Sisyphus At Rest

The Phantom of America

Beef : Can't you feel the vibes in your own house, man? Bad, sport, real bad. The karma in here is so thick; you need an aqualung to breathe.

I can’t help but find the angst button for the upcoming State of the Union. I was reminded this weekend of the Phantom of the Paradise film and look I found a good quote for the event.

I met a man this weekend named T-Bone. He was a homeless man roaming the streets. He told me he was a Marine Vet from the Iraq War, he’d been home for six months and, well wasn’t getting along too well. He had his wife with him and they were trying to find a place to sleep for the night. One of the most interesting things he said and he said many of them, was that he fought the War for me and the people I was with, but that the War wasn’t Our War.

The Mendacity!!!

I couldn’t help but agree. It’s our war is it? It isn’t a war that is symbolic of our moment; we barely register that it is happening. I see a lot of yellow ribbon magnets on cars, sure, but as John Prine sang, “your flag decal won’t get you into heaven anymore”.

I’ve been keeping a low key perspective lately. The Judge Alito thing is a mess and a mistake. The wire tapping thing is a joke. Right on cue, we get a message from Osama Bin Laden, and Karl Rove is out there singing about Democrats who are not big on security because they have issues with how this monarchy is going about its business. John Kerry is flying home from Europe to start a filibuster, hey great, why weren’t you here to make a plan? Priorities boys, priorities.

I have about a dozen links in my personal inbox about all this crap, but to tell you the truth, T-Bone said it. It’s not Our War… so who cares?? OBL is back in town, we can’t think logically anymore. I think it’s all a crock anyway. I don’t think this OBL exists, he is a phantom and we the people have sold our souls to the devil so we can surrender our security. On this prerogative they’re whipping us. Thank you Republicans for making us scardey-cats…

Do you remember that security thing? When haven’t you felt safe? How often have you flown since 9/11? What do you do on your own to cater to the suspicion of these events? Do you find it odd that a truce was offered? Do you see this as a trap that we so quickly denounced it as tomfoolery? I personally think that last tape was crap; it was created in Dick Cheney’s basement by his gardener. So they could say, “See America – you can’t get back to feeling normal yet – go buy something, make yourself feel better!!”

Most people seem to be more afraid of our government than of a terrorist attack.

It is an ironic time, and an ironic world. We are living in that WWI mentality. We are on a crusade; a war to end all wars. I don’t think that what we are doing is the price of freedom. I believe it is the price of tyranny. No slogan is going to change that for me. People are dying, and lives are changing forever… no one holds this government accountable because no one really cares… as long as you don’t go dropping the bomb on my street.

Yeah, ain’t so?

Mind you though, War is in the air… and I mean real War. The kind of War we are less to understand. Hamas, Iran and North Korea are dancing in the streets. These people don’t have Camera Phones, they don’t have Direct TV, and they don’t have anything to lose. They understand fear, they understand horror, and they understand what it means to hold faith in the higher power of their nation’s grief.

I recommend that we as a country start paying attention to the rise in Nationalism. We take heed to the arrogance of our actions. Remember, if we are indeed such a Christian nation, that we ought to once in awhile practice that art. Because sooner or later, we are going to have to put our money where our mouth is. Playing games with the hearts and minds of the public will backfire sooner rather than later, if we indeed aren’t chasing some sort of phantom.

The Democrats need to start using their skulls for something other than resting their coffee mugs on. The Republicans need to start using there knees for something other than keeping the lobbyists happy. Someone out there needs to start using some common sense… Mr. Magoo where are you????

Sisyphean Regards….

Hey Stansfield, since you wouldn’t write the poem, I am going to post this one for you, it is a sentimental favorite!!! We report that we’re holding down the fort.