Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
American Idle
It occurred to me last night that the names of the popular TV shows -- ones on the free TV anyway -- kind of inform the mental and physical state of mainstream America.
CBS snooze
American Idle
CSI
ER
Ghost Whisperer
Law and order
Numbers
All these hint at our state of mind -- Paranoid and idle.
Just opinion after watching the CBS snooze.
[click title to see Herman the Activist Protozoan]
CBS snooze
American Idle
CSI
ER
Ghost Whisperer
Law and order
Numbers
All these hint at our state of mind -- Paranoid and idle.
Just opinion after watching the CBS snooze.
[click title to see Herman the Activist Protozoan]
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Maybe today
Last night I went to see the African Children's Choir with my little son Simon who is just six tomorrow. As we watched, Simon sat in my lap and marveled at the wonderfully colorful costumes, and the sounds and dances. To see such joy and exuberance come from that lot of children was splendid.
As I watched, the joy I felt turned to anger and then grief. All the children told of the circumstances they lived under before they became part of the African Children's Choir. I just sat and cried during this part of the show.
I am so happy that they got out of their circumstances, but at the same time so angry that other human beings can bring such criminal and cruel acts upon other human beings. All I can think about is greed and it's power over a few. I think about the insatiable nature of greed, like a form of insanity, bringing rationalizations to the mind of the one possessed by it, helping to create the misguided world we live in today.
A few people, most of the US included, have all the wealth. Instead of sharing the wealth, even through a fair trade of work for money, the very rich hoard their money -- I assume for fear if the masses are allowed to gain any wealth at all, the power of those few very wealthy will be diminished, if not directly threatened.
I just can't stop thinking of the hope inside each of those talented children for their future, and the audience's enthusiastic warmth for the children's testimonies and proclamations of what they hoped to be when they grew up. What beautiful laurel encircled their fertile imaginings.
But for a few, all the suffering could end. Sure, there would still be degrees of want and need, and there would still be natural disasters, but if it weren't for those few whose miserly grip on wealth and power pervert their eyes, ears, and hearts to such a degree that they become the deliverers, not of a more prosperous and inspired underclass, but an incarcerated, deprived, and starving lot, hungering for justice.
But it's not just the wealthy who are to blame. They use the same old tactics time and time again, to the same ends very effectively. After all the masses have something that the wealthy don't; MASS.
But somehow they are goaded into this alternate reality where the wealthy one just intrinsically has all the power. This of course is not true. The wealthy are given the power by the unwitting choices of the ever compliant masses. The control the wealthy and powerful have is all based on how fearful they can get the "great unwashed." It doesn't matter what they're afraid of, they know if they just keep throwing stuff out there sooner or later something will stick.
Fear of terrorism as our wonderful OIL TYCOON leader keeps barking. Fear of starving, fear of losing your house, fear of losing your family. Yes, they are very, very, efficient at keeping the masses afraid. As long as they can do that, they can keep the masses in line.
Maybe today is the day I'm brave enough to stand up and stand out against the droning masses and speak truth to power. But isn't it more important to speak truth to the masses? To shake the cocoon that so surrounds them and keeps them nice and cozy and complacent and compliant?
Even now, the greed has gotten so out of control, people are starting to reach a level of discomfort that will finally bring them out into the streets. But alas, what will come of it? Minor concessions at best, just enough to make them shut up and go back home.
My wish is the great mass would reject these abysmal overtures and persist until they get what they should really be demanding -- majority rule. I'm afraid this is a lost concept. Unfortunately, too many in America really don't expect it to work anymore. I fear that lack of expectation will be the death of us all.
The corporate entity -- that vast machine -- has taken over the democratic process, in a way not unlike that portrayed in the movie "The Terminator." The machines take over, they see us as a virus and we need to be destroyed -- at least the ones that can do the most harm, the intellectuals, the artists, and the philosophers. After they've eliminated the threat of reason, they'll enslave the drones, the ones they've broken, to employ in the enterprise of profit for profit's sake.
Maybe today is the day I'll choose to walk to work instead of driving my car, or be brave enough to go to jail for not paying my taxes because my government funds war and shame all over the globe with it. Maybe today is the day I will plant my own garden with seeds I have saved from a time gone by. Maybe today is the day I become worthy of democracy.
Maybe today is the day I embrace the infinite mobility of the mind and dare to envision a future where children are no longer the "collateral damage" in wars waged for greed, and warriors are no longer the fearful.
Maybe today I can ask myself, what choices do I or don't I make, based upon fear. Don't I owe this simple thing to the children of Africa, the US, and every other nation with leaders who exploit and kill their youth for the mad dementia of greed?
As I watched, the joy I felt turned to anger and then grief. All the children told of the circumstances they lived under before they became part of the African Children's Choir. I just sat and cried during this part of the show.
