Tainted Love

It is time we followed “cancel culture” to its natural conclusion. Every mortal who walks upon this Earth is a deeply flawed person, struggling to overcome one or more discriminatory prejudices which are stubbornly lodged within their heart.

Ergo, everyone deserves to be “canceled” sooner or later. And given enough time, the ever growing chorus of ubiquitous disapproval will ensure that they are, forever destroying both their lives and their reputations.

So yes, if that is the game we as a society are intent upon playing, then we might as well have the resolve and the foresight to preemptively do away with everyone whose grandeur we now idolize. Every book we read, every movie we watch, every television show we binge upon, and every politician we vote for, are all to be declared forbidden.

But then, where does that leave us? In the absence of the above past times, with absolutely and totally nothing. Without anything to enjoy, we might as well simply spend hour after hour, and day after day, in a barren, spartan room, staring at a blank wall.

If that is the kind of life you want for yourself, then by all means, embrace this “cancel culture” with all of your strength, and all of your heart. I dare say you will have earned your boring, uninteresting fate.

Or, perhaps we can acknowledge that entertainers are not saints, and that the content they provide for society is not canon. Maybe, just maybe, we can enjoy fiction without becoming ideologically attached to it. And we can thereby understand precisely what the media is truly here for: To make us vicariously feel happy, sad, angry, and fearful, from the comfort, and more importantly the safety, of our own living rooms.

Personally, I know which choice is healthier for me. A life taken too seriously is not a life worth living. But in the beautiful spirit of free will, I vow to let each of my friends and colleagues make the above choice for themselves, without having to endure the annoyance of my own prognostications.

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