Double Flee A

I'm listening to this news story about New Mexico, a "battleground" state. It's a "battleground" state because the two main presidential candidates will have to "fight it out" there to win the state's five electoral votes.

Battleground state.
War on terror.
War on drugs.
Fight.
Strong.
Swift.
Justice.

It seems to me reality is taking on tones of the slogan. All day long words get repeated over and over, and yes, they are starting to be believed. The louder you shout, the more of the same words you repeat, the more your patriotism is beyond doubt or reproach. Nevermind that the "war on terror" makes no sense, because nothing could be more terrifying than war and torture, and no one is more eager to perform both of these than the US, with the possible exception of Kim Jong Il, and I have doubts about his sincerity. The pro-bush bumper sticker was right. "Why change horsemen mid-apocalypse?"

I used to think that Orwell's vision of a neverending war was impressive and far-fetched, and then later I thought it was around the corner, but now I see that war culture is inseperable from our own. There used to be people who could remember when it wasn't, but nature's taking care of replacing them, and the military-industrial-informational complex is taking care to replace them with its own brain-branded drones and apologists.

Every day is the fourth of July now compared to when I was a kid, so what's left when all you do is love America? What do you actually do? The new christians, pentecostal "left behind" types give us an idea. Love it louder and disconnect all critical thought. Because faith will take care of everything. I want to cry, but I also want to puke, and if I do both, I might die, choking on my own vomit as I strain to breathe through the heaving sobs, so futile and empty is the situation that everybody else's god has gotten me in.

posted by dale @ 11:41 AM