This morning I was listening in on a group of old men chatting over their morning coffee. All seem to have been veterans, as they were discussing the VA and the things they get provided for "free" due to various levels of military-caused disability.
I have no clue about the things they spoke of- I only repeat what they said.
Anyway, they were talking enthusiastically about lifetime "free" car tags and hunting (and fishing) licenses as a couple of the perks they enjoy.
The thought that kept running through my head was that they should be insulted. They are told they were "fighting for freedom", and yet, some of the benefits they get are monuments to tyranny, instead.
"Freedom" would never permit such things as license plates or hunting licenses. They are an affront to Rightful Liberty. They are the opposite of what these guys thought they were fighting for. It is the US government spitting in their eye and telling them it's a reward.
But these old veterans saw no irony whatsoever.
I resisted the urge to point this out to them, but I wonder if I did the right thing. I would want to know if I were missing something so glaringly obvious. But, then, I'm "different".
.
Insanity is, indeed, the social norm. I find myself constantly reflecting back to Thomas Pynchon's declaration: "If they can keep you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers." Insanity indeed!
ReplyDeleteA 5 year-old child might be assigned the question(s) to ponder: "Is war a good thing? Or is war a bad thing?" S/he (the 5 year-old) would not hesitate to come up with the correct answer. Yet millions upon millions of supposedly grown-up men and women around the earth and from pole to pole cannot. They will celebrate and aggrandize their wars and their participation(s) and the war contributions of relatives without shame.
The enormity of the truth is incredible
If you run across this kind of situation again- PLEASE, politely point out their idiocy to them.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the stunned, ghostly look on their faces.
Think they'll even comprehend my words? I have found that's the problem with a lot of the state-indoctrinated... they can't even understand what you're saying if you say something outside their box.
DeleteSure, sometimes. Most have lost or never had the ability to think about a comment. They only know their programming to respond to certain “hostile” stimuli with slogans and clichés.
DeleteOccasionally, you’ll get one that will respond with an intelligent question, which opens the door for further education and additional questions, etc.
At the very least, you can plant a seed in their heads to think about between belches or on the long drive back to their miserable home lives.