Beware

Thoreau said “Beware of any endeavor that requires new clothing.” Construction is all I’ve ever known, my apparel day in day out has been jeans and T-shirts. I groom sporadically, shave roughly five times a month. I’ve been accused of insensitivity, intolerance and meanness. My vocabulary is generously peppered with profanity. I boisterously offer up absurd opinions as if they might be worthwhile. Having said that, the endeavor that I am embarking upon requires not just a change in my clothing, but a change in everything about me. Forgive me Mr. Thoreau as I throw caution to the wind. I will begin wearing a suit and shaving regularly. I believe deeply in what I am doing and will not jeopardize it with flippant remarks and disrespectful behavior, and I know when it comes to our problems there are opinions which are loud, bossy, and unproductive, but at the same time there are solutions to our problems which are carefully thought out, with pro-active plans and action. Being drawn to the carnival like atmosphere of opinion is understandable, but to value opinion over solution as we seem to be doing is unforgivable.