“That which we call a rose by any other word would still smell as sweet.” ~ William Shakespeare – Romeo and Juliet

‘It means that the name of something doesn’t matter, what matters is that it is, what it is…’

We are still at war… which is: ‘active hostility or contention; conflict; contest.’

We all know the word ‘war’.

Many of us are, or were, active participants in these contests either as conscripts or volunteers.

Oh, and by the way, we still are… ALL OF US – willing or not!

In past official battles, the enemy was defined by their aggressive overt actions against this republic; we were attacked. Today’s attacks are no less vicious, but with far different weapons and concealed purposes; yet the ends are still the same as they ever were; nothing changes.

So, it doesn’t matter what we call it, it’s still war by definition, and calling it partisan political dissonance, or disharmony, or ideological differences, or even democracy in action, does not change the fact that there is a battle raging in this republic. In fact, it’s been going on since the colonists put that first soggy foot on North American soil. Someone’s been trying to take control of this republic, using any and every means available.

Don’t the ends justify the means?

Look at what England did to the indigenous people living on this continent. Their colonization of the American territory was nothing more than a war. Don’t we wage war on everything we plan to conquer like drugs, poverty, homelessness, etc. It’s a process that we know best.

Consider the colonization of the rest of this planet as new access routes were discovered.

That one’s for the history buffs…

In 1861, America fractured, and our republic began a four-year long internal battle between the North and the South. I agree with the title ‘The War of Northern Aggression’ for no other reason than, that’s what it really was. It was by no stretch of the imagination a Civil War, as in benevolent; there is no such thing. Only the justification to use the definition of Civil, that it was between citizens within this republic. But that’s a much longer story, and that’s not my purpose here. It’s like claiming that “I’m killing you and taking your property, for your own good.”

The people in the Northern and Southern states had been debating the issues that ultimately led to war for more than 80 years. The economic policies, practices, cultural values, the extending reach of the Federal government, and most importantly, the role of slavery within American society, excused these actions. Although the real impetus of the War of Northern Aggressions are still hotly contested, the lingering results are still apparent to this day. The sides have taken on a different philosophy, and the axis may have shifted from geographically, to ideologically defined; yet the hostilities, and discord abides.

The North ultimately won the battles, evidenced by the absence of the Rebel Flag – but the republic proudly displays the Stars and Stripes everywhere: it’s now our national symbol.

There were some social advances made, but the results of this disagreement are still an open wound for some, and remain a lingering scar in our history. I believe that these advances would manifest eventually without this war, but that too, is not the intent of this commentary.

The war we fight today is more insidious and deceptive. It’s been simmering for nearly 160 years. That’s my point. Some battles were won, but the war still rages on.

The colors of the Union as Blue, and the Rebels Grey, are now Red for Conservatives, and Blue for Liberals. The ideologies are more based in cult-like zeal, being an emotional reaction to political platforms and theories, certainly not constructive pursuits. The ideologies incline more toward unrealistic assurances and dreams, than practical and attainable goals.

But here we are again, wondering what to call the rose this time.

Weapons have evolved from stick and stone, through rifle and cannon, nuclear rockets and cyber-attack, to words of the most hateful and divisive nature, used in partisan politically aligned courts, and weaponized, politically aligned governmental departments.

Doesn’t this define war literally and figuratively?

The battles rage on before our very eyes, tableau-like, across the screens of our Portable Digital Alters of Enlightenment (PDAE) – cellphones, and tablets. The media has made war so mundane, so banal, that we’ve grown accustomed to it; it’s part of our daily lives; only real carnage warrants broadcast time.

We are comfortably-numb.

Accusation has lost its sting, so we disregard it. Rhetoric’s lost its edge and become nearly silent innuendo, no more than veiled threats of weak, ineffectual, and empty words. Yet every statement or comment will be recorded, reinterpreted, repackaged, repurposed, and recited in future use against the person who spoke it completely, misrepresenting the original intent. An off-hand comment becomes a weapon of mass-distraction.

