Warfighting

There is a lot of combat talk in this ongoing series, and with good reason. It seems that life in society is more like war than life. It seems that the philosophy of war is more appropriate to health and peaceful living than any other philosophy at least for people who value reason and life. You can really be beaten down in this world unless you "fight, fight, fight, fight," as Frank Sinatra used to say in his live concerts when fooling around with the band. I don't think that he knew how prophetic he was.



Why is the warrior philosophy so important? In this world people do not want to just shoot you--or your ideas--down, they want to tear you to shreds, denigrate and humiliate you in the process and you are both supposed to laugh about it afterwards. These days someone can sue you or merciless attack you in the press and utterly destroy your reputation, and fully expect to go out for coffee and crumb cakes later. It is more like Wonderland than life.

There is a particular glee in maliciousness that did not seem to exist here before. I never lived through any other time, but in watching the great American classic films for example, you get a sense that things were not so dirty. That does not mean people were angels. Far from it. But, there did seem to be a kind of balance in society that people like you could appeal to, and even if you would not be heard, at least there was some kind of appeal. Just as an example, no matter how many signs are placed around places that are supposed to be quiet such as in libraries or movie theatres, people still insist on taking their bloody cell phone calls as if no one else on the face of the earth existed or mattered. It sends a very clear message: F-ck you! Who cares if it disturbs you. I'll do what I want! If you have the courage to try to appeal to someone to seek redress, then it becomes all about you, your unfriendliness, your unreasonableness, your "anger." This mentality is at the heart of the problem for rational people. It is mentality of homelessness, a mentality that sees ideas and values as nondescript entities disconnected and uprooted from any type of integrated system of ideas. Ayn Rand called them "floating abstractions. Leibniz called them "monads." An excellent American martial arts instructor was more straightforward. He just called them "bullshit." Whatever you call them, it is not surprising that people, American in particular, have great difficulty in critical thinking, completing a thought, because both require connecting ideas and that requires a working brain. When thinking matters through and integrating knowledge in general are held as noble goals, then one does not strive for "floating abstractions," but for understanding. When greater understanding is your purpose, at some point along your journey you realize that cell phones, loud talking, and horseplay in quiet places is inappropriate. Why? Because you have a sense of appropriateness, logic, order, cause, and effect. In other words, you have built a life based on an integrated system of knowledge that is biologically sound. That leads to common sense so that you don't have to be told or wait for someone to complain about out of place noises, you know it already and simply do not want to disturb no so much because you are saint, but because it just is not necessary.

Rational people, no matter how young you are, will feel an understandable repulsiveness at the flippant attitude that too damn many people get away with under the guise of "humor" or "wit." The greater question that will undoubtedly occur to you is why should you show prudence, caution, and consideration while others parade around flaunting their inconsiderately vulgar behavior? There is no other logical answer except that it is in your interests to do so. Here is an example of where the warrior philosophy comes into play. If you accept the premises of society, then you should turn the other cheek as it were because it is a part of some make-believe social contract. This is smack of dishonesty. On the other hand, if you take a more independent path, and place your survival at the top of your concerns, then you can coldly and objectively evaluate what to do in the face of gross injustice. If you say something to an obnoxious buffoon in a library or movie theatre will it cause you trouble? If you fight some ape-like moron because he insulted you, is the trade off in terms of jail time, loss of freedom, and opportunity for earning money worth the temporary satisfaction you may feel in pulverizing him or verbally putting her in her place? Usually the answer is no. The fact that you are so often confronted with such discouragingly negative choices in life shows not that you have a problem with your thinking, but that people in general are brutes with a very low intellectual capacity. Certainly in general they have a very low capacity for human understanding in all of its forms. In other words, unless you want to spend a lifetime in disillusioned anguish, you have to define concepts for yourself and build your own value system based on truth, reality, and preservation. That will undoubtedly lead you to a warrior philosophy.

Employers fire you without notice, teachers call your ideas stupid, parents humiliate or berate you in public or worse, they beat you in private while pretending to be pillars of society. Everywhere you turn, people behave more like sworn enemies than friends and it all seems to be based on one big illusion. From the perspective of truth and independence, it seems that the Founders of America were extraordinarily insightful about the threats to liberty, happiness, and life. While their emphasis was understandably focused on politics, the essence of the dilemma is directly applicable to the individual life. For, it seems that life in society is centered around slavery of one form or another. People seem to be overwhelming concerned about getting control over others. First they try with various carrots, bells, whistles or Trojan gifts: "be nice," "smile," "be friendly," "have fun," "be cool," which all translate to the same thing. "Make us feel comfortable by telling us how great we are, agreeing with us, and being more like us. If that does not work, they try various forms of guile like guilt: "you should do it to be a good neighbor, a good son, a good daughter, a good father, a good mother, a good citizen, a good soldier, a good leader, etc. Writers like Nietzsche encouraged people to question concepts like "good" so that the individual could determine what the word means exactly and how it is being used; for as he aptly put it "there is blood and cruelty at the bottom all 'good' things."

