An exerpt from Kipling’s "Five Nations"

i read a little of this last night. it reminded me of all the recent bartering that the american people have been doing as of late. it seems the value of safety has risen above that of liberty and we are trading in the last of our freedoms for just a glimmering hope of catching a ride on this stock that just wont seem to quit rising, protection.

Howso' great their clamour, whatsoe'er their claim,
Suffer not the old King under any name!

Here is naught unproven—here is naught to learn.
It is written what shall fall if the King return.

He shall mark our goings, question whence we came,
Set his guards about us, as in Freedom's name.

He shall take a tribute, toll of all our ware;
He shall change our gold for arms—arms we may not bear.

He shall break his judges if they cross his word;
He shall rule above the Law calling on the Lord.

He shall peep and mutter; and the night shall bring
Watchers 'neath our window, lest we mock the King—

Hate and all division; hosts of hurrying spies;
Money poured in secret, carrion breeding flies.

Strangers of his counsel, hirelings of his pay,
These shall deal our Justice: sell—deny—delay.

We shall drink dishonour, we shall eat abuse
For the Land we look to—for the Tongue we use.

We shall take our station, dirt beneath his feet,
While his hired captains jeer us in the street.

Cruel in the shadow, crafty in the sun,
Far beyond his borders shall his teachings run.

Sloven, sullen, savage, secret, uncontrolled,
Laying on a new land evil of the old—

Long-forgotten bondage, dwarfing heart and brain—
All our fathers died to loose he shall bind again.

Here is naught at venture, random nor untrue—
Swings the wheel full-circle, brims the cup anew.

Here is naught unproven, here is nothing hid:
Step for step and word for word—so the old Kings did!

Step by step, and word by word: who is ruled may read.
Suffer not the old Kings: for we know the breed—

All the right they promise—all the wrong they bring.
Stewards of the Judgment, suffer not this King!

Currently listening : Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever By Explosions in the Sky Release date: 04 September, 2001

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a beautiful picture of war
Current mood: contemplative

This is a passage from Slaughterhouse Five. the main character is watching a film from world war two backwards. I had to set the book down for the day after reading this paragraph and the ideas within have not left my mind since. I thought i would share

"American planes, full of holes and wounded men and corpses took off backwards from an airfield in England. Over France, a few German fighter planes flew at them backwards, sucked bullets and shell fragments from some of the planes and crewmen. They did the same for wrecked American bombers on the ground, and those planes flew up backwards to join the formation.

The formation flew backwards over a German city that was in flames. The bombers opened their bomb bay doors, exerted a miraculous magnetism which shrunk the fires, gathered them into cylindrical steel containers, and lifted the containers into the bellies of the planes. The containers were stored neatly in racks. The Germans below had miraculous devices of their own, which were long steel tubes. They used them to suck more fragments from the crewmen and planes. But there were still a few wounded Americans, though, and some of the bombers were in bad repair. Over France, though, German fighters came up again, made everything and everybody as good as new.

When the bombers got back to their base, the steel cylinders were taken from the racks and shipped back to the United States of America, where factories were operating night and day, dismantling the cylinders, separating the dangerous contents into minerals. Touchingly, it was mainly women who did this work. The minerals were then shipped to specialists in remote areas. It was their business to put them into the ground, to hide them cleverly, so they would never hurt anybody ever again."

Currently reading : Slaughterhouse-Five By Kurt Vonnegut Release date: 12 January, 1999

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i borrowed this one from jesus.
Current mood: struggling

a farmer went out to so his seed. he spread his seed erratically. not all of it landed in fertile soil. some was eaten by birds before it ever had the chance to germinate while others were cast onto stone to bake.

of these seeds, none knew that there was any other placement on the earth. they did not envy the seeds of fertile ground, they simply put forth their best effort to do as they felt the were meant to. all of these seeds tried to grow into whatever it was that was their potential.

one seed, cast upon stone, struggles for sustenance from an environment that offers none. it has still some how managed to show a hint of a sprout. i know not the future of this particular seed. but i have high hopes for it. we are one and the same.

