Solitary

The day of the maverick, the unique individual, the colorful rogue, is all but gone. Corporations are flexing their muscles as never before and the crushing aftereffects of their misdeeds are not so slowly wiping out all individuality. Ultimately our society will suffer on the whole, and it is happening without any fuss, cries of indignation, riots, nor blood in the streets as ones who grow up in this day and age don’t know the difference, conditioned to adhere to a lifestyle which frowns upon individuality, and they blindly accept all that’s foistered on them by this grinding capitalistic machine as simply the status quo. Step in line, pay up and shut up, and begin goose-stepping, please! And ones who strive to march to a different drummer are barely able to exist in a society that champions the corporation, as the corporations make it damn near impossible to even exist with the cost of everything necessary for quality of life reaching critical mass. How can one take risks when the risks could render him homeless, without proper food or medical care? Without incomes generated by cashing in and giving in to these faceless, soulless behemoths one simply cannot exist. “1984”, by George Orwell had it right, it was just twenty years too early.
I live in a town that thankfully does champion originality to a degree. And in this town I was able to watch two different movies, a rare concert film last night, and a BBC documentary tonight that showcased two incredibly unique and gifted and rare and important individuals that, dare I say, could possibly not even make a ripple in today's over saturated, media dominated, totalitarian, corporate existence.
The first was a concert by James Brown and the Fabulous Flames, shot in Boston the day after Martin Luther King was gunned down. The man was in top form and was singularly mesmerizing, on fire. It was a total joy to watch James and his legendary band leave the audience stupefied and energized beyond belief. We in this present day audience felt the same.
The second was a documentary on Don Van Vliet, or as some know him, Captain Beefheart. This man walked it like he talked it, and took his art forms to the extreme to make statements that no one else dared, and again, we were the richer for it. The documentary ended with some very insightful observations on the callousness of people and their effects upon not only society and nature, but especially the fragile individual who lives his life by art and love and giving alone.
Those days of enriching and championing the creative spirits are long gone.
People are killing the individual spirit by promoting and supporting mediocrity, buying into the copycat, sound alike, filch and pap that’s currently being rammed down their throats, turning their rabid, zealous mania of sports figures into something akin to the worship of the gladiators of Rome, and we know where they ended up, eh? And forget politics, that is an area that is too dark for me even to comment.
I am greatly saddened. And more than just saddened, I too grew up in this bygone era and I do know the difference. In this present day I struggle mightily to make my voice heard; some weeks a struggle just to stay alive, to afford another piece of bread, a roof over my head not guaranteed. I am drowning in a sea of dullness, the machine doing its best to pull me into the system, a system that would surely crush my spirit.
But my soul is a candle, and no amounts of darkness will ever snuff my flame. So I continue, and others like me will continue, for this world would be a mighty dim place without those whose candles burn bright, not only for themselves, but for everyone else who’s lucky enough to stand and bask in their light