Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCLXXI

He told you, before he ever started speaking, that what he was about to say was false; yet you sat there and got all worked up over practically every word he said. You have to admit that you built up such a genuine hatred for Anthony and Serena because of all the things he told you they had said and done that you wanted to see them suffer. Nor can you deny that by the time he was done, you were sitting there crying like a baby. So how can you explain why you reacted the way you did, when you knew all along that nothing he was saying was the truth? In essence, he lied to you right after he told you that he was going to lie to you, and yet you allowed yourself to become so vulnerable as to let him take complete control of your emotions and turn them inside out. Do you feel any embarrassment at all about being so gullible that you would willingly hand him your mind and let him play with it like it was a child's toy? I hope you can explain it, because I certainly can't.

Now, please don't misunderstand my motives for bringing this up. It's not my intention to be critical. In fact, I have absolutely no right to criticize you for the simple reason that I'm guilty of the same identical offenses that you are. Yes, I admit, he had me hating Anthony and Serena also; and I rejoiced just like you did when all their evil schemes started to backfire. Yes, and just like you, I wanted someone to hurt them, knowing all the while that in actual reality, they didn't even exist. So, if you're embarrassed, then I should be too, but I'm not, and I really don't believe that you are either. And the strange thing about it is there are millions of other people who fell for his lies just like we did, even though they, too, knew he was not being truthful.

Now to those of you who are wondering what I am talking about and who I'm talking to: Do you feel that a person would have to be an idiot to get all worked up over something that we know never happened? Well, let me ask you this: Have you ever read a novel by Tom Clancy, John Grisham, Nicholas Sparks, Louis L'Amour, or any of the other well know authors? When you see the word "novel" or the word "fiction," that is telling you that the story you're about to read is false...it never happened. Maybe you're not a reader. Well, I'll bet you've watched movies where you knew from the beginning that the entire episode was a fabrication, yet you became so engrossed in the story that at times your heart rate would jump up a few beats per minute. So, you see, you're just as guilty as the rest of us.

How does that work? How is it that we allow ourselves to be so taken in by stories that we know are nothing more than events that are only taking place within someone else's imagination? It does make for some good entertainment, but what if some individual would try to manipulate or control me by playing on my emotions or toying with my mind? Would I be vulnerable? I would like to think not, but what does the evidence show? Here's what I think: It's okay for us to allow ourselves to take short breaks from reality as long as we are able to make the transformation back to the real world when we've finished the book or movie. The danger is when the difference becomes blurred in our minds. As for me, I do enjoy an occasional novel or movie, but I prefer sticking with non-fiction and documentaries...of course I've never claimed to be normal.

Preston