Extremes

Extremes come in so many flavors; religious and political fundamentalism, sexual fetish, corporate greed, governmental oppression, you name it, there seems to always be an extreme version available for every one to enjoy. Even sports have gotten so ho-hum that more and more games are going "extreme" in order to keep the attention of the masses.

In this world of sensory overload, it seems to me that one could enjoy so many more differing distractions if we pursued a moderate interest in a number of things rather than going whole hog at any particular one, thus diversifying our enjoyments while avoiding making what should be a pleasurable activity simply work. The saying "balance in all things" certainly seems applicable here.

This is why I bemoan the fact that we now have 250 quadrillion choices when it comes to television and radio channels, music genres and artists, books, websites, blogs, vacation destinations, and even flavor of chips to snack on. Sometimes when I'm confronted with all these choices, it intimidates me to such a degree I delay or even avoid making a choice at all. I'm not saying that choice is a bad thing, for I remember having three channels on television to choose from, and frankly that sucked at times. Choices would indeed be much to all our advantage if it wasn't for the sad fact that most companies have abandoned originality in favor of duplicating each other's efforts. You see this all the time with television shows; you get one big hit and next thing you know every other network has it's own piss poor copy showing, sometimes canceling some pretty good stuff to make room for the "copy crap". If you are going to provide me with all these choices, could you at least make the effort to provide me with quality, originality, thought provoking and fresh, rather than simply throwing on a different color paint and calling it something else?

Extremes in commerce has robbed us of so much culture. The extreme mega-box retailers have all but driven the unique flavor of the mom-and-pop establishments into extinction. When you travel from one part of the country, or even from country to country, you are faced with the aggravating sameness of the chain stores and restaurants, instead of the regional flavor that makes you want to visit any particular place. Regional and cultural festivals invariably become sad shadows of their original ancestors once the corporations get in on the fun and slap their logo's on the floats and judging stands. It seems in this day and age everything is for sale, no matter what the activity.

I have found a way to exact my revenge, at least on the fashion world. They ARE hard to find, but I wear no shirts with any kind of brand name or corporate logo imprinted on them. My jeans say "jeans", and that's it. I am not an advertising whore for Tommy Hilfiger or Nike. When I estole the virtues of any product or service, it's strictly based on that products performance and value, and has nothing to do with brand image. I do not purchase extended warranties on anything; if the damn thing breaks down long before a reasonable period of time, I simply refuse to buy that company's product again. Survival of the fittest, I say. It's a pity that doesn't apply these days to human beings as well.

They say work hard and play harder. That seems to me to ruin the difference between the two. I work only as hard as is required to do my job and give my employer his money's worth, especially when I feel that my employer is not exactly holding up his end of the bargain. I do not consider play to be recreation if it feels like work. Yes, I might end up expending blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of my happiness, but not noticing that I am is what makes it play. If it threatens my bank account, my health, or my sanity, then it ceases to be play. It's become an extreme.

Even love can be ruined by extremes. I love my wife. To think that I am not the most important thing in her life would bother me. She contributes more to my well being than detracts from it, regardless of her aches and pains and her occasional hormonal behaviors. To me her love is a quiet (most times) comfort, and it is not really work. I honestly think that we tell each other we love each other more often than any other couple that ever existed, but to us it seems natural. However, repeated instances of disrespect, constant demonstrations of irrational jealousy, or other uncalled for behaviors would insert extreme factors into our equation which would cause me to re-evaluate my feelings for her. Many couples go thru an entire 60 year marriage always seeming to be at each other's throats; I could not participate in that. The calm comfort of my relationship is why I have one at all. There are things I would wish of her that I know she can't or won't provide, but I respect her and value what she does give to me as my wife. The same applies in reverse; Bob knows I could use some improvement in her eyes, but what I do provide her is worth what I don't in the grand scheme of our relationship. It's the extremes we don't go to that perhaps makes our marriage work more than anything. It's the extremes this society of ours goes to that threatens to tear it apart.