How people use words and their premises is a form of analysis that teachers rarely teach you in school. It is even rarer still for teachers to be bold, strong, and independent enough to encourage you question the premises they use because obviously that would call into question everything that they are teaching. However, if what they are teaching has the strength of truth, it will endure rigorous questions and stand the test of time. A person's desire for you to question their premises and beliefs is the mark of strength and truth. Truth needs no defense. For a teacher or a so-called intellectual, to become defensive toward your questions is the greatest indication that what they teach cannot stand on its own, and if an idea cannot stand on its own why would someone want to teach it?

Questions like these, which conventional outlets in society rarely encourage you ask, get straight to the heart of the matter. Nietzsche called it philosophizing with hammers and arrows, but these were just metaphors for intellectual fortitude. One of the ways to arrive at that kind of kind of intellectual strength is through a philosophy that builds its edifice from the ground up, starting with what is true and verifiable and going from there. In other words you start with the the premise that Ayn Rand called existence exists; or A is A. Aristotle said it too. All of the foolishness that encourage you to doubt reality, that "your reality is different from my reality," that "to be is to be perceived," and the like are just distractions, and generally lead you to drugs and madness. Life among men seems to be full of distractions that lead you nowhere.



If gifts and guile do not work, then people resort to outright intimidation: do it or else...we will fire you, hurt you, jail you, or kill you. While most of life is not always this extreme, history is full of enough of examples to show that this is a significant part of life that cannot be ignored, that is if you believe A is A, and the emperor has no clothes.



It may seem easier to go along with the flow, to buy into the illusion and refrain from "making waves." To be sure this path generally provides greater financial rewards for society rewards its obedient foot soldiers, those who proselytize its message without question. That of course rules out independence. On the other hand, if independence is important to you, then you must find some way to live in this world without betraying your values or the things that you hold dear. Since financial rewards are often tied to betrayal, it is a difficult challenge to face. It is worth facing however, not only because it makes you stronger and forges a character. It does, but these have become hollow platitudes by now. The challenge is worth facing because it makes your life more solid and meaningful in the end. Facing the challenge and overcoming it eventually--for it may take some time--will make you more flexible, intelligent, worldly, and strong. These were the kinds of values that the Framers of America held in high esteem. For, these are the kinds of values that endure the test of time and that always build a stronger life no matter what the circumstances.



To see how this is true read Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, or On a Genealogy of Morals by Frederic Nietzsche.

Art and Value

From time to time we will include book excerpts, short stories, poems, etc. that seem particularly helpful in illuminating what is at stake and the things that you have to protect in your life if you are going to live a life that is your own. Art, value, and ideas must be protected every bit as much as property, money, or life. Art is life. Ideas are life. Property is life. Time is life. Money is life. Life is a value. Life is the ultimate value. One of the reasons that America's framers of the Constitution were so amazing, is that their insight into humanity was extraordinary. For example, they sought to protect "freedom of speech" in order to protect ideas. They sought to protect property from "unlawful searches and seizures," the right to "hold assembly" and other important rights because each one of these represents individual life. You spend time to earn money, and time is a abstract concept. Time represents the minutes of your life that you spend doing something like earning money. If you spend your time earning money, money then becomes the product of your time and your life. They are causally connected. To understand that of course you cannot have given up the desire to know. In other words, knowledge, thinking, and reason must still be important values to you. You cannot have abandoned, as so many would have you do, the desire for independent thought. More fundamentally you cannot have relinquished the importance of thinking in your life.

To understand the causal connections between things, you have to be able to think critically and be willing to exert the effort to arrive at a logical conclusion. The fact that money, ideas, property, and art are values like life and are products of life is self-evident if you have not fled from thinking as so many have. And, if you have not abandoned the process of thinking and knowing, then you are often a minority, alienated, and perhaps vilified. To endure a vociferous condemnation for rational ideas is an extremely hard thing to bear. No one teaches you how to bear it or that it is even worth bearing. But, it is worth bearing. In the end your Independence is at stake. And, at the end of the day--as they say--your own ideas and your own Independence are all that you have.

