I Wait, but I am Not without Action

By: Maven Cade Leary

There are moments that define a generation, and then there are long, painfully boring moments in between.

For my generation, 9/11 was the big one. And not really because of the event itself, however horrific it may have been, or because we suddenly became concerned by the long-bearded men hiding away in caves somewhere across the world scheming our doom.  No, those rat bastards were nothing compared to the realization that we were already right in the midst of a pit of vipers.

I was on the west coast, and was awoken by relatives on the east coast calling to get me up.

The tone of whoever the fuck woke me said it all. I shuffled out of bed and made my way to the living room and turned on the tube.

As I stood there in awe, looking at the smoking buildings and footage of the impact and the people jumping, I knew that my world was now changed. This was clearly one of those JFK moments I had heard about but not yet experienced. I wasn’t sure what it meant yet, but in the first few minutes of my standing there dumbfounded and trying to make sense of it all- I was converted into what back then was called a “conspiracy theorist,” which is currently just a realist.

We now reserve that nasty term for those that believe in aliens or actual reptiles in the government.

The dawning realization that the same people governing us were perhaps the ones with the most to gain from this fiasco happened when some senator stood up and said “I hope the American people now realize that the priority is not health care or education, but national defense.”

My eyes widened. It all began to crumble under me, much like the controlled demolition of the world trade buildings. I began to smell the fish in the back pocket of the establishment. This happened so early on in my vision of the tragedy that it stuck through the subsequent days and filtered all my perceptions. Things weren’t adding up.

Their first objective was simple, obvious. Show the footage again and again, in painful slow motion, until any decent human being would start getting sick considering the amount of lives lost in an instant. Seeing those people jump, man, that was something… Not like watching death in a movie.

All with the unfortunate result of whipping the good, decent folk of this proud country into a blind rage. Many studies have demonstrated the impact of the media on social trends. This was a great time of recruitment for Uncle Sam. Who wouldn’t want to get those sons of bitches for doing this to America?

But those swine bastards in their ivory towers were not done. This orchestrated coup, this manipulative play on the gullible and the weak, this was a long-con, the likes of which we might never recover from.

The next step was much more subtle. It included making it obvious that yes indeed; they were behind the whole thing. This was when suddenly presidents start admitting that yes, they are members of skull and bones. Alex Jones had a field day in these early years of the current regime.

Maybe they didn’t plan 9/11, maybe they did. Who can really say but those fuckers in their smoky rooms and filthy caves?

Social studies have shown that crushing the opposition as soon as it pokes its nasty head is the only way to maintain a monopoly. This is basic game theory. Look into John Nash if you don’t know much about his work and derivatives. It’s quite intriguing. If a single competitor is allowed to surface, then it must be destroyed with exaggerated force in order to discourage further competition. If a single competitor, no matter how small, is allowed to remain, the share of the market is forever diminished, and another, then another, will come in to claim a part of the pie.

Knowing these facts, the US government being the one who hired Nash right out of school and drove him insane, is it improbable to suppose that they created their own enemy, destroyed him with greatly over-exaggerated force, with shocking collateral damage, only so they could pass these so called patriot acts at a time when everyone was terrorized by the mainstream media into giving up their freedoms for a so-called security?… could this be a ploy to further discourage any “terrorists” from contesting the good judgment of the establishment?

I mean, Jesus, according to the patriot acts, anyone believing in the second coming of Jesus Christ is technically a terrorist, as they believe in the forceful overthrow of the current goons in favor of some repugnantly peaceful earthly kingdom or something run by an usurper…

Just to be clear, I don’t believe the entire institution is off its rocker. For the most part, good, semi-honest people are doing their best with what they have to work with. But I do think that it is very likely that factions within the government push for their own agendas with what many of us would consider to be morally dubious decisions to say the least.

And looking back, some thirteen or so years later, while I know this was one of those moments for my generation, a time when our perception of ourselves and the world we live in was forever altered, I can’t help but think that nothing much has changed, really. It’s the same crooks running things pre and post 9/11. Those animals were always there, and they don’t seem to be going anywhere.

We all thought that with the movies and the reports, with the social pressure building up, something was going to bust. We all believed that there was no way this kind of bullshit could last. But now, we know better. I guess every generation must come to this same bleak realization at some point.

Aside from a few fairly serious money problems, with the associated “occupy” movement, there really hasn’t been a whole lot going on. A black president is elected, given a Nobel Peace prize in anticipation of work never delivered. Big deal. The Nobel committee is obviously a big farce. Nobody cares. Some people got killed by the people supposed to protect them. Yeah, that really sucks, but is nothing new. Neither are the resultant riots. That shit is as old as society.

Politicians talk big but can’t do fuck all. They don’t control this mess. Their promises and good intentions never amount to much. They are tools for those with real power.

Not much changes.

Where are these flying cars I was promised? Where is the spirit of growth? How can humanity suddenly find itself so alone, so hopelessly doomed to an existence of morbid reality TV shows, sexual depravity, and gratuitous violence? Where did our spine go? Our family values? Our community dinners? Where is our spiritual drive? Our desire to work together to make this experience we call life something we can all be proud of and enjoy?

But who am I kidding… Humanity has been on an insane drive for revolution over evolution for millennia. We are much like the rebellious youth on whom reverse psychology is more effective than positive reinforcement. I’ve studied revolutions. They all have one factor in common. The masses who rise as one felt sufficiently oppressed as to embark on the crusade of one or more loud-mouthed rubble-rouser.

And so I sit here and I wait. For the world to turn. For that next moment of self-definition, when suddenly all that was once obscure is made clear. I wait because I feel powerless. Alone. Without a voice. I call out, but nothing much changes.

I wait, but I am not without action. I train. I learn. I grow. I anticipate the day when I can find something to do that will actually have an impact.

An enemy without a face. A swing in the dark. No one to trust. No way to know where to go from here.
Such is the curse of my generation.