STUFF
East vs West 15
“Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”
This may be true, but these prejudices, when held by the neoconservatives in America, are being used as hammers to close the lid on the coffin for democracy. The left, led by a well off group of whimpering politicians, is trapped inside, prisoners of their own civility. A revolution was needed to end the rule of kings. Perhaps there is a need for another, to usher in the era of socialism.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
Does power corrupt absolutely? Yes, it just depends to what degree. We are born psychopathic in that we are only interested in ourselves. Depending on your culture, environment, and upbringing, a level of compassion is taught. This is a very simple paradigm of society and does not include massive levels of complexity. However, within this paradigm, our search for power most likely drives us back towards that initial point of being psychopathic, a state where the self is all that matters. The difference is that in the beginning we are selfish without prejudices, a state of naiveté. Later in our lives, we become selfish, armed with prejudices which we believe to be the basis of reason.
East vs West 14
“There are no facts, only interpretations.”
The fog is rolling in, a dull roar of historic disinformation. Already isolated, we will soon only navigate via corporate AI under an umbrella of video surveillance. This is the virtual reality which hides in plain sight on an increasingly troubled horizon. Although voting won't make much of a difference, at least it will numb the pain. However, if women really want to change things, I suggest burning down the house.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
I was watching Donald Trump at his news conference defending Brett Kavanaugh, a thinly veiled defence of himself. He was waving his hands, like he his wont to do, and I imagined him a great sorcerer. His hands were guiding the fog, turning it into a great hammer, a device made for war. No, he wasn’t a great sorcerer, more like a disfigured silverback, aging, broken. I sense the fear in his eyes, or is it the dull glow made by lies masquerading as truth? No, it is the fear of others that he holds in his watery mirrors. It is the fear we all feel when dementia takes over the mind of the driver who is ferrying us across the river Styx. I don’t know if this is a fact or just my interpretation.
East vs West 13
“I see great things in baseball. It’s our game - the American game.”
America’s game isn’t baseball. America’s game is propaganda masquerading as democracy, as freedom. I have always viewed the parody called “The Great Experiment” as a poorly written episode from a bad TV show. The audience, “the American people” who are asleep at the wheel, watch the characters perform the same old song and dance of “will to power” while the machinery of the American Empire works at real world political economics. Lately, the show has turned into a bizarre reality TV show which detracts from the silent coup d’état playing behind the scenes. The President, a portly Homer Simpson character, is a foil used by wealthy GOP donors to gain neoconservative goals. So far, they are winning in a landslide.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
You can not find your self in a democracy. In a democracy you are covered with sticky residue emitted from the politician’s sea of lies and the stench rising from the dying carcass of a pretentious constitution. In a democracy you are not allowed to forget about the government, the national anthem, or the pale glow of the flag - you are fed historical revisionism, a reverberation of school time memories, a battleground fought among teachers and students. In a democracy, the cultural waters are always at high tide, covering your soul and drowning your will. The self is lost in this tropical storm. It is lost and probably spending time in the bleacher seats cheering for another home town hero.
East vs West 12
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
Listening to Lou Reed's Busload of Faith and watching the latest on the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Is this Reality? Are we still debating on the right of women to control what can or can't be done with their bodies? I'm not dreaming am I? We are still animals aren't we? I hate these old white men trying to retain their grip on the patriarchy.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
One question, of course, is that of power and at what concentration does it corrupt. Another question concerning power is the one related to the quote by Nietzsche - The world itself is the will to power. The question is: is the world nothing more than the drive for power? On one level, this appears to be true. Deeper, however, is the undercurrent that exists in humanity, a desire to awaken from our nightmare. A desire to arise and live in waters that nurtures rather than corrupts, waters that feed rather than drown us. This won’t happen until we look patriarchy in the eyes and kick it square in the balls, maybe then, reality will resemble something closer to what we believe.
East vs West 11
“Excuse me while I kiss the sky.”
Large erections of steel and concrete, looking for sensual openings in the sky, dot the landscape in countless modern cities of the world. Humanities perpetual desire to reach into the heavens is emblematic of our Icarus like pride. While Icarus flew too close to the sun, we have found a way to bring the sun closer to us.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
The need to grow devours the self. We pull together as a team, buried in a social blanket covering the sores underneath. It is a constant drone, a tibetan chant of consume, produce, and strive. We remember and then we forget. Then, we move on. Social media, news breaking, changes in the weather, something new to buy spin in a tornado of distractions. It is the 1984 version of double speak. The record is broken, skipping on a single line of code that is pushing us to build higher and higher until we can kiss the sky.
