A years gone by. Bye-bye, bygones. A good time to reflect on twelve lunar cycles, runnin' around the sun. Hard to focus, fuzzy ideas, mental diarrea. Must've been the eclipse or a meteor shower, I feel the power in this final hour. Or maybe the cosmic events within. This year's song began on such a high note, hit parade, number one without no bullets. So inspired, all things are possible when good will outweighs bad deeds. To be sure, the skies were darkening with clouds of uncertainty, but it was going to be alright. We'd all weathered storms before. The band played on, even as bad deals were going down. I was caught in a tidal wave of good tidings, never thought that the shoreline would be so fraught with who knows what.
The muse of blues was once again flowing from my fingertips. I went down to the crossroads and was lifted off my knees into a breeze of free-flowing musicality that ran through me like the spirit of an old friend long gone. Felt like a deep freeze had unfroze with a thaw that inspired awe. Memories of days wrapped in reverie of joyful noise, my fingers flitted across and flirted with those strings. Good vibrations indeed.
It was then that I felt the shift, turned inward, re-direction, tugging at my heartstrings. Damn you, Philo Farnsworth! Talk about the genie and the bottle. More like the GE and the throttle. Turn it off, screamed Howard Beale, he was the real deal, all the rest were mad, not he. That tube is as addictive as any substance, unsubstantial, a box of bad moody blood, flowing out into my living room, up to my knees,now it's at my throat, too late, like the blob it's got me in it's gob.
I ain't no saint, fed on the boob as surely as mother's milk, I sat transfixed, eyes wide,Howdy Doody, Buffalo Bob, The Merry Mailman. Who were these people, smiling at me like I was their long-lost loved one, showing me pictures of fantastical places and smiling faces? Rare Earth got it right,too late to stop now. I believe I was falling in love with phantoms, but they liked me, they really liked me.The pitch was caught and the runner was out. As this embryo evolved from boy to man, from band to band, brother in hand, the waters were choppy but we learned to navigate the negative undertow. Now, washed up on the sands of time, the weight of years and tears and slings and arrows of outrageous fortune bending my back and bowing my head, where was the refuge, the salvation for a soul unstrung from the body and the bridge to a tuneless tomb of timidity and terror that buries me in that lone prairie without my saddle pal oh,wherefore Art though Wes? Led through uncharted territory without any ideas as my maps. We'll meet on Jagged Edges, soon. A reunion, a community of souls, but are we still united? State your case for the human race, we're in it to win it, , somethings won but somethings lost. At such a cost. My loss is your gain. Mark Twain turnin' in his tomb, weary of the irony, seems like an eternity.
twelve months at a time.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
In Praise of Silly
We are programmed at birth to be silly. Our parents tolerate it until such time as we are deemed "big" boys and girls. Growing up is synonymous with sillying down. Suddenly we're too old for this type of behavior, but it's not something that can be switched off swiftly. It takes varying amounts of time, but most of us eventually toe the line, cast off our childish thoughts and actions and turn our attention to more serious matters.
Silly isn't something we naturally outgrow. We must be taught to "tone it down". And it would negatively impact our studies and professions. So we tuck away our puckishness until we have our own offspring to entertain. It gives us joy and pleasure to make our children laugh by indulging in exactly the same type of shenanigans we were taught to shed like a soiled diaper. And as our children grow it's our turn to rain on their parades.
But what if that silliness is, in fact, a vital aspect of our psycho-somatic selves, a protection mechanism against the deadly serious aspects of life? A defense against the ever-growing cynicism of the modern age. In the global community (an oxymoron if ever there was one), we are constantly exposed to the twenty-four hour news cycle. Some poor soul meets an untimely end in a remote corner of the world and they are offered up as info-tainment, a monotonous drumbeat of doom and destruction, often watched from the comfort of a cozy home.
The helplessness is palpable. Empathy and worry are the only ways to express our solidarity with the afflicted. Watch the evening news and a sleepless night is assured. Certainly it's no stretch to hypothesize that the ensuing distress impacts our health. Sedation is often sought by prescription, over the counter and under the table.
