Bit, given the power of stupidity that rules most people’s lives, most of them not only never realize how their senses work… much less what their perceptions MEAN. They also haven’t a clue as to what that might MEAN to them, in a larger sense, as applied to how their own actions affect that universe in which we all reside. This lack of understanding leads to a number of issues that have conspired to delay human advancement over the centuries, especially in terms of the development of the human mind, and cultural advancement…. In truth, we haven’t really gone too far from our origins, as savages, huddling in the cold around a fire we found by accident…

Truth be told, most of the people alive today would be perfectly comfortable living in a cave, with a fire for light and heat, wearing the skins of dead animals to cover them in the cold; those same people are uncomfortable living in today’s world, which asks them to actually USE their brain, rather than just following along behind it, scratching their ass and mumbling about being late for dinner…. Emotionally, we react to the world much the same as those cave dwellers, becoming angry to cover our fear, living with superstitions and delusions as to how the big, scary world out there is so incomprehensible…. So, we make up these supernatural entities who are responsible for all that stuff, and we don’t have to think about it….

I am NOT ranting. I’m not. It may SOUND as if I am, but, let me assure you, I am not…. That will come later, in section two…. I am laying out a premise, which, if reflected upon for a time, can be of use to us…. You don’t have to take it, and put it to use, but, it CAN help in dealing with others, to understand that, most of the people you meet in the world are clueless, and afraid, all the time… They don’t understand why they have to work so hard, just to get by, and never really get anywhere…. They don’t understand the stuff going on around them, so, TV becomes their source for all their opinions, or thoughts of any kind beyond what comprises their next meal…

You may think this discussion shows me as one who does not like people much; in that you’d be perfectly wrong. I love everyone; I also realize most of them don’t have the wit to understand much of what is happening in the world; what is more, some of them are plainly assholes. Those two groups generally end up in conflict, as the assholes try to take all the others have, and push them around unmercifully, while the group being bullied isn’t even aware they are operating in a Stygian darkness, out of which they will never climb to see the light…..

Ah well, that’s life, as they say…. I’m not sure just WHO says it, but, I’ve heard it said, so, that will have to do…. I see I’ve managed to wander around in my own head long enough to call this an intro, so, I’m going to take the money and run…. (What money? Oh, ffolkes, do I really have to explain?…. Sheesh….) Any who, I’d suggest you grab the closest stanchion, or other method of securing your position, because we’re going in, and it could get bumpy….

Shall we Pearl?

“I reject that philosophy. The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.” — Douglas Adams through Dirk Gently

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Today, or, rather, yesterday, while working ahead on this Pearl, I was feeling a bit curmudgeonly, with a side of sardonicism…. hence, the rant you see below, about the current circus on the public stage around the Ebola virus outbreak…. To counter the sobriety of the piece, while simultaneously providing supportive argumentation for the rant, here is a video that should bring a smile to your face…. Well, unless you have no sense of humor at all, it will…. Plus, if you aren’t careful, this guy will also make you think….

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The article I wish you to read today, which you may find by following the above link, concerns a poll taken regarding the subject of the Ebola virus, and its visible effects on the American psyche…. Quite simply, I was surprised, nay, astounded beyond belief, at the quantity of SHEER FUCKING STUPIDITY displayed by the American public in this poll… Seven out of ten IDIOTS in this country believe that healthcare workers should have their rights taken away, just because they had the compassion to go to Africa, to help protect THOSE SAME FUCKING IDIOTS from the disease, by treating it there….

As a reward for their compassion, patriotism, and selflessness, seventy-one percent of the Americans polled thought it was okay to confine the workers in quarantine for 21 days, EVEN IF THEY WERE TESTED, AND WERE NOT CARRYING THE VIRUS!  This number clearly indicates how the average American mistrusts science, (because they refuse to spend the energy to understand any of it….), and will do, or agree to ANYTHING, no matter how it affects anyone else, in order to feel safe behind the massive wall of their ignorance….

“In our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.” — Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

The dreaded sea-change, so feared by our founding fathers, has happened…. The American public has been brainwashed to a degree where they will surrender every right they used to have, if only they don’t have to think, or take responsibility for the consequences of their STUPIDITY!

