THE “SMUG STYLE” IN AMERICAN MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS LIFE
BY LUCY MANESS WARNER
MARCH 24, 2017

ONE VERY PLEASING AND STIMULATING THING ABOUT DOING A DAILY NEWS BLOG -- FULL OF MY OWN OPINIONS, YES, BUT BASED DIRECTLY ON MORE SCHOLARLY VOICES FROM “.EDU” SOURCES AND WIKIPEDIA TO EXCELLENT MAGAZINE AND NEWS SOURCES SUCH AS CBS, NPR, SALON, HUFFINGTON POST, LA PROGRESSIVE, AND MOTHER JONES -- IS THAT IT OPENS UP THAT DOOR IN MY MIND FROM WHICH I CAN WALK BACK AND FORTH FROM A PLACE OF THE THINGS I HAVE ALREADY LEARNED IN BOOKS AND FROM PEOPLE, TO NEW AND ENLIGHTENING VIEWS, HUMAN INTERACTIONS, FACTS, AND PERSONAL INSIGHTS. THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE BY CONOR LYNCH OF “SALON” IS ONE SUCH READING.

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE SHAMEFUL AND TRULY UNINTELLIGENT DEBASING OF BERNIE SANDERS BY THE POWER STRUCTURE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, WHO IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE PROPHETS OF OUR DECADE, I THEN FOLLOWED HILLARY CLINTON AS BERNIE SAID WE SHOULD AGAINST TRUMP. SANDERS DIDN’T SAY THAT TO US OUT OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE MODERN STANDARD DEMOCRATIC PARTY VIEWS AND MONETARY/POLITICAL LOYALTIES, BUT AS THE ONLY PATH FOR DEFEATING THE BARBARIANS ON THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR MODERN-DAY ROME, THE ALT-RIGHT. AS WAS THE SITUATION 3000 YEARS AGO, WE JUST DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH SHEER NUMBERS NOR ORGANIZATION, AND THE TRUMP HORDE WERE BOTH OVERWHELMINGLY LARGE, AND IN A TEETH-GNASHING FURY OF CLASS AND RACIAL HATRED. THAT HAS BEEN APPROACHING SINCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA, AND JUST LAST YEAR BURST FORTH LIKE LAVA FROM A VOLCANO, OR PERHAPS MORE LIKE PUS FROM AN UNTENDED WOUND.

WHEN I SAY THIS, I REALIZE THAT I AM ONE OF THOSE “SMUG” PEOPLE. THAT SMUGNESS, ON MY PART AT LEAST, COMES FROM MANY YEARS OF CONCERN ABOUT HOW WHITES, BLACKS, AND PURPLES HAVE BEEN “UN-EDUCATED” ACTIVELY ON A DAILY BASIS IN THIS COUNTRY. THAT PROCESS OF AGGRESSIVE “UNEDUCATION” HAS BEEN INCREASING NOW IN THE LAST 20 YEARS OR SO, WITH THE PROGRESSIVE AND PURPOSEFUL UNDER FUNDING OF PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SHAMING OF LIBERALS; AS THE ALT-RIGHT, THE BILLIONAIRE CLASS WITH THEIR ANTIENVIRONMENTAL AND ANTI-HUMANISTIC PROFIT-ORIENTED GOALS BEGAN AGITATING AMONG THE NATIVES, STIRRING UP THEIR BLUE COLLAR MASCULINITYAND MOVING THEIR MINDS FURTHER AWAY FROM GENTLENESS OR ENLIGHTENMENT.

THERE ARE POLITICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL FORCES IN THIS COUNTRY AMONG THOSE BILLIONAIRES, AVID ADMIRERS OF THE THIRD REICH AS AN IDEAL SOCIETY, WHO WANT A POPULACE WHO ARE TOO POOR, UNDEREDUCATED, DEPRESSED AND CYNICAL TO DO ANYTHING BUT BE AND REMAIN THE SORT OF WORKER WHO WILL NEVER ASK FOR A RAISE OR BETTER HOUSING OR BETTER HEALTH CARE. PEOPLE LIKE THAT AREN’T AS EXPENSIVE TO MAINTAIN, NOR AS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, AS A MORE EDUCATED AND HEALTHY GROUP. THEREFORE, IN THIS CASE AS IN SO MANY OTHERS, ALL “CONSERVATIVE” FORCES ARE NOWADAYS BASED ON MAINTAINING AT ALL COST, THEIR OWN MONEY AND POWER.

THAT SHARED “PHILOSOPHY” IS THE REAL LINK BETWEEN VLADIMIR PUTIN AND DONALD TRUMP AND ALL THEIR CRONIES. ALL THEIR “CHRISTIAN” VIEWS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ABOUT CONTROL, NOT THE ONES THAT FIT INTO THE “BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL” KETTLE OF FISH. AS KARL MARX SAID, “RELIGION IS THE OPIATE OF THE MASSES,” AND THEIR OPIATE OF CHOICE WILL KEEP THEM MORE DOCILE AND SATISFIED, SO THE KOCH BROTHERS PROPAGATE IT. IN WIKIPEDIA’S ARTICLE, “OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE,” THE FULL QUOTATION IS LONGER AND MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL AND CARING. GOTO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_people. “Opium of the people,”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Karl Marx's statement. For Slipknot's song, see Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).

"Religion is the opium of the people" is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of German philosopher and economist Karl Marx. It was translated from the German original, "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" and is often rendered as "religion... is the opiate of the masses."

The quotation originates from the introduction of Marx's work A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, which he started in 1843 but which was not published until after his death. The introduction to this work was published separately in 1844, in Marx's own journal Deutsch–Französische Jahrbücher, a collaboration with Arnold Ruge.

The full quote from Karl Marx translates as: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people". Often quoted only in part, the interpretation of the metaphor in its context has received much less attention.[1]

Some other people have used similar phrases.


