Follow, You Idiot

Much that is worth saying in this world requires a substantial amount of context/backstory in order to appreciate the important reason why it is even being said. And yet it seems as if the Twittering-Away-The-World society we're moving towards generates the idea that anything that fails to produce an immediately positive, instant reaction, anything that needs to call forth a non-self-apparent context, isn't worth anyone's time. We who inhabit non-self-apparent contexts should recognize the increasing need to stand our non-self-apparent ground. Knowing that I exist in a world where corruption and convolutions are fed by evil, stupidity, and just plain lack of wisdom, I find myself apprehensive that the last word on so much might ultimately be allowed to be nothing more than a "twitter".

What brought all this on? The simple fact that, once again, for the millionth time, I must insist that before my words are judged, a few things must be carefully put together to appreciate a point I wish to make, and that it will seem only too easy to justify that I am asking too much. Well, here I come, ready or not.

In a number of my more recent blogs, I've demonstrated that I've been an influence on Conan O'Brien's "Tonight Show" and on David Letterman's "Late Show". My proof has been particularly manifest to those who are intelligent, and also particularly manifest to those who have witnessed the dates of publication of my blogs in relation to things that followed. As I've expressed before, this blog site makes a poor witness, considering that one can tamper with the date of publication - that is, unless one reads the blog on the day it appears, then you know when I said what. When I've fallen short of being able to provide proof of my influence (many things are done by us and happen to us that we will never be able to prove in an absolute way), I've asked that the credit to which I am entitled be applied. Credit from those times when proof is in fact provided, even beyond when my blogs did or did not appear, the proof residing elsewhere. I ask that my as yet unproven assertions be nevertheless considered without the taint of cynicism, that this is something to which I personally am entitled.

It is because of there being such recent interest in me by Letterman and O'Brien that I wonder about several things that happened last night on these shows in relation to myself:



And now I direct you to a Comment I made (as JonathanDS) to an article posted on Huffingtonpost.com (on July 21st at 12:16pm, prior to the taping of either show), the article being entitled, "Smoking The Green Shoots" (after you're done, I have a yet another comment or two):I draw attention to this because Dave and Conan are among the first people I think of when I wonder why it so often happens that alcohol use escapes being the target of cliches. Again and again, we are asked to applaud the assumption that the minds of people who prefer pot to alcohol are to be disrespected. Nevertheless, the audiences of Dave and Conan are not exclusively comprised of people so unanimous in their opinion of pot, so we often see a fence-sitting act - but rarely is it suggested on these shows that the minds of those who occasionally touch alcohol are necessarily suspect. It happens, but far more often, when pot or alcohol are interchangeable for the choice made by these talk show hosts as to who to ridicule, that those who like a glass of wine get to maintain their respectability, and those who would instead choose a joint.... lose.

Because of the particularly recent inside-references to me/my material on these shows, I seriously consider it possible that I might have made a difference, at least momentarily, with regard to the moments shown in the videoclip.

So: now let's all take the two hours we millions spend watching these shows every night, millions and millions of hours when put together, and use that collective time and energy (waning, sleepy energy, but I'm not picky) to build a, to build a.... I'm going to need a moment, I'll have to get back to you on this. I know there's got to be an untapped resource waiting for me around here somewhere, God knows the world is waiting for it.