We are all slaves (to capitalism and consumerism)

I am a slave.

You are a slave.

We are slaves to the culture of capitalism and the consumerism that we are all a part of. They are our masters. They tell us how we are supposed to dress, how we are to work, and what we are supposed to eat and to drink. They urge us to consume, to endlessly consume new things—new clothes and cars and cell phones—when there is nothing wrong with the older things.

In fashion, we are told that fall is here, and that orange is in, that it is what is cool. Then winter rolls around, and now orange is out, and red is in. This cycle continues indefinitely, with colors and cuts constantly changing, moderate iterations on previous styles. We are made to perceive—nay, we are told—that if we don’t consume these newest fashions that we will lose social standing. In that way, we are slaves to the culture of capitalism and consumerism.

In the world of gadgets, of technology, we are made to consume by minor improvements or alterations of design. You should really go get a new refrigerator to replace that year-old one. You couldn’t possibly live without that extra inch of space that the new model has. Goodness gracious, have you seen the new iPhone? It is one percent faster than last years’ model. But you know, maybe it’s a good thing that you did buy the new model, because in another year or so, the old one you had would have broken, since they are designed to work only until the warranty has expired.. So in that way, we are slaves to the culture of capitalism and consumerism.

Even in how we perceive social interactions are we slaves to the culture of consumerism and capitalism. If I see a girl that I like, and I want to get to know her better, I ask if we can get some coffee, or get some lunch, or maybe a romantic candlelit dinner. If I want to catch up with an old friend, I ask him if he wants to go get a drink. Social interactions have become an excuse to consume. Think about holidays. On Valentine’s Day and Halloween, and Easter for that matter, we buy candy. Their original purpose has become clouded, as they now serve as reasons to consume. The worst offender of them all though is Christmas—the holy day in which everyone goes and spends money on presents for the people who matter in their lives. So much money being spent—so much profit being made.

I am a slave.

You are a slave.

We are all slaves to the culture of capitalism and consumerism that permeates our society.

How do I say what I want to say?

How do I say it?

How do I force myself to say the one thing that is central in my mind, the one thing that is nagging at me regardless of what I am doing?

How do I say that I like you?

How do I tell you that I like you?

Should I be direct, taking the frank and candid route? They say honesty is the best policy, but what if you reject me? Rejection by anyone hurts, but by you the hurt would not in just a temporary, superficial hurt--but in a deep, lasting one. It would be like a stab in the heart and a blow to the gut. It would feel like I had all the air sucked out of my chest and like my legs disappeared out from under me. I would want to cry, to run away, filled with the shame of thinking that someone as great as you would ever want to be anything more than a passing acquaintance with someone like me.

I could be subtle. I could be sly.  I could drop hints here and there, and take the safe route for my own feelings. But what if you don't pick up my hints? And is that fair to you? What If I mislead you? Then I'd be the one hurting you, and I couldn't live with that.

Maybe I'll take a hybrid approach. Maybe I'll write you a poem, like this one. But maybe you'll think that is cheesy. A poem? How original. Now I am just stalling, because I am afraid to say it, but here it goes.

Look, I like you.

I like you.

I like you.

But...do you like me?

Blood is Blood is Blood

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter whose blood it is,

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if your a man or a woman.

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if your gay or straight.

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if you don't come from the same country,

Or if you come from the same continent.

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if you speak the same language,

Or if you pray to different gods,

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if your skin is colored different,

Or if your hair or your eyes.

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter if you eat meat or not,

Or if you like rock or jazz.

Blood is blood is blood.

It doesn't matter what your differences are with others, 

Shedding blood is an act of violence,

It is unnatural.

It is wrong.

What is natural though is love.

Compassion, caring for others. 

That is natural.

That is good.

Love is hugging friend,

It is kissing a lover,

Sleeping with them.

Love is holding a suckling babe close,

Feeding it, keeping it safe.

Love is how you treat your mother and sister and brother. 

It is how you treat your neighbors and teachers and pets.

Love is natural.

It is what we all do and express.

Violence is not natural.

It is a crime, and no matter what justification you may have,

Blood is blood is blood.

There is a Problem

There is a problem in this country. A problem that is so deeply entrenched that it will be difficult if not impossible to weed out. This problem is selfishness.

This problem is not a new one, in fact it is an old one. This problem has existed since the birth of our nation all of those years ago. It has existed since we decided to dump tea in the Boston Harbor. It has existed since we first settled at Plymouth Rock. But back then it wasn't a problem. Back then, it was a force for good.

Manifest Destiny is what we called this problem then. It is how we justified the relocation of the people who lived here before we came by boat from Europe. Savages, we called them. This is our land by right. And so we made them move, or we slaughtered them like one would pigs being primed to become bacon. The Trail of Tears and the Massacre at Wounded Knee. Through it all, they proved more civilized than we.

Like the Native Americans, we used this problem of ours to justify the subjection of many other peoples. It is how we were able to enslave millions of Nigerians and Liberians, of Gabonese and Congolese. It is how we were able to treat human beings as less than dogs, and how we were able to turn water cannons powerful enough to strip away skin on innocent children.

