Quite often, we observe people participating in bizarre, almost ritualistic, behaviors. There's the guy who plans to lose 60 pounds by driving to the gym and eating from the "diet" portion of the fast food menu. There's environmentalist groups that are ok with pollution, as long as you purchase carbon credits. Then there are those people who actually watch reality television (I don't judge anyone).
The rest of society observes these odd behaviors from a safe distance, grateful that common logic would protect them from ever making such faulty conclusions. What happens, however, when a misplaced idea is allowed to fester, and eventually acclimate, into societal culture? Listed below are four cultural concepts, all very "right" in our minds, that have little basis in reality.
4. Black History Month
Maybe its just because I don't like February (what am I supposed to watch, hockey?), but isn't segregation generally considered to be a bad thing? Of course its important that African-Americans remember their unique history, culture, and struggles, as well as the countless influential black men and women that played a role in our nation's history. That being said, is this the best means to accomplish these noble goals? Morgan Freeman, who definitely knows more about African-American history and culture than a white college student, doesn't think so.
If we really want to limit all African-American history and accomplishment to one month, can we at least be decent enough to not give them the shortest and coldest month of the year?
3. Feminism
Now I know I'm opening a powder keg with this one. Personally, I once thought feminists existed simply to condemn women who choose to be housewives and keep their unborn children.
However, a recent English course taught me that the skills of the feminist extend far beyond that.
Don't get me wrong. I support the rights of women to vote and hold a career. But modern feminism isn't about promoting those noble goals. No, modern feminism exists solely to chastise and emasculate every male on the planet.
Don't believe me? I wouldn't expect you to just accept what any blabbering fool posts on the internet. Allow me to make my point.
In Gail Godwin's "A Sorrowful Woman," the reader is presented with a rather depressing scenario. The main character, a housewife, suffers from a severe mental illness. She is incapable of performing any tasks, and is too terrified to even interact with her small son for extended periods of time. Her husband, understanding of her difficulty, does everything in his power to help his wife. He provides for the family, performs all housework, and takes care of his son and wife. Overwhelmed, the man hires a nurse to assist with his son...until his wife fires the nurse. None of this angers the man in any way, and he struggles on.
The story ends with the wife trapped in a crazed frenzy, performing ridiculous amounts of housework before opting to end her own life.
To the average, sane reader, this story seems relatively straightforward, right? Very sad, but straightforward.
Well, thanks to deconstructionism (my gosh, I wouldn't know where to start), any story has unlimited different meanings and interpretations. This opened the door wide for my class, which actually suggested that the husband was in some way manipulating and controlling his wife by not seeking proper medical attention for her. Of course, who's to say what "proper" medical attention even was in the story, seeing as how the author presents us with no setting whatsoever. Maybe I'm irrational, but if a character shows no major flaws in a story, I assume that's because the author wanted us to believe that he was a nice guy.
Of course the story opens with the line: "Once upon a time there was a wife and mother too many times." Yes, yes, that's clearly this woman's problem. Not a chemical or emotional imbalance. "No, you just need to get rid of that man who's taking care of you and get yourself a job, honey!"
2. Tipping
Unlike my other ideas, which are at least controversial, no one would argue against tipping in restaurants.
To clarify, I'm not arguing against supporting the kind single-mother waitress struggling to support her two kids. I'm not even arguing against tipping the jerk waiter who never gets your order right. But I do think there are some serious questions to be raised concerning this most odd of rituals...
Like you, I never questioned tipping. That is, until I learned that most restaurants pay their wait staff less than minimum wage, on the assumption that the customer's tips will be adequate for them.
Wait just a minute. The restaurants opt to completely screw over and mistreat their employees, and I'm supposed to pick up the tab? What is the logic behind that? I mean, I don't tip the exploited workers in foreign countries who make basically everything that I, as an American, use. I probably should, but I don't. And no ever talks about that.
Finally, and not to be rude, but if we're really going to reward people, aren't there more worthy professions? Like I don't know, just off the top of my head: firemen, policemen, military personal. But we don't. Do you know why? Because THEIR EMPLOYERS ACTUALLY PAY THEM A DECENT WAGE!!!
Let's not kid ourselves. If we really cared about these people and not about following a blind tradition, we would learn how to cook again and stop visiting establishments that exploit their workforce.
1. Valentine's Day
At last, we arrive to the very epicenter of the insanity. While there was no love lost in my description of Valentine's Day last year, allow me to reiterate some of my key points.
Valentine's Day, once a Catholic holiday designed to honor a saint, has now become nothing more than a commercialized corporate lie designed to convince single people that there is something wrong with them. "Oh, your wife died 3 months ago? Probably because you didn't love her enough. Go spend $100 on thorny weeds and throw your hat back into the dating ring."
Yes, I exaggerate, but the sad thing is, not by much. Valentine's Day brings in almost 14 billion annually Yes. 14 billion.
Forgive me, because I know little of relationships, but when did love become solely about the accumulation of possessions? My gosh, if couples stopped neglecting each other the other 364 days of the year, maybe we wouldn't even need a Valentine's Day.
"Is this the message that you want to send your kids, random couple reading this? That love is measured by price tags and worthless trinkets?"
Now I'm all for gift-giving, but something about a day that makes single people feel like crap and causes the wealthiest nation on earth to waste 14 billion dollars offends me.
Also, I'm still pushing for the implementation of the South Korean singles day, Black Day, in the US. I've had little luck thus far...maybe if I had 14 billion dollars?