“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.  Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise.” — Tom Paine

The Ebola virus, as I have determined (How? Oh, it wasn’t hard; there is a shitload of information already on file on the ‘Net….), by the evidence we have, is no more dangerous to us than is the virus that causes the common cold, or the yearly flu strains we all are encouraged to be afraid of….as if it were someone else’s planet we live on…. Sure, it’s a nasty little bug, and, it can kill, but, so can a cold, or the flu, if not treated, and allowed to take over the body’s systems, to its detriment…. But, with treatment, the victim has a very good chance of survival, as medical technology has advanced to a point where most people, no matter how ill they become with a viral or bacterial disease, can at least be supported enough to be able to survive, if uncomfortably during the course of the treatment….

But, comparing the number of people who catch it, and those who die, reveals a mortality rate no more disturbing than that of those who have contracted the AIDS virus… which we have learned to fight to a draw in many cases, with hope for future breakthroughs in treatment. This Ebola virus is made more dangerous than it actually is by the reaction of the political leaders of the “civilized” world, who look at the issue as a tool to use to solidify their hold on power, a perfect opportunity for Public Relations posturing; by the media, who use the issue to sell more papers & ads; and by the public, who are too stupid to investigate on their own, allowing the government and media flunkies to blow their fears completely out of proportion, so they can more easily be manipulated…

“How come you never see a politician laugh? Because they know what they’re getting away with, and if they started laughing, they’d never stop.” — Smart Bee

I was extremely proud of that nurse, Kaci Hickox, who has so courageously flipped the finger to all of those stupid people who would, if they could, turn her into another victim, this time at the hands of HER OWN PEOPLE…. The very people for whom she braved the wilds of Africa, to fight their battles at the front line of defense…. For this, that stupid lot of bloody gits turns on her, taking her rights, and trying to make her the victim of their fears and ignorance…. Good on her!….

That’s enough; y’all get the point…. Don’t listen to the idiots, ffolkes…. Let the doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals deal with it, and tell the Beloved Ruling Class, the Preachers, Priests, Imams, and all the other Asininnies who would live their lives in the darkness, if only they can feel safe and protected, without the need to think, or show courage, or, live with any dignity….. well, just tell them to go fuck themselves, hard, in the most inconvenient orifice they possess…. No lubricants allowed….

Now I’ve been vulgar, it must be time to draw to a close…. I’ll leave you with this final thought, with the caveat that you use it as intended….

“Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but habituate yourself to something else.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How the Semblances of Things are to be combated, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xviii

Obviously, too many people assumed Epictetus was speaking of “thinking”, and decided to habituate themselves to something else…. In which case, they would do well to remember the following, and apply it, instead, to their approach….

So be it….

gigoid has spoken.

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It’s an Emily day….. In fact, let’s do double-duty; they’re small…. at least, if all one considers is the number of words…. The images and ideas thereby produced can hardly be judged by the same standard….

Today’s fresh, old-school pearl was compiled mostly by Smart Bee…. I am a bit distracted, all in all, (no, I don’t know why, and don’t have the time or inclination to worry about it right now….), but, I think it came out okay, as long as one has a healthy tolerance for nonsense, and/or, implied sardonicism…. That may be so because, for the most part, they are comments about common human behaviors, to some degree… In any case, I should think that virtually anyone can find a chuckle or two in the grouping, and, if lucky, possibly even a chortle….

“I was born by Caesarian section…but not so you’d notice.  It’s just that when I leave a house, I go out through the window.” — Steven Wright

“If you use a waffle iron for a pillow, be sure it is unplugged.” — Gary Owens

“Any man, in the right situation, is capable of murder.  But not any man is  capable of being a good camper.  So, murder and camping are not as similar as you might think.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

“I love to go down to the schoolyard and watch all the little children jump up and down and run around yelling and screaming…They don’t know I’m only using blanks.” — Emo Phillips

For a morning rife with reasons for things to go badly, today’s effort went well…. I guess that’s karma in action for ya; one never knows how one’s karmic balance stands, do one? Sometimes, I think it’s a bit difficult, because it never seems to match my figures…. I suppose that means that our karma is like a checkbook…. hard to keep in balance…. On that singularly silly note, I’m outta here…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…..