"I Did It My Way"

I really hate that song.

Just for all that it represents. Some schmoe who's insisted on doing it "his way" and is damned proud of it, no matter how things turned out. Arrogance, hubris and stupidity all set to a tune.

What brought this on was scanning the news and seeing that Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice, has checked out of rehab against his doctors' orders. I've known a few alcoholics & drug addicts over the years, so when I say it's a recipe for disaster you can bet that knowledge comes via hearing many other folk in similar situations who did the same damned thing. Just think "Lindsay Lohan" for an example we all know of.

This is a part and parcel of our culture, the myth of one who goes against the common grain and proves himself to be more than just another face in the crowd. Didn't Ayn Rand & Nietzsche propose similar prototypes? Nice ideals in theory, not so good in reality.

I've known far too many folks who had this "I'll do it my way" attitude. Without ANY exception their lives turn into train wrecks. This includes the relative who defiantly smoked four packs of cigarettes a day, casually dismissing all health concerns with "Ya gotta die from something, don't cha?" That individual passed away at age 57 from a very aggressive cancer of the lung. Smooth move, ExLax.

It includes all too many jerks who felt the rules & regulations of the military didn't apply to them, even though they formally took an oath to the contrary. They were more a colossal pain in the ass to deal with than anything else. For the record folks; Rambo was the product of some idiot's imagination. In real life our military doesn't work with "Rambo" types. Even Audie Murphy was a "follow all orders" type. The military is built on teamwork and there really is no "I" in T-E-A-M.

As I've already implied, it includes one HELL of a lot of people I've known in AA who felt they could do it better than the rest of us. AA follows (loosely, but it follows) a program that has certain "suggestions". They're called "suggestions" because too damned many alkies are pigheaded enough to think they don't need any stinking rules or regulations. Even that is too restrictive for many, once they've a few 24 hours of sobriety under their belts they're ready to remake the world. It normally ends with them passed out drunk again.

Don't get me started on fools who think they can have a "special" relationship with their kids, totally eschewing the traditional parent-child model. Trying to be buddies with a twelve year old who thinks they know everything only insures the kid will become an insufferable self-centered asshole in about ten or twenty years.

And those who routinely disregard safety precautions almost always will prove in sufficient time the truth that all precautions were written in someone's blood.

Wanna know who succeeds best? It's the guy/gal who knows rules should be followed, they're more than likely find success in life. The one who follows the doctor's orders to improve their health. The one who doesn't believe in the 11th Commandment, i.e. "Thou Shalt Not Get Caught". The nameless, faceless type who is one of many and doesn't seek to stand out from the rest of us to prove how "exceptional" they are.

Back to Ted Williams. God have mercy on him, I believe in less than six months he'll be back to standing on a street corner with a sign begging for charity. What a waste.

The gutter is filled with highly intelligent and talented folks. They're kept there by their own pride and nothing else.

Nothing much to this post, just blowing off steam. Lately I've been dealing (again) with a family member who knows it all and if you don't believe it you can just ask him. So the story about Williams struck a nerve.

People can't help being ignorant, they can't help it if they're born stupid. I've always felt sorry for anyone who wanders through life perpetually confused. But self-willed ignorance and stupidity are without any excuse and deserves zippo sympathy.

Thanks for listening.