What I fear occurring in the US
Humor, Debt, and no Civic Pride
If you have read some of my thoughts for a while, I am sure you sense a bit of whimsy and humor in what I write.
But that is the fate of man to laugh at life’s absurdities.
What I don’t normally do is laugh or make a mockery of our leaders, whether I agree with them or not.
The main reason I stopped listening to Jon Stewart a long time ago was that it went from comedy to political views disguised as comedy. That is a scary slope. We are all guilty of it. But we are stereotyping and making a mockery of our leaders, and by doing so, they can get away with any lapse in judgment or go way beyond the line of political shenanigans, as we accepted their foibles like a Dave Chapelle comedy series.
Comedy makes things acceptable.
And on the flip side, it gets people angry.
I feel that is how The Odyssey got people in the seats; the mockery online made it seem a foregone conclusion that it would bomb. Instead, it got people off their phones to watch it on IMAX.
In fact, come to think of it. Obama mocked Trump to his face that he would never become President.
How did that turn out?
The up and coming extremists in politics are the children of the 60s and they know very well that satire, mockery, humor plays into their agenda, not against it. Bernie Sanders as a person and ideology is clown-like but he knows that and plays into it. But make no mistake these are humans with very serious agendas that can affect the entire world.
Did you see how that changes when there is a modicum of power and influence? The leaders of our great hallowed institutions when they are on the hot seat act as if they are robots without emotion and speak like they are 3rd graders.
It’s the old Abbott and Costello routine.
Spencer Pratt, the mayorial candidate, used that strategy to break through and almost win against candidates that were emotionless.
They have the best PR assembled, but you have a better one in me to disassemble this garbage because if I didn’t get into arguments with them in film school and out I probably would be peddling that crap myself.
And you know why it works?
Because most people are in debt. And there is fear everyday. So why not get a chuckle or two from our leaders caught in the hot seat and just make it through the day.
Only when they realize that the pot is getting hot, and they are getting cooked will they find this not funny anymore. But then it’s too late.
I personally don’t believe you fight fire with fire. Without deep thought, the enemies of Democracy and Freedom have valid points and solutions if no one experienced the results of the outcome.
The only solution at this stage is civic pride. Not outsourcing the work, but having each and everyone of us stop and think about our local community. Not the country. Not New York City. But where you are sitting. Have to focus on family before your relatives.
If we do not, the enemies of Freedom and Capitalism, as they stated publicly, do not take losses sitting down. They will fight and fight dirty to have their vision a reality.
An atheist, which they say they are, only has one life, so they have to make the most of it. And as there is no after life, they can take their viewpoints to potential extremes.
I fear greatly that we are going to be entertaining ourselves in our rooms as the street outside burns.
Let’s try to change that. And if we can’t, as my mentor James Dines liked to say in his old newsletter paraphrased:
“Try to make as much money in the market as possible, so you have alternatives”
I have certain viewpoints and solutions that should help.
PS. These were my thoughts as I saw my kids give me a hug this morning. I ran it past my AI, which pushed back on a few of my thoughts. But I’ll leave it to the reader to provide any insight that I may need to fine-tune.