I drove on into the sunset with one hand on the wheel and the other constantly fiddling with the radio dial trying to find something other than country music, not that I don’t like country music; I was just trying to find some talk radio to keep my mind off of my troubles. I settled in on a NPR station from Carbondale. They were interviewing the student editor from the Southern Illinois University’s Daily Egyptian.
“…in your piece you state that this is the beginning of a new revolution that is sweeping over the world. Why are you convinced of this?”
“We see many factors working in unison that are helping to bring this message before an audience that is apparently ripe to receive it. Foremost is the availability of the internet to everyone, nearly everywhere, on the planet. Never in Mankind’s history has there been a mechanism that can present a singular idea to so many simultaneously. Paradigm shifts have occurred before, quite often as result of new technologies, and equally, as a result of new ways of thinking, and both go hand in hand. As technology advances in ways that enhance communicating, new ways of looking at our world evolve. In turn, our evolved understanding quickens the development of newer technology and this process continues to accelerate exponentially up to today.
We believe what we are seeing now with the Boblovian Revolution, is the closing of this self-reinforcing feedback loop. Ideas and information can be shared instantly and technology made available immediately. We no longer see a delay between one or the other. What once took generations, decades, years, now only takes weeks, or days, or much less. This represents a significant step in evolution for our society.”
“Where do you see this taking us?”
“In essence, each person on the planet now has the capability to use the same tools with the same information, or knowledge, as everyone else. What happens when a complex system such as our society homogenizes? This can be described best in this way. Each person has become like a piece of a broken mirror, divided, but still reflecting the whole. The power is shifting to the individual, perhaps really for the first time in our evolutionary path. In much the same way as Marshall Mcluhan described the medium as being the message, our current medium of being able to reach individual minds individually, lends itself particularly well to informing the masses on the idea of individual liberty.
An idea such as the Boblovian Revolution has an appeal to people of diverse cultures and economic standings. It really supercedes our current form of governance. People are being increasingly conditioned to accept more responsibility themselves regarding how they choose to interact with each other and our governments. In much the same way as Globalization has erased political and economic boundaries, while eradicating our traditional definition of sovereignty, the information age has erased similar boundaries that had us isolated with our separate beliefs and systems that we use in order to find our place in society.”
“The Boblovian Revolution, or as some call it the Boblovian Way of Life, has provided a foundation for a working model for how things can be.”
“Yes, the idea expresses beauty in its simplicity. We each are our own sovereign entity free to forge new alliances and relationships with other free and sovereign individuals. The theory is, if I understand it correctly, is that by empowering each basic unit, meaning each of us, a new order will emerge that will transcend that which has come before it. Yes, transcend the current state, replacing it with a vision of the new desired state. A state of mindfulness, for when we each have the responsibility for our personal protection and well being, once we take that responsibility back from the central state, we find that it becomes increasingly important to be mindful of our actions and words.
“In your piece you also described a condition of continual negotiation. What do you mean by that?”
“It is not unlike how countries currently function. Our nation is always seeking balance in some things and advantages in other situations. We agree to share resources and systems in order to encourage free trade of goods. The same can occur among those that have declared their freedom from the collective and are seeking to establish new relationships and new agreements with each other that are not dependent on third party representation. We will have to wait to see how it works itself out.”
“Speaking of working itself out, tell us what you think about 222. Next February 22nd. Will this be the turning point? And, what about the man that started all this, Bob of Boblovia? Why do you think he has remained silent and invisible through all this so far?”
“Bob of Boblovia, yes, he remains a mystery, but it goes to show how the power of a single mind sharing an idea, via the internet, can trigger widespread change. Whether we will ever hear from Bob again, or whether he has anything more to contribute to this, remains to be seen. Bob’s input has already been delivered into our consciousness. What actions result from that? Well, that is dependent on each of us and how we chose to respond.”
“We have reached the top of the hour. We will break for our news report then we will return with Ed Dunnigan, editor of SIU’s Daily Egyptian, our topic: the 222 Revolution.”
I must stop living in a bubble. This was new stuff to me. I had to laugh to myself a bit, here I work at the 222 Diner and I have a Bob with me. Well if there is a revolution happening, I guess you have to be online, or watch TV, to know about it. I bet Tim could tell me all about it. Then I flashed on the walls in his room and the names on the photographs. There I go; I’m thinking too much again.
I needed a break, from life, and from the road. I hit the next exit and pulled into a Stop and Rob. Bob stirred from his sleep, barely awake, he rubbed his eyes and asked, “What time is it?”
I glanced at the dashboard, “2:22.”
“Of course. Where are we?”
“I needed a cup of coffee, are you coming in?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
“We need to lock the doors,” I remarked, as Bob started out his door. “Don’t you think you should leave the robe in the car?”
