Remember how I said today was going to be better? I should just stop making predictions. Remember when I said there’s no way the dot-com bubble would burst (and I put “burst” in air quotes)? Remember when I told my brother that he could fly if he just got a start from a high-enough place and then flapped really hard? And then a year later, when I told him that if he strapped enough bottle rockets to his wheelchair he could jump over the vat of glass at the recycling center? So much for predictions!
Today wasn’t better, is all I’m saying.
And remember when I said that the Daily Show writers rule before I even saw what the Colbert Report writers had to offer?
Well, the Daily Show writers still rule, so I’m not so bad. Many people can rule. And now that I think about it, maybe my brother just wasn’t using enough bottle rockets. Back to the drawing board on that one.
Though I’m not a member of the Writers Guild, when the writers strike I’m prepared to walk off the job too. I’m all for helping along a good cause. See, the people with all the money and power need writers, and there’s a really good chance they’re about to find that out the hard way.
So as soon as the walk-out happens, I’m done too. No more words until a contract is signed. In fact, I’ll take it a step further: I won’t sign a credit-card receipt or write a check, either. When my favorite diner has no available tables, there’s a sign-in sheet. They want me to write my name? Guess I’m lunching elsewhere. Because everyone has an infinite supply of words, but that doesn’t mean they can be taken for granted.
Yeah. In fact, I don’t support anyone who’s writing anything while our greatest storytellers are suffering in picket lines, missing mortgage payments, and probably forgetting really great ideas while they languish without a deal. Everyone stop writing! I’m looking at you, reporters (I really am — two of them sit in my line of sight at the office). I’m looking at you J.K. Rowling (this is figurative looking). I’m looking at you scabs. No more words!
Extreme was wrong when they sang “More than words.” Because words are all we have, and writers are responsible for words. Think about it.
So join with me. No grocery lists, sweet missives to your partner, or leaving a note if you ding someone’s car when you’re backing out of your parking space. Let everyone know that talk is cheap, but words don’t have to be.
