SMIRK is back for another season of short original stories and the conversations they spark! For our opener, we wanted to talk about an issue that is getting away from us as a society. Are you tired of people randomly bringing up politics in every discussion? Do you just want to be able to discuss the weather without Republican or Democrat invading the conversation? We take on the excess of political discussion on this week’s episode, and kick off Season 2 with a debate on when is it too much.
Welcome back to Season 2 of SMIRK!
Welcome to Smirk. A podcast that covers society and culture through a storytelling lens. Part creative writing, part discussion, and always interesting. Each week our hosts brings a story to the show, a story they wrote themselves, which is immediately followed by discussion on the author’s moral or theme. These stories can cover any topic the host wants to discuss, it can be lighthearted or more serious. No one but the author knows if these tales are truth or fiction, and part of the fun is guessing while you’re listening before the reality is made clear. We want to hear from you! If you want to share YOUR story, join the conversation by writing in to mystory@smirkpodcast.com, and include your moral, or you can let us guess at it. This is the podcast that looks at truth, fiction, and reality. With a Smirk. Don’t forget to subscribe to Smirk and share the show with your friends!
Want to read Aaron’s story “The Ballot Is Stronger Than The Bullet” in full? Think you can identify the moral or theme for this episode? Read it below, and then take a listen to the podcast.
The Ballot Is Stronger Than The Bullet
It’s Monday morning and Greg already feels defeated.
Walking into the office after a weekend away always seems to do a miraculous job of sucking the life force straight out of his being. Thankfully, Greg is a guy who can control his mindset. Therefore, as he sits down with his freshly filled coffee cup, he is able to immediately alter his posture and demeanor. “This is going to be a GREAT week” he convinced himself.
15 minutes of uninterrupted TPS report typing flies by when Jim knocks on Greg’s office door. As soon as Greg catches his eyes, he knows this is not going to be a short visit.
“Greggo! How was the weekend?” Jim started off, as if he cared about Greg’s relaxation time. He can’t even seem to care about how much he loathes the name ‘Greggo’.
“Not bad, spent time with the family. Disconnected and low-key. My kind of weekend. You?” Gregg asked with gritted teeth.
“Not bad. Took my son to the football game. Caught a few of those ungrateful divas taking a knee again instead of standing up like a real American. Just when you thought they were done with that nonsense, right?” Jim asked, as if Greg had any interest in this debate for another 5 hours.
“Well, people feel how they’re going to feel, Jim. Their kneeling did spark the NFL to start their Inspire Change initiative though, so that’s a plus. Still a good game though, right?” Greg just wanted this conversation to end.
“It was. But that whole kneeling thing gets on my last nerve. By the end of the third quarter, I was so sick of their self-righteousness that I grabbed Billy and hit the parking lot. The President was right to call them out, you know what I mean?” Again, Jim waited for an opening to engage in yet another long-winded debate.
“To each their own, Jim. Just glad you guys had fun. I don’t mean to be short, but I’ve GOT to get these reports done, so we’ll catch up later.” Greg had work to do, yes. But he also needed a breather before listening to this rhetoric for too long.
Wednesday
The week is flying by and Greg is ahead of schedule. A knock on his door and he looks up to see Amy, Greg’s receptionist, waiting patiently. “Come on in, Amy.”
Amy takes a seat before she begins. “Hey Greg, Mr. Philips from the IRS called. They’ll be a little delayed with the company’s scheduled audit due to the government shutdown. He wanted me to let you know.”
“No problem, Amy. I expected that. We’ll keep up-to-date and be prepared for when things reopen.” Greg turned back to typing before noticing Amy remained seated. “Everything OK,” he asked.
“Not really, Greg. I mean, this is getting stupid. How long is the government going to be shut down for? Just because Cheetos Jesus wants a wall doesn’t mean people shouldn’t get paid. Do you know what I mean??” The redness in Amy’s face was swelling as her approach became more heated.
Greg sat in his chair, speechless. He respected Amy, but these are conversations he knew better than to wade into. Especially at work. He contemplated for a moment, then looked her in the eye.
“Amy, I honestly don’t know. I feel both sides are locking horns on this one, it’s become an ego pissing contest for both parties and good people with no real say are doing the suffering. You seem pretty passionate about it, so I’d recommend getting involved come the next election cycle. Maybe the world needs to hear your passion. Right now, I need to get back to my reports. Let Mr. Philips know the delay will be fine.”
Amy nodded, picked herself up, and exited the office. Greg took a long pause, sighed, and went back to work.
Friday night.
Greg made it through the week. “YES!!!” He sat in his car after walking out for a solid 10 minutes reflecting on the insanely hectic week he just endured. Doing what all modern folk do at moments like this, he immediately updated his Facebook status. “Another week is in the books! Let the weekend festivities begin!”
Greg continued to relax for a few minutes, pondering what stress relieving debauchery he could endure this weekend when he received a Facebook notification. His old friend Jacob already replied to his status.
“Maybe Jacob wants to meet up for a couple rounds this weekend,” Greg thought.
Then he read the comment.
“Try to enjoy your amazing weekend while thousands of government workers wonder how they will feed their families. #Selfish.”
Greg stared at the comment for 5 solid minutes. He began typing responses and deleting them almost as fast. Then, another notification. This time from Jenny.
“Hey Jacob, maybe if they’d just agree to the pittance he wants for the wall instead of haggling over their hatred for the guy, we could get some things done. He WAS elected you know, he won. Are you guys ever going to accept it?”
Greg just stared at this phone. He hadn’t even left the parking lot yet and this is what he’s again dealing with. Greg thought carefully for a moment, took a heavy sigh, and deleted his status.
Looks like Greg is spending another weekend off-line.