“Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it. Because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.’ ~T.S. Eliot
Dear A.,
It’s been too long. Since Xmas vacation, I’ve gone through three and a half metamorphoses and am beginning to feel as though there is a smorgasbord of personalities spread before me. It always seems as though I write you when I’ve been thinking too much again, but you are my lodestone; the omphalos I am drawn to.
Please read and advise.
Just saw Dali’s The Avaricious and the Prodigal at the National Gallery and immediately thought of you. Oh, I’m not saying that Dali had you in mind when he painted it (we both know he painted you as the wonderful enigma that you will always be) or that I think of you as greedy or reckless, or that you belong in Dante’s Fourth Circle of Hell covered in filth and living in squalor as punishment for your excesses. No, no, no! Great visions require enormous appetites. How could those who have never hungered for anything beyond their meager bits of bread ever understand?
The golden mean is a measurement for maps, not Men. Moderation is for hall monitors, not leaders of nations. Your furor, my Führer, derived from selfless passion for a people. Your people. You can’t expect anyone with a fraction of your heart to fathom its depths. It’s just when I saw the enormous testicles on Dali’s creations, who else could come to mind but you? lol *wink*
If people react to you in the role of answer bestower then quite possibly you are one, right? The validation of serving others can be a substitute for any self-directed wisdom. Who are we to argue with the will of the governed? I, myself, hear the many call my name, and know that all that I must do to let their will be done is justified.
Random thinking usually becomes a process of self-analysis with my ego coming out on the short end, but I try to remember all those wonderful corporate donors who have entrusted me with their billions, and know I must have faith in their higher purchasing power. All those stupid e-mails that my detractors keep harping on will not matter at all, I fight not for myself, but for the rights of my people to have me as their leader. God, I feel so divorced from the entire unreality of middle class America, sometimes, but I still remember how I’d play out in the patch of sunlight that broke the density of the elms in front of our house and pretend there were heavenly movie cameras watching my every move. I’m still trying to hold on to that little girl in the sunlight.
You won’t believe this… there’s an old Brooklyn Jew giving me a run for all my corporate donor’s money, but his Weltanschauung is no match for my vituperative powers. I’ll turn him and his followers into liverwurst & feed them to the press. There’s another New Yorker who seems to have taken your “if you wish the sympathy of the broad masses, you must tell them the crudest and most stupid things.” to entirely new levels, but like you, I have belief in my Creator. I remember your prescient words: “Every form of force that is not supported by a spiritual backing will be always indecisive and uncertain. Such a force lacks the stability that can be found only in a weltanschauung (world view) which has devoted champions.” and like I told those people in South Carolina, through His Divine championship I will prevail.
So… here I am at my desk trying to steal another office, wishing I were in a pair of dirty denim bell-bottoms, a never-ironed work shirt and a beautiful purple felt hat with a purple polka-dotted scarf streaming off it, instead of this black pantsuit, black scoop-neck shirt. Gone are the tangerines and the verdant greens; the grape and the lemon yellow; the cherry, fuchsia and turquoise blues of my youth. Sigh…
What are you wearing?
*wink*
Love to Eva
xox
Me
(the world’s saddest word)
NaPoWriMo’s Prompt today:
Yesterday, we wrote portraits of families. Today, let’s turn our vision outward, and write fan letters. I challenge you to write a poem in the form of a fan letter to a celebrity. Now, this could be a celebrity from long ago, and needn’t be an actor or singer (though it could be). You could write to George Washington or Dorothy Dandridge, Marie Curie or The Weeknd. Happy writing!
Closed Captioned For The Thinking Impaired 
Ha, L, this is flipping brilliant! I always love when you do satire, because it’s always so biting and incredibly hilarious and razor sharp! I actually burst out laughing more than once as I read though, proper belly laughs as well. You’re a mad-clever goddess you know, you really are. And of course, with all of your stuff, the underlying message, it’s sobering. This really is a blazing write, imo *hugs* xxx
You sweet thang! You gladden my heart. xoxoxo
While the queen of the Unethical may indeed channel her not so good buddy; that other New Yorker she mentions …well…I daresay my all-time favorite lyrical songstress, that this is what I subjectively see of that fellow:
“It’s Play Time” against the proverbial inmates that run this asylum titled America: Media, The Left, The Right, the preeminent Authors, Professors, Donors et al,.
