Ok, I’ll do what you (the Man/”Moderator” expects of me):

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I was totally wrong… that was SOOOOOO funny!!!!!! I was just getting your goat. ROFL! That was awesome! You are right, we are so idiotic that we assume that we are not a totalitarian state like . That awkward video of our youth just proved it! I too loved doing drugs while watching the Superbowl, however I also was surprised that this made it seemed surreal.

I hate Reagan – In fact I think all republicans or old people are evil. I think that we should never learn from our elders b/c they have nothing to teach us and are zombies anyway. While this makes me skeptical of John, he is ok b/c he is in tv and movies and anything he says is funny. I don’t understand why we don’t attribute all the evils of the world to the totalitarian state that the elderly want? That way we can laugh at all the mistakes they make and compare them to Hitler. Or perhaps we can just say they are evil, racist, or insane? Perhaps we can rehash this again for the next 40 years? I love talking about this, It makes me feel like you and I are best friends and I am 16 again.
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Better? Sheesh I am pretty sure that you aren’t as deeply sarcastic as I am (based on your statement)- really though what is the harm in requesting more or higher sarcasm laden entertainment? If you note I actually think more of John would be good.

Lighten up francis, indeed.

I didn’t make that leap. You did. My post did not say Up With People was a “giant Nazi brainswashing scheme.” The roots of that group are relevant and I accurately related the information contained in the sources I cited.

Dispute the information on its own merits, if you wish.

But, in my humble view, the man’s opinion of Hitler is relevant and not a trivial matter, your ex-wife’s family notwithstanding. I personally don’t hold Hitler in high regard and tend to downgrade my opinion of a person based on whether or not they “like” the man. But that’s just me.

As for Up With People, I’d say the material speaks for itself. It appears to my eyes to be thinly veiled religious assertion, militarism, and nationalism. Christ, the military, or Reaganism are never mentioned by name, but the theme and form are crystal clear.

I was so upset, at 14, when Reagan was elected. You could feel his momentum in the air, though. It’s the first election that I actually remember. I was not happy about his position on the arms race with the, then, USSR. When he screwed the air traffic controllers I was really dismayed. I thought, “is there something I’m missing, because this seems so obviously wrong.”

For those who do not understand the distinction between the culture of the 80′s and that of, let’s say, the 70′s (with its own fashion craziness), let me submit that in the 70′s people knew that dressing like a pimp was outrageous and weird, whereas the culture of the 80′s was permeated with this sense of undeserved triumph and excellence; as if we had reached the pinnacle of fashion, music, art, and enlightenment – as evidenced by our ill-fitting pastels, popped collars, poofy hair, snappy keyboard-driven faux-funky pop music, neon highlighter colors, and the super-duper happiness of people of different races sharing in the cultural awfulness.

It’s not that their hearts were in the wrong place. It’s just that frightful sense of mass delusion in the midst of obvious lack of quality. ‘Isn’t this the best music?!’ Umm…no.

And to really drive the point home:

“A fitting tribute to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Really? Really?!

That was the 80′s. We were willing to wholly commit to the mediocre and agree that it was, in fact, grand.

and on the subject of tripping at football games…its incredibly fun isn’t it? the games i’ve tripped at were not so important, but still in the midst of 80k fans. the fear can set in just from that…

This is such a great read. Please do more of this!

In the 80′s I once took a hit of purple blotter and flew coach to Japan from San Francisco. Im pretty sure I was sitting next to Ralph Macchio, who was speaking in tongues while masturbating.

But fuck me. I think you got me beat with this one. 50 yard line, Up With People and mushrooms?

Nice work sir. you win. Please drive through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU-IBF8nwSY

Reaganism was built to marginalize dissidents and free thinkers and to undo the reformation enacted post-Watergate. Up With People seems innocuous and relatively harmless, but it’s not-at-all inclusive message is meant to shame and separate the supposedly joyful and healthy middle from the diseased malcontents who lurk at America’s periphery.

And attaching (the state murdered, according to Dr. William F. Pepper) Dr. King’s name to that rally is an atrocity.

It’s a rhetorical decision, that’s all. Let’s not pretend that swearing is any better or worse for communication than any other word, and I haven’t the energy or the time to critique every level of stylistic decision used.

Regarding those mental patients turned out on the street by Ronnie himself – what a mean, mean bastard!. Except it never happened that way. I was there. The year was 1975, a psychiatrist I was working with was seriously pissed at the civil libertarians who had been working diligently to set the mental patients free from their imprisonment (as they saw it). The population of the state mental hospital at which she worked had been reduced from about 4500 to under 1000. Her statement; These people (the ones who had worked to release all the patients) have no idea what they have done. On the surface these patients seem normal, but they cannot reason well. We are creating a large group of people who will be on the streets and homeless.
How right she was!
So – John – pulling everyone along with the rhythm of the diatribe and then inserting this gem – I suppose that most just believe what you wrote. Despite the fact it has no basis in truth. What about the other points of “fact” you attempt to make? Are they as wrong?
And BTW – he did end the cold war without a shot being fired. I don’t think you can appreciate fully the importance of this unless you grew up knowing that you and everyone you loved could any day be turned to charcoal in a nuclear horror. and I do mean ANY DAY. My parents had canned goods stacked in our crawl space so that we could live there in case of nuclear war. Even at 10, I could see that was pitifully inadequate. Scared me even more.
Thanks Ronnie!

now there is a halftime show i could get into. mb get the Swanky Modes to open.

The line about forced-attendance pep rallies reminded me of Grosse Pointe Blank: “Pull that down,” growls Martin and they wrap the body in the pep banner.

Civics, pain is thy name: I, too, marvel that one could look back at the 80′s and miss them at all. Minor case in point: commercial radio.

John Cusack is a national treasure. Even in a turbo-uber-screwed up nation, his best stuff is still ahead of him. I could give a shyte for celebrities, but would really like to meet him someday.

Welcome, Mr. Cusack!

(Yeah, I like it.)

Whatever happened to that Alex Cox/Michael Nesmith vibe anyway? You guys were valiantly fighting back, but to no avail. ‘Tapeheads’ changed my life, maaaaaan. :-)

I agree with you 100% about that fucktard Reagan. I still find it deliciously ironic that he constantly used Born in the USA as an “American pride” tool (like they used in this video as well). I just hope somebody explained to that senile ass pimple what the song really stood for.

Did the world really need a choral production of Born In the USA? I think not.