The Difference

Eugene Manlove Rhodes reminded me today of the great and vast difference between the United States before the Civil War and after it.
Gramattically, before the Civil War it was proper to say "The government of the United States are planning to do this".
After it was proper to say "The government of the United States is planning to do this".

Some will, no doubt, not understand this. Still others will simply think that the educated Yankees brought good English to the backwoods uneducated Southerners.
A few, a very few, will understand this, and the fundamental difference it is indicative of. And of those few, even less will probably be as moved by it as I am.

That war was about Freedom - but not for the slaves. And freedom lost.

This Modern Life

Fifty years ago the world was a bigger place.
The size of the actual ball of mud, rock and water wasn’t any different than it is today (give or take a few tons of ore that have been hurled into space never to return since 1956, a truly insignificant thing to a planet), but it was a bigger place. And fifty years before that I was even bigger still.
So, you're probably asking, if it wasn’t bigger in physical size, then how was it bigger?
It was bigger in solely one fashion; The room a man had to live in it was bigger.
People could come and go as they pleased. They could live in the city next to their neighbors and with the immediate convenience of the close urban quarters, or they could live in the country and see no one for miles and miles around and spend days and days alone pursuing their interests. A person could make a living, living out - Be it off the land or off their works which they took into town once in awhile and sold, one could make a good living and remain as far from neighbors and the supposed "convenience" of the city as they liked.
Today the world is a much smaller place, and the universal consciousness is turned more inwards, into the city and the close knit urban vibe of it all. In the heads of most people is an idea, so subconscious it’s actually more just a sense, a feeling, that unless they are surrounded by others they are in dangerous territory. They want to have neighbors, they want the hubbub of modern living all mashed together right on top of their subdivisions and washing around their minivans.
You see this in how people drive when they get out on the interstate in between cities and towns. I live in a state with a, thankfully, fairly low population density, and there is a lot of wide open country between places, I do a lot of driving. And I see it. People coming from the city get onto the interstate and instead of finding a nice open stretch and maintaining their solidarity for a casual drive they get right up behind someone else, who is in turn right up behind another someone else, and they keep it up until you get these little undulating conglomerations of five to ten vehicles moving down the interstate, constantly jockeying for new but in no way superior positions within the herd.
They cannot, possibly, be alone. If you happen to come along one of these poor helpless creatures when they are alone, they will inevitably be driving quite slowly fearfully looking about or talking on their cell phones to someone back in the city about how "awful" and "empty" open country and open road are. Then, you will pass them in an attempt to leave their slow moving wagon of banality and despair behind, to maintain your oneness, your solitary leisurely place on the road. Suddenly they will speed up and will drop right in behind you, and stick there like they've harpooned you until they decide to pass, only to be in front where they can slow down lest they leave the "safety zone" of another human presence.
These people are "the people" anymore, they live, work, play and function as the baseline of society. Everyone else is a statistical anomaly. The mass consciousness, the one that drives marketing, trends in entertainment, fashion and everything else, the consciousness that writes the unwritten rules and guidelines of society that PTA's use to write rules and guidelines for the next generations and that are used to win (and lose) elections, is the consciousness of these "baseline" individuals. These people who cannot bring themselves to be alone on the open road are the society in America.
They want all the service, all the convenience, all the pleasure and most certainly all the profit and none of the responsibility. They go to work, they pay their taxes, and they want everything else to be guaranteed, insured and immediately available day and night.
They want someone to save them from fire, burglars, kiddy diddlers and flat tires. They want someone to insure that new laws are made to better "protect" them from fires, burglars, kiddy diddlers and yes flat tires. They want the supermarket shelves to be full, they want their skies to be blue, they want their neighbors to have nice lawns that compliment the Norman Rockwell picture perfect essence of their own front yard. They want it all, and they want none of the responsibility of getting it, maintaining it or protecting it. That is someone else’s job. The kind of person who would suggest differently is most certainly the same sort of horrible individual who would drive by themselves along those long open stretches of road.
But they are conflicted - The urban lifestyle with traffic and stoplights and fire departments and cable television and lawn care specialists and a gas station on the corner has them demanding and wanting, of course. This is the life they know, it is the life the consciousness of the nation is telling them is the good life and they believe in that message, and why not? It’s hard not to when it grows just a little stronger every day.
But there is another message, another signal from the universal consciousness, that is slowly being pushed out, its bandwidth decreasing - It is in fact dying, as all old things must. It carries the idea that land is a good thing to have, and that open spaces aren’t so bad, and the good life is having the land to enjoy the open spaces and be away from the maddening roar of it all. It is an idea kept alive by an older generation still working, and by a few rebels and radicals who, the urban dweller must admit when alone and contemplative, have some positive characteristics, a certain charm to their ideas of independence.
These two signals meet, and in a violent cataclysm the newer, stronger, signal tears asunder much of the older one and in the friction of such the ideas fuse. Out of this confusion comes the idea "We will live out of town, out in the country, but we will bring all of our friends with it and they can live out there too, and along with us we will bring all the conveniences of town". So they do, and pretty soon, "out there" has grown and meets up with town, and becomes just another neighborhood. Some developments, further out back of beyond, will take longer to do so, and some may become towns of their own, but in the end it is all still the same.
Those of us who drive alone on the interstate, we anomalies, who have lived out there since before there was anywhere else to live, are simply left to watch in horror as people who do not belong come and fill up our world, surrounding us and smothering us with their way of life.