Now I verily admit he can be quite a vulgar and crass chap; but then, sometimes is it possible he can also be:
Whoever said one cannot be an existing contradiction – that’s what I want to know?. After all, one could reasonably argue that a certain former cherubic Prime Minister of Merry ol’ England was called all the same things during the not so vibrant 1930s by the Media, The Left, The Right, the preeminent Authors, Professors et al., of his time
These are of course all my own silly and nonsensical opinions – after all, I’m certainly a person of no worldly importance ;) and in no way are these nonsensical remarks meant to provoke any collegians to dash to their appointed safe-spaces.
Hello dear C.C It’s been sometime has it not. And though the some seasons have pass, I still find your talent as delicious as it was the first day I tasted it those myspacing days ago.
Edward! I am sincerely thrilled to see you! It’s been too long! You’re always such a delight. I’ll watch the video. My aversion to both Clinton and Trump goes beyond the intellectual into the deeply visceral. But the crux of it is still based on sound reasoning. Surely you don’t mean to compare him to Churchill? Haha! I miss you! I’ll be back to properly discuss after I’ve watched the video. <3
hello my always alluring Lori. I’ve certainly missed your unique and up-lifting elan of the art world – it’s my absolute favorite as I’m sure you know by now. When I logged in for the first time in a while and saw that you’re still lighting it up in the cyber-art world; I felt like a sailor who, long adrift at sea, spots the beacon that signals he’ll soon be ashore in a place where he can reinvigorate his imaginative soul from the trappings of the everyday . Of course, I am no artist and this outward expression is a poor rendition of my inward expression – so I hope you understand me.
As for Trump, as I stated, it was just my subjective opinion and in no way am I trying to sell the demagogue to anyone – least of all to my goto cyber songstress and cyber-pal. After all, I’m a self-professed Kierkegaardian Hamiltonian Federalist, and as my man wrote in Fed #1:
“.In politics, as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword.”
I’ve studied Churchill only less than Kierkegaard and Hamilton. There’s definitely an argument to be made that there is some historical relationships or parallels between the two men. Note however, that I am a rather foolish dialectical fool and therefore can easily cite other facts that would argue against the relation. However, even a dialectician whose studied the Last Lion would admit that during the 30’s Churchill was attacked, belittled, smeared, taken-out-of-context by the British Media (At times called a warmonger, a buffoon, bigot, a rhetorical lunatic etc.) The Times and most major publications, and the BBC(Which at one point actually banned him from speaking on the radio). Both Political Parties either attacked him in the HOC or completely ignored his speeches repeatedly. Those have been dubbed the Wilderness years for him by Historians. Both the Baldwin/Chamberlain Conservatives and the Atlee Bevin Labourites behaved in very similar veins like the current Elephant and Donkey factions. Nevertheless Churchill held his course boldly and never submitted to their thinking on appeasement or India or anything else for that matter- ala Edward and Mrs. Simpson.
So that being said, I would only add that it’s been my experience so far with the Trump supporters that I’ve met or know personally that their support of him boils down to is Hope. Perhaps there are many in the nation that are filled with despair, depression, anxiety et al., Whatever the reason is, Trump has stirred Hope within their breasts. Hope for what, I do not rightly know; but it’s so strong right now that it seems nothing he says or does that is generally considered bad decorum or controversial seems to diminish or dampen their hope. As Churchill said to Roosevelt:
“Whether you believe or disbelieve, it is a wicked thing to take away men’s hope.”
