à la The Matrix
Tank: Here you go, buddy; "Breakfast of Champions."
Mouse: If you close your eyes, it almost feels like you're eating runny eggs.
Apoc: Yeah, or a bowl of snot.
Mouse: Do you know what it really reminds me of? Tasty Wheat. Did you ever
eat Tasty Wheat?
Switch: No, but technically, neither did you.
Mouse: That's exactly my point. Exactly. Because you have to wonder: how do the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything.
Apoc: Shut up, Mouse.
"Shut up, Mouse."
Yeah, I love it, "shut up Mouse". That's how we feel when anyone questions the great machine, right? Shut yer trap, don't wanna hear it, just let me keep enjoying my Tasty Wheat. What a bunch of whipped dogs we are...
The following comments are from an article at www.huffingtonpost.com posted by -myjoyy- in response to a YouTube video where an elementary school class is led in a song "singing the praises of Obama."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-volokh/school-children-singing-t_b_300126.html
>>> Part 1
Educate them (sometimes throwing in a song that features a current president), inspire them, give them hope for the future and hopefully they will grow to be upstanding and productive citizens. Under educate them,
misinform them, kill their dreams and defer their hope and the outcome could be another home-grown terrorist by way of the criminal justice system. Our children are looking and listening to us who are supposed to be the adults in this country and what they are hearing and seeing is not conducive to healthy growth for this future generation. They see the attention being given to the rudest and loudest in our society. So this tells them, in order to be noticed, they must act in kind. They hear the malicious name calling, see the disruptive behavior in town hall meetings and hear about and see some proudly displaying their rights to bear arms in questionable places and venues. They see signs that label a sitting president as Hitler, a fascist, socialist, communist, non-citizen, un-American, baby k!ller, etc. Is it any wonder that the imitation of this type of behavior leads to the schoolyard bullies and even worse, schoolhouse shootings? They attend hate rallies rather than pep rallies, tea parties instead of slumber parties, and wear the signs of their parents that they sometimes can't even read or fully understand. Why are we then surprised when one day the bully in the sandbox becomes the terrorist in our own backyard?
Part 2
They witness the disparagement and disrespect hurled at the office of the presidency endlessly fed to them via the Internet and TV. And we have the audacity to question why the youth of today are so disrespectful? Then our children get an opportunity to hear from a president who advises them on how to be better students, encourages them to be and do their best, and challenges them to assume accountability for their own actions, rather than this being looked upon as a positive message it is called “indoctrination”. And faster than they can get to Webster’s Dictionary or go to Askdotcom to look that word up they hear it again – this time in relation to a song sung by third graders now playing on YouTube. When third graders sing a song
that’s characterized as “singing the praises” of a president (past or sitting) is likened to “ideological indoctrination and glorification” rather than a celebration of what’s already been done and hope for what possibly could come, do we have to wonder why their heroes of today are celebrities, con artists and cartoon characters? When American youth hear of death threats being sent to a principal for any reason, let alone because it centered on a US president should they be afraid that what they say, feel or sing may bring harm to them? Will they be caught up in the fear factor and choose fear rather than hope?
Part 3
Should America’s youth have to wait for history to determine when and who they can celebrate? Do they need to wait for history’s permission to believe that the POTUS has a plan to help get America back on track? Should they now fear that the foundation of democracy of which this country was built will crumble under the messages they hear from our President and the songs dedicated to him. We are inspired today by great songs – secular and spiritual - that especially during our greatest challenges give us a sense of hope – “America the Beautiful”, “My Country Tis of Thee”, “Amazing Grace” and even “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Has anyone ever used or heard the word “indoctrination” used to characterize any of these songs? While these songs may be near and dear to many Americans hearts, there are others outside our world who may consider them as indoctrinated (programmed, trained, propagandized) into our psyche. You see this too can be, all in the eyes and ears of the beholder. And that the President has proclaimed to be a Christian and as Christians we are commanded to be like Christ, Obama and all Christians should love all the children of the world just as Jesus does. Was there an absence of political correctness? Should the words have been “Blue states and “Red states” instead of “red, yellow, black or white”? More constitutional? “Bill of Rights” instead of “equal rights”? Secular rather than spiritual genre?
Part 4
In times such as these, when it seems that the world as we previously thought we knew it has taken us beyond our comfort zone and into a future we are trying to secure, our children are looking to us to be level-headed and fair-minded. They are looking for someone they can say they are proud to be a part of their lives. They are looking for someone they know will protect them, give them the right guidance and instruct them on what is wrong and right. We as adults need to each examine ourselves and ask honest questions as to whether we have been the best role models for our children. Have we instilled a sense of purpose or indifference? Do they see us at our best or our worst? Have we instilled in them hope or fear? Is the indoctrination that “we” set before “our” children truthful instruction or carefully chosen propaganda? As we embrace the successes of our lives we must also be accountable for the failures. And when we choose to see indoctrination as a means to truthfully train or instruct those in our circle of influence rather than a way to perpetuate and spread propaganda, it can be used in a positive sense, rather than just another dirty label or name given to someone we disagree with. <<<
What I liked about this particular comment/s is that instead of jumping on a particular band-wagon, or going on the offensive against whomever, -myjoyy- instead took a look closer to the real issue here than most people have the guts to attempt. What's the real issue here? Should we be concerned with the bullet hole or with the severed artery behind it? I would agree that we (we the people, the country) are in a tough spot. The media machine is lying flat out on both sides of the line, and we are listening AND following. I admit that this current president scares the hell out of me, I think that the country (mostly whiny liberal pussies*) were so butt-hurt over the Bush administration that they developed Obama into a "Savior" figure well above and beyond I'm sure even his own expectations and got the majority of the country to buy into it enough to get a freshman posted in a starting position on the Varsity team. And of course, as it always goes, I have no doubt that even Obama believes the hype, hype that is unfairly above and beyond any kind of realistic expectation. What sucks is that when a figure is overly hyped, buys into the hype themselves, and stands at the pulpit basking in their hype, they ultimately fall prey to the same end - they become a gad-dang puppet. This country, any country with an organized government and elected officials, doesn't need a gad-dang puppet, we NEED a leader. The Office of the President of the United States is a position of leadership!
I'll have to get back to this one later, if I try to tackle this all at once here, I'll end up writing a book; and that's just a bad idea.
*note: I don't believe that all liberal's are whiny pussies, just the one's making enough noise to be heard; and that's the problem. It's never, in my opinion, an issue of people on both sides not having valid arguments, and more importantly ALL the American people's best interest in mind, it's that the loud and obnoxious whiners are the only ones being heard. Same goes for the conservative side. The "majority" isn't being represented because most people aren't the crying left or right, most people are shaking they're heads in the middle in somber silence dumbfounded and speechless at the country's current state. I understand this, it makes sense. Smart people, understanding and reasonable people, know how to look at a situation and go "that's retarded" and stay out of it. The problem though, is that while all the reasonable, fair-minded, intelligent people are sitting back going "that's retarded", they're staying out of it and they're not making matters any better either. Isn't there something about "if you're not part of the solution you're part of the fucking problem!" Or something like that? I know, I know, so - what then? Right? Well, we watch ourselves circle the drain. Sucks, I know, but what else, revolution? In today's day and age, not likely, not realistic (I'd like to get into the why on that later). Again, I know - sucks.
