The current measure of cool is to give absolutely no fucks. We can see it all over social media via memes and posts on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. It seems like no one has a fuck to spare anymore.
It’s hard to blame folks for checking out when asshats like Donald Trump are screaming from every hilltop and Jon Stewart has us left adrift at sea, all on our own to keep up with the political baffoonery that flows like the melting arctic icecaps — unstoppable and on course to ruin the world as we know it.
But if we can’t muster a fuck about ineffective governing bodies, those who wish to overturn Roe v. Wade, or climate change, it would be prudent to find the fucks within ourselves that we can give, at least for our own well-being.
Many-a-fucks are withheld in shady situations, to our own detriment. Unprotected sexual encounters and ill-advised drug and alcohol combos often fall under the umbrella of being stingy with our metaphorical fucks, which can lead to unwanted results, like STDs, DUIs, sprained ankles, chipped teeth, stomach-pumpings, yin-yang tattoos, or pics of our boobs on the internet. But it’s all good because we give zero fucks, right?
Nope, those shenanigans are fruitless. Apathy is not our friend. I have the giant...um...lower back tattoo to prove it. Fortunately it’s not a yin-yang, but I did not give one single fuck the whole summer of 1998. Having the personal motto of “fuck it” did leave me open to situations I may have not otherwise been privy to. The truth is I had a tremendous amount of fun, but I may have done some shitty, selfish stuff. Hey, I was getting over the end of a long-term relationship with my first love. Clearly the best thing to do was to not give one precious fuck.
So, I do get why so many people have decided to cash in their fucks for an easier and probably more exciting existence in the short term, but the long term consequences should be considered, just in case we live to be old.
For the best enduring outcomes, we absolutely need to give many fucks. As many as we can. We must find it within ourselves to generate more fucks than we realized we had. Sure, it won’t be easy, but Planned Parenthood was almost defunded, y’all. Crazy, murderous people keep getting ahold of assault rifles. Plus, cosmetic dental work doesn’t come cheap.
True, it’s easier not to care, and sometimes it’s hard to know what to do to effect positive change. But the first thing we can do, the very first step, is to give a fuck.
Start with one, see how it feels. It may be empowering. We may find we have plenty of fucks that we are able to give freely. Maybe we can combine all of our new-found fucks and do something good. Like that time we saved the whales.