There is another way. Get in touch with your silly self. Do something stupid, laugh at something inane, tease, joke, cajole, poke and prod. Speak gibberish, the official language of the silly. Wake up the sleeping infant. Alka Seltzer for the soul. Endorphins flow, the mood elevates and somehow we reconnect with that blissful state which lies dormant, not dead. You can do it in private or with a trusted confidant. Public silliness could easily be misinterpreted, so always indulge in a protected environment. And it's legal!
Start slow and work your way up. Silliness has to be reacquired in stages.
Often I've been accused by those I love and trust as being too silly. Guilty as charged.
It's a sentence I'm happy to serve.
Silly isn't something we naturally outgrow. We must be taught to "tone it down". And it would negatively impact our studies and professions. So we tuck away our puckishness until we have our own offspring to entertain. It gives us joy and pleasure to make our children laugh by indulging in exactly the same type of shenanigans we were taught to shed like a soiled diaper. And as our children grow it's our turn to rain on their parades.
But what if that silliness is, in fact, a vital aspect of our psycho-somatic selves, a protection mechanism against the deadly serious aspects of life? A defense against the ever-growing cynicism of the modern age. In the global community (an oxymoron if ever there was one), we are constantly exposed to the twenty-four hour news cycle. Some poor soul meets an untimely end in a remote corner of the world and they are offered up as info-tainment, a monotonous drumbeat of doom and destruction, often watched from the comfort of a cozy home.
The helplessness is palpable. Empathy and worry are the only ways to express our solidarity with the afflicted. Watch the evening news and a sleepless night is assured. Certainly it's no stretch to hypothesize that the ensuing distress impacts our health. Sedation is often sought by prescription, over the counter and under the table.
There is another way. Get in touch with your silly self. Do something stupid, laugh at something inane, tease, joke, cajole, poke and prod. Speak gibberish, the official language of the silly. Wake up the sleeping infant. Alka Seltzer for the soul. Endorphins flow, the mood elevates and somehow we reconnect with that blissful state which lies dormant, not dead. You can do it in private or with a trusted confidant. Public silliness could easily be misinterpreted, so always indulge in a protected environment. And it's legal!
Start slow and work your way up. Silliness has to be reacquired in stages.
Often I've been accused by those I love and trust as being too silly. Guilty as charged.
It's a sentence I'm happy to serve.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Forward to the Past
The recent auto industry debacle has the news networks jumping for joy. More fodder for FOX. And the hearings! Senators seek to scuttle the unions, while the commander in chief leaves the reservation to swoop down and save the world from the big business boogie men. To those unfamiliar with the inner workings of mega-corporations, it seems cut and dry, open and shut. Kick out the greedy CEOs and bring in a new "management team" (the latter being an oxymoron.)
To those of us who've spent many years in the belly of the beast, it's no secret that a change in leadership usual results in a negative impact on a company (read: employees). The new crew unfailingly make their mark by wreaking havoc. And after creating enough chaos and carnage, they pull the rip chords on their golden parachutes and float safely to another organization desperate to recover from the legacy of it's own departed set of deal makers and deciders.
What an unnerving surprise awaits the unsuspecting and hopeful hordes. They quickly learn that they've swapped one crop of incompetents for their doppelgangers. Their unpleasant and largely unknown secret to personal success is that they are carbon-copies of their predecessors. New does not equal improved. The empty suits are all the same - incompetent, ego maniacal, misanthropic megalomaniacs. But the stakeholders are delighted to have exacted their revenge at their own expense. And the press eats it up, happy to spew the swill through their propaganda machines.
It's a show, folks, just a show. Until there's a fundamental change in the way our country does business, the clones will continue their march to mediocrity, The light at the bottom of the hole we're trying to dig our way out of is Obama, and his team. This guy gets it. Not distracted by all the hoopla, he's focusing on the problems at hand, surrounding himself with smart, savvy people. Of course, they're all politicians, but that's the pond in which they must swim. The challenge is to avoid the traps without getting sucked down into the muck.
The titanic failures of the big three are just the tip of the iceberg. As the economy erodes it will impact all of us in different ways. Our kid are graduating from college with freshly-minted degrees and few choices to employ their knowledge. So they move back home with the folks. And WE are the folks. The DNA of the nuclear family is recombining out of necessity. Circle the wagons.
