The last few months I’ve had a growing sense of horror stemming from the crumtasticness of current events. It isn’t fist-in-the-mouth screaming horror, but more like being slowly covered in slimy ice water. It isn’t fear, this horror is something different. I guess fear is when you give something power over you and horror is when you know you have power over nothing.
I run across spite, amorality [not immorality, which is less dangerous], malice and rage [both berzerk and chilled, I don’t know which is scarier] on a pretty much daily basis. The folks who espouse a more constructive and cooperative focus seem ill-equipped to contain the folks who use any tool, no matter how unsavory, to make their point.
I guess I’m talking about the Schiavo thing, and while I don’t know nearly enough to speak about the implications this has on law, personally I feel that everyone involved is using her/the body for their own reasons, to further their own agenda. The memory and legacy of the woman is now, and forever will be, this bickerfest that has been blown so out of proportion by those who see a possibility for personal gain. She has been in this [keyword alert!] “persistant vegetative state” since I was nine years old, and to all intents and purposes [including the ones who insist that she is conscious] she is truly nothing more than a chess piece for any of those people involved. Since I’m now involved, I suppose I’ve used her as a chess piece to make my point that people are using her as a chess piece. Fuck. We become what we defy.
And that is part of the problem. I can see how easily I could behave this way. I don’t want to use people, but I have before.
With the school shootings, and the war in Iraq, hell just about anything anymore is stripped of dignity. Perhaps I’m talking about spin, and if I am then spin is shallow. Dignity and Respect should come first, but those words get just as twisted and made meaningless. As an example: “Respect Life” versus “Respect Choice” both are directed toward respecting a concept instead of a person. So if a person has an opposing view, they are often treated poorly because they do not Respect [insert abstract concept]. A person’s political leanings should have no bearing on the respect and dignity with which they should be treated. Yeah, I’m not talking about Acting Dignified or Respectable in your own person, that is just posturing. I’m talking about treating the most contemptible person as a person who is at the very least due dignity and respect.
Whatever happened to hospitality or sportsmanship?
Arg.
I blame the Baby Boomers for this. Their generation supposedly “fought the man” during Vietnam, brought on the counter-culture movement, advocated peace and love, experimented with drugs, and in general were poised to make real significant change. Somehow this all changed in the late 70’s and the 80’s. I think the change here is that they either grew up, got power, or burned out. Now they truely have become what they suposedly railed against. I know that generation wasn’t entirely hippies and peacniks, but the point remains, they’ve become what they despised. Also the 80’s became the poster child for the whole me first thing. I dunno I also think the media has lost all sense of true independance anyway. The propaganda machines that were born in WW2 and grew up during the Cold War have nothing to focus on other than fearmongering. If everybody is afraid, then they will lash out against those who challenge their thinking/way of life/religion/freedom.
This is a big change from 70+ years ago:
“We have nothing to fear but fear itself” ‑FDR 1932-
Metaphors are powerful. That is why they are used by teachers, writers, politicians, artists and captains of industry. They are worthwhile tools to reach an individual or groups and describe a situation, deploy a philosophy and justify a behavior. We like them because they make understanding easy.
Is fearmongering worse than FDR’s hypocrisy?