Getting Hooked
from the Just Because collection (2002-2006)
With steady cups of coffee and while leaning back and forth in my office chair, I’m contemplating the state of democracy in the country below us. I’m starting to believe that democracy in the United States of America is less about choice and more about who has the ability to manipulate the masses. It is no longer “power to the people” but who holds the biggest gun.
Private armies have always been a part of the world fabric. However, I was surprised to learn recently of something called PMFs (Private Military Forces). PMFs are corporate entities. These companies train humans in the art of torture, espionage, weaponry, assassination, and battle tactics. Governments and other companies in need of their services pay a fee for hire. I had no idea that the job of extracting information from prisoners of war had been contracted out. Imagine what the resumés submitted to obtain such a job would look like! The age old statement that all is fair in love and war has long been debated. One has to wonder whether it’s democracy or just the appearance of democracy that’s more important in North America.
My mind wanders to fishing lures as I sip my coffee. I remembered looking through my favourite hardware catalogue as a youngster and hoping that I had enough Canadian Tire money to buy that neato lure on page seventeen of the summer issue. The photograph looked enticing and when I biked to the store I found that shiny fake minnow on the wall display. I lingered. There were so many exciting designs: spinners that sparkled gold and silver; rubbery miniature creatures with hooks on polished brass swivels; spoons of various proportions inviting me to imagine catches of epic fish. Each lure was carefully designed to appeal to the tastes of specific fish species, or so I was led to believe as a young lad unschooled in the world of deception. Each lure was certainly a work of art. Lori Newdick’s work in a Toronto art gallery has recently been advertised with a cute tiger-striped fishing lure to attract customers and patrons. In this exhibit, fishing lures are a three dimensional art form as well as a product designed to deceive. Speaking of art; check-out this Sponge Bob review.
A fishing lure cons the fisherman as much as the fish. The underwater prey thinks that there is a tasty morsel to be gulped. The consumer gets duped by the flashy artistic engineering and the promise of angler supremacy.
My mind skitters back to democracy and I muse whether I’m a sucker on a hook to believe that political free choice really exists. The corporate line is making me sink.