Cynicism

It's always someone else's fault.

The world is stacked against you. I was going to win, but...

I was going to get a ticket for ten bucks for the first row, but Ticketmaster...

I was going to pay my bills from music, but Spotify...

And the personal responsibility party, the Republicans, are led by someone who said the 2020 election was rigged, but when he won in 2024 it was not. Like someone snapped their fingers and it all worked out. Even though even up through Election Day itself, Trump and his cronies were pointing to supposed irregularities.

Yesterday was November 22nd. I didn't see a single report, not one article, that said it was the anniversary of the death of JFK. Then again, that was 61 years ago, and people can't even remember what happened in baseball two decades ago, never mind three or four. We're all living in the now. We're all winners. And the boomers refuse to relinquish control. You cannot turn on the news, cannot read the newspaper without the oldsters laughing about and excoriating the youngsters on social media. Never mind that TikTok is controlling the minds of Americans. Everybody thinks they know and are constantly battling the forces against them. But do these really exist?

I mention JFK because he ushered in an era of optimism, a clearing of the decks of old people, the institution of the young and new.

And when he was cut down and the Vietnam war started to rage... We were against that, but we didn't lose all hope. No one said we must isolate as a country, that the rest of the world was not our responsibility. We argued over the Domino Theory, but we felt in our bones that we were responsible for a better world, a better country, hell, LBJ instituted a war on poverty.

Now there's a war on poor people. They're takers, if they'd just get damn jobs. If they did my taxes would be lower, I'm sick of paying for someone else. I work so damn hard. And all those government flunkies, get 'em off the payroll, because if you do my life will be so much better with all the money I save.

Someone is in your way. Couldn't possibly be that you didn't work hard enough, aren't smart enough, aren't talented enough.

It's kind of like letting trans women who used to be guys perform in women's sports. No one will notice, they're just the same, no harm, no foul.

Don't confuse this with bathroom rules. All I'm saying is everybody is bending the rules and believing it's all right. And the court of ultimate resort, the Supreme Court, that you used to rely on, is not only compromised intellectually, but literally, taking money and in kind compensation from parties...and you're supposed to live a straight life, have honor, no you want an edge too!

And everybody's working the refs and breaking the rules. Even in the music business, #1 is a manipulated number. And the industry does not understand that this undermines confidence in the system. If the same damn act that I never listen to is number one for two months straight...can I trust number one at all?

Yes, there's a reason for this cynicism. There are no rules. If you're rich you get off scot-free. You hire the best lawyers, you don't go to jail. Hell, Wall Street crashed the economy, no one went to jail, and we had to pay them to keep working! And what were we told by those in government? That we had no choice. Otherwise... Exactly what? I pay for my sins, but the rich and connected do not?

And the Sacklers and opioids... To the point where when there's a vaccine for Covid, everybody hates Big Pharma. The irony here being that as soon as they get an infection they're the first to line up for antibiotics.

Yes, people talk out of both sides of their mouths, when it's advantageous to them.

I didn't get into the Ivy League school. It couldn't possibly be my fault. They let in athletes, legacies. And sure, they can cut down those but odds are you're still not going to get in.

And I didn't get into an elite college so the truth is there is no value to an education there. Malcolm Gladwell has been spewing this nonsense for years. He can't be happy that he graduated from the University of Toronto, he's got to tear everybody else down. And when confronted with facts, Gladwell doubles down, doesn't admit he's wrong.

And he's a national hero.

Bollocks.

And Taylor Swift has built an entire career on revenge. You hurt me, it's unfair, girl power says I now triumph. Huh? Maybe you were at fault, maybe you were bad in the relationship. But no! You can't be at fault, that can't possibly be the case.

Everybody's got an excuse. Nobody's happy. They decry the government and then want it to help them.

And then you've got guys who are incels, mad that they can't get laid. As if throughout history there were not guys who could not get laid. And, if you're having trouble with the opposite sex, maybe you could change, maybe you could improve, learn how to talk to people, but no...the opposite sex is holding you down, out to get you.

And in truth, Fortune 500 companies abuse the system constantly. My favorite being Microsoft insisting that manufacturers install Windows on every machine they make, even if it's got Linux. And we're supposed to play by the rules?

And it stinks at the top. Trump not only wants to rule in his own fashion, he wants to punish his enemies. It'd be like the Yankees camping outside the Dodgers' homes and when the players come out breaking their knees. Hell, you lost. You live to play another day.

So who can we look to inspire us, to lead us, to get us back on the right path?

Certainly not Elon Musk, the complainer in chief. This guy does not stop bitching about what others do, the government, OpenAI, he believes he should be able to function unfettered. As do most of the techies, that's why they got behind Trump.

And Kim Kardashian? There's no there there. She's a hollow vessel of merchandising.

Movie stars? They've been revealed to be two-dimensional nitwits by the internet.

Musicians? You benefited from the system, you're worth hundreds of millions of dollars, we keep hearing about it, but you're telling me how to live my life?

Duplicity is rampant. The rules are made to be broken. We champion the outlaws. Going to jail is a badge of honor for rappers.

Live the straight life and you're a chump.

And Biden says he's not too old and diminished to be president, just like that giant trans swimmer says the playing field is level.

Yes, it's murky. The Democrats are not always right, nor are the Republicans. But there's orthodoxy. You've got to buy in completely or you're excommunicated. And it's hard to maintain your optimism when you know that one false move will make you a pariah.

And it's not the system that's got to change, it's the people.

As Bob Dylan sang:

"Now each of us has his own special gift
And you know this was meant to be true
And if you don't underestimate me
I won't underestimate you"

Maybe you didn't get into a good college, but that does not mean you're a loser. Everybody's great at something, find that instead of complaining that someone took your dream job that you're not qualified for anyway.

Then again, Bob Dylan's made it in the sixties. When musicians were seers, not just cash machines. When we looked to art for truth.

Now we've got superhero movies.

It's a cultural problem.

And nothing is being done about it.

I may be a glass half-empty guy, but I'm not delusional enough to think everybody's out to get me. I got cut from the team. I didn't measure up here and there. I didn't have my parents go intimidate the coach and try to talk him out of it to my advantage. When I got in trouble in school my parents blamed me, not the teacher. I know hard work pays dividends. Oftentimes not immediately. I know I don't always win, but I don't always lose either. I know I can't buy a new Mercedes-Benz for 10k and I know I can't get a ticket to everything I want to attend. And I'm not looking to the government to save me. But I do want the government to save those who are victims of natural disasters. I know the government wastes some money here and there, but I don't think you should throw the baby out with the bathwater. I know if no one listens to my music I'm not going to get paid.

But sometimes I think I'm the only one.


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