo-tolerance and da-daist crap down people's throats like a tele-evangalist, insisting that it's okay that there's just no point to life, especially since it means that we can all do what we want and are only accountable to our relationships.

We come from a rich history of cowards and kings, we do, whether we are in America or not. We were forged from the leftover words of mighty men and women, people who believed in something not just "because you have to believe in something; you can't go through this life all alone," but because what they believed in they knew, beyond the worth of their very lives, that it was grander, greater and more wonderful than their selves. I'm sure that just as many people in their day were very flexible with their principles for the sake of their comfort, but you don't hear about them much. I'm coming to the point where I think that drowning yourself in the conviction that belief is just a crutch to get you through the day, and otherwise life is just a mishmash of not bothering anyone else and not being bothered by anyone else - only to snap and shoot obscenities at the jackass who cut you off on the interstate - is the fast track to mediocrity. I'm so glad that a show that celebrates these high-minded ideals is so popular, it weeds out the competition and probably paves the way for my eventual global domination.

Nevertheless, it would be nice, once in a while, to see a role model or two floating around in the background. Not, mind you, the sort of person who never makes mistakes, but the sort of person who is willing to acknowledge them and pay for them, and do the right thing before the screw-up becomes heinous. The sort of person who does what he/she has to even if he/she doesn't like it, without complaining, without needing a whole group of friends to gather round and sing a happy song. The sort of person who knows when something is important enough to fight for it, and looks at the wisp of a creature suggesting that we all get along and see each other's point of view, pat their hand tenderly and say "Yes, dear, that would be nice. I need you to tell me where you're hiding the crack."

I'm probably misrepresenting the ideals of the show-makers, but then again, they're misrepresenting mine and getting away with it, so I have absolutely no sympathy for them. When I believe a thing, it isn't for my own benefit, it's because I am convinced that there is nothing else to believe, and you need to do more than wear me down with nonsensical relativism to change my mind about that.

What's the point of standing for something or living for something or dying for something if you really don't care whether or not it's valid? Pah! Glee! They take a stand, and they take it on nothing. Can anything be so vacuous or detestable?

Yes. I answer my own question. Serial killers who target people by their license plate numbers or hair color are that vacuous and detestable. To be fair, I don't like them either.