As for me, he’s the least – in my mind – of the remaining evils – I can be quite pragmatic when I wish lol. Also, as you know, I’m well versed in Western Liberal Traditions – particularly the 18th and 19th centuries – and I for one, am not ready to see that flame extinguished by the winds of Political Correctness or Modern-Liberal Socialism or Multiculturalism, or agenda driven revisionist Historians or despairing and decadent modern Artists et al., And I believe Trump is more fit than the others at preserving those noble traditions. Traditions, that on a whole, have been a tremendous blessing to mankind. .The “Individual” arose out of Western Liberal Traditions and I for one do not want to see the Individual destroyed by a collective idiocy. I suppose that’s my hope ;)
Okay, that was tedious and rambling – as is my won’t lol , But believe me, I have no intentions of trying to persuade you or anyone else. I am the last person to be self-righteous. And just remember, Gene Hunt is always right :)
I do adore you! I still haven’t watched that video, so forgive all that I am about to say off the cuff… I hadn’t realized how vilified Churchill was, but Churchill was an eloquent speaker & one of the great political minds of the 20th Century… Trump may have had some fire in the press, but he has brought most of that upon himself. Besides the media loves him. He has filled their cyberwaves with excitement. He has energized people, this is good for the news mongerers, we all know that like politics it is all business.
I will say this… Trump is tapping into a vein. All of those years on television has served him well. He is getting his supporters to identify with him and lose themselves in their belief in him, not his policies, but in his persona… Ready to wave the flag under his banner. His is the appeal of the cult of personality that is so pervasive, not only in this nation, but throughout history. It is something the Hillarys & Bernies of the world lack, but it should not be mistaken for gravitas. The man himself is a mess. He has been most successful at being himself & convincing a handful of private banking nitwits to continually lend him money for his many failed businesses. If anything I think Ted Cruz is a far more capable candidate, as well as being an outsider, his current term in Congress notwithstanding.
So, thus far, the Trumpeteers are mostly older (baby-boomers), under/unemployed, under/uneducated (less than high school diploma), poor to working class (making < $50, 000 a year; many on some level of public assistance), white, native-born Americans, without strong "traditional conservative" voting records (some were Democrats), males and females who identify themselves as strongly nationalistic and come from towns whose economies are stagnating from the loss of manufacturing/service/old school economy jobs. Most live in the towns they were born in and have no interest in travel or moving to another town to seek employment or study. They want Daddy Warbucks to make all the nasty old immigrants go away because those immigrants are competing with them for the increasingly fewer jobs available for low-skilled laborers. They think Trump can bring back old economy jobs from China by instituting tariffs and other trade penalties because he says he can. Trump gives them hope. Hope is an enormous asset for any candidate to be able to impart on a constituency, but Hitler gave his people hope, too. Trump is no Hitler, he’s not bright enough, nor is he insane, and Americans are not as browbeaten as the Germans were after the first World War, so they are not likely to follow megalomania to the point of allowing the heinous crimes of the Third Reich through their blind obeisance. The banality of evil that Arendt so poignantly spoke of all the years ago takes more than a village to raise… it takes an entire nation. 200 million Americans will never be so mobilized, even if Trump were so disposed to wage an ethnic cleansing which I don't believe him capable of, but I still believe Trump is dangerous.
These supporters of Trump's are dinosaurs and they believe Trump will stop the meteor from hitting their little bit of Earth because he says he can and they are desperate to believe him. What they don't realize is that the meteor has already struck. They are disaffected, they are angry, they resent being made to be seen as villains for having white skin. They still Supersize their meals, and Trump knows this. He wants the McDonalds customers. There are scores of millions more of them than diners at French Laundry. That so many women support him when he has shown himself to be a misogynist time and again is astounding, but his rhetoric appeals to them. They like the fact that he is crude and rude. That makes him seem authentic and therefore credible to them. Despite the Slovenian model wife and the penthouse in NY, they identify with him. There but for the grace of other people's money goes them. He looks like them, he talks like them, he says the things they say, and they love it. The great unwashed finally have a true representative. This is why the founding fathers were wary of democracy. Their worst nightmare has come to fruition.
People accuse me of being elitist. It is not being elitist to point out these facts. Trump is getting huge support from the underprivileged, undereducated, disaffected, white electorate. That's the majority of people in this country. Exclamation point.