Perhaps there's a silver lining to the the gathering clouds. When our parents and grandparents first came to this country, they formed new communities of old friends and neighbors. Families lived across the street from one another, not across the country or half the way around the world. They shared a common language that spoke of their heritage and hereditary homes. Radio was a big deal, LCD stood for lowest common denominator, not liquid crystal display. Almost no one felt poor or rich, or coveted their neighbor's possessions. A warm bed, hot meal and dry roof were plenty. The Great Depression certainly oppressed many, but they were thankful for what little they had instead of hateful for what they lacked.
The term "family values" was not a political talking point, but rather the very fabric of society, made from whole cloth, that bound together the communities, towns, cities, states and ultimately the entire country.
And that's something money can't buy.
To those of us who've spent many years in the belly of the beast, it's no secret that a change in leadership usual results in a negative impact on a company (read: employees). The new crew unfailingly make their mark by wreaking havoc. And after creating enough chaos and carnage, they pull the rip chords on their golden parachutes and float safely to another organization desperate to recover from the legacy of it's own departed set of deal makers and deciders.
What an unnerving surprise awaits the unsuspecting and hopeful hordes. They quickly learn that they've swapped one crop of incompetents for their doppelgangers. Their unpleasant and largely unknown secret to personal success is that they are carbon-copies of their predecessors. New does not equal improved. The empty suits are all the same - incompetent, ego maniacal, misanthropic megalomaniacs. But the stakeholders are delighted to have exacted their revenge at their own expense. And the press eats it up, happy to spew the swill through their propaganda machines.
It's a show, folks, just a show. Until there's a fundamental change in the way our country does business, the clones will continue their march to mediocrity, The light at the bottom of the hole we're trying to dig our way out of is Obama, and his team. This guy gets it. Not distracted by all the hoopla, he's focusing on the problems at hand, surrounding himself with smart, savvy people. Of course, they're all politicians, but that's the pond in which they must swim. The challenge is to avoid the traps without getting sucked down into the muck.
The titanic failures of the big three are just the tip of the iceberg. As the economy erodes it will impact all of us in different ways. Our kid are graduating from college with freshly-minted degrees and few choices to employ their knowledge. So they move back home with the folks. And WE are the folks. The DNA of the nuclear family is recombining out of necessity. Circle the wagons.
Perhaps there's a silver lining to the the gathering clouds. When our parents and grandparents first came to this country, they formed new communities of old friends and neighbors. Families lived across the street from one another, not across the country or half the way around the world. They shared a common language that spoke of their heritage and hereditary homes. Radio was a big deal, LCD stood for lowest common denominator, not liquid crystal display. Almost no one felt poor or rich, or coveted their neighbor's possessions. A warm bed, hot meal and dry roof were plenty. The Great Depression certainly oppressed many, but they were thankful for what little they had instead of hateful for what they lacked.
The term "family values" was not a political talking point, but rather the very fabric of society, made from whole cloth, that bound together the communities, towns, cities, states and ultimately the entire country.
And that's something money can't buy.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Vote As If Your Life Depends On It
Last political spiel. There are 192 Omegans registered on our website. Multiply that by the number of parents, kids of voting age, cousins, uncles, aunts et al. The number scales up exponentially. Not enough to win the popular vote, perhaps. But they could help to make the difference in key battleground states, such as Florida, and the electoral college decides the election.
No matter where you are on the social strata, the familial food chain, you have a stake in this game. Even if you are comfortably numb, you stand to lose in a government by, of and for the fat cats. Their greed doesn't end with monetary dominance - they want to control the world by way of a federation of a New World Order, Project for the New American Century, the North American, European and Asian Unions. Whatever label you choose, it is real and a threat to everyone. If you're thinking I'm a conspiracy nut, do the homework.
McCain and Palin are stalking horses for the current administration. If they are elected, their strings will be pulled by the same puppet-masters who've run the White House for the past eight years. And their parting gift is a once-in-a century financial meltdown. If you're checked your portfolio lately you know you've shared the collective pain with your fellow countrymen.
