The want of something...

[Javaman]

Anything.

So my wife's son brings over the movie Zeitgeist.

It was an interesting sort of spew-age. Needless to say, it was heavy in the Libertarian side of things.

What I am slowly discovering is something more interesting. Her son, 23, a good guy, smart, but not intellectually curious. When I asked him were he gets his info sources, he stated, "I don't really read much and get most of my info from you guys (my wife and myself) and from people I meet at work. He works in retail. This left me a bit wondering. So I asked him, how he feels about the state of things in society and the world.

His reply basically is: we are fucked. Environmentally, politically, societal, etc.

I saw him go through his teen years, misplaced angst, wanting to be part of something, but not knowing where to start. Pretty typical stuff.

Now he's into the conspiracy issues. Alex Jones, Zeitgeist, etc. When I point out various issues with the movie, he got very defensive. Also typical of his age, basically saying in so many words, "You are old, you don't know", yet he looks to us for information.

Much as myself at that age, I wanted to be part of something larger than myself. Why, haven't the foggiest idea. Genetic? I don't know.

But I do notice that he loves to text A LOT. Some months ago he stated, "I couldn't find it possible to be without my phone".

I thought that very sad.

Now, I don't know many people his age other than his friends, which are varied, but they do have many similarities. They all text obsessively, they are all down on politics and any hope for the future. But they don't even wish to try to attempt to change things, choosing instead to complain and continuing to watch these various Libertarian/Alex Jones movies.

So playing devils advocate, I asked, "well, since you find Alex Jones interesting, have you tried contacting him to see if you can perhaps, help him or try to organize like he does?" (Granted I think Alex Jones represents a perfect example of the broken clock theory, but I digress). He just mumbled something about not wanting to be on the governments radar.

We are bearing witness to a generation that will not do better than previous generation. But more so, they are being controlled via these pitchmen of societies ills and aren't even aware of it. They willing live under the belief that they are being listened to, being watched and are on some list, because as much as these pitchmen sell their paranoid power trips, they are do nothing to empower people to do something about it, other than scream with a bullhorn some half-assed crap. That's not power, that's spectacle.

Yes, there are young people out there that are inspired to do things, to try and make a difference, that attempt to change the voice of the world in small local ways, but sadly, I honestly believe, there is a huge portion of our youth, like my wife's son, that base their opinions and feelings on the ramblings of fringe nuts that spout their version of the "truth".

These detractors target the small but growing segment of society that feels powerless, apathetic and disengaged.

These societal snake oil salesmen know their audience well and target them specifically.

They know perfectly well that the landscape of our society is going through a massive upheaval. These salesmen, telling the "truth", are nothing more than the predecessors of what is to come.

The slow erosion society, doesn't happen with it's public works, its infrastructure, it happens with its youth.

There are no more heroes. Where are the MLK's, the Armstrong's, the Elanor Roosevelt's? the Gandhi's, the Einsteins? Who does the youth of today have to hold up as a societal beacon of change, a voice for their generation? Tiger woods?

I hit upon something last night regarding Obama and the concept of heroes.

How does the government destroy a hero? Simple. Elect him or her to office. Once apart of the machine, they slowly and even begrudgingly, become a part of it. Thus destroying a voice that could have upset the apple cart.

There is this sense of aimlessness, a lack of foundation from which to build, an emptiness of voice to lead. So as a result, not just the youth, but across the generational divide, of a want for a leader. A person with a strong voice. A self sacrificer. A guiding voice of reason that is not a part of the machine. This, sadly, gives rise to the demagoguery of none-politicians, fringe elements and tv people. Because they are the only ones who have a "voice" to express their "opinions". Regardless of the fact that they are really just extensions of the corporations that own them.

We all lament here on DU, were are the RFK's? Were are the Malcolm X's? They don't exist anymore. They have been replaced by the false profits of TV news spokes models, dullards and failed candidates.

No longer is it about the words, it's all about fame, status and image. How many countless times have we heard something so stupid and inane spewed out by the tv talking heads, only to have it repeated to us verbatim the very next day by someone who then quotes it as fact?

We live in a society of misinformation, misdirection and misdeeds.