I am so happy that they got out of their circumstances, but at the same time so angry that other human beings can bring such criminal and cruel acts upon other human beings. All I can think about is greed and it's power over a few. I think about the insatiable nature of greed, like a form of insanity, bringing rationalizations to the mind of the one possessed by it, helping to create the misguided world we live in today.
A few people, most of the US included, have all the wealth. Instead of sharing the wealth, even through a fair trade of work for money, the very rich hoard their money -- I assume for fear if the masses are allowed to gain any wealth at all, the power of those few very wealthy will be diminished, if not directly threatened.
I just can't stop thinking of the hope inside each of those talented children for their future, and the audience's enthusiastic warmth for the children's testimonies and proclamations of what they hoped to be when they grew up. What beautiful laurel encircled their fertile imaginings.
But for a few, all the suffering could end. Sure, there would still be degrees of want and need, and there would still be natural disasters, but if it weren't for those few whose miserly grip on wealth and power pervert their eyes, ears, and hearts to such a degree that they become the deliverers, not of a more prosperous and inspired underclass, but an incarcerated, deprived, and starving lot, hungering for justice.
But it's not just the wealthy who are to blame. They use the same old tactics time and time again, to the same ends very effectively. After all the masses have something that the wealthy don't; MASS.But somehow they are goaded into this alternate reality where the wealthy one just intrinsically has all the power. This of course is not true. The wealthy are given the power by the unwitting choices of the ever compliant masses. The control the wealthy and powerful have is all based on how fearful they can get the "great unwashed." It doesn't matter what they're afraid of, they know if they just keep throwing stuff out there sooner or later something will stick.
Fear of terrorism as our wonderful OIL TYCOON leader keeps barking. Fear of starving, fear of losing your house, fear of losing your family. Yes, they are very, very, efficient at keeping the masses afraid. As long as they can do that, they can keep the masses in line.
Maybe today is the day I'm brave enough to stand up and stand out against the droning masses and speak truth to power. But isn't it more important to speak truth to the masses? To shake the cocoon that so surrounds them and keeps them nice and cozy and complacent and compliant?
Even now, the greed has gotten so out of control, people are starting to reach a level of discomfort that will finally bring them out into the streets. But alas, what will come of it? Minor concessions at best, just enough to make them shut up and go back home.
My wish is the great mass would reject these abysmal overtures and persist until they get what they should really be demanding -- majority rule. I'm afraid this is a lost concept. Unfortunately, too many in America really don't expect it to work anymore. I fear that lack of expectation will be the death of us all.
The corporate entity -- that vast machine -- has taken over the democratic process, in a way not unlike that portrayed in the movie "The Terminator." The machines take over, they see us as a virus and we need to be destroyed -- at least the ones that can do the most harm, the intellectuals, the artists, and the philosophers. After they've eliminated the threat of reason, they'll enslave the drones, the ones they've broken, to employ in the enterprise of profit for profit's sake.
Maybe today is the day I'll choose to walk to work instead of driving my car, or be brave enough to go to jail for not paying my taxes because my government funds war and shame all over the globe with it. Maybe today is the day I will plant my own garden with seeds I have saved from a time gone by. Maybe today is the day I become worthy of democracy.
Maybe today is the day I embrace the infinite mobility of the mind and dare to envision a future where children are no longer the "collateral damage" in wars waged for greed, and warriors are no longer the fearful.
Maybe today I can ask myself, what choices do I or don't I make, based upon fear. Don't I owe this simple thing to the children of Africa, the US, and every other nation with leaders who exploit and kill their youth for the mad dementia of greed?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
up hill, against the wind
that's how it feels sometimes. and maybe even just trying to coast downhill against the wind kinda sucks.
Friday, April 4, 2008
migraine sausage
it's migraine day
clamps on head
light stabbing eyes
sick stomach
shaky hands
freezing cold
throbbing neck
hot bath
cold cloth to forehead
cover eyes
socks on feet
under twenty blankets
shake
curl up
cry
it hurts too much to cry
scream
it hurts too much to scream
it hurts too much to move
ride it out
ride it out
rock back and forth
keep eyes shut
try to relax
try to sleep
take some more pills
stomach ache
more water
sick
ride it out
ride it out
I'm migraine sausage
today
clamps on head
light stabbing eyes
sick stomach
shaky hands
freezing cold
throbbing neck
hot bath
cold cloth to forehead
cover eyes
socks on feet
under twenty blankets
shake
curl up
cry
it hurts too much to cry
scream
it hurts too much to scream
it hurts too much to move
ride it out
ride it out
rock back and forth
keep eyes shut
try to relax
try to sleep
take some more pills
stomach ache
more water
sick
ride it out
ride it out
I'm migraine sausage
today
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
ya, ya, ya!
