Revolution pt 2
I'm annoyed. I was looking at this blog of a musician I rather like (Colbe Logan). Actually, I only have an Anytown album (his old band), but i'm thinking I'll buy some of his albums. Anyways, on his blog he's talking about how materialism is kind of a negetive, and how he traded his materialistic outlook for a path of music and spirituality. All well and good, problem is, it's OUR materialism that allows him to do it! If we didn't buy his CDs, attend his shows, or buy his $25 Tshirts, he wouldn't be able to live the life he does. He's just as stuck in this system as we are.
And that's why I'm annoyed. It's not that he's got a bad outlook; I share the same one. But he talks as if he had extricated himself from the materialism, when he hasn't, he's just taken one step away from it. He's as much a consumer as we are. This isn't just him (or me, as I'm a hypocrite too). We're all the same way. All talk and no walk, and we deny a huge amount of information, ignoring it completely, for the sake of comfort (physical and mental).
One (among many) good example is the gas situation. Our humongous desire for oil and its derivatives causes untold misery throughout the world. Without oil, the Middle East would be a backwater, unless they could sell sand and camels. Think of the the wars and strife (within and between those countries) fueled by oil, oil money, and the politics surrounding it. Also: the energy from oil has given us the car, and thus the suburb (farmland/habitat destruction and community alienation), fast food (obesity), and walmart and other centralized megastores (destruction of local economy and international near-slave labor)... to say nothing of oil spills, air pollution, and noise pollution.
Yet who among us would support a 3 dollar hike in the gas taxes to help reflect the true cost of oil, such as military expenditures and contamination clean-up costs? We'd probably need a 50 dollar hike to cover it (yeah, i'm exaggerating... maybe?). To suggest such a hike would be political suicide, because we'd all freak out and want to hang the guy who proposed it. In the end, we want peace, a clean world, and perhaps a clean lifestyle, heart, mind, and spirit. But only when it doesn't inconvenience us. After all, we need to drive to work, school, McDonalds and Walmart... even if it is only one mile away.
Our problem is that we're all talk, and no walk. I, for example, talk shit about automobiles and consumerism, but still drive, and love buying music and books. Unlike many others, this deeply bothers me, to the core. But the point is, we're left with a bad choice: 1) own up and realize our hypocricy and selfishness (a hard thing to do), and work to change it, or 2) continue ignoring the problems in favor of comfort and expediency, and keep seeing the same old shit happening all over the world till it all comes crashing down. Choosing the first is the start of our revolution.
And that's why I'm annoyed. It's not that he's got a bad outlook; I share the same one. But he talks as if he had extricated himself from the materialism, when he hasn't, he's just taken one step away from it. He's as much a consumer as we are. This isn't just him (or me, as I'm a hypocrite too). We're all the same way. All talk and no walk, and we deny a huge amount of information, ignoring it completely, for the sake of comfort (physical and mental).
One (among many) good example is the gas situation. Our humongous desire for oil and its derivatives causes untold misery throughout the world. Without oil, the Middle East would be a backwater, unless they could sell sand and camels. Think of the the wars and strife (within and between those countries) fueled by oil, oil money, and the politics surrounding it. Also: the energy from oil has given us the car, and thus the suburb (farmland/habitat destruction and community alienation), fast food (obesity), and walmart and other centralized megastores (destruction of local economy and international near-slave labor)... to say nothing of oil spills, air pollution, and noise pollution.
Yet who among us would support a 3 dollar hike in the gas taxes to help reflect the true cost of oil, such as military expenditures and contamination clean-up costs? We'd probably need a 50 dollar hike to cover it (yeah, i'm exaggerating... maybe?). To suggest such a hike would be political suicide, because we'd all freak out and want to hang the guy who proposed it. In the end, we want peace, a clean world, and perhaps a clean lifestyle, heart, mind, and spirit. But only when it doesn't inconvenience us. After all, we need to drive to work, school, McDonalds and Walmart... even if it is only one mile away.
Our problem is that we're all talk, and no walk. I, for example, talk shit about automobiles and consumerism, but still drive, and love buying music and books. Unlike many others, this deeply bothers me, to the core. But the point is, we're left with a bad choice: 1) own up and realize our hypocricy and selfishness (a hard thing to do), and work to change it, or 2) continue ignoring the problems in favor of comfort and expediency, and keep seeing the same old shit happening all over the world till it all comes crashing down. Choosing the first is the start of our revolution.
posted by Brandon at 9:37 PM
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