Obama-Biden may not be your dream ticket, but they are the last hope we have for a change. At least Obama is smart, top of his class at Columbia and Harvard, editor of the Harvard Law Review. And he's respectd by most of the free world. Or do you prefer a lazy Annapolis alum who wouldn't have graduated without the help of his famous military father. His survival in the Hanoi Hilton was remarkable, but that alone does not qualify him to be the commander-in-chief. There are a lot of unsung heroes of that war who would never be considered for that office, by virtue of their valor alone. Why would they want to, after being ground in the gristmill of an illegal war, and seeing many of their sons and daughters suffer the same fate?
You've probably figured out by now that I've been obsessed by this election and what it means to the future of our children and grandchildren. That's what keeps me up at night. As it should you.
So vote your conscience and not your pocket book. Their lives depend on it, too.
No matter where you are on the social strata, the familial food chain, you have a stake in this game. Even if you are comfortably numb, you stand to lose in a government by, of and for the fat cats. Their greed doesn't end with monetary dominance - they want to control the world by way of a federation of a New World Order, Project for the New American Century, the North American, European and Asian Unions. Whatever label you choose, it is real and a threat to everyone. If you're thinking I'm a conspiracy nut, do the homework.
McCain and Palin are stalking horses for the current administration. If they are elected, their strings will be pulled by the same puppet-masters who've run the White House for the past eight years. And their parting gift is a once-in-a century financial meltdown. If you're checked your portfolio lately you know you've shared the collective pain with your fellow countrymen.
Obama-Biden may not be your dream ticket, but they are the last hope we have for a change. At least Obama is smart, top of his class at Columbia and Harvard, editor of the Harvard Law Review. And he's respectd by most of the free world. Or do you prefer a lazy Annapolis alum who wouldn't have graduated without the help of his famous military father. His survival in the Hanoi Hilton was remarkable, but that alone does not qualify him to be the commander-in-chief. There are a lot of unsung heroes of that war who would never be considered for that office, by virtue of their valor alone. Why would they want to, after being ground in the gristmill of an illegal war, and seeing many of their sons and daughters suffer the same fate?
You've probably figured out by now that I've been obsessed by this election and what it means to the future of our children and grandchildren. That's what keeps me up at night. As it should you.
So vote your conscience and not your pocket book. Their lives depend on it, too.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A Rose By Any Other Name
bailout:a rescue from financial distress
bail out:
1: to parachute from an aircraft
2: to abandon a harmful or difficult situation ; also : leave , depart
bale:
1 : great evil
2 : woe , sorrow
bale: a bundle of goods
bill of goods: something intentionally misrepresented : something passed off in a deception or fraud
bail: Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
baleful: Portending evil; ominous.
bail: remove water from a sinking ship
bail out:
1: to parachute from an aircraft
2: to abandon a harmful or difficult situation ; also : leave , depart
bale:
1 : great evil
2 : woe , sorrow
bale: a bundle of goods
bill of goods: something intentionally misrepresented : something passed off in a deception or fraud
bail: Security, usually a sum of money, exchanged for the release of an arrested person as a guarantee of that person's appearance for trial.
baleful: Portending evil; ominous.
bail: remove water from a sinking ship
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tri-merica the Beautiful
Unless you've been living on the moon you must be aware of the political hatchet fight that's been brewing. One of the candidates, now a Vice-Presidential nominee, offered up a plan for bringing home the troops from Iraq, correctly taking the position that Iraq is really three countries cobbled together from three separate and distinct religious factions. They were held hostage by a brutal dictator who was put into power in large part by the US government, because he hated the Iranians and would fight a proxy war with them. When it became financially and politically expedient to stage a preemptive occupation for the benefit of the military-industrial complex and to avenge a father's disgrace, the dictator was removed from power in an illegal war that started with a bang in a barrage of bunker busters, and the burials continue on both sides.
Now back to that proposal: let the three factions return to their sovereign roots and settle their own disputes by pulling out slowly in an orgasmic explosion of democracy. All well and good, assuming the powers that would be are willing to settle long-standing religious and political differences, return to former borders and share oil resources, Iraqi gold, Texas W. Not totally unreasonable although highly unfeasible given the lack of a central government and military, as is the case with the U.S and most other developed countries.