If everyone demanded peace
instead of another television set,
then there'd be peace.
--- John Lennon
VOTING WITH YOUR DOLLARS
Look at what you buy. Who is selling it?
Who makes it? WTF? wtf? ha! When you buy a product you are essentially giving it your vote. You're giving the company that makes it your vote, your giving the way it's made your vote, you're giving the dude who makes a profit on your choice your vote, you are giving him more power from the money to influence the changes he or she wants made in the world. Try to make sure it's the change you want to see in the world.
Just this simple thing. What do you want? How do you get what you want? Is it local? Is it plastic? Plastic is made from OIL! Don't you think the friggin' oil companies have enough money and influence? Take a look at the tax breaks they get and you won't need to wonder about that last question. Lord, have mercy!
Have you seen some of the shit we buy? Yikes! Think about that latté, that cappucino, think about the cup it's in. But you say our system and our economy depend upon me buying all this useless stuff, what about the guy who makes it, etc., etc? Well if you are able to extrapolate that nonsense, just take it a step farther and think about a paradigm shift of sorts.
For god's sake, or god's saké, look at the shit you have. It's shit. And it's going to end up in a land fill some day. Think about a land fill. Think about that car. Think about cars... yes, lets.
You know as my son was taking driving lessons, AT THE HIGH SCHOOL!, I thought to myself; "Why do they have driving lessons at the high school?" And the first thing that came to mind was that is was more egalitarian to do it that way, then all kids regardless have a chance to learn to drive. But then another more cynical thought came to mind. Well, if they learn to drive, and it is an integral part of their coming of age, that solidifies the bankroll for the auto industry, the auto insurance industry, the oil industry, the road construction industry, etc. So I'm thinking it's more of the latter than the former. It may factor into the decision, but I'm sure dollar signs were the real motivator when it came to putting driving classes into the public schools.
So after all that, the paradigm shift is away from capitalism. After all, how long can this be sustained? Realistically, how many consumables can be consumed? Look at the impact on the earth. But how will we sustain our way of life? How will we maintain our standard of living? Health Care? Food? How will we buy anything? Yikes. How will we indeed?
This all makes me wonder about the symbiosis between capitalism and democracy. I really don't think there is any. Now socialism and democracy seem a little more in line with each other, but then comes communism... was Marx right? Maybe there is a new model no one's thunk up. Or maybe we'd end up with the Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
Anyone who's played Monopoly knows what happens in real free-market capitalism... someone ends up with Boardwalk and Park Place and puts 2 hotels on them and all you have to do is land there once and you're done. That's pretty much the way it is now here in the US. So what's next? We lay down and take it? Or is there a cultural revolution that can moderate the plutocrats? Does it start by demanding peace? Could there be a peace-time economy? What model would we follow for that? Is there one?
Remember, demanding war puts money in the pockets of war mongers, designers of killing apparatus, and unscrupulous opportunists. How does one cultivate a peaceful and generous society? Does it always become fascism? Does peaceful society mean different things to different people? Free of anxiety? Free of want? Free of violence? What does it mean?
Maybe we shouldn't be so afraid of discovering what it means to say no to some of the shit they try to sell us. Maybe we need to have the courage to lose our job, sell our house, eat beans instead of meat. Find a new culture. It is "hard work" said the sniveling idiot in the white house. Yes, it is hard work. Hard work to insure some creep like him and his ilk are not given the opportunity to exploit the resources of our country like they have been doing unrestrained for these many years. What is wrong with the masses? Why don't we know we have the power? Why are so many fooled?
The obvious place to start this cultural revolution would be saying no to war. War we perpetuate, wars we fund. How did those in power ever convince the people of the US that any country could actually be a bigger threat to us than ourselves? How could they convince us that war is the answer?
Choosing peace isn't just a matter of making a sign and going out and protesting. It is choices that you make everyday by the purchases you make. Educate and inform yourself the best you can about the way you use your dollars. Vote with your dollars for peace. Take the revolution to the market place. Sustainable, inhabitable worlds are within our reach, we just have to have the will to take over and be responsible for ourselves.
instead of another television set,
then there'd be peace.
--- John Lennon
VOTING WITH YOUR DOLLARS
Look at what you buy. Who is selling it?
Who makes it? WTF? wtf? ha! When you buy a product you are essentially giving it your vote. You're giving the company that makes it your vote, your giving the way it's made your vote, you're giving the dude who makes a profit on your choice your vote, you are giving him more power from the money to influence the changes he or she wants made in the world. Try to make sure it's the change you want to see in the world.
Just this simple thing. What do you want? How do you get what you want? Is it local? Is it plastic? Plastic is made from OIL! Don't you think the friggin' oil companies have enough money and influence? Take a look at the tax breaks they get and you won't need to wonder about that last question. Lord, have mercy!
