A bit of a rant this one, perhaps unfortunately named after Colin Powell, who I may well be unfairly maligning, but after that pathetic sideshow with the tube of Anthrax he probably deserves it anyway.
Colin Powell, at the election before last (Clinton's last win), could almost certainly have stood, and won with popular support, and been the first black president ever. He didn't, and as a result we now have George W. Gump in charge, bad result. It's not the foisting upon us of such a bloodthirsty idiot that rankles though, it's that by not standing for president, Colin avoided all the criticism he may have garnered for actions during his presidency. So by not doing anything, he avoided the full glare of public criticism, but didn't achieve anything either.
Pick for instance, David Biggs. You won't have heard of David, he lives in a quiet street, has a quiet job and lives a quiet life. David, however, is the greatest politician to have lived in the last 200 years. Sadly, when his chance came he thought, `no, I won't do that, I won't take the risk'. As such David has avoided all public scorn for his one disastrous policy, despite the myriad others which would have turned Britain into the world's leading economy. A hero denied us, all for the want of the balls to stand up and take what comes.
So what, you may think. But this kind of apathy is all around us. Look at the people with great talent, who never exploit it because being noticed for anything is too painful. Noticed by the public, noticed by friends, noticed by those who may promote them. All furiously avoiding criticism, not by getting things right, but by doing nothing at all. Anyone who has stood up on Pop Idol and been bollocked by Simon Cowell deserves vastly more praise than the person who could have turned up and got gushing praise from Simon Cowell, simply because the first person had the balls to do it.
Observe a dance floor, make it a big one. You will see, 5% people completely pissed, no idea who or where they are. 5% people just don't care they are there. 85% of people, however, will be `jiggling', an anonymous movement, which presumably affords little pleasure, but nor does it draw any attention, so no inadequacy in dancing technique is picked up or noticed. Why do people indulge in this? Possibly because it is a good place to pull, or just looks more pro-active than the honest souls who just stay at the bar because they would like to dance properly, but really can't.
Then observe the 1% of people who can really dance. Really. Well done to them, but that's just showing off. What about the 4% of people having a great time, giving it some, not caring, certainly not jiggling, and not worried about any attention they may garner. Whatever you may think of these people, they DO NOT SUFFER THE COLIN POWELL APATHY COMPLEX.
The dance floor is a trivial example. The Colin Powell Apathy Complex is all around us. Fight it. Do your stuff, do it hard, and fingers to anyone who would rather laugh than try harder.