I Had a Dream

I had a dream that I was assembling pizza boxes with President Obama and singing a classic rock song from Jethro Tull - Aqualung. The dream was very specific, all the lyrics of the song were exact. The President and I were assembling pizza delivery boxes and we had a lot of them to put together. He was looking at me very intently but I couldn't figure out if it was to make sure I was doing my job properly or if he was looking to me to confirm he was doing his. It was one of those dreams that you can't shake off because of the feeling of reality it had. I think it was prophetic for the future of the United States and what is happening to us in this country.

The pizza boxes were the symbol of cheap food, widely distributed backed by cheap labor and monotonous work. The song, Aqualung, is about a homeless man that lives in a park - and he -

 Eyes little girls with bad intent... 
 Snot is running down his nose...freezing fingers, wearing shabby   clothes...
Hey Aqualung
As you snatch your whistling last breath, with deep sea dying sounds
And the flowers bloomed like madness in the Spring...

Although the song was a huge hit in the 1970's, it paints the picture of an awful person living on the edge of society. The connection between the song and the pizza box activity is one of a sub-standard, lacking, and unhealthy life that I believe has become the new American Dream.

The new American Dream had the leader of America standing there, assembling pizza boxes. He was unsure if he was doing his job correctly and unsure about being the leader. He said nothing of importance, yet had that look, that 'Presidential' look about him...Uncertainty was his dilemma.Uncertainty about the future and his ability to lead us through it. Uncertain about his ability as a President and uncertainty about his ability to assemble pizza boxes, a task that anyone with an IQ above 80 can do.

More disturbing was the song Aqualung that played very loudly in the background. Its a great rock n' roll song however nowhere near the anthem for a country. With lyrics like the ones mentioned above and -

He goes down to the park to warm his feet...
Do you still remember..Decembers foggy freeze.
When the icicles clung to your beard you were screaming agony. 

This is not the picture of a healthy American citizen. Quite the contrary, this is a picture of someone that might die at any minute. The song played and I sang along with it as our leader just stood there wondering if he was assembling pizza boxes correctly.

The dream had all the elements of things gone terribly wrong in society. Homelessness, mental illness, low wages, menial work, uncertainty, crime and a leader asleep at the switch assembling pizza boxes. I like pizza and I like rock n' roll however I don't like seeing the future of our nation as an inescapable nightmare of low wage jobs, a clueless leader and Aqualung wondering around.