“Good Night and Good Luck”

Dearest Deirdre,

When it comes right down to it, people are no better than the animals that surround us. The coyotes, the bears, the dogs, the cats, you name it, we are no better than the creatures we put in cages and keep as pets. You see, society is always walking a fine line, a fine line that we call civilization. It’s easy to push us off that tightrope we call culture and manners. Throw in a little pandemic here, a war scare there, and there we go, tumbling into the abyss. It becomes every man for himself.

Gone are the polite ways of society. Gone is the idea of helping your fellow man. Because when the chips are down baby, nobody cares about anybody but themselves.That’s why I became disillusioned a few days ago and have been wondering the streets ever since.

I’ve watched people in overcrowded supermarkets grab the last five rolls toilet paper. I’ve seen them take carts full of bread and tissue, having little regard for their fellow man. I tell you Deirdre, we are in this life for ourselves. So that is why, my sweet wife, that I took the bottle of prescription sleeping pills before I left. I figured it would be the easiest and most painless way to end it. With a bottle of water in one hand and the pills in the other, I’m going to end my life.

I’m not going to end it because I hate my life but because I’ve seen who the human race really is. Civilized society is just an act. Oh, we pretend to be civilized. We put on the mask every day. But you know what? When our current predicament is over and we go back to being “civilized,” things won’t be the same. That is why I’ve chosen to end it, right here on the streets. So in the famous words of Edward R. Murrow, “Good night and good luck.”

With all my love,

Stephen