My only misgiving is that this new initiative of "Yes We Can!" has arrived a day late and trillions of dollars short. After all, 2012 is right around the corner and we, as a species, have been digging ourselves a sizable grave to lay in since we were first told to go forth and propagate without contraception (see "Bible, Holy") and we invented the engine. In my opinion, this nation's/world's problems are so profound and deeply rooted that the scale of it all is indescribable as well as insurmountable.
We are swimming against the water circling the drain. Yet even when all signs point to certain destruction, we continue to strive. What choice do we have? We're humans. We want to make it. So, if for only that reason, I say, "Go, Obama! Go!"
Obviously, skepticism is my modus operandi. However, even a Cynical Sally like myself can't deny how invigorating it is to feel a real sense of positivity shared by so many people. Is real change possible? Can our actions live up to our lofty expectations? I don't know. Perhaps? Let's find out! The only surety we have is that nothing can be accomplished for the greater good until we look to the individuals.
Obamarama has engendered a real sense of togetherness. What else could we do with this momentum and is it more than just a fleeting thing? We have to find a way to keep it moving and really hit home the idea that we are all in this together, so let's get together instead of being douches (directly or indirectly) to each other. This fact has lent a sense of urgency to my New Years resolutions. I feel like I not only owe it to myself to take steps to improve, but to my friends and peers as well. This year isn't just about quitting smoking or eating healthier or picking up new hobbies. This year is epic. This year is the truth.
This year is about removing the excuses that keep me docile and apathetic. I want to get rid of the things I turn to for quick and easy fixes when I feel restless or bored. I want to make things harder for myself. I know that it's going to take a certain type of person to make it in the times to come, no matter how things turn out. You'll either have to be strong enough to help turn the tide or strong enough to survive the aftermath. Now I don't know what you or anyone else would do to make those changes, but I know a few ways I am going to.
- I am minimizing my Internet footprint. No more Myspace, no more Facebook. Social networking sites have led me down a long path of procrastination and wasted time. They encourage too many bad habits and unhealthy behaviors (stalking, fixating, obsessing, etc..) My friends and acquaintances don't really need a 24-hour direct feed into my every move and there are more straightforward ways of staying in contact with a person. At least a blog I can defend. I actually have to string thoughts and emotions and ideas together intelligently, which is good practice for me. And no more Warcraft, either. I don't care if two of the three definitions for the word "interactive" on Dictionary.com pertain to computers, MMORPGs are not a fulfilling means of socializing nor are they productive.
- I am making a conscious effort to not turn on the television. Reality shows and entertainment gossip pwned whatever quality TV programming once had and they reel you in like a crack habit once you tune in. 90% of the shows on TV are the lowest form of entertainment. It seems like every fucking channel has their own version of Sluts of Love, I'm Fucking Retarded But I'm Rich So It's Okay, Women Acting Like Crazed/Rabid Banshees or Exploit Yourself for Money. And let's not forget the myriad of Hollywood "news" shows that only seem to lend validity to the sycophants and materiopaths* of the world. The day CNN started reporting on Hollywood is the day I declared war on the media. And to make matters worse, all of it is packed tight with flashy advertisements urging you to "Spend! Spend! Spend!" or "Watch! Watch! Watch!" (or, subliminally, to "Kill! Kill! Kill!"). It's A Clockwork Orange for real, but with expensive clothes and fake tans. Leave Battlestar Galactica, Flight of the Conchords and The Soup, the rest you can shove.
