Wakey Wakey

 A few days back, I was writing about the relative advantages of being "woke" rather than being "asleep." And I figured I didn't really need to go any further. My point was that there were all kinds of advantages to being awake and participating in a society that is constantly evolving. For instance, I am plenty happy to be living in a time and place that public sanitation is mandated. Not that you would always believe this, given the debris and refuse that piles up in and around my neighborhood. 

At this point, I should point out that I am very specifically avoiding discussion of conditions or beliefs that might be construed as controversial or "fightin' words." However, I am perfectly willing to accept that there are those who might see littering as a life choice or style that should be as encouraged as any other. It takes all kinds. 

So happily we have come to some community understandings and agreements about trash. The advent of indoor plumbing has also been a very important contribution to public health and our daily lives. Imagine how much different our lives would be if someone would have come along and noticed that, while we were looking at those belching smokestacks on factories of the seventies, that we were increasing the amount of carbon per million at that time and said "hey, while we're busy pickup up candy wrappers and cigarette butts, why don't we go a head and see about limiting the amount of junk we can't necessarily see? 

I know, I know. Too woke. That sounds an awful lot like "climate change" and we all know that's a hoax or a conspiracy or a liberal plot to get us all to floss more. 

So let's back up. What if there were certain inalienable rights, like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? And what if we wanted to find a way to declare these? Maybe a TV spot. Or a YouTube video. That wouldn't be a problem, would it? I suppose it might depend on whether or not you believe that a dead guy, Thomas Jefferson, could be "woke." And what if we have been spending all this time building on those ideas to get where we are now? Like all those commercials from the seventies that taught us to clean up after ourselves, this could be a way to remind folks about the way we treat one another. 

Maybe that's too difficult. Perhaps we should start with something that everyone agrees on: America's Favorite Cookie. Oreo has been our favorite since 1912. It's our cookie creed. We can trust Oreo to be what our country needs. With that in mind, I would like to introduce a short film, produced by Oreo and director Alice Wu. The title of the film is The Note, and it tells the story of how Oreos are an important ingredient in a young man's coming out to his grandmother. You know, as gay. 

I can say that since I'm not in Florida. Enjoy the rest of your day. Wide awake.