Ffolkes,
In my wildest, most disturbing dreams, I never thought the world would come to this juncture. We stand once again at a fork in the road ahead. Down one road lies extinction; it’s actually the road we are on now, but we have come to the last possible exit, onto a road that continues on into the future, bright with promise. On this road, humanity has new forms of transport, sustainable and clean. The air is clear, the ocean is blue, and all the creatures who share this planet have been welcomed into the circle of Life, wherein we now reside. Everyone is treated the same, and there are no more distinctions drawn between one man and the next. Resources are husbanded and shared equally, and economic manipulation is a dim memory.
Sounds pretty nice, eh? I think so too. I’m just not terribly convinced that the rest of humanity is going to come down that road with those of us who take it. I’d much rather we all went together, but I refuse to choose to continue on the road we have been traveling, just as I refuse to consider killing myself. It’s all so clear to me, I have a hard time understanding why others cannot see what I am seeing. If we don’t stop what we’re doing, we’re going to pay the consequences; that’s not a guess, not a theory. It’s truth. I hope y’all can deal with it….
I think I lost my mind. Please watch where you step.
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You beat your pate, and fancy wit will come;
Knock as you please, there ‘s nobody at home.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Epigram
A gen’rous heart repairs a sland’rous tongue.
— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book viii, Line 432
Pope, living and writing in the 17th & 18th centuries, was apparently channeling Homer Simpson, 300 years in the future….. Doh! Even wonderful poetry can be turned into low humor; here is solid proof. These two short pieces of pieces were just irresistible, as they immediately brought to mind a clear image of Homer slapping his head. See, I can be whimsical!…..
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“Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” — Josh Billings
“I’m a man of my word. In the end, that’s all there is really….” — Avon
Tough to argue with these; they both are basic elements of my own philosophy. It’s a shame, really, that society in general doesn’t buy into this more. Strong, silent men are in short supply in today’s world, and the twin pillars that hold up our culture, Duty and Honor, have fallen into sporadic use at best. Not enough children are being raised under the moral aegis these concepts provide, and the results are as predictable as they are ugly. Too many young men and women are reaching the age of reason with no inner strength, no strong morals to guide their way; rather than cloaking themselves in honor and duty, they are approaching life armed only with an imagination whose scope has been severely limited by their moral shortcomings. It can be a tough world out there, and it’s only going to get tougher at time goes on, unless society can find a way to shore up the shaky underpinnings of our culture, before it’s too late to try…..
“Cowardice” and “self-respect” have largely disappeared from public discourse. In their place we are offered “self-esteem” as the bellwether of success and a proxy for dignity. “Self-respect” implies that one recognizes standards, and judges oneself worthy by the degree to which one lives up to them. “Self-esteem” simply means that one feels good about oneself. “Dignity” used to refer to the self-mastery and fortitude with which a person conducted himself in the face of life’s vicissitudes and the boorish behavior of others. Now, judging by campus speech codes, dignity requires that we never encounter a discouraging word and that others be coerced into acting respectfully, evidently on the assumption that we are powerless to prevent our degradation if exposed to the demeaning behavior of others. These are signposts proclaiming the insubstantiality (sic) of our character, proclaiming the hollowness of our souls.” — Jeffrey R. Snyder, Fall 1993 _The Public Interest
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A crucifix? Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire!
In my diving for pearls, over the years I’ve gone past this one several times (sometimes the randomness generator doesn’t quite live up to its’ name), and have just smiled and gone on. But today, for some reason, I finally got it…….and it’s fucking hilarious! What I wouldn’t do to see this character in an episode of Twilight (though I have to confess I’ve never watched it), or Buffy, the Vampire Slayer! They could call him Simon, pretender to the throne of Satan, master of Guilt, who bores his victims into a stupor, leaving them at mercy to his dark secret, a fetish for the blood of sons and daughters of mothers of the Tribe. If nothing else, the media frenzy in the religious world would be fun to watch….. You may be asking yourself, is nothing sacred? All I can answer is, “Nope.”………
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“The very emphasis of the commandment: Thou shalt not kill, makes it certain that we are descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood as it is perhaps also in ours.” — Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Siggy had his moments of clarity amid the nonsense of a lot of his assertions exhibited. This is one of them. Part of what makes a man civilized is to be able to accept this part of his nature, and deal with it in the only honorable fashion; each morning a man must awake and make a conscious decision that, “Today, I will not kill.”, and then abide by it as best he can. Nothing else will work as well, and though it takes no small amount of courage to keep his word, a man of honor will do so, no matter the cost.
