Ifs and buts. (Mars discussion)
I had two conversations that meshed together in my head and led me down a new path. Do you have someone you truly love unconditionally, like unconditionally (which is different than love), and trust unconditionally?
The first conversation was about a fan of Mars that said "I love everything about Jared, but ...." Doesn't even matter what the "but" was, just that it existed.
The other conversation was about a friend explaining to close friends (outside the Echelon) what Mars and Jared mean to her. She explained that Mars literally saved her life, helped her make major life-changing decisions, fight major life-changing battles, and yet these non-Echelon friends still see him as an celebrity idol.
I know most people hate "You're not Echelon if..." declarations, but I've recognized a characteristic very few Echelon seem to share. They have no "but" to end the statement:
I love everything about 30 Seconds to Mars, but ....
I love everything about Jared Leto, but ....
I have no "but". The friend in the second conversation has no "but". Unfortunately, I think most Echelon, even the die hard believers, have a "but" somewhere.
Remember the letter that pissed Tomo off? That was all "buts". I'll love you if.... I'll support you if.... You're doing a great job but, hey, here are my demands. This is not a union. This isn't like writing to your Congressman. You don't own a piece of Mars no matter how many fucking VIPs you buy or how long you've loved them. They own you ... or they don't.
This isn't a democracy. It's an oligarchy. The guy with the crown, he's the ultimate man in charge. Don't piss him off. He's the king in the oligarchy, the messiah in the religion, the father in the family, the general in the army, the CEO in the corporation, the teacher among students.
Jared's always said Mars is just for those who understand. But I think there are those who get it, and those who really get it. To abuse the religious metaphor, there are dedicated followers and then there are disciples.
And I can hear your objections lining up. Blind faith. Too young to understand. Too naive.
One, I'm older than daddy dearest so fuck you on that accord. ;)
Two, there is the kind of faith you have thrust upon you and the kind that's built from the ground up. Promises kept. Principals lived up to. The faith you can question over and over again, yet find it sound.
Do they manipulate us? Oh, hell, yes. Jared's a Dom and a INTJ, the Mastermind. Of course he's manipulating us. But those of us with no "buts", we see it and we welcome it. He's the magician that lets you see behind the curtain yet still blows you away with the show. Don't fight the magic of Mars. Let it take you over, if it can.
So yeah, when I say I believe in Mars, in Jared, it's that unconditional, continually proven, reasoned faith. The love, the lust, the faith, the dreams, ... the trust. It's all fully cognizant -- constantly questioning -- yet unshakable.
I was telling my friend (from conversation two), I'd invite Jared over to my house, leave him alone with my unlocked computer, let him babysit my niece and nephew, tell him any secret he asked, let him convince me to do anything he wanted. I trust him that much. Does that exist outside the Echelon? Outside the tightest inner core of the Echelon?
I'd tell him things I wouldn't tell my therapist, my significant other, my mother, my sister, my best friend, ... I would say my priest, but he's the closest thing I have on that accord.
My manic messiah.
This is a cult.
Dichotomies and layers of meaning. ;)
You either get it or you don't. Do you really get it or just think you do?
Have you been complaining about not being told things? About them neglecting us?
Have you been complaining about the haves and the have nots? About VIPs and AIW? About the merch push and the radio airplay push?
Have you been pestering any of them about Shannon's sabbatical? Are you constantly harassing or insulting their friends (or their "friends")?
Do you insist someone else is speaking on their behalf on social networking?
Are you complaining they never play the songs you like or come to the dot on the map you live on?
Do you really get it?
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Twitlonger version of the same post: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1s5ksi6