I began my early adult years, as many do, full of energy and ideas; juggling flights of heroic fancy; inclined to invalidate the forces I felt fueled my anger during all those ghastly years of awkward indecision and nihilism. Yes indeed, I was the young Achilles, Jesus, or similarly inspired Godman - realizing my purpose as both judge and executioner. But the evils were many, the forces-strong… Nonetheless I figured, the hero is always triumphant.

Ahh the righteous young hero; ceaseless fighter; brave idiot; immature ego. I was invincible in a way: if I fell, another would rise to the occasion. The community, country, society, nature, world, and ultimately universe were mere downtrodden impetus of nauseating proportions. What amazed my newly awakened sense of reason was, despite the self-perpetuating shitpile in which we were all tragically immersed, that my co-inhabitants seemed to enjoy rolling in this mess. Where were the showers godddamnit! Who was in charge here?

It seemed so simple.

I began digging. “There must be something fresh and pure here,” I thought confidently to myself. Both hands were flailing now. I was up to my knees in some vile stew that would make even a scat fetish freak vomit up the crusty remains of their intestines. I found a few traces of sand and marine life amidst the muck, “Hope!” I exclaimed. Then suddenly, just before the last rays of light and final gasps of oxygen escaped my consciousness, a fine layer of earth crumbled between my fingertips…

I was always envious of the post-war generation: the hippie revolution, human rights, liberty, consciousness expansion, that ultimately failed confrontation with the forces of palpable routine and the powers of greed. Oh the baby-boomers, our predecesors. The ones who’s unforeseen mess we are currently faced with cleaning and who’s steady demise we shall surely do our best to slow to a crawl. If anyone had the strength and the numbers to thrust this giant sewer into revolution, it was them.

Alas, absolutism set it. The generation of freedom and change fell victim to that immature ego pitfall of finality. Indeed, the post-modern movement became so intoxicated in its successes that it forgot the basis from which it evolved. No rules: anarchy, peace, love, carelessness, drugs, imagination, and higher consciousness. They had built this new and tremendous empire, gloated its riches, then provocated those left behind. What they failed to realize, in the drunken stupor of progress and companionship, was that most people were either not hungry or did not want a piece of the new pie. A fatal mistake. Enemy forces soon mobilized.

Slaughter after slaughter, traitor after traitor, the chapel finally collapsed. Most were absorbed and made themselves a part of the old sludge. Some were stranded in the dust, tortured and scarred - they organize our folk festivals each year.

In the end it was the leeches who evolved. Carefully they eye the landscape for any signs of new life, extract them, and press the new creation with a glowing cattle prod until it stops kicking. The freaks were caged, groomed, and are now shoved into the 30 min. spotlight of primetime television - reinforced, like disfigured laboratory rats, with Porsche’s, prime rib, and a host of electronic fixes. They will spend the last years of their lives hoping to regain that peak-high of primetime; submitting themselves to the whims of corporate sales gimmicks and one-liners.

Its been suggested that perhaps a new age has dawned on us… the age of the geek. Perhaps it is science, reason, and mass communication that will finally free us from the grasp of these vile leeches. Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, BitTorrent, Linux, Open Source - A universe of instant creative outlets and self-sufficient communities. Have we finally found a way to even the playing field? Or has fresh paint simply distracted our senses from the prison walls behind it?

Those freaks, hippies, acid heads, and free spirited entrepreneurs have left us a legacy after all. They are now the Steve Jobs’s and Bill Gates’s that have those god forsaken leeches drooling over their empires. The revolution of science and technology is one commodity that has proven rather difficult to contain…

These days its hard to tell the difference between a geek and a hippy sometimes. In fact, I find it tougher to find anti-marijuana info than it is to find support. Politicians are bashed, mainstream media is ridiculed, and the Freudian slips of our artificial heroes can be looped on our ipods for hours on end. How can they stop it?

Actually, it doesn’t take much imagination to see us get beaten down again. Instead of controlling LSD, they’ll take control of your ISP. They will begin to ban software, hardware, or keywords even. Open source projects will get sued, YouTube will thicken its filter, and googling the wrong frickin word will bring a leech-infested plague of biblical proportions upon your family. Seems as though the land of the free will always have a toll booth.

It is obvious now that the integration of the web as a mainstream source of information is imminent. After witnessing that deranged marriage of YouTube and CNN, I have a strange sense that things may go terribly wrong. The idea was bold: have the general public record themselves on video directing questions at presidential candidates and then have candidates respond to the concerns of the public. No more whitewashing, prepackaged hosts skimming over the issues and letting candidates go off on tangents; the candidates were now responsible to the voters personally. What are marvelous idea…

But videos were screened, questions ignored, and candidates seemed to merely use the spotlight as a platform to reinforce shitpile rhetoric. Ratings soured; pharmaceutical ads poured; people ignored. And yet, it isn’t my failed hopes that keep me awake at night, it’s being witness to the blood-sucking genesis of mainstream internet. What happens once the bastard parasites at CNN and their ilk see all the upstart and freethinking journalism programs being created? Will they start placing bids on them? Will they create their own brand of citizen journalism that is more visually appealing, has a wider audience, and gains support from our government institutions?

They have invaded our lake for Christ sake. We are swimming in that local lake…you know the one. The one where your family and friends invested their life savings, where the people cared about the lake and maintained it, where you could swim in a mirror-like reflection of the sun, setting slowly, while the winds cleared away your worries and sense of anxiety.

Remember what happened to that lake when everyone heard about it? Greed-driven developers cashed in, tourists swarmed, and the damn thing turned into some horror movie swamp with a fine cloud of algae green fog crawling along the surface. No more swimming, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, or fishing. Those fucking black water slugs have infested the waters. Then, before anyone could mobilize to stop the plague, it was merely something to admire from a distance.

CNN is the newest neighbor in the blogosphere. It has already begun to rip up the landscape, drain out the water, and advertise its waterfront property to the world at large. Who’s next? When I think about the future I feel our revolution being quashed before it even gets a chance to pick up steam. Perhaps that is the true source of my original jealousy; perhaps that is why I wrote this rant.

I once thought brilliant ideas or creations were meant to better humanity. Perhaps. But anything that fosters the growth of human civilization will only spawn more leeches.

 Print This Post