Life Can Get Weird Real Fast So Have a Cigar
Over the three plus years writing this blog, I’ve made it pretty clear about my feelings towards full time, career politicians. They are ALL overblown windbags who look out for their own special interests and are generally so full of Shinola that the whites of their eyes are more of a gritty earth tone. I believe by the comments I see from the general public is that most folks feel the same way about the politico stooges of our society – the disdain for their rhetoric and a lack of trust that in comparison, almost puts used car salesmen on a Mother Theresa level.
But somehow, we all buy into the rhetoric, choosing up with one side that we believe matches our core values and for many of us, one side is oh SO right and the other side is oh so wrong. We get irritated and angry at the opposition, and we even fight with family and friends if their political beliefs are different than ours. But for most of us – a rather extremely high majority – we are sane, keep our wits, and realize that a person’s political preference doesn’t make them necessarily a good or bad person. Right?
And then again, we see what happened in Arizona and I can personally say that while I was outraged and horribly saddened, I was also almost ashamed to be affiliated with a political party of any kind, as the madness that this crazed gunman delivered was based in hatred derived from stereotypical rhetoric that politicians spew on a minute by minute basis.
The President and all who spoke in wake of this horrific event made it clear that it was the actions of one mentally damaged person and not society or a political group as a whole. And while it’s true, I can’t help but think how many guys are out there like this who are ready to step outside the bounds of human decency – ready to strike so their point can be heard? There are numbers of groups who are considered militia and oppose what society deems as the norm, and yeah, that’s pretty scary stuff – real scary stuff.
Okay, I’m not trying be be an alarmist and go all negative Chicken Little here. I think I’m really just trying to deal with what just happened here and examine my own belief systems.I’m sure a whole lot of people have done the same in the past week, including many of you.
Now you guys know I like to think of myself as a humorist and don’t normally take my blog topics into darkened territory, but you just can’t blow of what happened to a bunch of innocent people (and somebody’s little girl), and not have it make you step back and take a deep and well needed pause. There’s no doubt that writing this piece is my own cathartic attempt at dealing with a disturbing reality – and while we all learn various things from these events, I began to think about the fact that we ALL need to take a collective pause every so often, and not just when bad crap goes down. We all need to pop our heads out of the ostrich hole while extending our myopic view way beyond the daily grind. There was a cool scene in the film, the Dead Poet Society where a school instructor played by Robin Williams had students stand on top of their desks and scan the room in order to realize that your own personal every day view is not the only viewpoint out there.
So how does one fat-ass blog writing Polack from New Jersey attempt to tie cigars into today’s most somber topic? Pretty easy, actually. I truly believed that if all adults the world over smoked and enjoyed a cigar – especially with one another – a hell of a lot of hatred and war would be reduced before our very eyes. I’m actually serious and I’ve thought about this for long, long time. Cigars shared and enjoyed promote a level of friendship and camaraderie like nothing else I have ever seen. People from vastly different social, economic, and opposing political viewpoints will gather and have a good cigar together and realize that we’re really not that different at all, and it is that premium handrolled happy stick that creates a common bond amongst mortal men. You think there’s any other reason that American Indians smoked a peace pipe? There’s no question that time spent with a good cigar can revitalize the brain and the soul, giving us that long and much needed pause we require.
We all know all too well that life can get weird so fast that your head will spin. So before we experience more weird, I say we take stock in the good things we have in life. We know we can’t take back what happened this past week, but we can sure as hell do some much needed reflection and take a good look around and try to make things better. And if you smoke cigars, you know that there’s not a better instrument out there to help your mind remain calm, your body relax, and prepare yourself for what the world brings our way next.
Tommy Z.
JR Cigar Blog With the Zman
