The world needs an intervention
Why did I write When did Everything stop being great?
Because the world needs an intervention.
The rise of individuals, groups and parties seeking to replace democratic government with authoritarian control is a common threat across the largest Western democracies right now.
As ever, the great old US of A is leading the way, but as so often happens, where America leads, we follow.
Only the people can prevent their success, but are they leaving it too late?
With a successful intervention, no one can really be sure what made the difference.
Did just one person say something particularly salient that completely hit the mark?
Was it the combined weight of the many calls for action?
Or was it simply the sheer number of people all seeking to help that had the impact?
Of course, it’s irrelevant. Whatever causes the positive result, that the positive result is achieved is all that matters.
So, that’s why I wrote When did Everything stop being great?
To add my voice to the intervention warning of the pressing threat.
To present the same warning in a different way.
We both know we can’t lecture or nag people to change their mind or take action. That’s more likely to make them even more entrenched in their views.
It requires more subtle approaches that lean into human nature, rather than trying to manhandle it.
Exactly what kind of approach is most successful will vary from person to person.
Which is why I’m throwing When did Everything stop being great? into the mix.
A great piece of writing
I’m not going to kid you that it’s a great piece of writing.
It’s not going to win literary awards. I know some have claimed there’s very little characterization of the two main protagonists.
But I utterly refute that as an outrageous slur.
There’s absolutely no characterization of the two characters at all. They literally speak exactly as I do. Well, except for the fact that Hugo does occasionally call Troy “My dear boy.” I never say that, not even to Bad Ass B. Forclift, so perhaps I’m unfairly misjudging my creative writing ability.
That’s Bad Ass B. Forclift above - you might want to open a window
It doesn’t need to be a great piece of writing, though, at least not in the literary sense. It needs to be easy to read and entertaining.
I’ve not put When did Everything stop being great? through any analytic tool, but I’d be disappointed if its reading level wasn’t suitable for 14-year-olds.
Which also helps explain some of the odd language in this profanity free book. I mean, for ducks sack, when did potty-mouths become so mainstream? Yet, it’s an easy way to justify censoring a piece of writing. Especially in world where a poem about hope and love written by a young black woman can be banned from school libraries for being inappropriate.
More important than those things, though, it’s funny. Sometimes really funny. Of course, for that I have to give the credit to the two main characters whose crazed, hilarious and often thought-provoking words seemed to write themselves.
Hugo Sensationist and Troy Laboy. So, are they really smart or really dumb? Or just like the rest of us, really smart and really dumb in equal measures, depending on which direction the wind is blowing. Guess you’ll need to read it first to offer an opinion on that (though, spoiler alert, their smart/not smart juxtapositions are one of those places where the non-existent chracterization really shines through).
Beyond the jokes, the subject is absolutely serious. The title asks the most important of questions and the book spends multiple chapters, 21 in fact, offering possible answers.
If the reader can work out just when Everything stopped being great, they can work out who to blame. Then, hopefully, they’ll hear the klaxons blaring out their awoogas.
Which should lead the reader to understand the single most important question they need to ask:
Whose side are you on?
It’s a question few of us really take the time to ask of those who claim to represent us. In fact, as Hugo points out, it’s a question most of us can’t even answer honestly ourselves.
Slogans aplenty
Throughout the book, there are a selection of slogans revealed within the conversation. Text snippets to push an outrage or share an idea simply.
Whose side are you on? is just one of those slogans, but one of the more important ones.
The other big one is Loser, the label and identity for those of us who feel society has forgotten about us. Throughout the book, the majority of the population are referred to as the losers, in contrast to We The People, Everything’s top 1% (Hugo can rationalize most things, including Everything’s Constitution applying only to society’s elite).
If the people turn up to the fight with aspiring authoritarian leaders, they need an identity to unite behind. Political parties clearly can’t offer this as they’re one of the key sources of division in most of our societies.
For those at the top, loser is a simple insult, but, as black people have demonstrated with the N-word, claiming a word intended to beat you down can release an unintended power.
I see myself as a Loser.
Don’t take that as the bitter utterance of a crushed spirit, downtrodden by those at the top of society.
I consider myself to live a truly privileged life.
I’m a Loser because I don’t believe I’m better than you. And I don’t believe you’re better than me.
Maybe you’re a Loser too.
Emperor Poopy-Anus and Mommy’s Little Soldier
You probably see me as a sentimental, old fool. That’s not unreasonable. It’s largely how I see myself. There are rumors I cry at the end of romcoms. Are they just rumors?
A funny book isn’t really going to change anything, is it?
Still, don’t you deserve a break? Some down-time to forget about it all and just read something stupid that makes you giggle like a child?
So, sure, When did Everything stop being great? isn’t going to change the world, but wouldn’t it be enough if the world knew that the aspiring authoritarian leader, Hugo Sensationist, was nicknamed Emperor Poopy-Anus and Mommy’s Little Soldier. A quick aside, posting a Donald Trump meme with the text, “He’s no king, he’s more like Emperor Pupienus (164-238) – Hail Poopy-Anus”, got my Jethro H. Forclift Facebook page banned.
Anyway, can you, perhaps, think of any real life aspiring authoritarian leaders who would go apoplectic at being given such nicknames?
Aim for the stars and I might just hit something.
Why didn’t I say…?
You may feel that I’ve missed something, should have said something more forcefully, pushed a completely different point of view or was simply politically incorrect in various points of the conversation between Hugo and Troy.
You may be right. It’s a bit of a balancing act. The most important thing is that people read the book without being triggered and given an excuse to strop off and rant about the liberal propaganda.
If something in When did Everything stop being great? offends you, you’re already fully aware of the threat that fascists present to the Western world right now. I’m sorry, but right now there are bigger things to worry about than some idiot from top-left Spain writing something that really isn’t right in a book that’s meant to make people laugh. And make them think too. Don’t tell them about the thinking bit, though.
So, throughout, the aim is always to say what seems largely reasonable to the majority. Things that don’t seem unacceptable to most. And in some cases, just completely ignore subjects that also merit discussion as the cause of Everything stopping being great.
We can’t eat a whole watermelon in one bite. We will choke.
For all the issues we might want to address, I choose to target the most urgent one. If the Losers don’t hand over our freedom, we can worry about the other stuff later.
I’m Spartacus
I’m not Spartacus.
I’m just one of the bit-part extras who stands up and says, “I’m Spartacus.”
Maybe you’re Spartacus.
Who knows?
The world needs an intervention.