BY THE WAY, I MUSTN’T FORGET THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT AND THE POLICE FORCES WHO DO THE WET WORK FOR THE UBERRICH, ALL IN THE GOAL OF BEING A PATRIOT AND A FOLLOWER OF CHRISTIAN OBEDIENCE OVER CHRISTIAN CHARITY. WHAT THEY DO IS SUPPRESS IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE, A HIGH QUALITY OF MASS EDUCATION, MASS EGALITARIANISM, AND ESPECIALLY THE ACQUISITION OF A FREE-THINKING AND AWARE MIND BY MOST OF THE CITIZENS. IT IS NOT AN ACCIDENT THAT WHEN THE NAZIS OR THE BOLSHEVIKS OR OTHER TOTALITARIAN GROUPS MARCH INTO THEIR NEXT CLIENT COUNTRY, THEY CLAMP DOWN ON ALL OF THE MEANS OF COMMUNICATION AND THE WELL-EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS WHO DO TEND TO BE “A THREAT” TO OPPRESSION. EVEN IF EINSTEIN HADN’T BEEN A JEW, HE WOULD HAVE STILL BEEN IN DANGER UNDER THE NAZIS UNLESS HE HAD AGREED TO HELP THEM BUILD THEIR ATOMIC BOMB, AND YES, ACCORDING TO MY HISTORY COURSE IN COLLEGE, GERMANY WAS TRYING TO BUILD ONE.

HERE IN MY RETIREMENT YEARS I AM DOING THE ONLY THINGS I REALLY CAN TO HELP OUR COUNTRY OUT OF THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MORAL CRISIS THAT WE ARE ENMESHED WITHIN. I’M TOO ARTHRITIC TO MARCH, I DON’T BELIEVE IN POLITICALLY MOTIVATED VIOLENCE UNLESS WE WERE TO FIND OURSELVES CONFRONTED WITH THE EXISTENCE OF NAZI-LIKE AGGRESSIVE ACTIONS BY A CURRENT GOVERNMENT; SO, I AM DOING WHAT I DO BEST AND WITH MOST ENJOYMENT, READ/COMPARE AND ANALYZE/THINK/WRITE, AND EXPRESS MYSELF PROLIFICALLY.

I DO BELIEVE THAT, RATHER THAN MY BEING IN A PARANOID STATE OF MIND, TODAY’S ATTEMPTED ALT-RIGHT GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER IS TRULY A NATIONAL EMERGENCY, AS MUCH AS IF A NEW VIRAL PLAGUE OF SOME SORT WERE TO BREAK OUT HERE. IT’S A SPIRITUAL EMERGENCY OF OUR SOCIETAL IDENTITY, AND THAT MEANS A VERY GREAT DEAL TO ME. AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL IS MORE ABOUT ATTITUDE THAN “PURPLE MOUNTAINS’ MAJESTY.’’ HOWEVER, UNLESS THE BAD DUDES DO MARCH ON OUR CITIES WITH RIOT GEAR AND MACHINE GUNS, IN MODERN SS PATROLS OR MILITARY TANKS AS THEY DID IN FERGUSON, MO SO RECENTLY, ARRESTING NOT ONLY BLACK AND HISPANIC PEOPLE, BUT THE INTELLECTUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY DISOBEDIENT, ONE OF WHICH EVENTS, SHOCKINGLY, HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO OCCUR AMONG CIVILIAN POLICE FORCES UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE 2001 USA PATRIOT ACT.

POLICE FORCES DON’T NEED AND SHOULDN’T HAVE TANKS AND WARRIOR TRAINING. THAT JUST DRAWS MORE KILLERS TO THE FORCE. ON THE OTHER HAND, MORE DECENT, KIND AND CARING MEN AND WOMEN ON THE STREET AND WITH MUCH MORE HUMANISTIC TRAINING SUCH AS HOW TO “TALK DOWN” A SUSPECT WHO IS EXCITED AND ANGRY RATHER THAN SHOOTING HIM, WOULD BE WELCOME. THEY SHOULD BE REQUIRED, ALSO, TO MEET ON A REGULAR BASIS WITH THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHERE THEY SERVE AND PROTECT, ESPECIALLY IN TOWN MEETING STYLE OR PERHAPS TALKS BY POLICE ABOUT WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN AND LEARNED ABOUT PEOPLE WHILE BEING AN OFFICER. IF THAT WERE TO BE DONE, THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WOULD GET TO KNOW THEM AS PEOPLE. THAT IS THE FIRST STEP TO GETTING RID OF THE HATRED FOR THEM THAT CLEARLY DOES EXIST TODAY. RACIAL HATRED GOES BACK AND FORTH, AND IN BOTH GROUPS COULD BE AT LEAST PARTIALLY ALLEVIATED BY MORE, NOT LESS, PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCE AND OPEN INTERACTION AMONG ALL PARTIES. THE POLICE OFFICER WHO GOT OUT OF HIS PATROL CAR A YEAR OR TWO AGO AND, RATHER THAN SHOOING THE YOUNG BLACK MEN AWAY FROM THE BASKETBALL NET, STARTED TO PLAY WITH THEM. I BELIEVE THAT WAS A STROKE OF GENIUS. NOW THAT IS THE KIND OF KNOWHOW WE REALLY NEED. THESE MILITARISTIC TECHNIQUES THAT ARE BEING USED NOW, MERELY GIVE THE SADISTIC AMONG THEM ENCOURAGEMENT AND AID, WHILE DRAWING MORE BULLIES OF ALL KINDS TO THE FORCE.

I WANT FIRM AND CREATIVE PEACEFUL RESISTANCE, AS BLACK LIVES MATTER HAS BEGUN TO SHOW, AND SINCE THE TRUMP ELECTION A NUMBER OF INTERNET ORGANIZING GROUPS ARE EMERGING. ONE IS CALLED SIMPLY “RESISTANCE.” LOOK THE UP ON THE INTERNET. YEARS OF TRYING TO ENCOURAGE FREE THOUGHT AND DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM AMONG PEOPLE WHO FELT TOO COMPLACENT TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT REALLY IS SOMETHING THEY NEED TO BOTHER TO THINK ABOUT, HAS BEEN JUMP STARTED IN 2016 AND 2017, IN A VIRTUAL INSTANT BY THE EMERGENCE OF A FAST-TALKING, RABBLEROUSING DONALD TRUMP ON THE SCENE, AND THEN, WORST, HIS ACTUAL ELECTION. THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTS ARE BUBBLING UP LIKE ALCOHOL FROM A BARREL OF FERMENTING GRAPES NOW. PEOPLE ARE INDIVIDUALLY SEEKING METHODS AND LEADERS. SEE THIS GREAT “RESISTANCE MANUAL.”
GO TO https://www.resistancemanual.org/Resistance_Manual_Home.

