SEASON 2, EPISODE 7: JIM RUNS THE MARATHON

SEASON 2, EPISODE 7: JIM RUNS THE MARATHON

by matt burns

I’m watching the Reality TV show

It’s about a family of celebrities who all run a restaurant

Their big brother Jim is running the Boston Marathon for charity

This is special to them because it’s one year after the bombings

They’re very proud of Jim

He trained hard

And he wants to do it for the city of Boston

He wants to show he has no fear

He’s going to run and not live in fear

The terrorists can kiss his ass

He’s not afraid

Jim runs the marathon

And he completes it in good time

And his family makes a medal for him

The medal says that they’re so proud

And this is basically what the episode is about:

Jim runs the marathon, trains hard for it

Completes it

And the family is very proud of him

They give him a medal

Pat him on the back

I sit there watching the episode of Reality TV

And I’m getting kind of drunk with beer

And I realize it’s the same old story

I see them in basically every show on TV

Especially Reality TV

The producers are desperate for show ideas

So they have the “character” go perform some empty act of charity

Or some empty act of bravery or heroism

Never mind if it means any damn thing

It looks good on TV

So go with it

I don’t know what running a marathon even says

It’s a great personal accomplishment

But that’s it

Go do it

And be proud of yourself for doing it

But don’t announce it on TV

With loud trumpets

Like what Jesus told us not to do in the Gospels

Matthew 6:2

To paraphrase

When you do a charity, don’t blast a trumpet announcing it

Because then you’re not doing it for the sake of doing it

You’re doing it to get your cock sucked by others

So many questions remain surrounding the bombings

So many weird and strange anomalies

But nobody asks the questions regarding what happened

They just run the marathon

And say look how great I am, I’m not afraid!

And everybody sucks each other’s cocks 

And pats each other’s backs

And there’s six hours of TV coverage devoted to sucking Boston’s big cock

But nobody takes any time to think

Nobody takes any time to ponder

Nobody takes any time to ask what happened

People just remain mindless zombies

Swallowing a narrative that they’re told happened

And assume what they’re told is true

And persecute people before proven guilty

Even though nobody saw what happened with their own eyes

And then they carry out empty acts of charity

Empty heroism

And empty bravery

Because that’s what the media tells them to do

That’s what Reality TV tells them to do

That’s what Jim Celebrity tells them to do

In short

That’s what the next page of life’s script tells them to do

I can honestly say tonight

That I’m embarrassed by Boston

And maybe I’m just drunk

And maybe I’ll get my ass kicked by the lynch mob

But Boston should BE STRONG and – not run marathons – but ask questions

Think

And not be weak and participate in the empty

Meaningless

Acts of charity

Bravery

And heroism

That don’t make a difference

But keep us numb

Dumb

And under a somnambulant spell

Will we ever know the truth behind the bombings?

Probably not

But that's not the tragedy here

The tragedy is our failure to think for ourselves

An we believe everything we're told

And we persecute people without witnessing what they did

That's our failure

This has nothing to do with terrorism

We must break the spell

And just think

Ask

And be a free fucking human being

Apart from the lynch mob

Thinking is the best charity one can offer

Also

I am not a conspiracy theorist

I am a human being

Somehow the former term

Got mixed up

And it stigmatized

The latter term

When did being a human being

Become a bad thing?

DRAMA HAS BECOME THE NORM

Here is a poem meant to provoke some thought about today's relationships and why there may be so much drama in these relationships. I may not have articulated myself that well in the poem, but check it out if you like...

DRAMA HAS BECOME THE NORM

by matt burns

It’s strange to look at older people

And their relationships

And there’s usually NO

Or very little

Drama

Like my parents, for example:

Their relationship is pretty tame

Laid back

I’m amazed

But then I look at relationships

From the younger generations

And see 

LOTS 

Of

Drama

What’s the difference?

Maybe it’s REALITY TV

Over the past fifteen years

Reality TV has created a new norm in life

DRAMA

Because without drama

Reality TV has no entertainment value

But the overall message becomes:

Reality is about DRAMA

Drama is reality

Constant drama is reality

Creating drama out of every little thing is normal

Because people watch Reality TV

And they emulate what they see

And they say THAT’S what reality’s supposed to be like

My reality is supposed to have drama!

So these young couples come together

And their relationship becomes a Reality TV series

At least in their heads

And every little thing gets blown out of proportion

You didn’t hold the door for me

Cut to interview in front of green screen

“So Steve didn’t hold the door for me yesterday and I’m FUMED!”

Reality TV

Has made drama the basis of life

But needless drama is not necessarily life

It’s just entertainment

Meant to draw viewers

And boost ratings

The drama demon has wriggled its way into our realities

And if things keep going this way

Needless drama will overshadow everything important

And we will all be distracted by the drama

Our attention drawn away from what really matters

Drama has become the norm