TRAXMYTH

So, I got really high on some sticky icky yesterday, and started thinking about how everyone I know seems to be “chasing their dreams”. Everyone seems to be pursuing their passions, which I had been an advocate of before yesterday. I was drunk on the concept that if I tried hard enough, I would “make it” in some way. And this concept is perpetuated, mostly because the society we live in tells us that that is the right thing to do. Much like parents who never scold their children, young people today are increasingly being told to “do what you love” and “shoot for the stars”. They are told to follow their dreams, and that anything can happen. But not everyone can make it big. Not everyone can be in the 1%. What happens when following your dreams doesn’t take you anywhere?

Everyone wants to be important. I think it’s human nature. But, I also think that we tend to confuse importance with fame. I mean, looking at myself, I’d love to “make it big” and work with other talented artists and get paid and musically change the world. I mean, what artist wouldn’t want that level of success? But, by the very definition of the word, we can’t all be famous. We need “anonymous” people in society infinitely more than famous people. I can do without Kim Kardashian, but I cannot go without the garbage man that comes every week, or the tow truck driver that fixes my flat on the side of the road. As a society, we overvalue fame. And it’s a shame, because 99.9999% of us will never get there. Every time we shoot for very big things, we essentially undervalue ourselves.

I blame reality television and the 24 hour entertainment news cycle for placing such importance on relative “nobodies”. How many frivolous reality shows are there? How many frivolous reality stars? It’s an insane amount and it’s growing every year. And, as younger and younger people get hooked into this, what they see is normal people, who have not accomplished anything special, other than selling their dignity for their 15 minutes, sending a message that being popular should be enough to get you paid.

It’s no wonder that kids these days are having sex younger and younger and experimenting with alcohol and drugs at an increasingly younger age. Giving in to peer pressure means going along with the crowd, and being an insider means you’re cool, and being cool will get you stuff. Kids are exposed 24 hours a day to what their favorite, older, entertainment idols are doing. If Miley Cyrus smokes Salvia, guess what half of the fourth grade is going to try, once they get old enough to score it? Justin Bieber made it big off of YouTube videos. It’s no wonder that kids are willing to pretty much do anything for the gratification of internet hits. And this need for popularity will only cause our future generations to be more insecure than their predecessors.

And the unfortunate thing is, the government wants to keep it this way. While everyone is focusing on reading up on what starlet banged who, they are busy passing bills that are stripping away our core rights as citizens, and what once made us the greatest nation in the world. While we are there, on our favorite social networking sites, screaming our perceived importance to anyone who will listen, the people in control are having the last laugh. There is no resistance to them. How can there be, when we’re all half asleep, dreaming of fame and fortune?

Our society is all sizzle and no steak. Nobody wants to roll up their sleeves and tackle problems head on, because having fun is what famous people are good at and hard work doesn’t get you paid or valued. And we absolutely yearn to be valued by someone. Anyone!

There was a time when being a great parent or partner or even just a fucking decent, helpful, educated person were personal goals in our society. Now, we all want to be rap stars and socialites. And, in the mean time, our country is dying. We are getting dumber, because, simply put, no one gives a fuck anymore. No one cares how we spell, no one cares how we affect others, just as long as we get noticed. We all worry about ourselves, because self promotion is what gets you on the front page of TMZ.

Our country is dying because no one wants to be a garbage man or a tow truck driver. No one wants to be a construction worker or a teacher or a mechanic, because we don’t value them enough. We don’t value the “little person”. We value fame and glamour, and we tell people to follow their dreams, and that they’ll make it one day if they just try hard enough, and that is fucking sad.