I DO BELIEVE IN A LIFE-LONG CONTINUANCE OF SELF-EDUCATION, THE PERSISTENT AND GRADUAL PRACTICE OF CREATIVE AND LOGICAL THOUGHT, COOPERATIVE GROUP ENDEAVORS, AND A DEEP PERSONAL COMMITMENT OF ALL AMERICANS TO THE MODERN “MELTING POT” OF THOUGHT AND PEOPLES WHICH WE HAVE TODAY, AND WHICH THE RIGHT LEANING PEOPLE OF ALL STAMPS HATE SO VERY MUCH. THEY HATE IT BECAUSE THEY CAN’T EXIST UNENCUMBERED IN ITS’ PRESENCE. EVIL IS VANQUISHED BY GOOD.

THEY FEAR US BECAUSE THEY THINK WE WANT TO KILL THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS BY TEACHING AN OPEN-EYED, OPENMINDED INCLUSIVENESS AND AVID SEARCH FOR NEW INSIGHT BY EACH CITIZEN; NEW HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS; AND THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT HOW THE WORLD HAS, AND CONTINUES TO EVOLVE. TO ME THAT IS JUST GOD’S WAY OF CREATING, AND IS BASED ON THE GENETIC AND CULTURAL IMPROVEMENT OF THE SPECIES, ALONGSIDE THE GRADUAL ACCUMULATION OF NEW TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES. BY THAT I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT MEAN TO ADVOCATE THE RESUMPTION OF ANY KIND OF EUGENICS PROGRAM WHICH WOULD PREVENT THE PROCREATION OF “INFERIORS,” BUT AN ONGOING POSITIVE EDUCATION PROCESS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL, WHATEVER THEIR PARTICULAR PLATEAU OF LEARNING AND THINKING ABILITIES, OR STARTING POINT. A MENTALLY UNSOUND OR DEVELOPMENTALLY CHALLENGED PERSON CAN USUALLY BE IMPROVED BY TEACHING, MEDICATION, LOVING CARE, RESPECTFUL TREATMENT, AND PATIENCE. OF COURSE, FOR OUR NATION TO PURSUE SUCH A GOAL REQUIRES A FIRM AND PASSIONATE BELIEF IN THE INNATE AND HOLY VALUE OF EVERY LIFE FORM.

UNFORTUNATELY, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE PRESENTLY DEVOLVING, AND RAPIDLY. IT ISN’T BECAUSE WE HAVE ADDED ALL THOSE DARK SKINNED PEOPLE TO OUR COUNTRY, BUT BECAUSE WE AS A SOCIETY HAVE GRIEVOUSLY NEGLECT THE QUALITY AND EXTENT OF OUR EDUCATION AS A SOCIETY. OF COURSE, SOME STUDENTS WILL NOT LEARN AS RAPIDLY, THOROUGHLY, OR JOYOUSLY AS OTHERS, BUT ALL CHILDREN CAN LEARN AND, BY HEAVEN, SHOULD BE TAUGHT. IF THEY NEED SOME EXTRA HELP, GIVE IT TO THEM. EVERYBODY EVERY NOW AND THEN NEEDS SOME HELP. I HAVE A STRONG EMOTIONAL REACTION TO OUR SITUATION, WHICH PUTS ME ON THE SIDE OF LIGHT VERSUS THE SIDE OF DARKNESS; AND I HAVE BECOME THE NATURAL ENEMY OF ANTI-THOUGHT AS A PHILOSOPHICAL CONSTRUCT. THAT FACT GIVES ME PERSONAL PEACE, BECAUSE THE DEGRADATION OF HUMAN POTENTIAL BY THE EMOTIONAL “SELECTIVE BREEDING” AND BRAIN WASHING THAT IS OCCURRING IN THIS COUNTRY, IS THE WORK OF DARK FORCES, AND WE ALL WHO DO TRY AT LEAST TO WEAR WHITE HATS SHOULD STEP UP AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE HEALING OF OUR NATION. THERE WERE AT LEAST THREE CASES IN THE NEWS WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IN WHICH A TEACHER CRUELLY AND PURPOSELY BROWBEAT AND EMBARRASSED CHILDREN OF COLOR, IN ONE CASE CALLING AN ISLAMIC BOY “RAGHEAD.” SHE WAS FIRED, THANK GOODNESS. WE COULD START BY SIMPLY BEING FRIENDLY AND PLEASANT TO THOSE WHO WAIT ON US EVERY DAY – THE TAXI DRIVER OR GROCERY STORE CLERK, OR THE BEGGAR TO WHOM WE DO DEIGN TO CONTRIBUTE A DOLLAR OR TWO.

I’VE ALREADY SEEN SUGGESTIONS FROM THE ALT-RIGHT OF SOME VERY SCARY TYPES, INCLUDING STERILIZATION, WHICH WAS ACTUALLY PRACTICED AT LEAST OCCASIONALLY IN THE USA UP TO AROUND 1950. WOMEN IN THE US WHO WERE POOR AND THOUGHT TO HAVE AN EMOTIONAL OR MENTAL “INFERIORITY” OF ANY KIND WERE SOMETIMES LEGALLY STERILIZED UNDER A EUGENICS LAW. THAT WAS DONE BY THE SAME “CONSERVATIVES,” WHO TODAY ARE BEGINNING TO SPEAK ALOUD AGAIN ABOUT THE INFERIORITY OF ALL BROWN SKINNED OR “NON-WHITE” PEOPLE, AND THROW RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY AND DEBASING LANGUAGE ABOUT, AS THOUGH IT WERE A PERFECTLY DECENT THING TO DO.

