May Day 2008

Josiah and I were both in this year's May Day parade. We marched with Farheen Hakeem's campaign right ahead of the Green Party.

This year's May Day theme was "Building Bridges." And might I say that the message was one sorely needed society-wide. We are heading for an impending collapse - just as the 35W bridge - because our society is based on hydrocarbons. We were lured by its cheap price for such massive amounts of energy. But now, that energy is costing a fortune and destroying the planet.

None of us is independent of this but we all can be a lot more free of being fossil fools. And with Dubya being the first prominent Republican to admit addiction, I think we as a nation have begun the 12-step process to overcoming it.

Anyways, the parade lasted almost 3 hours! We got Powderhorn and it was crowded as always. Yet, we managed to find the spot where the Greens were. We also got some food from Hard Times Cafe. Josiah joined in the Hare Krishnas by playing the cymbals. I let him for 20 minutes - but he'd have been there for hours if I let him. I would, except I couldn't stay there past 5:30PM. I had a conference call in addition to dinner to make, and getting out of the sun also had importance! (That and Hare Krishna is probably the true "Song that doesn't end" )

When I was in Iraq, our mess hall Sergeant was Hindu. We hung out to study the Bagavad Gita and eat actual vegetarian foods prepared by the Indian cooks. We sang Hare Krishna. But I told him that I doubted he could convert me, but would enjoy what he had to share. His energy and passion for his faith was tremendous and something quite powerful. It is hard to not want to see what he has to share. But I had to laugh when he said that Buddha was just another reincarnation of Krishna. ( or Vishnu, their God ) Okay, sure.

I had a wonderful conversation with a woman from Parents for Ethical Marketing. Their booth was across from the Greens and Josiah was playing with some kids there. I found someone who agrees with me that advertising has just gone insane - and that kids are being programmed to identify with specific brands! She felt the same outrage I did when kids see a logo without being able to read and say things like "There's Eat Fresh!" (Siah did ) Even PBS has excessive advertising for the likes of McDonald's and Chuck-E-Cheese.

I was at one point a subscriber of Adbusters - a magazine dedicated to fighting the corrupt nature of the advertisers. The more you realize you are being manipulated against your own will, the more likely you are to regain control. And for those who don't think advertising works, why would they spend so much on it if it weren't?

I barely watch TV, prefer DVDs without ads. But even short MPR ads stick with me. Not sure how YouTube is going to change this for me, though. Siah and I watch YouTube videos of my old fave shows like Danger Mouse. On DVD I have He-Man, but it's not likely he is going to find and beg for a He-Man toy at Target anytime soon. :D

Media Parrots

Am I the only one irritated by these people? I know they are well meaning, but they are those who always bring up the news headlines but have nothing to actually say about it. Well, they do have something to say: exactly what the pundits and analysts say. Usually word for word, or summarized even further.

So, silly me, I think perhaps the media parrot might want to actually talk about the subject at hand. But usually they reserve their opinion for the next time they hear something about it from CNN or other broadcast media. Are they walking sheep or what? Honestly, they have no opinion, and usually when they do it is quite simplistic.

And yet, these are the same people who can easily be swayed to your way of thinking - merely by explaining your perspective. But as soon as the media tells them an opposing opinion, they will go with that. It is sad that we have those in our society who do not think for themselves. Are they the "sheeple" of America?

Fortunately there are those who do think. But only those who are the loudest make any impact on media parrots. I could give paragraphs of examples regarding times when I stated something and media parrots would dismiss what I had to say. Then they changed their mind when "reality" came in line - AKA the media agreed with my assessment.

Before Barack Obama even announced his candidacy, I had told many that if he were to run he would win. The media parrots refused to listen, giving me simple reasons like "he's black" or "Hillary will win no matter what." Very simple, until you actually hear the guy speak.

Of course, he would stand no chance at all if the Democrats were fearful of winning this year. Instead the 2006 election landslide has energized their enthusiasm, giving them a sense of hope they thought unthinkable until then. Had they not won so much ground then, Obama would not have a prayer today. But the Democrats believe they will win and don't focus on an "electable" candidate as much as one who more represents the values they would prefer to convey.

Though I have identified numerous amounts of media parrots and those with varying degrees of character agreement with them, I have yet to find a cure. There probably isn't one. Media parrots need to awaken and change themselves by choice. I cannot fathom living like a lemming on autopilot indefinitely, so choose to foster dissent at every opportunity.