There are places in the world where most people do not belong. Most people, and that probably means most of you who will read this, do not belong way out back of beyond. You don’t understand it, and cannot truly appreciate it, and you certainly can’t conserve it.
Such people are the teeming, screaming, masses who choose to live in the city, who choose not to break free of the disease of the mind that lifestyle promotes, and they are mentally incapable of doing good for the places where they settle when they move out of the city.
There is no equality between those people and people like me, people who understand and appreciate the land, and want the space and freedom it affords and are willing to live without the supposed "necessities" of city living to have those things.
In the end those whose blood burns for freedom (in the bigger sense than just what that old song with the bits about the bombs bursting in air talks about), and those whose mind is polluted with the fundamental ideas of the current social consciousness are mortal enemies.
But it is a losing war. There are too many people, and despite the ravages of disease, disaster and human destruction they are never going to go away. People will keep consuming, and destroying, and in the end yes the planet, that ancient organism of smaller organisms chained together in symbiosis, that old god we barely understand, will sneeze use off like dust in a cosmic nostril, but before we reach that end what hope is there for the man of freedom and wide open spaces?
He is an antique, a creature of the past, a reverse Neanderthal too smart and too capable for the "good" of society as society has deemed.

Comfort Zone

I avoid the personal here - I did the blog about my emotional highs and lows, ups and downs in my life, for a long time and in the end was unhappy and disgusted with it. It was an exercise in wallowing in my bad moods and depressions.
Unfortunately, tonight, I'm not so high minded.
The world is fucked up - its probably beyond repair but theres a lot of sorry fucking fuckers who could make it somewhat better who refuse to do a fucking thing, leaving everything even more fucked up. No amount of my writing about it, certainly not tonight, will make that any different.

Tonight my wants are simple - I want to be myself, and I want to spend tonight with one person who I can be openly and honestly myself around.
I am tired of walking on eggshells, I am tired of having to support the tender feelings of people around me, I am tired of being both intentionally and unintentionally party to their lies and secrets.
The hell with the world, the hell with the future. I would give it all up tonight, every single thing, to have one person to be with who I dont have to walk on eggshells around, who I can connect with on a real level free of bullshit. I would lay it all down, and walk away, to have her.
And the more I want that, the farther away from it I get.

Disrespect

I just read an article from WorldNetDaily that greatly dissapointed me in my fellow human beings, particularly my "peer" group.
The article can be found here - http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48808 but for the sake of preservation I'll copy it as well.

The University of Washington's student senate rejected a memorial for alumnus Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of "Black Sheep Squadron" fame amid concerns a military hero who shot down enemy planes was not the right kind of person to represent the school.

Student senator Jill Edwards, according to minutes of the student government's meeting last week, said she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce."
Ashley Miller, another senator, argued "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men."

Senate member Karl Smith amended the resolution to eliminate a clause that said Boyington "was credited with destroying 26 enemy aircraft, tying the record for most aircraft destroyed by a pilot in American Uniform," for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.