THOSE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THAT ONLY WHITES ARE RIGHT, ARE IN THRALL TO THE INCORPOREAL AND BIBLICALLY FORBIDDEN WORSHIP OF POWER AND MONEY, RATHER THAN HAVING A HEALTHY APPRECIATION OF THEIR PROPER USES SUCH AS IMPROVING SOCIETY, STAVING OFF THE MISERY OF LIVING BEINGS IN STRESS, AND THE HEALTH OF THE EARTH ITSELF. I SAY IT THAT WAY, “WORSHIP,” AS THAT HAS BEEN FORBIDDEN IN BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, BECAUSE IT DOES SEEM TO ME THAT THERE IS AN “EVIL” THAT CANNOT BE KILLED COMPLETELY THAT ALWAYS ACCOMPANIES WEALTH AND POWER UNABATED. IT POPS UP OVER AND OVER THROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY, AND BEYOND. IN EUROPE, THERE HAVE BEEN FOUND SEVERAL LARGE MASS GRAVES, CARBON DATED TO THE NEOLITHIC AND EARLIER. THAT MEANS THAT THERE WAS EITHER DEADLY PLAGUE, A WAR, OR GENOCIDE THAT HAPPENED VERY RAPIDLY TO PRODUCE THAT MANY DEAD, WHO WERE SIMPLY PILED INTO A PIT IN THE GROUND RATHER THAN BURIED IN THE TRADITION OF THE GROUP. EVEN IN PREHISTORY THERE WAS USUALLY A PARTICULAR WAY OF BURIAL IN THOSE CULTURES, AN EARLY SIGN OF RELIGION AND OF SYMBOLIC THOUGHT.

OUR REGRESSION TO A BARBARIC FRAME OF MIND REALLY FRIGHTENS ME. IT IS OUR VERY INSTINCT TO RESPECT THE DEAD, AND FOR US TO JUST SLAUGHTER A JEWISH POPULATION AND THROW THEM ALL IN A HOLE IN THE GROUND IS SUB-HUMAN. NOT EVEN THE NEANDERTHALS DID THAT. IT REALLY HAS TO BE A FORM OF INSANITY, BUT IT IS CONTAGIOUS, AND THAT’S WHAT REALLY BOTHERS ME. THE SAVING POWER OF JESUS, BUDDHA, AND OTHERS WHOSE NAMES I DON’T KNOW – OH, YES, SIGMUND FREUD AND DR. BENJAMIN SPOCK – IS VERY CLEAR TO ME. THEY HAVE ALL MADE REAL CHANGE IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND HEALTH.

SOME INDIVIDUALS DO COME TO A PLACE OF INNER GENTLENESS AND PEACE AND MANAGE TO TEACH IT TO OTHERS. THAT, OF COURSE, IS WHAT PARENTS AND PEDAGOGUES ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, BUT UNFORTUNATELY TOO FEW OF US ARE EMOTIONALLY CAPABLE OF IT, SO WE ABUSE OUR CHILDREN IN TURN AS WE WERE OURSELVES ABUSED. SOMEHOW THAT FEELS “RIGHT,” BECAUSE IT’S SO FAMILIAR. THAT PROCESS PASSES BAD CHARACTERISTICS RIGHT DOWN THE “FAMILY LINE” OF THE CULTURE, SUCH AS INSTANCE AFTER INSTANCE OF RACIALLY RELATED ABUSE. NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE INTELLECTUAL AND EMOTIONAL TENOR OF A WHOLE SOCIETY CAN BE TAINTED BY SUCH INDUCED MENTAL ILLNESS. FROM SUCH ILLNESS COMES MOST OF THE VIOLENCE AND OTHER FORMS OF SIN THAT WE SEE IN OUR SOCIETY.

TOO FREQUENTLY, THE CHILDREN GROW UP ANGRY, HOPELESS, LACKING IN SELF-CONFIDENCE, PERHAPS DRUG ADDICTED AND IN A PERMANENT STATE OF GRIEF. THOSE AREN’T “CHARACTER FLAWS,” BUT ILLNESS, AND AT LEAST A THIRD OR MORE OF THE TIME, I BELIEVE, THEY ARE INDUCED RATHER THAN INHERITED. “AS THE TREE IS BENT, SO GROWS THE TWIG.” THE REALLY INTERESTING THING TO ME ABOUT THESE BENT TWIGS IS THAT A PERSON WHO SURVIVES SUCH A CHILDHOOD WILL OFTEN BECOME ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO ALL THAT PAIN. I’M SURE MOST PEOPLE HAVE SEEN A TREE TWISTED INTO LOVELY SHAPES BY THE JAPANESE ARTS OF BONSAI, NIWAKI, ETC. THE REASON I MENTION THIS IS THAT THE CREATION OF SUCH BEAUTIFULLY CONTORTED TREES IS AN ART FORM, AND THE CHILD WHO SURVIVES ONE, OR MUCH MORE LIKELY, A LIFELONG SERIES OF TRAUMATIC CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES, GENETICALLY SO INCLINED OR NOT, WILL BE “TWISTED.”

THAT CAN PRODUCE A DERANGED CRIMINAL OR A POET, BUT ALMOST CERTAINLY, A SOCIAL NONCONFORMIST. FROM THAT PAIN-BASED PSYCHOLOGICAL STANCE COMES WHAT I DO VALUE MORE HIGHLY THAN MOST OTHER HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS, THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT FREE THOUGHT AND FORM ONES’ OWN PERSONAL VIEW OF THE WORLD COMPLETE WITH, IF WE WORK AT IT A LITTLE, INSIGHTS.

SEE THE GREAT VICTORIAN NOVEL BY EMILY BRONTE, “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” FOR A BEAUTIFUL SYMBOLIC REFERENCE TO THIS. SCHOOLS WHICH DO NOT TEACH INSIGHT PRODUCING LITERATURE CANNOT BE TRULY SAID TO BE “SCHOOLS” AT ALL. TEXAS GOVERNOR PERRY WAS IN THE NEWS A FEW YEARS AGO TO LIMIT THE “NON-CONFORMIST” MATERIAL THAT WAS ALLOWED IN TEXAS SCHOOLBOOKS, PARTICULARLY THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION, THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF A CULTURE OF TOLERATION OF PERSONAL DIFFERENCES – GAY KIDS, DIFFERENT SKIN COLORS, AND DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL IMPULSES. THAT, AGAIN, IS SIMPLY NOT A SCHOOL; IT’S A TRAVESTY OF POLITICO-RELIGIOUS INDOCTRINATION. OH, I’M SORRY. I FORGOT TO ADD THE DISCLAIMER, “THAT’S JUST MY OPINION.”

