Recently in American culture Category

    If you've ever eaten psilocybin mushrooms before going to the Lincoln Park Zoo, you might understand what I'm talking about.

    The Lincoln Park Zoo has a collection of new and conglomerate animal species that are unheard of in both the general animal kingdom as well as in any other zoo across the country.  (source: my own opinion - this IS a blog, you know).

    There is a nocturnal section that houses a monkey/squirrel/human-looking thing whose facial expressions would easily give Robin Williams a run for his money.

    Aside from the enjoyment of stepping into an alternate reality, what-with-all the colors and bizarre sights and thoughts - eating mushrooms is plain, earthy fun, this is a drug that opens your mind to new ideas.  BEST,  these new ideas are usually deeply interwoven with the things you normally think about.  For me, that means seeing thru things - noticing which parts of this life are not as they seem - where the source of power lies behind it - how that source manipulates - how certain voids can be filled with my own power - and how this is all this related.

    Scientifically put, a trip to the zoo on mushrooms = a substantial degree of enlightenment.

    First, I have thoughts that this zoo is actually a testing ground for commoners (not the un-Royal, rather, the unsuspecting leisurely zoo stroller...Yea, I call those People "commoners").  I go on to gather that new species are being created in labs for a plethora of scientific and medical reasons - and that the zoo is here to put some of these animals on display to observe what the commoners make of it, how the commoners respond to new and weird-looking species, and how far commoners will go to accept what constitutes a "bear", for example.  (From Koala to Panda to Polar to Grizzly - ALL BEARS?   Uh, I don't think so.)

    Next, I have thoughts about the sheer existence of these animals and, specifically, their kindred existence to mine.  I conduct an experiment:  I walk up to the exhibits without looking at the sign, because the sign tries to tell me what the animal is.  It attempts to color my view with familiar expectations of say...what a deer is supposed to look like.  In other words, if it reads, "deer", then I see, "deer", when I might have seen "horse" otherwise.

          Ignoring the sign, I look at the animal and say to myself, "Well, that animal is kind of cow-like, with a little horse in it, and well, a deer kinda looks like a horse, and I actually don't look that different from a deer when it's all said and done."

    Look at a deer and a rabbit.  Yea, the legs are different, but the eyes, the face.  We all pretty much look the same.  So, this has led me to throw out the Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species theory - to a certain extent.  I realize it may be useful in fields like medicine, biology, etc.  But, in my world of trying to understand what is here, who we are, and how we are related, it doesn't get down to the nitty gritty enough for me.

    Finally, I go to the Gorilla exhibit.  I was there right after these poor creatures were stalked, tranquilized, captured, tied-up, taken away from Africa, and flown into the lovely upper-middle class neighborhood of Lincoln Park, Chicago.  I experienced a gorilla just two feet away, behind a pane of glass.  She looked at me, and I looked into her eyes and I heard, "What is this?  Where am I?  Who are we?"  ...but I don't know if I was hearing her thoughts...or my own.

    Unfortunately, magic mushrooms are highly illegal in the United States, and for good reason:  So that the establishment can prevent you from having the thoughts I did that day.  And, I don't mean thoughts of a monkey/squirrel/human face.  I mean thoughts and ideas about the true nature of beings, about our own existence, about the formation of questions. 

   I'd love for you to come away from this post, encouraged to see all creatures in a new light, to see things beyond what your eyes permit you.   But, ultimately, my wish is that you eat mushrooms and go to the zoo.


Image found at:  http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2538825140_45af9c4cbf_b.jpg

     As Membership Chair of the Libertarian Party of Chicago, I am always getting asked, "How can I get involved?" 

     People are being moved to action after witnessing the irresponsible, unaccountable, deceitful, and criminal acts of their elected representatives.  We've had Tea Parties, Town Hall meetings, petitioning, protests, call-a-thons, email and fax-athons.  We've even Youtubed the hell out of bad behaving cops.
    
     But now, we're engaging in the most high, most honorable use of our own 'People Power'.  No, we are not overthrowing the government.   We are becoming it.

     Ever since Ron Paul pulled the starting gun's trigger, the Campaign for Liberty has been fueling the race of People, everyday Americans, running for office.

     Some of the candidates may be from your district.  Check them out here.

