IT WAS ABOUT five o'clock in the morning, my three cats, one of whom was perched atop my chest, were madly meowing for breakfast, i was barely awake, and I didn't want to be. Nonetheless, in the face of all that, I'm sure i heard the national public radio person correctly.
Somewhere in freedom's land, some community has enacted a city ordinance restricting the number of donuts and the number of scoops of ice cream which can be sold in public places. Community leaders expressed condifence that the ordinance can withstand challenges in court. Saving the citizens from their own vices at the local level!
Please tell me i am imagining this, or let me go back to sleep, and dream, something, anything else. It would marginally make sense in bloomberg's new oirk in terms of consistency, but anywhere else, it seems surrealistic to the point of insanity.
This brings to mind the recent sudden surge in popularity and sales of the epic orwellian novel, "1984". Now that we americans all understand that we are indeed living beneath the iron hand of big brother, we seem to want to read all about it.
I remember in 1971, i was in tenth grade, and our english teacher assigned the book, along with "Brave New World". (now there's a pair to draw to). The entire class seemed to love both books. Our teacher expressed the hope that when the far distant future year 1984 actually arrived, and america was nothing like the book, that people would not lose interest in the work as art, and would continue to give it serious attention.
She needn't have worried. IN 1984 the ancient acting president ronald reagan was so busy building america's military might against some imaginary enemy that domestic surveillance en mass had not yet arrived, and neither had personal computers; word processors just didn't have spyng capabilities - yet.
But here we are on a happy day in twenty thirteen, and big brother is indeed, at long last, watching. Orwell and Aldous Huxley, like most science fiction writers, were just a tad ahead of their time.
The omnipresence of our overlords is local, as well as national. Thou shalt not have big soft drinks in the big apple. Hide your Krispie Cremes and Hagan Daaz in mainstream american basements and attics!. No smoking! Here, there, or anywhere.
Most appalling is the meek willingness with which the american people turn themselves into submissive sheep, placidly lined up for the sheering. An amazing sixty two percent of the american people consider it worthwhiile to surrender some privacy for some security. Whatever happened to Benjamin Franklin?
"He who would trade a little liberty for a little security deserves neither" Something like that.
Without a hint of protest we surrendered our autonomy to our pervasive corporate masters,aka "government", long since. And why not? They keep us sleepily seduced and sedated, with sex and soma. "They" invent colorful enemies, like red communists, or black muslims, then gallantly shield us from them.
Arise, fellow sheep! Demand your right to be fat! Unlock your gun safe, and clean your rusty nine millimeter semi automatic, and protect thyself! We have only our slim waistlines and protective custody to lose!
On the other hand, it seems easier, and more tempting, to merely roll over and go back to sleep, with a cat on my back. And you never know, the kardashians and Dancing with the stars may yet come to national public radio.
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