Mississippi and Arkansas

Twins: ” Cause Jake, you’re my Mississippi.”

Jake Huard: ” I’m your what? “

Twins: ” People who live in Arkansas, you know what their favorite state is? “

Jake Huard: ” No. “

Twins: “Mississippi. Cause, Mississippi’s the only thing that keeps Arkansas from being the worst state in the whole country.”

Jake Huard: ” Im Mississippi.”

Twins: ” Well you sure as hell ain’t California.

Listen, Cole and Whitaker are so busy tryin to run you out , they forgot about me.

As a matter of fact, they’ve forgotten about every other plebe in this whole company.

Thats why I stay in this room Jake.

Cause if Mississippi quits, then all of a sudden Arkansas is the worst state in the whole country.”

– from the movie ” Annapolis ” (2006)

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” Annapolis “ has to be one of my favorite movies, all because of those lines. I am not familiar with the states and their current status in the United States of America really, but it may be deduced from the conversation in the movie that Mississippi makes Arkansas look good.

Mississippi diverts the attention from Arkansas. So Arkansas has to stick around to make sure Mississipi stays that way, ” not good.”

For when Mississipi suddenly quits or worst, shines, Arkansas takes the slot of being well as in the conversation, ” the worst state in the whole country. ”

In the Republic of the Philippines , I have known a handful of “Arkansas. ” I think I have seen the worst kinds.

In the workplace , they are those who report to the bosses, every little detail of your activities, especially the ” mistakes ” part, while they try to conceal your achievements. In friends , they are your ” frenemies. The frenemies who pretend to be friends with you and compliment you while trying to compete with you and take what you have.

And the ones I had the misfortune to know, are not even the ones who just sit quietly and not say a word, when you fail. Nor the ones who silently thank fate that it’s you who look bad and not them.

The worst ones I know are the ones who actively participate in pulling you down. They make sure that you will not take a major step in achieving what you must.

These people thrive in trying to make you look bad. So, they will look GOOD.

They try every bit of effort to let others focus on your failures , never on your successes.

They just could not accept in their hearts and minds that no matter how they believe that they despise you -they are actually fans of yours who want what you have.

They try to resist you yet in their loneliness, they try to emulate you. They can never accept the fact that you are likeable, as you are smart and talented.

They would even try to downplay your talents and smarts while they shamelessly try to magnify every little fault you have. Working hard for their own success just do not work, so pulling you down is the next best thing. These are the people who try their very best to take a shot on what you have but just cannot.

All because, they want you to remain their ” Mississippi “. But when Mississippi changes for the better and succeeds?

And when Arkansas, NOW looks bad? These people find it hard to accept that you actually deserve whatever happiness and joy you have right now. It is impossible for them to agree that you have excelled when you used to be so ” down there.”

They would like to rip you off , of what you are enjoying. They think you do not deserve any of what you have. They feel that everything you have right now should have been theirs.

Sometimes, people in their ignorance, just cannot accept the fact, as in The Mountain And The Squirrel by Ralph Waldo Emerson,

“Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;”

So if only they could accept that others are just good in what they do and some would be in what they do best -only then would they stop torturing their own selves.

God made sure that each of us will have different talents, upbringings and orientation so that we will need each other and enrich one another’s lives through our differences and uniqueness.

( They might even try to spell Mississippi and pronounce Arkansas in the best way they could , while reading this blog piece, but just could not. 😀 )

And since they could not, they will proclaim that this blog piece is not worth their time. But destroying other people’s lives is .

And should anyone try to make ” Mississippi ” out of you, “Smile and never ever wish ill on those people, for when they do their very best to destroy you , ALL the beautiful fortunes that should have been theirs, taadaah, would now be ALL yours.”