The title of this piece is taken from the words of my oft-mentioned guru, Gil Scott-Heron, possibly at the top of the list of American poets, since he delivered the real, instead of the metaphorical.
First performed in 1981, I hope you’ll take the time to listen to this masterpiece.It’s a mere 12 minutes. But, a disclaimer: While you may get the vibe, if you’re under 65 you likely won’t get the historical context.
Gil’s beef was with “Ronald the Raygun.” And certainly, the theme he used, the “B-Movie,”was applicable to that time. But in our times, it’s the reality show which has taken over our lives. And while I’m not artistically worthy of tying Gil’s shoes, I don’t mind borrowing his genius as a starting point. Change a word, a name, here or there, and the 1980’s becomes 2025.
My epiphany came with Trump’s recent trip to the Middle-East. Of course, there was the expected gift and self-aggrandizement, but I suddenly realized that he was turning the whole middle east situation into a business deal instead of hate-filled war. Wow. Maybe distortion like that has its place in a place that’s truly broken.
That cast my thinking back to what’s happening domestically. Our system of government has evolved over nearly 250 years. It’s messy, and hasn’t always been the most efficient, but, relative to the rest of the world, it’s been a major success. And what is the first rule of success: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! This isn’t the Middle East!
This onslaught, this tsunami, of chaos has disrupted what has been an evolution, and substituted a gratuitous revolution…a revolution driven by an artificial need for change imposed upon the great unwashed via a propaganda campaign that would put Herr Goebbls to shame. All of which is constructed around forcing us to be a part of one horrible reality show. As Gil said then, and which is even truer now:
“This ain’t really your life, ain’t really your life, ain’t really ain’t nothin’ but a movie.“
Certainly, what has come, gatling-gun-speed out of the executive order pen, is a perverted vision of reality, which manipulates people to be at their worst. The evil minions have MAGA-nitized themselves into this administration, producing a reality show cast which threatens to send America backward, perhaps to even before its beginnings. As Gill says of the controlling minority:
“This country wants know-stalgia. They wanta’ go back as far as they can…even if it’s only as far as last week. Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards.“
The problem is two dimensional. First you have the evil itself, and then you have the amplifiers. Face it, every time you go on one of “our” channels, be it CNN, MSNBC, or any of the semi-honest media sources, you can’t attend for more than ten seconds without hearing or seeing “Trump.” That’s got to stop. We have to starve this beast of oxygen. Yes, the 30% or so of manipulated idiots willing to go down with his ship will never be convinced. And those of us in the upper percentile of rationality may continue to be immune, But, for the rest of that vast, middle ground, who still have one foot on the dock and the other on the ship, the only hope of rescue from sailing away with this reality show is it for the “main stream media” to simply start ignoring Trump.
Damn the journalistic imperative! Just stop saying his name! Each repetition of his “brand,” his name, each impression, simply helps to further ingrain his un-reality into the reality show he’s imposed on us. Stop broadcasting those ridiculous news conferences from the tainted oval office. Refer to “the administration” when pointing out the stupidities instead of attributing them to him. He knows that there is no such thing as bad advertising, in fact, it’s his stock in trade. Time to close up that shop. It’s the most important weapon we have. The best way we can get back to what’s a better real.
©2025 David B Bucher
SoEast 
We can only wish!
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