Punkass Credo

I used to believe that people in general are bad - fueled only by selfish desires and not to be trusted. I reserved my respect and kindness for those who had proven themselves worthy only. As a matter of fact I lived by the credo "I hate all people until they give me a reason to feel otherwise". I was a punkass, angst-filled teen who thought she was a badass.

The punkass credo was rooted in logic, or rather my teenage "logic" (oft called cynicism). My life's experiences amounted to exactly not much by the age of sixteen, but they were all I knew and thus all I could base my view of the world on. I was at that point where bad children are no longer the outcome of bad parenting, but a combination of societal influence, apathy & disdain. Ah, rebellion.

I never calculated self into the equation Self is the most overlooked factor in almost any philosphy on how to deal with, accept, appreciate, eradicate, etc... everyone else in the world. The problem being that the self is just another one of those people - to everyone else. Why did I have the right to decide who's good and who's bad? Where did I get off judging the worth of others? Especially seeing that if faced with a person who was doing the same I would never have given him my approval or respect. I would have argued that judging others, defining and determining their worth in relation to oneself is the only option because we have only our own perceptions by which to form our opinions. But the current me - aged and chock-full of wisdom (ha) would counter that, to begin at the worst and add favor as you go is counter-productive. If everyone lived by the punkass credo, then everyone hates each other until an opportunity to redeem oneself provided. How the hell does one redeem oneself to people he hates and who hate him too. Yeah... I was so smart.

With age comes the understanding that life is just easier if you don't try so damned hard to make it difficult, people are easier to like if you aren't looking for a reason to hate the, and almost everyone has something likeable about them. And if all else fails - just don't give a fuck.

I've decided not to have a credo now - they're burdensome and overrated.