Have you seen some of the shit we buy? Yikes! Think about that latté, that cappucino, think about the cup it's in. But you say our system and our economy depend upon me buying all this useless stuff, what about the guy who makes it, etc., etc? Well if you are able to extrapolate that nonsense, just take it a step farther and think about a paradigm shift of sorts.
For god's sake, or god's saké, look at the shit you have. It's shit. And it's going to end up in a land fill some day. Think about a land fill. Think about that car. Think about cars... yes, lets.
You know as my son was taking driving lessons, AT THE HIGH SCHOOL!, I thought to myself; "Why do they have driving lessons at the high school?" And the first thing that came to mind was that is was more egalitarian to do it that way, then all kids regardless have a chance to learn to drive. But then another more cynical thought came to mind. Well, if they learn to drive, and it is an integral part of their coming of age, that solidifies the bankroll for the auto industry, the auto insurance industry, the oil industry, the road construction industry, etc. So I'm thinking it's more of the latter than the former. It may factor into the decision, but I'm sure dollar signs were the real motivator when it came to putting driving classes into the public schools.
So after all that, the paradigm shift is away from capitalism. After all, how long can this be sustained? Realistically, how many consumables can be consumed? Look at the impact on the earth. But how will we sustain our way of life? How will we maintain our standard of living? Health Care? Food? How will we buy anything? Yikes. How will we indeed?
This all makes me wonder about the symbiosis between capitalism and democracy. I really don't think there is any. Now socialism and democracy seem a little more in line with each other, but then comes communism... was Marx right? Maybe there is a new model no one's thunk up. Or maybe we'd end up with the Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
Anyone who's played Monopoly knows what happens in real free-market capitalism... someone ends up with Boardwalk and Park Place and puts 2 hotels on them and all you have to do is land there once and you're done. That's pretty much the way it is now here in the US. So what's next? We lay down and take it? Or is there a cultural revolution that can moderate the plutocrats? Does it start by demanding peace? Could there be a peace-time economy? What model would we follow for that? Is there one?
Remember, demanding war puts money in the pockets of war mongers, designers of killing apparatus, and unscrupulous opportunists. How does one cultivate a peaceful and generous society? Does it always become fascism? Does peaceful society mean different things to different people? Free of anxiety? Free of want? Free of violence? What does it mean?
Maybe we shouldn't be so afraid of discovering what it means to say no to some of the shit they try to sell us. Maybe we need to have the courage to lose our job, sell our house, eat beans instead of meat. Find a new culture. It is "hard work" said the sniveling idiot in the white house. Yes, it is hard work. Hard work to insure some creep like him and his ilk are not given the opportunity to exploit the resources of our country like they have been doing unrestrained for these many years. What is wrong with the masses? Why don't we know we have the power? Why are so many fooled? The obvious place to start this cultural revolution would be saying no to war. War we perpetuate, wars we fund. How did those in power ever convince the people of the US that any country could actually be a bigger threat to us than ourselves? How could they convince us that war is the answer?
Choosing peace isn't just a matter of making a sign and going out and protesting. It is choices that you make everyday by the purchases you make. Educate and inform yourself the best you can about the way you use your dollars. Vote with your dollars for peace. Take the revolution to the market place. Sustainable, inhabitable worlds are within our reach, we just have to have the will to take over and be responsible for ourselves.
stars are bright in contrast to the night
There’s always the promise if you go outside and engage with the world that there’ll be a surprising reward of some sort. The hoot of a screech owl resonating in your chest, the smell of newly blossoming honeysuckle bushes, or the panoramic dome of night twinkling silently above.
Last night the stars were amazing against the night sky, even with the city lights doing their best to obliterate them, they were silently dominating the vistas unfolding before me as I ran through the little streets around my house. After running, as I stretched, I looked up and let the beauty of the starlit night penetrate my stiff little body pinned here below on terra firma. They warmed my heart and made me feel like I belonged somewhere, possibly here.
I’ve been feeling so alone lately. Even with my sweet little Simon to tend to, I’ve really got no one to confide in, no one to share my essence with. Maybe that’s just not the way it works. Maybe soul mates are a myth. Maybe I’m such a romantic idiot that I just need to suffice with a dream lover. I think I can deal with that. But I do long for that sense of connecting with someone that “gets” you, and loves all the stupid things as well as the wonderful things. Maybe my stupid things are just so outrageously stupid that no one can get past them. Then there’s the part about me having to love them back. Oh well.
I guess there are worse things to feel like you belong to than the stars. They’re constant, bright, prophetic, and beautiful. If they reflect my spirit, or I reflect theirs, it is simpatico, and all the dark moods only tend to contrast the better days, making them shine ever brighter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjLVm4L2C3Y
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)