Monday, October 14, 2013
There are some days when I feel a bit jaded. Other days I feel very jaded. I feel quite appalled by what is unfolding in this country. And thus my written piece for today. Enjoy!
Welcome to America! We hope you will enjoy your visit to this nation that once was great! We have a number of natural and man-made anesthetics especially designed to help you disassociate from any feelings of horror and outrage you might temporarily feel. We invite you to relax for eventually you will find delight in the mediocrity we exult in on a daily basis.
Did you know that we are no longer a democracy? Actually we have struggled throughout our history to fulfill the ideals of democracy. We gave it the 'good college try' for many, many decades. The Civil War represented a spasm of evolution in which we finally acknowledged owning people was amoral and not in keeping with the ideals of an enlightened society. We later fought in global conflicts and emerged from them as a 'force for good'. And for quite a while (a mere one generation or so actually) we actually were a force for good...most of the time. We even credited ourselves (wrong to some degree according to some historians) with playing a major role in the toppling of the USSR. Yes, communism ended and many of us thought highly of ourselves. Some even saw its collapse as an example of the moral high ground of capitalism.
But then the rot set in. Drink our wonderful Kool-Aid and you'll forget your worries. Really, you will!
True representative democracy presupposes the existence and predominance of certain grand truths such as the power of the informed and reflective voter, protection of the minority when the majority might take a turn towards the tyrannical and a willingness to compromise. We have none of those now. And many of us here are grateful such pillars of democracy have long been undermined and disassembled with a maniacal glee by those frothy mouthed individuals who can think of nobody but themselves and their own narrow interests. And those who are not yet converted to the wisdom of mediocrity are being thoroughly pummeled into submission by our matrix of institutions designed to reproduce fear, self-loathing and hatred of that dastardly Other. Yes, welcome to America! John Boehner should be deemed our new King for Life. His lack of vision and lack of power is an excellent mirror reflection of our nation as a whole. And soon we will declare ourselves the Republic of Asshatistan! Yes, welcome to the world's first declared idiocracy!
Here in Asshatistan we value our Idiocracy! I'm sure you will agree we meet all these criteria.
+ An obsession with the here and now to the complete exclusion of the future. If you want to be forward-thinking and imagine anything about the quality of life for future generations then you have no place in our nation. No, we believe in living in the moment. And do not mistake that for some wise spiritual practice based in knowing this touchy-feely truth that 'all we have is the present'. We don't 'do' touchy-feely stuff here in this nation...at least not without the help of some medication. If you want to see 'living in the moment' just look at our current Congress.
+ An obsession with your own needs to the complete exclusion of others. The worship of the individual is our great opiate here. We so firmly believe in the value of individual liberty that we will fight, protest and rail against any efforts to encourage the development of something reminiscent of a social conscience. Is your neighbor unemployed, sick and dying in the streets? Well, no matter, for that is happening 'over there'! That has nothing to do with you! Don't worry about it! It's obvious he is not working because he does not want to work! And it's obvious he is not healthy because he doesn't want to be! And obviously he is homeless because he likes subjecting himself to varied extreme weather conditions. Are the people in your neighborhood losing their homes to foreclosure? Well it must be because they do not work hard enough! It has nothing to do with something like systemic greed and corruption within the financial sector. No, we don't believe in that. And because we do not believe in it it must not exist!
The Gipper (from the 1980s) gave us a good solid introduction to valuing certain lives over others. He helped change the face of mental health care by deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill and letting them loose into the streets. Nothing quite like mixing the homeless and mentally ill populations together. He also represented an awesome case of denial in action by failing to acknowledge the ravages of the AIDS epidemic until years after it started. Yes, we are awesome at denial!
+ Entertainment is one of our great pastimes. Upon arrival in our nation you might notice an interesting phenomenon. It's something we take great pride in. We get more outraged when football players fail to catch a pass in the end zone then when children die horrific deaths in their schools and neighborhoods. Actually we like watching violent dramas. We take pride in subjecting our children to portrayals of the basest of human behavior from an early age. It's but one way we cultivate mediocrity. We believe in teaching violence as a primary solution to our problems. Feel slighted? Get a gun. Find your co-worker to be insufferable? Punch him in the face. It makes for great entertainment.
+ Self-reflection is not allowed. We have many mirrors in the homes of our citizenry. But don't let that fool you. We don't actually encourage a practice of self-reflection. No, we believe in what you could call 'the demonization of the Other'. Have problems in your life? It must be due to all those lazy immigrants flocking to the borders of our nation who ironically show an amazing willingness to work physically demanding, low wage jobs. Or maybe your problems are due to the fact that you aren't thin enough, beautiful enough, smart enough and so on. We worship appearances. Don't forget that!
+ Lies are awesome. No, really it's true! We love to worship fiction so much we have a major television station devoted to promulgating deceit. By cultivating a capacity for self deception as well as collective deception we establish a great foundation for the mediocrity that is prevalent among our adult population.
+ Stay stimulated. We offer a variety of means to keep yourself overstimulated and hyper. Drink coffee! Watch television! Get on the treadmill at the gym and run until you virtually collapse. The faster you move the more amazing you are. Get a summer membership at your local amusement park and go at least once a week. Get on every ride and dash about until you make yourself virtually physically ill. Isn't the feeling awesome?
Yes, we take pride in our Idiocracy. And we are happy to export our virtues to every corner of the Earth. Just give us your credit card information and we'll be happy to send you our Mediocrity Kit.
Cheers!