Now, selfishness is rearing its ugly head again, for it is a monster that can never truly be killed. Look at how we treat immigrants. Look at the hardworking Mexicans, Cubans, and other Latinos who are doing our dirty work. They are taking the jobs that we don't want to work, for wages that we would never accept, and causing us no trouble. Yet we see them as thieves, coming to steal jobs for Americans. We fight them at every turn, and yet, the only reason that they are even in the United States is because we destroyed their economies through our selfish, protectionist trade policies.

It is selfishness that allows for Americans to sit in their homes, using up more than their fair share of oil and gas and water while there are people in other parts of the world that have none of those things. It is selfishness that Americans are projecting when they buy products made by children in sweatshops in China. It is selfishness that they are showing when they support governments in the Middle East that openly suppress women and anyhow who opposes them.

There is a problem in this country, and that problem is selfishness. There is only one way to fix that problem, and that is through education.

Education is the silver bullet. It can battle poverty and unemployment. It can advance technology and the arts. It even helps the damned economy.

Republicans say it is a waste of time. It is a waste of time and money and it has failed to work thus far. And to that I say, sit down. The problem is not that education doesn't work, it is that it is not being funded nearly well enough. Education is what we should be spending the most on in this country. We should follow in the example of our Scandinavian Cousins, and make being a teacher the most desirable position there is. Teachers should be making six-figure salaries. Yes, it will be expensive and it should be expensive. So is the military, which we spend over half our money on, and its soul goal is keeping the US the best through force. Its selfish. We need a change.

I Grew Up

I grew up a poor white boy.
I grew up in a constant state of fear.
I grew up in the shadow of terrorism, the world trade center bombing, 911.
I grew up in a state of war, brought on by a fabricated justification.
I grew up with a conservative government full of rich white men.
I grew up in a country where votes were bought, where the common man had the mere illusion of power.
I grew up in a society run by by the rich, by the CFOs and the CEOs, and the bankers on Wall Street.
I grew up in a society where my choice of representatives was between corporate puppets, or not voting at all.
I grew up in a society where a vote was for degrees of moderation, where progressive and liberal were evil words, even through they bring good things.
I grew up in a nation where my religion was my choice, and the government didn't take a stance against any one, but it supported the idea of the Christian God. A country where I am called unpatriotic for not pledging myself to an idol I don't believe in. I grew up being diminished and marginalized for my leftist beliefs in a bastion of conservatism.
I grew up watching everything I believed in being butchered by the hacks on Capitol Hill.
I grew up with Reaganomics.
I grew up with a nation of sheep, being led to the slaughter house by shiny toys and good looking white men.
I grew up in a society where they questioned, and refused to use proven life-saving medication people in Africa would, and literally do, die for.
I grew up in a world that was getting warmer and warmer, with ice caps melting, and sea levels rising. Yet, it was denied time and time and time again by the fossil fuel companies. By Big Oil and Shale and Natural Gas. By Exxon-Mobile and Shell and Chevron and British Petroleum. Because I grew up in a country thirsty, no addicted, to oil, politicians and scientists alike fell in line.
I grew up during a mass extinction, where polar bears and panda bears, where Smokey and Winnie where homeless, evicted by the immanent domain of the human race.
I grew up angry.
I grew up sad.
I grew up ashamed.
I also grew up curious.
I grew up hungry for knowledge, and in that, I was satisfied.
I grew up during a time of innovation, during a time of digitization.
I grew up with the personal computer and video games.
I grew up in a time where our knowledge of medicine was expanding more than it ever had in history. Where having HIV or AIDS was no longer a death  sentence. Where cancer could be treated. A world where smallpox was gone, and where the iron lung was a distant memory.
I grew up in a period of exploration, where we could land on comets, and where we could drive our curiosity across the red planet.
I grew up in the most peaceful part of human history, during days when the Big Apple didn't have any person killing another.
I grew up in the new millennium, though I was born in the previous one.
I grew up in the land of the free, and the home of the brave, and despite all of their problems, I grew up loving my family, and my community, and my country.
That is how I grew up.

I Live in an Empire

I live in an empire, an empire of red, white, and blue.
I live in an empire that stretches from sea to shining sea.
I live in an empire that has conquered its former overlord.
I live in an empire that is in the Rhineland and Andalusia. In Lombardia and Vienna.
I live in an empire that is in the Danish Sound and the Scottish Highlands. In the Barbary Coast and the Levant.
I live in an empire that is in the Heavenly Kingdom and the Heart of Darkness.
I live in a global empire, one forged out of military and economic might.
I live in an empire that spends more money on its military than every other aspect of its government combined. An empire that can control unmanned planes from a computer across the world, with operators acting as judge, jury, and executioner.
I live in an empire that can violate the territory of nearly any nation in the world. An empire that can invade and occupy two different nation states for over a decade, being able to ignore all outcry from other states, as it has the power to blow the world into smithereens a hundred times over with it's massive nuclear arsenal.
I live in an empire that has dominance over the market. An empire that controls the global GDP with corporations and LLCs.
I live in an empire that exploits everything it can. An empire that creates earthquakes by drilling for fuel. An empire that razes rainforests.
I live in an empire that pollutes water with sewage and industrial poisons, that spews pollutants into the air that you and I breathe. An empire that is destroying the world that we live in.
I live in an empire of red, white, and blue. An empire full of corruption and evil.
I live in the American Empire.