Tag Archives: apathetic society

Modern Slavery

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“If you ask me, what is the moral equivalent of fighting slavery today? I would say fighting factory farming.”  —Rutger Bregman

I was listening to a recent NY Times interview pod with Rutger Bregman, and something he said struck a sensitive chord. By equating the unchecked, barbaric practices of the current factory farming industrial complex to the horrors of the human slave trade, a seemingly obvious argument to anyone with even an ounce of empathy was framed in a uniquely clear, fresh context.

The parallels are undeniable. Sentient, feeling, and intelligent beings were ripped away from their families against their will, torn from their homes, thrown into cages, and dropped into terrifying foreign environments. They were mercilessly beaten if they resisted, didn’t follow commands, or tried to escape. Their bodies were battered, bullied, and manipulated for profit…until they were too weak, sick, or physically able to continue.

Disease was rampant, due to despicably unsanitary conditions, and little attention was paid to hygiene or disinfection. Sickness spread unabated throughout the population, weakening the body and breaking the will. It was cheaper and more expedient to simply let death take over, since even the concept of medical care for “property” was a laughable notion.

Rape was relentless, and the children who were a product of that violation were quickly stolen from their mothers and put to work. Females lamented the loss of their offspring, but their cries fell on deaf ears as their heartbreak was coldly dismissed as exaggerated nonsense.

At auction, potential buyers poked and prodded the flesh, checked for muscle tone, examined teeth, and looked for skin lesions, scars, and deformities. Then, after extensive haggling, a purchase price was negotiated.

There was a pervasive sense of general public apathy, as most people accepted these atrocities as an ordinary, typical aspect of society.

But there were those who resisted.

Some brave souls understood at a gut level that perpetuating a cycle of unrelenting abuse, mistreatment, and suffering was simply wrong. At the risk of arrest, punishment, or incarceration, they stood up to speak for the voiceless…and the slow unraveling of the human slave trade began.

Future generations will look back at our behavior toward animals today with the same level of shock and disgust. 

Be a part of the solution, not just another indifferent cog in the incessantly spinning wheel of torment, agony, anguish, and heartbreak.

Make informed decisions and humane, sympathetic choices. 

Don’t wait for the inevitable regret.

These modern slaves are counting on you.

Adolescence Interrupted

No Gray Crayons

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Choose your weapon. Pick your side. Never waver, wiggle, or compromise. We are swimming in a strict sea of black and white, and there’s no room in the water for those troublemaking tints.

This is the line in the sand of modern society. You wear the uniform, adopt the language, and blindly follow the Pied Piper’s tune like rats running out of Hamelin.

Common sense, intuition, and gut instincts be damned. If the coach says to do it, the team snaps to action. When your job is only to acquiesce, there’s no reason to hold tightly to ideals or personal convictions. Free will and independent thought are luxuries no longer afforded to a populace too inept or apathetic to speak up, speak out, or take action.

As someone who comfortably resides in the velvety soft embrace of extremes, with little interest in equivocation or vacillation, there is certainly value in being doggedly resolute. But personal lifestyle choices, habits, and routines do not affect society as a whole. When millions of lives are instantly transformed because of indiscriminate idolatry, we have a much scarier dragon to slay than my unremittingly repetitive diet and germ-killing compulsion.

So, how does a rainbow make its way into the final act of this nightmarish noir? How can we convince those wearing boots caked in concrete reluctance to step away from the safety of the flock settled on the edges and investigate the middle of the road? Meeting halfway has to be disguised as victory, a kind of triumph of the will, or an act of selfless accommodation.

Dress it up. Put sparkles on it. Whatever.

Just peel those fingers away from the security of the wall and move slowly into the center. The periphery is ultimately unsustainable, and everyone eventually runs out of enough room to retreat.

Adolescence Interrupted

The World Is a Vampire

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“Advertising is legalized lying.”  —H.G. Wells

Behind every door. Around every corner. Sprouting from every sidewalk crack. Creeping in the shadows, ready to strike.

We are continuously being pitched, convinced, and enticed. An onslaught of fantastical facts, a barrage of outrageously superlative claims. Like moths to a dangerous flame, our eyes widen with the prospect of attainment and a misguided, fleeting sense of completion. But our wings are stuck in honey-coated manipulation, dragging us down into the muck as we drown in our own avarice.

Bloodsucking corporations blinded by bottom lines are constantly inventing new ways to addict, beguile, and seduce. Praying on the most vulnerable, profits are turned and blindfolds are fastened with the nonchalance of a coin flip. Unfeeling, uncaring, and unsympathetic. After one target is struck, the next simply slides into the crosshairs. People are reduced to numbers on spreadsheets, existing only to further fuel a runaway train of greed and gluttony.

Algorithms predict our habits and preferences, frighteningly anticipating each keystroke and instinctual click with a level of accuracy that could be better designated for research or solutions to help elevate mankind instead of obliterating it.

Fat cats find ways to only get fatter. Free from fear of repercussion or consequence, boundaries aren’t just crossed, they’re redrawn. Puppet masters pulling strings to make the population dance and sway to the sounds of its own funeral dirge. Laughing all the way to the stock exchange, burdened only by the weight of their preposterous bonuses and options. Congratulating themselves for another assignment masterfully accomplished.

Is there any limit to the force-feeding we must endure? Can someone please turn off the flashing neon lights and sugary slick presentations? We don’t need more things. We don’t need more waste. We don’t need any more help getting sicker, lazier, more complacent, or more apathetic.

We’re already doing a pretty astounding job of destroying ourselves without any corporate assistance.

