Pardon the Interruption, But...

I begin to have deep distrust for the world as it is portrayed by our trusted sources of information.

I am feeling the effects of exposure to the 24 hour sell-a-thon that has become America.

And the intensity of the sell speaks to the desperation of the seller, who knows the store will go under at any moment, and to warn the customer of such an event would impede even the final, sad dregs of profit from oozing into the seller's open hand.

But the truth is obvious and accessible to anyone with eyes and ears: our planet is in peril, our habits are self-defeating, our leaders are corrupt, our fever to consume is unrelenting.

And yet we are told not to trust our sensory apparati, that whatever nature has bestowed upon us is faulty and ill equipped at best to deal with the world man has built from once thought to be endless and abundant resources.

And there does not seem to be an antidote to this irresistible trend, or an alternate version of the one which, like the creeping plaque on an artery or the accumulation of scarred tissue on a brain, runs counter to the corrosive effects of rampant greed.

What has been accomplished to stem the onslaught of the golems of unregulated, unethical industry? Where is a good virus, a positive plague to overcome the learned behavior that permits people to profit from misery, to thrive from inefficiency, to promote chaos and obsolescence as a means to perpetuate debt? There does not seem to be any cure for what is ailing our nation. America is itself a living example of greed-fueled inefficiency, reflected in its regressive attitudes, unrestrained profiteering and unceasing ignorance of its own mortality.

And the steady erosion of our overall output, regurgitating progressively lesser ideas and corrupted values ultimately begets a final generation, born sterile.

From the grinning forebears who preached the gospel of trickle down economics, our democratic landscape has been reduced to a dystopian dust bowl; the power mad corporocrats who mock human hope and dangle genetically manipulated carrots in front of the burdened herd have succeeded in creating a world dreamt of by the half of the human psyche which slakes its thirst on blood and revels in human failure.

They are the deluded demigods who are hopelessly addicted to their material wealth, too drunk to remember that it will do them no good in the end, that they will someday become the very earthen petroleum they covet.

Okay, so I just read Animal Farm to my kids. I now return you to your regular programming.

 

 

Comments

[Heartlight3]

Did anyone ever consider that the reason the stock exchange has recovered so fast and the middle class is not, might be that the people with all the money are the only ones who have anything to invest and they are the ones who are investing in the stock market? It seems like an illusory recovery to me. Main Street is still suffering while Wall Street goes merrily on it's way doing what it has always done. And we, the taxpayers, are enabling them by giving them all the money we don't have. I don't see that the recovery of the stock exchange is indicative of an economic recovery in this country.

[TRex86]

You are correct. The majority of individual stock owners are in the top 1% of the wealthy. They have adjusted their assets so that much of their income is tax preferenced dividends and capital gains. When they have spare cash they invest it. While many middle class people "own" stocks via pension plans their decisions are dependent on having any extra money to save. The asset allocation decisions are made by investment professionals.
This money is only tax deferred. It will come back as ordinary taxable income--the stacked deck of the US financial world. This is how Warren Buffet has 1/3 the tax rate as his secretary. The subtext of the Bush tax cuts: put money in the hands of that same one percent (the "haves and have-mores") who will put it back into the stock market (and contribute some of it to politicians).

[TRex86]

Neil Postman got it right 25 years ago with Amusing Ourselves to Death. Our right to be amused has transformed the "pursuit of happiness" into never ending mind numbing TV and radio garbage. Any lie can be served up as "entertain­ment." (Viz., Limbaugh, R.). We distract ourselves and passively consume the pablum our media spoons out, and it's watered down to very thin gruel for fear of annoying the sponsors with (gasp!) controversy. Controversy has become false equivalency: "The world is flat; some disgree!"
Journalism has an obligation to educate and inform. Sometimes that isn't entertaining. Bring back Omnibus or David Susskind's long, leisurely conversations with people whose brains still work. (I think the last time I saw Noam Chomsky on TV was on Susskind). It's time to force the users of the public airwaves to offer many more hours of "community service" programming. If they refuse to deliver real journalism voluntarily they need to lose their licenses.

[LMPE]

All are equal, but some are more equal than others.

[AllShookUp]

I'm susprised there wasn't more outrage and pitchforks after the Wall Street debacle. And now, when the middle class is broke and Wall Street thumbs its collective nose at them while they realize unbelievalble profits at our expense, it's all seemingly okay because the dow climbed above 10,000 and some people recouped money they lost. So they're good. Now it's back to the "screw you, I've got mine" attitude that started all this in the first place, and damn the people who lost everything. I don't think this crisis is over, not by a long shot. In fact, we had a glimpse of what we should do and instead we did nothing but slap a small band-aid on it. This country is falling victim to itself and its corruption all over again. When people are sick and tired of being sick and tired, they'll do something about it. Until then, it'll be business as usual. I hope it's sooner than later.

Thanks for the article Steve, very well done.

[changeself]

there are solutions and alternatives.

most people do not want to change

until they HAVE TO.

they have NOT hit the bottom. but they will sooner or later.