He will beat Hillary in a head to head match-up. Nothing short of a well-timed lightning bolt will stop him. She's likely to go to jail, unless Obama pardons her when the time comes and it may come. If Sanders could show a better grasp of simple economics, he might do better. Objective analysis of his proposals show unheard of tax burdens on the everyday workaday Joe. That won't fly with the blue collar crowd.
Trump has cleverly tuned into their frequency & is saying all the things they themselves say when they gather around the boobtube drinking Buds and eating Cheetohs. this does not a head of state make. This Trumpeting isn't a sudden phenomenon. Social media "news" outlets have created a platform for someone as marketing savvy as Trump to use successfully. He has created a media maelstrom. News outlets who have been hurting for viewership are more than just welcoming his presence, they are his de facto public relations/propaganda team.
The economy has been horrible, and the people supporting Trump come from places that have been particularly hard hit by the loss of traditional low-skill labor jobs in manufacturing and service industries. Politics is never really about politics, but about economics. The social engineering experiments of the last eight years by the current administration have failed to do anything but be more divisive.
I honestly believe these people, too, are to blame. Americans are quite complacent creatures mostly. The average Joe just wants to clock in and out of his job, get a paycheck, buy some beer, watch some tv, play with his kids, and not worry about too much more than his next car payment… he is not seeking to "improve" his skill set … he will have to learn to start actually acquiring real skills & adapt to the changing world.
A Trump presidency will be disastrous. The first thing on the agenda for Congress and The US Supreme Court should be to reduce the expanded powers of Executive Branch. All the crap that was used egregiously by the current administration and the Clinton administration with executive orders & (the latter’s) line item vetos being abused. Trump is despised, he knows this, he also knows he likely won't get a second term, so he will be an impossible asshole. The balance of power between the three branches of government will be in serious jeopardy and unfortunately that will likely affect future presidents. Trump won't be able to deliver on any of his promises about China, Syria, Mexico – all that idiocy he's been spouting will haunt him and all those blue collar people backing him now? Will turn on him eventually, like they did on Obama. Except maybe even more violently, because Trump's rhetoric is even more volatile…
The thought of Trump with any executive power is shudder-inducing, mostly because the man has no political record, no reliable means of demonstrating to the the electorate what he has actually stood for, other than selling himself .
And all this third party nonsense the Grand Old Pinheads are threatening recently is just that – nonsense. There is already a Libertarian Party with a damned good candidate who I will likely vote for Gary Johnson, a man who has successfully run both his business and his state when he served as governor and he and I align perfectly on all the major issues … barring that? Hell, I'd vote for Sanders before I vote for Trump. The only backhanded compliment I can give to Trump is that he has gotten someone like me re-engaged in the process. That being said, I plan to support Kasich until the nominations are finally announced. I don't think he stands a snowball's chance in hell, however.
I know you're not self-righteous. I think you're wonderful!
lol, you’re the bestest cyber pal a foolish fellow like myself could ever have. A couple of things I’ll say here; and don’t mistake me, I’m not implying that your opinions on him are wrong. Just some of my thoughts loosely placed with no didactic reasoning on how they might fall.
As a Bostonian, there is little to no manufacturing jobs left in my State. The land of the Pilgrims saw most of it leave partly do to Nafta, but mainly do to our Senators and Reps for years now bringing Washington Appropriations back home and investing it with markets like Bio-tech and other newer industries. This obviously means that the people of Massachusetts and New England as a whole are not now situated economically like the people say in the Rust Belt States. Massachusetts also tends to be in the higher echelon of education. And so, even with all that Massachusetts saw an overwhelming amount of Republicans cast their vote for Trump. They also had a large amount of Democrats and Independents voting for Trump. Also, just like the CNN/ARC poll yesterday revealed that Trump was at 44% with registered Republican Women, the women of Massachusetts also went for Trump over the other candidates in the GOP field. Now this is not saying it’s reflective of the nation as a whole. But it does show that in at least one non-rust belt State voters went for overwhelmingly for Trump.
