Demons vs. Issues

Most people have issues, but when do issues become demons? Drink too much, miss a little work and you have issues. A rock and roll star with a heroin habit, he's got demons. When Bobby Knight threw a chair across a basketball court in the middle of a game because he didn't like a call, we say he has anger issues. When Robert Downey Jr. is found naked on his neighbors lawn, we say he is battling demons. You battle demons, you address issues.

You battle demons until you succumb to your demons. John Daley is battling demons. Ernest Hemingway succumbed to his demons. If you are a writer, artist or musician you often have demons. If Jackson Pollack came to your office drunk everyday yelling about how bad the job sucked, you would think he's a asshole. But he was a famous artist so we gave him a demon pass.

If you ever read the obituaries, 999 out of 1000 in your newspaper will not mention demons. If you read an obituary in Rolling Stone magazine there is a 90% chance that the word demon will be mentioned.

It would be interesting if the common man's obituaries were as honest as celebrity obituaries. Bill Wilson, father, husband and faithful employee at Pacific Power passed away last night. While he was a good guy, and a decent golfer, he had some pretty major anger issues. And truth be told, he was also a racist. But he was working on his issues and was making progress when he was taken from us by a freak accident. He will be missed, by some.

Some people overcome their demons. Some might say George Bush overcame his drinking, partying, cocaine snorting demons. Others say you only trade in one set of demons for others, which might explain why we are stuck in a war we can't get out of while the President says he has not made any mistakes.

Finally there are those amongst us who are controlled by (or even communing with) their demons. David Berkowitz says a neighborhood dog told told him to kill people. Charles Manson thought he was Jesus. Jim Jones convinced 100's of people to drink kool aide. And the Bawgwan Rasnish had people bow down as his car passed and kill his opponents.

So work on your issues, because chances are if your reading this you are a regular person and won't be able to play the demon card. Or if you don't think you can change your ways, maybe try to get famous.