I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts

 I’ve got X’s I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts buzzing in my head thus morning. It came out in 1983 when that puppet Reagan was fronting his Fascist party. Ronnie was a Hollywood actor but not an especially talented one. He was good enough, though, to snow the masses after he climbed the political stage. Few people seemed to give a shit about his administration’s myriad crimes (which look paltry next to Trump’s). The belief that there was no appreciable difference between the two major parties was common.

Reading the lyrics to I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts this morning brought all those memories back. Even here in wicked blue Massachusetts, so many of my coworkers were big Reagan stans. I was gobsmacked to say the least. How could the majority of citizens be such suckers. Was that immense, bomb throwing fraud, Newt Gingrich and his plastic blowup doll wife, not enough of a clue? How about Ollie North and his Iran-Contra shell game?

Despite some of the tune’s lyrics and what a portion of the populace claim, anyone paying real attention could and can see that the two sides have never been just the same.

Anyway, it’s the chorus of that X song that’s been ringing in my head this morning.

I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts
I must not think bad thoughts

Why is this tune on auto-repeat? Eh, memories of childhood horrors recently resurfaced AND, separately, I read the news this morning, oh boy. Also, I’m in Bad Anniversary Land. It’s too easy for me to sink into the depths of Lake Melancholia. When I do, I can’t gin up the energy to exercise. All I seem to be capable of is sitting in my comfy chair, doomscrolling. Not cool. Given that exercise is my anti-depressant, my personal chill pill, this blows disturbingly massive rabid weasel chunks.

So, in order to avoid falling victim to the overwhelming, lugubrious, monsters of life…I must not think bad thoughts. To be clear, it’s important, smart and good to embrace shit memories and current events, to mull over how they make me feel, how they effect me and then learn, grow, act and evolve.

There’s thinking and then there’s obsessing. Thinking good. Obsessing bad. Just FYI.