DEAR JOHN

I will allow myself to open an introspective parenthesis, which may in effect never be closed, thematic shackles be damned. The world is said to be our oyster and yet it is equally common to infer that there are no such things as one-man armies. St. Paul campers and Wall Street lingerers are dismissed as misguided and ultimately pointless attempts at challenging the established order. The alternative lies in adhering to and pursuing the status quo, guaranteed to provide happiness in all its manifestations, liquid and material assets combined, with a probable bonus of female/male companionship. We define ourselves through the infinite amount of variables that exist in our surroundings at the microcosmic levels of society, through the cultural idiosyncrasies infused in us with each waking breath to the tune our mothers hum while indulging your culinary favorites, the time your dad told you he couldn’t ride that bike for you, the Batman costume you wore on your 3rd Halloween that made you feel you could own the world (and got you the most impressive candy score on the block). As these moments shape our persona, thus do we form our opinions regarding the global happenings communicated to us through newspapers, television or the town crier. As mirrors reflecting what the world provides us with: a system seemingly unshakeable in its unwaverability, one which no doubt leaves many fulfilled but inexhorably so much more morally, mentally and physically destitute, we hold little power over world-shaping events, and are tailored to accept this lack of leverage. My choices for Presidential primary candidates should not be limited to whom CNN has chosen to invite to their admittedly highly entertaining debates. However, the focal point should reside more in analyzing the alternatives one can have beyond joining ‘the 99%’.

I have, for the better part of my time since having achieved puberty, been utterly disappointed with what ‘Life’ has brought to the negotiating table. My unwillingness to ‘take a deal, that is to conform to a given track, a luxury many cannot afford and one that does not make me remarkable in the least, has had the foreseeable consequence of trailing my peers. The refusal to adhere is one that bears obligatory reprimand. Regardless, I will be donning my newly fitted Batman suit, so as to fabricate my own creations. Even Bruce Wayne, though, has to play by the rules in order to play dark knight by night.