Fuck it. I’m not going to screw around with it today. This, you may have noted, is the intro. Pearl, meet your Gentle Reader…. Gentle Reader, this is your Pearl for today…. Get on with it, both of you, or, no snacks….. I am now in full curmudgeon mode, and there’s no turning back now…. Luigi, take us out of here, stat….

Shall we Pearl?

“History has the relation to truth that theology  has to religion — i.e., none to speak of.” — Lazarus Long

“He who does neither is eligible to join the crowd as a Republican candidate for the Presidency in 2012.” — gigoid

Although there are moments, when I’m reading some new report on the latest verbal bomb from the Republican gallery of fools, that I despair for the race, I have to admit it’s really handy for us writers. Every day, sometimes several times, we are presented with a huge bounty of material by these folks, who seem to not only have the habit of shooting themselves in the foot, but seem to enjoy it, and, at best, are using it as a campaign tactic to draw attention. There isn’t even any need to go deep to look for stuff the politicos would rather we didn’t know, because they have taken it upon themselves to offer that information in their own statements, made obvious by their loquaciousness on certain subjects, and their reluctance to speak on others. It’s almost as if they are printing up pictures of themselves with arrows pointing to their most vulnerable points, and handing them out with their media packets.

I really don’t understand how so many obviously unqualified and deliberately ignorant group of  people ever got the notion that they could possibly do this, when their primary distinguishing characteristics are blatant religious bigotry and racism (or in at least two cases, demonstrably sociopatchic tendencies). The only thing I can come up with is that they are completely out of touch with any sort of objective information about reality, and have determined that their own subjective judgments are sufficient reason to qualify them for the Presidency. In other words, they are delusional, as that word is defined as “continuing to hold as truth information that has been proven false.” Now, do we really want anyone who suffers from delusional thinking to be the one holding the button that launches the nuclear holocaust? I don’ know about you, but I would give that question a resounding “NO!”…..and not feel even a smidgeon of guilt…..

“[E]lections amount to little more than choosing between the scum that floats to the top of the barrel and the dregs that settle to the bottom.” — L. Neil Smith

There are at least two facets of this gem that disturb me, aside from its obvious veracity, and I can’t decide which is the more unsettling. First, the fact that it is funny is a sad commentary on our political scene; we always laugh at what hurts the most, and having to laugh about the choices we have in the political arena hurts a great deal. I’m not particularly happy about it when I have to make a choice between the lesser of two evils; no matter which is chosen, it’s still evil.

Even more disturbing to me, however, is the failure of courage this implies on the part of the general populace. Continually forced to make poor choices, the people have become resigned to low-quality leadership, and haven’t the heart to demand changes. The mere fact of existence for this ‘joke’ indicates that we, as a society, have given up, and are apathetic about which particular member of our beloved ruling class is currently stealing from us. We are so used to being bent over and violated, we walk around with no belt, and a jar of Vaseline, so it hurts less, and ends sooner….

I would wager a considerable sum, and give good odds, that none of the current political superstars knows where this poem is inscribed. Even if they do know, they would no doubt disagree with the idea, and will find some way to throw dirt on the sentiment displayed, because as we all know, we only want new immigrants who are white Christians with money. Persons of color, the poor, or heretics, aren’t wanted by a surprisingly large number of politicians who live on the Right side of our two point six party system.

The idea of sharing is foreign to them (pun intentional, naturally), and learning to embrace both compassion and diversity is well beyond their self-limited, and self-limiting, capabilities. Ignorance has won a lot of battles recently, in the eternal war it carries on with the forces of Reason and Knowledge. I’m thinking it’s time for the proponents of the latter to remove their gloves, and get down to the serious business of beating ignorance out of the human spirit…. We hold the keys to our final destiny in our own hands, and regardless of the outcome, we are responsible….though one would be hard-pressed to find a member of our beloved ruling class who would admit to it….

“Imagination creates reality.” — (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner

“Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth.  When perfect sincerity is expected, perfect freedom must be allowed;  nor has anyone who is apt to be angry when he hears the truth, any cause to wonder that he does not hear it.” — Tacitus

“There are occasions when it is undoubtedly better to incur loss than to make gain.” — Plautus (254-184 BC) — Captivi, Act ii, Sc. 2, 77, (327.)

“A man cannot speak but he judges himself…no man thoroughly understands a truth until he has contended against it.” — Emerson

“A doctrine insulates the devout not only against the realities around them but also against their own selves. The fanatical believer is not conscious of his envy, malice, pettiness and dishonesty. There is a wall of words between his consciousness and his real self.” — Eric Hoffer

“Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.” — Kahlil Gibran

Okay, I’m done, and glad to be so…. I enjoy this, even when it’s hard work, such as it was today…. Go figure. Any who, if nothing happens to convince me otherwise, I’ll see y’all tomorrow…. Stay alert, ffolkes, it’s getting a bit crazy out there….