I have never felt comfortable with a mainstream culture that had me feeling like my differences, and questions about what's real, meant there was something wrong with me.
I am beginning to understand my early discomfort. I see how my perceptions of reality have been faked by groups that profit off our faked existence. Our entire system is based on fakery, and has been for far longer than I have been alive.
And now, we enter a time of Peak Fakery. It is much bigger than just fake news. Fakery has pervaded every corner of life, and includes things like fake Mt. Everest climbs, fake science, and fake history.
Fake leaders leading fake parties in a fake political system. A fake economy based on perpetually buying things we don't need, and trashing the planet in the process.
Fake education. Fake food (phude). Fake freedom. Fake body parts. Fake narratives. Fake everything.
But how do we overcome the juggernaut of fake democracy, fake economics, and the fake lifestyles it all creates in order to keep us passive, placated, and powerless?
With the smell of a baby, the undying love of a dog, sun rises and early spring storms. Or from the satisfaction of one planet living, and being kind to each other, and all life. Or from rocks... and rock and roll. For a start.
More than ever before (because our survival depends on it), righteous anger and indignation are warranted. I will continue to not comply. I will continue to withhold my consent. I will never kowtow to the fakers.
I want real, and I want it yesterday.
Oh, did I mention that the "top" 1% are currently hoarding 66% of global wealth? That should give us some idea of who benefits most from The Fabulous Fakery Factory.
See you in the streets. And the garden. It is time to get real.
And it seems the more fake you are, the more fake popularity you get. If you’re real people don’t like you, I see that as high praise.
ReplyDeleteFranny and Danny,
DeleteAuthentic and genuine people, please. And frank, even. Linda is frank. A lot of people don't like that particular approach. I appreciate a minimum of bullshit when communicating with people. My own, and other's.
I love frank people. I am one. For years others commented on this aspect of my personality like it was a bad thing. It used to upset me. I tried hard to be fake and pretend to be someone I wasn't. Turned out I wasn't much good at lying or pretending, regardless of how hard I tried. Guess the result is pretty good though. I may not be as popular as others but I know for sure that the people in my life who love me, actually live ME. Not someone they think I am. Works for me too. I only bother with genuine folk and honest people. Suspect my quantity of friendships may be lower than some but significantly higher in quality ;)
DeleteMore than anything, I hate fake nice. It's rare to find a genuinely nice person these days. I overcome with rocks and rock and roll. lol Did both today at the same time. :-)
ReplyDeleteLorraine,
DeleteMy dad was a genuine nice person. Now I see how rare that is. I try to be as nice as he was. Good to hear you are rockin' while rockin'. Your container garden is off to a good start, Linda and I saw on your blog. Nice yard changes.
Indeed, there is so much fakery! How about fake friends (I'm thinking Facebook)? Fake medicine (where the side-effects are far worse than the ill you were trying to alleviate)? And it is getting harder and harder to spot a 'real' person on television.
ReplyDeleteOff to have a pot of 'real' tea in the sunshine.
Madeleine.x
Madeleine,
DeleteI wonder what would happen if a person stood on a street with a "Free Fake Hugs" sign?
Tea in the sunshine? Good and real. Just ask the Japanese.
Another resonating post Greg. Thank you. A week out from our Big Move, I feel so overwhelmed with how much crap we need to deal with just in order to have a quieter, more peaceful life in a country town. I'm done dealing with banks, lawyers, agents and quite honestly, quite a few people. SO many expectations, so many things made complicated that don't need to be made so. I'm even annoyed with myself for allowing so much cr@p to accumulate in our home. How did that happen? I am NOT going to miss living near fake mainstream shops or the traffic filled with people all in a rush to go....where? Bring on Shank's Pony, a new garden, basic small shops in a small town and down to earth people. I don't know how I've survived the ordeal without Instagramming it or posting my woes on FB. Oh that's right...I don't belong to them ;)
ReplyDeleteKaren,
DeleteI think it takes a big move like yours, or equivalent Big Event, to blast us out of our consumer zombie state. Linda and I have done two major downsizes (and moves) in recent years, and still have things that we wonder about. But we are getting close to that sweet spot now.
Perhaps one is never finished. But you are doing the hardest part right now. The hard work is a good investment toward a crapless future.
I also do not have a FB account, and am happy about that. However, Linda does have an account that I participate in, mostly to keep in touch with distant friends and family.
A new garden? Oh, ya.
The good thing about peak fakery must be that we are now on the downward slope then? I am encouraged by young people who are by and large interested in real stuff - real food, gardening, brewing their own beer, live music - their virtual worlds are all about connection, and they seem to excited about experiences over stuff. Of course corporations are attempting to co-opt this trend, and succeeding as well as they usually do, but there is a seed of resistance there that I am quite hopeful about..
ReplyDelete