[TomR]

----
They are the deluded demigods who are hopelessly addicted to their material wealth, too drunk to remember that it will do them no good in the end, that they will someday become the very earthen petroleum they covet.
----

From the definition of nihilism:
3. total and absolute destructiveness, esp. toward the world at large and including oneself: the power-mad nihilism that marked Hitler's last years.

The greedy will do all they can to stop the reduction of CO2 pollution for their short-term profits. Life is merely a game they play. Why don't they give a sh*t about the world they are leaving behind for their children and grandchildren?

I think we need to point out the long-term expense their actions will cost their own families, regardless of how wealthy they are. Whether you're ultra rich or very poor, every one needs a habitable climate to live in, clean water to drink, and clean air to breathe. Even birds understand the importance of not sh*tting in their own nests. What is so difficult about this concept to understand?

Playing an active role in enabling a runaway greenhouse effect like on the planet Venus (surface temperature is 860 °F) is not the legacy for which you'll want to be remembered, regardless of how wealthy and powerful you are.

- Tom

[Olampean]

I really enjoy Steven Weber's posts. Thanks!

[BartRoberts]

He never disappoints, but this piece was especially good.

[tedled]

... it's very simple ... we are what we eat ... we have been programmed to eat stuff which clogs our bodies and minds, which makes us stoopid enuff to obey the corp-gov media-mess­ages... SOUL-FOOD = SLAVE-FOOD ... it's a matter of mass insanity, which can be solved only by individually cleansing & purifying our bodies & minds ... do it and love lifts us up to the higher ways of peaceful co-existence ...

[PaxEterna]

This is the end of the industrial revolution . . . although millions have never been the beneficiaries of the exploitation of this planet, it is over . . . we are moving into an era where we MUST collectively work towards saving the planet and each other .

It is a question of values and priorities . . . when we get these straightened out for the greater good, then our institutions can be transformed.

In the meantime, most people, especially the politicians who are addicted to their power, are clueless. It is for this reason that they continue to try to "fix" things by moving the furniture around instead of re-thinking the whole premise of our existence.

We will not get health care reform, finance reform, jobs, or infrastructure regeneration until we get our priorities re-defined. While we wait for the tinkering with the old to stop and the shouting to die down, things WILL get worse.

[daffey]

Some good, albeit harsh, points. But I’ve been thinking over the years, and it’s more than just the greed and industry. For over 250 years, there has been a series of ideological revolutions challenging the status-quo, only to be in turn challenged by a new ideology. That happens. But it has been happening in rapid-fire succession, and it seems to be around a split of ‘when should we have absolute morality, and when can we toss morality out the window and say it’s anyone’s guess?’ You can’t say ‘over here, it’s your own opinions and desires, nothing else matters, but over there, it’s rules, rules, rules.’ Tell people there is no absolute ethical standard in one part of their lives, and it will spill over into another. If they are told the bedroom has no morals, it will surely spill into the boardroom as well. And add to that a here-today­-gone-late­r-today life span of values, and it’s hard to really insist anyone is doing anything wrong if today’s liberal values become tomorrow’s tired, antiquated ethos needing to be abandoned by the new, hip, progressive thinkers. So I have a feeling much of our problem is we have tried to live by the sword (that is shaving this or that moral for our convenience), and now we are dying by that same sword. Just IMHO.

[urbanguerilla]

I'm reminded of something Aristotle said, in that only 15% of any population is enlightened. Our "system" exploits the 85% that aren't. I've long since become indifferent to this, as my career in the energy industry has provided for MY family, beyond my hopes. I suspect this whole thing will eventually go over the cliff, but until then, I'll continue to look out for me and mine. In the end though, I remind myself, it's every man for themselves, and the 85%'rs are but low hanging fruit, god bless their small little minds..

[seawolf77]

This is spot on. The final nail so to speak is this idea that AMERICA can't fail and a big part of that is our military. It was as if we spent all this money building up th biggest baddest army so that we could hold a gun the the wrold's head and say "It's our way or the get your broken down tired old butt out on the highway". I can see Bernanke now " Well hell I could stop printing money but I got a gun to their heads. We just keep printing the stuff till the world figures our ir's worthleess. Then we'll kill them." That is the fatal fllaw in conservatism. Eventually you run out of things to eat.

[onlinesavant]

No, the flaw in conservatism isn't that you run out of things to eat. No, the flaw is that the exploited eventually figure out that they are indeed being exploited, and they rebel. No, the only way that those whose champion exploitation in the form of "conservatism" can survive ( As there are many more people inclined towards progressivism, or are just dis-interested, and trying to make it through the day.) is if they understand that they are just part of a much larger fabric, and that they MUST work with the rest of society to make the larger body healthy, and within this, they insure their own survival. "No man is an island unto himself."

[shanghaislim]

Steven, wonderful as usual, and love your new title.

Reminds me a few years ago, I was watching Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) on a talk show and the caption underneath read...

Salmon Farmer / Rock Star

My business cards under title now say "Director of the Bleedin' Obvious"..­....and another says...

Completely Mad Chef
(No, really....­...bonkers­!)

Nice to feel free and empowered to say what we feel and think.....­.........h­ence your writing.

My book will be out next year summer :-)

[mommadona]

"But wait! There's MORE!"...

[jmpurser]

Thanks Steven. Cool ride!