Where the Hell is Superman?

Superman was a comic book hero.  Is there anyone who does not know that?  He did not exist, nor did Clark Kent, nor Jimmy Olsen, nor the hot babe Lois Lane. They were FICTIONAL!

Why am I stating what many of you know to be the obvious?

I sense, in the Year of our Lord, 2024, that many people in the United States, hell, in most of Western Civilization, expect Superman to fly down from the heavens and save them from this shit show we call a democratic capitalistic Plutocracy.  Any dude who can bend steel in his bare hands, and change the course of mighty rivers, can surely return Life to the times when an average, hard-working citizen could actually own a home (or pay rent), purchase food, pay the rest of the bills, and still have money left over for a hamburger.

That’s what it feels like to me, people praying for a miracle, walking around dazed, blaming other people for their plight, not sure how the hell to climb out of the cesspool they reside in.  It’s the only reason I can think of to explain why there is not rioting in the streets right now, why people are not revolting against the manipulation of their lives and the rigging of the game we call life.

Where is the anger?

Where is the “I’m not going to take it anymore” attitude? Where is the screw you, we want change and I’ll toss you out of office if change doesn’t happen” mindset?

But, instead of real action, citizens of the World are busy blaming each other. Well, it must be those damned Liberals, and if it isn’t them it’s got to be the Conservative Right, and don’t forget the Evangelicals, and toss in a little Latin Hate, Black Hate, Yellow Hate, and anyone who dares to claim they are something other than heterosexual.

Poverty is increasing.  Foreclosures are increasing. People with more than one job, out of necessity, are increasing in number.  Homelessness is increasing.  Mental health issues are on the rise . . . dramatically.  Life expectancy decreased for the first time in fifty years.  Most jobs, and the politicians love to talk about the low unemployment rate during an election year, do not pay enough to just pay rent, let alone food and other expenses?  Get an education, the elitists say, so you can qualify for a better job. No problem, I say, just let me pull that $36,000 college expense out of my ass and pay for that but oops, I forgot, people get sick, and a whole lot of them don’t have medical coverage, so sorry, bucko, that education will have to wait while you work eighteen hours per day to pay for the appendicitis.

Where is the passion? Seriously. I saw more protests in one week in 1969 than I’ve seen in the last year in 2023-2024.  Where the hell is THE PASSION?  Why is no one pissed that shareholders and board directors of major corporations are reaping record profits while the peons beneath them can’t pay for necessities?  Why is no one pissed that elected officials, in Washington D.C., are bought and paid for, and those who are not owned by Big Pharma or Fat Cat Corp. are labeled Socialists?

And let this sink in for a moment:  things are going to get worse!  Not for the banks.  Not for the Chase Manhattans and Wells Fargo Banks of the world.  Things are going to get worse for the single mother of two, the dad of three working two jobs, the homeless on the street, the social workers one rung on the economic ladder above those they help, the factory workers, the service industry as a whole, things are going to get “cry yourself to sleep at night” worse . . . and yet no one can pull themselves off the couch long enough to stage a half-assed protest.

Do you want Superman to suddenly appear?

Look in a mirror!

I’m not sure when citizens of the U.S., collectively, became comfortable with looking to the government for solutions. I suspect, like most change, this shift in attitude, from can do to let someone else do it, happened very slowly.  I suspect, as a nation, we became too comfortable, too gullible, and too dependent upon assistance. I suspect, as each year passed, and with it another ounce of self-respect, it became easier to pawn off responsibility to others, until we finally reached a point where the spirit of self-sufficiency, which once ran so deep in the veins of our ancestors, was but a memory.

At this very moment, fat old men, smoking cigars, are determining your financial future.  Right this moment, in computer rooms larger than some buildings, large screens are being monitored, and on those screens are copies of your emails, your texts, your social media activity and yes, your photo. The old tv series “Person of Interest” is happening daily in the U.S. of A., has been happening since the formation of Homeland Security and the writing of the Patriot Act, and we accept it as the price we must pay for our safety.

When did our freedoms under the Bill of Rights become poker chips to be snatched away by The House in a rigged game?

Look in a mirror!

If you are a member of the Bottom 99%, things will not get better until you start taking responsibility for your own life.   Those who lived during The Great Depression understood this simple lesson.  You look out for yourself, you look out for your family, and you look out for your neighbors.  You don’t trust the Government to do anything for you.  You do it yourself, period, end of story. You quit hoping and expecting Superman to appear, and you slip on a cape and do your best imitation of the Man of Steel because, and I really believe this, you have what it takes to make a better life.

Look in a mirror!