As for Trump’s Economic ideas, I would remind every Classical economist -that means all the Ricardians out there – that no nation has ever successfully embarked on a pure Free Trade policy. Britain herself during the so called Laissez-Faire period of the 19th century was not pure free trade. Only in the latter half of that century did they even repeal the Corn Laws and embark on a free trade policy with food imports. Free Trade always assumes that the nations involved play by the same rules. But, Nations, like Individuals, will always be more motivated by immediate self-interest than by any far off advantages down the road. In other words, none of our Trade deals currently are pure Free Trade deals seen from the aspect of our Trading Partners. Much of America’s own history is a story of protectionist tariffs. As soon as we started developing Manufacturing in this country, Tariffs began being the official policy of the Government. I would suggest that Trump’s real point – and his policy ideas are available on his website – is to provide incentives for businesses to stay in the U.S. by more favorable tax rates, and stop the nations we are trading with from taking advantage of the current deals. Again, do I think a 35% trade tariff is good – absolutely not. But, all his presidential political demagoguery aside, there is less of a chance from that happening provided domestic businesses have a more suitable incentive to stay at Home.
Illegal Immigration is not economically a problem for most Whites in America. Where it’s really a problem economically is in the Black and Hispanic demographics. Third World unskilled migrants flooding the labor market-place depresses wages and job opportunities for those in the poorest demographics. By economic reasoning, Trumps stricter controls on illegal immigration actually benefits the Blacks and Hispanics far more than it would benefit Whites economically; both as to employment and wages as well as to government assistance. The less assistance that’s needed for the Illegal Immigrants; the more that is available for struggling Blacks and Hispanics. Ask the low end wage earners in the service industries and see if they’d like a raise. If one is a maid its going to be quite difficult while there is a large pool of available maids-in-waiting to take their place at the current rate of pay. I have no real idea how Hispanics will vote, but there are signs in the polls that Blacks are starting to move towards Trump. Now, if Blacks and Hispanics do not vote for Trump; then it reveals that most people do not vote on economics alone. This could explain why the exit polls have been revealing that Trump is generally winning the educated voters over Cruz and Kasich. Voters are not little economic units who fall inline to vote their economic status, but a whole host of reasons – emotional, lack of knowledge, agenda, immediate self-interest…. etc. – decides their choice.
As for Trump as a danger to extending the Executive Power; while I agree with you that the current administration is doing that exact thing – over reach of Executive authority, my own feeling is Trump will not. The Key Founders – particularly Hamilton, Washington, Madison, Jay, Rufus King, Robert Morris and G. Morris et al., all thought that the Senators and the Presidency should be held by a person who had a large amount of personal property. The idea being that a person with a large personal interest in the Country would in turn have a personal stake in maintaining the Nation’s ideals, Founding Principles, and, of course the Constitution. This is why the Senate for instance was given co-authority over Treaties and electing Major Cabinet positions. As for working with Congress, it’s speculation on whether Trump would or would not be good at it, true; but we do have a track record with Cruz currently and nothing there screams he’ll be anymore a compromiser than Obama. As for Cruz, he also has a problem explaining his Wife’s role on G.W. Bush’s council for Foreign Relations, where she advocated removing all border restrictions between Mexico, America, and Canada. In other words, she advocated a Federal Union of North America. Now, for a supposed defender of the Constitution as Cruz claims to be, this seems to be a conflict of principals. And while I certainly don’t condone Trumps stupid and juvenile retweet of an unflattering picture of Heidi, I do think a former member of the Council for Foreign Relations is a target politically. Her position of “spouse off limits” does not supersede her known and stated political positions.
I’m going to post two videos below as it pertains to the Mainstream Medias portrayal of Trump. I don’t say you need to watch them – they’re quite long , but if you’re bored at some point, take a peak. This man is a libertarian as far as I know:
These are of course just some of my own personal opinions and reflections and nothing more than that. I highly respect your opinions and i’m certainly not trying to tell you you’re wrong. and I absolutely love hearing your thoughts. You’re not just a talented artist but you’re well versed in dialectical thinking and originality. And that’s why I love you ;)
P.S.
I’ve done no editing so please excuse all grammar disasters lol
Haha Okay, I respect your mind so much, I am going to watch all of these before I comment! <3