The warrior philosophy and the fighting spirit give you the intellectual tenacity that you desperately need to survive in this world either as you are or as you want to be. An intellectual wasteland is the only other alternative, and you may have already noticed that on the horizon.

So, enjoy the story, and while reading it think also of what is at stake in your life. Can you see through the illusion?

Where Love Will Be King.[1]

© 2005 By D. L. Evans

“Stay away from that girl. Do you hear me? Keep it up, and you’ll end up just like Clearance, thirty-five, and can’t hold a job. And, even if he could, it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference because the State is up his ass for 50% of whatever he makes. That’s your happy world. Yes sir, that’s the place where you think love exists. Face it boy, people ain’t no damn good. You’d better learn to accept that. The Lord is all you’ve got. The Lord and tough love. That’s all there is boy, tough love.”
“But…”
“Boy, what did I tell you about “but-ing” me? There is no but. Now, get in that kitchen and fix me something to eat. You hear me?” James jerked his body as if to kick Michael.
Michael ran toward the kitchen. It was not the first time. Cruelty seemed to be a way of life, and fear a constant companion. He never understood it, but he reluctantly learned to accept it. He did not hate his father, but he did not love him either. He just wanted the beatings to stop. And, if there was something more out there than sorrow and pain, he wanted to find it, wherever it was, and forever leave behind the sadness that always seemed to rise and fall with the sun, forever a part of this life of ours. Love had to be more than pain, he thought. It had to be more than languor. He wanted to believe that.
“And hurry up! I want to get to church early today. Anna said that she’s coming to service. That woman could turn a saint into a sinner! She’s got one of those heart-shaped asses. You know what I mean? Of course you don’t. What could you possibly know about it? Anyway, I need to give a good sermon. You understand me boy? Yes Lord, I need to give a good sermon,” he muttered to himself while fixing his tie in the big mirror.
“Did you hear me boy?”
“Yes!” Michael exclaimed. Is Courtney coming too?”
“What did I just say to you? I don’t want you messing this up for me. I told you to keep away from that girl. She’s too smart for your dumb ass anyway.”
Michael and Courtney had been friends since childhood. They seemed to dream the same dream, with hearts that beat for the same love, a secret love. For, the world was cold toward what was to them soft and beautiful and pure.
“So just forget the whole damn thing, you hear?”
“Why?”
“Because I said so!”
“But, you are trying to be with her mother.”
“You want to get smacked? That’s none of your damn business. As long as I pay the bills around here, you will do as I say not as I do. Understand?”
“No.”
“Don’t get smart with me boy. Everybody’s a goddamn smart ass, but it’s nothing that a slap across the mouth won’t fix.”
James raised his hand. Michael ran.
“That’s what I thought. Boy, you need to learn your place. Everything and everybody on God’s green earth has its place, and you are no exception. I’ll tell you what you need to do. You need to stop daydreaming about things that will never be. You are never going to amount to anything if you don’t start making your way in this world. By the time I was your age I had two jobs and I was the leading the church choir. That’s the problem with you kids today: you have it too easy. And, didn’t I tell you that I don’t like my eggs runny?
Michael cringed.
James pulled his hand back, and swung the heavy part of his palm onto Michael’s temple. Michael’s eyes crossed for a moment, his knees buckled, and he dropped the plate on the cold, marble floor. The plate broke in half to splatter eggs, and pieces of smoked ham to distant corners. His father looked down at the mess with some surprise, and then refocused his attention on Michael. A sharp stroke of fear flashed in the pit of Michael’s abdomen as he looked at the dark scowl forming on his father’s face. Raising his fist high in the air as he stood towering over the seventeen-year-old boy, James swung it downward in a consuming rage. However, for the first time, Michael noticed something in himself that he had never felt before. Fear was beginning to give way to his own anger, anger at the pain, anger at the humiliation, but most of all anger at the loneliness he felt in a world full of people so different than he.
His father’s big hand crashed down on his skull, and just as Michael was about to fight back for the first time, he felt the sharp point of his father’s alligator shoes in the pit of his belly.
“I see that I need to teach you a lesson again. You never learn do you boy? This is going to hurt me more than it does you,” he said with a smile faintly showing on his grimaced face.
James unloosened his belt, and as Michael doubled over he could only think that there must be a place far away from such pain where love not hate was supreme.