     In addition to these, John Garrido is running for Cook County Board President.  Although I happen to agree with Garrido on most of the issues, the issue I most agree with him on is this:  He's not a corrupt mofo like the current Todd Stroger.  If you agree that ANYONE is better than Stroger (or your local shitty politician who continues to run and win, unopposed) then it is in your best interest to make sure s/he gets on the ballot and wins!

     My personal friend and Congressional Candidate for the 5th District IL is David Ratowitz.  His kickoff fundraiser is tonight from 6 to 8pm at the Irish American Heritage Center at 4626 N Knox Ave.  If you are unable to make the event, but still wish to support David's candidacy, you may mail a contribution to:

410 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 726
Chicago, IL 60605

or pay by credit card @ http://www.ratowitzforcongress.com/

David advocates:

* Free market economics
* Sound, accountable monetary policy
* Streamlined, strong national defense
* Secure civil liberties
* Universal school choice
* Decentralized, individualized health care

     I've known David for about a year.  I can tell you that he is very intelligent, well-spoken (sorry, if that offends you racially, David), and a man of action.  He is a leader and a man of the People, and is officially ENDORSED BY FORMER CITIZEN!

    Below is a piece David wrote.  Check it out.   Then, vote for him.

HEALTH CARE REFORM THAT ACTUALLY REFORMS
Health care is a deeply personal issue for me.  I have close family with expensive

     On days like today (the last Friday of the month) I like to take part in something called Critical Mass.

     Critical Mass is an urban biking adventure in which riders take back the streets in a leaderless swarm of freedom and excitement.

     So far, I've only ridden in Chicago's Critical Mass.  The routes change every month, but they are always long (about 30 miles) and well attended.  This month is especially cool because it ends up at a T-shirt Harvest Festival (at the American Indian Center 1630 W Wilson).

     My favorite thing about The Mass is how it embodies the spirit of the civil disobedience.  No traffic laws are obeyed by the Mass.  Made of individuals from all ends of the political spectrum, the Mass rides together in an Us versus Them state of mind.  And, that's how the People need to start thinking again.  Forget about the "issues" - they are only there to distract you from the One Real Issue - that is, freedom or tyranny.  Us OR Them.  It just can't be both.

     Critical Mass is a jolly good time and everyone riding with you is there to have fun.  It's "instant friends" as one gal beside me once put it.  A community on wheels, if you will.

     Wherever you live, I urge you to ride in the Mass.  If your city doesn't have one, start one.  It's the best way to have a "Happy Friday!"


Image by G

     If you're a person who lends a helping hand to the poor, I think you're awesome.  If you're a person who helps a physically-challenged person take a load off, you've got my respect.  If you're someone who drones on and on about the unfortunate situation of homeless People, please fuck off.

     Since grade school, I've been beaten over the head with the plight of the homeless.  Teachers were constantly reminding me that homeless People are out there and they need my help.  It's the first thing a lot of People bring up when considering the problems of the world.

     I submit that we put this idea of homelessness to bed, and start finding solutions to problems that are A) Solvable  B) Real problems.

     The word "homeless" assumes a problem that does not really exist.  You see, it's not that these People don't have, or can't find, a home.  They sleep at shelters, under overpasses, in abandoned buildings, or quite frankly - on a friend's couch.  That is, until morning comes, and it's time to go wander around again.

     These People are not homeless.  I say they are homefree.  For whatever reason - perhaps their alter ego tells them to wander, or maybe they refuse to get a grip on their destructive habits, or perhaps their desire to experience every jam band show leaves them on an endless quest to be 'out and about in the fuckin' free world' - these People just don't consider a home to be an essential part of life. 
     So, I ask you...  

     What the fuck do you think YOU'RE gonna do about it?

     Allow me to digress:

     The same People who think human beings can save the planet from climate change think they can do something to keep the homeless from being homeless; these People who are ego-maniacs but simultaneously advocate silencing the ego; these "God is within" types who support a government that aims to crush and silence the God within each individual.
     The hypocrisy runs deep on the level of the educated elite, but in most cases, on the level of the masses, I believe these People are just fundamentally confused.

              Digression cease-fire!
 
     Thing is, I generally like homeless People.  They are each unique in their choice of clothing (Don't think for a second these People aren't resourceful and smart.  Ever wonder why they wear winter clothes in July?  Because if they wore flip flops and shorts, they'd look like an eccentric vacationer, and eccentric vacationers don't get handouts).  They are also unique in their selection of reasons for why they need my change.  My favorite thing about them is their ability to instantly modulate their voices and personalities.  I find this to be both astounding and impressive, and it almost makes me want to take one home and study him for my own knowledge.
     This would not work out though, because these People are, by definition, homeless.  Any attempt to shelter them is challenged by their unruly, nomadic nature, and so both I and my homeless companion would be left without an accord.

