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Commentary - March 19, 2005 - Printable Version
- What a Long Strange Trip It's Been.....
by Mark Faulk
One year. Eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours. 525,600 minutes. 31,536,000 seconds. 31,536,000,000,000,000 nanoseconds. That's how long it's been since we first launched The Faulking Truth on March 19, 2004. In that time, I've obsessed about the stock market scandal, whined about social security, bitched about Bush, lamented the passing of great and obscure Americans, made fun of every possible thing that floated through my head, bitched about Bush, written about love and passion, shaken my head in amazement at the state of affairs of the world we live in, bitched about Bush, contemplated religion and the lack thereof, bemoaned the lack of compassion in today's society, bitched about Bush, lamented the passing of both heroes and villains, stayed up half the night on a regular basis wondering if we really can make a difference, and of course, bitched about Bush.
I've talked about all of the incredible people I've met along the way in earlier articles. I've singled out our wonderful writers, without whom I would never even have attempted this journey. I've been amazed at the thousands of people from all over the world who have contributed to our efforts by encouraging us (and berating us), and by sending us ideas, links and information about the complex and confusing world we live in. I've opened my heart to the small group of caring and compassionate individuals who have banded together with us and been the source of every inspiration I have had over the past year, who have been the nucleus around which this chaotic website revolves. All I can say is, thank you. You have truly enriched my life, reaffirmed my outlook on the human race, and made me a better person. You have renewed my faith in mankind. You are my muse.....
I've been trying hard to describe my writing style, which is a manic, off-kilter, rambling litany of fragmented thoughts interspersed with the occasional lucid moment of clarity. Just last week, a dear friend of mine dubbed me "The Howard Stern of Political Commentary", and, once I got over being offended by the comparison to an obnoxious guy with a huge schnoz whose main shtick is to bring slutty girls on his show and talk them into showing their tits in exchange for free pizza coupons, I realized that she might be right. He is outrageous, he does delight in getting a reaction out of his viewers, he loves sarcasm and off-color humor, and he appreciates the beauty of the naked female form. Hmmmm...maybe we have more in common than I realized. I once jokingly referred to myself on these cyberpages as the next Hunter S. Thompson, and then eulogized the "The Guru of Gonzo Journalism" himself a couple of weeks ago. Like my life, my writing is at best a collection of loose ends. The faulking truth is that I, like every human who wanders lost in this helter-skelter world, am no more than a perennial work in progress, and perhaps it is that uncertainty and emotional turmoil that truly shapes my writing.
Still, here I am, looking back in wonderment and awe at what we've managed to accomplish with little more than a few computers, a couple of hundred dollars, and a naive vision of a better tomorrow, and peering nervously into the fog of the future, filled with a peculiar mixture of apprehension, excitement, and just a tinge of fear. My message for the past year is one of thanks to every soul who took the time to read the nearly incoherent meanderings of a slightly deranged post-modern radical, but my hope for the future is a much more utopian vision....one that includes peace in our world, compassion in our people, and love for one another.
As with all voices who speak out in opposition to the mainstream opinions of America, we often wonder if in fact we're being heard at all, and if we're affecting the direction of the country we love in even a small way. Then, just last week, Congress took the first tentative steps towards launching a Congressional investigation into the stock market scandal that we had worked diligently to bring to the attention of the public since day one. And today, we just passed the 100,000 hit level for the month of March, for the first time ever. Our voices are being heard. We are affecting, if even in a small way, the direction of at least our little corner of the world. I couldn't have written a more poetic way to begin Year Two of The Faulking Truth Saga if I had scripted it myself.
We arrived, unknowingly and unwittingly, just as the "Blog Revolution" began to rise out of the primordial ooze of cyberspace, and now we're committed to a cause that is greater than any of us, and one that has no certain happy ending. As it turns out, it is not our few voices that count, it is the thousands who have joined us in a seemingly quixotic quest for making our world a better place for our children, and beyond, who have made the real difference.
If we are not here to make a difference, if we're not given this short time on Earth to leave a positive imprint, then what ultimate purpose do our lives serve? It is up to every one of us to follow in the footsteps of those who came before us, to be a voice for those who have none, to shine a light into the darkness that threatens our humble planet, and to clear a path for those generations yet to come. And that, my friends, is The Faulking Truth.
"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." - Robert F. Kennedy
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