Stop Complaining

Is it just me or are more and more people whining and complaining these days? It seems you can’t turn the page of a newspaper anymore without running into another pointless rant about something or other.

Whether it’s global warming or terrorism or the high price of gasoline, everyone seems to have to vent. And each of these complainers always seems to have the surefire solution to whatever’s bugging them.

If I see one more detailed diatribe by another member of the self-appointed pontificariat, I’m going to scream. After all, where do they get off proscribing and prescribing? Who died and made them king of the op-ed page?

I’ve had it up to here with smug, self-centered solutions to non-existent problems. Ask me how much I care if you can’t smoke in your favorite restaurant or let your dog off his leash or ride your bicycle without wearing a helmet. If you guessed "Not at all", then for once in your life, you’re absolutely right.

Whatever happened to reasonable discourse? Can’t people just agree to disagree and leave it at that? Or, better yet, why not just adopt the obvious sensible solution to any problem and do it my way?

It’s not as if I haven’t tried to lend a sympathetic ear to the daily screeds of others. Too many drivers running red lights? Too few moving over to the slow lane? Too little basic courtesy?

Yes, yes and yes. But so what? Did anyone listen to your rant, much less care? Of course not.
Your temper-filled tirade was about as useful as a rearranged deck chair on the Titanic and even less appealing. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of you have even complained at one time or another about the lack/surfeit/expense/design/size of Titanic deck chairs.

Do you know how annoying it is to have to listen to your ceaseless carping and complaining about your latest pet peeve? I didn’t think so but I’m going to tell you anyway. It’s really, really, really annoying.

For those of you who can’t count, that’s annoying times three. Consider how angry you are about seat belt laws, buses-only lanes or owners who don’t scoop their dog’s poop and then multiply that anger by three. That’s how ticked off I am by the legion of niggling naysayers that populate today’s media.

If I wanted a steady diet of complaining, I’d invite Andy Rooney to dinner or buy all his books on tape and listen to them until my head exploded. But then you’d probably complain about the mess that would make, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that just typical.

Anyway, I have no intention of sinking to your level. I’ll just keep my opinions to myself and let others cry and moan. Because that’s just the kind of guy I am.