By: John Simon
Angst: /äNG(k)st/ – a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.
We are living in the Age of Angst. These days, as I look around, I see an ever swirling bombardment of propaganda. The news is fake or poorly reported, and issues of great importance are left unspoken and ignored, leaving people as a whole in a gloom of ignorance. Buy this, watch that, the fucking shit stream never ends; and we have no paddles, no boats, not even a life preserver to keep us from sinking into the waste, and becoming one with it. Our television, our games, our lives are constantly molded by subliminal adverts lurking in the corner of our eye, just far enough away that it’s there but not, baiting you to buy a new Iphone, a new gaming system, a new movie, new shoes, down to fucking cheeseburgers and artery clogging fries and wash that down with some chemical shit storm amalgamated sugars and dyes.
Why? Why do we live like this? It’s not all bad, right? Who doesn’t like their games, shoes or food? Sure you could spend $500 plus for an Iphone and have ads sent directly to you in every game you play, every email, every twitter, or face-fucking-book. It’s easy to get caught up in the world we see in ads and television, and that’s exactly the point.
No other time in history has information been so unbelievably available to the masses, yet the masses choose to ignore the truths about war, famine, and corrupt corporate agendas and mosey on along in their propaganda filled existence. Even so, those masses still feel the coal burning in their gut, that there must be something more, something better. You bought the new phone, it was fun for a while, but now it’s old, you’re bored, and the cycle starts over, still leaving that burning emptiness and boredom at your core. A change in time, a shift of thinking, needs to occur to quench that burn, relieve that emptiness. I believe in this change. Believe that it is possible, however daunting that may seem. The masses are distracted, and kept that way. Some never had the brains to understand the bigger picture, though many willingly ignore it. “Doesn’t affect me directly now, so fuck it.”
It is self-preservation, but at what cost? The world’s going to shit, and we joke about it. Make memes. Share cat photos. This is not what we should be doing. This will not quench the searing void in our souls. Those of us who stay informed, or try to, are forced to live by the way of the Age of Angst. You can’t feast on philosophy after all, and living in my car doesn’t sound too great either. You work their jobs, toil, and buy their crap. It seems inevitable. However, we must try our hardest to stay informed, to seek truth, to spread information, to reach out and explain the importance of escaping this Age of Angst. We must seek truth, and not ignore it. This dreary state of angst we live in must be overcome, and a new world must prevail, or the downward spiraling abyss will only grow more overbearing, crushing humanity into a poisoned weak race of fat, lazy, and stupid sheep. We need to move into an Age of Action, dismantling the corrupt regimes of power, fighting against those poisoning our bodies, food, and most importantly minds. We must shift, we must change. The angst will only leave once the world finds peace, and balance has been restored.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
Though many great men have spoken of unity and peace, love and compassion which can transcend faith or religion, the world is heavier on the scale in the opposite direction. The fear and hate, greed, and bloodlust is consuming most people’s hearts with them not even realizing they are being swayed by a greater evil to remain ignorant and turn their blind eyes. The corrupt rich and powerful cannot be a rich and powerful society without a mass of ignorant poor.
Insert us: the rest, who not privy to the rich and powerful agenda. We are the ones who are being deliberately dumbed down and kept busy with the social hype, valuing celebrities, music, and possessions over morality. Morality is the cure for the Age of Angst. We are deeply corrupted unknowingly, which is why we have the ever growing black hole at our center, eating everything the media serves and still feeling the gurgling growl in the deep.
We can have more and re-establish the balance to the world with a shift in ourselves. We must reconnect with our fellow man and embrace all that is true and good. Our generation may be the doomed, but the following has the chance to change for the better, but only if WE start now.
