I awoke this morning from another fitful night. I can’t say I slept; I didn’t; I haven’t rested in quite some time. I’m usually a sound sleeper due mostly to mental exhaustion and fatigue, but the restful days are gone since I caught a glimpse of the puzzle many years ago.
I have several afflictions that cause my restlessness; there’s the inevitable onset of age and all the things ricocheting around in my brain. There are external stimuli like; where we’re headed as a republic and our out-of-control government, to name a few. I recall historical examples and the outcomes of other inattentive republics, replete with slumbering, inattentive, and distracted sheeple.
There’s the fall of the Roman Empire, the collapse of Russia, and the rise of the Third Reich, to name just a few. These, and too many more, ought to serve as cause-and-effect examples of our present direction, yet we hire misrepresentatives who choose to ignore them. I am astounded that our system provides opportunities to correct mistakes, yet we fail to make that choice.
It is said that we learn from our mistakes, but apparently, America has a learning disability; we don’t learn SHIT! We make the same mistakes repeatedly and foolishly celebrate them! Continue reading
This article is my first post for 2024, so I thought I’d summarize last year in a single quotation; you all know how much I love quotes. Unlike Claudine Gay, I don’t take credit for them.
Cicero’s pursuers decapitated him. Once discovered, he bowed to his captors, leaning his head out of the litter in a gladiatorial gesture to ease the task.
We get what they give us…
It was first used in thirteenth-century English law to describe people afflicted by madness, the loss of memory, or the ability to reason.
I received a message from Brother David this morning on this exact topic. I responded to an assertion that this is something new. On the contrary – what we face happens all the time and throughout history just before the fall of every great nation when people equate irresponsibility and recklessness – licentiousness with freedom.
I took a two-week break from the world, or at least tried to. It was no use. Regardless of where we were, man’s horrific intent and bad news encroached on our attempted serenity.
This commentary continues a theme I started in July, where I spin the titles and stories of Charles Dickens toward more contemporary circumstances. The second episode in the series was “Oliver’s Twist,” or “The Parish Boy’s Progress,” set in London’s seedy underworld; it is a story of poverty, corruption, and Oliver’s eventual reclamation. My observations correlate current political actors to the characters therein.
I’ve been distracted for the past few weeks dealing with personal issues; however, I’ve maintained my routine of morning coffee and the usual unhealthy dose of corporate media’s prevarications (bullshit). I’ve discovered that some of my issues stem from the dissonance between what I’m expected to believe and what I experience.
UAW Strike
Bennett just floated another title balloon over the virtual fence – this will be the fourth in the series. Then, just when I thought it was safe to go back into the water, another idea came floating in. I’ll save that one for installment number five.
I usually have two or three commentaries, essays, or a chapter for my book in progress at any given time and switch between them as my muse abets.
I met a friend for a bit of brekky at a Hipster joint on 40th Street and Camelback in Phoenix, AZ.
While enjoying my morning routine of coffee and headlines, profound apprehensions plague me, knowing we’re lost and foundering. Not only as a republic but as a society. Is this awareness the new normal? Is it what we endure and where we abide? Or will we alter our course before this sinking ship of state drags us all under?
My wife and I enjoy movies of the past because they represent the promise of America, offering positive moral assessments and messages. Most of the films are adaptations of books or plays extolling conservative messages.