zachary pfriem

“Taxation without representation is tyranny”

–Jonathan Mayhew

The founders of our country, and our constitution believed in a land where (white) man (not to be confused with woman) were all equal, and that we had the god given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This may have been the first step in creating the perfect opiate for the masses.

In order to create a strong, domineering society, one must find a way to make your citizens complacent, as well as delusional happy. I say delusional happy as you do not want them truly happy, otherwise they are content, and when people are content, they are very hard to control, as you cannot offer them anything they want, as they want nothing.

Americans as of today (for the majority) are complacent and delusional happy. We owe this to consumerism culture. Consumerism culture is an opiate. It makes individuals believe that as long as they find the perfect product/service/lifestyle to match their personality (or rather their manufactured personality, aka stereotype), that they will find happiness. In a society where this is the prominent answer, it makes it very difficult to actually delve deep into your soul and force yourself to discover your inner being.

Bringing us back to the quote at the beginning of this entry, taxation without representation. This idea is primarily seen in accordance with the idea of having a representative person present during the decision making process of new laws and taxes. I would like to look at it with a different light. I believe that Americans have become so obsessed with their consumer lifestyles, that they have turned this opiate from being in the hands of the governments and big businesses to being their own motivation and cause in life. Therefore, in order to keep the populace “happy” the government must keep consumerism active, no matter what it takes, even if it means war.

War has been proven to be one of the biggest financial driving forces in human history. Don’t believe me? Well, after WWII the US rose from the ashes to become the world’s greatest power, being that only one battle was fought on our soil. This allowed for the US to contract out reconstruction efforts to US companies and corporations, shifting the world’s wealth to the US (before WWII the US was still in its infancy as a nation). Another, more recent example is right now! The Dow Jones stock has reached an all time high this week. This is due, primarily, to the reconstruction efforts in Iraq. I believe that war mongering by the current administration is caused by the US’s incessant urge to buy more.

As long as Americans have the need to buy more products, it will be the administration’s duty to serve the people the lifestyle and culture they want. Big business prospers from war (as shown on wall street this week).  Big business supplies the means for mass production of consumer goods. Big business provides the majority of the population with paying jobs. Taxes are paid by the people to the government, as well as money going back to big business for consumer goods. These taxes are then utilized by the government for military build up and implementation (approx 40% of all federal taxes). War is issued to increase government spending/subsidies for corporations to rebuild, restructure, etc. these war torn countries. This cycle will only end when US citizens realize it is their own doing, whether they buy a new car every year, drive to work every day, spend mass amounts of money on entertainment and recreation, or simply invest in the stock market.

Hopefully with the rise of the Dow we will see a sharp recession, and possibly a second depression, this alone will be the catalyst to end the consumerism & war syndrome in the US today.

This morning on the bus I sat across from a man who was verbalizing his twisted, non-sensical thoughts. I sat there and wondered if there were a difference between him and me.

My mind right now is torn by a pivotal, life altering crossroads, a decision that has to be made by this afternoon. The voice in my head is like a game of Pong, however, both padels are of near exact equal skill level, resulting in a never ending match. So many factors to consider. Proximity to home, friendships developed to be potentially lost, culture, private versus public, Bellevue versus Seattle. This whole situation makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”

I decided to partake in the festivities in downtown Fremont this Saturday for the sampling of some fine micro brews. The event was held in Adobe’s parking lot – I found this humorous. The day was full of hoppy goodness, good people, and excellent music. The IPA’s definitely made up the majority of my favorites. There were very few darker ales, stouts, or porters, which was disappointing, but all in all, the varieties were plentiful, and delicious! This was my first year, and definitely will not be my last.

I feel that the strongest form of anything, be it graphic design, government, religion, or family, is the universal concept of minimalism. When something has meaning, it should be strong enough in it’s most basic form to express what it needs to express.

I have begun the elimination of all possesions that I do not need, use, or want anymore. This has been a very liberating process. Usually, when I move into a new apartment, this is when I do this process, however, I have just resigned a lease, and figured I have entirely too much crap.