     Given their commitment to being out and about, free of the shackles of a shelter, living a life they see fit, I posit that we start calling these People "homefree"  rather than "homeless".  If we changed the word, we could move forward, solving the problems that exist within our own selves.  That's the true starting point in this world.

Whatdyathink?


Image found at homelessmanspeaks.com

        Today I went to the Apple store on Michigan Avenue to take a Mac applications tutorial on Garage Band.  I got there early and sat in on the App Store Workshop which claims to help a user "harness the power of the App Store, where you can browse an incredible array of applications specifically designed for your iPhone or iPod touch."
 
       Now, I just recently found out from a friend of mine that "People are addicted to these applications, Liz!"

       Well, that was news to me.  But, I continued moving along in my life, on a bus, on a train, on a bicycle, even stationary in coffee shops, NOT noticing the obsession my friend had clued me in on.
       That is...
                       until I went to the Apple Store today.

       Parked right next to me in the Apple theater were the fanatical gadget junkies my friend had told me about. 

       The instructor preached to the choir as he revealed the application features of a plethora of coma-inducing, mind-numbing computer games such as Air Traffic Controller.  In this game, a user spots an airplane flying around on the screen and then uses his/her finger to draw a curve from the plane to the landing strip.  That's it!  That's the whole game! 

       The junkies LOVED Air Traffic Control (I waited for someone to call it ATC - didn't happen). The instructor showed several other applications ad nauseam, each one more stupefying than the next. 

       The audience asked, "What applications are on deck for next month?" praying to Jobs that he would send them something equally if not more catatonic-stupor-inducing than their beloved Air Traffic Controller.

     Now, I don't believe these People to be stupid.  I do believe they prefer to spend their free time anesthetizing their minds as much as possible.  

    I understand there's a time and place for these things (like when you're stuck in an elevator?), and I'm not saying that everything in life has to be about learning.  I advocate recreation and relaxation just as much as intellectual stimulation, but Air Traffic Controller is NONE of these things.

     I believe that a man exists for his own sake.  Or, rather, that it is morally right to do so, if he so chooses.  But every action has a consequence.  If you practice a form of escapism, at some point, you must confront that from which you escape.

     If you wear an iPod while out and about, you escape conversation with your neighbors.  If you stare at an application, you escape whatever you want, whenever you want.

      I believe this growing trend of chronic escapism will result in grave consequences to our social, emotional, and political lives. That's just something I believe.  And sometimes, beliefs are hard to manage when you are a libertarian.  I can only go so far in action with my belief, even if I believe I see a catastrophe up ahead, because I could be completely wrong, and because I have no right to force my beliefs on someone else.  BUT...

      I can persuade all I want.

     People who seek to free others from the group-think that has taken over our Country walk a fine line between doing their fellow Countrymen a favor, and treading on his freedom to live as sees fit.

    I waver like a candlelite on the windowpane of my moral obligation.  I feel a burning desire to tear the iPod buds from the junkie's ears, to steal away the computer from the addict's hands, to slap the robot out of the dummy.  At the same time, I refuse to incinerate the will that is one's own, to burn into ash the the choices that belong to another, to celebrate the conflagration that ignites and bolsters my will over my brothers'.

     It's hard out here for a libertarian.

     I can see no place to draw the line.  That's why I don't draw lines. 

     I certainly don't draw curves to landing strips on iPhones, either.

     Ah, the sixties.  What more could you want in a movement?  Of a time?  Anti-establishment, anti-war, peace, love, music, dancing, civil disobedience.  I get it.  I dig it.  But, it's over. 

     Let's take a little stroll...

     I have a friend who happens to be a talented architect.  One day he surprised me when he scoffed at my dream to have a colonial Mount Vernon-style home custom-built.  It is his opinion that to create a house (or anything for that matter) that is not of the time is to steal away its integrity.  Mount Vernon was built with the tools and materials that were available in 1735, in a way that was standard procedure for the men who built it.  Any attempt to reproduce this in 2009 is to undermine the character, beauty and craftsmanship that was lent to the prototype.

