I had an interesting thought last night as I was getting ready for bed: There are mass shootings monthly (sometimes weekly), a resurgent white supremacist movement, cops killing unarmed black kids regularly, and we’re on the precipice of having a Supreme Court that could take away fundamental rights. And yet, looking internationally, we’re in a state of relative peace. Yeah, we’ve bombed Syria recently, antagonized allies with tariffs, and played ‘whose dick is bigger’ with dictators; but unless I’m forgetting something that the media’s not covering, we’re not in any active boots-on-the-ground war.
I say all this to set up my revelation: It’s like the United States can’t stand not being openly hostile to someone at all times. If another country isn’t available, we’re more than willing to do it to ourselves. We’re animals. ...Actually, no. Animals kill for food and self-defense. We do it for sport and for kicks. We’re not animals, we’re assholes.
I’m sure this isn’t a mind-blowing idea, but it seemed fairly profound to sleep-deprived me at midnight last night. For what it’s worth, this thought came about when I was pondering what generation I’m officially a part of, and thinking about the fact that every generation since the pre-WWII generation sent their kids off to a war somewhere. ...And for the record, I’m claiming the title of millennial for myself. I’m on the high-end, but based on the bit of research I did this morning, the consensus is that I’m within the range. That’s what I wanted to hear, because I’ll do whatever I can to make myself seem younger.