the passive republic of dissent

lately, i get the sense that the war in iraq right now is about as unpopular as vietnam.  and considering bush's approval rating mired somewhere in the 30's for the last several months, maybe more unpopular.  so where are the protests?  of course, there have been a few.  i was witness to one myself at water tower place back before the war had actually started, just when bush was threatening to invade.  and of course, you hear about streets getting blockaded by college kids and old hippies every once in a while.  but all of this seems very sporadic and ill-planned.  the protest that i was in the middle of just annoyed me...there was little discipline and what seemed to be more of a fuck-the-man mentality than actual moral outrage or concern for peace.  as far as the blockades go, there is more spirit and disruption to be had on the streets when umass or the university of minnesota win the hockey championship.  maybe it's just our media's nostalgia for the sixties blowing things out of proportion, but movements and protests seemed to mean something back then.  you had a bunch of pot-smoking clowns, but at least they got something done.

so where is the protest now?  during vietnam, the media typically gave a neutral or positive view of the white house.  it gave little attention to the protests, except when something outrageous like the kent state shootings happened.  but until the mid seventies, there was little negativity shown towards the status quo - responsibility was placed on the people for change.  now, it seems to be just the opposite.  a myriad of news stations scrutinize the actions taken in the white house and on capitol hill.  the daily show dishes out typically brilliant satire at the expense of the military and the president.  maybe our protest is shown in the high ratings that john stewart gets every day.  maybe our protest, for better or worse, has been co-opted by big media.  maybe the news outlets have become our republic of dissent. 

this concerns me.  it concerns me that the voices of many are settling for the more or less corroborating voices of the few.  it concerns me that protest, our nation's most powerful and passionate tool for democracy, is fading into passivity.  it concerns me that we now consume dissent just as we consume everything else.  but on the other hand, i would rather have a mob of drunken frat boys sitting inside laughing at comedy central than turning over a car in the street and asking each other if this is about iraq or their latest ncaa victory.

ch-ch-ch-changes

wow.  that last post was kind of a downer, huh?  anyway, no whining this time.  i now have a job at this sweet bakery/cafe called the prairie bread kitchen.  our muffins, cookies, scones, and various breads all kick ass.  it is about eight feet from the metra station in oak park, so you should all stop by some time and blow your inexperienced little minds away.

that, plus jason and i now have some furniture in our apartment.  that's right. now, when i offer a guest the seat of honor, that does not just mean floor space with a bit of wall attached.  reclining technology is progressing at an unbelievable rate, and jason and i are on the cutting edge.  now about me getting a mattress for the sleeping...

that magic fading

okay, so the exhilaration of nomadic life is quickly fading.  i can't get a job without an address, and it is hard getting an apartment without a job.  cam has been very kind to let me stay at his place, but i feel like a bum.  it's a lot easier to be romantic about the jack kerouac lifestyle when you're not in it.

right now, i am the wealthiest homeless person in chicago.  in amsterdam, i had a friend magit, who through various sordid circumstances was able to secure employment but could not legally rent a place.  he had a cell phone but no bed.  i am getting a very small taste of his life.  bob dylan crashed on random couches for a year in new york before he got his own place, but that was a different world.  and then there's Jesus, who chose to live like this.  weird guy.