But how really different are we, in terms of irreconcilable beliefs and politics? All the vitriolic campaigning and polarizing positions of our parties cry out loudly and clearly that we are no longer thinking, acting and living as one nation, but three - you see the demographics constantly on the continuous news cycles that spew out the desired data. We are red, blue and undecided, fundamental evangelicals, bible-thumping theologians, and everyone else. The haves, have-less and have-nots. We live in virtually three different countries and mind-sets. How else is it possible for three people to look and listen to the same speech, yet come away with three divergent interpretations? It's as if we live in a modern Tower of Babel, Saddam and Got more,huh? with a mall and movie theater thrown in for good measure. Anesthetize the mind and the body will follow.
The more we "change", the more we stay the same - in stasis, suspended in an amniotic sack of fear. That's the remote control. Scare the bejeezes out of us, and we'll do whatever you want, just keep the evil-doers from our door. The thought is scary, for sure, but if you want real terror, here's a list of statistics gleaned from the web that might give you pause:
The top 10 causes of death in the US are (as of 2005)
Diseases of Heart 28.5%
Malignant Neoplasms (cancer) 22.8%
Cerebrovascular Diseases (stroke) 6.7%
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 5.1%
Accidents 4.4%
Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents (41% of all accidents)
Poisoning (16% of all accidents)
Fall (15% of all accidents)
Diabetes Mellitus 3.0%
Influenza and Pneumonia 2.7%
Alzheimer's Disease 2.4%
Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis (kidney diseases) 1.7%
Septicemia (blood poisoning) 1.4%
That doesn't include the 98,000 deaths due to medical mistakes, and the invisibles who die from exposure, hunger and lack of adequate and affordable health care.
See terrorism listed anywhere? Nope. Yet it is the guiding force of the lives and beliefs of many, who will vote for a person or persons of questionable character based on whom they feel will do best at keeping the boogie-man at bay. There are those who manipulate this to their monetary advantage, knowing full well that they are manufacturing fear for fun and profit.
And then there are those who prefer to place their bets on trying to live as best as possible for as long as possible. All that's needed is the chance, a level playing field. Take care of the basics and they'll roll the dice, as opposed to playing this game of Russian roulette every day. The cards are stacked, and nothing less than a fundamental paradigm shift, not shaft, will make the difference. Instead of cut and run, let's run and cut; things like the deficit, the death rate and financial inequity. Don't just stay the course, alter it, plot a new one that can be re-calibrated for correction. One ship cannot navigate in three directions at once, and a people cannot advance by taking one step forward and two steps back.
Irregardless, we'll know the outcome in two months. Just make a choice and follow through. It's a trifecta we can't afford to lose.
Now back to that proposal: let the three factions return to their sovereign roots and settle their own disputes by pulling out slowly in an orgasmic explosion of democracy. All well and good, assuming the powers that would be are willing to settle long-standing religious and political differences, return to former borders and share oil resources, Iraqi gold, Texas W. Not totally unreasonable although highly unfeasible given the lack of a central government and military, as is the case with the U.S and most other developed countries.
But how really different are we, in terms of irreconcilable beliefs and politics? All the vitriolic campaigning and polarizing positions of our parties cry out loudly and clearly that we are no longer thinking, acting and living as one nation, but three - you see the demographics constantly on the continuous news cycles that spew out the desired data. We are red, blue and undecided, fundamental evangelicals, bible-thumping theologians, and everyone else. The haves, have-less and have-nots. We live in virtually three different countries and mind-sets. How else is it possible for three people to look and listen to the same speech, yet come away with three divergent interpretations? It's as if we live in a modern Tower of Babel, Saddam and Got more,huh? with a mall and movie theater thrown in for good measure. Anesthetize the mind and the body will follow.
The more we "change", the more we stay the same - in stasis, suspended in an amniotic sack of fear. That's the remote control. Scare the bejeezes out of us, and we'll do whatever you want, just keep the evil-doers from our door. The thought is scary, for sure, but if you want real terror, here's a list of statistics gleaned from the web that might give you pause:
The top 10 causes of death in the US are (as of 2005)
Diseases of Heart 28.5%
Malignant Neoplasms (cancer) 22.8%
Cerebrovascular Diseases (stroke) 6.7%
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 5.1%
Accidents 4.4%
Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents (41% of all accidents)
Poisoning (16% of all accidents)
Fall (15% of all accidents)
Diabetes Mellitus 3.0%
Influenza and Pneumonia 2.7%
Alzheimer's Disease 2.4%
Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome and Nephrosis (kidney diseases) 1.7%
Septicemia (blood poisoning) 1.4%
That doesn't include the 98,000 deaths due to medical mistakes, and the invisibles who die from exposure, hunger and lack of adequate and affordable health care.
