I saw her across the bar
Wearing a red dress
That exposed most of her back
She was alone
Sipping on whiskey
I chugged my bear
And headed her way
‘Hello, Lady Democracy. You look good tonight.’ I tried to smile at her but couldn’t quite manage a genuine one.
She smiled at me and raised her glass in a toast.
My beer, and her whiskey, clashed in between us.
‘Hello Clint, how’re you tonight?’
Her voice was soft and seductive
But her eyes and smile
were passionate and mischievous.
‘Well, I am a little worried about you ma’am. That’s why I’ve come to talk to you. I don’t think we are working out. Don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful, and deeply enticing, but I am worried that you trust us way too much.’
She looked deep into my eyes, as she ran her hand gently across the left side of my face,
and said, ‘Trust is important to build a good relationship with, babe.’
‘Yeah, I know, but you trust that we are rational beings. I’ve come to believe that we are much more self-deceptive beings, rather than rational ones. It’s madness out there ma’am! The psyche has been poisoned, and too many of us are willing to sip on it just to catch a buzz. You only work if we can be objective, but when I look out onto the crowd, I see a bunch of drunks. One person jumps and they all jump. One person sips poison, but calls it justice, and they all chug their drinks, in the name of that justice. They don’t stop and think about it because they are so afraid of being on the wrong side. And that’s just one example ma’am! This loop of confirmation bias has us running around in circles. Like a hamster, ma’am! Like a hamster! How can you trust the crowd?? How?? Even for myself, I feel rational sometimes, but when I am in love, or grieving, or on Monday mornings, I feel irrational! Yet, somehow still responsible to make political choices?? No way ma’am, rationality isn’t a place, it’s a process. This is why you don’t work! We cannot be trusted…so, you can’t be trusted either.’
I was out of breath from my rant and took a drink of my beer to recover. She smiled at me and gave me her whiskey.
‘Here’, she said, ‘Drink this. You know, socrates said something similar–’
‘-And they made him drink the Hemlock!’
‘Drink up honey’, she whispered to me as she placed one of her hands on my thigh.
‘Yes, in the end, he drank the poison too, but baby, Socrates made his case: he argued and discussed, he pleaded and begged, he embodied it, and yet still, he couldn’t even touch me. I am untouchable. I am too deeply rooted in the bones of Westerners. The crowd back then was drunk on their ego, and nothing has changed. Nothing has changed, Doll. The crowd is still smoking their own hubris. Pay attention to where you live; open your eyes. You cannot change this culture, you’re a part of it. You might as well learn to live with it.’
She leaned in and whispered into my ear, ‘Life will be much smoother for you if you just love me.’ She gently bit my ear and I felt my cock get rock hard. But she kept biting down harder and harder.
‘Fucking Stop!’
I pushed her away. She stumbled backwards and looked up at me with fire in her eyes. Blood from my ear was dripping down her chin, as she smiled at me. I grabbed my ear.
‘Fucking freak!’
I turned to walk away, and took two steps before she yelled at me, ‘I am just a part of the maze, Clint! You’ll never find a way out! You’re a fool, Clint! A fool!’
I kept walking, but I took one arm behind my back, and gave her the middle finger, without turning around.
I stepped outside, took a deep breath and looked up at the stars.
‘Are we rational beings, God?’ A shooting star shot across the sky. I made a wish.
Then I heard a loud honk, and the sound seemed to be getting closer; while headlights headed right for me.
That was when the car hit me and pinned me against the building.
I died there.
But before I did, I saw Lady Democracy standing out front of the bar. She was smoking a cigarette. She let out a cloud of smoke and through the smoke, I saw her smile at me.
And right then, before I closed my eyes for the last time, I got my answer about rationality.
-C.H.