Sunday, December 31, 2006

Messy but Beautiful

James Brown.



I saw James Brown perform in person in 1992 in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was an experience of a lifetime.



Celebrating James Brown


I was kind of looking for a bit of guidance on writing today's post from paz, the path, but what I got was that paz, like many Americans, is reverent about James Brown, the godfather of soul, the hardest working man in show biz, which is fine. I was watching on TV the public funeral, billed as a "Homecoming Celebration" for Mr. Brown, coming from the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Georgia, and had some thoughts on the whole thing. I missed the beginning of it, but I saw enough of it to get a flavor.

Pleased and Dismayed


I was pleased by the event, and dismayed.

James is Smiling


One thing that made me happy was that I felt Mr. Brown would have approved much of the celebration.

African-American Contribution to the World


Second, in listening to the music, the rhythms, the cadences of speaking, the living poetry spoken by such masters at it as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two people who are normally not my heroes—I had to admit that blacks in America, African-Americans, have created something unique in the world.





A musician myself, though not an expert at the various genres, I recognize that African-Americans have created the blues, soul, funk, rap and other genres, and that this is a magnificent contribution to the world.

One thing that is cool is that African-American singers, and even rappers, have taken and used human resonances in ways and combinations never done before. Having traveled the world, I am acutely aware of variety in the human being's musical expression, from the Middle-Eastern ululations, to the atonal Japanese kabuki, to the rich Muslim call to prayer. The sounds at James Brown's "funeral" were rich and melodious. I do believe that African-American performers send their vibrations to parts of their bodies that no singers have done before.


The Spoken Word

I even admit that African-Americans, despite the whole Ebonics thing and bad grammar etc., have contributed these same resonances and rhythms to the spoken word, again as with the poetry of Jesse Jackson, rap, and jive talking. I know that the "bad grammar" part of the whole deal is in one sense just a shortcut to allow the rhythms and resonances to flow. So, I guess it's kind of a separate language, a language with a beat. A language with soul.

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The only problem I have with this is when people rely just on this language and don't develop also proper English. Again, Reverends Jackson and Sharpton are adept at both "languages," which is a good thing.

Church Cadences

Another interesting consideration is the "church cadences," which blacks get into in public events. This cadence is a beautiful thing. The crowd gives their "Amens" etc. showing they are in sync with the speaker. The only problem I have with this is that it doesn't matter what the speaker is saying. The rhythm is the thing. He could be saying, "Brothers and sisters, I want you to go home and fry your hamsters," and the crowd would be yelling, "Tell, it Brother." We tend to turn off our brains when we get into these flows. Still, this was a funeral, so church cadences were appropriate. I was just making a global comment.

A Great Show

A Bit Messy

Overall, it was a great show. This is part of the problem. Part of it was seemly, and part of it unseemly. In case you think this is just another white guy critiquing a black event, you could hear members of the audience actually saying real-time some of the things I'm writing now. You could actually hear one person complaining, "This is so egotistical," and there were other comments too. Several members of the audience told certain people to "get off the stage." For example, there was some animosity for James Brown's companion of many years, Tomi Rae Brown. She sang beautifully, with soul, like James Brown used to sing; and spoke eloquently too. She and Brown had many troubles over the years, and I'm not an expert on this, but part of it involved accusations of physical abuse. I don't take sides on this issue because I wasn't there, and it's none of my business. I just report, however, that the crowd seemed to be blaming her. Recently of course, she was in the news after Mr. Brown's death for not being allowed back into their home of residence.

So, again, it was a great show, if a bit messy. Even the messiness of it all, though, I don't think would have necessarily bothered Mr. Brown. Part of the reason for Mr. Brown's genius I imagine was an attempt to deal with the messiness of life. He had been in and out of marriages, four of them, and in and out of jail. Overall, I'd say he led a good life, and the good he contributed to the world far outweighed the bad, but you have to admit it was a bit "messy." So, the funeral celebration was apropos.


Show or Funeral?

My second critique of the "show" was that it was just that, a show. I couldn't figure out at times if I was listening to a New Orleans' type funeral where the participants "celebrated" the life of the now deceased rather than mourn his passing. Nobody seemed sad that James was gone. Many of the "performers" were just that, performers. They were there to show off their talents, with songs often that had nothing to do with James Brown. It seemed like a chance for them to shine, rather than an opportunity to make James Brown's memory shine. This is the second time I've seen an African-American funeral where (the first time I actually attended) the "mourners" were competing, it seemed, to give the best "performance" at the funeral. I of course will make no generalizations from this, but I do think the center of attention ought to be the deceased, not the mourners. If you're at a James Brown funeral, sing a James Brown song, mention James Brown, tell a story about James Brown. Don't get up there and start reviving your singing career.