See terrorism listed anywhere? Nope. Yet it is the guiding force of the lives and beliefs of many, who will vote for a person or persons of questionable character based on whom they feel will do best at keeping the boogie-man at bay. There are those who manipulate this to their monetary advantage, knowing full well that they are manufacturing fear for fun and profit.
And then there are those who prefer to place their bets on trying to live as best as possible for as long as possible. All that's needed is the chance, a level playing field. Take care of the basics and they'll roll the dice, as opposed to playing this game of Russian roulette every day. The cards are stacked, and nothing less than a fundamental paradigm shift, not shaft, will make the difference. Instead of cut and run, let's run and cut; things like the deficit, the death rate and financial inequity. Don't just stay the course, alter it, plot a new one that can be re-calibrated for correction. One ship cannot navigate in three directions at once, and a people cannot advance by taking one step forward and two steps back.
Irregardless, we'll know the outcome in two months. Just make a choice and follow through. It's a trifecta we can't afford to lose.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Declaration of Interdependence
Most of us think the Declaration of Independence is a sacred document that illuminates the key entitlements of every person. I posit that this is a misguided perception. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is not an altruism, or idealized prose, but rather a demand of King George III (not to be confused with the twice and future king of today) that THESE truths we hold to be self-evident. A very specific independence, from tyranny, over-taxation and the trampling of basic rights.
This ideology has been usurped by those who would have us believe that we are on our own, every man for himself, sometimes referred to as being a maverick, an independent and so forth. In theory, this concept is appealing, an enabler for personal growth and wealth acquisition. But something has gone wrong, horribly wrong.
Ever drive down a street that you've been on a hundred times before, and suddenly you come within an inch of your life, side-swiped by a huge SUV, whose driver was too impatient to wait another millisecond to enter the road, cut you off, cell phone to ear, oblivious to everything and everyone? If it sounds familiar, welcome to the club. You are in a world that is officially independent, independent of courtesy, common decency and consideration. Your life is devalued relative to those who deem themselves above everyone and everything, and woe to anyone who gets in their way. If you see yourself in this illustration, no apologies. You know who you are, and need to re-evaluate your notions of superiority by virtue of wealth or just an ego-driven, over-inflated opinion of self-worth.
Jimmy Cliff sang "the harder they come, the harder they fall". "Be kind to those on your way up, for you might meet them on your way down". After all, we are equal in our humanity. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the great common denominator - we all need food, clothing and shelter, without which we cannot move up the pyramid to the next level of self-actualization. Absent any one of these basic elements, we become focused and fixated upon obtaining it. We pity the homeless person on the street, but we are not independent of their predicament. Unknown forces are at work, and we are all fair game.
If this sounds like a Socialist doctrine, let's be clear on one thing - we all live in denial of the fact that we are dependent on many "socialized" services of life. Would we be willing to pay a premium, as we do for health care, for services provided by the fire department, police department, postal service, even social services? I think not. We expect to receive those benefits because we are fine, upstanding, tax-paying individuals. The sad fact is that we don't know how our taxes are really utilized. Undoubtedly, they could be better allocated for other services that benefit the common good, such as health care, elder care and aid for those less unfortunate individuals who desperately need relief, to name but a few.
But that wouldn't be the American way: to the winner goes the spoils. Our federal, state and local governments are so corrupt and self-interested that they are only motivated toward the same, selfish end - garnering favorable legislation for their cronies and getting re-elected.
Do yourself a great favor and rent the 1976 movie "Network" - a masterpiece of a film written by Paddy Chayevsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. There are so many life-lessons to be learned there, but at the top of the list is Howard Beale's appeal to his listening audience. He implored them to: "Go to your windows, open them, stick your heads out and yell "We're as mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore". It's as relevant today as it was thirty-two years ago. The other, lesser known scene is with Ned Beatty, who plays the head of a large communication conglomerate, and orders Howard into his massive board room. The speech sends shivers up one's spine. It ends with the statement, "The world is one large, ecumenical corporation". Think about that for a moment, and then realize how similar it is to the world of today. And we arrived at this sorry state of affairs by purposely putting on our blinders, and plundering the commonwealth for self-enrichment and aggrandizement.
