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http://kulturcritic.wordpress.com/posts/deranged-ramblings-from-a-mere-observer-in-the-cheap-seats/

Deranged Ramblings from a Mere Observer in the Cheap Seats

DA here. This week’s screed will be true to the definition of the word and my nature in general: informal, outlandish, possibly vulgar and socially unacceptable at times, and very likely incoherent to many if not most. Hey, what can I say? It’s who I am and I’ve grown damn tired of apologizing for it. Having “graduated” to the point that I now have the option of attaching the letters M-B-A to my name, I’ve chosen (wisely, I think) to not, and to reject all of professional attachments that such a “title” implies. Other than the perks of my current j-o-b of course, which like most modern Americans, I’m attached to like a 2 day old suckling pig to its mother’s teat.

By way of getting around to the actual subject, I’ll meander a bit. As some followers of this board may or may not have noticed, I’ve grown a bit cruder in expression as of late. To which I can only add: yeah, I’ve noticed it too (curiously, almost from the third person point of view); no, I’m damn sure not apologizing it for it whatsoever here; I’m conscious of the likely reasons for it (indeed – I’m living the reasons for it every day!); and finally, I actually think in my own peculiar way of looking at the world that increasing vulgarity is actually what a buttoned down, politically correct corporate world is crying out for! It might be the only true “freedom” we who march in lockstep to the corporate beat have left to exercise these days

And now for something(s) completely different.

In the news this week we have the IRS miraculously exposed for targeting Tea Party “conservative” groups for increased scrutiny, and now “the Great Satan” Barack Obama possibly exposed to “impeachable offenses.” Yeah, right! Is anyone out there paying attention to this huge boatload of non-news bullshit for a New York second? First of all, the eternal “left vs. right struggle” in American politics has now all but officially been revealed for the sham, bullshit, attention detractor it always was. The 20-30 something’s have long since stopped paying attention to anything at all other than their i-phones and social networking groups, and all the rest of us are focused on either consuming our last remaining dollars on the next great luxury item that the mass media has convinced us we’ve just got to have, or watching our last remaining dollars in savings being consumed by the officially unrecognized cost of living increases for basic staples. I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way the “news” stopped being news, and instead revealed its true form: propaganda and/or disinformation. And true to form, the transition was so smooth that hardly anyone even noticed.

Over at ClusterFuckNation (love that title!), James Howard Kunstler (JHK) continued his recent drumbeat on economic matters, much to my chagrin. Can the Fed continue its economic magic beyond next week’s post? Can the now official theft of the American dollar by the nation / world’s unelected plutocratic elite continue unabated (OF COURSE IT CAN!)? First of all, earth to Jim, I think you really have to get a grip on these matters for a couple of reasons. First of all, no one really understands any of this bullshit anyway. Not the Fed administrators themselves, not the pols who look the other way and sign the checks, and certainly not the plutocratic elite for whom this “trickle down” bonanza that never actually does, primarily benefits. The name of the game is simple, and its spelled t-h-e-f-t. It’s really no more complicated than that. They’re doing it, we’re watching it, and absent a bloody revolution that will never happen, it’s never going to stop in our lifetime unless they manage to crash the currency system altogether. Which they might. In which case the next big system will already be waiting in the wings for deployment, and the theft will commence once again unabated. Of that much I’m sure. JHK’s vision for the future: turn the clock back to a magical time that probably never actually was. But another thing I can say for sure is that 7B humans now fully evolved to exist in the modern world we’ve created ain’t ever gonna take that step willingly or effectively. Which means once again that we’re committed to our current military-industrial path lock, stock, and barrel.

Over at The ArchDruid (one of my favorite blogs overall), John Michael Greer (JMG) takes some not-so-veiled shots at Guy McPherson and his 2030 human extinction predictions (is that number still the one Guy’s going with?). Perhaps justified. I dunno. Not because I subscribe or don’t to McPherson’s predictions (I’m on the fence), but because JMG more often than not comes off a bit too smug to me as well; as in, I’ve seen all of this before and you should have as well, and THIS is how it will ACTUALLY will go. That said, JMG appears to be one of the most intelligent and most educated people out there, so I’m inclined to defer whenever there’s a shadow of doubt.

And onto the elephant in the room, Guy himself and all his predictions’ implications. 2030 total human extinction due to the already accumulated effects of Anthropogenic Global Warming or Climate Change (AGW or AGCC). I dunno about the science of it once again (who in the hell does?), but I must admit, I’m a bit conflicted. Yep, Guy and his seem to have all the predictions dialed in and more than enough evidence to support it all on board. I’m good with all that as far as it goes, admitting fully that the science of it is far from conclusive as of yet. But then what? Where do you go from there if you accept Guy’s version of things as the modern gospel?

What in the hell do you even begin to make of the fact that human civilization as you know, love, or hate it might be wiped out completely within your lifetime based on the very actions you continue to take (like it or not) right now, and which most of us of modest means really have no choice in taking? And to top it all off, all of it may simply be unavoidable at this point, no matter what any of us does individually! Whoa Nelly, stop the god damn train, and let’s take a break to stop and discuss things for a moment! Except we can’t. The train we called modern civilization ain’t slowing down for anything now – indeed can’t slow down for a single moment with 7B+ and growing hungry mouths to feed – and there’s not one damn thing anyone can do except try to get out of the way. That is some sobering shit right ‘chere cowboys, I don’t care who you are!

Not surprisingly, Guy’s message gets very little traction, and it’s not hard to understand why. And his critics make some valid points. If you honestly believe that the train’s left the station on a human extinction event, then what’s the point in even making the point at all, other than being able to claim you’re right in the end? And if his theories hold water and the powers that be are already aware of them too (and how could they not be, they’re not stupid people), might that not be why we’re seeing increased militarization in the service of securing diminishing natural resources and an ever increasing emphasis on implementing a militarily enforced winner(s) take all society world-wide? Is the draw bridge already going up on the world’s population in order to secure the castle for the few at the expense of the many? Take your chances with the moat you unclean and unshaven brutes, but these castle walls you shall never penetrate!

So there you have it kulturCritics. DA’s latest dark vision of our modern day corporate cultural dystopia. What to do about any of it is still beyond me, if indeed anything even can be done about it. And my inclination is to admit that it can’t, you can only make your peace with it.

And finally, as the Zen Buddhists have already said for centuries: Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. That’s as good as it’s ever going to get.