Again, oddly enough, the ones who steered away from this kind of thing, and kept things proper, were Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who were most appropriately somber and centered on James Brown.


Tribalism


My third critique is quite a serious one—one that has little to do with this particular funeral, but one that is directed at the African-American community. I don't suppose Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson could have done anything different, but their welcoming of Michael Jackson to the event went a bit too far. To Mr. Jackson's credit, he had been urged to sing at the event, but he declined. I don't mind welcoming people back into the community when they are prodigal sons. Forgiveness is a virtue sometimes. But you have to be sorry to be forgiven. With Michael Jackson, there is no admission of anything, and no expression of regret. He has not received any psychological therapy to make him less of a threat to young boys. Al Sharpton, like he did with the fraudulent case of Tawana Brawley, seemed to stand with Michael Jackson against his unjust, and white, accusers.

Mr. Sharpton seems to communicate quite consistently that if you are black, then you are good, period. This is tribalism. This is what happened with the O.J. trial, where a black man was defended by his race simply because of his race, despite mountains of evidence. I don't hate Michael Jackson. I can understand why he would be included in this funeral. James Brown loved Michael Jackson. Yet, don't make Michael Jackson, or O.J. Simpson, or Tawana Brawley, out to be heroes, heroes who are slandered by the white community. Even if Mr. Jackson never did all the things he was accused of, his behavior with children has been inappropriate, and this ought to be recognized. Don't treat the guy like a returning hero, a victim of society. The children were the victims.

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Messy but Beautiful


All this being said, and allowing that my life has been just as "messy" as James Brown's, and forgiving Mr. Brown for his taste in friends and judgment about them; and inserting my big punch about tribalism; I'm willing to admit that the funeral celebration, despite being "messy" and despite my two other criticisms, was, on the whole, a good thing. It made me feel good; smile; laugh; and get into its rhythm. It showed Mr. Brown's influence on music, musicians, on America, and on the world.

James Brown was a great man, gave us great music, and I loved hearing it and grooving to it.

Thank you James. Go in peace my Brother.


Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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Saturday, December 30, 2006

The Munchkins Rejoice While the 72 Virgins Do Their Thing



Ding Dong.

(Munchkin 2)
You've killed her so completely
That we thank you very sweetly

(Glinda)
Let the joyous news be spread

The wicked, old witch at last is dead






(Munchkins)
Ding-dong the witch is dead
Which old witch? The wicked witch
Ding-dong the wicked witch is dead
Wake up you sleepyhead
Rub your eyes, get out of bed
Wake up the wicked witch is dead
She's gone where the goblins go
Below - below - below
Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low
Let them know the Wicked Witch is dead

From the lyrics for Somewhere Over the Rainbow, the Wizard of Oz

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title, by the way, is ("borrowed" from Empress Bee (of the High Sea, at muffin53, one of the best sites on the Web)


The Most Honourable Rock the Sanguine of Melbury Bubblewick
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Dead as a Doornail


Saddam Hussein is dead, and this is a good thing.

Tell us Saddam, what those 72 virgins look like. Are they as pretty as you thought they'd be?


The Barbarity of It All


I watched, as many of you did, Saddam being led to the noose, looking vulnerable for the second time in his life. The first time was when he was captured. Anyway, I felt empathy for the man as he saw the device that would in moments kill him.

We don't like to think of ourselves as barbaric. We imagine we are above the people of the Roman times who went for a day to the Coliseum to gobble pita and felafel and watch the gladiators be butchered; or those folks from the Middle Ages who picnicked on chicken legs while cheering witches being burned at the stake; or present-day Iraqis who kick and punch their handcuffed prisoners; or terrorists who slice off heads.

Even in our Constitution we have banned "cruel and unusual punishment." This does, in my opinion, put us above nations that will torture prisoners and so on. Yet those who oppose capital punishment, including again the Pope, and much of the "civilized" world, think that the death penalty is cruel and unusual, and ought to be banned.


The Fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Out of Whack Yin Yangs

A Just War and a Good Death

This gets us back to our continual battle with liberals over what is right and wrong. I think it is relevant to my continuing presentation in recent posts on yin and yang, Chastising the Pope, Gerald Ford, and Vicious Liberals; and Christmas, Kwanzaa and Wiccans. Liberals have a severe imbalance in their yin yang. They are all yin, all feminine, if you will, and no yang, no masculine. All lightness and "peace," and no strength or aggression.

I agree with Dennis Prager especially on this range of subjects (see arguments pro and con for the death penalty). There is such a thing as a just war. There is such a thing even as a wise preemptive war. Killing monsters is moral. The death penalty is good for fiends.