* * *
The mixture of races made her unique, inside and out. She had caramel skin and wheat-colored hair. Her slightly sharp nose and angular lips blended well with her eyes, which were a deeply, warm mahogany brown. She was slender and moved like a ballerina.
“Courtney sit down! People are staring at you!”
“They always stare mama. I’m used to it now. Are you sure that Michael is coming?”
“Is that all you ever think about? People are going to think that you are a tramp.”
“Let them think what they want. They do that anyway. Didn’t you always tell me to be myself or was that a lie too?”
“Watch your mouth! I didn’t raise you to have a mouth like that.”
“You didn’t raise me, Papa did.”
“Your father was a bum. A real man would not have left us nothing. Always putting those silly ideas in your head about love and truth. What did that ever get him? What did it ever get me? If he had spent more time attending to his business, and me, we wouldn’t have to work so hard now.”
“How can you say that mama? He loved you.”
“To hell he did. All that man ever cared about was himself, and you. He treated everybody else like garbage. You were always his little angel. He didn’t care about what happened to me. The only reason he married me was because I was pregnant with you. Oh, he didn’t tell that to his little angel? I don’t know why. He told you everything else. Well, now you know. And, don’t look so surprised. That is the way it is. When do people ever plan on kids? Maybe some of those rich folk with their nannies and chauffeurs can plan them. But, the rest of us just have to settle for losing ourselves in a few minutes of pleasure to escape the pain of this life for a while. And, trust me, it’s only a few minutes. And men, they never want kids. They just want that good feeling that brings them into this world. At least nowadays we can get paid for it. If it weren’t for that, what else would we get out of it? So, you see, it’s just like I said, men are no damn good. And why don’t you have a boyfriend?”
“Men don’t interest me.”
“I see.”
“Don’t be silly mama. I don’t mean like that.”
“I’m glad to hear that at least.
“The men I know are hollow. They talk about the silliest things: football, basketball, baseball, or beer. And they laugh at everything. Everything is funny. But, I think that life is too serious for that. Sometimes it makes me sick. And, even if I bring up a serious topic they run away as if I have AIDS or something. It’s stupid.”
“You sound just like your father. I always told him that he thought too deeply about things.”
“I hate when you talk like that. You say it like it is an insult.”
“Look, men only think about one thing, and it is not your opinion I can tell you that. Men are the kind of things that laugh when they belch. They are the kind of things that try to see who can pee the furthest or talk the loudest. Do you think that that wants to hear your opinion? Look child, keep your opinions to yourself, and you’ll go far in this world.”
“I don’t want to go far in the world. I just want to be happy. But, they never seem to be the same.”
“Happiness does not exist. Life is just one distraction after another to break up boredom until you die. You will do well to remember that.”
“So, what are we doing here?”
“You ask too many questions. You always have. And nobody likes anybody that asks so many questions. But, if you must know, you need people, and Church is how you get accepted. That is just the way it is. I didn’t invent the world. I just live in it.”
“I can’t talk to you mama. You always say the same thing like every one else. You’ll understand when you grow up, blah, blah, blah. Well, I’m all grown up now and everyone still says the same thing. Michael is the only one I can talk to. At least he understands me.”
“There you go with Michael. Michael this. Michael that. I’m telling you Courtney, you mark my words; he will break your heart. They always do. Men are apes. Oh sure, they’ll laugh at your jokes no matter how stupid they are. They’ll look in your eyes and tell you how beautiful they are. They will pretend to be interested in the things you say even though you know they could bore the pants off a clown. You can even call them apes, and they’ll laugh and agree with you as if it is a compliment. All this just to get in your pants. But, in point of fact they are apes. They’ll hump anything that moves and beat on their chests like rulers of the jungle. And love, baby please! Their idea of love is a quick one after a night of hard drinking at a strip club. Sugar, you’d better get hip to the world if you don’t want to turn out like me.”
“I don’t think that you are so bad mama, but you don’t understand it and you don’t understand me. You never have. The men you know may be like that, but Michael isn’t. Not all men are dogs like you say.”
“I said apes not dogs.”
“Whatever.”
“Yeah well maybe so. But, I’ve been on this earth a lot longer than you, and I’ve known a lot of men in my day. The best you can hope for is a man with a job and not too many vices. Now Michael’s father, that is a different story. He has a pair if you know what I mean.”
“Mama!”
“What? Don’t act like little miss proper with me. I know what you and your friends talk about. Don’t pretend like you have never seen one before.”
“No!”
“Well, you are never going to get a boyfriend if you don’t learn to give it up every now and then.”
“Mama. How can you talk like that in church?”
“What? It’s the truth. You need to give it up sometimes if you want to
keep a man. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that you should go around jumping into bed with the first man who comes along. But, if you want to hold onto your man, you have to let him have a taste.”
“If you say so mama.”
“I do say so. As I said, Deacon James is different. Even as a Deacon he never passes judgment on the things that I’ve done. He’s not like the rest. If things were different, I mean if I wasn’t spoken for, who knows.”
“You mean Charlie? He doesn’t care about you mama. He calls you his little whore.”
