My level of cynicism about our governmental institutions, corporate institutions, religious institutions, and the world in general has reached epic proportions over the last several years, as I find myself believing nothing I’m told by authority figures, media talking heads, politicians, government lackeys, scientists, doctors, or anyone peddled by the MSM as an expert. I know the average American just wants to be told what to think, what to believe, and what to do, but I can’t bring myself to not think critically and question the blizzard of lies swirling around me on a daily basis. When virtually everyone you come into contact with on a daily basis believes the narratives spun by their overlords (and they are too programmed to know they have overlords), pretending to not notice their ignorance is exhausting.

Essentially, finding like-minded people to communicate with is relegated to internet interactions, mostly on my own website. I’ve thrown in the towel on trying to awaken my family and now former friends. Covid was the IQ test, and they failed miserably. My cynicism about our nation and criticism of those running the show flows freely in my household. I do find myself wondering whether I am being too cynical about whether Trump can reverse the downward spiral of the empire of debt he now reigns over. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, like I did during his first term. I will judge him on his actions and outcomes, rather than his endless rhetoric.

I believe the quotes above capture the gist of the world we inhabit. The first is from George Carlin’s cynical, devastating, dead-on accurate American Dream bit, performed four months before his death in 2008. Carlin himself described cynics as disappointed idealists. His description of the American Dream and how the ruling class sees us as nothing more than cogs in their financial machine was an accurate assessment of the world in 2008 just before the Fed/Wall Street induced financial crisis and has become even more prescient in the in the years since this performance. The second quote is from the 1976 movie Network. It is the unforgettable scene, written by Paddy Chayefsky, where Chairman of the network Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty) sets rogue anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) straight about how the world really works. America is a corporatocracy and businesses determines what we should eat, drink, think, and believe.