From the Other Side of the Edge….
When We Choose Sides, ….THAT’S when the Trouble Starts.
By Joe Facinoli

It seems that Humans, …People, …Everyone, …All of us, …have to Choose Sides to get through life, …or it doesn’t work for us, …somehow.    

Us vs. Them.    Our brave boys, versus those godless monsters from that other team, …or country, …or group/cause of the day.   

Right vs. Left.   Liberals vs. Conservatives.   Dems vs. GOP.  

Catholics vs. Protestants.   Christians vs. Jews.   White People vs. everyone else, …and everyone vs. Muslims.  

Can’t ever have a discussion, …never any middle ground, …it’s always:   

“I’m Right, and you’re not only Wrong, but terribly stupid, barren of all reasonable thought, and Un-American, besides”.       

Yankees/Red Sox.   Ohio State/Michigan.   Duke/UNC.   Dallas/Washington.   Ravens/Steelers.    Celtics/Lakers.   New York vs. …well, anyone, …‘cause everybody hates NY.  

Sport doesn’t imitate life, ….life imitates Sport !!    And every day, …and in every way.     At least the way sports have evolved, in current times.  

The attitudes, …the wanton, pointless aggression, …the lack of concern or caring, …and the “me-first”, mindless stylings and actions.    Do it THIS way, …OUR way, and we will crush them, …by putting our foot on their throats, and pushing down hard.  

That’s the ONLY way.   OUR side.    Winning.   

We couldn’t care less about the other side, or the other team, …only OUR points, OUR success, …WE are the Champions, …and no one else, …and ain’t it cool to see all the bodies behind us, that we walked on and stepped over, to get here.   

Our Church (and not yours) vs. Satan.   

It’s not enough to simply worship our maker, and be happy and thankful we’re here, and reasonably healthy, ….no, no, NO, …we must “Beat” the snot out of all the demons and devils (perceived or otherwise), which are too often wholly created for just such a purpose, …or else there is no meaning, nor any value, to whatever deity we might look up to, and/or fabricate.  

And not only that, but OUR church is the only one who can do that.  

The one, and ONLY one, which is capable of keeping Ol’ Satan down, and in his proper place.    All the rest are just pretenders, …and they will all be residing in Dante’s hateful inferno, …soon enough anyway.   

Uh huh, sure.    All of them sound like Used car salesman.    And Kitchen appliance dealers.    All from the same pot, and the same stew, …to me.  


Even well-formed teams, with supposedly good people, …are put together, more often than not, …to defeat a foe, rather than to achieve a goal.   

And when you make the conscious decision to join such a team, to pick a side, to choose a group of like opinion, thought, or bias, ….that’s when the listening stops.  

It shouldn’t, …but it surely does.   History has proven that, …and current events continue to demonstrate it daily.  


Why does common sense, and doing as many good things as we can, for as many people and groups as possible, …have to take a back seat to choosing the winning side, or being on the winning team ??

But that’s the American way, today, and the way of most of the civilized world.   And probably all of the others too, in their own way.  

It seems to be human nature, …but I truly hope it’s not.  

Dictators, despots, and iron-fisted rulers are the extremes of this.    But democratically elected officials, who disguise their true intentions and actions behind walls of secrecy and media compliance, …certain church leaders, who hide behind their holy robes and religious symbols, …and even owners of sports franchises, and heads of universities, who need to win, and at all costs, …are not much better.   


As soon as we’ve chosen a “Side” to be on, …all willingness to negotiate or compromise, to have civil conversations, or work together for a common goal, ….evaporates faster than raindrops on your windshield, on an August afternoon.  

Gone like the memory of a bad girlfriend.    Simply, …outta here.  

Political parties, though, …in all shapes, sizes, countries, and manifestations, …are the worst examples of this deleterious inclination, to leap face first and blind-folded, into any convenient cesspool which happens to be flying their flag, and showing their ever so “eminently correct” stripes and colors.  

All human dignity, integrity, respectfulness, pride, and even decorum, ….be damned.     It has to be our way, they tell us, …or no way.    And at any cost.  

Being in a political party today, most often is not about furthering issues, nor working for the common good.   

It’s about winning elections, and staying in power, and being near the public trough, and close to the source of the power that can control people’s lives, and which we have allowed to grow beyond all reasonable boundaries.  

Leaders aren’t leaders anymore.   At least they’re not leading us anywhere good.   

They are self-serving manipulators, and enablers, power brokers and merchants, to and for anyone who will jump on their “Side”, to further their careers, and their stranglehold on what was solely intended to be the “People’s” power.  


We are individuals.   We are real people, …with real lives to live, and real problems to solve.   

And we have rights, too, ….which are written down, …and kept in a hallowed place, for all to see, and for all to partake, and to enjoy their benefits.  

We don’t need any government, nor any union, nor some overbearing and sanctimonious organized religion, and certainly not some phony and self-aggrandizing, thieving politician, nor the party that would prop them up, to tell us how we should go about these things.

We got that, …thank you very much.  

And we are not on their Side, …because most assuredly, …they are not on ours.

Keep the Faith, ….and make good Choices.  

Joe Facinoli

--Joe can be reached at:   joefacinoli@gmail.com  
Intelligent Response Encouraged !!

© Copyright 2014, Joe Facinoli