Great American Grump-Out, My @#$%

When we read that May 7 is the Great American Grump-Out, we naturally wondered, "What in the heck is that?" We soon learned that it's a challenge to Americans to go 24 hours "without being grumpy, crabby, or rude" in order to promote "peace, harmony, and lighthearted humor."That sounded like a great idea until we looked at it a little more closely: It occurred to us that while a world of peace and harmony is a noble goal, nothing would get accomplished. It's the dissatisfied grumps of the world who make things happen.Look at the facts. Of all the Seven Dwarfs, who got things done? Doc? Happy? Dopey, for Pete’s sake? No, it was Grumpy. Without him telling the other six to get back to work in the diamond mine, they'd have sat around the house all day, cleaning and singing songs. And which of the Marx Brothers made things happen? Not the angelic Harpo, the shady Chico, or the bland Zeppo. Nope, it was Groucho.What about nature? How does an oyster make a pearl? By a grain of sand irritating it.Do you think Thomas Edison was "happy and satisfied?" No, he was fed up with sitting in the dark, listening to nothing. Was Alexander Graham Bell "peaceful and lighthearted," or was he looking for a more efficient way for marketers to reach him?Need we add who keeps things from becoming moribund on Sesame Street?And what about The Spark? Where would we be without snarkiness? We'd be stuck writing about kittens and My Little Pony.So while we thank the "No Grump" people for their sentiment, we'll depend on the crabs to keep things progressing.