Badman Nuh Compromise by Jersey Campbell

I’ve been told I tend to be pretty bitter when writing about the current state of our world. My rose-colored goggles are permanently fogged the fog up. Maybe one day I will write something that wholeheartedly commends and praises a particular aspect of society. I will finally give some credit to the people who work hard to make this world a better place. I will finally write a piece that doesn’t bash politicians, sports pundits, voters, the media, the government, the local Stop & Shop, Carmelo Anthony, our relationship practices, the education system, foreign policy, people with doctorate degrees, racism, sexism, Russell Westbrook’s point guard skills, Bud Selig, the lolloping Andy Carroll, NCAA athletics, the lack of empathy, the lack of altruism, the lack of thoughtfulness, parenting practices, the people we admire in society, Andrew Jackson, Jesse Jackson, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the police (eff ‘em), nuclear development, Obama-rama, NewtGinrichRickSantorumMittRomney (they’re all the same to me), petulant customer service representatives, and of course, myself. Well I got some news for you, today ain’t that day. 

*Special to Vicarious World* Should you get married? Pt 2. Jersey Campbell and NYC Robert

If you missed Part 1 click here.

Apparently jumping over these
things means a lot

We continue with our friendly discussion on life, love, and jumping the broom.


Jersey Campbell:

Sorry that I didn't know about a 16th century wedding tradition from Wales. Shoulda caught up on my British history before having this conversation, that's my mistake. 
If you can't prove to me that true love exists then I have no reason to believe in it. It's simple logic- I cannot prove a negative claim, the positive must be confirmed. 
I'm just gonna keep throwing scenarios at you and watch you duck and dodge while never confronting. A happy marriage doesn't necessarily mean true love is involved. Maybe those two people are extremely compatible. Maybe one of them have mastered the art of seduction and can get any partner to love them. Maybe they "settled" and found that their partner isn't so bad after all. How are we supposed to know? There are so many people in this world- seven billion and counting- I find it hard to believe that only ONE can be right for you. It's totally possible that your personality and body type totally fit with another personality and body type so that you're predispositioned to have crazy, hormonally charged feelings towards them. It ain't some otherworldly connection that you were destined to have from you were born. Please. 
That's why it should be OK for one's partner to explore other options. If you limit yourself to one person for your whole life you'll never know what else is out there. The smart consumer shops around before settling on a purchase and even then they always keep the receipt. The problem is people aren't products and emotions are easily hurt, I'll give you that. But my point is that no one partner is perfect, and the dissatisfaction will always arise. Whether you can handle it is based not on love, but a crapload of other emotions and rationales that we have lazily (or brilliantly, depending on your opinion) defined as love. 
I'm also curious to know your sentiments on homos (fuck off, that's not a derogatory term. If you're a man and you only like men you're a homo. If you're a woman and you only like woman you're a homo. It's a scientific term. That's like telling me I can't call someone from Argentina an Argentinian.) and bis. But I fear that we'd be overstepping the parameters of this discussion. Maybe another time brother.

NYC Robert:

You don’t want to believe then fine, but tell me how many people believe in things they can’t prove?  If you ask me, I’d say lots actually. One main belief is God. How many people can say that they’ve actually seen him? Not a lot, but yet millions believe in his existence. So it’s not really farfetched to believe true love and marriage can work. Why? Because not many people know marriages that are perfect, but yet it is said that everyone has a true love. Isn’t it a bit mysterious that that saying is still going around today? I think so. If you want to be a wild man and assume it doesn’t exist then fine, do that.  Ask yourself this though- have you tried to find true love, or do you just assume it’s not possible?

If you’re fine with your significant other dating others then OK. But I don’t think you two are in an actual relationship, and according to you what’s the point of people titling their relationship, by saying we’re dating, serious, or engaged? In the end that person will get you so annoyed and frustrated you won’t want to be around them. It’s kind of interesting that you think this way. It’s very similar to the book of Solomon and his wise thinking of not laying with various women for moments of pleasure, or keeping their company just for mere enjoyment. Because in the end they don't help you and you probably don't care about them.  So with the thought of Solomon, if you want to explore then explore, but you shouldn’t need a relationship to tell you you’re not with the right person.  Instead, you should meet people without a relationship, and that will guide you to know what you want in, and from a relationship.

You also mention homos, why? I don’t know. We aren’t discussing who should get married, we're discussing if we need to get married. Love is love, it’s not my place to judge who should, or shouldn’t be married. And as I mentioned before if you believe that there is a person out there for you go and find them. Don’t be a person who thinks financial stability will settle everything. True happiness doesn’t need to be rich. In fact I’d take a mediocre life, a house, a wife, children, and Love over being extremely rich and miserable any day of the week.   

A peek inside the soul of a soulless man Pt I, by Jersey Campbell

I look around me and everyone is having a grand old time. $8 pitchers, $1 draft beer, how could you not enjoy yourself in a place like this? And even though I have more than enough drinks in me, I still feel over consciousness of where I am and what I'm doing. I analyze every subtle movement my body makes. The timing of my steps, the level of my eyes, the amount of grin I put into my mouth.

Over the years I find myself becoming more and more of an observer. Rather than actively participate in conversation, I'll slyly sit in the depths of the background and soak in what everyone is saying. After awhile, you see patterns and modes of behavior that become common place and are taken for granted. Why can't I just enjoy the environment without having to constantly think about it? What prevents me from throwing myself at a situation without any socially paralyzing inhibitions or overriding thoughts?