We no longer, generally speaking, have a voice to ourselves. No more critical thought, no more fact checking and certainly no more apologies when the lies spoken are, well, lies.

The general; WE, no longer needs to understand these things. We want a leader, a speaker and feeler who talks to our inner and outer child. Who is like us, who we can drink a beer with, who doesn't deal in complicated thinking, and "tells things like it is".

We, us, are so far down the rabbit hole that we are so willing to grasp at straws to get us through the night, to help us express our colossally misplaced anger, that we will take just about anyone to be that mouth piece.

AS a result, we all hip hip hooray for improvements! Then get wildly depressed when we find, like always, that the devil is in the details. We realize that we were had one again. Sadly, this seems to be happening more and more often, doesn't it?

We are so lacking in that firm hand of guidance that allows the little guy a voice and a fair shake, that we are splintering as a society. Is this an accident?

Is this the reaction that the Neo-cons wanted? I believe so. In boxing or any contact sport, as long as you keep your opponent off balance you are usually assured a win.

They do not look upon us as the masses they were elected to serve, we are their opponent.

And we are massively off balance.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. I don't know anything about Alex Jones....

but I can certainly label myself as someone who is open to the possibility that within things labeled "conspiracies" often therein lies truth.

Aside from that, I very much agree with what you have so thoughtfully shared here.

"We live in a society of misinformation, misdirection and misdeeds."

Indeed.

K&R

[Javaman]

2. Alex Jones uses the scatter gun approach...

spout often enough about a myriad of conspiracies and one is bound to hit.

[Echo In Light]

10. His sometimes annoying carnival barker approach aside, he is at times on target, & fearless

I'll never forget watching security manhandle him away after crashing a press conference then gov Bush was having, bringing up things that apparently the 'profe$$ional' crowd found unseemly. I don't listen/watch him w/any regularity, but it helps to keep in mind that most of the negativity he receives is from the moderate/professional class/crowd - which should come as no surprise.

[Javaman]

12. Like I said...

the scatter gun approach. He yells enough about enough things, he is bound to be right once in a while.

[hfojvt]

3. the little engine that couldn't

http://www.ishmael.org/Education/Writings/littletrain.shtml

"The reality is that, even if you're a member of one of the First Peoples, you and your children are constantly bombarded with messages from Taker culture by way of books, billboards, movies, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, and of course pre-eminently by way of the schools.

In other words, it doesn't really matter whether you belong to our culture or not in this regard. If you or your children watch television, go to movies, listen to the radio, and go to our schools, then, like it or not, you're preparing yourselves and your children for extinction.

But what do I actually mean by this outrageous statement? I'll tell you this in a nutshell and then offer some examples of what I'm talking about. In a nutshell: We have been taught---and are therefore teaching our children---that, individually, we are all pretty much helpless when it comes to saving the world. That is, unless we happen to have the power of a world leader---the power of a Clinton or Yeltsin. Or unless we happen to control some vast multi-national corporation like Shell Oil or Du Pont. Or unless we happen to control some big organization like the Red Cross or Greenpeace or the World Wildlife Fund. We've been taught (and are therefore teaching our children) that, as individuals, all we can do is wait for OTHER people---POWERFUL people---to save the world. Oh sure, we can do our little bit. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle, and this is very nice and very useful---but really important and far-reaching global change must come from the TOP. We just have to wait and hope for the best. We're like people standing around watching a neighbor's house burn down because we've been taught that this is a problem for PROFESSIONALS to handle. We mustn't interfere. Until trained fire-fighters arrive, we're just supposed to stand there and watch---and if they NEVER arrive, then the house will just have to burn down right to the ground. . . . "

[galileoreloaded]

4. Great post, but a question for you. You seem to point to generational ...

differences as a point to wax nostalgic about. I would submit, that in this time, and this place, the generation you are lamenting some perceived loss for, are PERFECTLY trained and experienced to deal with the life they are to encounter.

I think the change and loss you are feeling is your own sense of self and worldview, and I completely understand that is a difficult thing, as your world has markedly changed in the last 40 years.

Try to ask a 25 year old about pensions and retirement, they look at you like you have 2 heads. It is NOT germane to the discussions they have, and they don't even think about it because to them, even the idea doesn't exist. No frame of reference.

