When in Rome...

We humans are Lemmings. We are easily corruptable, be it for the better or for the worse.

You put a choir boy in with a group of hoods, and chances are they will become like a hood. On the flip side, if you put a hood in a choir, chances are they will behave. Granted, they may not actually change but they will follow suit with their peers.. most the time.

Thus comes the old saying... When I Rome, do as the Romans do.

Besides the fact that the Romans pilaged the entire known world, encouraged debauchery, and pretty much put the hammer down on anyone who strayed from the norm; this motto has survived the test of time. Why?

It also seem strange to me that anyone who lives outside the box is look down on by society. People who live in communs are considered cultists. Those who adorn themselves with tatoos are lower class. Those who appose George Bush are un-American, and those who chose to seek partnership with someone of their own sex are moral miscreants. The list goes on.

So why is it still taboo to be different? Why is not being normal abnormal? My good friend Angus Bethune says "there is no normal". By our very nature we all are unique and different so why is it so bad to be a little too different?

Two centuries ago you had to know how to do things. Communities built upon this generation after generation. Sons learned the trade from their father, who were taught by their father and so on. A blacksmith must only be good at blacksmithing to survive for he could trade his skills for the bounty of a farmer, or a cobbler and so on. They wore their occupation with pride. You can still see evidence of this today. Anyone named Smith out there? Smithson? Taylor? Chandler? Mason? Carpenter? Jackson? Clark? Wright? Hell, here at work we have a Blackwelder, a Knight, a Taylor, a Sanders, a Farmer, two Crowders, a Garner, a Walker, a Workman, a Brewer, a Baumann (Bowman), a couple Carters, a Bucher (butcher), and on and on. So why is manual labor frowned upon. Take inventory of your friends and see how many have an occupation name.

Anyway, back to the box. Who defines the box? Who says what is normal and what is abnormal?
Personally, I think it is television (movies too). Up until there was a TV in everyone's home, you could only read about things and occasionally see a printed photograph. They would have never dreamed off having the multi-media barrage that we endure today.

Look at the current image women have to compare themselves against. Classical painters rendered images of soft, curvy woman who were images of health and prosperity. Mass-Media has made women think that they are not attractive unless they meet this level unattainable without digital remastering.

Take motorcycles for example, for a more recent phenominom. Until jesse James and his commercial success you would never dream of walking up to a biker at a gas pump and complimenting him on his chopper. Now, being a biker is main-stream and cool.

So, finally to the point. Name 5 TV shows (non-reality) where a main character was a laborer? You see tons of Doctor shows, Lawyer shows, even Cop shows, but what about the Plumbers, the Carpenters, the Mechanics? If you were to ask a kid what they want to be they rarely say something that society would deem menial. (Unless you are Haley and she wants to be a Librarian). And what is wrong with working for a living? Can you fix your own car? Can you plant and tend a garden? Can you change a light fixture or frame a garage? Can you make a pot or a plate or bake your own bread? What would Lazarus Long say? should be on bracelets!

Our society has built itself through its pastimes into a nation of laziness.

I have actually heard people say they would actually rather go on welfare than work in a bean field. What they hell is that all about?

We must judge a person not by their hobbies, or occupation, interests, or preferences, but by their actions and character. Throw away the box... give it to some kid to play with. Or better yet, put your TV in it and chuck the lot. Oh, that reminds me, I need to get home to fix the TV.