     Now, I stand firm in believing that inspiration does not know time.  That which is classic is a magnet pulling from past and future, a mirrored sphere, the heart of the universe.  But, to look behind you for something you need right now is to forfeit the innovation and possibility that this day has to offer.  Nothing has ever been better than it is right at this very moment, because we already know yesterday, and we've never had better tools at our fingertips than we do today to help us improve our tomorrow.

     But, if you try telling this to a man who lived the height of his life in the sixties, he'll stop you and say "You just had to be there, man."  And, he's right!  I'm sure it was a hell of a time.  Everyone deserves some room to reminisce about their heyday.  And for the most part, people not born in time to enjoy the American culture of the sixties are pissed off about it.   Jealous, if you will.

     But from a POLITICAL standpoint, these hippies need to get over themselves and their way of doing things.  It's a new era.  Pass the torch.

     Now, if you can, Former Citizen, try really hard to re-program your mind to stop mistaking hippies for their iconic pop-culture image that's been scarred into our brains ever since you heard the commercial for Freedom Rock.  Hey Man, is that freedom rock?  Well, turn...it...up!

     I posit that 85% of the groovy People of the sixties were losers.  10% were right on, but then sold out to Square-merica and eventually became losers as well.  The hippies of the sixties have done a great job touting themselves as intellectuals, but intellectuals account for only the remaining 5%.   (note: I used the Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad's algorithm to come up with these percentages.  Translation:  There's no science behind it, so it seems solid to me.)

     George Harrison agrees with me.  He said "I went to Haight-Ashbury, expecting it to be this brilliant place, and it was just full of horrible, spotty, dropout kids on drugs. It certainly showed me what was really happening in the culture. It wasn't what was I thought of all these groovy people having spiritual awakenings and being artistic. It was like the Bowery, it was like alcoholism, it was like any addiction."

     Ok, fine.  But even losers can assemble well.  Hell, they may be better at assembling than any of us.  And, in their day, street protests and expressing their individuality in the face of a dogmatic America was effective, politically.   But, the hippies set an example of protest that no longer works in modern times. 

      Protesting in the streets, although fun (if I do say so myself), is not effective (unless you're talking mass destruction, city shutdown, and government takeover - but you're gonna have to take off more than one day of work for that). 

     I know that protests don't work from experience.  (Anyone in the market for 13 signs that read "Make love not taxes?")  Thing is, I've moved on.  Old, retired hippies can't move on.  They continue to mistake the absence of a street protest for political apathy and civil opiacity.  (word created by me - think audacity, but fill it instead with an opiate.)  Look, hippies, nowadays, we can't rely on our hair to do the speaking for us.

     I recently read Markos Zuniga's (Founder of the DailyKos) book, Taking On the System.  He discusses this subject: 
     "This is not an era for street protests.  Forty years of organized protests and marches for every conceivable cause - wars, abortion, black pride, gay pride, and so on - have desensitized not just the press but the broader public to the street spectacle.  It's the reason no one blinked twice at the millions who hit the streets to protest the Iraq war in 2003."

     He continues, "Activists were once hostage to the mass media conglomerates, but they can now create their own media outlets.  We can now build campaigns that simply bypass gatekeepers, or campaigns that can damage or destroy them."

     He goes on, "Bloggers can exert disproportionate pressure on the media and on politicians.  Reporters, pundits, and politicians read blogs, and more important, they care what bloggers say about them because they know other reporters, pundits, and politicians are reading blogs.  It's a virtuous circle for the netroots and a source of political powers.  The netroots can also bring the force of sheer numbers to bear on a noncompliant politician, reporter, or media outlet.  Nobody wants a flood of complaints from thousands of angry activists.  And further, bloggers can raise money, fact check, and help break stories and/or keep them in circulation long enough for the media and political establishment to pick them up.

     Consequently, bloggers, though unable to change conventional wisdom on their own, are able to use these proficiencies and resources to persuade the media and political establishment to join them in pushing a particular story or issue."

Well said.
 
     ...let me add -  don't think for one second that Uncle Sam isn't one step ahead of us.  He knows that the Internet is our tool for freedom.  It is the only free society right now.  Help keep his hands off it here.

     Well, here's the article that put the gas in my tank for all this today.  Thank you, Jacob, a Former Citizen reader, for sending it in.