Adolescence Interrupted

It’s Good to Be Great

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A half-assed, low-energy path of least resistance culture has produced a stagnating, lethargic, and apathetic society. Effort used to be something celebrated, and an eagerness to excel was applauded and lauded. Someone willing to go to extreme, sometimes unorthodox lengths to constantly create, tweak, and perfect was seen as an innovator worthy of respect and admiration.

Now, the people who are labeled as “excessive,” “obsessive,” or “unrelenting” are often ridiculed and mocked for their unwavering focus. A nagging irony exists that those who spend their lives consumed with problem-solving are precisely the people who deliver the technology, tools, and medical advances that exponentially benefit society. We desperately want the ends but can’t seem to respect or appreciate the means.

We are drowning in mediocrity, and it’s become impossible to walk down the street without running into a never-ending procession of Joe Schmoes, necks permanently drooping toward the bug-zapper blue light of the planet’s most addictive time suck. We seem to be perfectly delighted wasting our lives consuming nonsensical content, permanently affixed to the back seat of our own journey, happily and readily relinquishing all agency or even the notion of reaching for the wheel.

We far too often choose easy, simple, and fast over compelling, challenging, or complicated. Instant gratification and a zombie-like adherence to endlessly refreshing feeds have made us lazy, boring, and sad. Passion, for anything, is in dangerously short supply. Someday soon it may cease to exist altogether. 

You can’t force someone to be interesting or interested.

So what’s the solution? More of the same is obviously only leading to further mind-numbing isolation and an even greater reluctance to engage. That’s how problems are created, not solved. Left unchecked, this planet will continue to burn and decay, and we’ll be too enthralled with our devices to take notice or take action.

But we can start by appreciating and lifting up those who still have the will and courage to dedicate their time and attention to something bigger, heavier, and more consequential than app updates or comment notifications.

Adolescence Interrupted

The Forgotten

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homeless manFor those of you who may have already heard my rants about the boggling inequalities and imbalances in society, I apologize for the redundancy. But, my recent contact with an increasing number of heartbroken homeless with hollow eyes and vacant stares has compelled me to find a steady stance atop this familiar soapbox.

The disparity between the haves and have-nots is growing at an alarming rate, but like Roman emperors wearing golden blindfolds, very few seem to acknowledge the impending fall.

We are at a critical crossroads in this country and there is a cauldron filled with the forgotten just waiting to boil over.

Our culture has continued its unhealthy love affair with capitalism, even in the face of some severely detrimental consequences. Instead of making slight adjustments to stave off the resentment and rage directed toward those holding all the cards, the dealers have found ways to ensure that the house continues to profit exponentially. Greed was good in the 80’s, but it’s a poison we’re forced to swallow today.

Poverty and mental illness are running rampant, but it’s more comfortable to draw the blinds and bolt the doors. I watch consumers carrying thousand-dollar bags step over people sleeping in the street to stand in line for an $8 cup of dead coffee beans and foam. I see state-funded food in schools sit in the bottom of garbage cans because mandates force students to fill trays with items they never plan to eat. I walk around in an environment full of waste and pollution and excess, and I wonder where it all went wrong.

I don’t proclaim to have the answers, and I’m well aware there is no cure-all for a population that has been beaten into submission for generations. But, it certainly feels like there is a revolution just waiting to explode with the right confluence of actions.

A seemingly insignificant event may play the role of that backbreaking straw. But, it could be just enough to tip those apathetic scales to the point of no return.

Saying Goodbye

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balloon1At this point, it’s probably pretty obvious that I’m not a big fan of saying goodbye to the constants in my world. Chasing an elusive dream of stasis has proved disappointing and disheartening, and this latest realization has added another slap to an already-bruised face.

I have built a core group of friends that I can say without hesitation is the most supportive, open, caring, and genuine collection of males you will ever find in our modern, self-obsessed, and apathetic society. These men have been in my life for the last 12-17 years, and we are a circle that has defied all male stereotypes, rejecting the notion of “bros,” eschewing emotional safeguarding, and almost always choosing hugs over handshakes.

We have been an intricate and intimate puzzle with interchangeable pieces, falling in and out of the picture when love, work, and commitments dictated our level of contact. We welcomed new members and did our best to embrace rookies into the fold. But, the foundation was constructed from memories and moments, and regardless of connections made later in life, there is a finite number of people who have genuine shared history.

I have been guilty of taking these relationships for granted, assuming they would always be waiting for me when needed. I wanted to believe the band would look and sound the same, regardless of time. The comfort of knowing my most valued friendships all resided in the same city was like a giant security blanket. Even when I wasn’t around it, I was still protected from the cold.

Now, a vital member of the collective is leaving. The news was a mild surprise, having known the prospect was on the table. But, the sadness and nostalgia accompanying the announcement are more than I expected. Some of my earliest and most cherished LA memories and experiences are directly credited to the bond we built and the easy alliance born from the most unexpected common ground.

Those tennis days and music nights were some of my happiest. Even when I was barely working, struggling to navigate the financial hills and (mostly) valleys of this city, he was the one person who visited me each weekend. Breaking the loneliness and monotony of those stress-heavy weeks by hitting some forehands and sharing a quick lunch meant the world to me. I don’t know if he ever knew that. I hope he does now.

People grow and change and move. Life is lived out of a box, and there are adventures waiting for this wide-eyed explorer. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to honor the transparency of this blog and admit that dry eyes have not accompanied this post.

Losing some comfortable life consistency is nothing compared to losing a friend.