Category: Emerging From Dystopia

Where have you gone, Henry L. Mencken … ?

Baltimore Examiner and Washington Examiner

A dear friend of ours celebrates his birthday today, and in his card I told him how grand it is that we have lived to see H.L. Mencken’s prophecy fulfilled — the first quote below. Then I thought I would mark the occasion here by sharing some of Mencken’s timeless observations. I had 10 within minutes, and I could go on and on.

One thing we need in our time is an H.L. Mencken. Happy birthday, Stewart:

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by an absolute moron.”

“The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda — a deliberate scheme to outfit the pupil, not with the capacity to weigh ideas, but with a simple appetite for gulping ideas ready-made. The aim is to make ‘good’ citizens, which is to say, docile and inquisitive citizens.”

“I believe that it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant.”

“A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.”

“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”

“Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.”

“You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth.”

“The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.”

“People do not expect to find chastity in a whorehouse. Why, then, do they expect to find honesty and humanity in government, a congeries of institutions whose modus operandi consists of lying, cheating, stealing, and if need be, murdering those who resist?”

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out … without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitable he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.”

It’s all on us

I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Everything irritated me. Except I got up on the same side of the bed I always do. What was the real difference? Why was it that little things I usually overlook were now annoying? What was the — to use a silly overused psycho word — trigger?

It had been a night of interesting, even entertaining dreams. I have no actual recollection of the content, just that I was engaged in the stories and a willing participant. There may even have been a happy ending, and maybe therein is a clue. I didn’t want to leave that world and wake up to this complicated world with its foolish idiots trying to run our lives and its words my failing ears can’t hear and its dogs that demand attention and the new crossword puzzle in the local paper that I can’t solve without over-reliance on my cheat website.

It’s all in the attitude, they say. We can’t help that politicians are almost uniformly sociopaths who commit evil because they can’t help themselves. We can’t help that wars are started to change the subject from their incompetence, and people die to cover up their mistakes. We can’t help that the sun isn’t shining or we’re out of breakfast cereal or the film we watched last night had a stupid ending.

The only thing we can help is our reaction and how we process what happened.

I have to say, that realization does make it easier to let go of the irritable feelings. I remember I love our home and all its denizens and that life is pretty good here. I remember that as much as they want to be the center of our lives and bombard us with reasons “why they need us,” they really don’t affect our everyday lives substantially and we’re free to live more or less as we wish.

Why are petty thieves and villains in charge of the world? They’re not. Petty thieves and villains are in charge of the world’s governments, but the governments are not the world and the governments are not “us.” When governors and their governments act, we didn’t do that; the alleged bosses of our lives did. Oh yes, when we blindly obey or do what they say, we did do that, but they don’t represent us when they go about their everyday madness.

I have no quarrel with you; I just want to live my life my way and let you live your life your way and beg pardon when we go different ways, as long as we don’t infringe on each other. I saw a quote from John Wayne’s last movie, The Shootist, the other day, in which his character said, “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same of them.” I must say that’s a lovely way to live, if stated a mite harshly. Essentially it’s “Be kind and expect kindness, and you’ll get up on the right side of the bed more often.”

Ebeneezer Scrooge as role model

As I come within spitting distance of my 70th birthday, now 13 months away, I increasingly am convinced that the ruling class of this world, like all sociopathic criminals, is always looking for ways to decrease the surplus population.

The phrase is from Ebeneezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Representatives of a charity approach Scrooge, saying, “a few of us are endeavoring to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth” for the holidays. The then-miser asks if the prisons, workhouses and Poor Laws have been shut down.

“I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there,” Scrooge said.

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”

Much as our political betters have decided Nineteen Eighty-Four has a happy ending — Winston Smith finally loved Big Brother, after all — I think they also forget that Ebeneezer Scrooge was in need of reform, and in fact becomes a good man in the end. They seem hellbent on decreasing the surplus population as fast as they can.

Weapons of mass destruction, gain-of-function viruses, and sketchy vaccines and magic pills proliferate in the hands of not very subtle bullies who manipulate people into believing the most amazing lies, the biggest lie being that their top priority is protection of the people.

When we left Scrooge, he had become “as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town or borough in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them, for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed, and that was quite enough for him.”

We should aim to be more like the reformed Ebeneezer Scrooge, who “lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle ever afterward; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us.”

