Tuesday, May 22

The Ouroboros Project #10 - The President

{# 10 is poem based on an imaginary conversation between Barrack Obama and I, for the record we high-fived at the end.}

Tell me, Barrack, what do you think of the current state of the world?

Well, firstly let me say that we as an international community are as –

Hey, letsssss, cut the crap, huh. This isn’t congress. It’s me and you, you and I, in my brain, so, really, tell me; the state of the world – your thoughts, Mr President.

Well to be honest, Brendan, it terrifies me. The state of the world terrifies me. The world has never been so small and strangely, I think that that smallness has a certain newness to it. We, as humans, have never had such an abundance of communication, signs and signifiers and I sometimes worry about the future of humanity in general.

Are you talking about extinction?

No, I think what I’m getting at, is the unknown, the human race likes to assume that new things have a certain inherent safety and if ever facets of this newness are questioned, they are always questioned pertaining to the immediate future, seldom do we ponder the, say, long term impacts or the impact’s impacts or the impact’s impact's impacts.

This is something you have a lot of experience in?

No, not at all, I’m actually a newly born projection from your mind, Brendan. I don’t have a fully functioning makeup at present – in fact I’m barely you.

Fair enough. What about change? If it’s one thing as humans we have always embraced, it is change. What change is required, in your opinion, as we move forward as a, well, as a planet. Forget America, what about the planet?

Yeah, change is interesting isn’t it. Well, we’re one as a world and you know, as I said the world has never been so small. But we’re not really united as “humans”. What is our vision of the future? In fact we’re so far away from being united that it’s close to impossible to fathom it. And it – the world - is getting smaller and smaller, rather rapidly. Soon there will be nowhere to hide.

Sorry, Barrack, hide from what?

Well spotted, I’m not sure. There was no overt inference intended there.

It’s very interesting that you would use that kind of term when speaking of a shrinking world and the change that is coming – or is going to continue coming, wave after wave after wave. But going back to your covertly overt statement. What are we going to need to hide from? Is there a threat in our future? Do you see a threat in our future?

Wow, that’s a great question. I suppose as the metropolis spreads and soon joins to form one, and, I’m speaking really generally here, I guess we may lose something in that process, actually something we are in the process of losing at this very moment.
What are we losing?

I think, I think, I think  we’re losing our ability to enact change on our terms, rather than be swept away in the tide of slow incremental change that may take us somewhere we don’t actually want to go, as a species.

Wow, very cryptic.

Are you talking about revolution versus manipulation?

Maybe, yeah.

Hmmm, it’s interesting, it sounds like you fear change a little. Would you say that is accurate?

Umm, I think it’s natural to fear change, but I don't think, I think what I fear more is the discovery of an inability to change in an ever shrinking world.

That’s a pretty big fear.

Yeah, yeah it is. We are, possibly one of the most important crossroads of human history and I wonder how we are to continue moving forward without a global focus.

I agree actually, what are we going to do about the fact that we are now immobile immobile immobile. Humanity’s arrogant escapade can’t possible get any more arrogant or more ignorant.

I’m not sure.


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