Alone in a Crowd!

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Did you ever get the strangest feeling while in a crowd of people… some who you actually know, that you are ‘ All Alone’? Before someone reading this dismisses such a feeling as obviously coming from a person suffering from a condition of actual depression, not necessarily folks. In reality, this is most likely the normal reaction from one who lives in a very congested society. Don’t we all find solace in the quiet privacy of our apartment or home, when by ourselves? Well, in this rat race of urban or suburban living, many of us choose to disengage ourselves from every single human being as we navigate such a harried cluster of souls. You gulp a few ounces of alcohol , take any number of  countless narcotics available and reach that point of buzzdom, and you disregard the crowd.

Scores of psychiatrists and sociologists understand that many of us have deep seated childhood emotional problems that were never addressed. This writer knows from experience that such problems actually happened to myself and to one of my loved ones. In both instances if the problems were worked on through mental health professionals, better healing would be seen. Yet, there are other types of depressed feelings that are caused not from dysfunctional upbringing , rather from the brainwashing this empire we live under has been conducting on us forever it seems. Let’s talk about that.

If you are one of the hundreds of millions of my countrymen that follows either the Democratic or Republican parties with some vigor, you always ‘ Have a home’ outside of your own residence. This ‘ Us against them’ ideal gives one a certain sense of belonging, despite the myriad of things that both parties represent which hurt you, financially, economically or spiritually. This corporate driven empire bombards us constantly with actions that destroy our hopes for a better future. Yet, this ‘ Lesser of two evils’ formula seems to be working just fine… if you always ‘ Go along to get along’. What about those of us who see through this delusion? There are those of us who cannot continually settle and take instead to protest. What about us? In 2004, after the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq, many in my area heeded the call of us peace activists ( AKA Anti Empire protestors ). We took to the street corner of our town every Tuesday during rush hour, holding signs against the Bush/Cheney Cabal. Just about 90% of us were Democrats, with a sprinkling of Green Party advocates ( yours truly included ). We were committed to the cause of holding the government accountable , demanding the removal of our military from not only Iraq and Afghanistan, but most of our foreign bases. We wanted this obscene military spending to be cut drastically as well. By 2008 we had attracted well over twenty five people each week. Considering that our North Central Florida area had more Bush/Cheney lovers than not, our popularity peaked… until Obama began his sojourn. Just like that, as election time got closer, the crowd dissipated… until but three or four of us showed up each Tuesday.

We Socialists or as they say ‘ Progressives’ are alone in this political crowd. Because of the MAGA mob mentality, Neo Fascist to be sure ( even Neo Nazi with some of them), if we don’t support the tainted and hypocritical Democratic Party, the worst will happen again. So, the Two Party/One Party system has regressed even further. One side of the aisle is the ‘off the radar’ far right wing, and the other side is basically right wing, excepting the issues of women’s choice, gay rights and more aid for the indigent and very poor. When it comes to militarism and military spending, corporate America’s vise around labor’s heads, the obscenity of absentee landlords ( many of whom are major corporations), terrible health coverage, and basically the sad fact of so many mega millionaires, both of the One Party system rejects real change. Why? Check out who donates to their political campaigns and how much is given and you shall have the answer.

Orphans in the storm is what we who know better have become. As the singer/songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan put it so succinctly: Alone Again… Naturally!

Philip A Farruggio is regular columnist on It’s the Empire… stupid website. He is also frequently posted on Nation of Change, Countercurrents., Smirking Chimp and Independent Australia sites. He is the son and grandson of Brooklyn NYC longshoremen and a graduate of Brooklyn College, class of 1974. Since the 2000 election debacle Philip has written over 400 columns on the Military Industrial Empire and other facets of life in an upside down America. He is also host of the ‘ It’s the Empire… Stupid ‘ radio show, co produced by Chuck Gregory. Philip can be reached at [email protected].

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