Gettin’ blanded out, roboted out: Is everything political? Is everything politicized?

"They're only gonna bland us out, robot us out."

     Have you heard of this idea – that everything is political?  Every choice you make is laden with political baggage – which you may embrace or ignore.  Is that right?  It’s an important question because it can have important effects. 

     Sonny Bunch helps clarify this idea, marking a difference between a political life and politicized life.  For him a political life is merely taking an interest in politics, recognizing that important questions are raised and important decisions are made in this realm.  But then there’s the politicized life:

A politicized life is a different beast, however. It treats politics as a zero sum game or a form of total warfare in which the other side must be obliterated. It alters every aspect of your being: where you shop; what you watch on TV; what sort of music you listen to; who you associate with. If you’re not with the politicized being, you’re against him—and if you’re against him, he is well within his rights to ruin you personally and economically. You, the political other, are a leper to be shunned, lest your thought crimes infect the rest of society.

     Damn.  I agree and I do see this occurring around me, people taking up the banner of their (political/politicized) tribe.  The behavior is that of jerks as Bunch describes.

     But I think there is more going on.  I think the politicized person has come to a decision, based on their experiences, life lessons, and influence of their (politicized) social group.  That is fine: thinking is fine.  Thinking is great.

     But what if everything is political?  That means everyone lives a politicized life and if you say that you aren’t political or politicized you just aren’t paying attention.  Money makes a difference and economics goes a long way in determining how our lives are lived.  Here are some charts.  And please for the love or everything righteous and holy do yourself a favor and listen to this: Richard Wolff!

Dr. Richard Wolff.  Throw his lecture on your mobile device and go for a stroll.

     Yet we sally forth each day, making our proud decisions . . . in a politicized world.  A world of illusion?  Where we don’t recognize a deeper meaning to our behaviors . . .



Live 1984, photo © Eyeneer Music Archives



     Let’s use Joe Strummer’s model for voting to approach the idea from another angle, a long quote but, God, worth it for Joe’s lingo and vision:

     So it occured to me that since my real vote is useless, null and void, therefore we ain't gonna start runnin' down the street burnin' and a-lootin' either 'cause our ass is gonna get canned. So that leaves the only vote anybody's got, this dollar bill. All I'm trying to say is, when I wanna buy a record, I'm gonna take my dollar bill and go to some corner guy with his weird, kooky little shop. I'm not giving this to Virgin Megastore. The same when I'm going to buy some clothes- I ain't gonna go to Gap no more. I wanna go to Ditsy Louie's Junk Clothing Box. I'm using my vote here, this dollar bill is my vote. I'm not gonna go to a fast food joint. I'm going to go to a place where people own it, where the owner is standing behind the bar, picking his teeth.

     This is my new philosophy. Use your vote, your dollar bill is your vote. It's time we stopped giving it in the bucket-loads to these giants corporations. They're not to be trusted with that amount of money. They're only gonna bland us out, robot us out. They're gonna crush us and pulverize us. All they want is our money. They'd rather that we just sat on the pavement, saying nothing and giving them dollar bills. That's what they want the world to be while they have their cocaine and champagne. The dollar bill is your only vote. That's my new vibe.

     A car with a Republican sticker.  A car with a Democrat sticker.  The stickers are different but they’re both on cars.