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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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July 29, 2007 MY NAME IS ROB AND, In May, my wife and I made a trip to San Francisco, did some shopping and found her a gorgeous new purse made by Prada. I, in fact, am the one who saw the purse, found it to be stunningly gorgeous (a totally heterosexual reaction to a nice accessory) and pointed it out to my wife. We bought it and a matching wallet and shared the photos of the trip on the website upon our return. The wallet cost $400 and the purse cost $3000 before taxes. Last week, a listener named Mary was apparently browsing through our photo gallery archives and was nice enough to send the following email (reprinted here in its entirety): “No person should EVER spend $3,000 on a purse let alone $400 on a wallet. You may think you are smart but you are really quite stupid sir! We should be seeing you on the bankruptcy train before you are 60 at this rate.” I am not offended by such letters but I am deeply, deeply saddened. The idea that a person, any person, should not only feel such a way but should also feel emboldened and entitled to express such an asinine view truly and literally makes my heart ache for whatever percentage of the population shares such views. It’s beyond sad and pathetic, it’s just plain devastating. I shall start with the mundane and move to the abstract. On its’ face, her letter is so ignorant it’s hard to comprehend. I have more than enough personal wealth to indulge in such purchases for many years to come and have more than enough investments and retirement planning in place to insure that I and whatever passes as my family will be well taken care of for the rest of my lifetime. I am both fortunate and successful in this way. Her assertion that there is any chance of me under any set of circumstances arriving any where close to bankruptcy is simply, to use her term, “stupid.” Far beyond the erroneous lack of facts in her brutally arrogant and comically ignorant letter is the overwhelmingly unacceptable lack of self respect and zest for life that her attitude represents. I sadly wonder how many share her miserable disposition. More than that though, I wonder if she is simply a hypocrite, or far worse, I wonder if she has no idea at all what it is she gets out of bed for every morning. If she is merely a hypocrite, than she is simply a miserable malcontent who feels it’s her place to judge everyone who likes things that she doesn’t. For example, she finds it “stupid” to spend $3000 on a purse and $400 on a wallet, but she’ll be the first to spend $10,000 on a hot tub, or $100 on a concert ticket to see Melissa Etheridge, or give 10% of her earned income to her church. She’ll then justify such things by saying that “they matter,” dismissing the fact it’s ok for people to decide for themselves what actually “matters” in their personal lives. I doubt, however, that she is merely a hypocrite. For some reason, I sense that she is far worse a person who not only “doesn’t get it,” but is so miserably resentful that she can’t “have it,” that she views life through a disgusting, small, sad little prism. Not only have I spent $3000 for a purse for my wife, I have spent $850 for a dinner for two in New York city, $3000 for a Louis Vuitton suit that I have worn 3 times in 2 years, $80,000 on a sports car, and tens of thousands of dollars on bottles of wine. To Mary and her ilk I ask this; if these things all bring me joy, relaxation and contentment and if I have the financial reserves available to spend my money on these things, why shouldn’t I? To Mary and her ilk I ask, what exactly is it that you are waking up for every morning? What is your drive? Alas, I fear the answer is that her drive is to wake up every morning and find a way to make other peoples’ lives as sad as hers is. It is unfortunate that too many people in life have been so beaten down by the combination of class warfare (blame the successful people for your own personal failures) and the idea that life should be fair and everything will just be handed to you. We have done a great job in the past four decades of chipping away at the American dream and making fewer and fewer people believe that they can have their share of it. (The fact is, of course, that the truth is the exact opposite. The American Dream is more available to more people than ever before). Not me, I am proud to say. Along with the obvious lifelong goals of finding true love and having great friends (blah blah blah), I identified long ago that I love to travel, wear fine clothes, eat fine food, drive nice vehicles, drink expensive alcohol and smoke extravagant cigars. My wife enjoys fine clothing and accessories, gorgeous jewelry and lavish chronic trips to the spa. Together, we have a zest for animals, supporting our military, giant TVs, comfy couches and quietly and anonymously helping certain groups of people. These are the reasons I wake up every morning. I work hard to provide not just a roof over our heads, but a life that is worth living. It is my assertion that Mary is not truly appalled that my wife and I choose to live our lives by spending lavish amounts of money on “stupid” things, but rather that we have things, people and interests that make our lives worth living. In the end, there is no such thing as a hollow existence if it truly really makes your life worth living to you. Sadly, so many “Mary’s” of the world simultaneously lie to themselves and try to tear down others in an attempt to validate their own miserable existences. On one hand, Mary decides that since she is a failure in life, she will try to find worth and value by sacrificing her life in an ill-fated mission of do-gooderism, a life dedicated to silly clichés like “uplifting the poor,” something that doesn’t work nor exist, but makes losers feel better about themselves. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Mary finds great temporary joy in finding those of us who are living a life of true happiness and, in a moment of self defense, reacts with a knee jerk response of trying to demean the way in which we choose to live (never, of course, acknowledging that folks like my wife and I will actually do more in a week for the poor and down-trodden amongst us than all of Mary’s painfully pathetic attempts combined in her waste of a life….but that’s for another column). For those of you that are truly simple, no, I did not just say that all people who help the under privileged are pathetic losers; Just most of them. Read it again 1,000 times until you get it. As I conclude this column I realize that perhaps Mary has won a small battle here today. She has found a way to force me to waste 8 minutes of my life reacting to her pitiful outlook on life. To that end, I acknowledge defeat and wish Mary a fond “Bravo.” Now to heal my wounds I will get up from my plush leather office chair, proceed to my gorgeous wife who is currently on the phone laughing up a storm as she chats with a close friend on the phone, give my wife a kiss, and go play with my beautiful dog, an activity that always makes me smile. After that, I will then get dressed in my walk-in closet, and decide which of my luxury vehicles I will drive today. I will start by visiting my mother who lives 10 miles away from me and lives a very comfortable life in her “golden” years, much of which is provided by my success. I will chat with her, kiss her goodbye and then head off to play golf with 2 of my best friends in the world. Way to go, Mary….you really showed me.
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