In seeking more information about what might be described as “the Total Abstinence Principle” in 1843, I mostly found commentators who concluded Dickens was making a pun on Scrooge having “no further intercourse with Spirits” (get it? Spirits? Abstinence?), but I did find one site, easierwithpractice.com, a “bank of knowledge,” that suggested the Total Abstinence Principle might refer to “abstinence from being bitter, mean-spirited, angry, dour, greedy, grasping, self-centered and unforgiving.” 

That’s a Total Abstinence Principle I could get behind.

Canadian truckers speak for us all

Guy Fawkes Mask © Neydtstock | Dreamstime.com

I spent time Saturday morning catching up on the independent journalist coverage of the Freedom Convoy standoff in Ottawa, where the prime minister of Canada and the premier of Ontario continue to defy the people’s demand to loosen the chains they have put on their nation’s economy.

In a remarkable article by Rupa Subramanya that was posted on Bari Weiss’ Substack, “What the Truckers Want,” she noted that it’s not an “anti-vax” protest seeing as the vast majority (some say 90%) of Canadian truckers have received the injections for COVID-19:

“So it’s about something else. Or many things: a sense that things will never go back to normal, a sense that they are being ganged up on by the government, the media, Big Tech, Big Pharma.”

Subramanya said she has “spoken to 100 of the protestors gathered in the Canadian capital,” in part because she lives nearby. “What’s happening is far bigger than the vaccine mandates.”

As of Saturday the protest/strike has been nonviolent and isn’t stopping despite Big Government/Big Media/Big Tech/Big Pharma’s efforts to smear and misrepresent them. Many local and state governments, understanding the power of the people, have been lifting the mandates that provoked the protests — but the Powers That Be with the biggest stakes in keeping us under the boot, the Justin Trudeaus and Joe Bidens, are doubling down.

Biden’s handlers the other day urged Trudeau to use his powers to do what it takes to open up the Ambassador Bridge between the U.S. and Canada — and they weren’t talking about listening. I fear at some point the government will use violence to break it up, risking civil war rather than following the people’s will, as tyrants always have.

People toss around words like “communist” and “totalitarian” to describe the ideology of this ruling class, but I think “tyrant” is the most appropriate. The word is free of the political implications of communist or Nazi or fascist or whatever, and it names them accurately. They are simply tyrants who want to be in charge, and they don’t cotton resistance. It’s a weird world right now with these tyrants terrorizing everyone.

If “people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people,” then Justin Trudeau may be the most frightened person in the world right now. Frightened people often do stupid things; fair warning.

Calm down and take a soma

 Orwell © Idiltoffolo | Dreamstime.com

The “big three” dystopian novelists, I believe, are Orwell, Huxley and Bradbury. In many ways we live in Orwell’s totalitarian dystopia; in many ways we live in Bradbury’s book-burning dystopia; but I think Huxley and his soma-induced dystopia may be closest.

Here is a magic pill to take away your pain; here is a magic pill to make your sex life better; here is a magic pill to clear up your skin, to clear out your lungs, to help you sleep, to keep you awake, to lift your spirits, to focus your mind, to deaden your soul, to conquer your fears, to keep your heart beating, to help you lose weight, to overcome your addiction — there’s a magic pill for everything.

Every few moments there’s an ad for something you need to rebalance your body chemistry so you can live a normal normal life. I don’t have a quarrel with legitimate medicine, but seriously, there’s a pill for every real and imagined disease, and imagination conjures newer diseases and more magic pills every day.

And magic pill manufacturers have placed themselves among the most powerful folks in our society, right there next to the politicians. Follow the money: If you were a media mogul, would you listen to calls to take money out of politics, knowing that the money in politics purchases millions and millions of dollars worth of advertising on your platform? Would you have your news department investigate whether a certain magic pill or vaccine is killing people, knowing that every other non-political ad is for a magic pill?

Or would you hire “fact checkers” to certify that people who criticize certain politicians or question the magic pill makers are spreading misinformation?

Our real dystopia combines elements of Orwell, Bradbury and Huxley, in fact. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the surveillance state is omnipresent. In Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others. In Fahrenheit 451, TV screens are so big they take up entire walls, and ideas that make people uncomfortable are illegal. And in Brave New World, magic pills make everyone so comfortably numb that they don’t notice they’re living in dystopia. 

