Be Entertaining While Complaining

I'm reading a book called BAD Or, the Dumbing of America. Well, not so much reading as thumbing through it. The premise of it is that there are things which are bad, and then there are things that are BAD. The difference is that BAD things are obnoxious, miserable, vile monstrosities.

I really want to like this book because the idea of it is one that is readily agreeable, but I cannot stand actually reading through any section. Fussell ends up sounding like a crotchety old man who rants excessively about the things he doesn't like, with no rhyme or reason to any of it.

He isn't clever. He isn't witty. He isn't funny. He isn't poignant. In short, he offers nothing of any entertaining value whatsoever.

I have always firmly believed that we must be entertaining first and foremost. As I have experienced firsthand, if a story isn't entertaining, I simply won't read it. But if you can be interesting enough to keep people reading, then you can get them to believe most things.

Complaining is a horribly ugly thing to me. Criticism is not a bad thing, but if you do not have compelling points to make, then you're just barking at a tree. If you can crack a joke, you can at least keep me reading and keep getting me to listen to you and give your ideas a chance.

If you really have nothing nice to say, at least be entertaining while complaining.