          One more jab at these hippies:
     Joan Baez is a self-admitted square.  (How could you be a folk singer in the sixties and NOT be cool?  Ask Joan.  She'll tell you.)  When she announced to the crowd, "Here's YOUR Woodstock!"  well, what the hell does she know about it?   I'd rather have Bob Dylan give me a dose of Woodstock, if anyone's going to.  Thanks anyway, Joan.

      Finally, as far as being a political activist of 2009 goes, well I like what Zuniga had to say about that, too:

     "Mobilize.  Don't wait for orders - seek out your own fellow troops, join or start networks, and be a catalyst for change.  Find creative ways to get the word out, in new and unexpected venues, tailored to your local conditions and audience.  Above all, be a leader who seeks out others and creates a partnership of leaders."

    Ready, set, go.


Image from Time Life

     I'm not sure how these boycotting liberals imagined John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, Inc., but I believe it went a little something like this:

    He gets up around 1pm, combs his long gray hair, plays a little ditty on his mandolin before sliding his feet into his Teva's, throwing a Che Guevara T-shirt over his head, and slipping into some hemp sweatpants.  He gets into his car, a 1977 Volvo, and strolls into work around 2:30, a cup of fair-trade coffee in one hand, a Bob Avakian book in the other.  He sits in his office, speaking, just a decibel above the Phish tune he's pouring out of his radio, about how this Country needs to start caring about poor people again.  He's there for about an hour, at which time the spirit moves him to clock out.  Oh, wait.  You're right.  I don't think he uses the time-clock.  I bet he volunteers there. 

     WAKE up, folks!  John Mackey is a libertarian.  He runs a company that panders to a very large and growing group of health-conscious People, and he does so with free-market values.

     He's got great ideas about health care reform, which he wrote about on his blog.  In so doing, he revealed his true Red, White, and Blue colors to the American People.

     He's an opponent of the Employee Free Choice Act, but the only liberals who have a problem with that are the ones who AREN'T WORKING FOR HIM.  That's because Whole Foods employees have terrific benefits.  No intrusive government act necessary!
    
     You know, we cry and carry on about how corporations just won't listen to us.  They won't respond to our needs and desires for quality goods and services.  Then, finally, a company falls from free market heaven, answering our prayers for a grocery superstore that supplies us with a fresh, organic, free-range, antibiotic-free, hormone-free smorgasbord, and what do liberals do?  Boycott it!
    
    Well, I think Mackey is doing a fine job.  He's couragous, too, putting his opinions and values out there while catering to mostly liberal customers.  He's saying to them, "I am opposed to big government.  We, the People, are responsible for our own lives and our own health.  Whole Foods customers reap the rewards of a capitalist society."
   
    These liberals...(and, here, I get to use one of my favorite phrases) don't know whether to shit or go blind.  
   
     So, they boycott.

     So, I originally bought the "This Machine Kills Fascists" sticker for my guitar.  The sticker was made famous by Woody Guthrie who frequently performed with the slogan displayed on his guitar. 

     The guitars of musicians who write songs about politics and/or societal idiosyncrasies can be fascists killers.  All it takes is a message, an idea, and your fellow countrymen to hear it, feel it, know it, and respond to it.

     I have an ol' pal in Libertarian Party of Chicago who always tells me, "What we need is a rock group."  I couldn't agree more, T. 

     Rock, punk, funk, folk, you name it.  The message of liberty must come through these expressions of the American voice, and it must come now.

     Polygraph Radio is setting up shop for a lot of these artists.  Polygraph Radio houses mostly New World Order heavy duty stuff.  It may not fit everyone's taste, but nothing fits everyone's taste.  Point is, it's the music of many Americans who have begun to see the world with new eyes.

     My Facebook friend, Gus Amador, is doing his part, too.  Check out his music at http://www.myspace.com/gusamador.

      Now, I write about liberty almost everyday on this blog, but my music is different.  My guitar, a wooden box of rain and thunder that lends itself so freely to me when I feel a storm coming but can't see the words on the road.  And that's quite alright because we've had the words of freedom for as long as we've had America.  What we need more of is the vibration of freedom.  Music moves people.  You can't have a movement without music.

      So to get back to that sticker.  It was too small for my guitar, so I put it on my laptop - right over the apple logo.  Until I become a musical outlaw, I can kill all the fascists I want to with this machine.

      PS - Note to the world:  I have never seen another person with the "This Machine Kills Fascists" sticker on their computer.  I claim today, as I sit in this hipster hangout, that I started the fad, and that I am a true hipster - one who leads mostly and follows sometimes.

Image by strph