March 18, 2007 It's March 2007. A lot has happened in the world since my last submission, and yet, maybe not that much has happened. How can we not agree with The Preacher of Ecclesiastes who said "All is vanity and vexation of spirit."? Today I find myself significantly disgusted by the world around me, and yet I know that if the world deserves disgust, then so do I. If I point my finger at others, I have 3 pointing back at me (the thumb remaining pointed in some vague direction). We are all only human after all, frail dust and all that, who so often take ourselves too seriously, and trample upon our neighbors, knowingly or unwittingly, but with virtually the same net result. Not that it matters much what is said on this little backwater of the Internet. Blogs are a dime a dozen, and I don't think I even qualify for a place in the "blogosphere", not that I would want such dubious distinction anyway. But though I may be just a speck in the sea of humanity, I do have many thoughts about many things, and I feel the need to cast them out there to anybody who cares to listen (or read, as the case may be). Having said that, I still have to admit that I have immense trouble putting those thoughts into coherent word-form. Part of it is the problem of focusing so many stray thoughts. Another part is the inhibition I get when I think of how offensive many of my thoughts would be to many people for different reasons. Not that I should shy away from all offense, but I want to eliminate as much as possible the risk of being misunderstood. Now that I've ranted for 3 paragraphs about myself, I'll try to get to the meat of what's on my mind today, namely 2 things in particular: 1) The sharks are circling, and 2) The world's prevailing political fad seems to be dominated by the personality of an adolescent. And maybe if I have time I'll bring the Illuminati into it. I recently attained the age of 38 and I am still "growing up". Being the youngest in my family, maturity has come slowly to me. However, the teenage years always seem to stand out in blatant and foolish immaturity. I recall with pain and shame how disrespectful I was to my parents during that time of my life. There were so many times when I thought my parents were dumb or not cool or whatever, and I thought I knew the score. But thinking back on those situations now, I see how dependent I was on them in so many ways, and how much gratitude and respect they deserved for being there for me. Adolescence is a necessary part of the development of a human mind. It is a time when a child begins to awaken to the serious realities of the world around him or her, and to learn to take more responsibility. It is also a time when a child needs to learn that his or her parents are also only human, and were once children themselves who had to grow up. This does not mean, however, that those parents don't still deserve love, gratitude, and respect. But the shock of the real world can be overwhelming to the adolescent, and I think this is where the rebellion often comes from. Eventually a person needs to grow out of that state of denial. It's like another womb whose comfort you have to leave in order to grow. For a couple of decades now I've been on my own, and seeing how hard it is to make it in the "real" world has given me a profound respect for my parents. Looking back on those times when I was disrespectful to them, and rebellious for the sake of rebellion, I was in denial of the fact that I needed them, and really owed my life and my very existence to them. Now, to carry that analogy forward and into the present global political climate, I would argue that since the 1960's, it has been cool to rebel against anything traditional, and anything promoting America. Anybody who has been to public universities knows what I'm talking about. Anybody who has dealt with the National Education Association and/or public school administrations knows what I'm talking about. And with the election of George W Bush, and especially with his war in Iraq, the old retreads of the 1960's are having a revival, and trying to get their kids in on it. The Democrat Party is the representative of this idea that America, Capitalism, Judeo-Christian ethics, etc., are evil or obsolete. And yet, America is called to the rescue whenever there's trouble in the world. And there are many countries who depend on aid from America. Yet America is called imperialist, by such people as Hugo Chávez, who is a dictator elected by fraud. In his latest "re-election", government workers, and probably others, were threatened with losing their jobs if they voted against him. What a hypocrite! And I heard someone on the street say something positive about that guy a few days after his derogatory comments about Bush at the UN. These people have their priorities all wrong. But it can be explained by adolescent rebellion. It's time for the political elite (which, I believe, includes the media establishment and the education establishment) to grow up. I'm not saying everybody should be conservative or Republican. But I'm saying that the conservative point of view should be allowed to have its say in the public forum. As it is now, children in schools are taught to believe that it is evil to be conservative or Republican. Christianity is shunned. But Islam is embraced, even though it is much more conservative that Christianity has been for quite a while, at least at the hands of governments. The majority of Muslim-run countries are very despotic. For example: look at all the freedom Muslims have in the United States