One of my favorite scenes in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 movie, Apocalypse Now, is when Martin Sheen’s character, Captain Willard, has landed on a river bank in the dead of night during a major fire fight between US troops and their hidden North Vietnamese opponents. With young Lance (who is tripping on acid) in tow, he is trying to locate a commanding officer in the midst of all the chaos and violence and fear. Willard asks two guys hunkered down in a trench who their commanding officer is. One turns and says, “Ain’t you?”

I had just turned 21 when I first saw that movie. That seemed like an important line.

The enemy onslaught continues. Finally, the two soldiers in the trench decide to call on The Roach, who is the most badass character in the movie. He also happens to wield an M79 grenade launcher painted with tiger stripes. He has a preternatural sonic awareness and knows exactly where his target is. The enemy is screeching away, becoming more threatening. The Roach elegantly loads his weapon, notes “He’s close, man. He’s real close,” then fires.

After an apparently lethal explosion, Willard says out of the shadows, “Hey, soldier. Do you know who’s in charge here.” The Roach turns, leers, and states quite simply: “Yeah.”

I was double-gobsmacked!

To me, that simple one word response is the greatest line in any American movie ever. For every single person feeling the insanity and cruelty of the American political landscape these days – the incompetence, hypocrisy, immorality, and bizarrely sick exploitation of Christianity in the name of hatred, violence, and tyranny – remembering who’s in charge is essential.

Somehow we are confronted with a Republican Party and its voters, coupled with a majority on the Supreme Court who all seem to have consumed what I will call here “The Emperor Wannabe’s Kool-Aid.” Those folks seem to really need a dictatorial, command-and-control, hegemonic government that isn’t interested in compassion and taking care of all of the people inside its domain. But they are not in charge.

Right now, we see the Republican Party gnashing their teeth, playing with weapons, and screaming for the heads of individuals they perceive as marginal in our society – gender questioning youth, married gay couples, and people who snuck into our country or remained here in hiding once their legal status expired because they were afraid and threatened trying to live in the lands from which they came.

Willard: Do you know who’s in charge here, soldier?
The Roach: Yeah.

do Lung bridge scene

We watch in dismay as Republicans tear apart government services for the poor as well, and strip away education funding even more than they’ve been attempting since Ronald Reagan began to attack the Department of Education in 1981 (read my dad’s still quite relevant book for more on that: The Manufactured Crisis, co-authored with David Berliner). On the near horizon for the past decade has been a new, burgeoning and freeing economy based on more efficient, effective, and less environmentally damaging energy technologies. The Republican Party has once again almost fully stymied that profound opportunity to free this country once and for all from its addiction to oil – especially foreign oil and the geopolitics that govern that outmoded and foolish dependence. But they are not in charge. You can’t be in charge of people in this country when you do dumb things that make life more difficult for everyone.

Learned or Programmed?

What worries me more than the sickness and stupidity we’re witnessing every day, is the emotional tenor of so many of us who have not lost our understanding of human decency, but still feel that all is lost, that the bad guys are about to win, and that there’s nothing we can do about it. That helplessness is the intention of this gaggle of damaged, small-minded people who are pretending to act like they know what they’re doing. Just listen to commentators on cable news, or read them in the mainstream press. Words like “scary,” “fear,” “horrifying,” “lost,” and “worried” are used over and over again. The concept from psychology that comes to mind is “learned helplessness.” I think, though, that this is more like “programmed helplessness,” the idea being to accelerate, overwhelm, make crazy, and dramatically shred institutions on every level of society all at once. By making it seem like there’s nowhere to turn, they are attempting to program you into accepting what is happening.

To a certain extent, it’s working. The media has no idea how to stay focused. Businesses have no way to predict future investments. You yourself are confused and pummeled with the noise of many things that you count on becoming questionable at best. And most everyone on all levels says there’s something wrong with the Democratic Party because they’re not doing enough to stop things from falling apart.

It is obvious and true, in fact, that the Republican Party is attempting to take over our country and that they are looking to destroy the American system of liberal democratic government (“the envy of the world”) – something that we have all built together now at extreme cost and struggle and compromise for nearly 250 years.

Damage Control

It seems true as well that Republican politicians are not interested in leading this nation into a future that is more positive. Nor do they seem to feel responsible for ensuring that this country is on a path of sustainable improvement for the next three or four generations – the group that is going to live out the rest of this century. By definition, in fact, conservative politicians are not interested in making things better for the future. Why people don’t understand that’s a problem is beyond me.

Such an enormous amount of anger and hatred has been unleashed by those on the conservative side of the fence. How long has it been festering? And why?

It seems like we’re watching damaged eight-year-old kids told by other damaged eight-year-olds that they’re in charge. And when I say damaged, I truly mean that. But I don’t fully understand where the damage comes from. Mistreatment in childhood? Bully older siblings? Anti-empathy DNA? An overloaded amygdala calling for anger in the face of what is actually fear? Or were they simply taught hatred and disregard for those who are different because their parents didn’t know any better? Did they inherit centuries of genetic spite and anguish and selfishness? Can it be as simple as the idea that selfish, narcissistic people create selfish narcissistic people?

No matter what, it’s fairly clear that they don’t understand that they’re damaged. However, once the Emperor Wannabe’s Kool-Aid is consumed, it doesn’t seem to matter that they’ve never felt quite right in public.

Going back to that Apocalypse Now quote, then: in a world where nasty, cruel, frightened, damaged people enact revenge and attack those who cannot defend themselves, people who understand the idea of caring for others and that the good in life comes from hard work and sacrifice are actually capable of being leaders and creative thinkers regardless of who thinks they’re in control. If you understand what I just wrote there, then you have already won.

We are born with middle fingers for a reason. We are born as well with our feet and legs and our sense of direction. We also possess innate creativity. And at our best each one of us can be audacious as hell. They may try to chop off those fingers and feet, and they may look to flush away our creativity and audacity by enforcing compliance and ignorance, but it’s always a choice of acceptance for each one of us. We are here right now because of the decisions made by our ancestors and the extreme risks they took when confronted by some pretty nasty, misguided assholes and their followers.

So, yeah, do you know who’s in command here? The answer should be obvious. Nothing good comes easy. We were cruising for a long time there. Now we gotta get back to work again. You didn’t know this, did you? You’re The Roach. You always have been.

Main post image source: “Apocalypse Now” promotional photo