Well, its been awhile since a rambling, stream of consciousness monologue has flowed out of my head, but I seem to have caught myself in a moment between moments, like I slipped on the One True Ring, and wish to take this opportunity to compose and share my thoughts….
Can I say yet that this disaster was a good thing? Do I dare say that this lazy, arrogant, pig headed, capitalistic, money hungry, bigoted and stubborn country of ours needed this kick in the ass? We drive the world economy, we have the most money, we consume the most of everything, we swagger in and out of foreign lands and disputes like a drunken bar patron sticking his nose in everybody’s business, and now, finally, the red and bulbous nose of ours was smashed and bloodied and we fucking deserved it!
Who before this attack loved their neighbors? Who before this attack went out of their way to donate supplies to the needy? Who before this attack went out of their way, for no personal gain, to support, help, or simply reach out to their fellow man? Who before this attack knew what the fuck a flag looked like? This country is now full of patriotic Americans? Bullshit. This country right now is full of sniveling curs with tails between their legs seeking comfort among a pack of other sniveling curs.
Yours truly is among those worthless curs. Can I consider my non-tv-watching-society-bashing-counter-culture rantings on how things should be compared to how they are as being positive contributions to the world at large? Do these ramblings help out the less fortunate or bring me closer to my neighbors, friends and loved ones? Of course not.
So, what does this all mean? I don’t know. I find myself in a strange place these days. Deep down, for the first time since I’ve been aware or anything, I think I, we, are all in the same place. Many of the commentaries, articles and discussions of late to which I have been paying very close attention have been leaning the same way. Namely, that its now time, in every moment of life, in every relationship, and in every single human endeavor, to return to the basics. To create, produce, sell, buy, act, live, love, etc. for everything but the bottom line. Lets get to the heart of the matter in everything we do.
To some degree, the playing field has been leveled. Think about all the hype surrounding the Y2K Bug and the thoughts about what would happen if all computers actually crashed and financial institutions and global economies were brought to their knees. Remember all these scenarios and how they played out? Remember the survivalists? Remember the communities pulling money from the banks, stocking up on food and generators? Remember the end of Fight Club? Remember to where all these ideas and images progressed? We sat around, in our detached way on our leather couches, with our Manhattans, $20 cigars, $100 shoes, and globe-skipping vacation plans, thinking to ourselves, “Yeah, that would be great for all of us to start all over again, Even-Steven.” “It would be great to forget about money and material possessions and return to what truly mattered, our families, friends, etc.” “It would be great to have our day to day lives full of intimacy, compassion, mutual understand and respect instead of bottom-lines, maximum profits, and mass production.” But these were pipe dreams. We knew nothing would happen, we knew nothing would change, and the sad part is that we all knew why: Because this country is lazy, arrogant, pig headed, capitalistic, money hungry, bigoted and stubborn, forever stuck in its ways.
Well, now things have changed. A monumental act has altered our world view, has forced us to see just how unsecured and fleeting even the greatest of things can be. We have been forced to realize that things can change.
What we now choose to do with this knowledge and how we incorporate this into our day to day lives, will have more impact on our future, than any other course of action currently being debated. We all need to realize this and more importantly, accept this. Why bother rebuilding anything, if the foundations upon which it will rest will not be redesigned? If we do nothing to alter each stone and brick of ourselves, our communities and our neighborhoods all around the earth, are we not simply setting ourselves up for another crash?
Let’s learn from this tragedy, for it has given us a chance to start from scratch, and our aim now should be to try to do it right.
