The Punch & Judy Carnival
Kali is still dancing.
- When we realize just how much solar energy needs to be dissipated by the atmosphere to save us from being radiation-fried, we begin to understand that there is really no “energy crisis.”
- The problem has simply arisen because the Crude Oil Bros. have striven with might and main to repress the development of technologies which could capture the energy that is given to us all by the sun and the tides and the wind.
- Just as there is natural wealth that we have plundered and wasted, so is there a psychic wealth which we are prevented from accessing on account of our commitment to a universe run by 19 th Century clockwork, within which everyone must become the enemy of everyone else.
The Source of the Pain
What can it be that hurts so much, that Su Dae wants to go through another breast enhancement surgery so that she can become numb to the world and just concentrate on her own pain for 3 or 4 months thereafter?
Doesn’t this sense of social and cutural loss feel all too familiar?
Doesn’t this sense of social and cutural loss feel all too familiar?
In order to “Make America Great” again, one would need to have the power to un-do the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Because the cultural dysfunction we observe today can be diagnosed as a post- traumatic shadow of that catastrophic day of disillusionment.
We became gradually aware of a reptilian hand that was guiding the destiny of “America.” There had been a style of Celtic warrior in John F. Kennedy which had disconcerted the romanticism of the reptile. We saw for just one moment, the motion of that reptilian hand, as John F. Kennedy collapsed into the back seat of the open- topped Cadillac.
This reptile is a past master of camouflage; we only see some glimpse of him when he has been moved to exceed his limit. But now in North Dakota, as he persists in desecrated sacred land, he is arousing Creative Wrath, and the world is beginning to see him as he is: the great Black Snake of Native Prophesy.
Everywhere else we turn during this month, we shall see evidence in abundance to testify that this reptile has been on a rampage. The loss of popular control over the national political agenda that the intellectuals had feared is now being demonstrated beyond doubt.
To cover for this usurpation, the presidential contenders are producing a “Punch & Judy” show. Each presidential debate presents us with the spectacle of a rather narcissistic man berating a woman who is generally far more informed than he is concerning serious issues of state. As feminist observers have frequently mentioned, many of this gentleman’s gestures and expressions would be seriously intimidating, if the lady did not have high level connections with the nation’s security establishment.
We became gradually aware of a reptilian hand that was guiding the destiny of “America.” There had been a style of Celtic warrior in John F. Kennedy which had disconcerted the romanticism of the reptile. We saw for just one moment, the motion of that reptilian hand, as John F. Kennedy collapsed into the back seat of the open- topped Cadillac.
This reptile is a past master of camouflage; we only see some glimpse of him when he has been moved to exceed his limit. But now in North Dakota, as he persists in desecrated sacred land, he is arousing Creative Wrath, and the world is beginning to see him as he is: the great Black Snake of Native Prophesy.
Everywhere else we turn during this month, we shall see evidence in abundance to testify that this reptile has been on a rampage. The loss of popular control over the national political agenda that the intellectuals had feared is now being demonstrated beyond doubt.
To cover for this usurpation, the presidential contenders are producing a “Punch & Judy” show. Each presidential debate presents us with the spectacle of a rather narcissistic man berating a woman who is generally far more informed than he is concerning serious issues of state. As feminist observers have frequently mentioned, many of this gentleman’s gestures and expressions would be seriously intimidating, if the lady did not have high level connections with the nation’s security establishment.
.
Ever since the epic downgoing of Aaron Burr, Americans have feared the rise of a demagogue who would tear the country apart by exploiting the prejudices of unstable people. It must be acknowledged that America has suffered plenty of demagogues of this sort, but they have generally been kept in check by a system in which most of the leaders have been selected by the ruling class.
In reality, if Bernie Sanders, the massively popular candidate, had been elected, there would have been severe disappointment, because his ability to implement the social reforms that he stands for would have been checked by a senate in which the majority had risen by making deals with the plutocratic elite. In the same way, if the Man from Brecht’s Epic Theatre is to be elected, he also shall find himself checked and balanced and possibly even impeached.
Ever since the epic downgoing of Aaron Burr, Americans have feared the rise of a demagogue who would tear the country apart by exploiting the prejudices of unstable people. It must be acknowledged that America has suffered plenty of demagogues of this sort, but they have generally been kept in check by a system in which most of the leaders have been selected by the ruling class.
In reality, if Bernie Sanders, the massively popular candidate, had been elected, there would have been severe disappointment, because his ability to implement the social reforms that he stands for would have been checked by a senate in which the majority had risen by making deals with the plutocratic elite. In the same way, if the Man from Brecht’s Epic Theatre is to be elected, he also shall find himself checked and balanced and possibly even impeached.
But the character of the” selected” candidate also gives us cause for great misgiving. The alleged criminal offenses of Hillary Clinton are not really that much different from behaviors her predecessors got away with. They pale into relative insignificance when compared with the flagrant abuses of power boldly indulged in by Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.
What is much more damaging to her cause is the pervasive and deeply felt conviction that the ruling clique of old money families has been ruling the country very badly, ever since Ronald Reagan moved into the White House and probably long before.
America in the Alembic
I can’t deny that I am driven by my own sense of loss.
We seem to be actually experiencing progress, at least insofar as people in general are experiencing the same sort of discontent that used to only be felt by those intellectuals who were considered to be on the “radical fringe.”
I also am sharing the general feeling of discontent.
At the same time, since it is a widely shared feeling, it is a mood I cannot call my own. The condition we find ourselves in is unsustainable. Nevertheless, I cannot feel comfortable with those who feel compelled to hasten the revolution by committing acts of violence.
I’ve met the spirit of violence, and carry scars to prove it. That’s why I would prefer to retire to a mountain cottage. Nevertheless, there is a spirit stirring which must be given a form. The old vision of what America used to be is collapsing, and if it is not replaced by a new one that is more inclusive, there will be blood in the streets, instead of the meaningful progress that is necessary if civilization is to advance.
Now once again, the dreams and catastrophic disapointments of the ‘90's have come back to haunt us.
We want to forget the years that we lost while the selected Vespucci leaders were leading us all on a march across the Valley of Hot Ignorance. We would like to forget, but the voices of the Niñitoes who were thrust prematurely into Eternity by the acts of this hot ignorance shall rise up to accuse us if we do.
We seem to be actually experiencing progress, at least insofar as people in general are experiencing the same sort of discontent that used to only be felt by those intellectuals who were considered to be on the “radical fringe.”
I also am sharing the general feeling of discontent.
At the same time, since it is a widely shared feeling, it is a mood I cannot call my own. The condition we find ourselves in is unsustainable. Nevertheless, I cannot feel comfortable with those who feel compelled to hasten the revolution by committing acts of violence.
I’ve met the spirit of violence, and carry scars to prove it. That’s why I would prefer to retire to a mountain cottage. Nevertheless, there is a spirit stirring which must be given a form. The old vision of what America used to be is collapsing, and if it is not replaced by a new one that is more inclusive, there will be blood in the streets, instead of the meaningful progress that is necessary if civilization is to advance.
Now once again, the dreams and catastrophic disapointments of the ‘90's have come back to haunt us.
We want to forget the years that we lost while the selected Vespucci leaders were leading us all on a march across the Valley of Hot Ignorance. We would like to forget, but the voices of the Niñitoes who were thrust prematurely into Eternity by the acts of this hot ignorance shall rise up to accuse us if we do.