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We, as moral citizens of Earth, sanctioned by common sense, and by God, I believe, the God of all people, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim, have a right and a duty to fight for goodness when this is necessary.

It was not just okay to invade Iraq, it was an obligation. Regardless of results. If doing the right thing made some people hate us, then this is the price we must pay for goodness.

So, too, with killing Saddam Hussein. We can be proud that we brought it about, or helped bring it about. One bad guy down, a few million more to go.

The Liberal Disease


Appeasement, avoiding just war, not standing up to enemies, being kind to monsters—these are immoral. These lead to the death of women and children. These bring nuclear bombs to New York City. You are not a good person if you endorse these. You are part of the reason why there is war, suffering, and poverty.

You pat yourself on the back for believing you are for world peace, when in reality what you are for is cowardice in the face of danger. You think life is simple and all you have to do is smile and drink lattes with your smug liberal friends. Just ignore problems and they will go away. Do nothing and Darfur will disappear. Smile and Saddam will stop torturing his people. Hug a terrorist and he will unstrap his bomb. Freedom demands nothing except to sit on your rear end and criticize your brave leaders and the soldiers who protect your latte-drinking way of life.

The worst people in the world are the Saddam Husseins. The second worst are Saddam supporters. The third worst are the peace advocates and the enablers of evil. All three of these groups have blood on their hands. You have a moral obligation in life to see evil, correctly identify it, and fight it.

It is all right to be logically opposed to any one specific war, as with the Iraq War. It is not all right, though, in my opinion, to avoid the hard choices in life by hiding behind mindless mantras. Those mindless mantras kill.


Logic to a Liberal is Like Kryptonite to Superman


Saddam Hussein was a monster, right? So, his death was a good thing, no? Oh, but this will mean the nasty terrorists will hate us even more now, right? Do I care? Am I supposed to avoid doing what is good because someone won't like me for it? Ditto with the invasion of Iraq.

A Good Life


Here is what life and God demand of good people:

Learn the difference between good and evil.

Be good.

Love good, and hate evil.

Stand up for goodness against evil.

If you do this, you are living a useful and moral life.


Liberalism is a Mental Disorder


(From the title for Michael Savage's book, at Amazon.)

Liberals deny the existence of evil. They think even monsters are "good." They believe in "loving" all people, which means appeasement. They don't believe in standing up to anyone or for anything.


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It's interesting that the only truly evil people in the world, according to liberals, are the persons standing up to evil. It's not the Saddam Husseins, Hugo Chavez', Fidel Castros who are evil, but the George Bush's and Tony Blaires. The liberals' yin is so far up their yangs that they can't see straight.


Ding Dong the Witch is Dead



Saddam is dead. Thank God.
(Judge)
But we've got to verify it legally
To see...

(Mayor)
To see...

(Judge)
If she...

(Mayor)
If she...

(Judge)
Is morally, ethically

(Munchkin 1)
Spiritually, physically

(Munchkin 2)
Positively, absolutely

(Munchkin Men)
Undeniably and reliably dead

(Coroner)
As Coroner , I thoroughly examined her
And she's not only merely dead
She's really most sincerely dead

(Mayor)
Then this is a day of independence for all the munchkins
And their descendants
Yes, let the joyous news be spread
The wicked old witch at last is dead

Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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Friday, December 29, 2006

Chastising the Pope, Gerald Ford, and Vicious Liberals


The Gift of Truth Excels all Other Gifts (Buddha)

Milestone


Before starting this post, I want to do a bit of self-promotion, which also means I thank you my Readers, who have been so kind and forthcoming in some cases, and so brutally honest in others.

I can now say that when you do a Google search for "politically incorrect", my site will come up on page 6. No big deal.

Yet, if you do a Google search for "no spin", my site will come up on page 1.

Plus, if you do a Google search for "truth no spin" or "politically incorrect spin", my site will come up in the number 1 spot on the number 1 page. Top of the whole Web!

My goal of course would be to arrive at the number one spot on the Web if you do a Google search of "truth".

Thank you all.

Rock

Out of Whack: Imbalance in Our Country and the World



Balance is what we need.





The Pope


The Pope evidently just condemned the death sentence of Saddam Hussein. I think the Pope is wrong. I also believe the Catholic Church, my former church, is mistaken about at least a few more things—like birth control, abortion, the war in Iraq, and war in general. With regard to yesterday's post, the Pope lacks yang. Remember, Pope Benedict XVI, Your Holiness, respectfully, there is a time for peace and a time for war. Please read your Bible (Ecclesiastes, 3:1-8, see the end of this post). When 3,000 of our innocent civilians are murdered, it is a time for war.






