Opiate? I think nopiate.

Excuse the unfocussed, thesis-lacking rant that follows. I'm kinda in a mood.
enter > stream of consciousness ranting...
Thank heaven I'm not getting graded on form here, only content. ;)

So I was lying in bed last night thinking about societal control and social/emotional/doctrinal expectations.
Someone is a little sad one day, and they want to medicate you to get a smile pasted back on your face. Beware if you are sad for a COUPLE days, then everyone will start to wonder how stable you are, if maybe an institution should be brought into the situation to more effectively moderate you.
Get too happy, and you are criticized for being childish, naive, immature, even suspicious.
Make a strong stand on an issue and you are extreme, insensitive, intolerant.
We boast on and on about how tolerant a society we are, oh it is such a virtue and we are this great mosaic of different people who all live as brothers and isn't it great. Well I think it is malarky. It would and could be great, but we don't live as brothers and it isn't great.

It seems to me this society is rapidly becoming like some Big Brother novel where everyone is compelled to conform, everyone is doped into a lethargic pseudo-happiness, be it through actual medication or false-comfort stimuli like materialism, gluttony and the wealth of other vices, like WEALTH. And one dares not turn-off of the highway of hedonism, or you are labelled extreme, religious, legalistic, judgmental, "uncomfortable with your sexuality", fearful, not 'progressive', a self-righteous martyr and even backwards. I could have added another dozen critical adjectives to that list but I have to make supper eventually.

We have made a lifestyle out of comfort at the expense of virtue. Now our planet is paying for it, and so are we in our health, and we will pay more and more as time goes on, for our selfish, lazy choices over the years.

But I won't leave you with only depressing reading. For the sake of moderation, I'll say how cute it is that Anna is here singing along with all the songs on her cds while colouring. She is so precious. She loves to sing and dance.

I do too.