Thoughtless for the Day

If you ran into me today, you probably thought that I had developed Tourette 's syndrome. That's because I was spitting and cursing at every person, object, personal object, and objectionable person that crossed my path. So what set me off down this path of unbridled rage? The Simple Folk.

I see that some further explanation is warranted.

It all started when I learned that Richard Dawkins was coming to the main branch of the Free Library to speak about (plug) his new book The God Delusion. At first I was happier than Alton Verm gazing at a young boy's asshole at a book burning. At long last, I finally stood a good change of having my copy of The Blind Watchmaker autographed by the author instead of Ronnie James Dio whose shaky signature currently adorns the title page. But my hopes where dashed upon the barren barrier reef that is my life when I learned that, instead of speaking at 7:00 pm, the time when most of the Free Library's lectures have taken place, Dawkins chose to speak at noon. Son-of-a-Santorum! I had been looking forward to an evening of hearing the thoughts of Richard Dawkins emanate from his own mouth in an environment blissfully devoid of The Simple Folk.

Who are The Simple Folk. Well, I can best explain The Simple Folk by means of an example: The other day I heard a piece on NPR about a community somewhere in the Midwest that tried to deal with the debate over stem cell research head-on by holding a town meeting in which the facts about stem cells were presented Afterwards, several members of the audience were interviewed: "There was too much science for me", said one old timer. "It was too sciency", said another.

The Simple Folk aren't bad people per se. They raise our crops, they fix our cars, they provide us with the opportunity to feel smug and superior. I don't want The Simple Folk to disappear: I just want to avoid them for a few hours.