Smith, according to the minutes, said "the resolution should commend Colonel Boyington's service, not his killing of others."

The senate's decision was reported first by Seattle radio talk-host Kirby Wilbur of KVI, whose listeners were "absolutely incensed," according to producer Matt Haver.

Brent Ludeman, president of the university's College Republicans, told WND in an e-mail the decision "reflects poorly on the university."

"Pappy Boyington went beyond the call of duty to serve and protect this country – he simply deserves better," Ludeman said. "Just last year, the university erected a memorial to diversity. Why can't we do the same for Pappy Boyington and others who have defended our country?"

The resolution points out Boyington, a student at the UW from 1930-34, served as a combat pilot in the 1st Squadron, American Volunteer Group – the "Flying Tigers of China" – and later as a Marine Corps combat pilot in charge of Marine Fighting Squadron 214, "The Black Sheep Squadron."

Along with the Navy Cross, Boyington was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his heroism. He was shot down and spent 20 months in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

The resolution says, "Be it resolved … [t]hat we consider Col. Gregory Boyington, United States Marine Corps, to be a prime example of the excellence that this university represents and strives to impart upon its students, and, That we desire for a memorial for Col. Boyington be commenced by the University of Washington by 11 January 2008, the twentieth anniversary of his death, which will be publicly displayed, so that all who come here in future years will know that the University of Washington produced one of this country's bravest men, and that we as a community hold this fact in the highest esteem."

Commenting on the decision, a blogger who says he met Boyington on numerous occasions at a museum and air show over the years noted the famous flyer "was no rich boy," having grown up in a struggling family in which he was forced to work hard to make it through school. The blogger, who hosts the website Paradosis, also pointed out Boyington was part Sioux.

Boyington was open about his marital problems and alcohol abuse, saying notably, "Just name a hero and I'll prove he's a bum."

The blogger wondered, "have our Washington youth revised history so much as this? To compare Boyington – or for that matter any of our WW2 vets – to murderers? What are these kids being taught today? They don't deserve those 20 months Pappy spent being tortured and beaten in a Japanese prison camp ... they don't deserve any of what our grandfathers and grandmothers sacrificed to free Europe and the Pacific."

Boyington wrote a book in 1958 that reached the best-seller list, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep." In 1976, he sold rights to Universal, which aired a TV series for two seasons of the same name.

Boyington, who died Jan. 11, 1988, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Two particular segments from the above stand out to me:

Student senator Jill Edwards, according to minutes of the student government's meeting last week, said she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce."
Ashley Miller, another senator, argued "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men."

The idea that Marines (or any other fighting man/woman) do not represent "ideals" of society is disgusting. Its nothing new, but it remains as disgusting as the day Kipling penned "Tommy". I can think of few things as noble as believing in something enough to fight, mayhap die, for it. That is a kind of strength most people do not have.
Someone who is not willing to fight, for anything, is not the sort of person any institution should take pride in "producing". Spineless, fearful, cowering people do not build strong nations, strong companies, strong communities or strong families. Everyone has to fight for something in their life, whether its equality, their education or providing for their family, life is full of little fights and struggles. No one who turned from fighting, no one who told themselves that avoiding conflict was the “higher road” to excuse their own fear, ever amounted to anything worth note, not as the leader of a family, not as a hero of business, industry or even war.
And the cold hard truth is that without people who were willing to take that strength and will to fight and carry it into battle, none of the rest of it would matter. In this history of this nation there have been great threats to the security, safety and freedom of her people and it was not a force of collegiate debaters who broke and defeated those threats – It was fighters, who were willing to kill and be killed to protect the very ability of people like Ms. Edwards to slander and disrespect their efforts.
There exist soldiers so that everyone who isn’t a soldier can, if they desire, live weak and fearful lives safe inside well-protected borders. For as long as there have been people there have been those who would take by force what wasn’t theirs, and demand fealty from people at the point of a sword or a gun. And in the course of history there has only been one thing that could turn back a determined tyrant or robber – Force. The truth is most people, except in the direst of circumstances, lack the ability to do violence and that ability has been rejected and cultured out by many societies. Most people do not have the ability to make good soldiers and their place is not on the battlefield even if they are needed there – There are true soldiers, born soldiers and they do hard things, brutal things, so that the folks at home don’t have to, or don’t have to suffer those things done to them. It may not be the most pleasant thing, and it may not be the most beautiful thing, but it is something that deserves respect, and gratitude.
And, in response to Ms. Miller’s comments, most soldiers are not rich men, many of them are not white (many are Native American, as was Boyington), and most of them lead undistinguished, often impoverished, lives after their tours of duty. Rich White Men are the fools running the country – Not those subjected to their miserable whims and thrown onto the teeth of battle without mercy. It seems that Ms. Miller and Ms. Edwards have forgotten this, or wish to confuse the two in order to find someone they can more easily and personally blame and punish for the sins of our fathers.

