><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> *********************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rant of the Modern Man * * * * Another Modernz Presentation * * * * by * * Bad Hash * * * * (C)opyright March 24, 1992 * * * * * * * * * *********************************************** <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ******************************************************************************* The Modernz can be contacted at: MATRIX BBS WOK-NOW! World of Kaos NOW! World of Knowledge NOW! St. Dismis Institute - Sysops: Wintermute Digital-demon (908) 905-6691 (908) WOK-NOW! (908) 458-xxxx 1200/2400/4800/9600 14400/19200/38400 Home of Modernz Text Philez Abyssal Net host Abyssal Net node @666 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> Syndicate Bbs Sysop: Hegz (908)506-6651 300/1200/2400/4800/9600 14400/19200/38400 TLS HQ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><<><<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Skyline BBS (908)363-3832 300/1200/2400 Sysop: Skyewalker Abyssal Net Node @363 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< The Lost Realm (412) 588-5056 300/1200/2400 SysOp: Orion Buster <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< Hellfire BBS SANctuary World Headquarters! (908) 495-3926 300/1200/2400 SysOp: Red Abyssal Net node @181 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> BlitzKreig BBS Home of TAP 300/1200/2400 (502)499-8933 <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> A Rant to the Modern Man The '60s were a generation of rallying, rebellion, and social strife. People were at each others throats. The young against the old, Timothy Leary against G. Gordon Liddy, Hanoi Jane against Nixon and Manson against everybody. Things were in turmoil. The sixties will be remembered as the puberty of America. The straight, sexless hips of the '50s finially got a few kinks in them. Kerouac was its first kiss. Vietnam was its first zit, which grew into a full, ugly case of acne. The youth of that generation wanted out. They didn't like all the testosterone that was flowing around, created during World War II, and it just didn't go away. Instead, it was just redirected into Korea and Vietnam. You can just ask a whole country of people to go home and stop fighting. The youth of the '60s were born after 1945 and didn't know the war, and weren't to interested to know, either. They knew what they were fighting against, it was obvious to all sides. They hated the war, they hated the man, and they hated hate. They wanted a change to a more realistic world from the sugar coated '50s. To accomplish something on such a grand scale seemed reasonable. People were motovated to do something, to instill change. The '70s were another story altogether. It has been called the "Me Generation". I guess that's true. The people of the '60s, while getting some things done, lost the dream. They got fed up. Out of this frustration groups like the Black Panthers and the Weathermen were created. The Weatherman were a radical group that wanted to get the government out of the war by blowing it up. Their Greenwich Village flat blew up due to amateur bombmaking in 1971. At one of their meetings, the question put to the floor was "Should all white male children be killed at birth because, in later life they would just continue the tradition of opression of minorities?" The pure peace and love of the '60s were turned into the hatred and bloodshed of the '70s. The seventies were truly warped. As people started to realize what was going on by the mid '70s, they found out what really mattered, themselves. The hippies had nothing to worry about in the '60s. It was a time of general prosperity for the country. People's pockets weren't hurting. When the arabs found out there as power in some black gook they pumped from beneath their sands, they used it. People really started to worry when those 'Damn Towelheads' took America by its neck. People were inconvenienced. This generation never knew about that. They grew up with TV, automatic washing machines, 8 cylinder engines, every convenience anyone could ever want. They thought, "What's going on here? We are saving all this time by having machines do our laundry and our dishes and I'm going to spend my time waiting on a damn gas line? Thats not progress! I'm gonna go out and get me some progress." So people started to not care. The country became more cynical. They were more out for themselves. They felt threatened and ill at ease with the fact that something was affecting them directly that was beyond their control. The isolationism that was no longer possible on a macroscopic scale was being transferred to the individual. The man in the '70s was truly an island. The '80s were even worse. We were so hung up on TV we gave an actor the job of running the country. In the '70s we could splurge a little bit. In the '60s we put a few bucks in our pockets, but in the '70s we spent it all on BeeGees albums, Buicks and shirts with really, really, big collars. But we still had our credit cards. Reagan said "Give me, oh I think 5 new aircraft carriers, you know, the kind with lots of pretty lights, to get those Ruskies really, really scared. I could use a few hundred of those MX missles too. You say I really don't need them? What do you mean? Are you a commie-pinko-liberal too? Nationalism is fashionable now! So buck up private, the Gipper knows what he's doing between his naps! And don't worry, I'm gonna put it all on our Visa anyway, the First Bank of Tokyo just gave me an unlimited line of credit!" The good times of the '80s are going to be paid for in the '90s, and well into the next century. In 1991, we, the people are paying off