Ffolkes,
Once all the bugs are eliminated, I believe I am going to enjoy the new format here. So let’s dive right in…..

“We have a presidential election coming up. And I think the big problem, of course, is someone will win.” — Barry Crimmins

I have previously written many diatribes on the subject of politics, and more specifically, on politicians. While I have no particular problem with the first, I have a number of reasons for mistrusting the latter. And unfortunately, we have put ourselves into a situation where no matter who we elect, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Bozoid, they are going to gleefully start lining their pockets, because they are not acting in your best interests. Why? That one is easy; they all lie to us. Every politician has a single characteristic they share with all their peers, and that is the willingness to say ANYTHING to get elected. I regard it as a given that they all do this, and it won’t change until we, the voting public, the great unwashed masses make the first change by holding another American Revolution, and toss them all out on their cheating, lying asses. That’s right, I am suggesting we stop voting. Just say no to their chicanery. Indicate your displeasure with all politicians by shunning them.

Anyone who WANTS the power over others that elected office brings is, by evidence of their very interest in acquiring that power, completely insane. It isn’t mentally or emotionally healthy to need that kind of control over others, and indicates a person whose sole purpose in life is to satisfy their own interests, aka sociopathic. It’s a very passive-aggressive way for them to express their disdain for all the ignorant voters who continue to buy into their bullshite; first they lie to get into office, then they are free to cheat and steal from the public treasury, as long as they cheat and steal for the benefit of their own constituency while they’re about it.

     Our forefathers fought a war to obtain the rights we supposedly enjoy, a war that began because the people here were tired of being governed by people who had no interest in their welfare. Well, here we are again, folks, back in the same boat as in 1760, being oppressed by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us from that very thing. And I say it is time to put a stop to it…. what do you think?….feel free to comment, because this is one I will enjoy discussing in more depth…..

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

I enjoy a lot of what Johann von Goethe wrote, and regard him as one of the clearest thinkers of his time, or any other. I don’t always agree with him; he tends a bit toward conservatism in some areas, but those ideas are straightforward in their inconsistency, and generally can be discounted as cultural prejudice, as he lived in a quite repressive era in terms of human rights. But for the most part, he had a clever mind and a powerful writing style, consistent with the Teutonic roots of his modes of thought, and possessed a very deep insight into human nature.

I like this quote, both for its insight, and for its depth of compassion. We are all familiar with the Golden Rule; it is a phrase common to ALL cultures, and could be considered as the basis for all the laws made by humans to regulate their interactions with one another. In that light, this becomes a corollary aphorism to that rule, a corollary that points the way to a life well-lived. Treating others with the respect and dignity we desire for ourselves is taken one step further on the path to enlightenment, by leading one into right action. When we help others, we improve ourselves, and everyone is better for it…..

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that ‘s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
— Lord Byron (1788-1824)
— Hebrew Melodies, She walks in Beauty

As yet, I’m a bit uncertain as to how to approach the discussion of a poem, or excerpt from a poem, without making it seem either pretentious or emotionally labile. What I do know is that each poem is the world-view of another person, condensed from its seemingly infinite size into more palatable portions, that yet connect the spirit of the reader to the greater design. I first looked at the selected piece from Lord Byron because of the subtitle, “She walks in Beauty”. It reminded me of the common farewell phrase spoken by the Navajo tribes, uttered when parting company with another member of the tribe, or anyone else for that matter. The phrase, ‘Ya teh hey’, loosely translates as ‘Walk in Beauty’ expressed as a wish, i.e., ‘may you walk in beauty’.

     Then I read the poem itself, and my mind was transported to India, where the goddess of the night, Ratra, is worshiped by devotees of Hinduism, as she has been for several thousand years. You’ve seen the words of Lord Byron here before; I particularly enjoy his view of the world, and his unique way of stringing words together in a logical, yet beautiful style. “Thus mellow’d to that tender light, Which Heaven to gaudy day denies”  Is that not perfect? A multitude of layers, a fountain of emotion, joy and gratitude, and much more, made plain in two lines. I don’t know if the ability to make and enjoy poetry has any significance from an evolutionary standpoint, unless you count the unlimited power of imagination, so necessary to making poetry, and so essential to us in creating  Beauty, both real and imagined…….

Well, two down now, and I like it! Until tomorrow, ya teh hay! And….y’all take care out there….

Kowabunga!