Ok, I'm bad. Was bad. Horrible! But those days are almost done. The passionate relationship with alcohol, drinking it in my apartment with friends, dozing off from the stale conversations of overindulgence. Quit weed? Maybe not, one has to do something! Besides, the only thing that ever kept me from doing anything was the booze and even though I'm not writing about liquor, I thought you should know.

Crazy? No. Perhaps I just lost some part of myself. Time has a way of changing (even reverting) people in the most subtle of ways. I'm just thinking right now, the best way I can, with a cigarette hanging from my teeth and pounding on the keys with the frustration of a non-typist. Why can't I just think my words and let them show on the screen? Who cares, it'll happen soon enough.

Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yes, doing nothing. What a lofty goal. Despite the romantic attraction of the skid-row bum, I just couldn't see myself going home drinking myself to death every night. When did this happen, how did I realize this? Maybe it was the puffy bags under my eyes every morning, waking up with a horrible obligation to water and have water at the same time. (If you've never been there, you won't understand). Maybe it was my depleting body, mind included, which just didn't want to do things for me anymore.

Regardless, I didn't quit yet. I just found something better to do. This is why I turned on the damn computer screen, not to ruin my eyes staring at its glaring face, but to stay busy. Alone, alone! Being there can cause so many distractions of the mind. Oh, what should I do? Write, work, watch a movie, read a book, exercise, call a friend? No, I'll buy a six pack and lie on the couch. Damn! Ok, call a friend, they come over and you all drink. Damn!

There was only thing for me to do, pick something else. Now I'm writing this for the South End and am pretty happy because even though I'm hardly ever normally sober (at night, ok!), at least I'm pretty productive. It's amazing how many people go to work or school (or both like me!) and do nothing afterward. Wow! Money is important to earn, but who needs it to live?

"oh, yeah man . . . you're livin' it up! The South End! Ha!"

Yeeeba! I hear that all the time. The South End you say? Sucks you say? Oh no.

Listen up! No more pondering arguments on this one, no avoidance or letting it go. The time is ripe to drop the shelf down on the excuses and the astigmatic ridicule of the domesticated.

See, the South End is the Student's newspaper at Wayne State University. It is the Student's voice, at least it's supposed to be. Back in the day it was a left wing commie, radical, let-me-blow-this-in-your-face kind of paper. It was the paper to expose views, torrents and really attempt to sway others with artful discussion. Now-days, the few Students who do come in, write one article they really don't care that much about and the SE never again sees anything of them. If anything has changed it's because the Student's lost dedication, caring, responsibility to each other and their desire to be heard. If anyone else tells me the SE sucks I'll have to say that the Student's started to suck, not the one's trying to write for it. We're the last sane one's left.

Yeeeba!

Domestication results in a few things: obsequiousness, inactivity and ignorance. Personally, I have never accepted what anyone has ever told me, which is why the lessons I've learned will stay with me forever, even as they've taken me so long to learn. There is something that comes with this attitude however, but I can't tell you . . . it's too antithetical. How can I say that its great to learn on your own and then give you advise? Ok, I'm rambling here. Back to the domestication of the Student mind.

When classes begin and everyone stands to introduce themselves, what do you do? What do you say? Hi, I'm blah-blah, I'm a soph-blah, and I'm a republican! Jeez, if there are any more people out there who have no idea, the world will tip over and croak. Just what we need, one more trained, molded mind ready to impregnate the world with their parent's failed, voluble ideas.

Unfair? Maybe not. I don't know of any other opinions on this? Where is the Student voice? Are the Student's doing what they want, studying what they want? Or are they hiding under the bed at mummi's and daddi's house, afraid to write about their work, "I'll get fired", about their school or profs, "I'll get a bad grade", afraid to write about life because maybe they've never lived it! A dog constantly lives in fear of doing something wrong. They'll hold their piss until they have to burst if it's against the rules . . . but they expect something for it: a cookie.

What do you expect, your college paid for, a car, help with the rent? I'm not saying every student is bought, I couldn't possibly. Those who are busy setting up their lives are admirable, busy and content with that. They may not have time to speak their minds, some probably couldn't care less. But in these times of estrangement, who will stand up for the students who do care? What will be your outlet for speaking out . . . hollering out?

Agree or disagree. Those who want their voice heard will come. The rest will take their classes for a few years, get a job and raise kids to be brainwashed puppets of the system like they were. If you have the time and still won't stand up and talk about what you want, you can't expect your kids. Hope you like to listen to them bitch and moan! That's all that's left after domestication. No free thought, just servitude and demand for the stinking cookie.

The next time someone tells you the South End sucks, ask them if they write for it. If they don't, have your treat ready, they might know some other cool tricks besides speech.

Now, why "foolishly"? What is that all about? Don't worry, I know you have been waiting so long for this one. Fools and fools' helpers. They are all around in our world and it seems, too often that they even run the show. How can a fool do that? Well, if you subject ten intelligent people to all kinds of meaningless stress and propoganda, they eventually get tired, lazy and a little frustrated with the whole system. They give up trying and then leave things to the fools who really don't mind and of those tedious, brainless activities that we all so despise.

Unfortunately politics happens to be one of those tedious, brainless activities, and it is run by fools. Their traditions, mores and rituals are so silly that no intelligent person could make it into the group. The backstabbing and backlashing is a Fools paridise.

It's is a shame that the fools that make it past all that end up making the laws, as well as new requirments for changing those laws. Interestingly enough, even Fools know about self preservation.

Which brings me to an interesting point. The minority of this country, Fools (and elitists), run this country. Some say that we could easily vote them out of office and replace them with one of our own caring, honest, respectful and intelligent own. This argument is not valid. I won't get into it that much here, just saying that America is NOT a frikkin democracy. If you doubt that please read "Strong Democracy: Participitory Politics for a New Age", by Benjamin Barber (anything by Barber is a good, informative read), or "The Democratic Facade". These books are pretty complete in that they explain how we Americans have been short changed, not only from the onset of the constitution (that was written by the few elite in secret to provide an illusion of Democracy while preserving their power at the same time, ie. Shay's Rebellion) but also through the years of abuse and editing the constitution has undergone by judicial interpretation. We are also subjected to such political marketing that we can't make sence of much. At the same time nobody who does vote (very few) even have an informed view on the issues.

How many times have you voted by someone's name? Fool, we seem to be living and leading our society quite foolishly.

All I can ask is not to be a fool anymore. If one person doesn't care and let's it all go, eventually we all suffer from it. Speak you mind, be informed , don't let the morons of the world control our destiny. My life is not made for fools anymore and neither is yours!