all the bank failures from the '80s, because the people in charge were too busy having a good time. People were lied to in the '80s. Remember Ollie North? Remember the not so false rumor that Reagan said he would give arms to the Iranians if they kept the hostages until after the election? The C.I.A.? (enough said). Just read the Village Voice once, you'll see what I mean. We were swindeled out of our right to know, our money, and hope for the future in the '80s. Aaaah, the present. Not much has been said about the '90s yet. It being only 1991. As a youth of the '90s, the same age as a hippie in the sixties, I feel I am in the best position to sum up what the world has to offer a disillusioned, broke, overstimulated generation. For one, the best goddammed entertainment technology has to offer will be coming to your neighborhood. The stuff coming out now will curl your hair. Digital, perfect stereo sound is now the rule. Imagine, a song, recorded after say, 1989, could not be heard without a computer digesting it first. Televisions will now be 'High Definition' and in stereo. You can put a color TV in your pocket. You can carry around computers and video games that would give someone with Pac Man Fever double pnemonia. 4 year olds are better at video games than you, sorry if that hurts your pride, but they moved out the Space Invaders machine a long, long time ago. With computers, the entertainment industry has gotten its most valuable tool. You won't realize it though, but all this entertainmant is generating apathy and the inability for you to feel. You might have the hand-eye coordination to fly an F-15, but you never will. The couch is too comfortable, this bag of cheese puffs tastes too good, and Star Wars 6 is rolling in the VCR. I know I'm not going anywhere. You might read about doing things, but you never will. You have that couch, that parental safety to fall into, and a complete lack of motovation. Don't worry about it, things will work out. Dad isn't retiring for another 10 years. There aren't any jobs out there, anyway (as if you looked). With all this TV, people will forget how to speak, how to relate ideas, how to communicate. I don't mean the everyday stuff, anyone can order a tuna sub with provolone (a staple of a '90s person, who doesn't like to cook. It tastes ever better if you can get it delivered.) I mean feelings, real things, and how people feel, really feel. I don't want to ever hear again the words "Nuthin'" or "Same old shit" or "Allright". Its all a cop out. Its just another symptom of not being motovated to do anything. The person asking "Whats up?" really doesn't want to know, doesn't want to take the energy to know, because that precludes doing something about what could be wrong, which takes up their energy, which is low to start with, and their time, which is to be saved at all costs (see above). And the person answering with one of the above cliches doesn't want to take the time to explain it all, anyway, beacuse if they have a problem, it is probably due to their lack of time, or energy. Telling the problem to someone will just compound it, and it will then just be a bigger broblem and take longer to explain, ad infinitum. So, all we have to look forward to is bad conversation, cold cuts and better television than ever seen before in history. Maybe not. There are some good things. The world is a kinder place. People are still killing each other about things as silly as the color of their skins, religion or which is the best economic system, but not as many. America will still have delusions of grandeur, but there is nothing to get all worked up about anymore. The Russian hordes aren't about to race into Western Europe to loot the place, if anything, they'll race there to find jobs. Now that the cold war is over, we, as a world, can make this place better for everyone. It is a small world after all, even smaller with sattelite links, fiber optic communication, and a telephone system that allows one to speak with a healthy fraction of the world's population at any time. Sons and daughters of the '90s, just kick back. Take it easy. There aren't the riches to be had, the golden ring to grab for. It's a myth handed to you by the last few generations. Procrastinate. Enjoy the cheaper things in life. See the world on 5 dollars a day. Watch some TV, play Nintendo, maybe go out and get a slice and a coke. Get a girlfriend. After all, sex is free. But don't get AIDS, or else no more loafing for you. The 4 year olds I spoke of before will be the motovated ones. I am hearing stories about prepubescent fanatic environmentalists. These children are being taught now that recycling is next to Godliness. This blind belief that one person can make a difference, is a very refreshing thing to see. I don't think anyone should get too worked up about anything, but that is just a symptom of my generation. These kids, with all the energy, and early indoctrination, will make a difference. For their children, the world will be a better place. Just in time for us to retire and collect social security. |-|-|-|-|-|-|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|=|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|=|=|=|=|=|=| Matrix BBS, Modernz, and others are unregistered trademarks of Modernz. Distribution of these text files is allowed...and downright encouraged. Writers wanted... call Matrix bbs to find out more. |-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-|=|-| <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> <*> <*> <*> THIS HAS BEEN A MODERNZ PRESENTATION <*> <*> <*> <*> SEE YOU ALL AT MATRIX BBS (908)905-6691 <*> <*> <*> <*> NON-PURSUITABLE WITHOUT A GLOBAL <*> <*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*>