The us syndrome

As i wing my way over to Stockholm, I think of the syndrome associated with that beautiful city. If you’ve ever been there, I’m sure you can appreciate the willingness to be kidnapped and never go home again...

But i digress...I’m writing to discuss the us syndrome: my own name for the dangerously arrogant, two faced syndrome spiraling us further and further into political, diplomatic and social mayhem.
We’re the nosy bully on the playground. We wanna know what everyone is doing when they’re not forced to play with us or by our rules. The WikiLeaks incident exposed many unsightly personality flaws in uncle sam but more than that, it had the embarassing side effect of shedding light on the real workings and goings-on of our entire government.
It’s not just about the fact that Clinton is jonesing for some foreign diplomats DNA. It’s not just about the fact that we’re shit scared that Berlusconi and Putin will take over the world in one scandalous but fashionable swoop. It’s not even about us badmouthing the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, buying momentary loyalty in the Middle East as pressure and tension mounts against Iran.
No, none of these are really the issue here. It’s the classic detective story - if you have nothing to hide kid, why don’t you come downtown with me? Well, we have a FUCK LOAD to hide! In fact, there’s nothing true that we don’t want hidden. From money to mammograms, from military to melting ice caps, what we hear via conventional media, is horse shit. What we hear in speeches given, see in articles written is by-in-large total fabrication. It is our binding hypocrisy. It is our addictive, pathological tendency to be dishonest with ourselves, the country and the world.
So, who’s to blame for the huge disconnect between politicians and the truth?
Unfortunately, the story isn’t as simple as just blaming the corporations, which you know I love to do. However, it’s a two way street. It’s a two party system. While there’s no doubt that any hope for straight, unadalterated honesty is greatly side-swiped by corporate lobbying and the monetary gains associated with “playing ball,” you gotta be willing to sell your soul, and you have to be willing to stay in the pit, fighting amongst yourselves while the world crumbles around you. Corporations recently logged their most profitable year EVER while the Atlas’ of the country continue to hold up more than their share with little compensation. The reforms that were supposed to teach wall street a lesson have slipped into oblivion along with the other legislation that would do one dick stick worth of good for the crippled economy. Meanwhile, you have folks like Darrell Issa, new head of the congressional oversight committee claiming Obama to be “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times” and vowing to subpoena anything that so much as looks like it could go against neocon ideals.
So, where does that leave us? The comforting news: not much different than before. The non-sugar coated news: that’s a shitty place to be. It’s a bit of a cluster fuck, catch 22 in reality. See, the ideals I mention above are no more steadfast than the loyalty bought with corporate earnings. For example, as I got felt up today, AND radiated like a frozen dinner, I came to think about why. This time it wasn’t George Bush raping my rights...it was Obama. Fuck. And this time, it wasn’t the Democrats complaining about this atrocious invasion of privacy, it was the Republicans, while the Democrats upheld their side of the aisle. Wait...what? I thought I could at least count on some ideals...nope. Republicans and Democrats alike will hold true (pun intended) to their side even if their side goes against their supposed holy grails of ideologies. It’s a see-saw ; whatever works for the moment is what they uphold. Such is the ping pong hipocrisy of a two party system. There’s no room for a grey area. Even now, as Democrats rally against the President for further prolonging the life of the abhorrent wealthy tax breaks, it’s because it looks good politically. Obama is becoming less and less popular so Democrats check their emergency notes and distance themselves from a “Republican in practice” president, in the hopes that when the next elections come around, they can stand on the podium and say they upheld the Democratic ideals even when their commander-in-chief faltered. I’ll take bets at how many will actually use almost those exact words...
There it is. The US syndrome goes deep into our moral fiber, bleeding it dry of any honest and genuine threads and replacing them with corrupt, for sale signs drenched in the blood, sweat and tears of their own constituents...too dramatic? Well, I think our current status is a little too dramatic. It reads like a really bad crime novel that takes too many twists and turns, and ultimately ends in an unrealistic, drawn out pool of blood and overacting. Oh, I wish this was another FOX fabrication. But oh no, it’s all too real. Ask the parents who buried their children draped in American flags, as if that somehow deadens the pain. Ask the people who get thrown out of their houses because they believed too well in the American dream. Ask the corporate bosses using our money to go on million dollar vacations...well, don’t ask them, they’re comfortable resting on your shoulders but don’t wanna hear you complain about it. So, are we gonna complain? Julian Assange gave you a reason, Bush gave you a reason, Enron, Halliburton, Obama, AIG, Fannie and Freddie Mac, Bank of America, Citi Bank, IMF, World Bank, the Fed, BP, Exxon, GM, Wall Street, Democrats, Republicans...how many more times will we watch our rights get raped before we step in? As the law of our beautiful country says, if you see a crime committed and you do nothing, you are a party to it...you and me...are criminals.