East vs West 10
“Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.”
Well Noam, I beg to differ. Ideas are quite often a muddy brown and they don't sleep at all. In fact, they toss and turn throughout the night wondering why they can be colorless, grammatically correct, and nonsensical. I try to tell them not to worry. Nonsensical is often a more pleasurable way to be.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
Noam, of course, was trying to show that a seemingly nonsensical, but grammatically correct sentence could be constructed using the prevailing grammar models of the time. However, I find sense in his sentence. Not a logical sense, but a sense. It would fit naturally in an Arthur Rimbaud poem, or a James Joyce stream of consciousness. I could see a child hearing it and laughing. And I, like a child, find it highly entertaining, but I am one who finds solace in the world of nonsense. I am one who thinks an anarchic form of government is more attuned to our true spirits. I am one who believes in the model of the Zapatistas, an autonomous ruling system. That, of course, is truly nonsensical.
East vs West - 9
“I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free.”
I noticed a man carrying a live chicken along the road. He walked off the side of the road and put the chicken down on some grass to feed. I asked him if he was just feeding the chicken so he could eat it later. He laughed and nodded yes. I would have asked the chicken some questions regarding his situation, but I don't speak his language.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
The relationship between master and slave, ruler and citizens, and farmer and livestock is more complicated than that which is seen at first blush. Although one is extorted by the other for the extortionist’s gain, quite often the rise in population of that which is extorted can’t be denied either. If procreation is the only purpose for a species, the process of being extorted in order to increase one’s lineage is a successful evolutionary tactic. It should be noted, this is not a conscious tactic, it is just another example of how random life truly is. We are not in control of what happens to us. We are just isolated code in a billions upon billions year long algorithm.
East vs West - 8
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
We are a product of nature, albeit an infinitesimal one. Nature includes quantum particles, black holes, and the expanding parts of the universe filled with dark energy. Within the scope of space-time, patience is really the only option.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
As humanity is an infinitesimal part of nature, an individual has gained a similar position in regards to modern society. Lost in the massive swarm of humanity, there are small particles of amino acid-based life forms consumed with a futile search for self. It seems such a long time and distance from when these same life forms were part of small tribes wandering the savannah. It is certainly debatable to question how close they were to possessing an understanding of self, but it seems clear to me that they had an understanding that was much clearer than ours.
East vs West - 7
“Nothing is true, everything is permitted. ”
You've been to places like this. They are pleasant. They are quaint. They try to capture what was by putting on some makeup. It is completely understandable and if I was in charge, I would do the same thing. Yet, the sad fact is that they are all fake, not unlike every so called democratic government in the world. Everything is permitted.
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
I just watched former President Obama's speech at the University of Illinois. He made a case for democracy, which I found genuine and moving. The problem, however, is that democracy can not be found within a speech or the person delivering it. It must be found within the social fabric itself, and that can only happen when the environment that fosters this social fabric is real. Our world has gone beyond real. It is no longer organic, existing within the homeostatic system of Gaia. It is an analogue algorithm that has snaked off into the quasi digital horizon where nothing is true and everything is permitted.
East vs West - 6
“ I don’t think it’s possible to touch people’s imagination today by aesthetic means.”
I have always preferred back alleys, back doors, grey concrete, and weathered stone in regards to cities. The shiny glass, marbled floors and grandiose architectural lines that pose for magazine and post card pictures are what people are meant to see. Those beautiful visages are for advertisements and tourist guide books. This, however, is where the truth hides, going about its daily business of the slow but perpetual erosion of hardened matter..
THE SEARCH FOR SELF IN THE MATRIX OF SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
Decay is always a factor in regards to social paradigms. This includes, of course, the governing system. As we watch the great American experiment follow the same path as the Roman Republic, I have thought long and hard as to the whether or not it is an organic thing that can't be avoided. President Trump isn't the wind or the water that erodes the structures, he is the dust that falls off the support beams, much like the foul stench of senators and congressmen that infest the halls of government. The force that is carving off chunks from congressional halls are the people of the nation. The greed and avarice of its population is what eats at the constitution of the USA. It is doomed as all empires are. The main question that remains is what will be the result for the rest of us.