THE DANGERS OF CRUISE
Guest Column
by Mike Watt
CONTROL WHEN ON AUTOPILOT
You never really think about it until it's too late. That's
what those devices are for, right? Machines to allow you
to concentrate on "more important" things. Machines
to "relieve" you of the tedium of "reality. Cruise con
trol and autopilot: Two methods of abstracting yourself
right out of existence. Well-schooled in this field of
expertise, I thought I'd share the lessons I've learned.
It's a subtle descent into this hellride. What starts as
a way of getting things done ends up as an end to itself
A wack-engine twisting and grinding on its own inertia
You wake up to find scaffolding and beams bolted to
you. Tubes and hinges attach you to unfathomable con-
nections. The life you lead becomes an extension of a
great construction project you have no knowledge of,
66 THRASHER
Jose
some mechanical "other" side of you, like the part that
beats your heart, not the part that knows why. Habit
would be too good a word for it. You're on an unknown
mission with the secret plans buried in the stratosphere.
The basic intentions are good. The shortest distance
between two points is the kicked-back route, right? The
path of least resistance, the greased rail, the cake walk
or the gravy train. Find a good mount and ride it out
of Dodge. Once you got "there," life would become
"real" With some way to get through the tedium of
having to do the footwork, the things that you find
"interesting" could get your full, undivided attention
What then is actually "interesting" to the dude on
autopilot? Maybe such cruise control activities as televi
TOTAL
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sion or classic rock radio can serve as obvious examples.
Maybe even playing lotto or professional spectating.
How about rock and roll tour bus riding? There's Game
Boy, life toy and ultimate joy. Call 1-900-YOR NEXT and
get the word. Have Domino's "deliver it!
Cruise control as a lifestyle, think of it: Waking up
everyday on autopilot. Course set, time of arrival plot-
ted, the only real dilemma might be how to "kill" the
time involved in executing the instructions. "Killing
time" is such a great expression: Mind thoroughly in the
"if" "maybe" "would've," "could've" and "should've"
realm of "higher thinking. Body busy with the dreary
business of actually "living." Body and mind divorced
like art and commerce, like husband and wife. The cruel
compromise made easy by goose-stepping down the
well worn path, sleepwalking through the idiot parade.
Doing what's been done to hide all the choices that
might challenge you. Settling for where you've settled.
Kissing the feet of gravity for having a reason to fall. But
down is still down and can an autopilot on cruise control
tell that important difference? The autopilot wants to
"maintain." The cruise control wants to "take it easy."
Are these just "half-asses" in the meantime, a "jig-rig"
for now? I know for sure that "now" is really "now"
more than ever. Trust me on this one.
I've found that reality has this checks and balances
thing. You push against the wall and it pushes back. You
make the wrong move on the skateboard and you fall
down. Game is not over. Game is now changed and y
you
have to deal. Life returns to the dynamic that gave you
birth: That reality of your first breath. Not the question
of why you took it, but what will you do to take anoth
This is the reason I pulled
the plug on fires
er? You might not have to think about it. Not yet. The
karma account builds, you're either making a deposit or
a withdrawal. Can you see the lure of autopilot?
Am I advocating a panic from order to chaos? Isn't
chaos a form of order itself? Is it a concept we use to
describe a situation that is too complicated to under-
stand? Turning off the cruise control will not create a
panic. I think to be truly conscious, you have to be
somewhat chaotic trying to avoid a panic. To reflect this
world of change, you would have to change constantly.
Wouldn't this keep you "live" enough? A car gets driv
en. Am I driven? What drives me? You drive towards
goals, but who really does the driving? Should I hire a
driver? Does he do his driving for him or does he wait to
get home? How does he get home? Does he drive?
I like the idea of the skateboard. There is no room for
an autopilot there. There'd be no sense in skating if
there was one. It's the ride itself that is important, not
the avoidance of experiencing that ride. Like I said, if
you calculate a wrong move, you fall down as a conse
quence and learn from your actions. If you stay up, you
consider yourself lucky or maybe even legitimately
skilled! The debate is not with the actual world but with
the ideas in your head. There is no "last judgement" but
rather a process of living. No "life as a rehearsal."
This is the reason I pulled the plug on fiREHOSE. Time
to get in the ring and wrestle this "life as now" thing
as if my life depended on it, because, you know, it does
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