Right off the cliff.

I'm an easy-going guy. Don't get flustered easily. Really, no reason to get upset. Especially if someone maligns me. Or pokes fun at me. After all, it's just words. Often, a meaningless verbal barrage. If violence never gets worse than that, I can take it. I draw the line with physical violence. That could do me harm. Oh, words can do harm, too. To one's psyche, I suppose. But I really have a psyche that's protected by a coat of armor. Like a knight. A thick skin, so to speak. That allows me to venture out into the world. And feel a bit invincible. Like I say, it's hard to anger me. With words, that is. Because words can be taken in so many ways. I find that people use words. Without even knowing what they mean. They're semi-literate, at best. That's why they are affected by sound bites. Meaningless bites. But they hear the sound and jump to fantastic conclusions. Absurd ones. Even idiotic. That's why a Hitler can carry a nation off a cliff. Or take Jonestown. Years ago. People blindly followed. Drank the kool-aid. Because they thought a guy named Jones was a messiah. And take the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. Some of 'em trek along with the likes of Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann and Russ Limbaugh and Glen Beck. Right off the cliff. Amazing. --Jim Broede