When I was a young boy growing up in Ohio, crazy existed on the fringes of society, but was not often heard from. DC Comics did create dual worlds on Earth 1 and Earth 2, but those realities were for the comics. In school, we read “The Trial” by Kafka and Heller’s “Catch 22,” yet those dark novels felt far-fetched. Today, crazy is everywhere: on the international, national and local levels.
In Burma, the Nobel laureate leader is jailed, and her democracy overthrown. The military’s charge: possession of illegally imported walkie talkies. In Russia, the only challenger to Putin is incarcerated when he voluntarily flies back to his country. Novalny is thrown in the slammer because he failed to check in with the authorities per the terms of his parole. He was, however, unable to phone the commies because he was in a coma, resulting from his Putin-sanctioned poisoning.
The U.S. has its own Insane Clown Posse. Marjorie Taylor Green used her deep understanding of environmental science to pinpoint the exact cause of California’s catastrophic wildfires. She has been retained as an expert witness by PG&E and Edison to show that Soros-directed laser beams were blazes’ catalyst, not their faulty equipment.
Even Malibu’s quiet bastion of peace and ascetic living is under attack. Our cultured city council gatherings are no longer the domain of Socratic speeches, while wine glasses clink and cigar smoke wafts through the air. The new vibe is more UFC style brawls. Who knew the city manager ran a cabal of sex slave pedophiles? And finally, what was a city council member doing deep beneath the sea, harvesting emeralds from the Black Pearl? And why is he always eating an apple?
Dan Bercu