Gerald Ford


Gerald Ford evidently thought it was a mistake to invade Iraq. This is another reason why I'm glad he wasn't re-elected, even though we got the disastrous Jimmy Carter in his place. Ford was a good and decent man, who did heal our nation after Watergate. Yet he was not a great geo-political thinker, as Nixon was.

We are a Country out of Balance


Speaking of yin and yang (yesterday's post), another way of putting this concept is to speak of things like the Feminization of America. There is nothing wrong with females nor the female point of view. There is nothing wrong with progressives nor progressivism. What is wrong is imbalance.

Let's take concepts like the death penalty, war, revenge and terrorism. On all these issues the United States is about evenly split. The radical liberals are against the death penalty, all war, all revenge, and oppose tough measures to protect us from terrorism. The conservatives are on the opposite pole. Does this mean we are balanced in this country, for and against these concepts? Not exactly. We are balanced like in a civil war, with polar opposites hating each other. We are not balanced as in politely disagreeing. We are polarized, with passion; and this passion is not friendly. We are balanced like the hot and cold air in a tornado.


Vicious Liberals


There is no meaner nor more vicious human being on the face of the earth now than a passionate liberal (except for the passionate liberals who read and comment on this blog! :). Of course, I am exaggerating, but not much. Saddam Hussein and terrorists are worse than liberals. Whereas Hussein and terrorists are assassins, liberals are character assassins. Liberals are assassins of everything decent and good and right, including the survival of America.

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Where is my proof? the liberals will say. My proof is what I see and hear. For example, go to Media Matters to witness the character assassination of every conservative on the planet. Defenders of this garbage website will say that they are just quoting what conservatives really say, and just showing video clips of conservatives actually speaking.

What they don't reveal, and never will, is that everything they publish is taken out of context. It's like what the press did to Gerald Ford, repeatedly showing him stumbling down the airplane steps and labeling him forever as clumsy. The man was an all-star football player, and was offered a contract by the Green Bay Packers. He was not clumsy. Plus, Media Matters only goes after conservatives. There is nothing good to say about any right-winger. Bush is evil. Cheney is dark. Rumsfeld was a war-monger. Conservatives are corrupt. This is presented as watchdog journalism. I think watchdog journalism is fine, but it should be balanced. Watchdog both sides and then we can talk. Otherwise, it is the opposite of watchdog journalism; it is really what they call lapdog journalism—the presentation of only one side. Media Matters therefore equals liberal lapdog journalism. Their "reporters" are liberal lapdogs.

Brain Challenged Liberals


Even purveyors of untruths like Media Matters would be all right if people didn't take them as gospel. Liberals just don't seem to have the brainpower to distinguish truth from propaganda. They listen to Letterman, Jon Stewart, the liberal news media, Hollywood nitwits, and our corrupt teachers who preach liberal mantras to our vulnerable children.

Propaganda versus Truth


I will repeat, any website, any blog, any news show, or any classroom which teaches only one side of things is fostering propaganda, not truth. Media Matters has one message—conservatism is bad. This is propaganda. Jon Stewart and David Letterman have the same message. They are propagandists. Contrast them with Dennis Miller, who criticizes both sides.

Great Journalism


The only answer for truth in America has been talk radio, Fox News, Christian broadcasting, and the blogosphere. There are no great journalists in America anymore, except for conservatives like Charles Krauthammer and George Will. What I mean by a great journalist is one who seeks the truth. Instead, we have hacks like Dan Rather who manufacture evidence against conservatives. Even Walter Cronkite has lost his moral authority as far as I am concerned. In his day, he was seen as a great symbol of the free press. Now, he has revealed himself as a raging liberal, and I can't stand to even listen to him anymore. The same goes for Bill Moyers.

Liberals are stuck in the 70's. They saw Woodward and Bernstein get all that acclaim after exposing Watergate, and they think good journalism means showing how corrupt government is, especially conservative government. That's not what made Woodward and Bernstein successful. What made them resonate was truth. They exposed the truth. Even Woodward and Bernstein believe their own hype and fame. Now they too have revealed themselves as raging liberals, and cling to their 70's philosophy of anti-conservatism. That's why they are no longer great. They have stopped seeking truth. They are merely imitating themselves.

Krauthammer and Will are great because they seek the truth. Yes, they are conservative, but they don't hesitate to criticize conservatives if they think they are wrong, and praise liberals if they think they are right. Media Matters and other garbage sites will never do this. Their agenda is to destroy conservatism, not expose the truth.


Great Liberals?


