Fence Pales and Collatareal Damage

With one exam to go, I find that my mind has already gone on vacation and left me behind to deal with it on my own. Of course, I already have the marks for a pass and the exam is just a formality but that doesn't make it any less annoying. After all, there are few things worse than waking up for something that is neither fun nor meaningful.

While trawling through the internet looking for ways to pass the next few months I came across the following quote from Marguerite Duras (French novelist/playwright): "The best way to fill time is to waste it". What poignant words, I thought. After all, does time not exist solely for the sake of wasting? If not, then what? To use constructively for the betterment of mankind? I scoff as such a notion. Almost every attempt to better the lives of people has turned around to bite us in the ass. Examples of such attempts include: the car which is now causing so much pollution that some cities have days where the visibility is next to nil, the cigarette which is the number one cause of lung cancer, and let's not forgetthe television which is effectively the number one cause of obesity. In contrast, those who sit by and do diddly squat don't contribute to the growing pains of society.

While some may argue that apathy is detrimental and counterproductive, I disagree with this claim. I believe that only partial apathy is detrimental. Complete and utter apathy, on the other hand, produces rather favourable outcomes. For example: someone is watching TV and, due to a clever piece of advertising, suddenly develops a craving for pizza and deep fried cheese logs. The partial apathist wants the food and doesn't really care that it's clearly going to cause some bowel irregularities, so he drives out to get it. A slightly more apathetic person would not even be bothered to drive out to get it and would instead pick up the phone and have heart-attack-in-a-box delivered. The complete apathist would not even bother acting on this craving at all, reasoning that picking up the phone on the table right next to him is too much effort. So you see, it is not apathy which is dangerous, but those who are apathetic towards apathy and take the middleground that are troublesome.


The conclusion? The middleground is dangerous because that's where you're most likely to be shot at by both sides. The fence is a dangerous place to be sitting. Especially if said fence happens to have barbed wire running along the top (which many fences in today's paranoid society do have) or if said fence happens to be of the electric variety. Be an extremist, whether it be extremely conservative or extremely extreme. It's certainly better than attempting to
dodge two-way gunfire while simultaneously trying to remove a fence pale from your nether regions.