Also take note that "Just last year, the university erected a memorial to diversity”. This highlights one of the dirty, ugly, truths of “Diversity” – Promoting diversity, instead of unity, allow people like Miller and Edwards to segregate themselves from elements of society they find distasteful. There is no unity in diversity, and it allows for disrespect and ostracizing of “unclean” elements of society – so long as “Diversity” is trumpeted it allows for lines to be drawn through our society, and for those culture, class, and yes, race barriers to be continually reinforced.
Unity scares people like Misses Edwards and Miller – If the world had unity, they would have to stand shoulder to shoulder on the same level with Marines and others who do work they find “distasteful”.

It is unfortunate that people have found causes and positions of power that allow them to make decisions such as this, and create seats above the “distasteful”. It is to an extent a manipulation of reality, for those doing it. Although reality truly is that which, when ignored, does not go away, people in positions of power can pretend, at least to themselves, that they can have a society, a world, without the unclean, distasteful or difficult elements and in that pretending they can use their positions, authority and influence to strike blows against those they find distasteful, no matter how much those very people may have worked to guarantee the ability of slanderers to attack them.

These people who make these attacks love to use terms that will put a bad taste in others mouths, terms like “killers”, so I’m going to close this bluntly.
Some people need killed – Before they can kill the innocent – and it takes killers to stop killers. Anyone who doesn’t “approve” of those people needs to ask him or her self a very serious question, “Would I rather be the one who had to do it?”

In the Darkness

I am not a sports fan. As a martial artist (of sorts) I’ll watch a fight of some sort when I can, but wont go out of my way to do so. I’ll also, occasionally, watch a football game because I like to see physical feats of brutal contact and bloodshed, and Monday Night Football is cheaper than a Pay-Per-View fight ticket and handily on broadcast TV. With an opportunity to do so I will watch rodeo until my eyes bleed and roll up in my head, but from my background rodeo isn’t sports its religion. But that’s the extent of my sports watching.
Except for one thing – The Olympics. Winter or Summer I always watch most of the Olympics.
Yes, I enjoy seeing people in top physical and mental form put themselves to the test, and win. But it’s more important than that for me too.
I am a romantic about the Olympics. I know they are, in reality highly commercialized and rife with behind the scenes cattiness, corruption and in-fighting, but when I see so many nations of the world gathered to gather to compete in what I still believe is a true spirit of fairness for most of them, it makes me proud to be a human being.
Normally most things don’t do that – I find humans, on whole, a disagreeable lot with many bad traits and habits and I’d just as soon start colonizing Mars and leave nearly the entire bunch on this mud-ball to rot. But, seeing people from all over the world coming together to compete in physical sport warms the recesses of my black little heart.
It does not give me hope that tomorrow will be a better day, I know better. This is a world plagued with many things from disease, to the “liberal myth” of global warming, to the aftershocks of imperial colonialism. These are not things that will go away overnight because athletes came together and competed.
But I have hope that there are still strong, dedicated, people in this world. And that they can come together in some fashion, and do something “together”. It is a small beginning, or perhaps a small remnant, of that unity I have spoken of before. Either way, it is a small golden glimmer of something greater, and like the last reflection of the setting sun on a rippling pond it is a sign that says, “After the darkness, there is dawn”.
It will be a long road – and most of us will not survive to see the end of it. We’ll have to hang onto the glimmers we can get.