The Barbarian Meets the Simpsons
Living in California is a little like being trapped in an episode of The Simpsons.
I am specifically thinking of the episode in which the entire family went to Electric Shock Therapy at Doctor Marvin Monroe’s Family Therapy Center. Each of them was given a button with which they could Zap another member of the family during the Therapy session. Once started, they continued to Zap one another until they finally caused such a drain on the electrical grid that the lights across the whole town started to flicker.
California is now like that. A dysfuntional state that is in the process of Zapping itself into darkness. Functional if not literal darkness. Zap, lets solve our financial problems by laying off fire fighters and law enforment personal. Zap, lets solve some more of our financial problems by releasing felons from prison. Zap, lets solve this years financial woes by borrowing from future budgets. Zap, more Regulations to drive business out of the State. And, maybe my favorite: zap, lets raise taxes so more people who pay taxes will leave the state. Zap, Zap Zap —- The lights are starting to flicker.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor I think many of us Californians thought we had Conan the Barbarian riding to our rescue. Certainly he would jump in, muscles rippling, crack some heads, slay the evil Serpent King Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) and we would all live in peace and prosperity.
But Conan had never met an enemy before quite like the Simpsons. Little did we all suspect that we would see our hero morph into a kind of Conan the Simpson.
Bob Bandy
Credits: The Simpsons 1994 – Theres No Disgrace Like Home – Matt Groening/Creator Conan the Barbarian 1982 Directed by John Milius – Universal Pictures/20th Century Fox
