A Few Bananas Short of a Bunch
By
Cognitive Dissonance
“You’ve been living in a dream world, Neo.” – Morpheus
"How did you go (morally) bankrupt?" Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly." ― With abject apologies to Ernest Hemingway and his “The Sun Also Rises”
“I reject your reality and substitute my own.” – Adam Savage from Mythbusters
I have this short-on-specifics, long-on-emotion memory of being young, around 9 or 10 years old, and in grade school during the mid 60’s. I was an introvert and thirsty for any knowledge that could help me better understand what to me was nothing less than insanity.
Even back then I instinctively knew the secret, though no one in their ‘right’ mind believed me when I voiced my concern. I was living in an insane asylum, populated by humans reasonably well adapted to close quarters and authoritarian rule. At least that’s the way it was in my house and just about every other home within walking distance.
Of course, the grand global collective, as diverse and culturally mixed as it claimed to be, pretty much followed similar directives. It did then, and in fact still does today. While it may be carefully concealed behind grand consensual governing concepts such as parliamentary rule, democracy or a representative republic, they couldn’t fool me. Whether by closed fist or pointed gun, it was pretty obvious to me the authoritarian few always ruled over the collective many.