Am I being biased myself? Am I against all liberals? Are there no great liberals? Yes, there are. FDR, JFK, Truman, Patrick Moynihan—I could go on and on, but not about anyone in the public eye today. Edward Kennedy is a disgrace to his brothers. John Kerry is a joke. Nancy Pelosi is a vicious communist. John Edwards has grown a bit, but he still wages his class warfare propaganda. Hillary is a Lady Macbeth. Clinton—yes, Bill does have some greatness about him, despite his undermining our government with perjury. I don't care about his sex life; I do care about his lying under oath and looking me in the eyes and lying. Yet, he did govern effectively in many ways; he was a great communicator; and he took the Democratic Party to the center.


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This is Balance

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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Thursday, December 28, 2006

Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Wiccans

The Yin and Yang of Things

I Saw the Witch Doctor, She Told Me What to Do


Most of you are too young to remember this fifties song.

Peace.

I got a comment today from an old friend, Lexa Roséan, a Wiccan from the great site The Witch Doctor is In. She was upset on seeing the dialogue taking place about Kwanzaa in the last two posts, Boxing and Kwanzaa, and Festivus for the Rest of Us, The Kwanzaafication Factor, and where I addressed the arguments of the magnificent paz y amour, from the wonderful blog the path. I understand your concern, Lexa, but as I said in my response to your comment, don't worry—there's love in that dialogue, not anger and not strife.



(Go to Archives2 for recent posts and comments)


Honesty is Such a Lonely Word


One of the problems I have seen in America in our recent history is our unwillingness to be honest with each other. This is the whole purpose of this blog. I want to be forthcoming with my readers and I want them to be truthful with me. This means saying exactly how we feel and see things, while at the same time being respectful and doing it with love. We need this. Treating minorities like children, which is the Democratic way of doing things, is the tool of demagogues, and is insulting and exploitive. Being too polite and too politically correct leads to the perpetuation of outright lies, and keeps us from addressing real problems.

The great shibboleth of multiculturalism, the totem of the left, has led to all of us being separate, and not even that equal. Honest dialogue is part of the solution. By honest dialogue, I don't mean cruelty. I don't mean Uncle Joe telling Aunt Bertha how fat she looks lately. But I do mean Uncle Joe telling Aunt Bertha that he knows a great gym that just opened and would she like to go with him to check it out?


New Age Conservative


I am a New-Ager. I've said this before. I grew up Catholic, and still believe in and love the religion, although I am not a church-going practitioner now. Maybe I should be. God knows, I need Him at this time in my life. I expanded my religious horizon by converting to Judaism in order to get married to an Israeli, some many years ago now. Then, after cultural differences would not let us remain married, we became lifelong friends. I continued my religious seeking with New Age stuff.

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The only religion I don't like at this time in my life is Islam. Prove me wrong, my Muslim friends. My gripe with Islam is that they need to stand up, en masse, as Tarek does in his blog rambling and blathering, and denounce hatred, put a Fatwa against bloodshed, and wage Jihad on terrorism.

Getting back to New Age, I took the Course in Miracles and did Rebirthing and all that. I read Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra. I love all this stuff, as it is full of love, peace, hope, and beauty. It preaches accepting and cherishing everyone. So, with regard to religion, at this point in my life, I am trying to listen to God. I learn about Him from my Catholic roots, from my training in Judaism, from my exploration of New-Age, and from His "talking" to all of us through our fellow human beings. I think He communicates with me through this blog, with the people who read and comment here.

What's the Problem with Wayne Dyer?


Yet, with all this, I came one day to see the limits of New Age too. I expressed some of these views in several posts (Pacifism Kills; To God, Aetheists, Wiccans and My Muslim Friends; and The Problem with Wayne Dyer) and I'd like to revisit my view on Yin and Yang today.

Get Your Yin Yang Straight


One of the problems with New Agers, and with liberals, the left, and Democrats, is that they have a serious imbalance between Yin and Yang.
Yin (Chinese: 陰/阴; pinyin: yīn; literally "shady place, north slope (hill), south bank (river); cloudy, overcast") is the darker element; it is sad, passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night.

Yin (receptive, feminine, dark, passive force) and Yang (creative, masculine, bright, active force) are descriptions of complementary opposites rather than absolutes.

Any Yin/Yang dichotomy can be seen as its opposite when viewed from another perspective. The categorization is seen as one of convenience. Most forces in nature can be seen as having Yin and Yang states, and the two are usually in movement rather than held in absolute stasis.

The left embrace only the Yin. They and their constituents, including Feminists, promote the feminization of society, foreign policy, race relations, and everyday life. Their slogans are always things like "Make love, not war," "No war for oil," "War is Evil," "The Death Penalty is Inhuman," "Free Tookie," "Guns kill," and so on. They deny and obliterate the necessary balancing Yang, which should include things like just wars, preventative wars, a strong defense, punishment, retribution, and even revenge.

