American Paranoia

By Mary B. Sinclair

American Paranoia depicts the plight of those poor souls "lost" in an America that has gotten off track. An America in which "confidence" has turned into a "confidence" game and politicians have become "confidence" men. And positive thinking itself has become a kind of manipulative, "confidence on demand" PR commodity.

"I never doubted for a minute everything would come out all right," parroted an American hostage fi nally released after being held captive by terrorists for what must have seemed like forever. How absurd, Melody thought to herself as she read his statement in the newspaper. That's just an after the fact publicity statement released to the media to promote a positive (but lying) image of America now that the entire ordeal is over. Anybody can be positive about something looking back (when they're no longer in the thick of things), Melody thinks. A statement like this is in no way telling the truth about the struggle to keep your hope, faith and "confi dence" on an everyday basis in a hostage situation which could take a different turn at any moment. To Melody, none of this media fabrication was the truth. It was all government "lies.")

So Melody takes it upon herself to give her version of the truth. American Paranoia explains (through the eyes of Melody) how, in America today, people everywhere have been trained to keep their mouth shut and to always say all the right things. To always exude "self confi dence" even in a situation where what ("Lies") Beneath (or a corrupt, LYING government infrastructure) is preying tooth and nail on the unwary. Are the One Percenters (and the One Percent of the One Percenters) controlling the so called American democracy under the table? No, of course not goes the lying mantra. And if you think such an absurd thing, you're labeled "paranoid." You're "overreacting" and "mentally ill." American Paranoia tells the story (through the insightful eyes of one woman named Melody) of how the American people have a legitimate (and God given!) right to be afraid in a situation of governmental duplicity (and outright "lies") that interfere with their very existence. And, as such, should not be ridiculed and labeled "losers" by Social Workers and therapists."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477122174

Mary B. Sinclair

I was born in Ossipee, New Hampshire on September 15, 1942, but I have lived all my life in Boston, Massachusetts. I graduated from Roxbury Community College with an Associates Degree in Word Processing. I also received a B.A. in English from UMass, Boston in 2001. Currently I am attending UMass, Boston as a graduate student. I have an Author Central Page on Amazon. My URL is amazon.com/author/marysinclair

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Copyright © 2012 by Mary B. Sinclair.

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I want to dedicate American Paranoia to my wonderful, one of a kind Grandmother, Leonie Emily Ormsbee. My grandmother’s mother was the Head Buyer at Cherry & Webb’s in Fall River for years. The entire store closed when she passed away at age forty two. That store is still in existence today (very much so!), but has now changed its name to Cherry, Webb&Touraine.

As my Grandmother herself said in the book, from her own mother’s perspective, nothing was too good for my Grandmother. She would have taken the Moon out of the sky and given it to her if she had it in her power. In spite of that, my Grandmother ended up in the hard, cold chair taking care of her grandchildren (my two siblings and myself!) and being bawled out by my mother. I regret that with all my heart. And if I could go back to those days and change it all, I would.

Until her mother passed away, my Grandmother went to a French Convent in Fall River, the Convent of Jesus-Marie (which is still there today!) She was one of their Star Pupils, having won the Bishop’s Medal. Which she later lost playing jump rope—specifically Red, Hot Pepper—but the honor remained!

My Grandmother said, You’ll forget all about me when I’m dead and gone. But I never have, Grammie, and I never will.

Mary Sinclair

Recently Melody was experiencing more and more flashbacks to all those funny quotes on the desks of people she had once worked with—when she had a job, that is.

Quotes like: "Just because you’re ‘paranoid’ doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you."

Goofy remarks like: "Hang in, things will get better." Clever attempts to dispense good natured, humorous, advice.

To offer a more relaxed alternative to the omnipresent reality of social control. (Such as going to work every day, sucking up to the Boss, keeping current with all those bills coming in, etc.).

While the other part of your mind tried to ignore all that dreadful government bureaucracy and wasteful spending.

All those high taxes never distributed equably (or democratically).

All those fare increases that prevented Charlie from ever getting off the MTA. ("Did he ever return, no he never returned, and his fate is still unlearned.

He will ride forever ’neath the streets of Boston, he’s the man who never returned, etc.)

All those running with scissors budget cuts the ordinary citizen could never fight back against.

At the same time trying to figure out why selling access to people’s personal history on the Internet was allowed to go on and on. Why the Attorney General never did anything about anything.

In another way social control meant One Percenters with all that Money, Political Influence and Social Clout.

Those the Occupy Movement was trying to expose through their Occupy Wall Street agenda.

Those micromanaging America illegally under the table.

And in America this was so easy to do since it was all about "fitting in."

All about being a member of an Organization invisibly controlling you by promoting its own agenda at your expense.

And, in so doing, giving the lie to American democracy (the so called will of the people).

Like being a member of the Catholic Church’s Mystical Body of Christ and how that played out for so many victims of pedophile priests now caught in a terrible spider’s web.

Forced to spend the rest of their life engaged in a futile struggle aggrandized as talking back to power.

From any thinking person’s perspective, the Catholic Church should never have been able to usurp all that misplaced power—disguised as the will of the people—in the first place.

And neither should the One Percenters.

Because with the limited resources such as Melody—and most everyone else—possessed, you could take