That was quite a headline yesterday, Trump telling NATO members to pony up or he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want.
Don't take it at face value. That's not what it's all about. It's part of the Trump brand, saying the unsayable, the unpardonable, with impunity. And so far it's been working for him. Whether or not this guy belongs in jail...so far we don't know, because in order for that to happen there has to be a trial, and Trump and his minions keep forestalling one, fanning the flames of the love of his acolytes all the while.
This is where we are today, after the conformity of the millennials. Our heroes are like the rock stars of yore, the rules don't apply to them, and those sick of the rules, working brain dead jobs for not enough money, or those who are sick of giving their money to the government, believing that they too are above the law, cheer them on.
And the boomers just can't understand it. The same boomers who studied hard in school to get a good job and are now resented as the elite. Everything has flipped and the boomers are flummoxed. They're supposed to be in control, right?
Wrong.
The boomers won't pass the torch and the world has gone on react. Keep fighting TikTok...talk about alienating a younger generation. The boomers believe that the law can stifle bad behavior, not acknowledging that ever since Napster it's been obvious that legislation is no match for the marching progress of technology and society.
In the eighties and nineties they sampled your music without asking. That's why we have the beats-based music of today, too many rappers were caught with their hands in the cookie jar, and had to pay the sources. But Kanye asked permission, was denied, and did it anyway. This is not the rock star behavior of the sixties, wherein it was about social norms, this is raw legal issues. Kinda like Elon Musk, who doesn't like what the Delaware court had to say and is moving the HQ of Tesla elsewhere. I could delineate all the ways in which Musk believes and acts like he's above the law but I'll just point to how it's working for him, if you're actually still on the cesspool known as X, it's dominated by Musk's fanboys, as energized as the Swifties, purveying heinous takes and hating on anyone who doesn't agree with them.
But Ozzy Osbourne comes from the old school. When being a rock star meant controverting social mores. Questioning that which was established thinking which had never been questioned before. That was actually the mantra, "Question Authority." You'd see it on buttons. But the millennials were afraid of being excised from the group, they were the opposite of their boomer parents, they didn't want to stand out, they stayed silent and somnambulant.
And then rappers shot others with impunity. At first they evaded imprisonment, then they went to jail and it further enhanced their reputations. And what did the boomers say? Nothing! They said it's black people killing black people and we don't care. And therefore this lawless behavior became the norm, the rappers became heroes to their children, confounding the parents further.
And everybody believed that there would be no day of reckoning. Kind of like income inequality. How long can you keep the underclass down, even the middle class? And what do the rich say? That they earned the money, forgetting it was the rank and file that paid their businesses so they could make that money to begin with.
And if you were rich your opinion was valued higher than if you weren't. And when you realized this, you started to use your power to change society to your liking. Whether it be Musk, Ackman, Gates, Thiel...they operate in their own universe.
So Ozzy learned about antisemitism from his take no prisoners Jewish wife Sharon. You don't cross Sharon, ever. But they are boomers, once again, it's not the children of boomers standing up for what's right and wrong, they don't want to be excoriated.
And how does Kanye move forward after self-immolating? By making news. Kanye knows more about society than Congresspeople. Trump knows even more. Trump knows that to win he needs to be in the news every damn day, being the topic of conversation constantly. Biden and the Democrats? They don't even understand the construct. They talk about a return to normalcy, and we haven't had that spirit here since...
This is the new normal. Where it's nearly impossible to gain anybody's attention and therefore if you're not making news each and every day, you're falling behind. Old school musicians may complain, but social media, feeding your fans, who are salivating for information, enabling them to spread the word, is how you maintain a career today.
Trump does this and the youngsters understand. And Trump knows that legends like Ozzy biting off the head of a dove stick with the public, so he keeps saying outrageous things so you'll remember them too. Trump's NATO comments yesterday are inane on the surface. A threat, playing to his base, who believes the rest of the world is not paying their fair share for defense, that the U.S. is carrying the weight and shouldn't. Of course the devil is in the details, but the shock value of the statement is its prime effect.
And this statement evidences power, that Trump may not ever even have. But if you're a fan, you love him for it. Trump realized that all of life is now showbiz, and those brought up in a different era hate this. Your value should be determined by your degrees, by your philanthropy... Hell, Trump pledges money and then doesn't even deliver it. Believing that no one will be paying attention. The government can't whac all the moles. So you sit at home decrying his behavior but it keeps on working for him.
We're all responsible. The boomers who said nothing when the jobs were shipped overseas. The Americans who like cheap foreign products. The hedge funders who refuse to pay taxes at a regular income rate. Everybody is looking for an edge, looking to underfund the authorities, the institutions that would keep them in check. The bureaucracy is the "Deep State." The system is being systematically dismantled and all those on the left can do is cry like babies, and that does not work in an aggressive culture.
Yes, you decide what you want, you won't take no for an answer, and you employ a scorched-earth policy, your fans go wild on anybody with a contrary opinion. Say something negative about Taylor Swift at your peril. And she's not the only one. Internet hate is rampant. And the only way you could eliminate it is to shut down the pipes completely.
There is no return to normal. There could be a great leap forward to create a new normal, but on one side they want to go back to the fifties when things weren't so good to begin with and on the other they ask us to put our faith in an octogenarian who doesn't even understand everything I've just written. No wonder the youth are disillusioned, they've been disenfranchised. And African-Americans are sick of supporting a Democratic party that continues not to deliver for them. And Latinx people are drifting away from the Democrats because of the border.
How come everything has changed, yet in government it's business as usual, if anything happens at all? Impeach people, it's all theatre, nothing happens anyway, your team won't allow it, or you're outnumbered to begin with.
Do you think the public isn't aware of this?
So we're left with Ozzy Osbourne and the Sudanos to stand up for what's right and wrong, they're doing what the government will not.
But the average citizen? They're looking for an edge, they're trying to beat the system too, because if the rich and famous are...
And you've got to give the younger generation credit. The boomers laugh at the social media influencers, but these unknown to many know the game, they post each and every day, they're a slave to their career. They're doing a job that didn't even exist in the last century. And everybody can be a porn star on OnlyFans.
Yes, everybody has the tools, a computer, a smartphone and an internet connection. It's what you do with them that counts.
And you're nothing without notice. And unlike in the old days, you can release a great record and it gets no traction, it can't surface because there's too much in the pipeline.
And Universal wants to make sure the small independent players don't get paid. Yes, if you've got under a thousand streams, you're SOL. And of course a thousand streams doesn't pay much, but in the aggregate... But Lucian Grainge says the big artists (read billionaires, at least in concept) draw in the customers and they deserve more than their share. It's all about leverage. And speaking of leverage, the streaming platforms can't say no, because they need the licenses.
Right and wrong? Morality? Out the window!
And you're outraged by Kanye and Trump's behavior?
Outrage is so twentieth century. If you want to change the world, if you want to make a difference, you've got to be doing it 24/7. And you've got to pay a lot of taxes. And you have to be worried about your brother. And how many people are there like that?
Hardly any. There are no role models doing it right.
So don't be surprised when your children follow the bad actors. Because the bad actors are winning and those who follow the rules are seen as suckers.
If you want to change the world, don't look to the past. Bring out a clean sheet of paper. Change occurs at a glacial pace. But when you're asleep, rust is not. And then you wake up one day and you don't recognize society, never mind your country.
Welcome to the United States of America.
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