Reactionary

So Bush is in Europe and U2 is getting blasted by the press. All is well. Things are upside down as usual.

There’s an interesting quote on the BBC about Bush: “Despite Mr Bush’s charm offensive, there are too many issues dividing the US from much of Europe to enable peace to be declared on all fronts, the BBC News website’s world affairs editor Paul Reynolds says.” Charm? Charm? Is this British politeness taken too far? George W. Bush like his father before him has roughly as much charm as a bar of soap. Soap and sandpaper. Soap to clean everything up and make it appear clean and happy and harmless and sandpaper to grind it all down into every crevice of the human brain so there will be no un-American thoughts such as opposition and disagreement. We’re all happy here, you know. All happy in our Freedom and Democracy and Hard Work. The people of Brussels demonstrated in the streets against him. Good for them.

It continues to amaze me the silent permission of a mob. There is no strength in numbers. Millions and millions of people have opposed Bush politics and there have barely been enough demonstrations or cries for change to register a blip on anyone’s radar. Especially after the first election, you’d think there would be more. But the day after Election Day came and went and everyone went back to their televisions and radio. Will historians shake their heads in disbelief years from now? Disbelief at the apathy and helplessness so clearly captured in all this? This is granted there are historians who actually study real history and not the edited versions George Bush and the like-minded would love to enforce given the chance.

The recent trouble in the South over teenagers learning the theory of evolution is so frightening, I can’t even be flippant about it. What in heaven’s name is going on? It’s like 50 years have suddenly vanished. A hundred. I can’t even talk about it. It left me speechless when I heard about it. I thought someone was kidding. But they weren’t. What is going on in this country? What? What’s next?

On a better note, because I can’t leave this on such a negative note, the Killers’ CD Hot Fuss is the most clearly awesome CD I’ve ever heard from a new band. Is it their debut? If it is, it’s the most brashly self-confident debut I’ve ever heard. They even have a Gospel choir in one of the songs! Who the hell do these guys think they are? U2? Buy it. Buy it! BUY IT!

Posted on February 20th, 2005 under News •  Print •  Email • RSS 2.0 feed • Both comments and pings are currently closed