I should write for The Onion, no?
As some of you may know, I quit smoking a while back, mainly because I did not want my "quit date" to be the day the doctor told me I had lung cancer.
Oh, let's face it, the REAL reason I quit was so that I could spend the money I was spending on cigarettes on other things instead. FUN things. But hey: The lung cancer thing was right up there.
And yet, and yet, I know smokers who still insist that cigarette smoking does not cause lung cancer. They'll tell you it's all genetic, it's a crapshoot, it's coincidental, the studies were rigged, blahblahblah.
Folks, even when I WAS smoking, I was under no illusions about what causes lung cancer.
So why? Why are these people in denial?
You know why? I think it's because for a smoker to admit that smoking causes cancer, that's admitting that you're participating in your own demise. That you're taking an active part in shortening your own lifespan. That you're, basically, an idiot.
Man, I did that for thirty years. Until I just couldn't do it any more. Until I refused to accept what I was doing to my own body.
But still: Thirty years.
So when I listen to tea party wingnuts (i.e., some of my company's clients) go on and on and on about how Obama's a Muslim, how he's not a U.S. citizen, blahblahblah, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, despite the fact that he is now two YEARS into his first term, I guess I can sort of understand their refusal to accept reality.
Because to admit to the truth is to face the fact that a black man is legally President of the United States.
And they would rather deny deny DENY than face that truth.
So yeah, I kind of get it. I don't LIKE it, but I get it.
Denial is a powerful thing. And the truth is not always easy.
But the truth is always better, don't you think?
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3 comments:
I think truth is better, but people will always make their own truth. As for smokers, it's an addiction. Like people who are addicted to cocaine or exercise, they have to find a way to justify their actions. If they can't justify it any longer, then they'll probably stop. Or they'll die with their addictions. For the wingnuts, the same is true. They justify their prejudice, greed, and self-centeredness until they either wake up and make the switch or die with their false convictions.
I can't believe the things tea party members are still coming up with. It's like they are just playing with Mad Libs.
Kate, I hear ya.
And Libby, I want to know where you got the "jerk" plate.
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