[Javaman]

6. Perhaps you are older than me.

pensions and retirement don't exist in my reality. My dads, yes, but not in mine.

I have a pretty good reference point to speak from, I worked freelance many many years and I know full well the concept of life without any sort of "safety net".

My point is, society is looking to the uninformed to be informed. When in reality, the people that we need to guide us through tough times are grossly lacking.

and when I say "guide" us, I'm not talking about someone with a road map, but a societal leader to help point the way. MLK didn't give a power point presentation on the need for equality. It's inherent.

The inherent concepts which need to be obviously stated to the masses have been exchanged for massive ego of the disenfranchised.

No longer is it about we the people but more about me the person, and that person is the talking head.

They live to preen and to be adored, not to help, guide or serve.

and because there are so many of them, a person that tries to maintain a sense of moral grounding seems to have these same beliefs questioned daily by people they once looked up to then are torn down by the pundits, back biters and sycophants that want to take their places.

This is what I meant by keeping us off balance.

One week joe blow moron is all the rage, next week joe blow moron is found out to be a mule molesting ponzi artist.

Rinse and repeat.

It's all about selling a product and not about being a voice.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. white noise....

I wrote about it yesterday, but to me the biggest problem is white noise.

Yes, there's a ton of information available but, good grief, what we have to wade through to find facts versus opinion journalism is astounding!

There are too many voices and those with the most to share get lost in the white noise, IMHO.

It's exhausting.

[Javaman]

9. I agree.

It seems to me the "news" these days are more opinion than actual fact.

The sad part is when only a 20 to 30 second segment is given to an important issue yet, hours upon hours are given to "breaking stories" of some moronic celebrity and their failings. (The "Entertainment tonight"-ing of the news)

The truly amazing thing is: these so called failings are framed in such a way as if they are personal attacks on us.

If Tiger Woods wants to have sex with a different person each day of the week while still married, horrible as it is, it's his and his wife's own business. But because he is a celebrity and the "hero" to many, it's now a free for all (via the "news") to destroy him all in the vein of making the public feel better at his fall from grace. All because people stopped looking at him as a human (thank you insane media over promotion) and more along the lines of an idol that can do no wrong. The masses feel a personal affront when he is revealed to be, gasp!, human! They are in wonderment when he is shown to be subject to the same emotions and short comings of the plebes.

He will be now relegated to the bin of back room jokes, scorn and humiliation.

We are quick to build up our societal icons but whoa be it for them, if they reveal that they are very human.

More biscuits for the masses.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Great post. thanks...

"I couldn't find it possible to be without my phone".


I find that quote very telling. There are so many out there of that generation that feel that way.
The concept of them texting while they are driving is totally beyond my comprehension.
They talk on their cell phones for hours.
I fear there is going to be a horrific epidemic of brain disease in the next 10-20 years.

So many hours with a cell phone next to your head cannot be good.

[gorfle]

13. The sky is falling!

The simple fact is that our children communicate with each other on a scale that most of us cannot fathom, both in the quantity of information they share and the breadth of the audience they interact with.

While any compulsive, addictive behavior is cause for concern, it's hard to find anything bad about the above aspect of our children's communication skills.

[Echo In Light]

15. Also, it's unfair to relegate realistic views as necessarily cynical

... especially given the heightened awareness some of the young have w/unprecedented access to all sorts of data that previous generations had to piecemeal together by way of learning how to de-code official doctrine (M$M). Many young people realize the behemoth of corporate rule, and all of its various machinations and conspiracies, but haven't any clue as to how to go about opposing it in any substantive way.

[Better Today]

8. Re: "These detractors target the small but growing segment of society that feels powerless,..."

"These detractors target the small but growing segment of society that feels powerless, apathetic and disengaged."

The problem is that many of us that started way back when with the vitality and interest you speak of, got most of it sapped off of us for the past few decades as our efforts and desires, our protests and petitions were swept under rugs, ignored, over-ridden, legislated away, and more.

It isn't just the young'uns that are feeling powerless, apathetic, and disengaged. I had huge hope again last year for the first time in a long while, but it is fading fast for many reasons.