“Oh, he doesn’t mean it. That is just his way of showing his love, that’s all. Besides, with my past who would have me? Now, don’t start any trouble. We’ve got a good thing with Charlie. His family has money and he has a good job. People respect him, maybe some of that will rub off on me, and if you play your cards right. . . .”
“--Does the respect of others mean so much to you? I get so tired of always having to do things to please others. Is that what life is all about? Playing games and making all the right moves? Don’t you want something more?”
“Shut up! What do you know about it? You don’t know anything about this stinking world or what it takes to get along. What am I supposed to do? Everybody talks about happiness, telling you to smile all the time. Well they can kiss my ass. Happiness? Ain’t nothing but some old bullshit if you ask me. All the things people expect you to do. Hell, it’s struggle enough just trying to find ways to pay the bills to hold on, and don’t dare fall behind in your bills. Then they’ll call you a loser, with a capital ‘L.’ Don’t dare have a low credit score. Then you can’t buy a good house or get a good rate, and don’t even think about living in an apartment, God forbid. You’ll really be a loser then because you are supposed to own things in this life, right? It’s all bullshit. Spendin’ all your time trying to live up to what other people say you should be, trying to get a gulp of fresh air before you go under again, and then you die. And don’t give me that shit that it’s all about attitude. When was the last time you bought some fried chicken with a positive attitude? I do love me some fried chicken though. That’s about all you have, those little things that carry you through. And, even for that you need money, unless you want to be like your cousin Quentin, locked up at Rikers for stealing. So, what do you know about it? Always getting these grand ideas about things. What makes you so special? You are no better than the rest of us. You don’t know anything about it. Now be quiet. The service is about to start.”
The church organ began to play a soft church hymn. The congregation stood to sing; the wood of the wooden pews creaked and echoed in the big hall. Courtney looked down at the words of the hymn: “amazing grace, how sweet the sound to save a wretch like me.”
She thought about what her mother had just said as she read the words to herself. Thoughts rode around in her brain like wild mustangs. It was difficult for her to accept the confusion that is so much a part of life. It always created a tortuous conflict; it seemed that one was not meant to think too deeply about things in this life, even though so many things in this life are worth thinking deeply about.
She looked up to see Michael standing in the doorway looking at her. She was glad. He jerked forward a little as his father pushed him to get going. Courtney felt a pang in the pit of her stomach, knowing what it felt like to want to capture a moment while others simply hurry it along, honking, tapping, rushing, irritatingly waiting…to go nowhere, when love wants to linger.
Still, it was good to see a friendly face. Church made her uncomfortable. All of the primping and strutting and pretending to be holy. She hated hypocrites and church seemed like one of their hangouts. She had nothing against God. In fact, she always wondered if he really existed or if God could be a woman. But, church seemed like just another place where people bunch together like grapes simply to see and be seen.
Courtney smiled as Michael turned back to see her. He was dressed smartly in de la Renta and Zegna. James always insisted that he dress to impress. ‘The first impression is the only impression that counts,’ James often said. He was very fond of platitudes.
Michael and Courtney stole away when they could to a pre-arranged meeting place after service while the adults were still occupied with gossip and tall tales. It was one of their rare and cherished moments of joy when no one really cared where they were.
New York can be a magical and romantic place. The thoroughfares are dense with shops and street vendors that engulf passersby in the charm of the moment where there is nothing else in the world but New York. They especially liked to take the train to Coney Island. The ride was long and the subway travels above ground for a good part of the way.
Shadows from old red brick buildings zipped across the floor of the subway cars as it passed from the darkness and into the light. The clank of steel against steel created a soothing almost hypnotic rhythm in a symphony of shadows that stretched out to the bay and eventually into the wide sea.
“Look how fast the shadows shoot by,” Courtney said.
They nestled closer.
“Ouch.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Does that hurt?”
“Yes, a little.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing?”
“Did your father hit you again?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why won’t you let me help?”
‘’What can you do?”
“I don’t know. But, there must be something.”
“What can anyone do? Nobody really cares anyway. It’s all a big game to avoid facing the truth.”
“What is?”
“Everything. I mean my father is always talking about being a man. Be a man this, be a man that. I get so tired of hearing that crap. He is just like everyone else. Be this, be that, but they never tell you what it is that you are supposed to be. It’s bullshit. They only say it when they want you to be something they are not or when they want you to be something they should be but aren’t. You know, he hits me and then says not to cry. So, just what am I supposed to do? Laugh? It just seems to be is an excuse for me to accept his abuse so that he can use me to make himself feel better. That is what it is all about with people in this life of ours. Finding some excuse to do whatever they want with impunity. They want to cut, but in a way that doesn’t bleed or leave a scar.”
“But you don’t do that.”
“I know. I’m just saying people, humans in general. I’m a human, but I’m not like that. Neither are you. So what do we do?”