Without the robe, Bob fit in quite well with what you see at a quickie stop along the highway at this time of day, sandals, cargo shorts, and the tee-shirt from the diner. I headed to the ladies’ room, and upon my return a few minutes later, I heard, “Duuude, I want that shirt,” from the kid manning the cash register.
“Why do want this shirt?” I could hear Bob ask.
“222, dude, haven’t you heard? You’ve been living in a cave? You kinda look like you have been in a cave.”
“I will trade you shirts,” offered Bob.
“I can’t do that. This is my flag man, only I can wear it.”
“F.R. Frankenstein, that’s me.” The clerk spouted pointing to himself.
“Check this out.” Frank was the name on his name badge. Frank rolled up his shirtsleeve to show a bandage.
“I just got this baby yesterday.” He removed the gauze and revealed a new tattoo of the numbers 222 clustered like a cloverleaf on his shoulder.
Bob leaned in closer for a better look. He peered at it intently, his nose only inches from the tattoo. Bob leaned his head to the left, and then to the right, “That’s nice work; clean and simple. I’m afraid to ask, why 222?”
“Duuude, you know the Boblovian Revolution, 222, next February 22nd.
Frank proceeded to put the palm of his hand on top of his head with his finger tips forward and then did a Stooges Curly like staccato beating of the top of his head.
“Maybe you should keep that shirt, old man. You’ll need it as a reminder of the re-vo-lu-tion.”
I quickly stepped in front of Bob and told Frank that all this is together, and paid for Bob’s drink and bag of cashews and my cigarettes, grabbed Bob’s arm and got the hell out of there.
“Are you alright?” I asked Bob.
I had watched Bob’s face as he was talking to the clerk. I thought he was getting ill.
“You turned as white as a ghost in there. I have never seen anything like that. I thought you getting ready to faint or something.”
“I’m fine. I was just blown away a little in there by that clerk.”
“He was a little strange. I heard him carrying on about that 222 thing.”
“Yeah, he wanted this tee-shirt.”
“That 222 thing is pretty weird. I was just listening to something about it on the radio before we pulled in here.”
“Really, what were they saying?”
“It was an interview with someone about the Boblovian Revolution, something about a world revolution and the internet and how one idea can be expressed simultaneously, I think.”
“Exactly how did they say all this got started?”
“They didn’t talk about that, some guy named Bob that hasn’t been seen for a while. I remember hearing he was comedian or something. That’s all I know. So what made you turn pale and wobbly in there?”
“I was reminded of a dream I had. I’ll tell you about it some other time. Turn the radio on, let’s listen, maybe we can find some more news.”
“…I would like to follow up on that. The Boblovian message, as you describe it, has manifested in some surprising ways. It seems to have its roots as an inside joke among some then quickly became somewhat faddish, as a cult, or at the very least, something ‘kinda cool’ for the younger generation, but the message connected with a much bigger and more diverse audience. How can the message be effectively maintained against the pressures of being just another fad and will it be able to motivate significant change across a broad range of cultures and beliefs?”
“Fads are a result of rapid sharing of information and, as such, quickly fall victim to the next fad. Most often, fads represent something new and unexpected, something not seen before. They remain on the periphery of our culture seldom permanently taking root, thus their transient nature. With the Boblovian Revolution message, we have something that appears to have filled in a gap and provided for a need that may have gone unrecognized, but existed, nonetheless.
It really compares to the unalienable rights defined by our American forefathers which were a wonderful expression of man’s place in relation to his world, and his god, at that time. I believe that over the last one hundred years, in particular, the conscious understanding of these rights has diminished for many reasons, of which I go into in more detail in my piece.
Diversion and distraction characterize fads. They decorate our world in a way that makes us comfortable in how we relate to it. Fads bring us together through the sharing of a common interest which is more often manifested in our modern world as advertising, and news, which when looked at from afar, are all one and the same.
The Boblovian message has grabbed hold of our culture using many of the same tools that are employed in pushing a message out in front of people that again, is seemingly intended to drive an action towards purchasing and consuming, or in informing or propagandizing, or satiating via mindless distraction. It is used a lot like a slight of hand trick. We are directed to watch the one hand and to ignore what the other hand is doing. Its not very often that what we are conditioned to want, and which we strive to possess, is seen as having anymore far reaching consequences than a monetary cost to ourselves. Lost is the understanding, for instance, that to desire and possess material objects comes with a cost to our environment and to the people that manufacture it.”
“…So the Boblovian Message is, in essence, the plucking of an inner string within each of us. It starts a vibration that emits a note that harmonizes with like minded others growing into a powerful chord that starts others to vibrate and they, in turn, take up the same tune.”
“Very nicely said.”
“That all sounds so nice, but ol’ Bob is probably off somewhere selling the movie rights and developing a Boblovian Conquer the World video game while all the crazy people start stocking up for the end of civilization.” I said as I turned down the radio.
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