[Javaman]

11. The one thing I have noticed these many years....

after the protests during the Viet Nam war, those in power learned the fine art of short circuiting any sort of meaningful mass demonstration.

Why are demonstrations, with the exception of very few, so anemic?

I honestly believe because of agent provocateurs, disinformation, turning members, excessive use of the media, etc...

The government or at least the police, alphabet agencies and/or paid mercs have gotten very good at stopping or controlling a movement before it is out of their control.

People are afraid, but that fear only goes so far. Their comes a point in every society when the government goes just a bit to far and that fear becomes out right skepticism. That's when things get really interesting.

We are not there and if properly controlled we may never get to that point.

As I have written in the past, people don't protest over rights anymore, they will protest when gas goes over 5 bucks a gallon.

[Better Today]

16. So then why are you disenchanted by the fact that young'uns have figured

out through the actions and discussions of their elders (current elders not what elders did a few decades ago) that . . . well, resistance is futile.

[gorfle]

17. A simpler explanation: laziness.

I honestly believe because of agent provocateurs, disinformation, turning members, excessive use of the media, etc...

There is a simpler explanation: The treadmill.

The simple fact is that most people are stretched thin covering their necessities in life, and beyond that scratching out a few moments of happiness in whatever distractions from work they can afford.

On top of this, people realize that if they protested something it would probably gain as much attention as they themselves give to protesters: none.

[hunter]

14. Is it learned helplessness, or is it taught? I say it's taught.

This society's children have been taught that it is inevitable and okay to be ineffective, that it's okay to buy things rather than make things, that somebody else is leading the herd, that they get a good job by filling in the correct bubbles on the test sheet, the right numbers on the spread sheet, jumping through the right hoops.... or else they are condemned to making hamburgers or cleaning toilets or stocking shelves. They live in someone else's reality rather than making their own.

My wife and I taught our own kids to make things, to build their own lives and communities, and not to yield to unjust authority. They don't look for leaders, they follow their own strong wills.

Political movements don't arise from leaders like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, they coalesce around them. Yet there is no eye to most storms. A shared voice cannot be silenced except by the assent of those who have heard it. But that's not what our political authority teaches -- they want us to believe that all action trickles down from authority, a god, a leader, a political party, a nation. But the greatest threat to authority arises from individuals who listen to their own voices above the voices on the loudspeakers and speak their own truths to their families and their communities.

[leftstreet]

18. Very well said

Political movements don't arise from leaders like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, they coalesce around them. Yet there is no eye to most storms. A shared voice cannot be silenced except by the assent of those who have heard it. But that's not what our political authority teaches -- they want us to believe that all action trickles down from authority, a god, a leader, a political party, a nation. But the greatest threat to authority arises from individuals who listen to their own voices above the voices on the loudspeakers and speak their own truths to their families and their communities.

:applause:

[robertpaulsen]

19. Thank you for this insight, Javaman.

I've been seeing a lot of talk lately about revolution. But I think it more likely we are facing the opposite because I believe you are correct when you say:

Is this the reaction that the Neo-cons wanted? I believe so. In boxing or any contact sport, as long as you keep your opponent off balance you are usually assured a win.


Hey, as long as TPTB keep the money, who cares who is in charge? I hope to write more in depth about this later.

[yurbud]

20. I'd be careful about what I call ''conspiracy theories'' anymore

for the last nine years, yesterday's conspiracy theory has become today's controversial news story and tomorrow's settled history--or more likely ''fog fact'' that no one disputes but never talks about either.

[yurbud]

21. Think about why there might not be an RFK or Malcolm X...

those guys were shot, as were MLK, and JFK, all leaders of the slightly to further left in American politics.

When someone comes from nowhere with the power to rally people like that, Howard Dean, Michael Moore, or Cindy Sheehan, or Dennis Kucinich, the right wing media assassinates their character, and treats them as less than serious, and then simply ignores them.

I suspect that other potential leaders are deterred in subtler ways before they even reach that level of prominence.

Think about what the CIA has done in the last decade with those color revolutions. If they know how to incite revolutions and political unrest, don't you think they have invested as much effort in figuring out how to quell and even prevent it in places where the status quo serves the interests of the already very wealthy?