Against the Monster

[Mythsaje]

Since 9/11 we've seen the systematic destruction of everything we've learned to hold dear in this country. I'd almost like to say it caught me by surprise, but it didn't. I've muttered about it since the Reagan years, when I was just a pup myself. Maybe it's because I was raised to distrust authority. To believe very little of what I was told.

On that fateful day, and the days that followed, thousands of Americans lost their lives, and contracted illnesses that are even now dragging them into the grave. And yet the only thing most people seem to be aware of is that "9/11 changed everything."

Well, I suppose it did. It changed how we view ourselves, and how we view the world. A handful of terrorists managed to topple 200 plus years of gradual progression in the interest of furthering human rights across the globe. America's ideals, which were theoretical rather than practical, have been discarded by those in power, replaced by hate, fear, and a thirst for revenge against anyone who MIGHT have any sympathy for the criminals who hurt us.

Less than two years later, we marched into Baghdad...to allegedly topple a "mad dictator" who intended us harm. But, as it turns out, he was simply posturing and had no means to harm us at all. Yet the aftermath has snuffed out 2500 American lives, and damaged thousands of others beyond repair.

"Freedom is on the march."

Well, that might explain why we don't see a heck of a lot of it here. It's marching off somewhere else. But where? Iraq? Freedom to exploit, to kill, to loot someone else's treasury, is not what we mean by "freedom."

Some of us watch in horror as our President routinely subverts the Constitution, a document that has almost religious significance in our worldview, and only a few of us seem to be willing to stand up and say "wait a minute!" Our elected representatives, as a group, look the other way and allow this behavior to go unquestioned. Our media, the vaunted "4th Estate" is complicit in deceptions perpetrated against the American citizenry.

We are attacked viciously by an anorexic party girl who seems to consider herself some kind of political expert and the media enables her venom as if they have a stake in what she has to say.

Religious extremists are fighting to gain control of our government as we free-thinkers are marginalized and persecuted, and over half of the electorate pays no attention whatsoever.

Our relations with other nations have never been more strained. The goodwill given freely to us after 9/11 has been squandered and wasted by an Administration who hates everyone who doesn't think like them.

We're in trouble, folks. The Monster has arisen, and it's consuming America and Americans like a box of twinkies in the hands of a stoner after ten straight bong hits.

Everything this country is supposed to stand for is fading, and only a few of us seem to care. We face a hungry beast and all we have is a handful of brave men and women armed with pitchforks and torches.

We are in seriously deep shit. We need to awaken the sleepers. Otherwise, all is lost.

I leave you with the chorus of a song released in 1970 that strikes an amazingly timely chord over a quarter of a century later.

Steppenwolf's "Monster."

"America, where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
America, we need you now
We can't fight alone against the Monster."

edited for grammar repair

[stellanoir]

1. I share your sentiments.

Succinctly put. K & R'-d

[acmejack]

2. Nicely put

[AndyTiedye]

3. They're Not Sleeping. They Can't Even Get to Sleep Most Nights

Sales of sleep medications have been going through the roof.

People know, but what can they do?

[mwb970]

4. Additional prescient lyrics from "Monster".

The spirit was freedom and justice
And its keepers seemed generous and kind
Its leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole world's got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

[Mythsaje]

5. The whole song seems prescient

which is why I referenced it.

Someone needs to do an updated cover of this song--something to catch the attention of a new generation.