I Earned It

This year I decided to join MENSA. I looked up the calendar of events at my local chapter, and it seemed interesting. Once you're a member, you have access to more than just the calendar of events. One page tries to describe the typical mensan. Most are social and few are hidden in their rooms. All of them tend to be individualist and are bright, although not in every area. Only a handful are annoying.

So with this in mind, I attended my first function. It was a coffee/breakfast at a local deli. Caveman came with me as family members are encouraged to attend. It was nice, every day chitchat over coffee, and Caveman was pleasantly surprised. One person did mention that they didn't have a phone after discovering it was tapped, but I didn't think anything about it. I mean mensans tend to be bright, so it's to be expected that some are politically active and on a List.

The next function was a group discussion on the topic of Personal Freedom. Now even though their were some ideas I did not agree with, I found the discussion to be quite stimulating. However, I was surprised at the number of comments about phone tapping, email reading, library book checkouts, and overall government spying.

This got me thinking.

1. Are they all paranoid? Never let it be said that I do not over think things. I have reached a point where I can no longer read a newspaper without my blood pressure skyrocketing. I just get upset about everyone and their stupid antics. But, I never thought about the government being after me personally. I thought they had it in for everyone equally.

2. Is the government really after them? I mean some of them were probably active in their college days during the Vietnam War, but I'm betting that most went into a white collar type of life where being blacklisted in the 60's is a badge of honor. Then again, it's not like your average BubbaJoe is going to pull off some plan to overtake the government.

* On a side note - Ever read those articles on America's dumbest
criminals? My favorite is the one where this guy tries to rob a
jewelry story by throwing a cinder block at the window. The
window was made of that special material, so the cinder block
bounced back, hit the guy in the head, and knocked him out. The
police came and found him there on the sidewalk. He was arrested.
So maybe the government's time is better spent following mensans.

3. What's wrong with me? I mean, am I not good enough for the government that they can't spy on me? a.) My bank accounts aren't being accessed. Just because I spend my savings like a drunken sailor on Home Depot products, does not mean I can't be as good a threat as anybody else. Maybe all those plants I purchased will put out a noxious smell to render people unconscious while I take over. b.) My phone isn't being tapped. Okay, so maybe one teammate and I call each other during the finale of The Biggest Loser to discuss how great everyone looks after losing 100+ pounds. Maybe that's our secret code for something. c.) No one with dark suits and glasses has questioned me about what books I'm reading. Okay, maybe it's because the last book I checked out was Ramona the Pest. Everyone knows Ramona was subversive.


I discussed this topic of mensan paranoia with Caveman after the two of us attended another event and the mention of phone/computer tapping came up. "I always thought all intellectuals were paranoid. You included. It comes with the territory," Caveman contributed.

"I know I have my worries, but really, what am I paranoid about?"

"Well, airport security for one."

True. "But, you always say you're not a real intellectual. You're paranoid." I thought I had scored a point there. Not only is Caveman brighter than he lets on, but he can't bear to throw any receipt away because he's paranoid the government might want it for taxes. He once kept a receipt for dog food even though we don't claim the dog as a dependant.

"My dad was paranoid, so I come by my paranoia honestly. You earned yours."

I guess that means I belong with the right group.