“I don’t know.”
Michael reached down to lift her chin up.
“I can see love in your eyes, love and tears. Did you know that?”
“Really?”
“They always seem to go together.”
They kissed.
“Look, we’re here.”
The garbled, crackling voice of the conductor announced Coney Island. It was the last stop.
“Why don’t they ever get that fixed? Courtney asked incredulously.
“I mean, what is the point of their announcements when you can’t understand a word they say? I’m from New York and I can’t understand him. I can only imagine what foreigners must go through.”
“Welcome to America.”
They descended the train. It was a cool autumn afternoon. The wind gently carried the smell of salt and the sea to far away places. Seagulls, clean and white, circled high overhead. Their pensive cries echoed out toward the sea, their thin shadows cutting across the smooth yellow sand and the pier as people passed by with red cotton candy and fluffy white animals.
They held hands while they looked out toward the foam of the breaking waves. There was a slight chill in the air, but the wind seemed to excite happy memories even ones that never existed, but were wished for so strongly that they appeared to be real, memories of lost time, miss opportunities, things that could have been and might still be.
“It feels good to stand next to you,” Michael said.
“I wish that this moment would never end.”
He put his arm around her and squeezed a little. She smiled.
“Me too.”
Why is it so hard to be kind and understanding?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know what I like about you?”
“What?”
“You’re honest. At least you try to understand. Whenever I ask a question like that, I usually just get yelled at.”
“I’ve noticed that too.”
“I guess that’s what people know, anger and fear. So, they defend it even if it is wrong.”
“I guess. It’s sad though.”
“What?”
“That they are destined to do the same thing over and over.”
“I know. But, what about us Michael. What will happen to us? Our parents won’t let us see each other anymore.”
“I know. Even though they don’t mind committing a few sins of their own, they make us feel that we are the sinners.”
“Its so hypocritical.”
“Well look at the two little love birds!”
They turned to see a group of kids from PS 130. Lynwood was speaking. He was big and tall with eyes that bugged out of his head, and when he spoke he rubbed between his legs as his sign of manhood and of being pleased with the sound of his voice.
They were in the same grade at school. Lynwood was the captain of the football team, and very popular because everyone loved football. Ugly and brash, he had an art for turning trivia into vulgar conversation, and everybody loved it. He made people feel comfortable by appealing to the basest within them. He had many friends. Everyone said that he would go far in life. They were probably right.
“What are you doing here?” Courtney asked.
“None of your business half-breed.”
“Oooo,” they all chimed with that grunt-like laugh of the not-too-smart. Michael grew tense.
“What are you going to do about it punk?” Lynwood turned to Michael.
“I thought so. You see what I mean? All of your fancy words don’t mean nothing when I can kick your ass the minute you open your mouth.”
They all laughed. Lynwood felt very proud of himself.
“Come Michael let’s go.”
“Yeah Michael, listen to your bitch before you get spanked. You know baby if you were mine, I would never let you get cold.”
Courtney yanked on Michael’s arm and began to lead him away.
“Aww! Leaving so soon?” Lynwood said. He was full of banality on that day. It was a day like any other.
“Do you mind if we leave?” Michael asked when they were far away from the crowd.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m just tired of all of this. Everybody always talks about life as if it is great or something. It just seems to be full of ugliness to me. I spend so much time trying to avoid the pain that others cause. Do you think that there could ever be a place where you don’t have to fight for love? I don’t know. Sometimes it seems stupid to ask questions like that because such questions just aren’t asked. Then on the other hand, I can’t help it. It’s the way I feel.”
“But, I love that about you Michael.”
“And, I appreciate that you do. But, it never seems to be enough because I still feel angry and frustrated so much of the time. Is it me? I want to be different. I try to be different. But, I just can’t be like them.”
He pointed back toward the group that they left behind.
“I wouldn’t love you if you were.”
“I know. But, I guess that I’m talking more about the fight within me. The fight I have every day that I go out into the world and face all of the things that I find to be insane and discouraging. To be honest, it disgusts me. It just seems that all people care about are their own wants and desires. They never give a damn about anyone else. It’s all about them. I mean, my father is the Deacon of the church, but all he wants to do is add another notch to his belt. He talks about us living in sin, but he never asks me about you or how we feel, and he never thinks twice about committing a sin for himself. God will forgive him but condemn me? He has all the answers without knowing. How typical is that? It makes me so angry sometimes.”
He turned to Courtney.
“Why can’t we just get away from here?”
“You mean run away?”
“Why not? Is it so wrong to be happy?”
“No, but what would we do?”
“Live the way we want, without guilt or fear.”
“I just don’t understand why good things have to be so hard.”
“It’s people. They make everything difficult. With all of their talk about humanity and friendship, it doesn’t exist. Maybe you are right. What is so great about this life of ours? Living to please everyone else. And the first time we live for ourselves, they make us feel dirty, like common criminals and tell us it is for our own good. Do you know what I think?”
“What?”
“They just say that so they can keep doing what they do without changing. I hate it.”