- I am not going to take the path of least resistance any chance I get. If I wasn't up on a soap box before, I sure as hell am now. The dire problems we're now facing can be attributed to so many things it's impossible to go through them all. Personally, I'd like to attribute it all to technology, and I will, but I'd like to preface everything I'm about to lay down with this: You can't fight progress. Humans are born with free will and fierce curiosity. Some of those humans happen to be brilliant scientists/engineers/inventors, and together they are doing a bang up job of bringing a significant percentage of science fiction into the realm of reality (HEY SCIENCE! WHERE'S MY GOD DAMN HOVERBOARD?). We have gadgets and gizmos aplenty, we have whozits and whatzits galore! You want thingamabobs?... I don't think they'll sync with your iPhone until after next month's software update. Anyhoo, my point is "Yay!" Humans are smart, but are too smart for our own good? Jaymbles, what does any of this have to do with not taking the path of blah, blah, blah? Okay, here it is as concisely as I can put it: Technology has made everything easier. Not just some things, but EV-ER-Y-THING. From entertainment to the way governments are run. And once things start to come to you easily, it's only a matter of time before you expect it all to come to you that way. You feel entitled to convenience and ease. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Feeling entitled changes your perspective on the world. There's you and then there's everyone else. A fairly innocuous frame of mind if we're talking about a handful of people, but I'm not talking about just a handful. There are billions of people in this country and we all have the same basic mindset. How can we expect to persevere in the face of a global meltdown when we get too pissed off to think when the Internet doesn't work and it's too much trouble to put a ballot in the mail. It's a very dangerous thing in this day and age to denounce the progress of science, those who do so are automatically written off as religious fundamentalists or crazies who live in cabins and build bombs out of fertilizer. I can't help it though. The way I look at it, we've taken Prometheus' torch and decided to set everything ablaze with it. Our boundless ingenuity and brainpower has led us this far. But where are we really? In a country where the economy is crumbling around us and our natural resources are failing and we spend more money on shit other people decide is important for us than we do educating ourselves and taking care of our families.
As I read back, I have to admit that my last point went off on a very severe, zealous tangent, but you won't find any apologies or embarrassment here. This, this modern, civilized age we live is just bullshit wrapped in fancy packaging. Why? Not because we're bad people, not because we have malicious intentions or we're not capable of affecting change, but because we recognize the need for it and are stymied on how to take action. All of our great achievements have made it chillingly straightforward to exist in a bubble of shallow creature comforts and positively labyrinthine to take control of our path as a people.
And if I were a prodigal mind, none of this would bother me. If I had some massive insight greater than all my peers' then I'd be resigned to watch it all go down. I'm not a genius. I'm just another twenty-something trying to make a place for myself in a place worth trying in. I've read (and understood) Orwell, Huxley, Asimov, Dick and everyone else who saw this shit coming and so have you, person reading this page right now. I'm fucking done with sucking on the digital tit of complacency. I'm done with sitting in my house with my friends and bitching about how shitty the world is until I've taken active steps to change it. Because, at this point, I haven't done shit to deserve that privilege and at the end of the day, I would rather be a revolutionary than a member of the liberal peanut gallery. How about you? Are you tired? Are you fucking tired of all this? I do believe in "Yes We Can!", but not in the sense that Obama's PR team had in mind. I believe that if we want all the reform that is necessary we need to give the masterminds in charge a reason to fear the people, even if it means going after them with rocks and bottles in our hands.
I've resolved to change the things about myself that keep me a prisoner of my own fear, apathy and straight-up laziness. Now I am begging you, people who were interested enough to read this far down the page without any pictures, to do it for yourself. This past election hasn't resparked my faith in the establishment, not one bit. It has ignited my faith in you, my fellow up-and-comers, as we all are about to be handed the deed to a broken world we've barely had a chance to impact. If it's ever going to happen, it has to happen now and not with a nudge or a pat but with a push, possibly even a slap. Let's figure out a way to keep our pimp hands strong and don't let the powers that be think for a second that we're going to roll over and play ball. I'm not asking you to do what I do, the way I do, I'm just asking you stand up any way you know how. Start with something so small it seems almost irrelevant and then build off it as much as you can everyday. If it's true that many hands makes light work then this over-population problem may work for us, if we play our cards right. Think about it.
!!!
*ma.ter.i.o.path [mah-tier-ee-oh-path] -noun. A person, as a personality, whose materialism reaches the extent that it reflects an inner lack of moral conscience or social responsibility. Donna's husband put her on a weekly allowance because he had to re-mortgage their home and take on a second job to pay for her new Mercedes, her breast implants and her addiction to Hermes handbags. She's a real materiopath.