All is not lost, of course. The words of Orwell, Bradbury and Huxley are still available, and people are still reading them. I suspect that’s why The Powers That Be have doubled down on dystopia the last couple of years: More and more people are waking up.

On the imperative to hold that line

At the end of “Revolution 9,” the experimental sound collage that is the penultimate track in the Beatles’ white album, a crowd is chanting “Hold that line! Hold that line!” in what is obviously a sports event of some kind. There’s a flurry of sound, followed by a chant of “Block that kick! Block that kick!” Clearly the opponent has scored a goal or a touchdown, and now the imperative is to prevent the extra point. 

We live in an era where it seems the line is not holding. Fact-checkers deny the facts. One might say 2 + 2 = 4 on social media, only to have your post masked by a note that says, “Context missing” or “This post contains misinformation.”

I remember being amused at stories from old Soviet Russia, where political dissidents were taken to mental institutions and official pronouncements assured citizens that what was happening before their very eyes was not really happening.

It’s not amusing anymore. Freedom is redefined as slavery, everlasting war is called peace,   and ignorance is proclaimed to be strength. Orwell is revealed as a prophetic voice in the wilderness, and some animals are more equal than others.

I assert the right to say 2 + 2 is 4.

May we always strive to encourage those who are holding the line and, should the line not hold, to block the kick and prevent further damage.

Beyond ‘Refuse to be Afraid’

“They” have always wanted “us” to be afraid, and they’ve stepped up their game the past two years. It’s harder than ever to refuse to be afraid: “They” have “us” questioning every sniffle and worrying about every cough. 

The intensity of it all is enough to make a person angry. Some of the fear mongering is downright infuriating. And so many silly people are taking up the call on antisocial media, a person could stay angry all the time.

And that brings up a question: What if “they” WANT “us” to stay angry? Why would “they” want “us” angry all the time? Well, people act stupid when they’re afraid, but they act even stupider when they’re afraid and angry.

It’s been obvious for years that “they” prefer “us” to be fearful; it’s much easier to manipulate scared people. But if they can also scare us into anger, maybe we will do some of their dirty work for them, like shun or censor or even injure or kill people who refuse to be fearful or kowtowed.

What if people refused to be afraid AND refused to get angry? It would be a lot harder to manipulate “us.”

Unafraid and calm people can see through clouds of bullshit, and Powers That Be who can’t fool or manipulate people are, well, powerless.

I begin to believe the key to getting through the BS barrage is to keep your fear in check and don’t get angry. A good laugh at their expense is also helpful.

For years I’ve preached “Refuse to be Afraid.” In these “challenging” times, it has an important corollary:

Refuse to be Angry.

Recall the old expression, “Don’t get mad, get even.” It’s an ominous expression, because it seems to advocate cold, calculated revenge — but cold calculation is better than rage. When you’re not blinded by anger, you can think things through.

How do you check anger at the door? “Count to 10.” Do something, anything, that focuses your mind on not lashing back in a rage. 

Stop long enough to consider: Why does this person want you angry? Again, angry people do stupid things without thinking — seeking an eye for an eye, for example — and they do stuff that could provide a handy excuse to, say, arrest the angry person, perhaps lock him away for a long, long time.

Just as wondering why “they” want “us” to be afraid leads to insights about the nature of government and politics and advertising and such, it can be educational to wonder why “they” want “us” to be angry. Like the fear monger, the rabble rouser seeks to control and/or to manipulate. The fearful will often shut down in paralysis; the rager needs an outlet, and with a little finesse the anger can be directed and more or less controlled.

When on the verge of being paralyzed by fear or blinded by rage, the best course is often to step back and ask those questions.

Ask: Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to scare me? Why are you trying to get me angry? What is your agenda? What do you want?

What DO “they” want? What good is a scared and raging mob?

I feel like I sound paranoid, but I sincerely wonder who benefits when fear and anger washes over antisocial media and newscasts day after day. Surely, rulers and pretenders to the throne benefit when we are afraid of each other and when we are angry at our neighbors. The more we shun and/or fight among ourselves, the less attention we pay to who is pulling the strings.

I have a new theme, piled on top of the old theme.

Refuse to be Angry.