What's Everybody Talking About?

Hey, everybody seems a little upset about something.  What's everyone talking about?  Is the country going to become involved in another in an endless series of overseas conflicts that only benefit the political ruling class & corporations, with the burden of payment on the average citizen?  Or was it some pop culture thing planned by other (or the same?) corporations to generate outrage that succeeded, like it always does, even though it's not any more brazen than the last pop culture thing?

I have spent a lot of time attending & listening to talks & speeches by prominent progressive thinkers who tell me that Americans are actually quite intelligent, & I have read lots of positive books from very smart people who say things like, "Don't underestimate the brilliance of the American people."  & I want to believe that because most of my friends (& acquaintances) are actually bright, thoughtful people, but even they cluck cluck when the next carefully orchestrated "affront" happens, often arguing that it's helpful to pay attention to such things because it's helpful to know what "everyone" is paying attention to.

I guess I'm saying that, instead of believing that I am becoming cynical, I am letting the overwhelming evidence sway me, as it should, into thinking that no, Americans aren't terribly smart.  I used to hate the judgmental quality of songs like the Housemartins' "Sheep" or the Dead Milkmen's "You'll Dance To Anything", probably because the attitude is somewhat superior, condescending, & designed to make the listener, feel like he or she isn't the sheep, or the robot who'll dance to whatever.

I've no interest in pretending I'm any better than anyone else.  I'm overwhelmed & saddened by the fact that everyone lost their shit because a corporate pop star at a corporate awards show did something vaguely scandalous just like the corporate pop star before her, & the one before that, & the one before that.  & it's not even that we should instead be talking about whether the country should be bombing the fuck out of some new place instead - we obviously should not.

It's just that we shouldn't be talking about something a corporation dreamed up to shock us.  We just shouldn't care.  We should be smarter than that.  We probably shouldn't be listening to music made by corporations anyway.

But we care, a lot.  We listen to corporate music, a lot.  & it turns out we're not smarter than that.  & we probably never were.