Re-Occupy Innocence (Calling All Dreamers)
Photo and Text By Mickey Z.
14 August, 2012
World News Trust
“We all dream of being a child again, even the worst of us.” --Don Jose, The Wild Bunch
Every morning, those friendly folks at Facebook inform me which of my nearly 4,500 friends is marking a birthday and it’s become one of my daily rituals to post -- on each of their walls -- a question from legendary Negro League pitcher Satchel Paige:
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?"
As you might imagine, this birthday greeting inspires a fair amount of reactions -- almost all of which involve versions and variations of this: “I feel and act much younger than my chronological age.”
Here’s the decidedly non-scientific conclusion I’ve drawn from this anecdotal evidence: Most of us are still very much in touch with our proverbial inner child and we desperately seek re-admittance to what André Breton once called, “the mysterious realm inhabited by children.”
This isn’t to say we desire to be naïve, mind you. Rather, it’s about maintaining a child-like innocence. As Shunryu Suzuki explains: “In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind, there are few.”
Society does it damnedest to perpetually encourage us to “grow up” but that usually entails surrendering our innocence while staying just naïve enough to not rock the mainstream boat.
Re-Occupy Your Innocence
“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.” --Albert Camus
To be naïve is to believe the hype.
To be naïve is, for example, to trust that the corporate media reports the news without bias, that the two-party system offers genuine choice, that cops are here to protect and serve everyone equally, that for-profit medicine promotes good health, that the standard American diet is nutritious, that a massive military budget brings peace, and that governments -- along with the corporations that own them -- almost always have our best interests in mind.
To be innocent is to recognize these universal deceptions -- and comprehend the contemptible logic behind them. To be innocent is to still have faith that we can collectively cultivate concepts that create positive social change.
The powers-that-be bank on us staying naïve. In that state, they can easily control our wants, our desires, and our dreams.
The naïve readily buy what the 1% is selling.
The innocent dare to dream in the face of global nightmares.
Dream On
“The dream is a spontaneous happening and therefore dangerous to a control system set-up by the non-dreamers” --William S. Burroughs
Here’s something else William Burroughs once drawled: “Thanks for the American Dream, to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through.”
Vulgarization. Falsification.
Let’s add to that:
Compromise.
Conformity.
Assimilation.
Submission.
Ignorance.
Hypocrisy.
Brutality.
The elite.
All of which, as Rage Against the Machine reminds us, are American dreams.
All of which are American dreams...
We all know the American Dream myth: the fable of individualized success. If we’re tough enough and willing to fight our way past the competition, this is truly the land of opportunity: anything is possible.
If you succeed, it’s because you worked harder and better and you deserved it more.
If you fail, the blame is all on your lazy ass.
Mic Check: I call bullshit on the American Dream.
We know what we feel... so no longer should we allow Hollywood, Madison Avenue, the government, Corporate America, or anyone else to define us or our dreams.
We must trust our own instincts and break free from manufactured needs and illusory goals in order to cultivate new collective dreams.
Dreams not for sale.
Dreams not based on celebrity.
Dreams not based on material consumption.
Dreams not based on physical beauty.
Dreams not based on military conquest.
Dreams that challenge us to think for ourselves and about others.
Let’s collectively re-occupy our innocence and work to create an ever-evolving culture -- a culture that is both inspired by dreams and the inspiration for more dreams.
To be naïve is to remain asleep.
To be innocent is to dream while awake.
Warning to the 1%: To borrow from an obscure songwriter, “You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...”
***
Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook.
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