Well, this week marked the third Christmas that we here at Brad OH Inc. have had the privilege of sharing with you all. As we sat back and pondered what we might do this year for our reader’s, our ruminations turned inevitably to our first year, when we gave you all the heartfelt gift of nothing.
It was a fine gesture indeed. Hacking through the materialistic façade of Christmas and the infernal rat-race it breeds, we cut to the chase by pointing out that because the most ideal exchange of gifts should result in relatively equal satisfaction for all (in terms of the relevance and value of the presents given and received), the surest way of achieving that was to give each other nothing. So that’s what we gave you, and we’re certain you were as happy to receive it as we were to give it.
But two years have passed since then, and just as Bob Dylan predicted, times have changed. Nothing just won’t do. Now, we know that if there’s one thing necessary to choosing the right gift, it’s a deep understanding of the recipient. So we thought we’d look back and work on figuring out what to give you by considering exactly who you are.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve covered a lot of heavy topics together: we’ve discussed the misled ideal of Job Creation, the Religious Rights of Corporations, a study of Police Responsibility, the inspiring notion of Corporate Suffrage, a question of the Decay of Language, and so very much more.
Looking back, it’s easy to feel a little down about the prospects ahead of us. In fact, we’ve heard it said on more than one occasion that the writings of Brad OH Inc. have a tendency towards the pessimistic.
I have to admit, our little Corporate hearts grew a bit heavy trying to figure out a suitable Christmas gift with such a resounding sense of doom and gloom pervading the air. After all, what do you give to people who’ve seen it all? What desire can exist in a person without hope?
We were about to give up and fall back on the age-old tradition of re-gifting. Nothing worked before, surely it would do again. But no, that just didn’t feel right.
Then we got to examining that key assumption—is Brad OH Inc. truly such a negative place? If so, it’s certainly never been our intention. It’s not our goal to tell anyone how to think, or what to feel. In truth, we can assure you that you’ll find no answers here. We only raise questions and provide opinions.
Our utmost hope is to encourage others to speak out. The cretins that run this world are a depraved and savage lot. The best of them are blithering cowards, the worst…well, they’re far worse to say the least.
But if that’s all we thought of the world, there wouldn’t be much use writing about it. If the zeitgeist of the world is set in stone, then hammering away about it on a keyboard would be little more than propaganda. We at Brad OH Inc. take these issues on because they are worthy of consideration, and because our readers—past, present, and future—are the best equipped to take these causes as their own.
Behind the rage and vitriol so inherent to the writings here at Brad OH Inc., it must be understood that there is great hope. We write because the people of this world are better than they act, and it’s up to each of them—of you—individually to turn that trend around. We believe this is possible, and will continue tirelessly to encourage the process.
So, what to get? After thinking back on all these topics, we feel it fair to say at least that we know our readers, and thus the recipients of these gifts. Our readers are crude bastards, hopeful and naive fools, artists who believe that honest self-expression is the only true art, hippy freaks who long for a return of peace and love, frustrated ideologues who are too stupid or stubborn to give up. Our readers are the bright and shining nutcases who are mad enough to imagine that the world can be better, and brave enough to stand behind this ideal even when it seems like a lost dream.
Sadly, this does mean you’ll be getting nothing again.
But this year, it comes with a caveat. It’s not about fairness, or ideal gift-exchange circumstances. It is, very purposefully, an intentional reminder. You already have everything you need.
Just don’t forget to use it.
-Brad OH Inc.
It’s that time of year again.
Brad OH Inc. 