Friday, March 15, 2019

The Prerogative of Fakery

The covenant of the producer of reality entertainment is

not justice

nor truth

nor integrity

nor courage.

*

The covenant of the producer of reality entertainment is

lies and fictions

dressed up as "honest" and "authentic" "truths" and "realities".

*

Importantly:

the producer of reality entertainment is not in the business of nonfiction.

Therefore

the producer of reality entertainment is not in the business of documentary.

Which is to say:

the producer of reality entertainment is not in the business of science or history or news or information, etc.

Indeed

the producer of reality entertainment is in the business of fakery.

*

Sadly

the prerogative of such fakery is abundantly not exclusive.

*

To the extent that all of us exploit lies and fictions to pretend to be "honest" and "authentic" across social media, for example,

the covenant of the producer of reality entertainment is

all of ours

as producers of social media

neither in the business of nonfiction nor the business of documentary.

*

Moreover

as producers of social media

the price we pay

the covenant, if you will, we make

with ourselves and each other is

nothing less than the erosion of honesty and authenticity.

*

Nay, the vow, if you will, we avow

to ourselves and each other is

nothing less than not giving a damn.

*

Needless to say

it is therefore colossally unsurprising that shams of justice and truth and integrity and courage are donned like the emperor's new teflon by producers of reality entertainment and producers of social media

as honest and as authentic as fakers in the business of fakery.


See also the Ides of March and Memento Mori

M

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

The Great Claptrap, Again

There is a blindness in the face of hardship and misfortune and mortality that avows:

     the past is no begetter of now

     and hardship and misfortune and mortality therein

     the past is salvation of now!

There is a blindness that avows:

The Great Claptrap, Again


How is the past salvation of now?

*

If the past is salvation of now

what did our progenitors avow as salvation of now... decades ago? generations ago? centuries ago? millennia ago?

     The past?

*

Then

did our progenitors summarily avow:

     the past is no begetter of now

     the past is salvation of now?

*

Then

after millennia and after centuries and after generations and after decades of avowing the past as salvation of now

     what begot now?

*

(Moreover

what begot now of millennia ago? now of centuries ago? now of generations ago? now of decades ago?)

*

If the past is no begetter of now

now

(much less now of millennia ago and now of centuries ago and now of generations ago and now of decades ago)

     what is?

     God?

*

If God begets now and hardship and misfortune and mortality therein

now

(and now of millennia ago and now of centuries ago and now of generations ago and now of decades ago)

while that which humankind begot in the past is no begetter of now (and hardship and misfortune and mortality therein); that which humankind begot in the past is salvation of now

     then God is apologism.

*

For how is this God, this consecration of blame shifting, this convenient deus ex fabricatio

     to blame

for now and hardship and misfortune and mortality therein

(much less now of millennia ago and now of centuries ago and now of generations ago and now of decades ago)

while the salvation of now and hardship and misfortune and mortality therein is the past

     (begot by we who beget no now)?

*

To see the salvation of now as the past

is to not see the unbroken road from the past to now.

*

Though thousands of years have passed since our progenitors avowed: we are faultless; now and hardship and misfortune and mortality is God

to not see the unbroken road from the past to now is to avow decade after decade, generation after generation, century after century, millennia after millennia: we are apologists; now and hardship and misfortune and mortality is the broken road;

after all: the past is no begetter of now; the past is salvation of now!

*

Are we as jejune as our progenitors...? Millennia after millennia and century after century and generation after generation and decade after decade... ?

*

(Notwithstanding

if the past is salvation of now

     what past is salvation?

For every past and every hardship and every misfortune and every mortality therein without exception was once

     now.)

*

Now after now after now after now after now

there is a blindness in the face of what's working as intended that avows:

     the great claptrap

again after again after again after again after again.


Addendum


I

There was never a time when vagrancy was encouraged. When mischief was praised. When disorderliness was welcome.

Censured and rebuked by societies and neighbors, the reason was this:

respect is the currency of civility and civility has stood the test of time.

Needless to say, while tendering respect is entitled to respect in return, tendering vagrancy and mischief and disorderliness is not tendering respect. It's rude.

Moreover, such deficit of respect merits redress and amend.

*

Not surprisingly

debtors of the currency of civility who are apologists

apologize not

and demand instead

entitlements and privileges from the very societies and neighbors to whom they owe redress and amend

with the fake righteousness of teflon.

*

Like civility, this deficit of integrity has stood the test of time.

*

II

There was never a time when moral washing was not encouraged and praised and welcome. For moral washing was how believers consecrated:

     God is apologism.

*

Though thousands of years have passed since the first consecration of God is apologism, the unbroken road of believers who are moral washers is well trod with the avowal:

to avow

temptation is God's purpose; transgression is God's will

is to avow

forgiveness and deliverance are entitlements and privileges

owed to we

who exploit the establishment of religion and the exercise thereof.

*

Not surprisingly

moral washers who consecrate moral washing

apologize not

and demand instead

entitlements and privileges from the very societies and neighbors to whom they owe reformation and restitution

with the fake piety of the emperor's new transparency.

*

Like apologues, this deficit of honesty has stood the test of time.

*

III

Now after now

we the fake righteous and we the fake pious

who heil makers on the take

owe no redress, no amend, no reformation, no restitution

to societies and neighbors who denounce deficits of integrity and honesty

again after again.

*

IV

Though thousands of years have passed since the first exhortation to Carnival

do we indulge ourselves for Shrovetide

as if joy is the point?

Then

do we abstain from joy for Lententide?

As if acts of indulgence and acts of abstention

signal virtue

like fair weather cocks flapping like flags on flagpoles.

*

V

To not see claptrap working exactly as intended is to not see willful blindness and covenants thereof stand the test of time

millennia after millennia and century after century and generation after generation and decade after decade and

now.

M