* * *

“Where the hell have you been? Did you hear me boy?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Don’t get smart with me.”
“How can I if I am a dumb ass?”
“Are you looking for another beating?”
“Since when did you need an excuse for that?”
“What has gotten into you boy? Have you been smoking that crack, chronic or whatever the hell you kids call it?”
“Are drugs the only possible reason that I could speak up for myself?”
“What other reason would there be?”
“You have no idea do you?”
“So now you think that you’re smarter than me? I’m the one who brought you into this world and raised you with no help from a woman or from the State I might add. What could I possibly know? I’m just your father after all. I think that I know a few things about the world thank you very much. I know what you kids do nowadays, smoking that cheeba, doing body shots, having sex in hallways, disrespecting your elders. A life of debauchery; that is what you lead. I know all about it. What do you know about it?”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“It has everything to do with you. I sacrificed and toiled in bottom-feeder jobs for all of those years to keep a roof over your head and food in your belly and this is how you repay me.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“What do you mean that you didn’t ask me to do that? You ate the food didn’t you? You wore the clothes didn’t you?”
“What was I supposed to do? You said that God punishes people who kill themselves. So, I had to live didn’t I?”
“That is not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“I don’t apologize for anything I’ve done. I did the best that I could with the little I had. My father wasn’t worth a damn. He was either drunk or gone. The only time I saw him was when it was time to eat or on payday, my payday. Since he couldn’t hold a job, I had to earn money for the family. Do you know what kind of pressure that puts on a kid? But, I did it without complaint. So, don’t ask me what I know about it because I know plenty. You couldn’t do what I did.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know what you kids are like today. Your idea of hard work is to get up before noon. Your idea of a hard choice is Coke or Pepsi. Your idea of fun is drinking until you pass out. I know all about it.”
“And what about you? You preach all about sin and salvation when all you really want is another notch on your belt. You preach all about compassion and truth, and then you talk about people behind their backs. You talk about generosity and giving, and then you buy Movado watches and Volvos. You are such a hypocrite.”
As the words left his lips, Michael quickly realized what he had just said to his father. He felt shock, then joy, then fear. James clenched a fist and struck Michael in the eye. Lights twinkled in a vast darkness as Michael reflexively reached back while falling toward the island stove, his hand catching onto a knife there. Without thinking Michael’s hand grasped the knife as the world slowly came back into focus. Rage surged through his body in a hot flash, and he lashed out with the knife plunging it into the arm of his father. Blood began to soak through the cream-colored suit in a seeping crimson stain. James reached for the knife in his arm in utter dismay. When he finally looked up, Michael was gone and all James saw was the sunshine peering through the open door and the sound of little sparrows chirping. The world was oblivious to his pain.

