New Year's Evolutions

The masters of science who think about these kinds of things have oft stated that one of the biggest differences between humans and animals - besides the fact that animals don't use credit cards - is that humans have this bothersome trait of "caring what other members of the community think about them." I like to say and think and act as if I am apart from this, as I think each and every one of us does. But the truth is that in some measurable way there's always somebody's opinion we do, indeed, care about. Even if we say we don't. Like for example a cherished older relative, or a spouse, or someone we knew from high school we re-meet somewhere down the road. The plain fact is that, despite all our ubercool protestations to the contrary yes, Virginia, we actually do give a shit what other people think. It's what differentiates us from the baser, natural animals in the chain. Anyway so far as we can tell.

The advanced view of this, however, is that we like to think that the people whose opinions we value are somehow hand-picked through our personal and therefore rarefied filters. As in; yes I do care what some people think, but I decide who those people are so it's alright because I only pick cool people whose opinions I care about. The problem is that deep down inside we all know this is also bullshit. Total self-justifying and complete bovine scatology. We don't want the guy in the next car to think we're odd so we stop singing when he pulls up to the light beside us. Or we cut the grass because we don't want the neighbors to think we're a bunch of slobs living here. Or we hide the liquor bottles in a hole in the wall because... oh wait, nevermind about that one. Oh hahahahaha. Nothing.

What?

I guess it all depends on what constitutes "other people" when we say we don't care what they think. That has a terrific potential to be a comfortable justification a little bit don't you agree? OK we're actually on kind of questionable ground and it isn't exactly how we'd like it all to go down or something but - know what? - I don't care what people think.

Yeah right. Sure you don't.

So this is a round about way of saying my New Year's resolution is going to be "Try to be less full of shit." I think that has a lot of potential. Don't you agree?

Haha. I'm asking but I actually don't care what you think. Well maybe a little. Of course if I didn't care what you think I wouldn't edit the misspellings from this post. So there I am being full of shit again.

Man I really gotta work on this.