I may have just seen the most disgustingly idiotic news story, covering the lives of some of the private contractor/Halliburton employees that are “willingly” going back to Iraq to drive trucks, construct buildings, etc. . One woman interviewed said something to the effect that she would be able to pay off her house with the money earned there ($75K to $100K). This can only be construed as further evidence of two things:
1) Human beings are convinced of their own indestructibility.
2) Our sense of economic justice is LOST.
As to the former, what a truly sad illusion. I couldn’t help but turn to my wife and comment, “A lot of good that house will do her if she’ll never live to return to it”. As to the latter, how desperate must a woman be that she’s willing to risk her life to pay her mortgage?
We endebt ourselves to financial institutions to be able to live in some degree of comfort. We bite our tongues and pump overpriced gas into our cars so we can get to work on time. We hand over our greatest gift, TIME, to employers who hold the Damoclean sword of downsizing/outsourcing over our heads.
And so we work - work to pay off our mortgages, work to pay for gas - work to keep working.
In this land of plenty, we fool ourselves with the fantasy that somehow, we are not and never will be in the straits of the galley slave, the mill wheel-pushing inmate, the drone. Friends, it may not look the same, but we’re there - and it’s only getting worse.
It worsens as we put our blind faith in those who have used their inherited privilege to push and connive their way to further power. It worsens as we gaze like apes at that blasted box that does not so much broadcast pictures as blow smoke; telling us that these misfortunes happen to others and that they might happen to us if we don’t live in a prosperous fashion (whether we can afford it or not). It worsens as we believe this even-handedness. It worsens as we sit complacent, not realizing we’re mules on treadmills, carrots dangling in front of us to keep us strolling ignorantly forward.
For those that this may reach, consider this a wake-up call. Do not remain numb; do not succumb to the anaesthetic that those in control of government and media saturate you with. “Society”, “the system”, all of these worn axes of excuse to remain inactive - they consist of nothing more than PEOPLE. You’re part of it. I’m part of it. The bum asking you for change is part of it. The captain of industry, safely tucked in his office, is part of it. The politician telling his constituents what they want to hear is part of it.
WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS.
So, what can we do? Realize that responsibility and enjoy the fact that you’ve been given it. Why? RESPONSIBILITY IS POWER.
What else can we do? GET MAD - GENUINELY MAD. Mad that your individual power is being usurped; mad that you are seen as cattle to be fattened and consumed; mad that your intelligence is being insulted without cessation and not assisted in its development.
We are in a comfortable version of the Dark Ages, friends. Feudal lords have been replaced by CEOs and ruling families wear a modern disguise. Don’t allow the insidious pattern to continue. The true power is seated with us - the people.
READ. EDUCATE YOURSELF. VOTE. DEMAND YOUR WORTH.
Archive for September, 2004
Okay… here we go.
After having watched the somewhat, er, uh, infectious (shall I say?), PSA from our pals at the Aluminum Can Council for the Nth time, I find myself drawn to comment on it, as several others have. Just a few points and/or questions:
1) What are they trying to impress upon us? That we actually should not shake soda cans? Is this a case of “all fun and games until someone loses an eye”? If so, this has to be the most absurdly pedantic commercial ever devised, not to mention beyond late in the game.
2) It would seem highly likely that someone at the ACC is a gluteophile. Lots and lots of booty, friends. Booty, booty, booty.
3) The most suggestive scene is just after the “chill it, store it” bridge, where one particularly colorful hiney is featured in a close-up. This is followed by a shot of a young man nodding in what appears to be a tush-induced trance. The camera sweeps to an older woman who is giving the young man a look of approval. SO… WHAT is this sequence trying to say?
Young Man: That is one tasty burger! Gotta tap that!
Older Woman: Mmhmmm! yes, indeedy, short-shank! You gotta get you some of that!
4) To label a social institution a “council” basically implies that this entity has some wisdom to impart to the rest of us. Well… so much for that linguistic tradition.
5) For all the warnings issued within the song, there’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
6) Are we actually funding this ad with tax dollars? I find it interesting that the FCC hasn’t admonished the ACC for such a lewd and flagrant display (tongue firmly planted in cheek).
7) Where is Sir Mix-a-Lot in all this?
I’m just sayin’…
