The Answer: Don't answer.

I like "old sayings" they remind me that venerable, common sense thinking will endure despite the temporary stupidity of society. Today the one about people cursing the darkness vs. lighting a candle came to mind.

A friend of mine emailed me to tell me about a hilarious book. I don’t really feel like advertising for it so I’ll leave out the title (if you really want to know you can email me). The book is about the differences between men and women. The author likes to think of herself as a feminist but I’m going to go ahead and give the rest of the feminists in the world a break and assume that this woman is beneath them.

I have no problem with the topic of the book. I have no problem with the idea behind it. What I do have a problem with is the fact that half hearted attempts at inteligent discussion such as this are accepted and profitable.

The book points out several of the shortcomings of men, takes a few jabs at our culture, and then... that's it... Nothing more, no suggestions about how to bridge the divide, no proposals for the future, just the complaints and sarcasm. Just in case you think I'm the only one who feels this way about the book...

"In the end, though, one wishes [this book] went beyond simply grocery listing examples of sexual disparity to offer concrete suggestions for change." --Kim Hughes

Kathryn Harrison of The New York Times pretty much sums up the uselessness of this kind of book. "...smart remarks are reductive and anti-ruminative; not only do they not encourage deeper analysis, they stymie it."

Why do we read books written by people who are too lazy to propose solutions or offer suggestions? Why do we give a crap about what people have to say if all they are going to do is complain?

Here is my suggestion... We should refuse to read crap like this. We should refuse to listen to people who offer criticism without contribution. Perhaps publishers and authors will start to realize that we want to read books that do more than complain. Perhaps the authors and scholars who are willing to put the required time and effort into their work will start to make their way to the front of the bookshelf.

This wouldn't bother me as much if the only side effect was the inconvenience of having to sift through shelf after shelf of crap to find a good book at Barnes & Noble. Unfortunately, this is one of the things that (in my opinion) is "wrecking America."

Specifically this has an overwhelming influence on politics in our country. This intelectual laziness has reduced our political process to a name calling contest. If I want my idea to prevail, all I have to do is point out the flaws in your idea. I don't have to support my own argument, I don't even have to have an argument. I can just tell people what a jerk you are and I'll win.

I'm not ok with this. We need to stop listening to poeple who offer no solutions. They say that a society that lives by the "eye for an eye" policy will end up a society of people with one eye. I say that a society that listens to complaints without solutions will end up a society with nothing but problems and people who complain about them.

...please make it stop...