They attack everything "masculine." Boys are not allowed to be boys, and are made to feel guilty for following their nature. Schools are taught mostly by women, who admonish boys that negotiation is the be-all and end-all for every problem. This imbalance continues into adulthood in our society when Democrats want to negotiate with Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and terrorists. Neville Chamberlain had a serious imbalance of Yin and Yang. Israelis should just be nice to those nasty Palestinians and there would be world peace. All war is bad. And the worst war is the "hideous" pre-emptive war.


Balance Flowers with Bullets

Peace, Love, and Strength

The New Agers, and Feminists, liberals and Democrats, are wrong with this philosophy. Survival demands a balance of Yin and Yang. Life is not all peace and love and joy and flowers. It includes dirt and feces and blood and tears. God, the God of all of us, or gods, or Nature, or the Universe, demands that we be strong. This means we need to be kind, but we also need to be firm, decisive, and swift in our justice and defense.

I advise New Agers, including myself as one of them, not to put flowers in the barrels of soldiers' guns, as we did in the Vietnam era; instead, we should give batches and batches of flowers to soldiers—for keeping us alive, safe, and secure.


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I notice in talking with our present-day soldiers and vets, like Sarge Charlie (and check out the award-winning blog of his wife Empress Bee (of the High Sea), at Muffin53) in Florida, a Vietnam vet; and SgtDub (great polar bear shot today! Polar bears in the Middle East? Check it out!), currently serving in Afghanistan, that they do have an obvious balance of Yin and Yang. These are kind men, generous of spirit. Yet, they are willing to kill the bad guys, if necessary. This is the ideal man or woman. Yin and Yang together.

Both are vital for survival, and for the evolution of a better society. I continue to love New Agers, like Lexa Roséan—but I hope that New Agers will study their roots and allow Yang back into the picture. Then, nobody will get upset over a vigorous argument on race. People will understand why we need a strong military. That masculinity is not a dirty word; that we need both the feminine and the masculine, the light and the dark. Then, we'll make a dent in racism, and promote peace, and love.

God bless.


Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Festivus for the Rest of Us, The Kwanzaafication Factor

The Leap into True Communication


Racism is ugly.

(Go to Archives2 for recent posts and comments)

espect and Truth


Yesterday's post drew a couple of comments that deserve a detailed response, so here it is. Basically, my feeling is that whenever a White criticizes anything to do with anything Black, the whole burden of history is laid on his/her back.



Despite our society's penchant for calling Whites racist who criticize Blacks or, again, anything to do with Blacks or Black culture, this should not deter anyone from being honest. This blog is about truth. I don't write the blog to be loved. I don't write it to be politically correct. I write it to tell the truth. If you want me to patronize you, you're at the wrong blog.

I owe you, my Reader, whether you are White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, whatever, only two things: respect, and the truth. I respect you, but I can only treat you as an equal, which is what I want to do, by speaking what for me is the truth. I'm not like the patronizing liberals who tell you everything you want to hear. I tell it like it is. You can handle it. You are adults, and we need to battle these things out, with words. Here are my comments to Anonymous from yesterday's post about Kwanzaa.


Dear Anonymous


Anonymous, thanks for your comments. You said:

My man, I have to take serious exception to your criticisms of Kwanzaa, not due to your opinions of course, but due to your gross misunderstandings of the holiday.

I'm willing to listen, although I got my info directly from Wickepedia, among other sources, hardly a conservative source, and usually accurate.

1. "The emphasis ought to be on being Americans." Would you tell an American Jew that the emphasis of Hanukah celebrations in America "ought to emphasize being American?" or that they should speak in English during their prayers rather than Hebrew?

Actually, I do have issues with any sect totally walling themselves off from others. I've seen orthodox religious of all religions do this. Of course I want to be tolerant and let people behave as they want. On the other hand, I think it would be ideal if people could both practice their individuality and separateness, plus contribute to society as a whole, and to the country they live in.

Racism ought NOT exist and had America as a whole been kinder towards Black people historically, this wouldn't be an issue. Kwanzaa emphasizes the celebration of African heritage, not a separation from America.

In the interest of fairness, I'm open to hearing this. I sense otherwise, though. It appears that the prevailing belief among some Blacks is that Whites are so bad that they need to insulate themselves from them. As I said, which you seem to ignore, Kwanzaa does seem to have many beautiful things about it, and these I applaud.


