Thursday, January 30th, 2014

The United States of America is the land of delusion, and take that as one guy’s opinion. There have been many noteworthy events and people from this country, but what’s often left in the background are the millions of average nobodies that aren’t recognized for doodley-squat. As we watch Hollywood, Wall Street, and Washington we see all that glitters is gold and the “might” of a handful of people achieving fame and fortune to insane levels. I’m sure many Americans get jealous of their celebrity status.

What if I told you they didn’t single-handedly do anything to achieve that? What if I told you that there are teams of nobodies poised to make them as great as they are? I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but why doesn’t it sink in? It’s the truth. The President of this country can’t do a blasted thing without his aides. The same goes for all Federal-level political figures. They’ve got faceless staffers to get them where they need to go, write their speeches, and coordinate their lives. Why is this lone-figure icon of Americans still touted as if it were real? It isn’t.

To be anywhere important, you will need the help of many and not just for “moral support.” You will also need to step on people to get close to the summit of the power pyramid. It’s the way power works. It’s not like there’s Power Cake and everyone gets a slice. No, there’s very little Power Cake and you have to steal it from some powerful people. They’re not going to like it! I can honestly say that I have no Power Cake. If I was supposed to, who’s eating it? That’s the way societies work: there will be a small number of people doing their best to hold on to as much as they can. I’ve not seen or heard of any nation that doesn’t have that happen in one form or another.

Back in the Eighties and Nineties, we were told as the youth of America to go to school and get a college education because we didn’t want to end up flipping burgers at McDonald’s for the rest of our lives. What a gigantic practical joke it was in 2009 when fast food and other food service jobs were the only jobs available. I spent thousands of dollars to put myself through college to bus dishes and be a grill jockey? Yeah, I’m not laughing. Even at that I had to take a local university over a more prestigious middle-tier school because I couldn’t afford the tuition.

What I really needed was a social coach to train me in how to deal with others. It’s no secret that people with connections get better jobs and status. All this talk of intellect being the key is just that, talk. I’m smart. There I said it without trying to scrub it with modesty. I’m, at the very least, above-average in intelligence. With the way America presented itself, you’d think I’d be Scrooge McDuck in a vault-like domicile. No. Why? Lack of pre-existing money and affluence. I wasn’t born into money. I had a wickedly difficult time making connections, learning to be outgoing, or rubbing elbows with influential people. I didn’t have those opportunities.

…but that was the plan for millions of Americans all along, wasn’t it? It’s to present the idea of wild success in such a way that makes Las Vegas envious. It completely ignores the country as a whole or what cooperation is needed to make the talent shine. Without the regular people, we wouldn’t have a nation at all.

Let’s put it this way: the reason you hear about rags-to-riches stories is they seldom happen. It’s the opposite of airline news. You don’t hear about the millions of people crashing and burning with the epilogue of buying a cottage in Averageville. My point is it’s not the end of the world if that happens. That doesn’t mean you won’t do great things. It doesn’t mean you have to hate your life. It simply means that you’ve broken the addiction sold to us by the powers that be.

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.”

Yeah… I’d like to see you survive in space, pumpkin.

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If I Were a Rich Man

Most of us are familiar with Chaim Topol’s performance as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. This is the famous tune, “If I Were a Rich Man” where Tevye daydreams about the personal comforts he would enjoy if wealthy. Most of us have had similar thoughts, even if we weren’t singing and dancing in a barn.

I’ll admit to having the frequent fancy in my mind, but don’t fully find it analogous to myself. You see, Tevye wanted money for personal possessions. He wanted the house and the servants and all the accouterments of the well-to-do. I can’t say I’m that type of person. I enjoy the finer things in life like most people do, however the frequency and volume of which is different. If I had vast amounts of money, I’d only buy sturdy, well-made goods. I’m not a flashy guy. The car I would drive would be a practical, commonplace sedan. My clothes would be well made but plain. I wouldn’t be the type of person to have a suit of armor collection or private art galleries. 

The real daydream would be what I would I do with the money.  To me, that’s a distinction that can be made. For example, my first stop would be downtown Hooterville to buy it. Yes, the whole downtown. That takes serious money, and a lot of power. People are not easily swayed from property, and thinking it would require anything less than a battalion of representatives is sheer foolishness.

Once purchased, I’d raze the irreparable. There are plenty of building so deeply neglected, they’re a danger to the community. There has been such turmoil with this due to nostalgic residents. They don’t want to see their memories destroyed, much like a hoarder will cry if you pitch a mottled towel in the trash. I have no qualms in being that “villain” as I have a vision of the replacements.

I like truth in materials: brick is brick, wood is wood, etc. I also think the architecture of the Industrial revolution is quite comely and would go on several trips here and abroad to capture the essence of this time period. They would all come with modern conveniences, of course, but the soul of the designs would be left untouched. I don’t mind modern architecture; I simply think it doesn’t fit the area well. What’s needed is a smaller, more comfortable, and more familiar feel to the town.

The infrastructure would have an overhaul and I’d throw in wonderful little curve balls, like roundabouts. What’s life without a little viewing pleasure? By viewing pleasure, I mean watching flustered motorists trying to figure out what “yield” means. They only know “stop” and “go” around here. There is one last thing I would do, but won’t go into detail. If any of this came to life, I’d want it to be a real special surprise. It’s a good surprise, too.

As with most daydreams, this is all fantasy. Many people laugh when I make mention of the reconstruction and say it’s impossible. They’re obviously more comfortable living in decay and memories.