Yesterday there was a public massacre in Aurora Colorado, and this morning there were actually human beings calling for more guns. Albert Einstein, Rita Mae Browne, or some other very smart person generally described a tenuous hold on reality thusly: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." Those asking for more weapons in the wake of Aurora's tragedy are prime examples of that species of moron who still believe there is a legitimate war, anywhere. In the face of greater restrictions on personal freedom our handlers have hit on the brilliant, albeit bloody, solution of goading the herd into thinning itself. Though this is like most ingenious human ideas - warmed over gruel from some previous epoch. Today's handlers with superior communication and herding techniques have most people believing we are on the "brink;" exactly what we're on the brink of is never made clear, but something. So we strive to prepare while the hairs on our necks remain on end and our trigger-fingers become more and more sensitive.
As with any violent population - someone has to be in charge, otherwise things spiral into wanton waste of personnel and ammunition which simply won't do, especially in this time of austerity. The grand puppeteers understand this principal all too well, constantly searching for the appropriate empty suit to project onto whatever billboard of whatever political spectrum the "media gang of 5" is goosing at any given moment. This competition to be "the" empty suit is how the 1% motivates the public, like David O. Selznick's search for Scarlet O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind;" except now we're looking for John Wayne; Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith from the "A Team," or whatever echo of America's greatness that fits the moral cavity left by empty shelves in this ravaged economy. It is not difficult to identify wannabes running for leadership roles in this leaderless culture, they have tattoos; shaved heads and pit bulls on their wrists like batons from a "Keystone Cops" comedy gone wrong; or "White Bread" with his manicured nails; Brooks Brothers Suits and best wines sipping from the balcony at the right zip code; or "Bubba" and his King Cab with latest labor saving tools and more free time with which to wage epic battles on his brand new x-box annihilating foreigners with high scores, or obliterating objects with NRA surrogates for his or her flacid phallus - free from finesse or craft.
Appearances can be deceiving, for however sheepish we've become; remnants of gumption and independence percolate everywhere; individuals surface from the pack; especially ones that want to call the shots. Yet, how does one rule a people cued to each flashing new distraction flitting across the monitor? For students of media, we are fortunate to live in an age where examples of power are on display everywhere, though one must have an easy relationship with fear - not in the sense of being self-aware to the corrosive effects of constant dread, but an easy capacity for illiciting fear instantly, anywhere in anybody. Scoff, but how else could the leader of the "Free World" be warm and nurturing while targeting our weapons on the huddled masses yearning mostly to breathe the free air of a sacred homeland? This confusion about what strength is has come at a cost; we now wallow in an existential shallow; we become a mean people in nearly every sense of the word, especially cheap . .
adj \ˈmēn\
Definition of MEAN
1: lacking distinction or eminence : humble
2: lacking in mental discrimination : dull
3 a : of poor shabby inferior quality or status <mean city streets>
b : worthy of little regard : contemptible — often used in negative constructions as a term of praise <no mean feat>
4: lacking dignity or honor : base
5 a penurious : stingy
b : characterized by petty selfishness or malice
c : causing trouble or bother : vexatious
Mean seems to have become the elixir of choice for adapting to a world gone haywire, nations daring to challenge this former bastion of democracy, or at least the most highly developed example of democracy; well maybe what had once been a "good idea until greed got in the way" as Bob Dylan pointed out. We seem to have lost generosity of spirit, confusing material generosity with which consumer coercion lines the pockets of the "Royal" 1%, sacrifing the nobility of character which rejoiced when Nelson Mandela gave the world a new definition of moral courage, or the kid with brass testicles in Tiananmen Square facing down a tank - that used to be us. Now we are fat, slack and lazy; allowing ourselves to be ripped-off by the "in crowd" from high school - and I liked some of those guys. But today they are not content to be popular, they have taken what had been a juvenile capacity to zero-out your self-worth and now zero-out your net worth as well as that of your children, their children and their children's children . . .
The average shmo on Main Street USA was at one time a pretty savvy character - savvy enough to demand and receive a weekend; a living wage; and a place at the table. "Working stiffs" didn't get the seat at the head of the table, but the-powers-that-be were forced to keep their attack dogs on a leash. Today those attack dogs have become the ministers at the Ruling Class Church of Hate. We are now so effectively polarized we cannot accept or even entertain valid points the "other side" makes. This unwillingness to concede a position is at the heart of our breakdown as a civil society. We have given so much credence to the 5 corporations controlling 96% of all U.S. media that we no longer seek knowledge from each other, much less learn from our "bitter" enemies. Rather we more and more resemble the Taliban with our assault on women and our slavish adherence to the rigid ayatollahs inhabiting our spiritual vacuum. It is all illusion; the guy at the local market or woman standing across from you at the gas pump has more understanding of your world and its challenges than any talking head, newspaper, or big shot demanding, and getting your fear and obedience. The people in our daily lives are not the enemy, we must stop treating each other as disposable waste and learn to cherish our common history of overthrowing tyrants of all stripes, scale and stature. Like the old adage, please keep in mind "there is no such thing as gravity - the earth sucks;" so too, my friends, do mean people.
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