by Ray Jason
It was a genuine “laugh until you
cry” moment. Two of my absolute favorite
people and their son were sitting across from me in a plush Palo Alto
restaurant. Five minutes into our meal I
looked across at them and was astounded.
Spontaneously, but quietly, I leaned towards them and said, “Good god, you eat like refugees!”
They laughed heartily and acknowledged that their lives are so dominated
by the need to constantly hurry, that they barely notice how revved up they
are.
This was my first contact with the
phenomenon that I call “The Invisible Frenzy.”
I was a few days into a month long visit to San Francisco to enjoy the
company of my wonderful friends there.
But I was already frazzled by the insane velocity with which they
conduct their day to day activities. Was
it so unsettling because I had been transformed by the slo-mo pace of my life
in the Archipelago of Bliss, or had the speed of urban living accelerated that
much in the seven years since my last visit?
Probably, it was a combination of both factors.
*******
For many years I have contended that two of the great
curses of the modern world are humanity’s addictions to “Stuff and Speed.” I discuss the obscene seductions of consumerism
quite thoroughly in my essay entitled “Enslaved by Our Stuff” which you can
find HERE. The subject for today’s
meditation will be the barely noticed tyrant that rules the lives of so many
city-dwellers – SPEED.
To me, the highways and bridges that connect the San
Francisco Bay Area seem like a vehicular combat zone. Drivers dart dangerously from lane to lane to
save what can only be a few minutes in total driving time. They accelerate madly to gain a few seconds
even though they can see the traffic halted 50 yards ahead of them. And they honk and snarl at each other in an
aggressive manner which would be an excellent warm-up for a gladiatorial
battle. Aside from not understanding
“how” they can live this way, I also cannot comprehend “why” they live this
way.
I feel confident that not a single one of the tens of
thousands of cars that passed me on the highways, was speeding along because
they were trying to get a pregnant wife to the hospital because she had gone
into labor. Mostly, they were driving so
rapidly and recklessly without even realizing that they were doing so. Their frenzy truly was invisible to them,
just as water is invisible to a fish.
*******
And Speed has a twin that is equally dangerous –
Stimulation. However, it is not called
by that name. Instead, it is referred to
with a far more alluring description - Connectivity. At almost every stoplight every passenger in
every car would be gazing blankly into their smart phones. Had Bigfoot been strolling down the sidewalk taking
his unicorn for a walk, they would not have noticed. Hardly anyone is still in the world marveling at its magic and tragedy. They are in a massive machine staring at a
small machine. No wonder their captivity
is so invisible to them.
I got a jolting glimpse of the American obsession with
ceaseless stimulation when I stopped for gasoline one afternoon. While filling up my tank I heard someone
speaking to me. Looking around I could
see nobody nearby. It took me a minute
to realize that there was a TV screen embedded into the gas pump. As the customer was pumping gas into their
car the TV was pumping gaseous celebrity gossip into the customer.
One might argue that this is all quite harmless, but I
vehemently disagree. Why? - Because it
is not accidental. It is deliberate. The Malignant Overlords - as I am fond of
labeling them – want the peons distracted, so that they can both expand and
consolidate their control over them. Flooding
them with a steady stream of meaningless tripe - disguised as authentic living
- keeps them from noticing that the river of their freedom is being methodically
and irrevocably dammed.
Because I was in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was in
the Belly of the Techno-Beast. In fact,
I encountered two of Google’s driverless cars (although they currently have human
co-pilots along for the ride, just in case Hal misbehaves.) Their appearance immediately conjured up a
vision of a future when humans will be able to ride inside of their massive
machines, but won’t have to trouble themselves with the rigors of texting on
their small machines, since their personal robot valet can accompany them to do
this. Therefore they will be able to
dedicate their time to more important missions like playing “Call of Duty –
Final Vaporization”… on their smart watch.
*******
Something else that troubles me about this blind worship
of Speed and Stimulation is the fact that it is so unnatural. Our Techno-Hubris has conned us into thinking
that we have transcended our connection to the natural world. As we race around in human built realms of
concrete, steel and narcissistic mirrored glass, we forget that we are still
part of the animal kingdom.
We no longer remember that we are designed to walk and
run. A bicycle depends on human
propulsion. A sailing ship relies on the
wind of Mother Nature. A horseback rider
gallops on a creature from the natural world.
But the contraptions that rule our lives are not natural – they are
machines. The more we deny the
constraints of our biological operating system, the more damaged we seem to
become both as individuals and as societies.
And by honoring the false idols of Speed and Stimulation, we turn our backs
on more worthy aspirations such as health, serenity, community and happiness.
*******
During this just concluded journey to El Norte (or El
Frenzy might be more accurate), I was blessed to spend many fine hours with
many fine friends. Sadly, the two
factors that were most important in setting up these reunions were traffic and
parking. It seems that the automobile
has become the master rather than the servant.
But back down here in the Banana Latitudes, when
amigos come to visit, those factors are never even considered. Instead, we plan our days around where the
best sunset viewing is, or where the best wiggle-your-toes-in-the-sand-
restaurant is, or where the baby dolphins were most recently seen. And my friends will spend very little time
texting - and a whole lot of time savoring!