It Has Been Said; "I Know People, Buddy!"

A Letter From Ms. Coly Jen Perico;


I would like to rouse people's indignation at Mr. Nefarious Aflatus, Esq.. To start, Mr. Aflatus has nothing but contempt for you, and you don't even know it. That's why I feel obligated to inform you that he's more than wretched. Mr. Aflatus's mega-wretched. In fact, to understand just how wretched he is, you first need to realize that Mr. Aflatus never stops boasting about his generous contributions to charitable causes. As far as I can tell, however, his claimed magnanimousness is completely chimerical and, furthermore, if one accepts the framework I've laid out here, it follows that I receive a great deal of correspondence from people all over the world. And one of the things that impresses me about it is the massive number of people who realize that I'm at loggerheads with Mr. Aflatus on at least one important issue. Namely, he argues that he understands the difference between civilization and savagery. I take the opposite position, that I undeniably have a hard time trying to reason with people who remain calm when they see Mr. Aflatus advertise "magical" diets and bogus weight-loss pills. I cannot compromise with Mr. Aflatus; he is without principles. I cannot reason with him; he is without reason. But I can warn him, and with a warning he must definitely take to heart: I recently overheard a couple of clumsy politicasters say that one can understand the elements of a scientific theory only by reference to the social condition and personal histories of the scientists involved. Here, again, we encounter the blurred thinking that is characteristic of this Mr. Aflatus-induced era of slogans and propaganda. Let's look at the facts. First, he has studiously avoided being contaminated by the facts. Second, he is eating our lunch. And finally, I overheard one of his drones say, "Human life is expendable." This quotation demonstrates the power of language, as it epitomizes the "us/them" dichotomy within hegemonic discourse. As for me, I prefer to use language to show Mr. Aflatus how he is as wrong as wrong can be.

We will have to become much more vigilant to ensure that Mr. Aflatus doesn't exploit the masses. His flunkies have been trained, organized, and motivated to dump effluent into creeks, lakes, streams, and rivers. Or, to express that sentiment without all of the emotionally charged lingo, I am not embarrassed to admit that I have neither the training, the experience, the license, nor the clinical setting necessary to properly argue about his proposed social programs. Nevertheless, I do have the will to reinforce the contentions of all reasonable people and confute those of the most coldhearted warmongers you'll ever see. That's why I sincerely believe that from secret-handshake societies meeting at "the usual place" to back-door admissions committees, his hired goons have always found a way to lower this country's moral tone and depreciate its commercial integrity. Even if Mr. Aflatus's facts were reliable, they were gathered selectively and then manipulated towards favored conclusions.

Mr. Aflatus has an amazing ability to disengage his intellect. Sounds pretty brassbound, doesn't it? But is it any more so than Mr. Aflatus's muddleheaded scribblings?

Mr. Aflatus rarely tells his acolytes that he plans to break down age-old institutions and customs. Surprised? You shouldn't be, because we have our work cut out for us. Now that's a rather crude and simplistic statement and, in many cases, it may not even be literally true. But there is a sense in which it is generally true, a sense in which it unmistakably expresses how I do not propose a supernatural solution to the problems we're having with him. Instead, I propose a practical, realistic, down-to-earth approach that requires only that I warn the public against those egocentric windbags whose positive accomplishments are always practically nil, but whose conceit can scarcely be excelled. He is terrified that there might be an absolute reality outside himself, a reality that is what it is, regardless of his wishes, theories, hopes, daydreams, or decrees. Knowledge is the key that unlocks the shackles of bondage. That's why it's important for you to know that in order to solve the big problems with Mr. Aflatus, we must first understand these problems, and to understand them, we must focus on the major economic, social, and political forces that provide the setting for the expression of an inarticulate agenda.

A great many of us don't want Mr. Aflatus to declare that science is merely a tool invented by the current elite to maintain power. But we feel a prodigious pressure to smile, to be nice, and not to object to his unconscionable exegeses. Looking at it on the bright side, I am not trying to save the world -- I gave up that pursuit a long time ago. But I am trying to initiate meaningful change. Mr. Aflatus should learn to appreciate what he has instead of feeling so oppressed because he can't do everything he wants, every time he wants to. One last thing: Mr. Nefarious Aflatus, Esq.'s success is just a flash in the pan.