The Silence is Deafening

 This is another really tough subject, since no doubt some people will be offended. But, I am intrigued by most people's reticence. It's hard for me to imagine being like that, because of a slew of assumptions I make about life.

We all know the ancient saying, 'the squeaky wheel gets the grease.' I am pretty sure there must have been a pre-wheel version of this advice; e.g., 'the growling wolf-dog gets the bacon.'  This reflects an important fact about human societies, a fact illustrated in Tolstoy's War and Peace. Our hero, Pierre Bezukov, is captured by the French and marched toward the Russian border in the middle of winter. He is accompanied by an ever-helpful and compliant peasant. The peasant is resigned to his condition and fate, believing that God will explain all later, in his afterlife. Eventually, the peasant cannot continue walking, so he's shot. Pierre doggedly keeps walking, so he survives. The implication of Tolstoy's fable is clear to me: Pierre is strong. If you want to live, be like Pierre. So, how come most people are like the peasant?

I am not sorry, I don't think I deserve to be treated badly. I don't think anyone should be treated badly. Moreover, I think anyone who tells me my sacrifice will somehow save the world is nuts or lying. The simple fact is that my sacrifice, were I willing to make it, simply improves someone's else's lot. If there has to be any sacrifice, then I think everyone has to share in it equally; otherwise, forget it. Maybe that is why I do not believe in Messiahs. Maybe that is why I feel an uncontrollable aversion to people like George W Bush. Why would anyone want to just lay down and die? This I do not understand.

My question is an implicit criticism of the Muslim suicide bombers. I think they're crazed or crazy, or brainwashed. I notice that almost all of those martyrs are teenagers. Having once been a teenager, I remember that young people are more inclined to suicide. Life doesn't seem worth living for a teenager for the most trivial reasons. I think this has something to do with the sex and growth hormones which are going full tilt at that age. Moreover, I think people don't really have a firm sense of self until sometime in their twenties. So, it is easier to self-destruct. But, I think this is just a waste. People should be like Pierre.

Those who make it into adult life must have sufficient ego, a sense of self-worth and self-defined purposes, because the suicide rate drops off radically after age 25. That being so, why would any adult knuckle under to abuses imposed on them, other than to avoid death? But, most people do, and I fail to understand it. It is not only illogical, it is self-defeating.

For example, I have never understood the reluctance people have to join a Union. We all know corporate management has nearly INFINITE power, and deals with labor by dividing and conquering. My experience always was that, as an isolated individual, I am merely a beggar when asking for any benefit or consideration. In this world, for the overwhelming majority of workers, management holds all the cards. The only way people have to level the playing field is by joining with others;  that is, by joining a Union. Yet, most people do not do so, and get royally screwed every day.

We know the government has lied to us about the war. The government is busy limiting the benefits we worked for - no matter which party is in office. We know our "representatives" are wined and dined by corporate interests, and only think about us when it is "Vote for Me" time. When voting time rolls around, our officials spend billions of their sponsor's money to convince us how good they are for us. The propaganda they dump on our eyes and ears is an offense to any honest, thinking person because it is filled with deceit, distortions, half-truths and, too often, outright lies. Most people have come to accept as reality the depressive vision of science fiction works like 1984 and Brave New World. The worst is this: once one accepts that fictional propaganda world, it is impossible thereafter to determine what is real. Propaganda victims must rely on their masters to find the way, because they have blinded themselves.

Oddly enough, most of the visible and vocal complaints about society come from young people. These are the people who have the least experience with it, and should be in the worst position to know and suffer its defects. Yet, I remember being a teenager, when it was perfectly clear to me just how "warped" our society is. (I borrow the term "warped" from a young lady I knew 30 years ago.) There is something about the lack of experience that makes the logic of the situation much clearer.

What happens to this clear view of the workings of things? The simplest explanation is vested interest. Young people have yet to acquire any stake in society, so it is easier for them to overthrow bad conditions and institutions. Older people are motivated by fear and greed: they are unwilling to lose what they have, to take a chance on change. Entrenched elders are unwilling to make changes, even when they recognize the status quo as unjust, immoral and even illegal. Thus, the difficulty of ending racism and apartheid.

Illustration: Kofi Annan said yesterday that the United States' invasion of Iraq was probably illegal. The United Nations never authorized military action against Iraq. How does this affect most adult Americans? They don't care; they 'support the troops.' So, if your children break into a store, rob it and even take over its operations, stand behind them. My kids, right or wrong. I wonder what people do when their children turn out to be murderers? (I guess I would know that, if I watched Court TV.)

Most of our problems could be fixed, and rather quickly, if only we were willing to fix them. But, most of us would rather hold onto our little bag of  goodies. The absurdity of it all is this: the goodies are worthless.