Eyes on the Prize


2. It wasn't/isn't African Americans who had/have a misunderstanding of e pluribus unam. Remember the 60's now- the fire hoses, the German Shepards, the fire bombings, the KKK, the impossible poll tests, the segregation, the economic oppression, lynchings, etc, etc, etc. At a time when most Black people were actively TRYING to become equal partners in American society and live out the true meaning of "e pluribus unam" it was racist/prejudice White people and American GOVERNMENTS at the federal, state and local levels who fought vehemently to keep us separate and socially/economically disenfranchised.

Hey, you've identified yourself a bit, as African-American, which I like. I understand what you're saying, but I think things have changed dramatically in the U.S., and that Blacks actually had a better way of seeing the world back then. Unfortunately, you're right—this better attitude I remember and see on all the news footage, movies, shows, etc. got "beaten" out of much of the Black race in America. They gave up or changed tactics, more towards Malcolm X and away from Martin Luther King. These tactics worked, but they are no longer useful. I also don't think there is any further use for seeking out racism everywhere anymore either. Things have changed.

The need for certain organizations grows and wanes, depending on the threat. We don't so much need to separate ourselves anymore. That maybe was good for a time. Now, it has the opposite effect—making things worse.


FestivusA Holiday for the Rest of Us


Kwanzaa is not a "movement" nor is it separatist. The holiday came about to instill historical pride and forge a culturally African holiday tradition that had up to that point been missing from Black homes. You and 98% of the White people living in the US can trace your family ancestry to a specific country of origin and relate to it's culture in some way, even visit distant relatives in Europe if you want. You have the CHOICE to celebrate a Polish/Irish/Italian/English/German version of holiday traditions if you wish and take historical pride in it, but for 98% of Black people that's not even an option. Kwanzaa and it's African traditions are the closest Black people will come to a "traditional" holiday celebration.

Black people are welcome to participate in Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, the Fourth of July, and even President's Day. They can even drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day. They are welcome at all our holidays. These holidays are their holidays. If not, then I guess we ought to have "White" holidays too, just for Whites. Kwanzaa, though, as I've said, is welcome. If any group wants a holiday, that is their right. We all need a Festivus I guess, for the rest of us.


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Ancestry


It's sad to think that I have to judge my worth based on knowledge of my ancestors. My ancestors were English, and Irish, and German. Some English, Irish and Germans were good, but some of them weren't. I don't even know their customs anymore, and if it weren't for the fact that I am a writer and filmmaker, I could care less.

My self-worth comes from being productive and living a good life, and contributing to society, to Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and all of the people. Somebody handed you a bill of goods by making you think you need to know your roots in order to be fully human. You are fully human because you are a child of God, just like me; or, if you aren't religious, you are fully human because you are a child of the universe. Being Black is nice, but it shouldn't mean that you are more human knowing where you came from. I don't even know where my ancestors lived. Does that affect my life? I don't think so.

I paid to have a DNA test conducted to find MY specific heritage (read 4/18 and 4/19 on my blog archive) but ask ANY Black person what their country of origin is and you will get a look of dismay and scorn because most don't know and probably never will. That my friend, is something you will NEVER understand or relate to.

What blog archive? You sign as Anonymous and there is no link to your site.

Getting your DNA checked? Sounds a bit racist to me. I guess I should have my "White" DNA roots checked too. I guess that will make me a better person knowing what percentage "White" I am and exactly where my "White" ancestors lived. You are the one obsessed with color, my friend, and genes. I don't mind the scientific recent best guess that every human on earth now is genetically related to one female, nicknamed "Eve", who was, yes, you guessed it—African American. So, Anonymous, it's official. MY ROOTS ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, but I don't know from which village exactly.

Plus, my friend, I could care less what country I originated from. Yes, it's interesting to me to see things about the Irish, the English, and the Germans, but so what? I wouldn't die if nobody ever told me I had these three origins. I'm an American. I'm a Hoosier from Indiana. I'm a member of the human race.


Evil, Racist America


Though you believe that it was established to "create a unified society", it did so by SEPARATING White settlers from Native Americans, and using a SEPARATED enslaved African population to create a strong economy, at one point considering a slave only three-fifths of a human. How horribly were Asians treated in the early 1800's? It was "unified" if you were part of the White majority, but you were thought of as virtually less than human otherwise.

Our country was, like most countries on the planet at the time, involved in slave holding. Blacks in Africa were kidnapping Blacks to sell to the White traders. Those were evil men, those White AND Black slave traders.

The United States fought a war to end slavery, and this war was preceded by millions of Americans who voiced their opposition to slavery. Instead of being a rogue nation at the time, we were actually one of the first to fight to end slavery.