This ceaseless conflict has worn the republic to a frazzle, and desensitized us to the point of apathy. The continued definition of every important action or program as a ‘WAR’, not only further dilutes the impact of, and the cruelty of, war, but it exposes our predisposition toward war as the ultimate solution for any problem. This seems to resolve any questions about our innate, and violent tendencies.

How we arrived at this point should be obvious, but in case you are wondering… I’ll restate the title line: We are at war. It’s the same as it ever was… It may not be grammatically correct, but it affirms the idea that Merka has never really been a peaceful republic… EVER! Even in the times we considered peaceful, we favored contention and conflict to settle differences or to gain more control, or to ensure it.

Here’s a clue… Humans are violent by nature.

Many religions and ideologies teach peace, or espouse paths and processes to rid the human spirit of the rough or immoderate vehemence, as of feeling or language or actions. They understand that this tendency is based in our avarice, by self-regulating our desires. No, I’m not preaching… I’m explaining. Christ professed a peaceful approach to living – He was a big proponent of nonviolence; and died a horrific and violent death to seal His tenet. A majority of the religious icons profess a peaceful message. The anomalies are cult leaders that espouse violence as a solution. A prime illustration is Islam, that was perverted by Militant Mullahs that saw an opportunity to radicalize the flocks to promote war, to justify their ends.

Gandhi is the only leader in memory that successfully affected a major change using peaceful, nonviolent methods. He employed passive, nonviolent resistance to gain independence for India. His example proves that it works, but it takes determined dedication to the process by everyone involved; it took 50 years to free India from colonial British rule.

Merkan’s don’t have the patience, determination, dedication, and commitment needed to revise and resolve problems without force… which explains our proclivity toward war as an immediate solution.

However, the war I reference is the unrelenting partisan political rancor. I struggle to comprehend how groups of people whose professed professional pursuit is to service the republic, do everything possible to destroy its founding principles. WTFO?

The houses of Congress – the opposite of progress, have been at odds with each other from the beginning. They are technically and fundamentally at war. The only middle-ground is the aisle that separates them while in session. Any agreements are provisional and bitterly contested so that the litigants retain as much control as possible, with little or no consideration for those who put them in power; the reason for this neglect is the narcissism of the negotiators.

I don’t mean to represent all politicians as self-aggrandizing narcissists, but if the shoe fits…

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” ~ James Madison (1751 – 1836) President #4

When I discovered this quote, it confirmed my theory that humankind is basically evil; it seems to be our nature and is corroborated, substantiated by the need for moral and ethical ideologies that teach peace and benevolence.

“If God didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” ~ Voltaire (1694 – 1788)

It means that “the concept of God is so crucial for maintaining social order and morality in human society that even if a deity didn’t actually exist, people would need to create one to fulfill that role; essentially arguing that belief in God is necessary for a well-functioning society, even if it’s not based on a real being.”

Again, this acknowledges the need to regulate the human tendency to chaos and evil. But since we’ve effectively kicked God to the curb by shunning all morals and ethics, we now harvest the fruit of the seeds we’ve planted. Oh my… consequences.

It also implies that for us to act like the people we believe ourselves to be, we need a supreme being, a parent, or surrogate, to ‘encourage’ us to behave. We need an analogy, like the carrot and the stick; the carrot is an enticement for good behavior, and the stick represents punishment for failing to comply – heaven and hell.

All existing evidence bears this out, but still falls far short because the carrot and stick does nothing at all, since it requires us to believe, that which already exists, or that which we invent. But we don’t believe what we cannot see.

This ceaseless conflict is so persistent, and prevalent, that we don’t even wince or recoil at these incessant spiteful crusades; we’ve grown indifferent.

On the threshold of WWIII – Thank you, Mr. Biden.

Knowing why has been on my mind since I was about two years old; that was a long time ago. According to my parents, WHY was my first question, and I’ve been asking it ever since. I’m curious. If I’m expected to participate, I’d like to know why – being an autodidact with an inquisitive mind.

