WHAT CAN I SAY?

See these two figures? What would you say is going on? Doesn't it look like the one on the right is trying to tell the other one something? And don't you think the figure on the left is refusing to listen? Have you ever felt like either one of these guys? Ever try really hard to tell someone something they didn't want to hear? Ever been talked to and talked to and talked to and you just wanted to crawl in a hole? So, you understand what's going on here.

See, the thing is, I really feel like the one on the right. I'm waving my arms and shouting about how important this stuff is and how you should get busy and DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW TO FIX IT! I know. I'm a self-righteous know-it-all asshole. But there's another side to this story. I know what it feels like to believe something strongly and then have it crumble to pieces. I really do know. I've had some major bubbles burst in my life. And it's actually all been for the better. Really and truly. It's upsetting at first, but once you get over the initial shock, it's very freeing, incredibly liberating. It feels so good to not be a puppet. When I saw how thoroughly I'd been manipulated, I was outraged. I had bought into cigarettes, $cientology, make-up and beauty BS, drugs, alcohol, crappy food and I'm sure many more that are too buried. But you get it, right? Brainwashing is part of our culture. It has to be or you won't buy anything. And buying is what makes the wheels go round. So it's very very very important for corporations to convince you of the desirability of their merchandise or ideas. It's plain and simple brainwashing -- getting you to believe. And the tremendous, humongous, gigantic, outrageous wealth of these corporations says clearly that they're accomplishing their mission.

My mission, on the other hand, is to show you something different, to show you something maybe you don't want to see. I understand. We'll go more slowly, if that will help. Only look at one small piece at a time. Take one product from your medicine cabinet or make-up bag and look it up on SkinDeep. See what it says in the database. If the product you chose has a low warning number, pat yourself on the back for choosing something good. If it has a moderate to high warning number, look at the list of better products and see if one of those is something you could get your mind around using. That's all. Just one thing. You can do it.