I will open this blog with a bit of crow eating. My buddy Tony in Portland has criticized me for using the term “our betters” in various articles I have written over the years. It is a facetious way to name the elites, the government officials, and those who run the media and spend their lives telling us what to do, how to act, and generally interfering with our way of life.
I have given this topic a lot of thought, urged on by a couple of colleagues, and I have come to the conclusion that its not ‘our betters’ that are leading us down primrose paths and setting our way of life on a course to destruction. Those to blame for all our troubles are “us.” Yes, those sheeple named you and me who follow ‘our betters’ blindly and accept what they say without question.
Our President, Governor, Mayor, Hollywood elites, moneyed folks from Silicon Valley aren’t where we should be pointing a finger. Its all of us who somehow have gotten it into our thick skulls that these people know more than we do. After seeing the failure after failure in governance, the movie after movie that not only makes no money but insults our intelligence, or the money machines created by tech oligarchs that ‘create’ stuff with the sole purpose of selling it to Google or Apple, and then there’s the folks at Google or Apple who pay megabucks for this stuff, only to have it disappear never to be seen again.
And we rely on them to be our ‘leaders’ and swoon on every word. As George Lucas said through Obi-Wan Kenobi “Who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?” That was before Lucas made is first billion and Episodes 1, 2, and 3 went to hell.
I will top up this part by writing one word that should prove my point: “Kardashian.”
Do we have so little faith in ourselves that we can’t pick out a “T” shirt, select a beer, or figure out for whom to vote without relying on the input of someone whose claim to fame is conning the populace out of their hard-earned dollars. What does being able to dunk a three point shot, being a mediocre quarterback, or have an inborn talent to sing or act have to do with telling me how I should live my life?
We have been suckered in, fair readers, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
I wish I could blame all the problems we see today on the current administration, but frankly they have been coming for years. We actually believe the claptrap we hear about climate change, that the poor downtrodden who break the laws need our help, not prison, the hatred spewed forth pitting race against race is true, the ‘fact’ that we can spend money we don’t have and it’s OK, that we can talk our way out of dangerous situations both at home and abroad. We have allowed ourselves to be conned into a belief that we can rely on others to take care of us. All we need to do is support this cause or that, vote this way or that, allow others to tell us what is right or wrong, and all will be right with the world. We believe that there are free lunches around every corner. Somehow, we believe that five year olds should be told about sex, and by doing so we steal their innocence. We are told that a man can become a woman by simply saying so, and then compete against women in sports. And we actually believe this stuff.
This isn’t Biden’s fault, or Trump’s, or Jeff Bezos’. We can’t blame CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News. Sorry but even the Kardashian’s get off Scott free on this one. Its your fault.
Its time to step up and take responsibility. While “our betters” are partying maskless at the French Laundry, or infecting each other at the Super Bowl, or cutting off our supply of oil and then buying it from our enemies or spending us into oblivion we sheeple are simply allowing them to do it.
While inflation is out of control, and it costs $100 to fill a tank of gas, while a dictator invades a nearby country that should be under our protection, while crime, drugs and homelessness destroy our cities, while the supply chain is such that you can’t get an elevator repaired, while our schools are ranked lower and lower yet we pay more and more for them, while all this is happening, we spend our lives looking for someone to blame. Yet the answer is as close as the mirror on your dresser.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s time to grow up and take control of our lives. All of you that are spending time blaming others for our problems, shame on you. There is no mystery here. Dammit, it’s your fault.
Einstein said that insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Is that not what we are doing. Are we not electing the same people, supporting the same causes, believing the same claptrap (see above) and expecting things to get better, that is, expecting a different result?
Look around, people. Is it not time to accept responsibility? Is it not time to question all those Kardashians in our lives? Is it not time to stop doing the same thing over and over?
To me there is no question. This is the only solution. We must begin to accept responsibly for our world’s troubles, to get the facts, to read history, to learn about our world and how we fit in it. Then you need to act.
Do what you know is right, not what “our betters” tell us is right. If you stop blindly following, you don’t have to become a leader. Just apply those ‘little gray cells’ and be ready to admit that you just might be wrong. Hey, I did it in the first graph. You can too.
JVH
One Response
You have written a lot of great articles over the years, but this is probably your most important. I have written two different responses and deleted them both. You have said all that needs to be said. We old codgers have a responsibility to hand down our knowledge and to share our views. My grandparents and parents took this responsibility seriously and so do we. Young people can listen and mold what we hand down into their generation’s view of responsibility or they will suffer the consequences. My only addition is what we are seeing in the world today is just the beginning if we do not take responsibility for our own actions or lack of action. The road ahead is a hard one only because we stopped paying attention, but we can change that.