Musings

I have been thinking (he writes as if his brain will allow him to do anything else, ever) about the policies being imposed on the proletariat by the power elite. Particularly, the policies that have been imposed on us as of late, since the onset of the pandemic. You know the one that we are not supposed to talk about? The one that was supposed to magically disappear one day. The one that mysteriously keeps coming back to ravage still more segments of the population despite the whole lot of nothing done by anyone with significant political power to do anything meaningful about it. . .

They say that "sex sells," and they would be quite right about that particular assertion. Take a look around you, the vast majority of what is sold to you is sold to you with sexuality as its primary vehicle and nearly all else is sold to you via subtle and not so subtle sexual subtext. Telling you that "sex sells" is about as novel as telling you that the ultra-rich are greedy, we all know this by heart at this point. However, in my experience, few aside from sex workers, who are often angelic people of light that society does not deserve, but I digress so more about that topic at a later date, have ever thought to harness (no pun intended) the power of sexuality for good. 

As of late, it seems that everyone is coming down with some kind of mystery illness or another. From massive migraines to gastrointestinal discomfort to annoying colds that seem to be chronic to the point of being perpetual, there seems to be an endless reservoir of diseases to catch and spread in the "post-pandemic" era. This, of course, has got some of the most aggrieved by the rotten luck of continually catching these "post-pandemic" mystery illnesses asking those of us that, for some strange reason or another, rarely get sick to impart unto them the wealth of our secrets for avoiding illness so that they too may benefit from our health hacks and save themselves from the utter misery of constantly suffering from one ailment or another in this "post-COVID" era that the vast majority of us are presently living in. 

A few days ago, I posted a brief tweet expressing my frustration with the manner in which society at large has decided to respond (or rather not respond) to the current state of affairs in our world (i.e. the catastrophic rise in COVID infections across the world, the exorbitant number of wildfires all over the globe, the ongoing genocides that no one seems interested in ending, and so on ad infinitum). In response, a mutual inquired if I could expound my thoughts on this particular notion. This resulted in me replying with a flurry of tweets in which I hoped to encapsulate my thoughts in the most concise manner that I could manage. However, as is often the case, brevity leaves much room for speculation. As such, below I have endeavored to further refine my thoughts to such a degree that they are more apt to share with a broader audience.

The time is long overdue for us to reframe the manner in which we think about social safety nets and assistance programs. For far too long, the status quo has been to think about these societal positives as poorly thought out and under-regulated handouts. This type of thinking feeds the erroneous notion that these vital programs are a kind of governmental reward for willful nonconformity bankrolled by the populace without their explicit consent. This is a short-sighted mentality that breeds resentments and only further exacerbates the societal ills that all involved would rather see resolved as opposed to the current alternative.

I am not one for trends. I often think of mass human acts of expression as falling into a spectrum between fashion and passion. That is to say, that the acts that we perform as individuals within society, especially those aimed at attracting attention from the community at large, in my mind, either lean more towards acts meant to fit the model of the particular norm of the day or acts derived from an overwhelming sense of urgency for what it needed or necessary in the moment in which we are living. In short, I categorize one as being a mindless self-indulgence in the zeitgeist, a going with the flow as it were, while the other is a more thoughtful, often emotional, reaction to the zeitgeist. I offer you this notion not to pass judgement on either leaning, but rather to provide you the framework of thought that informs my perspective and my aversion to trends. 

I would like to know as it does not seem that the spirit of the day is being validated by the reality of the moment in any way, shape, or form.

The American experiment died today. How can we continue to believe that the nation continues to exist as a republic? It has become painfully evident that we the people do not hold any power, much less political power. It is clear that both the power and the ability to exercise that power is in the hands of those elected and appointed to positions of political power. Furthermore, now more than ever, we know beyond the shadow of doubt that these people do not represent the will of the people but rather the interest of a corporate oligarchy, the disembodied citizenry of the new fascistic America.