The morning brings a new day, a new dilemma, a new post.
\nPosting the feeling of existential dread to the clicks of uproarious applause and irrelevant memes in the comments, the numb sets inside. The newsfeed is full of knee-jerk reactions to knee-jerk reactions to nothing and everything.
\n\u201cWhere do we draw the line,\u201d shouts the conservative.
\n\u201cWhere do we draw the line,\u201d responds the liberal.
\nIt\u2019s just cathartic nothing to the abyss of social media: a new way to monitor and feed advertisements to the hungry.
\nA motivational post claiming that the key to self-worth lies in accepting yourself for who you are. Complacency is the way to happiness after all.
\nMemes, political conspiracies, pictures of pretentious food being eaten by the milquetoast: on and on it goes. A never-ending cesspool of escapism and lies. Narcissism masquerading as sincerity. Millions of people shout, \u201cLook at me. I\u2019m important,\u201d with every non-existent picture, quote or \u201cunique\u201d take on a moot issue.
\nPictures filled with product placement rivaling \u201cSpace Jam.\u201d The new iPhone clear in the mirror, expensive headphones draped on the shoulders and hair manipulated hundreds of times to get the perfect nonchalant pose, though they say, \u201cFelt cute. Might delete later.\u201d
\nWe\u2019re all cultivating brands. The jock with their Under Armour athletic shirt and Nike running shoes using Colin Kaepernick\u2019s brand to feed their own. The hipster with their craft beers from local breweries and expensive clothing meant to bring attention to the world crises we all know about. The outsider on the fringe screams maudlin phrases upon deaf ears. This column is itself branding the writer as outside the system, though we all know there is no one outside the system. The system placates the disillusioned by providing the comfort of free speech, yet keeping them embroiled in its mechanics.
\nThere is no escape from the monster we created.
\nWelcome to the machine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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