I REALLY DON’T THINK THAT MY VIEW IS SMUG, BUT REALISTIC. IF WE DON’T WANT OUR KIDS TO GROW UP THINKING THAT EMOTIONAL/MENTAL/PHYSICAL ABUSE OVER SKIN COLOR IS JUST A-OKAY, A "RITE OF PASSAGE," THEN WE MUST ALLOW THE SCHOOLS TO INTRODUCE NEW AND PERHAPS MORE ENLIGHTENED AND INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGING VIEWS INTO OUR CHILDREN’S MINDS, WHICH WE DIDN’T OURSELVES BOTHER TO TEACH THEM. PARENTS ALMOST NEVER UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY THEMSELVES AS CITIZENS OF THE GREAT USA, HAVE THE RIGHT TO FREE THOUGHT, FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, AND THE RAINBOW OF LGBT ISSUES, THEN THEIR CHILDREN DO ALSO.

ONE THING IS CLEAR TO ME. MOST PEOPLE WHO BECOME CRIMINALS DO SO BECAUSE THEY DON’T PROPAGATE INSIDE THEIR MOST INTIMATE PERSONAL GREENHOUSE, THE MIND, WHAT I DARINGLY CALL A “SOUL.” MATHEMATICS WILL HELP US BUILD A BRIDGE, BUT ONLY HISTORY AND THE ARTS WILL TEACH US THOSE THINGS WHICH TO ME ARE FULLY HUMANIZING. SO OFTEN CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE THOSE GENTLER SKILLS ARE MASCULINE ENOUGH, OR POPULAR OR NECESSARY. THEY’RE “FLUFF,” INSTEAD, AND A WEAKENING INFLUENCE. THAT HAPPENS THROUGH BOTH PEER PRESSURE AND PARENTAL INFLUENCE. MANY A MAN WILL BEDEVIL HIS OVERLY “SENSITIVE” BOY, TO “MAKE A MAN OF HIM.” LIKEWISE BOTH PARENTS MAY SHAME A GIRL WHO ISN’T SUFFICIENTLY FEMININE, IS OUTSPOKEN, OR IS UNINTERESTED IN COOKING AND SEWING. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IT, JUST WATCH WHAT HAPPENS TO WHITE PEOPLE IN THE “CONSERVATIVE” PARTS OF THE USA IF THEY PAL AROUND WITH BLACKS, HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE GAY, FAIL TO GIVE SPECIAL FAVORS TO SOMEONE WHO IS WEALTHY, OR TALK AGAINST THE REPUBLICANS. I LOVE THE SOUTH, BUT IT WAS A PAINFUL AND INHIBITING PLACE FOR ME TO GROW UP. MY ANSWER WAS TO REBEL AND BECOME A TOMBOY. ON THE BENT TWIG AND THE EXTREME IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, SEE THE STATEMENT BELOW BY ALEXANDER POPE.

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803110350386: “OVERVIEW -- twig is bent, so is the tree inclined, as the

QUICK REFERENCE -- Proverbial saying, early 18th century; meaning that early influences have a permanent effect. There is a related comment of the mid 16th century, ‘a man may bend a wand while it is green and make it straight though it be never so crooked,’ but the current form comes originally from Alexander Pope's Epistles to Several Persons (1732): ‘'Tis education forms the common mind, Just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined.’

From: twig is bent, so is the tree inclined, as the in The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable »
. . . .”

WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I DIDN’T HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION OF THE BUDDHIST STYLE OF PHILOSOPHY, FEW WESTERNERS DO, BUT AS WE ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE BRUTAL TO EACH OTHER IN THIS COUNTRY, AS THE GROUP CONSCIENCE BECOMES ONE OF SEVERAL KINDS OF NEGATIVE, DESTRUCTIVE AND COMPULSIVE GROUP-THINK, I FEEL COMPELLED TO BECOME POLITICALLY COMMITTED TO THE OPPOSITE VIEW, AND MORE ACTIVE IN THAT FIGHT. BERNIE IS A FIGHTER FOR GOOD THINGS, AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO EMULATE FROM HIM. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, “THE CULTURE WARS,” BUT I BELIEVE THAT A BENIGN AND CIVILIZED SOCIETY CANNOT EXIST IN THE PATH WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY TRAVELING.

I AM A FOLLOWER OF THE TRUE PROGRESSIVES AND FREEDOM FIGHTERS OF OUR DAY. THAT BEGINS WITH PEOPLE LIKE BERNIE SANDERS, ROBERT REICH, MARTIN LUTHER KING, PRESIDENT JOHN KENNEDY, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, TEDDY ROOSEVELT, EVEN LYNDON JOHNSON, THOUGH HE WAS THOUGHT CRUDE BY MANY, AND INCLUDES MANY MORE. THAT’S WHY I LOVE TO DO THESE EXPLORATIONS INTO INFORMATION SOURCES SUCH AS LA PROGRESSIVE, MOTHER JONES, HUFFINGTON POST, RACHEL MADDOW, THE ENGAGING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING MICHAEL MOORE AND BILL MAHER, AND MANY OTHERS. TO ME, THEY AREN’T “RADICAL” NOR “UNAMERICAN,” BUT COMMITTED, AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT I LIKE VERY MUCH. EMOTIONALLY, I’M A SOLDIER OF SORTS, AND I HAVE FOUND MY ARMY.

