Sitting here by my keyboard listening to Pink Floyd’s ‘ Comfortably Numb’. It flows into the recesses of my sad and tired mind… Like the joke of the horse sitting at the counter of the bar and the bartender saying to him ” Why the long face?” The only way to escape from my sadness is to simply avoid the pounding of the media whores with their utter BS on anything from the Ukraine, the possible Trump resurrection, higher gasoline prices and who slapped who at the BS Academy Awards. Sadness becomes anger when listening to the myriad of Big Pharma, Big Insurance and new car commercials (Cracks me up how 99.5 % of us working stiffs cannot afford those Mercedes and other high ticket vehicles that they tickle us with). I just love how the Big Pharma commercials seem to pull you into any of a million drugs… ALL with side effects, sometimes serious. Meanwhile, the Big Insurance commercials never mention price differences… because they all must be in collusion! Sometimes I rather think that getting root canal was a better source of pain… at least it only lasted 45 minutes or so (Talk about ‘ Uncomfortably Numb’!)
How many of my neighbors and fellow citizens tread through the day totally unaware that over half of their federal tax dollars goes down the rabbit hole of military spending? Do they care, many of them? One surmises NOT because both phony political parties support such madness. Thus, the movers and shakers of this empire have it made. The engine of this Military Industrial Empire is greased with plenty of EXPENSIVE FUEL that could and SHOULD be used to maintain us all, you know ‘ We the People’ and all that. Do we need to spend more than $ 700 or $800 Billion per year on what even half would suffice? Do we need to keep over 800 to 1000 foreign military bases? Do we need to store thousands of NUKES? Do we need to circle the globe 24/7 and still not stop terrorism? Or perhaps we actually cause or create terrorism? Yet, the phony minions who many of us voted into office all play this game… as Rome burns. For WE are the modern day version of ancient Rome, and look what happened to that empire.
No need to worry working stiffs. We still have our electronic gadgets to comfort us. We still have super rich politicians, media and sports stars to worship. Friday and Saturday nights are still ‘ Party time’. There is plenty of unhealthy fast foods to eat. Plenty of booze and opioids to light us up, or ease us down. After all, what is wrong with being numb? When it gets to become ‘ Uncomfortably Numb’ who knows what will occur?
PA Farruggio
April 2022