Truth, Justice, and the American Way

DC Comics has rebooted its collection of Superhero comics.  This event would normally be of passing note in the annals of popular culture, but it presents us with a timely opportunity to remind ourselves of the enduring themes of these otherwise fictional characters.

Week after week, Superman fights "the never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

A lifetime of academic study offers us a little perspective on "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

We learn from Mathematics, Philosophy, and Science that Truth is not only elusive, it's remarkably difficult to sort fact from fiction.  It's not enough to value Truth as a worthwhile objective; one must learn how to divine the Truth from amongst all the competing conjectures, hypotheses, and opinions.

Similarly, we learn that Justice is a complex and controversial concept.  Are we pursuing Retributive Justice or Restorative Justice?  One can spend a career exploring the subtleties of John Rawls' Theory of Justice.

As to the American Way, God only knows what that means.  Certainly the Republicans and the Democrats can't agree on what it means.  The Tao of Pooh seems to have little or nothing to do with the American Way.

I'm not convinced that we have an adequate understanding of Truth or Justice, and I despair of us ever coming to an agreement on what is meant by the American Way.

The Rise and Fall of the Nerd Right

There is a disturbing trend among some misguided adolescent techies to engage in juvenile antics that spiral out of control and cause significant long-term harm, both to themselves and to the reputation of the high-tech culture.

This trend is most salient in the lulz-seeking practices of the juvenile trolls whom Mattathias Schwartz wrote about three years ago in "Malwebolence: The Trolls Among Us" in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

The remnants of the lulz-seekers from that era are now engaged in more shenanigans under the aegis of 'Anonymous' and 'Lulz-Sec' — loosely organized cells of masked protesters who gleefully disrupt commercial systems and public services in a kind of high-tech guerrilla theater.

The slogan of 'Anonymous' is: "We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forget. We do not forgive. Expect us."

So here we go again, folks. Now we can expect the Rise and Fall of the Nerd Right.

Thrilling.

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Title: American Strife
Artist: Anonymous and the Legionnaires
Composer: Madonna and Barsoom Tork Associates
Vimeo: American Life — Madonna

Do I have to change my game?
Will it get me far?
Should I play it straight?
Am I gonna be a star?

I tried to be a nerd,
I tried to be a grrl
I tried to be a jerk,
I tried to win the quest
I guess I did it wrong,
That's why I wrote this song

This type of nerdy life - Is it for me?
This type of jerky life - Is it for free?
So, I went onto YouTube looking for some lulz
A subtle destiny - I went around the bend
It's more easily said it's always been a game
This type of nerdy life - Is not for me?
This type of jerky life - Is not for free?

American strife
I cry the American scream
You are the last thing I've been,
You are not just a theme

I tried to mask my head,
I tried to play the flop
I tried to blow a fart,
But somehow I forgot
Just what I did it for
And why I want to score
This type of nerdy life - Is it for me?
This type of jerky life - Is it for free?

Do I have to change my game?
Will it get me far?
Should I play it straight?
Am I gonna be a star?

American strife
I cry the American scream
You are the last thing I've been,
You are not just a theme

I tried to be a nerd,
I tried to be a grrl
I tried to be a jerk,
I tried to win the quest
I tried to find some lulz,
I tried to mask my head
I tried to play the flop...

Fuck it...
Do I have to change my game?
Will it get me far?
Should I play it straight?
Am I gonna be a star?

I'm drinking a joy latte
I get a double shot
It goes right through my body
And you know
I'm satisfied,
I launch Low Orbit Ion Cannon
Slurp Blackberry Yogurt (Dannon)
IRC Sysops can ban 'em
And you know I'm satisfied
I do BitTorrent with Bay Pirates
Downloading all the hotties
And I'm checking out their bodies
And you know I'm satisfied

I'm smoking stinky dope
Grown with synthetic isotope
And if all this can give me hope
You know I'm satisfied
I got no lawyer, I like danger
No agent nor a shrink
No scruples, no repentance
Just a crazy YouTube cat
A grainy image camera
And a video warning, live
A website with a demo
Do you think I'm satisfied?

I'd like to express my extreme point of view
I'm not yet baleted and I'm not yet through
I'm just shouting out the American scream
And I just realized that LulzSec is gone, it seems

Do I have to give up fame?
Am I gonna be a flop?
Do I have to give my name
If I wanna be a star?
Do I have to change my game?

CopyClef 2011 Madonna and Barsoom Tork Associates.
Resurrection Hackware. All songs abused.

"At Resurrection Hackware, Lunatic Drama is our most important offense."

Madonna — American Life