of America, and compare that to how many Christian churches or Jewish synagogues are allowed in Saudi Arabia. This seemingly irrational attitude can be explained by my theory about adolescent behavior. It's like they want to rebel against their homeland's traditions in favor of anything else--rebellion for rebellion's sake. Anyway, I may have oversimplified, and many of you probably don't agree with me, but at least I hope I have made my point. I could go on and on about many things, but each thought has multiple tangents springing from it. The linear form of written communication is inadequate for communicating my thoughts. Either that or I'm just scatter-brained and need to focus more. In any case, I'm glad that I still have the freedom to proclaim my ideas in public. I'll try to enjoy it while I can; if the Democrats continue to gain power, I might get censored--God knows they're already making plans to silence conservative talk radio with their "Fairness" Doctrine. Another political point--the subtle difference in wording between "Democrat Party" and "Democratic Party". In the mainstream media, I usually hear the term "Democratic". As I see it, a Republican is a member of the Republican Party, so a Democrat is a member of the Democrat Party. Why "Democratic Party"? If so, why not "Republicanic Party"? I could go on, but I won't. I almost forgot about point number one (having covered point number 2 first)--the thing about the sharks circling. America is in a time of crisis as far as its self-image, whether it's because of the aforementioned adolescent mentality, or liberal or middle-class guilt. At a time when we micro manage our war efforts and appease everybody, the sharks out there smell blood. They smell weakness. I'm talking about the radical Muslims out there, I'm talking about the post-Soviet Russians, and I'm talking about others. I'm telling you, if we really were imperialistic, we wouldn't be putting up with so much criticism, and a lot of situations would be a lot different. The putting up with this ongoing taunting is like a dying animal on the African Savannah being circled by hyenas who sense weakness. Another political point--remember all the talk about red vs. blue states, and the "fly over country"? Well, I think we can all agree that most metropolitan and urban areas, especially on the East and West Coasts, are dominated by Democrat or liberal or left-wing governments. So, in light of the out of control murder rates in most urban areas these days, what makes Democrats think they can eliminate the killing in Iraq with their leadership? Also, and this might broaden it out to more than one point, what about New Orleans? The disaster there is widely blamed on Bush, because he supposedly "hates Black people." I'm not saying the Federal Government handled the disaster as well as they could have, but I will definitely say that a lot of the blame needs to go to the local, that is city and state governments down there, as well as to the thugs who were shooting at rescue choppers. Also, it was known well before the George W Bush administration that New Orleans was very vulnerable should a hurricane hit it directly, and nothing was done then to fix the levies either. Anyway, what were they thinking when they built that city anyway? It's below sea level and surrounded by water. I think I heard that the Native Americans of the area advised some of the first European settlers in that area that they should avoid building in that spot. This furthers my point that Bush has been irrationally singled out as a scapegoat for all the world's ills. And now, the Illuminati. Now, I don't know if the Illuminati exist per se, and I know it sounds conspiratorial (much more than Hilary's "vast right-wing conspiracy"?), but I do believe that there are indeed powers-that-be which are not overt, and they are probably connected with the international banking system and the UN. And these forces have interests which transcend the whole liberal vs. conservative dichotomy. I think they are behind the destruction of the US-Mexico border (a total joke at this point). Democrats won't enforce the border for one reason, Republicans for supposedly others (although Bush pretends to be liberal about it: "Family values don't stop at the Río Grande."), but I think it is bigger powers that pull the puppet strings who are behind the destruction of the sovereignty of local nations, and the destruction of the dignity of the average person. Hey, Illuminati, if any of you are reading this--how can I join? (I know a person with a soul should not aspire to be an illuminatus, but I have to admit it's tempting to have all that anonymous power. And I emphasize "anonymous"; I want to enjoy my life--how could I enjoy my life more if I were famous?) For those of you who might be interested in my poetry section, I'm working on adding some more poems and redesigning the index page. I haven't added poetry to that section for several years now, and it's time I add some more. It's not ready yet, but I'm working on it. I mean, I have the poems ready, but the web designing isn't done yet. Here's a "micro-sneak peak":  Anyway, be prepared for avant-garde graphics, and word combos that will leave your brain reeling. And last but not least: please click on my ads and help me make money from Google, while helping Google make money from their advertisers, and supposedly increasing business for the advertisers--everyone wins, but it all depends on you! © Copyright 2007, Daniel E. Talkington USA |
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