User:Lurker

Coulda chosen the name "Ironic," though I feel the irony would be lost.

Today's mood: Surprisingly cooperative. It comes in spurts. And no, that's not a sexual reference, you dirty, dirty person.

About Me

Ha ha yeah right! Ok, here's what you need to know about me: I tend to get under peoples' skins, but I'm not doing it to be mean. At least 99% of the time, anyway. We're all human (but not all Human). I provide an alternate viewpoint to "keep RW honest", and sometimes I have some fun while I'm at it.

I love that I'm the southern-most dot on this graph. It makes Lurker happy.

Nifty Essay

I didn't write this (Michael Cloud did), but it's eery nonetheless (sorry he writes in such short paragraphs):

Warning: Hating Is Addictive and Hazardous to Your Life

by Michael Cloud

Hating is all the rage.

True believers hate unbelievers. In morality, politics, religion, and more.

True blue progressives hate rock solid conservatives.

Righteous righties hate loyal lefties.

Anti-war activists hate pro-war activists.

We see hate on cable TV political shows. We hear hate on talk radio. We read hate on websites and blogs.

Too many of them traffic in hate. Not just once or twice. Repeatedly, relentlessly. They are serial offenders. Hate Pushers. Amateur and professional.

Many make out like bandits from peddling hate. Many more make themselves comfortable by making others uncomfortable. Others indulge in hate trafficking as an intoxicating experience.

Producing and promoting hate makes them powerful. Consuming hate makes you and me weak.

And it's easy to hook people on hate.

If you're FOR something, you must be AGAINST its opposite. If you're for truth, you must be against falsehood. If you're for right, you must be against wrong. If you're for good, you must be against bad.

Hate pushers hook you by focusing your attention and energy against the opposite of what you seek.

Hate pushers hook you by dwelling on the wrong, the bad, the false. And giving you small doses of hate. To build your tolerance.

Hate pushers slowly increase the doses. Ever-increasing amounts, more and more frequent fixes -- chasing the rush, the thrill, the high. Until some people can't get enough hate.

Few people become full-blown hate addicts.

But too many of us are hooked on maintenance levels. Against high taxes. Against Big Government. Against violations of our privacy. Against government violations of our personal and civil liberties.

Maybe you believe that this amount of hate won't hurt you. Maybe you think it's necessary. I used to. I was wrong.

Warning: hating is addictive and hazardous to your life. Hating is toxic to you. And those you share your life with.

Hating makes you bitter and unhappy. It eats away at your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Hating makes you ineffective at advancing liberty. It poisons your conversations. It drives people away.

Hating interferes with your family, social, and business life.

Can you kick a hate addiction?

Of course.

Go cold turkey with the hate pushers. Turn off the hate peddlers on cable TV and talk radio. Kiss off the haters' websites and blogs. Read only thoughtful articles, essays, and blogs on the Internet.

Fill that time with people and activities that make you feel good.

Pay attention to what you do want, not what you don't want.

Think about what you're for, not what you're against.

Speak about what you love, not what you hate.

You don't have to hate disease to love health.

You don't have to hate death to love life.

You don't have to hate misery to love happiness.

In conversations about politics and economics, talk about what you do want. Discuss what you propose. Show the person the features and benefits of your libertarian alternative.

You'll be healthier, happier, and loved.

You'll slip up from time to time. Fall off the wagon. Relapse.

Don't worry. It's normal. It's part of the process. It happens to me. It happens to most.

Simply notice it. And re-focus your thinking, speaking, and your actions back toward your love of liberty. Toward your knowledge that freedom lifts up our lives. That free markets make us prosperous.

When you kick hate addiction, you will do more than simply live and let live.

You will love and let love.