voting will kill you

Everyday, even in the remotest places, the citizenry of this nation is being bombarded with patriotic rhetoric like the meaning of being [American], the uniqueness of this country, the paradise we'll all live in if we only vote and give money to one of the political rackets on the stage.

Meanwhile the meaning of being human, the uniqueness of each individual, of each community, of each bioregion the fulfilled lives we shall have when humans stop groveling in front of talismanic State-Stamped Bank notes, all that is forgotten, brushed aside as the concerns of dreamers, heretics, tramps, "dysfunctional persons," in short, as the stuff of losers. Only Real Politiks counts. Winners want Power!

To balance the budget, reduce the deficit, to have "honest politicians" (sic), to expand the realm of wagedom, to have a united country all marching in unison to the rhythms of the punch clock and the ruler's speeches! A country united by the belief in its greatness! Jobs for all, responsible government, Law and Order! These should be your dreams, these should be your concern!

Grow up and get a job you say! Yes, for you to grow up means to learn how to build your own chains, to fasten other people's chains onto yourself and your own chains onto other people. Which is why your reply to a debate or a rant which concerns freedom is always: Get a job. Who can blame you? It took half of your life to learn to keep a job and the other half to love it.

But for me rowing up means a lot. It means undoing the chains put on me by previous generations. It means getting to know my limits and learning from those previous generations, their wisdom, their mistakes, their false assumptions. For me growing means getting out of one's parents place, getting out of the jail house of the State, breaking the long leash of Capital, so that i can grow without being stunted by coercion and false promises.

Doesn't the idea of government imply the immaturity of the governed? How can you mature if some thing keeps you in a state of perpetual immaturity? How can you try your hands at things when somebody else does it for you?

But these ideas are not entertained by those who preach the gospel of authority. Do as you are told, it's as simple as that. But if I have any brain, any spirit, any shred of integrity left, it is not simple to do as I am told.

When I am told to deny and forget the majority of my authentic desires, when I am told and forced to participate in empire-building, fortune accumulation and biological meltdown, when I am told to accept that abstractions like the Economy, the Leader, the Well-Being of the Nation, Humanity, History, etc., etc., ad nauseam, that those are ideas that have mode importance and more meaning than my own fucking life, then something is wrong! It's not that simple.

(adapted from minus tides, 2001)

disclaimer: I didn't write write this and do not condone political complacency. moaning is music™ officially endorses Pigassus the Almighty for the Office of the Presidency of the United States of America in 2008.  ¶ 11/03/2008 11:20:00 PM