Who had this on their bingo card?
Yeah, came on a bit strong, didn’t I? But you are right of course. I’m not really such a grouch as this comment may have implied. Sad thing is, I’m old enough and lucky enough to probably be dead before the shit really hits the fan. It’s the young that’s gonna feel the brunt of it, and possibly sooner than they expect. I grew up in the 70s and we had hope and a feeling that pretty much anything was possible. The cold war was a bit of a bummer, but the feeling was that we could change things for the better if we tried hard enough. I don’t see that anymore and I’m pretty sad about it.
I know I’ll be ok. Probably. But it’s not about me. I’ve had a pretty good life, all things considered. Ups and downs, sure, but it’s the hopelessness of these times that worry me. We had hope for a better future and kids today won’t have that. All because my generation and those before us are selfish fucks who only look to number one.
I don’t know that it will be ok, but I’m certain it will be different. I see the US emotionally and culturally sliding down the same slope that Russia is going down. I figure they’re 10-15 years ahead of us.
Remember how excited we all were when the Berlin Wall fell? We had that Jesus Jones song roaring in our souls.
There is a wave of negativity and helplessness being thrown at us. We are being driven to be passive, to shrug our shoulders and go buy something to give our lives meaning. Our helpless selfishness feeds profits for others.
We must disengage from that helpless/selfish/profit way of life. It will destroy us. It will eat us up from the inside and leave us hollow and empty.
That doesn’t mean we have to move off-grid and become self-sufficient hermits. It can be as simple as learning to mend our clothes so we don’t buy as many new ones, and not buying into the shame of wearing mended clothes. (Visible mending is punk as fuck.) It can be as simple as saying thank you to cashiers, holding the door for that overloaded mother at the doctor’s office, giving others the benefit of the doubt. (Kindness is punk as fuck, too.) It can be as fulfilling and challenging as joining or creating a knitting group or live music jam or walking club. (Community is also punk as fuck.)
Old punks unite! You’re right. Kindness and trying to do our part as best we can is all we can do. Hope is so very essential to combat the hopelessness, as is kindness. It’s easy to lose hope, but we must fight it however we can. Your comment does make me feel a bit better, thanks. You are wiser than I, which also is punk as fuck.
Oh, I’m not wise, I’m just pissed off. Gotta use my anger as fuel to burn a raging bonfire of KINDNESS.
