6.8.08

the age of hanging in there

So you’re paying bills. And getting a paycheck. And paying more bills. And getting another paycheck. It’s a working stiff’s fucking Groundhog Day. But you keep up with it. Gas prices are high. Food prices are high. The rent’s not getting any lower, nor is the mortgage. Car insurance? Oh yes, you’re paying that too. Breath money in, spit money out. But you keep up with it. You’re getting by. It’s the Age of Hanging in There.

The politicians, they talk. Then they talk some more. And just when you think they’ve made their last vacuous promise, spoken their last empty bit of rhetoric, they talk some more. Oh, they all talk about change. Some are even convincing – damn convincing. You want to believe. Hell, you need to believe. And all the meanwhile, the media blathers on about lapel pins and haircuts, fake controversies and personality cults. They blather on about nothing, and you wonder how it’s possible to get overloaded on so much meaningless information. Signal to noise, it’s called: a whole lotta noise, not much signal. But you stick with it, hoping against hope because the alternative is unthinkable. It’s the Age of Hanging in There.

The environment. It’s bad. We know it. They know it. But they – the Powers That Be – have their hands stained cash-green. It’s not only bad, it’s worse. Water shortages. Animal extinction. Rainforest loss. And that? Oh yes. That. Global warming. How much worse can it get? Of course, we’ve had our share of disasters. Epidemics. Catastrophes. Nuclear bombs. Somehow, we’ve squeaked by – and we might still squeak by if we get off our asses and do something – beginning with keeping our tires properly inflated. That’s good advice, actually. A sign of the Age of Hanging in There.

We had the Age of Reason. Then came the Nuclear Age. Now it seems that we’re all in the same boat. Ask anyone how they’re doing – chances are, they’re hanging in there.

2 comments:

Nick said...

Rather funny how things are these days isn't it? I thought all the major issues would be delt with once we got through the cold war. Never seems to stop. Money seems to be our only evil these days. Everytime they show the China smog it creeps me out. I know LA isn't much better. Change is hard for people, especially when it means paying constantly for things. My question is why do we always pay and not the companies that pollute? It's always passed on to the consumer. Why must we always suffer? Someone explain that one to me. I think most of us would drive non-polluting cars and want non-polluting energy if we can get it at a reasonable price. Unfortunately that doesn't exist.

Frederik Sisa said...

Certainly, the bright eyes of optimism towards "the new millenium" have been poked if not outright gouged.

LA is better than China because at least LA, and California, is aware of the problem and trying to do something. China, on the other hand, is just now experiencing vast economic success - their own version of the industrial revolution. The growth will have devastating consequences if it follows the old model and doesn't take the environment into account. As for why consumers always pay and not the companies, the answer is rather obvious: because the corporations control government and people don't make informed, principled choices either with their votes or their wallets.

But, the good news is that, at least in the West, progress is being made. There are more electric, hybrid, and biofuel cars out there. Once manufacturing processes reach a critical mass, prices will come down. We just have to keep pushing. And hang in there.