Lately, with the presidential election coming up and stuff, I’ve been thinking about what people believe in. I realize that most people act on what they’re *against* rather than what they’re *for.*

I mean, you can be AGAINST abortion, but is anybody really *FOR* abortion? Pro-choice people are *for* having the right to choose, but only because the idea of choice is threatened by people who are *against* abortion.

People are *against* terrorism, but if you are anti-terrorist, what are you for? Pro-leave-us-alone? Pro-peace? (naaah)

People seem to spend a lot of time thinking about what they *don’t* support; people define themselves by what they *don’t* do. For example: vegetarians. Vegetarians will say “I don’t eat meat.” It’s not “I eat vegetables” or “I eat vegetables only” but what they don’t do: eat meat. Not in broad political/social terms, but in small daily activities– people seem to define themselves more and more by what they don’t or can’t do. It struck home at work when I listen to the constant whining of my co-workers and the long lists of ailments. This is the simple example: Shirley doesn’t do heavy lifting because of her bad back. She doesn’t smoke because of her asthma. She doesn’t eat any number of things because of various digestive issues/allergies/whatever. At the end of the day, what DOES she do? I don’t think she knows. She spends so much time concentrating on what she’s NOT, she doesn’t know what she IS.

This is just on the micro-personal level. There’s a lot of bad stuff in the world to be against, but I’ve found that being anti- everything doesn’t necessarily make you feel any better. I mean, I’m anti-war in Iraq, but what am I pro? Pro No-War-In-Iraq? What can I believe IN, rather than just NOT believing in? The absence of war doesn’t imply that there’s peace. It just means that people are not actively engaging in warfare. They might be uneasily eying the enemy, they might be stockpiling weapons for the next time. They might be all holding hands and eating tofu and singing Beatles songs.

Pro-Peace? Even though it’s a trite, vague position, being pro-peace at least causes a goal to do something, rather than the goal to stop or eliminate something. Being pro- things is more tangible in my opinion–it gives you a positive goal to work towards, rather than simply the goal to make something stop or go away. By stopping something, you’re leaving a void, you’re not necessarily proposing a solution.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s easy to see what you’re against, but it’s a whole other thing entirely to know what you’re *for.* In this day and age, the media, the culture, everything focuses on what’s bad and how to eliminate it. It doesn’t focus on what we can improve or what’s good or how we can make stuff better.

So people, go home and write a list of 15 things that you are for, even if they are seemingly small and inconsequential (i.e,. instead of being anti-eating-seafood, be pro-eating ice cream!) and from now on define yourself by what you DO believe in, rather than what you DON’T believe in.

That’s the end of my cheese-ass rant. Normally I am anti-corny, hackneyed sentiments and pro-meaningful, original, eloquent ideas, but I’m not finding the inspiration to explain myself fully, clearly or even interestingly today!