Is this truly independence? Certainly it is a form of societal alienation. Which inevitably puts us all on the road to an unfortunate future. Rather, let us return to our roots, and throw off the chains of corporate enslavement. The time has come to draft a new document, a Declaration of Interdependence, stating that THESE truths we hold to be self evident; that we will work together to ensure that each person has a decent life, economic and social liberty, and that unless and until we achieve these goals, we cannot freely and fairly engage in the pursuit of happiness. By embracing our interdependence we will truly become a nation of many, living as one.
The founders, as imperfect as they were, would be proud.
This ideology has been usurped by those who would have us believe that we are on our own, every man for himself, sometimes referred to as being a maverick, an independent and so forth. In theory, this concept is appealing, an enabler for personal growth and wealth acquisition. But something has gone wrong, horribly wrong.
Ever drive down a street that you've been on a hundred times before, and suddenly you come within an inch of your life, side-swiped by a huge SUV, whose driver was too impatient to wait another millisecond to enter the road, cut you off, cell phone to ear, oblivious to everything and everyone? If it sounds familiar, welcome to the club. You are in a world that is officially independent, independent of courtesy, common decency and consideration. Your life is devalued relative to those who deem themselves above everyone and everything, and woe to anyone who gets in their way. If you see yourself in this illustration, no apologies. You know who you are, and need to re-evaluate your notions of superiority by virtue of wealth or just an ego-driven, over-inflated opinion of self-worth.
Jimmy Cliff sang "the harder they come, the harder they fall". "Be kind to those on your way up, for you might meet them on your way down". After all, we are equal in our humanity. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the great common denominator - we all need food, clothing and shelter, without which we cannot move up the pyramid to the next level of self-actualization. Absent any one of these basic elements, we become focused and fixated upon obtaining it. We pity the homeless person on the street, but we are not independent of their predicament. Unknown forces are at work, and we are all fair game.
If this sounds like a Socialist doctrine, let's be clear on one thing - we all live in denial of the fact that we are dependent on many "socialized" services of life. Would we be willing to pay a premium, as we do for health care, for services provided by the fire department, police department, postal service, even social services? I think not. We expect to receive those benefits because we are fine, upstanding, tax-paying individuals. The sad fact is that we don't know how our taxes are really utilized. Undoubtedly, they could be better allocated for other services that benefit the common good, such as health care, elder care and aid for those less unfortunate individuals who desperately need relief, to name but a few.
But that wouldn't be the American way: to the winner goes the spoils. Our federal, state and local governments are so corrupt and self-interested that they are only motivated toward the same, selfish end - garnering favorable legislation for their cronies and getting re-elected.
Do yourself a great favor and rent the 1976 movie "Network" - a masterpiece of a film written by Paddy Chayevsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. There are so many life-lessons to be learned there, but at the top of the list is Howard Beale's appeal to his listening audience. He implored them to: "Go to your windows, open them, stick your heads out and yell "We're as mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore". It's as relevant today as it was thirty-two years ago. The other, lesser known scene is with Ned Beatty, who plays the head of a large communication conglomerate, and orders Howard into his massive board room. The speech sends shivers up one's spine. It ends with the statement, "The world is one large, ecumenical corporation". Think about that for a moment, and then realize how similar it is to the world of today. And we arrived at this sorry state of affairs by purposely putting on our blinders, and plundering the commonwealth for self-enrichment and aggrandizement.
Is this truly independence? Certainly it is a form of societal alienation. Which inevitably puts us all on the road to an unfortunate future. Rather, let us return to our roots, and throw off the chains of corporate enslavement. The time has come to draft a new document, a Declaration of Interdependence, stating that THESE truths we hold to be self evident; that we will work together to ensure that each person has a decent life, economic and social liberty, and that unless and until we achieve these goals, we cannot freely and fairly engage in the pursuit of happiness. By embracing our interdependence we will truly become a nation of many, living as one.
The founders, as imperfect as they were, would be proud.
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