The world I grew up in has quickly slipped away and I almost feel like a visitor to this era. An out of place alien who doesn't quite know the rules and who doesn't recognize the landscape of politics, religion, values, the lack of common sense, or other people's views on right vs wrong. Then again I am currently in the middle of teaching Lord of the Flies, quite possibly the most hopeless literary P.O.V on the human condition that exists. (Except Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.. That is some REAL messed up stuff. That evil dude going around in the brightly decorated cart kidnapping children that he throws into a dungeon. Gives me chills even thinking about it).
This is called back story:
After work I had to go Rite Aid to get some Mucinex DM, and thanks to meth manufacturers I had to give my DOB before I could even buy it. AND the clerk told me that they have started hiding the batteries behind the counter because teens are stealing them. Seems they are taking something out of the batteries that they can mix with something else to get high. Who even thought of this crap? Yeah, I was a stupid teen once upon a time but even I wouldn't have taken apart a battery and thought, "Gee, I wonder if something in this battery can get me high?". I mean, WTF??
Then I come home and read the news headlines and I start thinking about all the headlines over the past two years. Some definite horror movie stuff. I mean, 60s horror flicks vastly underrated the true state of possibilities. We are almost Soylent Green times six here, except that, if it came down to it, we couldn't even eat people because the bodies would be too poisoned with toxic environmental crap for us to ingest (and if you don't know what Soylent Green is, then you're part of the problem).
Russia is invading the Ukraine (are my grandkids going to have to live through another Cold War?); the minimum wage hasn't been raised in three years; food prices have increased exponentially; Monsato is poisoning our food; Detroit is a ghost town; industrial companies are poisoning our water supply; teachers have been made the scapegoat for the sorry state of education in this country; we have a government that rushed/passed a health care mandate that is too full of holes and vastly questionable, but that will, in the bloody end, effect millions of people who are the middle class (the very ones who support this country by the sweat of their brow and the bloody blood in their veins); and the two political parties in this country can't even get along with one another long enough to do what is BEST for this country. They're too caught up in their images, the vast network of lobbyists, and their political careers. They're all a bunch of self serving assholes, as far as I'm concerned.
And what about America's obsession with reality television and our penchant for gullible ignorance and cell phone "selfies" ( I can't believe I even typed that word..)? And then there's this Simon guy from American Idol. I totally don't get him. Or Justin Bieber. My brain fucking locks up when I even read his name in print.
On a more serious note, cancer is hitting way too many people that I know and love (a side benefit of poisoning our environment, our food, and our water!) and Alzheimer's cases are increasing at a rate that medical science and our health care system can't even keep pace with.
I am out of step. I don't get it. I don't understand. I didn't think I would feel this way until at least age seventy. But here I am at the grand old age of fifty-two thanking my lucky stars that in about thirty years (on the outside) I will be dead and won't have to think about this crap. I will be worm food and I can leave all of this to the living (bless their hearts). They can worry, fret, attempt to sort out the unmanageable shit, and try and solve the myriad ills of society.
Sadly, my generation is to blame for a lot of the FUBAR state of affairs and we are doing nothing about it except making bigger messes out the already made messes. To future generations: I apologize for our actions and/or inactions... but the next generation AND the one following that one aren't looking so hot either. You are all sooooooo screwed for about the next eighty years, at least.
Just keeping it real. The beat goes on....
And this is what started all of this:
This is called back story:
After work I had to go Rite Aid to get some Mucinex DM, and thanks to meth manufacturers I had to give my DOB before I could even buy it. AND the clerk told me that they have started hiding the batteries behind the counter because teens are stealing them. Seems they are taking something out of the batteries that they can mix with something else to get high. Who even thought of this crap? Yeah, I was a stupid teen once upon a time but even I wouldn't have taken apart a battery and thought, "Gee, I wonder if something in this battery can get me high?". I mean, WTF??
Then I come home and read the news headlines and I start thinking about all the headlines over the past two years. Some definite horror movie stuff. I mean, 60s horror flicks vastly underrated the true state of possibilities. We are almost Soylent Green times six here, except that, if it came down to it, we couldn't even eat people because the bodies would be too poisoned with toxic environmental crap for us to ingest (and if you don't know what Soylent Green is, then you're part of the problem).
Russia is invading the Ukraine (are my grandkids going to have to live through another Cold War?); the minimum wage hasn't been raised in three years; food prices have increased exponentially; Monsato is poisoning our food; Detroit is a ghost town; industrial companies are poisoning our water supply; teachers have been made the scapegoat for the sorry state of education in this country; we have a government that rushed/passed a health care mandate that is too full of holes and vastly questionable, but that will, in the bloody end, effect millions of people who are the middle class (the very ones who support this country by the sweat of their brow and the bloody blood in their veins); and the two political parties in this country can't even get along with one another long enough to do what is BEST for this country. They're too caught up in their images, the vast network of lobbyists, and their political careers. They're all a bunch of self serving assholes, as far as I'm concerned.
And what about America's obsession with reality television and our penchant for gullible ignorance and cell phone "selfies" ( I can't believe I even typed that word..)? And then there's this Simon guy from American Idol. I totally don't get him. Or Justin Bieber. My brain fucking locks up when I even read his name in print.
On a more serious note, cancer is hitting way too many people that I know and love (a side benefit of poisoning our environment, our food, and our water!) and Alzheimer's cases are increasing at a rate that medical science and our health care system can't even keep pace with.
I am out of step. I don't get it. I don't understand. I didn't think I would feel this way until at least age seventy. But here I am at the grand old age of fifty-two thanking my lucky stars that in about thirty years (on the outside) I will be dead and won't have to think about this crap. I will be worm food and I can leave all of this to the living (bless their hearts). They can worry, fret, attempt to sort out the unmanageable shit, and try and solve the myriad ills of society.
Sadly, my generation is to blame for a lot of the FUBAR state of affairs and we are doing nothing about it except making bigger messes out the already made messes. To future generations: I apologize for our actions and/or inactions... but the next generation AND the one following that one aren't looking so hot either. You are all sooooooo screwed for about the next eighty years, at least.
Just keeping it real. The beat goes on....
And this is what started all of this:
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