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/20/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-its-not-helping-folks-but-theres-a-better-way/?source=newsletter
The smug style in American liberalism: It’s not helping, folks — but there’s a better way
Maybe it's human nature to gloat while Trump's voters lose their health care — but it's not the path to victory
CONOR LYNCH
MONDAY, MAR 20, 2017 05:00 AM EDT

Photographs -- Rachel Maddow; Bill Maher; Keith Olbermann (Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh/Janet Van Ham/Getty/Frederick M. Brown)

When various reports came out last week revealing that the American Health Care Act (Trumpcare) would disproportionately hurt segments of the population that favored Donald Trump in the presidential election, many liberals could hardly contain their glee.

“Good, I hope this impacts them horribly. Fuck them. They deserve to be hit the hardest,” wrote one commenter on the liberal website Daily Kos, while a Reddit user opined: “They voted for this to happen to other people, they deserve it.” Other liberals, though not exactly celebratory, could offer no sympathy to the ignorant rubes who let themselves get played by the Donald. Another Reddit user complained, “I think most people who call themselves liberals are tired of having their logic and valid arguments countered with total apathy and ignorance. They deserve [to lose their health insurance]. Period.”

The overall response from liberals, however, was more of a collective sigh than a collective sneer. For Democrats, this was an entirely predictable development and yet another example of large numbers of American people voting against their apparent interests because of their ignorance and cultural backwardness.

After decades of watching millions of Americans vote for right-wing charlatans who advocated economic policies that serve the wealthy and screw everyone else, some liberals have basically given up on appealing to these perceived yokels, who seem to care more about criminalizing abortion and hoarding guns than obtaining health are and decent wages. They are dumb, credulous and often intolerant; so why should we — progressive, rational, forward-thinking liberals — sympathize or try to reason with them? Let them lose their health care; maybe they’ll learn something this time around (though we all know they won’t).

In a prescient essay for Vox last year, Emmett Rensin called this condescending and contemptuous attitude the “smug style in American liberalism,” which he described as “a way of conducting politics, predicated on the belief that American life is not divided by moral difference or policy divergence . . . but by the failure of half the country to know what’s good for them.”

“If the smug style can be reduced to a single sentence,” Rensin worte, “it’s, Why are they voting against their own self-interest?”

VIDEO WHY TRUMP’S BUDGET CUT FOR ARTS FUNDING WILL BE A CULTURAL DISASTER — AND MAKES NO FISCAL SENSE,
Current Time 1:22/Duration Time 2:34

This question was bound to become even more prevalent with the election of Trump, who essentially won by flipping several Rust Belt states that Barack Obama had handily won in 2008 and 2012. Sure enough, many liberals have seemingly doubled down on this smug style, which tends to come out in full force whenever the president screws over his dumb, country-bumpkin supporters.

But this attitude has also been challenged by those on the left who argue that the Democratic Party has to offer a more populist vision and break out of its technocratic bubble in order to start winning elections again. This tends to offend many liberals, who respond by reminding everyone that the Democrats ran on the “most progressive platform in party history,” yet still failed to persuade uninformed blue-collar Americans, who credulously fell for the countless lies and false promises of Trump.

Both sides have a point, of course, and it is hardly smug to point out that American voters are overwhelmingly ignorant and uninformed about politics and government or that Trump supporters are particularly misinformed. Nor is it smug to correct someone when he or she states an obvious falsehood or to challenge the nonsensical rhetoric of a demagogue like Trump. The truth is, it can be hard not to come across as smug when you have to repeatedly debunk the endless falsehoods and conspiracy theories that come out of the president’s mouth (and when so many of his supporters seem unwilling to listen to reason).

It is smug, however, to disparage people for “voting against their interests” when in reality both parties have failed to adequately address the real problems facing poor and working-class communities across America today. While there can be no doubt that Hillary Clinton would have been a better president for the working and middle classes, it is also true that Trump was better on certain issues that are important to blue-collar workers, such as free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Even though Clinton opposed the TPP during her campaign, she didn’t have much credibility after having repeatedly praised it for years, whereas Trump immediately withdrew from the deal once in office). As Rensin noted in his essay, “No party these past decades has effectively represented the interests of these dispossessed,” but only one has “made a point of openly disdaining them too.” He continued:

<b>Abandoned and without any party willing to champion their interests, people cling to candidates who, at the very least, are willing to represent their moral convictions. The smug style resents them for it, and they resent the smug in turn.

Last week Sen. Bernie Sanders did something that many liberals would have probably considered a waste of time, holding a town hall-style meeting in a coal mining county in West Virginia where voters had overwhelmingly cast ballots for Trump. During the meeting one person expressed support for universal health care and said he had voted for Trump “solely because he said he was going to help us,” adding, “he was going to put the coal miners back to work, and we’re going to have health care and this and that.” Rather than disparaging this man as an ignorant hick — the natural impulse for many liberals in such a situation — Sanders respectfully informed him and the audience that Trumpcare would result in millions of people losing their health insurance while giving the wealthiest Americans a massive tax cut. By the end of the town hall meeting, Sanders had seemingly won over the entire crowd.

As Trump and his Republican colleagues continue to screw over poor and working-class people in the days and months ahead, Democrats will have a perfect opportunity to expose the president as the fraud that he has always been and reclaim the “party of the people” title. Cheering as people lose their health insurance may not be the best way to go about this.



RENSIN’S VOX ESSAY ON POLITICAL SMUGNESS AND WHY WE SHOULD REFORM THAT PREJUDICE ON OUR PARTS IF WE DO WANT TO WIN THE PRESIDENCY AND LEGISLATIVE SEATS IN THE FUTURE

The smug style in American liberalism - Vox
www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism
by Emmett Rensin on April 21, 2016 .... The Paranoid Style in American Politics, this essay exists in some obvious reference to, advanced a similar line in writing ...

Emmett Rensin - Vox
www.vox.com/authors/emmett-rensin
Emmett Rensin July 7, 2016, 8:40 a.m. ET. Trump is campaigning to return to an America that never existed. The Limousine Liberal explains why his approach is ...

Emmett Rensin - Page 2 - Vox
www.vox.com/authors/emmett-rensin/archives/2
Emmett Rensin May 26, 2016, 2:20 p.m. ET ... A collection of essays written in Italian and then translated to English, the book captures the process of learning a ...

