"Oh yeah, well you're stupid."

The Screamer

I remember when we were kids and would get into arguments about things. More often than not, the argument ended up in name calling and insults.

"Oh yeah, well you're stupid."
"Oh yeah, well you eat boogers."
"So does your mother."
"Your mother eats boogers on her spaghetti."

And so on. It seems to me that now that we've all grown up and matured, we call this politics. I try not to get involved in these discussions, not because I am lofty and above all of that, but because I generally got stuck at the "oh yeah" part of the argument, not being quick enough to come up with a proper insult.

It may just be that arguing is human nature. One of my favorite stories in Christian scriptures is when Jesus heals the blind man, and a tremendous argument breaks out in the town about that happened. Some people claimed that the man who could see wasn't even the man who was blind, but only someone who looked like the blind man. Or maybe he hadn't really been blind at all. Maybe his parents had just lied about. Jesus himself stayed out of the argument, getting involved only after the healed man, having been judged stupid and ignorant, gets thrown out into the street. There, with the big argument continuing in the background, the two of them meet and become friends.

One could image Rush Limbaugh saying "this is just another example of the administration using smoke and mirrors in an attempt to make you think that they know what's best for you, that they have all the answers."Or Nancy Pelosi saying "they want you to believe that this kind of back alley medical care is good enough for women."

Well, let them argue. It is Lent. I'm going to just ease on out into the street, into the quiet, and see who I can see. I am pretty sure that after Easter I'll be able to find another argument if I want one, in fact I am sure that the same one will still be going on.

Of course, there are those who say that this whole Lenten thing is a silly waste of time, another attempt of the Church to burden us with a pointless sense of guilt.

Oh yeah!?!

See you outside.