Society is self-defeating.
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has been a bit of a cult hit this election cycle, drawing a devoted cadre of mainly young supporters who fanatically gravitate toward this rather plain 72 year old Texan with Libertarian leanings.
I would posit that people are into Ron Paul for the simple fact that science has taken away heroes, at least the kind of our mythical past. We even 3d animate Beowulf now, no humans allowed. Ron Paul has that anti-establishment maverick appeal of an old school cowboy who speaks his mind, then kills everyone in the bar who looks at him funny, but without any of that flash. People are just desperate for something fresh and new.
The damning part of all this though, is that in this society where a void and thirst for heroes exists, a climate is created to at once yearn for but then nullify anyone who could rise to such a calling. Paperazzi endlessly hound celebrities, exposing all their worst human flaws, taking them down to the mortals' level. The news media pounces on missteps by politicians, no more Kennedy's, and the preachers all touch little boys now. As a society we deny ourselves the ability to have what we want, a hero, a folk legend to rise above the normalcy of our constrained, controlled lives and give us something new. This is like slamming your head into a brick wall over and over while Kenny G plays a lonely ode to the health care system.
In this day and age it would take a truly supernatural being to satisfy our thirst for meaning beyond what we know, and we do know that, simply put, is not possible.
Ron Paul probably has herpes.
or this
No comments:
Post a Comment