WHAT SEPARATES good men from evil ones? It is virtually a crime in this postmodern era to even consider such a thing. There is no such thing as good and evil. There are no heroes. Virtue has been gang-raped by selfishness, greed, suburban indifference, and "pragmatism," and apparently enjoyed every minute of it.
This is the world we live in today. So I can imagine that my obituary will be looked upon with less than kind eyes.
That's fine. I'm prepared for that.
The world I live in is, above all, a world of choice, of free will. From that necessarily comes inescapable notions of good and evil, of righteous versus corrupt living, of selflessness versus the malevolent cancer of Randian self-interest, of community versus the gated neighborhood, of true decency versus the plastic form of it passed off as such by most, of appreciation rather than grotesque consumption. That's my world.
The other world Louis J. Helbert, Jr., belonged in and was a proud member and foot soldier of. His world rules with an iron fist, even today. But there are signs his world is losing its grip and beginning to decay. The first female presidential candidate from a major political party, a proud progressive and liberal Democrat, is poised to take office. To win it she must defeat ... well, Louis J. Helbert, Jr.'s world. Probably your world too.
Mom, a staunch lifelong Republican, would have loved Hillary Clinton, if for no other reason than she stands up to the alpha bully of that other world with total class and decency.
Lou Helbert's world (and yours? Here's hoping that's not true) is collapsing. That’s a good thing. I have vowed since I was that scared seven-year-old boy waiting for his belt to sting into my bare butt that I would do anything and everything to bring his world down. May this obituary contribute positively and enduringly to that cause, no matter how small that contribution be.