Being a Gen X kid and been raised on a variety of television shows, I’m often prone to draw parallels between life and art. This week happens to be such an occasion.

I know there is a lot of stuff online about the creators of “The Simpsons” being time travelers, due to many of the occurrences in the show coming true; but I also think there’s a certain amount of sharp analysis in the form of humor within the show as well.

There’s one episode in particular that, up until about 10 years ago, I thought was an unlikely future scenario in the U.S.

The episode “Much Apu about nothing” could just as easily be written today about the current socio-political climate. What does it say when a cartoon sitcom can write an episode almost 30 years ago (May 1996 to be exact) and unwittingly predict such a ludicrous future?

In the episode, a bear just randomly wanders into town. The people all freak out. After the bear is captured and hauled away, they angrily storm city hall.

In their outrage, Homer Simpson says of the one-time event: “I’m sick of these constant bear attacks. It’s like a frickin’ country bear jambaroo around here!”

At the urging of the angry residents, the mayor starts a bear patrol, complete with helicopters and armored vehicles.

At one point, Homer looks around and says there isn’t a bear in sight and the patrol is working beautifully (keep in mind it was a one-time thing), and his daughter Lisa says, “That’s specious reasoning. It’s like saying this rock keeps tigers away.”

The dialogue goes as follows:

Homer: Oh, how does it work?

Lisa: It doesn’t work.

Homer: Uh-huh.

Lisa: It’s just a stupid rock.

Homer: Uh-huh.

Lisa: But I don’t see any tigers around, do you? (Homer thinks for a moment)

Homer: Lisa, I want to buy your rock.

That, in my opinion, speaks to some in the current political climate.

Following the substantial cost of the bear patrol, taxes rise to compensate, which angers the citizens again. As a result, the mayor blames illegal immigrants as the cause of the increased tax — because he knows they won’t accept the truth about the bear patrol cost.

Following a surge of anti-immigrant rhetoric, the Kwik-E-Mart owner/operator, Apu, faces deportation. This upsets Homer and he is faced with losing his friend after ramping up the very same rhetoric that caused the disaster to begin with.

I hope I don’t have to connect too many dots for too many people with this big analogy. I would think the point is obvious.

A democratic republic cannot be successfully maintained and governed by sudden whims or baseless rhetoric. It does nothing for the common good and we all pay a higher psychic price — both now and in the future — for such foolishness.

While my generation was raised with the idea of becoming famous on television, and we witnessed the dawning of reality TV, I prefer to live in reality and not rhetoric. I prefer to be an objective, independently thinking individual and not a resident of Homer Simpson’s world.