There are some days when I feel a bit jaded. Other days I feel very jaded. I feel quite appalled by what is unfolding in this country. And thus my written piece for today. Enjoy!
Welcome to America! We hope you will enjoy your visit to this nation that once was great! We have a number of natural and man-made anesthetics especially designed to help you disassociate from any feelings of horror and outrage you might temporarily feel. We invite you to relax for eventually you will find delight in the mediocrity we exult in on a daily basis.
Did you know that we are no longer a democracy? Actually we have struggled throughout our history to fulfill the ideals of democracy. We gave it the 'good college try' for many, many decades. The Civil War represented a spasm of evolution in which we finally acknowledged owning people was amoral and not in keeping with the ideals of an enlightened society. We later fought in global conflicts and emerged from them as a 'force for good'. And for quite a while (a mere one generation or so actually) we actually were a force for good...most of the time. We even credited ourselves (wrong to some degree according to some historians) with playing a major role in the toppling of the USSR. Yes, communism ended and many of us thought highly of ourselves. Some even saw its collapse as an example of the moral high ground of capitalism.
But then the rot set in. Drink our wonderful Kool-Aid and you'll forget your worries. Really, you will!
True representative democracy presupposes the existence and predominance of certain grand truths such as the power of the informed and reflective voter, protection of the minority when the majority might take a turn towards the tyrannical and a willingness to compromise. We have none of those now. And many of us here are grateful such pillars of democracy have long been undermined and disassembled with a maniacal glee by those frothy mouthed individuals who can think of nobody but themselves and their own narrow interests. And those who are not yet converted to the wisdom of mediocrity are being thoroughly pummeled into submission by our matrix of institutions designed to reproduce fear, self-loathing and hatred of that dastardly Other. Yes, welcome to America! John Boehner should be deemed our new King for Life. His lack of vision and lack of power is an excellent mirror reflection of our nation as a whole. And soon we will declare ourselves the Republic of Asshatistan! Yes, welcome to the world's first declared idiocracy!
Here in Asshatistan we value our Idiocracy! I'm sure you will agree we meet all these criteria.
+ An obsession with the here and now to the complete exclusion of the future. If you want to be forward-thinking and imagine anything about the quality of life for future generations then you have no place in our nation. No, we believe in living in the moment. And do not mistake that for some wise spiritual practice based in knowing this touchy-feely truth that 'all we have is the present'. We don't 'do' touchy-feely stuff here in this nation...at least not without the help of some medication. If you want to see 'living in the moment' just look at our current Congress.
+ An obsession with your own needs to the complete exclusion of others. The worship of the individual is our great opiate here. We so firmly believe in the value of individual liberty that we will fight, protest and rail against any efforts to encourage the development of something reminiscent of a social conscience. Is your neighbor unemployed, sick and dying in the streets? Well, no matter, for that is happening 'over there'! That has nothing to do with you! Don't worry about it! It's obvious he is not working because he does not want to work! And it's obvious he is not healthy because he doesn't want to be! And obviously he is homeless because he likes subjecting himself to varied extreme weather conditions. Are the people in your neighborhood losing their homes to foreclosure? Well it must be because they do not work hard enough! It has nothing to do with something like systemic greed and corruption within the financial sector. No, we don't believe in that. And because we do not believe in it it must not exist!
The Gipper (from the 1980s) gave us a good solid introduction to valuing certain lives over others. He helped change the face of mental health care by deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill and letting them loose into the streets. Nothing quite like mixing the homeless and mentally ill populations together. He also represented an awesome case of denial in action by failing to acknowledge the ravages of the AIDS epidemic until years after it started. Yes, we are awesome at denial!
+ Entertainment is one of our great pastimes. Upon arrival in our nation you might notice an interesting phenomenon. It's something we take great pride in. We get more outraged when football players fail to catch a pass in the end zone then when children die horrific deaths in their schools and neighborhoods. Actually we like watching violent dramas. We take pride in subjecting our children to portrayals of the basest of human behavior from an early age. It's but one way we cultivate mediocrity. We believe in teaching violence as a primary solution to our problems. Feel slighted? Get a gun. Find your co-worker to be insufferable? Punch him in the face. It makes for great entertainment.
+ Self-reflection is not allowed. We have many mirrors in the homes of our citizenry. But don't let that fool you. We don't actually encourage a practice of self-reflection. No, we believe in what you could call 'the demonization of the Other'. Have problems in your life? It must be due to all those lazy immigrants flocking to the borders of our nation who ironically show an amazing willingness to work physically demanding, low wage jobs. Or maybe your problems are due to the fact that you aren't thin enough, beautiful enough, smart enough and so on. We worship appearances. Don't forget that!
+ Lies are awesome. No, really it's true! We love to worship fiction so much we have a major television station devoted to promulgating deceit. By cultivating a capacity for self deception as well as collective deception we establish a great foundation for the mediocrity that is prevalent among our adult population.
+ Stay stimulated. We offer a variety of means to keep yourself overstimulated and hyper. Drink coffee! Watch television! Get on the treadmill at the gym and run until you virtually collapse. The faster you move the more amazing you are. Get a summer membership at your local amusement park and go at least once a week. Get on every ride and dash about until you make yourself virtually physically ill. Isn't the feeling awesome?
Yes, we take pride in our Idiocracy. And we are happy to export our virtues to every corner of the Earth. Just give us your credit card information and we'll be happy to send you our Mediocrity Kit.
Cheers!
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I invite you to accompany me as I document my own journey of healing. My blog is designed to offer inspiration and solace to others. If you find it of value I welcome you to share it with others. Aloha!