Our world today is permeated with distractions, pitfalls, and traps to take you out of focus and off point. Without getting into any conspiracy theories (or facts) at this point in time let me give you a little insight into the evolution of my thought processes which eventually led to a completely different way of looking at the world than what may be considered normal.
On September 11th, 2001, along with the rest of the world I was tuned into the news. I tuned in shortly after the first plane hit the towers, just a few minutes before the second plane impacted. I, like most Americans, simultaneously felt shock, fear, and above all else anger. I am blessed to live in the United States of America. We are the modern day equivalent of the Roman Empire. This is not an egotistical or nationalist view as I take no pride in being so, it is simply a statement of fact. Never before in my lifetime, not since a "date which will live in infamy" had anyone in the world had the audacity to challenge America so directly and oppose us so openly. The surety and security that comes from the illusion of being untouchable was shattered in an instant. The United States of America, the nation in possession of the greatest military force ever assembled in the history of mankind, brought to its knees in an afternoon with the use of nothing more than fanatical beliefs and boxcutters.
Like most Americans I can still recall that day vividly. I recall where I was, who I was with, what I was wearing, the weather outside, the newscasts, my friends and families reactions, and the overall mood of the nation at that time. This recall is what shattered my trust in government, the news, and television as a whole. I, like many other Americans, recall the news initially reporting it as fact that the towers were hit with missiles, only later to say it was planes. I recall the news reporting it as fact that the pentagon was hit with a missile only to later say it was a plane. I recall the F-16s being given the order to shoot down that unresponsive plane, only to be told literally the next day that no orders were issued and the plane had in fact crashed.
On that day I learned that my government and the media were capable of lying to me. What, exactly did they lie about? Who knows. As I said I will not delve into theories at this point in time. There are dozens of theories, ranging from plausible to outlandish, supported by everyone from MIT scientists to people I've never heard of. All I know is that they did lie. I will not provide links here. I do not believe in laziness. Knowledge sought after means more than knowledge given. Do your homework. Investigate. It's not hard. You do not have to dig deep, a Google search or two will suffice.
Any time I assert that they lied on that day I am always met with "why?" What motives did they have? Again, who knows. Not I. Maybe to prevent a panic. Maybe not. I do not know and it just doesn't matter. On four separate occasions the media gave "facts" only to contradict them a short time later.
Imagine for a minute that I am a car salesman. You are listening to me list the virtues of this nice red corvette. It's fast, it's sleek, it's perfect. About the time you're signing the papers to buy this car I slip and say "man you're sure going to look good in this blue corvette." At that point would you just keep on signing? Probably not. You'd have some questions. You'd want to see the car in question. You'd make damn sure you'd get what you were paying for. Not so for our nation apparently. As a nation we just signed the documents and moved on with life. Why? If, at that time, anyone had publicly raised some questions we may have gotten some answers. But now? It's been too long. The lies are too entrenched. The truth is forever a best guess now.
Luckily that does not matter either. What matters is that on that day something broke inside me. I lost my innocence and naivety that day. I no longer automatically believed everything the government said and I no longer took news stories at face value. That was the day I became forever a doubting Thomas. My eyes were opened that day and I started seeing the propaganda we are bombarded with on a daily basis. A note here on propaganda. The government isn't the only one to use it. Do you think your wife actually enjoys feeling like she's imperfect? Do you think she just woke up one day and said to herself, "you know what self? I think today I'm going to convince myself that I'm too fat, my feet are too big, my hair is hideous, my nose is all wrong and my clothes are atrocious."
If you really believe that then skip on down the road to the next blog. This one isn't for you. Our wives and our daughters are conditioned to think there is only one body type that is beautiful. Sadly, this is a body type that less than 2% (fact) of our women will ever attain. What does this lead to? MONEY MONEY MONEY of course! Hate your feet? These pumps (or whatever they're called) will make them look better! Skin not just so? That's ok because we've got millions of different colors of paint for you to buy. Clothing out of date? That's ok because Macy's is your friend and to prove it they've got 90 days same as cash! Are you a little depressed because after all that you still cannot "compete" (my wifes word, not mine) with the gal on the cover of Cosmo? That's just fine because hey we've got some pills we can sell you that'll cheer you right up!
The propaganda permeates this planet of ours. It tells us we're too stupid, smart, lazy, active, fat, thin, brunette, blond, and redheaded. It tells us that our glasses are ugly, our car is too old, our house is too small, and your kids are better than mine because their Nike shoes cost more than my kids. It tells my wife she is somehow supposed to find a way to be innocent but experienced. A virgin but a virtuoso in the bedroom.
As I write this my dog is sitting her slightly overweight ass (again according to "experts") on the couch with both her legs splayed and looking like a canine version of Jerry Springer is about to break out. You know what though? She doesn't care. You see, nobody ever taught her she was imperfect. It never occurs to her. All she knows is she's loved and respected and well fed, and she needs nothing more.
The moral at the heart of this very lengthy first post is awareness. Be aware of the information you are taking in and how it is making you feel, because I can promise you the marketing agencies are taking notes.
That awareness led me to stop watching the news altogether over time. I just got tired of hearing about who raped who this week and who murdered who last week. I'm tired of political sex scandals. I'm tired of Justin Beiber and Kim Kardashian being top news stories. There are positive stories out there that never see the light of day. There are more important things in my life than whether Jay Z's wife is cheating on him or not.
That awareness led me to eventually cut television out of our home. That's right. I am a 31 year old male and we do not have cable/satellite/digital television. Instead, I wired our PC to the bigscreen and we watch our shows and movies online. Why? Because 90% of the propaganda out there that is trying to convince us we are not good enough is in commercials. When I stream or download my families entertainment there are no commercials. This also allows us to easily research the content of what we're about to watch. I am a firm believer in the statement that "Sex should be kept out of the movies and in the bedroom, and violence should be kept in the movies and out of the bedroom."
I love watching things go boom, or Rambo killing scores of dudes. That's my get down. The entire point of watching a movie or tv show is enjoyment and entertainment. So let me ask you this. Can you really enjoy the cleavage riddled movie you're about to watch knowing full well that as your wife sits on the couch next to you she's not enjoying the movie, but rather she's trying to compete with this plastic surgeried, make-up teamed, photoshopped starlet that has invaded your home. As you're excited about that sweet car chase, she's wondering silently if the source of your excitement is the girl with half her chest hanging out.
We take very great pains to make sure that my wife is the only woman I see naked. You would not believe how hard it is to achieve so simple a goal. As my awareness of the propaganda invading our lives evolved, so too has my view of what my role in our family is. It is this view of the male role in the family that will hopefully be the center of this blog going forward. I know my first post meandered a bit and went here and there and all over the place, and I appreciate you bearing with me. I feel it is important for me to share how I look at the world and how I use that knowledge to provide for and protect my family. In order for me to share that I felt you needed a basic understanding of the fact that at one point in time I was just a dude that went to work and came home and watched TV like most other dudes. There was an event, a catalyst, that shook me out of that routine and made me start questioning. The more I questioned the more I grew as a person and as a husband. It is these experiences that I hope to share with you over time.
