Tuesday

Samantha Westcott opened the door to find a uniformed man holding a fancy hat standing in the doorway.
“ Your Limo has arrived , Mam:, the driver said.” Your fairy Godmother said to tell you that she couldn’t find a pumpkin and besides it’s too cold for pumpkin coaches. So she has sent you the very best Limo you can make out of two tin cans”
There in front of the house was the most beautiful Limo Samantha had ever seen and she was going to ride in it to the Pageant.
“ One last word from your fairy Godmother”, said the chauffeur.” Unlike pumpkin coaches there is no time limit on the Limo.
As the chauffeur helped her into the Limo Samantha thought” Last week when Nancy Pemberthy dumped ashes on me I thought I was cursed with scaevity but this week I’m the luckiest girl on the planet.” Then she sat back and enjoyed the ride.
The Chauffeur drove past the theater to the end of main street, turned around and drove back to the Westcott house and then back to the theater. This gave Samantha a chance to enjoy the ride and it gave some of the girls a chance to see the Limousine.
Everybody who saw it was impressed . It was far fancier than any Limo in Pigeon Falls ( there are only two).
When the chauffeur helped her out of the Limo and stood at attention people were impressed. Nobody recognized Samantha in her beautiful dress and with her new hairdo and make up. In fact they wondered who the rich girl was and decided she must be a relative of a contestant.

As if there was not enough depression in the world a new form is emerging. Let us call it righteous depression.
It strikes people who know they are right but who can’t convince others to join them. It is operative across the board coming from religious righteousness, political righteousness, environmental righteousness, or any activity where people feel they are right and others wrong.
What you need to trigger righteous depression is:
1. To be sure you are right
2. To try to convince others
3. To see the wrong come out ahead because people are too stupid or stubborn to listen.
4. You give up trying and just feel bad.
Let’s say for example that you are a true believer in the Democratic health bill. You know the system needs fixing. You push the bill on your blog.
Then those idiots in Massachusetts vote in a Republican Senator and it looks like the bill is dead. You know that’s all wrong and there is nothing you can do about it. But one recourse seems to be to feel bad.
Or lets say that you’re sure the Democratic health bill will destroy the greatest health system in the world and break the federal budget. And lets say it passed. You have pointed out the dangers on your blog but the Democrats wouldn’t listen. They ignored what is right and the will of the people and now there is nothing you can do. But one recourse is to feel bad.
Lets move to religion. You know that Jesus saves. You really want your relatives to know but they won’t listen. In your rightness you know they are going to hell but you can’t get through to them. One recourse is to feel bad.
But suppose you’re an atheist. You know the world would be a far better place if people just stopped believing the God nonsense. You write. You give lectures but the fools keep believing. One recourse is to give up on them and just feel bad.
Or lets say you believe in Global Warming. You know it is going to cause massive destruction. You know what needs to be done to stop it but people won’t listen. They are stupid and stubborn. One recourse is to give up on them and just feel bad.
Or perhaps you know there is no such thing as Global Warming. You blog about it. The stubborn believers insult you. Nobody changes. The same silly programs stay in place. One recourse is to give up and just feel bad.
Now, before I am attacked by all the true believers of every kind out there I’m not saying it’s wrong to be right.
What I am saying is that rightness carries some dangers and depression is one of them.
It is a choice that doesn’t help your cause.
Your need to pick a different option. Perhaps, you need to keep trying to change others. Nothing is gained by quitting.
If your going to see yourself as right then fight for the right.
Of course another choice would be to consider the possibility that your not right. Then you could enter into dialogue with the those who disagree with you. You would no longer have to see them as evil or stupid or stubborn.
In the dialogue truth might even emerge.