ESSAYS — Emmett Rensin
emmettrensin.com/essays/
Sep 19, 2016 - Essays. Andrew Sullivan's Delusional Dreams (Jacobin). You Don't Know ... Book Review: The Limousine Liberal, by Steve Fraser (Vox).

Is liberalism “smug”? - Slate
www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/.../is_liberalism_smug.html
Apr 22, 2016 - In an essay for Vox, Emmett Rensin says yes. “There is a smug style in ... Vox says smugness has reshaped the Democratic Party. How droll.

Vox Calls Out 'The Smug Style in American Liberalism' | National Review
www.nationalreview.com/corner/.../vox-calls-out-smug-style-american-liberalism
Apr 22, 2016 - Writing in Vox, Emmett Rensin condemns the “smug style of American liberalism,” and his extended essay is worth your time. Rensin argues ...

Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) | Twitter
https://twitter.com/emmettrensin?lang=en
The latest Tweets from Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin). ... Foreign Policy runs a critique of my essay on political violence, with my response to the critique ...

Does the Left Have a Smug Problem? - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/04/does-the-left-have-a-smug.../479961/
Apr 26, 2016 - Last week, Vox's Emmett Rensin wrote a blistering critique called “The Smug Style in American Liberalism.” Whatever you think of the essay's ...

Are Liberals Too Smug? Nah, We're Too Condescending. | Mother ...
www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/04/liberals-smug-condescending
Apr 23, 2016 - That's what Emmett Rensin says at Vox, anyway. Unfortunately, his essay runs to a Voxtastic 7,000 words, so there probably aren't too many ...



ON MODERN LEFTIST THOUGHT AND RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics

“Left-wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy and social inequality.[1][2][3][page needed][4] It typically involves a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others (prioritarianism), as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished (by advocating for social justice).[1] The term left wing can also refer to "the radical, reforming, or socialist section of a political party or system".[5]

The political terms Left and Right were coined during the French Revolution (1789–1799), referring to the seating arrangement in the Estates General: those who sat on the left generally opposed the monarchy and supported the revolution, including the creation of a republic and secularization,[6] while those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions of the Old Regime. Use of the term "Left" became more prominent after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815 when it was applied to the "Independents".[7] The word "wing" was appended to Left and Right in the late 19th century,[citation needed] usually with disparaging intent, and "left-wing" was applied to those who were unorthodox in their religious or political views. . . . .”

The term was later applied to a number of movements, especially republicanism during the French Revolution in the 18th century, followed by socialism,[8] communism, anarchism, and social democracy in the 19th and 20th centuries.[9] Since then, the term left-wing has been applied to a broad range of movements[10] including civil rights movements, feminist movements, anti-war movements, and environmental movements,[11][12] as well as a wide range of parties.[13][14][15]

According to author Barry Clark, "Leftists [...] claim that human development flourishes when individuals engage in cooperative, mutually respectful relations that can thrive only when excessive differences in status, power, and wealth are eliminated.".[16]



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Left
New Left
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of educators, agitators and others who sought to implement a broad range of reforms on issues such as civil rights, gay rights, abortion, gender roles, and drugs,[2] in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist approach to social justice and focused mostly on labor unionization and questions of social class.[3][4] Sections of the New Left rejected involvement with the labor movement and Marxism's historical theory of class struggle,[5] although others gravitated to variants of Marxism like Maoism. In the United States, the movement was associated with the hippie movement and anti-war college-campus protest movements including the Free Speech Movement.


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. . . .

Jack Weinberg and sit-in[edit]

On October 1, 1964, former graduate student Jack Weinberg was sitting at the CORE table. He refused to show his identification to the campus police and was arrested. There was a spontaneous movement of students to surround the police car in which he was to be transported. The police car remained there for 32 hours, all while Weinberg was inside it. At one point, there may have been 3,000 students around the car. The car was used as a speaker's podium and a continuous public discussion was held which continued until the charges against Weinberg were dropped.[3]

Mario Savio leading a rally on the steps of Sproul Hall in 1966

On December 2, between 1,500 and 4,000 students went in to Sproul Hall as a last resort in order to re-open negotiations with the administration on the subject of restrictions on political speech and action on campus.[3] Among other grievances was the fact that four of their leaders were being singled out for punishment. The demonstration was orderly; students studied, watched movies, and sang folk songs. Joan Baez was there to lead in the singing, as well as lend moral support. "Freedom classes" were held by teaching assistants on one floor, and a special Channukah service took place in the main lobby. On the steps of Sproul Hall, Mario Savio[1] gave a famous speech:

“... But we're a bunch of raw materials that don't mean to be — have any process upon us. Don't mean to be made into any product! Don't mean — Don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone! We're human beings! ... There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious — makes you so sick at heart — that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.[4]”

At midnight, Alameda County deputy district attorney Edwin Meese III telephoned Governor Edmund Brown, Sr, asking for authority to proceed with a mass arrest. Shortly after 2 a.m. on December 4, 1964, police cordoned off the building, and at 3:30 a.m. began the arrest. Close to 800 students were arrested,[3] most of which were transported by bus to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, about 25 miles away. They were released on their own recognizance after a few hours behind bars. About a month later, the university brought charges against the students who organized the sit-in, resulting in an even larger student protest that all but shut down the university. . . . .”