The reasons for war are well documented using history as our guide. If you ask for opinions and rationale, you’ll receive too many reasons to catalog, so I searched the omniscient inter-web using a pervasive new tool… It’s synthesized the possibilities into the list that follows:

The question: reasons for war…

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) inter-web search provided these reasons:

1. Economic – A fight for natural resources, stagnating economy, unemployment

2. Political – political and economic inequalities, imperialism, slavery, racism

3. Religious – the redistribution of power between religious and civil leaders

4. Ideological – cultural, dogmatic, or philosophical difference

5. Revenge – can lead to large scale violence

6. Territorial – competition for land rights

7. Cultural – ethnic and cultural differences

If you think about all the wars this republic has fought, they fall into one of recent Election, and Ukraine.

The Election:

This clash began mid-year of 2015 with the presidential contest to fill the 45th slot. Trump announce his candidacy, and all hell broke loose. I’ll allow you to pick the categories from the list above. Even though the rationale is unimportant, it still resembled war. The tactics were nothing new, the accusations and the innuendos were well worn and tiring. It was the same as it ever was… it’s politics at its best. The newest wrinkle happened in 2019 when the Nationalist American Socialist Party (NASP) you know them as the Democrat Party – released the Wuhan Virus on the world. It began in China, and spread quickly throughout the world.

I believe the primary purpose of this pandemic was to unseat Trump, and ensure that he would never hold political office again. Secondarily, it accelerated bureaucratic control and unbridled government growth. The NASP made every effort to discredit Trump using lawfare, conveniently edited video, excluded fact, and fear, to blame him for everything from acne to hair loss, and riots to inflation. Not to forget the pandemic he’s responsible for…

Please pardon the pun – it was all trumped up.

There are other ancillary reasons that fed this coup, like enriching Big Pharma, consolidating power under the NASP, ensuring that the Military Industrial Congressional Complex (MICC) flourished, and that the Corporate Media Complex (CMC) had something to do. All in all, there were huge amounts of our tax dollars being exchanged to support this ‘tour de force.’

It’s nothing new, this has been the protocol from the beginning of this republic; but that’s what passes for politics in Merka, and that’s who we are.

The battles continue, and the show of political virility blossoms into our latest debacle – the NASPs’ puppet authorization to use longer-range missiles for Ukraine’s use against Russia. Russia retaliated with a hypersonic missile, and promised more to follow. The precursor to this moronic decision was the authorization to deploy ‘anti-personnel mines’, which have been banned by 164 countries by international treaty. Escalation by Russia is assured, as North Korea sends 80,000 troops to support the Russian Ukrainian territorial campaign.

The combatant-leaders Putin, Zelinski, and Biden seem to be jockeying for ‘moron of the millennium‘ in this contest of manhood.

I heard an Australian journalist suggest that the three of them drop their trousers and measure. The concern was that exposing their meager male-prowess, might eliminate them from future consideration for leadership, but then, there is always the nukular (nuclear) option.

Nukes serve no purpose, if you can’t threaten to use them…

The next step is anyone’s guess; but buckle up, butter-cup, it’s about to get real.

Nothing changes except the players. We might change the names for the tactic and reason, but a rose by any other name… The point of this lunatic pursuit is always control, regardless of the underlying considerations, or rationalization; it is what it is… it’s still war.

Lastly, when will someone, anyone, hold the culprits accountable for these decisions and actions? This is the predominant reason for our – the citizens of this republic – avoidance – evasion – of responsibility.

We watch this madness unfold from our ring-side seats at this circus, as our republic transforms into the ‘third-world country’ that we revile. We’re mesmerized by the extravagant parade of untouchable, unassailable characters, liable for our destruction, and applaud when the sign lights up. We are impotent, captives of the system designed to protect us, subjects of the people we hired to manage the republic, because they used the latitudes in our constitution to defeat and conquer us.

Think about where we are right now.

Take in the entire picture and all of the details.

Weigh the information and consider the alternatives – form your own opinions.

Then learn this new yoga move…

Grab your ankles, and kiss your ass goodbye, because unless the incoming administration is willing to lead us, and we’re willing to follow through the unpleasant tasks needed to arrest this absurdity for all of us, including the bicoastal elites, and the NASP, we are FUBAR… like right now; soon to be TARF.

“A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

December 4, 2024

~ The Author ~
Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam war, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; we’re not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a retired blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This was his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… but alas… life goes on!