To all the Really Good Ones, and to all in peril on the sea: A theme keeps recurring as the stream washes past, (day after day). The poet, Walter Scott, asked: "Breathes there the man with soul so dead, that never to himself has said: This is my own, my Native Land?" What defines us, anymore, as a 'nation'? What defines us as 'Americans'? Are we yet ready to drop our pretenses, are we yet ready to shed our many masks, and face reality? Are we yet ready to ask ourselves the most important questions? (If we're not yet ready to give honest, self-aware answers, then there's no point in yet blabbering around the questions). Is there not a Common Spirit that ALL of us, as Americans, as countrymen, and countrywomen, share, in COMMON, regardless of race, or gender, or any other tribal 'identity' that sub-divides us? If there IS, it's surely 'high time' to share it NOW. Caliban has already promoted the work of Israel Shamir. He is one of my 'go to' writers. He's a bit of a 'rake', or so he's sometimes portrayed. (Rumors follow him, as surely they do us all). Once an Israeli paratrooper? A bit of a Paladin? A rough and ready adventurer? Whatever ... His point of view is of IMMENSE value to me. He recently emailed his most recent (I think) article from The Unz Review , (maybe the best true 'journalism' site in the US today). As much as I do appreciate Mr. Shamir's customary brilliance, I do think his 'vision' of the US is limited by his living so far away, (in Russia, last I heard, but as I said, he seems to be an 'adventurer'). His vision of us is immensely valuable because he 'sees' things about us we do not 'see'. But in this article (linked above) he again seems to reveal that there is MUCH about America, and Americans, he does not yet understand. My reply to our good Mr. Shamir, (one of my own personal 'REALLY good ones'), is copied below. Hope all are well and strong, Caliban R Zwarich Bent Birch Farm 63 Webber Rd Brookfield, MA 01506 774 449-8030 rzwarichatgmail Caliban's reply to Mr. Shamir: "We shall know the revolution became a real one, when the revolutionaries fight the corporations. Likewise, the enemies of the colour revolution should not fight Blacks and minorities; they should fight the corporations that use the Blacks as their cannon fodder." Indeed ... Brilliantly stated ... Succinct, but containing the entirety of the truth of the matter it addresses. And imagine what it feels like to be a revolutionist in the US, as one watches Left and Right both, (each cunningly and carefully custom designed, by the corporations, for its own essential task), dance on the corporations' strings. The "enemies of the colour revolution", and the revolutionaries themselves, should be allies against the corporations. But the corporations have custom designed them to be enemies. Everyone is glued to the TV, to learn who their allies or enemies should be. Except for the TV blaring at everyone, (that's relatively new), it's the same old (same old) script. In ancient Sumer, thousands of years before Christ was born, people who should have been allies were surely taught to be enemies instead. Divide and rule. When something works so well, why mess with a successful plan? With the TV now, in these modern times, the same old (same old) plan now works better than ever. "I can hire half the working class to kill the other half". --Jay Gould, circa 1891. They don't even need to hire them these days. They just train them from early childhood, via the TV, (and video games, of course).  Abe says t' God, "where you want this killin' done?". God says, "Out on Highway 61". (--B Dylan) Outright Craziness prevails in the US. Reason is 'in the wind', hoping to somehow survive. The population is well-trained. Unrestrained Desire yet rules most every heart, of rich and poor alike. Reality has not yet fully intervened with its deadly consequences. People don't WANT to believe what we can see with our own eyes. People still feel privileged, ("hey ... we're 'Muricans, we're the Exceptional Ones"), to believe whatever they WANT to believe. Reality becomes a vague 'concept'. In such prevailing conditions, sanity not easy for ANYONE to cling to. (Does ANYONE really believe Nancy Pelosi, or Skinny Joe Biden, or Trump, REALLY know what the frack is really going on?) Confusion does not even yet reign, however, as "the worst", on EVERY side, "are full of passionate intensity". (Apologies to Bill B Yeats). "We may not know what the frack is going on, but WE'RE in charge, by God, (or we OUGHTA be!)", all seem to say together. The sheer 'din' can be overpowering. The 'inmates' are definitely arguing over who oughta run the asylum. Nobody appears to be exactly 'in charge' of much right now, speaking of the US as a nation. The US is most definitely "adrift on stormy seas", (as they say). What even defines us as a 'nation', anymore? THAT is the question we're facing, but few will yet face it. Ahh ... But there IS a thread that binds us ... That seems to be hard for some foreigners to understand... To be an American ... It's something we ARE! (Have you ever read Thomas Wolfe, or his spiritual 'son', Kerouac?) I have sometimes enjoyed Andre Vltchek's work. I have sometimes even admired it. But Mr. Vltchek rather embarrassed himself with that article. (Not to 'signify' on him. I've sure embarrassed myself with plenty of mine ... LOL). A lot of personal boasting about his world travels, (which of us is not prone to want our 'exploits' known?), as he exposes how little he understands what is happening in the US. He sounds rather like any typical dilettante, as he scratches the surface of the depths of this complexity, and pontificates, taking the opportunity of these events to show off his intellect, and recount his resume, as he analyzes what his shallow scratch has revealed to him. Well ... Even Caesar would have the 'haruspices' read the 'auspices' in animal entrails, before a battle, or an election, or any 'auspicious' event. For show? Perhaps. It was Reason, not superstition, after all, that was the root of Caesar's power, but he surely did believe what Nietzsche would put to words many centuries later: "Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid". Best to you, Mr. Shamir. You're most definitely one of the "Really Good Ones". You understand the US better than Mr. Vtlchek, perhaps, but you don't really seem to understand the depths and many levels of 'the craziness' of the cognitively dissonant 'reality' that the Mass Media Barons have imposed on this "god-forsaken land". "Let's drink to ole Jim Bridger Raise yer glasses high Long as there's a USA Don't let memory die That he was makin' History Never once occurred to him But I doubt if we'd a been here Hadn't 'a been fer men like Jim. These words are straight from Carson's lips* If ya place such store by him *famed US Scout, Kit Carson Ya know, Mr. Shamir, when I was a young fool in my 20s, (and 30s and 40s and 50s, ahem), (before I became the old fool am now), I used to drink at Kelly's Bar, same place, same building, same bar, where ole Jim used to spit and spill his beer on the same vertical grain fir, and yellow pine, floor-boards. I doubt them dirty dusty ole boards have ever even been washed since he walked, (maybe sometimes even staggered), across them. Slaves running North were hid in the basement under those boards. Wagon trains headed west, (to Oregon, or Santa Fe, or points between), parked in the dirt 'street' out front, Westport Rd, to load up supplies of flour, bacon, and beans. I lived a couple miles 'r so from Kelly's. I lived 'a couple miles or so' from a lot of folks. Lot's of 'things' happened in Westport, Missouri. "Things went down that few yet understand, but I think in time they will". Many gloat to see America 'burn'. Can't blame them ... The US has certainly not yet interrupted Humankind's tragic march. (And in blatant hypocrisy, we've pretended we have). But if any folks from other nations are going to 'hold our coat' and cheer while we fight for our children's lives, they should try to realize that the culture of every nation is planted deep into its children, most every one. Some things the Mariner, come to a foreign shore on leave, can 'see' better than those for whom today is just another ordinary day. The Mariner can 'see' things about these foreign people that those people don't 'see' about themselves. But there is MUCH more about those people that the Mariner will likely NEVER see, even if he took up and lived among them for a long time. Every wise mariner surely 'sees' that.   RZ ('Caliban') |
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