Idiocracy

I can't watch Idiocracy often, but I feel that I must own a copy, if only to remind me of how the world would be if the idiots really won.

Comedian Bill Hicks used to have this bit where he pointed to "American Gladiators" as something the American public would rather consume than, say, the truth about the JFK assassination (or, for that matter, even critical analysis of the facts at hand). Here's a clip:

Idiocracy supposes the world will devolve to the point where we're all wearing logo-covered sportswear, eating Carl's Jr. food from rude outdoor vending machines (and sporting Carl's Jr. tattoos), and watering our crops with sports drinks instead of water.

I note that no one in Idiocracy seems to exercise (aside from sexual acts), so I wonder why all the sports drink consumption. Do these people even sweat? How do so many of them get to be so musclebound?

But then again, why all the sports drink consumption now, in our time? The United States of America is the fattest country on Earth. If Gatorade were only consumed by people who exercised regularly, the company would go under.

In our time, energy drinks seem to dominate our culture, what with [insert number]-hour energy drinks and 16 oz. mega cans of "energy drinks," which might as well be just like this one:

Also, I had 36 oz. of Diet Mountain Dew today. I'm not proud.

The film, directed by Mike Judge (Office Space) and released in a very limited run in 2006, not so subtly satirizes the anti-intellectualism so prevalent in our culture, which peaked during the George W. Bush administration in America and threatens to peak again.

All through the film, reading, writing, and speaking coherently is considered "faggy." (How come stupid people always equate intellect with homosexuality, yet the same stupid people don't connect sports rock anthems with the homosexuals who perform them? "We Will Rock You," anyone?)

It's as if we are doomed to live in a world where this is interpreted as Truth:

Or:

Just recently, Indiana lawmakers voted to incorporate creationist study in public schools, thereby blithely disregarding that whole separation of church and state thing. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but then I read this, which is yet another chestnut in the "Indiana is full of morons" collection.

But every once in a while, smarts win out, and I sleep a bit better.

Before I let this turn into a harangue about how everything sucks, let's be fair. Everything doesn't suck — but everything could be better. Other countries are full of stupid, too.

America is far from the worst country on the planet, and I love the freedom we Americans enjoy. What we can do as a nation when we band together with a common goal is nothing short of breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

Oh, but when we screw up, we look like the World's Biggest Bunch of Assholes — especially when we don't apologize or even accept responsibility for our actions.

When you go around saying how America is the Greatest Country on Earth, shouldn't you look and act the part? You can't just go around saying America is the best and then be an absolute idiot.

Well, in Idiocracy, you can.

Idiocracy is a funhouse mirror that amplifies our laziness, complacency, and ignorance, and works as a warning to audiences. Our future might not be all sports drink agriculture and television shows with grown men getting kicked in the testicles, but where are we going, anyway?

Like any funhouse mirror, Idiocracy gives us an idea of "what if," and leaves us to do the rest.