I think one of the most disheartening aspects of today’s culture is the lack of honor most people exhibit. When I was brought up, in the 1950’s, it seems like everyone believed in the concept of Honor, and it was just assumed that one could expect others to behave in light of that. As time has passed, I have seen the concept fall further out of favor, and further out of the public consciousness with each passing year, with selfishness and avarice having assumed the central position in most folk’s attitudes. SIGH……I really do miss it……
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“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” — Bertrand Russell, Autobiography
These are wonderful sentiments, and I can only hope that when I die, I can have put on my headstone some indication that I had fulfilled all three of these passions. The ability to share love, the passion for learning, and compassion for the weak and troubled are the highest expressions of the human spirit, and pursuit of them is an honorable task to take up as one’s Duty. No man could ever hope for a more fulfilling existence, acting in service to those he loves, which includes all living creatures. One can only wish that this attitude was more prevalent in society at large; we might have avoided some of the troubles we’re having. No sense crying over spilled dairy products though…..you just have to hang on to your hope…..
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Now I understand how the little piece I found yesterday fits in to the puzzle. Not to replace the sig, but rather to join it……..yay, me….y’all take care out there….
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
—
and sometimes
I just sits.
gigoid
Kowabunga!
gigoid 
Another interesting post though you do make a reader work for his pearls.
You express regret and cynicism about the lack of wisdom and honor in society. I believe this cynicism that is pervasive in our world today may be partly to blame for our current state. Our collective lack of faith in humanity may become a self fulfilling prophecy – society is how we perceive it to be.
If we were to adjust our expectations and move forward believing that we can be a better society that would give people a standard to live up to. People are a-holes because we expect them to be.
There is this older woman that works at a pizza place near where I work. My friend complained to me the other day about how grouchy and rude she is. At first I didn’t know who he was talking about but when he described her I realized he must be talking about the same woman that I chat and joke with every time I go order a slice. So why do we have two different opinions about the same person? I have a theory.
She is not an attractive woman in the traditional sense. She has a tough job working near the stoves all day so tends to look downtrodden when you first come into the restaurant. However I have this rule where I treat everyone I meet with cheerful respect despite how they initially appear to me. I’m guessing that she just responded to my assumption that she was a cheerful and friendly person and adjusted her attitude to meet my expectation. Now I see this beautiful, motherly person who enjoy serving others.
I believe most people are better than we think. It may be that they are just waiting on signals from others that we are a society that is worth treating with respect, honor and hope. As Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world” (I know that quote is overused but it is a great quote).
All these thought were triggered by your post. This is an example of why communication is going to save the world. In reference to comments in an earlier post of yours, we must have the courage to disagree and argue with open minds.
Tim….you make some very valid points, with which I can only agree, and go even further toward proving your last paragraph here. Its a great example of how important open communication is to all of us. And you are also right to chide me (though with very adept gentleness) for my cynicism and lack of faith in human nature. I do tend to go perhaps too far in looking at the evidence in modern society that points out where that nature is exhibiting vulnerability. There is just so much of it, and I just get so frustrated sometimes……SIGH.
Your point about failed expectations was also right on the mark; expecting rudeness is sure to garner it. In my own way, I also try to treat everyone as a friend, up to, and often beyond, the point where it becomes obvious they are not. I will even go so far as to agree with you, and say that most people are better than we think. My sense of realism about human nature, however, intrudes so far as to compel me to add this: of those folks who are NOT better than we think, an unfortunate number are in positions of great power over society, and the least negative thing one can say about them is that they are not intentionally oppressive, they are merely supremely indifferent to the suffering of others.
I do try to keep faith in other folks good nature, and being able to laugh helps, especially if I’m laughing at myself. But, what I’m uncertain of is whether enough folks will come to their senses soon enough; the time left to prevent the fouling of our nest to the point it can’t be fixed is growing really short…..but, hey, as its happening over the next forty or fifty years, it’ll be good grist for the writer’s mill, eh?
Thanks for stopping by to read & comment; I have a feeling we’ll be committing dialogue on a regular basis. I don’t find many folks who get what I’m saying so quickly, or many who ponder them as well as you have, so I’m appreciative of the opportunity to share and stretch thoughts & attitudes…..I’ll be by your site late tonight, after I get my other responsibilities taken care of. Meantime, thanks again…you take care…..
“I think I lost my mind. Please watch where you step.”
May I use this please; or is it ‘copyright’ 😉 I’ve still a smile on my face. You are a very honourable man gigoid; I have enjoyed your writings immensely.
“Not enough children are being raised under the moral aegis these concepts provide, and the results are as predictable as they are ugly.” 😉 I was only saying today to a friend whose son (14 years old) and who has 357 friends on facebook (very few of whom he personally knows) that there may be many (who today are youngsters) learning lessons of discernment as they come to realise the shallow nature of their general discourse. I say this as an example of today’s attitudes. A simple one, no doubt. However, I also trust that discernment and good judgement will prevail, in time. Call me an optimist and maybe cockeyed. However, the alternative is positively catastrophic and diabolical and would necessarily lead to the decline of man as a race. I can’t subscribe to that, just as I can’t subscribe to failure. Keep writing, we need men of your stature…