Psychologically, it becomes all too much for the conservative mind to bear; therefore, the attempt is made to cope by means of displacing one's anger, as well as, projecting one’s hidden desires upon the people of distant countries and scorned groups within the culture. In short order, the war drums thunder; the flesh of the era’s designated witches hiss from the flames of public burnings; and pathetic sorts such as pedophile Mark Foley must carry all of our darkness. 

These are examples of the epic cognitive dissonance borne by self-destructing empires. Ergo, if the zeitgeist were personified and was granted a thought process mirroring the belief system of contemporary conservatism, the poor bastard would have to be provided with massive doses of anti-psychotic medication to be prevented from roaming the streets raving (or, at least, as in the case of Rush Limbaugh, Oxycontin to sustain his ravings on rightwing hate radio).

Or: Provided with employment as the engineer of this rattling death train of a runaway empire. And what of us -- the passengers aboard the train -- what instructions have the madmen manning the locomotive given us, during the harrowing course of this doomed ride: They have advised us to hold on tight to our values. Insanely, a frightening number of credulous sorts seem to have accepted their instructions; accordingly, they're desperately gripping the armrests and handrails of the train’s passenger compartments, in the thrall of a mass delusion that such actions might keep them personally out of harm's way, as well as serve to hold the careening train itself on the tracks.

Then what are a few of these much-vaunted values that we so ardently believe will save and sustain us? First off, as recent events have revealed, we Americans are a people who are united in our firm and abiding conviction that pedophilia is wrong.

This might lead one to the conclusion: If only we had collectively engaged in online, sexually innuendo-larded chatter with Iraqi teenagers -- instead of killing them – we might be able to workup some moral outrage at ourselves. In our madness, our values inform us that the lives of well over half a million Iraqis have no value. Obviously, sans our sacred values, we Americans would most certainly become a nation of morally suspect people.

Although, in an era where the culturally defining myths of fundamentalist Christianity and corporate consumerism mix, merge, and envelope us -- we do hold sacred the following value: We believe that incessant self-promotion and successful salesmanship is close to godliness. Ken Lay died for our sins of self-doubt. He slipped the surly bonds of this earth and his soul rose to paradise where he will spend eternity, close to our father, the cosmic CEO. Kenny boy is now so close to The Lord he can hear The All-Mighty count his money. For God so loved the world: He bought the company.

Here and now: on earth, as it is in heaven, the values of present day conservatism inform us sinners we must, without question, embody a godly consumer's credo: "I am what I buy; ergo, the facade I show to the world is who I am. Perhaps, if I begin to believe this shimmering lie deeply enough – possessed of a saint’s abiding conviction -- then it will become an abiding truth.”

In addition, in our secular dealings, we must endeavor to become socially and agreeably dumb; this credo -- the ascendant and defining credo of our age is: "The less you know the smarter you are." Let me explain (very slowly for those reading this without moving their lips and who are unable to wrap their big, snobby, reason-bound brains around the concept): Time, in the corporate era, is more valuable than intelligence; so it follows -- anyone who would waste valuable time pursuing mere knowledge is stupid; therefore -- stupid is the new smart. Got it, stupid?

In addition, one is expected, at all times, in speech and bearing to render oneself non-threatening to the bullying corporatist and religious order -- or join the ranks of the bullies and cheer them on. There is an added bonus in this choice: You get to call your hate, fear and bigotry -- "values."

Our values are as precious to us as life itself. Accordingly, one and all can see how precious life is to us by the realities of our present day healthcare system. Also, our values include honest, hard work. Many of us value work to such a profound degree that the ruling class corporatists have allowed us to hold down two or even three, low-wage, zero-benefits jobs so that we can vainly attempt to make ends meet. What sorts of values are these? Who has the time to answer such a frivolous question -- we have to get back to work.

But we the people of The United States know this much: There are people, very bad people, in this world, who want to destroy our values. And there are consequences for this. For example, the people of Iraq are suffering so badly due to the fact that their belief in their false god has made them a callous and cruel people. So much so, that it leaves them indifferent to the suffering of us Americans who feel a deep sense of betrayal due to their cruel rejection of our charitable desire to share our values with them.

Therefore, we're left with little choice but to bring on our faith-based indifference to their suffering. Where would the people of Iraq be without our values?

As an empire grows grotesque, its populace mirrors its ugliness in mind and action. Yet, in this era of authoritarian corporate rule, just below the level of our conscious understandings, we’re aware of the sad fact that all this nonsensical palaver about values is simply a desperate gambit to keep reality at bay.

Why is it so difficult to face facts? Perhaps, because, in an age when we’ve lost any semblance of economic independence and have forsaken so many of our rights and liberties – what do we have left to call our own? What we're left with are our values.

So what exactly are values anyway? Values are what the clergy and the corporatists allow us to keep for ourselves -- after they've made off with all the valuables.

======================
Phil Rockstroh, a self-described auto-didactic, gasbag monologist, is a poet, lyricist and philosopher bard living in New York City. He may be contacted at: philangie2000@yahoo.com.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

Comments (1)

Write Comment

Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Homepage
Title:
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4