You paint a broad brush about Whites, which, if I'm not mistaken, is the definition of racism. My ancestors, as you would like me to think about—did not even live in America at the time of slavery. Yet, I am painted with your broad brush when you talk about "Whites." My family, as much as I know, was always pretty decent to people of all races.


Remember Those Who Fought and Died for You


In fact Kwanzaa was established just two years after the Civil Rights Act made it illegal to discriminate against people based on religion, race and gender. Mathematically, it took nearly 200 years to lay just the groundwork for a "unified" country. How quickly we forget history....

Yes, you're right. You forget the Abolitionists. You forget the people who died to end slavery. You forget the White Civil Rights workers in the 50's who stood right alongside Martin Luther King, and those that gave up their lives. You forget what your greatest leader said, that you should judge a man by the content of his character rather than by the color of his skin. You do forget quickly.


Historical Context


You're taking the seven principals of Kwanzaa and applying them to a modern context. These principals were created in the 1960's and I don't think I need to remind you what foul types of things were happening to Black people in the 1960's. The "philosophy" was rooted in the idea that the government was not protecting Black peoples' rights, nor supporting Black causes but was actively usurping them and it was up to the community to protect itself culturally, economically and socially. American society was for the most part treating the Black population as a separate group so Karenga sought to make that population as vibrant as possible.

Finally a position we can agree on. Yes, that's exactly my point. Both the NAACP and Kwanzaa were necessary at one time, and maybe still are—but things have changed, and both these manifestations of the golden era of the Civil Right's Movement need to grow and change.


Unity of Whom?


Despite this, Karenga made the FIRST principal Umoja which "strives for and maintain unity in the family, community, NATION and race." He wasn't talking about Nigeria, Togo, and Ghana, he was talking about the USA.

What community was he talking about? What nation? What race?


Racism Today


Again, Anonymous, thanks for your passion and your comments, but I sense the racism is coming from comments like yours, and not from questions about Kwanza. I am not calling you a racist, as I don't want to get personal, and you have avoided calling names, which I respect. I just think your comments reveal an attitude about "Whites," which to me is a racist way of looking at things.

Most "Whites" are good people, not racist, including their ancestors, like mine, and had nothing to do with slavery. As much as you might imply, we don't inherit guilt. If we inherit guilt, then we also inherit merit—so, we inherit the spirit of Lincoln and the Abolitionists.

America is a nation in progress. It is a living evolution. We've come a long way. Now is the time for the kind of attitude Blacks had in the fifties. Now America is ready for it. It's time to stop wallowing in the past and get to work building a better society.


Them Versus Us


Keep Kwanzaa; it's a good thing. There are a lot of wonderful things about it, as I said. The rituals, the African roots, the laughter, dance and song, these are all great. Anything that adds beauty to life is from God.

I'm not talking about these. I'm just commenting on the "them versus us." There's no need for this anymore.

Just please stop branding all Whites as racists and at least consider the idea of joining with us in fighting to battle injustice, and continuing to make this great nation of ours even greater.


America at the Vanguard


Instead of condemning America as past and present racist, consider the idea that America was at the vanguard in the evolutionary leap away from slavery, and away from racism. All peoples on the face of the earth, not just America, owned slaves at one time in their history. Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and yes, Africans—Black Africans—owned slaves. It has always been wrong.

Finally, one nation, the United States of America, did something about it. We fought the longest, bloodiest war in our history to end it. I'm proud of this.

People shed their blood to get us where we are now. In the space of 200 years we came from slave holding to the Civil Rights movement. Then, in the space of fifty years, from the 1950's until now, we advanced from the water hoses and dogs to African-American Secretaries of Defense and State and a presidential candidate in the next election—one who has a fair chance of winning. Open your eyes. Things have changed.


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How to Succeed in America Today


Let me tell you the "Secret of Success in America" in the 21st century.
You take any man or woman—any man or woman—put him/her in good looking clothes, put a smile on his/her face, have them talk intelligently and respectfully, have them study and work hard; then—I guarantee you—I bet you my life savings on it—that this man or woman will succeed—REGARDLESS OF COLOR.

Have that same man or woman wear sloppy clothes, earrings in their nose, tattoos, with a frown on his/her face, talking with bad grammar and disrespectfully, with a chip on their shoulder, avoiding study and hard work; then—I guarantee you—I bet you my life savings on it—that this man or woman will fail—REGARDLESS OF COLOR.

The only racism I see where I live these days, is reverse racism. I know this isn't true all over the nation, but it sure is in the media, including radio, TV, print, and most of the Internet; on the streets where I walk; and at the workplaces I frequent.

I hate racism period, reverse or forward. God does not approve of it, and neither do I.

Happy Kwanzaa.


Rock

(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.)


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