Lunatics Ruling the Asylum

 We certainly live in some crazy times. Who would have known that your livelihood and reputation would hinge solely on your opinions and associations? In my world of what I aspire to be (as an entertainer, artist, innovator, writer and producer), this is a big deal. And it's not just being opinionated or even HAVING opinions (whether shared publicly, rumored or even words taken out of context), it's a matter of having the "wrong" opinions that may offend or trigger certain demographics or adherents to belief systems you never intended to (or in some cases, you never even knew existed). You have to tiptoe around precariously and watch every single word that you say so that it isn't taken the wrong way. Even then, there are those who aren't satisfied with you taking a "neutral" or "indifferent" stance on social or political issues either. Even if you don't have an opinion, you have to feign advocacy for things you may not agree with or even care about. 

No matter who you are, if you're in the public eye, you'll eventually be forced to concede - to apologize for "wrongs" you never committed, to publicly side with opinions you internally disagree with, disassociate with friends and relations that are "problematic" in accordance with those who, with great irony, claim to hold the higher ground in "tolerance" and "inclusion." You'll even have to have to alter your vernacular to conform to a prevailing, continuously-changing alternate reality. You'll have to keep up with trends of whitewashing historical references, erasing names and faces that within the cult of "wokeism" are considered either "offensive" or are "culturally appropriative" to the point where they need to be blotted out and swapped with a modern replacement or simply vanish from existence as if they never existed. You will be forced to enthusiastically advocate and praise lifestyles that are unhealthy, unsafe and ungodly while silently clinging to your ideals and beliefs, fearing that you will be "outed" and subsequently canceled by the ferociously bloodthirsty vocal minority. 

So, here I am, posting this publicly so that the future public knows where I stand. Here I am, planting and watering the seeds to what will most likely be the source of shutting me down in in the future (with certain audiences). You'll know that if I am ever forced to retract anything I have said or implied, make a public apology or become an advocate for any group or lifestyle that goes against my beliefs and core internal principles, that any future statements are disingenuous - but only done as a means of self-preservation, to capitulate to the gatekeepers who decide who are worth surviving. 

Also keep in mind, and I make this a matter of record, that I bear no malice to nor do I hate any person because of their identity or opinions and in the true and proper intended term of phobias (and not the contrived term that has been hijacked and forced into our current vernacular), I have no such fears or aversions to those people whom I may have a disagreement with on certain matters. 

I also want to say that I stand in solidarity to the many millions of public figures and hard-working individuals who are held hostage, kept silent - or worse yet, to speak and act in ways that belie internal their beliefs - displaying a public image contrary to their true selves, at the hands of those who are intent on destroying their lives if their true opinions and identities are made known and as thus, their livelihoods and reputations hinge precariously in the balance. 

Perhaps, someday, sanity will once again prevail as the fierce, vocal, deranged minority fades into obscurity where they belong, but for now we have to endure what is presently the lunatics ruling the asylum. 

There you have it. I said it. Cancel me if you have to.