They captured him on Sunday, just as our government badgered them to do. But hey, at least nobody is firing the Travel Office staff, right? Or losing money on Arkansas land deals? Now those were abuses of power we could get angry about, right?
Beyond the cynicism and the crass deception that is behind this sick trick lies something more stomach churning - the reality that a set of folks knows better and they are willing to pull any stunt, wrap their lies in slick marketing talk and stirring God talk to get what they want.
The people who we depend on have decided that the manipulation of fear combined with the divisions of faith, race & class is the path to being elected, rather than selected, in 2004. They have defined patriotism as being in blind lock-step with their POV. They have reduced discourse to a surreal series of communication manipulations backed by Orwellian backdrops spouting sound bites that have been market tested to insure shock and awe among the bleating sheep that they have pounded the U.S. citizens into.
There's always one invention or movement or shocking world-changing must-have uber-gizmo that seems to rise above it all, to encapsulate the entire shift, one item that speaks to the whole shimmering dizzying cultural timbre and makes you go, well, this thing is something special.
Because now you -- yes, you -- can say you were there for the advent of the Apple iPod. The very first one. The red-hot must-have gizmo of Now. The smooth white plastic love lump of Yes. The Gadget That Changed Everything even though everything was pretty much already completely changed and everyone was pretty much already like, damn, can things even change much anymore? And then the iPod hit and the answer was a clear, delicious, hell yes.
The iPod is the It Girl of this generation. It is the gizmo equivalent of the printing press. The lightbulb. The steam train. The space shuttle. The Pocket Rocket vibrator. Et cetera.
"In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."
A revolutionary public action came to mind: Operation Sacramento Porch Sit. I decided I would invite my neighbors--all of you--to take your chairs onto your porch. Do it tonight. Chit-chat with passersby. Watch the sky turn shades and contemplate how they reflect the ambiguities of your soul. Let the kids play until after dark. Realize that the power to save the world from those who are divided from their porch, and therefore from themselves, belongs to you. Columns - July 15, 2004
Almost 3 years ago, I became aware that I was in a depression - that the noonday demon who had been part of my family and a familiar visitor in my life had come for an extended visit at this rather inconvenient moment.
I protested - there were no rooms in my life for a visit, it was just a minor flesh wound (wink wink nudge nudge), my tap dancing could get me through this. In a move motivated primarily by embarrassment, I went to see a doctor - despite the fact that I am one of those guys who never asks for directions or reads the collateral that comes with something, my marital connection predisposes me to a surprising open-ness to professional head shrinking. My doctor coached my Type A mind to consider I feel statements and after a period of hide & seek, one day I blurted out that I felt frightened, I felt hopeless, I felt anger. Then I sorta crumbled - scratch that, I REALLY crumbled.