THE FINAL RANT:

DEAR ONES AROUND THE WORLD, IF ANY OF THIS RINGS A BELL FOR YOU, GO TO THE INTERNET AND CHECK OUT SOME OF THE SOURCES I HAVE MENTIONED ABOVE WHERE THERE IS SOME POSITIVE SOCIAL FERMENTATION AND ACTION GOING ON. BERNIE SANDERS IS ONE OF THE BEST, MOST HONEST, AND MOST INTELLIGENT LEADERS THAT WE HAVE HAD IN YEARS, AND HE’S HANGING IN THERE AFTER HIS LOSS OF THE PRESIDENCY TO A CONNIVING DNC, YEA, LIKE UNTO A PIT BULL ON THEIR LEGS. THAT’S ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS I LIKE ABOUT BERNIE. READ HIS STATEMENTS ABOUT LIFE, SOCIAL ACTION AND POLITICS. WATCH HIS VIDEOS ESPECIALLY WHEN HE GIVES AN IMPASSIONED SPEECH. THAT’S WHAT STARTED ME ON A HABIT OF READING HIS SAYINGS. HE HAS A PERSONAL WEBSITE AS A SENATOR AND AT THE “OUR REVOLUTION” SITE, AND MAYBE MORE. ROBERT REICH ALSO DOES. FOR SOMETHING LIGHTER ON THESE POLITICAL SUBJECTS, INCLUDING A SERIES OF THE SANDERS QUOTES, GO TO THE WEBSITES http://imgur.com/gallery/ItpTW AND SIMPLY “IMGUR.” EVEN IF YOU’RE AGING, EVEN IF YOU’RE ARTHRITIC, YOU WILL FIND A NEW INVIGORATION AND JOY THAT WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY COME TO YOU, AS YOU TAKE YOUR PLACE IN THE NEWLY EMERGING ARMY OF POSITIVE, CREATIVE, PROUD, HEROIC SOULS AND FIGHT A DANGEROUS AND SHOCKING ALT-RIGHT THAT IS SO SIMILAR TO THE THIRD REICH IN ITS’ POINTS OF VIEW THAT PEOPLE WHO CALL IT “NEO-NAZISM” CAN BE FORGIVEN FOR THAT. CALLING A SNAKE A SNAKE IS NOT SLANDER, NOR FOOLISH EITHER.

WHY AM I SO UP IN THE AIR ABOUT THE ALT-WRONG? I WAS BORN IN 1945, MY UNCLES CAME HOME WITH STORIES OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS, MASSIVE DESTRUCTION OF CITIES, HOMELESS, ORPHANED AND STARVING CHILDREN, AND OTHER KINDS OF HORROR. I WASN’T EVEN JEWISH, BUT THAT HAD AN EFFECT ON ME. THE ATOMIC BOMB WAS DROPPED ON JAPAN IN THE MONTH AND YEAR THAT I WAS BORN, AND THE RUSSIA/AMERICAN ARMS RACE WAS ON BY THE TIME I WAS IN FIRST GRADE. I REMEMBER EXPLODING FURIOUSLY ON THE PLAYGROUND IN MY SECOND YEAR IN SCHOOL WHEN MY BEST FRIEND MARK SILLS TOLD ME THAT A NEW BOMB HAD BEEN DEVELOPED THAT COULD “DESTROY THE EARTH.” I SHOUTED AT HIM THAT HE WAS LYING. THAT WAS THE SECOND-GENERATION NUKE, CALLED THE HYDROGEN BOMB. A COUPLE OF DECADES LATER, THE RUSSIANS UNVEILED THE MOST DIABOLICAL YET, THEY NEUTRON BOMB. THE NEWS STORIES SAID THE PREFERRED FEATURE OF THAT ONE IS THAT IT KILLS ALL THE PEOPLE OTHER LIFE FORMS IN THE ARE, BUT LEAVES BUILDING, VEHICLES AND OTHER SUCH USEFUL THINGS FOR THE RUSSKIES TO COME ALONG LATER AND COLLECT FOR THEIR OWN REUSE. THERE IS AN ESPECIALLY COLD TURN OR MIND IN THAT. FINALLY, A STALEMATE WAS REACHED, WHICH RESEMBLES TWO TOMCATS GLARING AT EACH OTHER AND HOWLING IN THE WAY THAT ONLY ANGRY CATS CAN. THAT WAS AN AGREEMENT CALLED “MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION,” OR MAD. SO WELL NAMED!

NOT LONG AFTER THAT, THE BOOK “SILENT SPRING” WAS PUBLISHED, AND A SHOCKED WORLD DISCOVERED THAT THE ELEGANT AND DELICATE BLUEBIRD WAS APPROACHING EXTINCTION BECAUSE THEIR EGGS WERE COMING OUT WITH SUPER THIN SHELLS DUE TO THE VERY HEAVY USE OF DDT IN THE ENVIRONMENT. LIKEWISE, MONARCH BUTTERFLIES ARE NEXT ON THE LIST, BECAUSE THE PLANT WHICH THEY REQUIRE IN ORDER TO MATE AND LAY EGGS WAS ALSO GOING EXTINCT – MILKWEED. I AM HAPPY TO SAY THAT MY FATHER, “JUST AN OLD FARM BOY,” HAD ALLOWED A PATCH OF MILKWEED TO CONTINUE TO GROW IN THE GARDEN.

NEW ATTENTION TO THE ENVIRONMENTS AROUND THE GLOBE WAS BROUGHT TO VIBRANT LIFE BY GROUPS LIKE GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL. THAT OVERALL PUSH FOR A MORE BEAUTIFUL, KINDER, GENTLER, AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY AND WORLD WAS, OF COURSE, HATED BY THE CYNICAL RIGHTISTS IN POLITICS, RELIGION AND BUSINESS, WHO WANT TO REAP THAT LAST HANDFUL OF COAL DUST AND THE GRIMY TAR SANDS. I LEARNED OVER TIME TO FEAR THE FUTURE AND BECAME ANGRY AT THE POPULARLY MAINTAINED STATUS QUO DESPITE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT KIND OF EARTH WE ARE GOING TO LEAVE TO OUR PROGENY. AND NOW THIS TIME, IN 2016 AND 2017 UNDER THE TRUMP REGIME, I AM IN ACTION MODE. IF WE CAN PULL TOGETHER AGAIN IN POLITICAL POSITIVITY TO PREVENT MASS EXECUTIONS AND INCARCERATIONS OF THE POOR, THE SICK, THE BROWN-SKINNED, THE RELIGIOUS MINORITIES OF ALL KINDS, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, OURSELVES THE FREE THINKING ACTIVITISTS, WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED OUR DESTINY ON THIS EARTH. AT LEAST, THAT IS WHAT I BELIEVE, AND SINCE I AM REACHING THE NATURAL END OF MY LIFE ALREADY (GIVE OR TAKE A DECADE OR SO), IT GIVES ME SOMETHING BIG AND EXCITING TO BE A PART OF. NAMASTE.