p.s. to put any curiosity to rest. no, this is not about religion this time

Currently listening : Porcelain By Sparta Release date: 13 July, 2004

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the inappropriateness of honesty
Current mood: trapped in my head

society has come to an unfortunate plateau that i fear will never again lead to an incline.

when did honesty become offensive? when did our civilization decline to the point where everything we say has to be sugar coated with tact in order to make it presentable. i imagine life was alot easier when you could tell anyone anything and they would either respect it as constructive criticism or dimiss it as nonsense. but now there are so many peoples feelings involved in any situation. in order to be socially accepted one has to consider as many peoples feelings as they can possibly process before they open their mouth to speak.

the worst part is that its impossible for the individual to escape this nonsense behavior while still maintaining any type of company. so any free thinker is faced with only two choices. degrade yourself and follow the rules by either hiding your feelings or making feeble attempts to present them in a diluted socially accepted manner. or seclude yourself. because even the strongest people seem to have issues with honesty. especially when its hard to accept.

so i can save myself from a small amount of hipocracy:

i said i was sorry but im not. i told you the truth. i thought it was the right thing to do. im disappointed by the outcome but i have nothing to regret. thanks again for everything. hope i was at least a little bit of help

well i looked my demons in the eyes laid bare my chest, said do your best to destroy me.

Currently listening : Highway 61 Revisited By Bob Dylan Release date: 01 June, 2004

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the storms of early summer

something about this season throws off my equilibrium

once again i was begining to fool myself with romance, adding more weight than deserved by circumstance. ive got to get my head straight. but to be honest im becoming unsatisfied with living phone number to phone number.

... there has to be a middle ground

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to deny reason...

...is to invoke death

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Im not sure how it got extinguished but
Current mood: yearning to defy

I need a catalyst, to rekindle the flame that once burned within these fists where defeat remains.

Currently watching : Cool Hand Luke Release date: 25 June, 1997

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I AM NOT ALONE!

i accidentally stumbled upon a philosophy that, at first glance, closely mirrors my own. i havnt thoroughly researched it yet but my initial reaction is that of utmost excitment

Secular humanism describes a world view with the following elements and principles:

• Need to test beliefs - A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
• Reason, evidence, scientific method - Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
• Fulfillment, growth, creativity - A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
• Search for truth - A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
• This life - A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
• Ethics- A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
• Building a better world - A conviction that with reason, an open exchange of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves.

Currently listening : The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song By Cursive Release date: 02 November, 1998

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the difference between what america was meant to be and what it is
Current mood: ashamed of my government

THEN

We have abundant reason to rejoice that in this Land the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition ... In this enlightened Age and in this Land of equal liberty it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the Laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining and holding the highest Offices that are known in the United States.

                  -George Washington (First President of the U.S.)

NOW 

No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered as patriots. This is one nation under God.
                        -George Bush Sr. (41st president of the U.S.)

THEN

The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history. Although the detail of the formation of the American governments is at present little known or regarded either in Europe or in America, it may hereafter become an object of curiosity. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven, more than those at work upon ships or houses, or laboring in merchandise or agriculture; it will forever be acknowledged that these governments were contrived merely by the use of reason and the senses.

                          -John Adams (second president of the U.S.)

NOW

I ask Americans to bow our heads in humility before our Heavenly Father, a God who calls us not to judge our neighbors, but to love them, to ask His guidance upon our nation and its leaders in every level of government

                        -George W. Bush (43rd president of the U.S.)

THEN

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.

                                      -Susan B. Anthony (Suffragist)

NOW

Rail as they will about "discrimination," women are simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of Western capitalism.

                 -Pat Buchannan (American Presidential Canidate)

Currently listening : So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter By Ani Difranco Release date: 10 September, 2002

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it is truly unfortunate.

there is no defeat like that of misplaced admiration

Currently listening : Reinventing Axl Rose By Against Me Release date: 01 April, 2002

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