* * *
Courtney was startled at the frantic knock on the wood of her window. She slowly arose and moved cautiously toward the sound. She peered out of the window and saw Michael. She was filled with joy and surprise. Sensing that something had happened by the look on his face, she lifted the window.
“Michael! Why did you climb all the way up here? You could have been hurt. Why are you breathing so hard?”
“I was running.”
“What happened?”
“Do you love me?”
“You know that I do. Why?”
“Did you mean what you said about going away with me?”
“I wish that we could.”
“Well, come with me.”
“Now?”
“Right now.”
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter. Will you come?”
“What about your father?”
“Forget about him.”
“Why, what happened.”
“Nothing. Are you coming?”
“But we need money. What about clothes?”
“Do you really want to be with me?”
“Yes.”
“Then come on!”
“Ok. Just a minute.”
Courtney disappeared for a moment and returned with a small black bag and a coat.
“Where are we going?"
“Away from here.”
“Grand Central?”
“Yes.”
The two left Courtney’s house, walked a bit, and caught the first bus after waiting a little while. They went to the back of the bus and sat quietly gazing out toward the front as the meaning of what they were doing started settling in. They arrived at Grand Central station at twilight.
“Where are we going?” Courtney asked.
“There!”
Michael pointed to the first train that he saw.
“Los Angeles? Is that where we are going?”
“No. It is just the first stop. From there we can go anywhere.”
“But where will we go from there?”
“Where we have always wanted to go.”
[1] Dedicated to Jacques Brel.

Cinderlla Man: Something to Believe In

Cinderella Man is a good movie. It is reminiscent of the American films from the golden age of American cinema that leave you feeling good inside. Cinderella Man is about overcoming obstacles and fighting for your beliefs. Without further research I cannot say that James J. Braddock was actually a man of as strong convictions as portrayed in the movie. Men of conviction are extremely rarely simply because the price of conviction is too high for most men. Society often rewards those who do the best at recycling at recycling convention. Beautiful women for example are not typically attracted to strong, independent men. Sure, they claim to like men of confidence. But, in reality beautiful women like most other elements of society are most confortable with the familiar, the nondescript, which essentially means weaklings.

To the extent that one is independent in his thinking, which a man of conviction is, the price is typically isolation and an inability to keep a "regular" job. And, it is not always a question of some esoteric conviction like a firm belief in orgies, it could be quite rational--not that orgies are necessarily irrational, but they are not exactly a conventional practice. It could be something as simple wanting to work hard to promote the company that you work for.

The convictions of hard work and decency--not the hollow buzz words that politicians bandy about during a campaign but rarely believe in and quickly forget about after the campaigning circus is over--but real work like the desire to present a knowledgeable, compassionate, competent employee to customers. That kind of conviction very often gets you fired. You are far more likely to be "successful" in the conventional sense if you simply go along with things and accept a general decay in competence, intelligence, and ability despite the bad impression such behavior gives to customers and others. I am speaking from experience here. I know how difficult it is to maintain a conviction, and the more rational the conviction, the more antagonistic people will tend to be toward it. Just shrug, laugh it off, and don't think to carefully about anything. That kind of conviction will make you more money than any of that misleading propaganda that parents, teachers, coaches, and just about everyone else are so quick to promote such as "all you need a dream and the desire to work hard to make it." Bullshit! First, you have to define what "making it" means. Usually it means to make a lot of money. That is the conventional sense. It is the sense against which most people will measure you: girls, banks, employers, friends, etc. How much money do you make? That is the big question. And, to make a lot of money in most circumstances means making those with the power to help you feel good. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with this decision so long as you are honest about yourself and about what you are doing. Personally it disgusts me when people try to pretend that they are so selfless in what they do and think when in reality they are grotesquely self-serving; the charity is just a sham. But, the sham is really what rules in society. Wearing the mask. Deception. That is the true secret of "making it." Learning how to make your way in society while never letting anyone know what you really think despite the fact that almost everyone tells you to be honest and truthful. What they really mean is that you should be honest and truthful, but they can lie, cheat and steal at whim and it is all good because you shouldn't take things so seriously; and in being 'honest' or 'truthful' they mean tell us what we want to hear. That is how it works.

My martial arts teacher called it "the human racket." And, he was ever so right. Proof? When was the last time that you told someone who mattered: a boss, a parent, a lover what you really felt? And, if you did, what was the result? Probably disaster. I cannot count the number of times some lazy boss told me "we have an open door policy so that you can feel free to give us your honest opinion." Yeah, right. Translation: we have an open door policy alright so that we can find out whom we don't like and fire him. I am not talking about going around complaining to people as an example of truthfulness. Nobody likes that kind of a drag on life. I am talking about tactful honesty where you feel free to tell someone that you feel mistreated for example, and what is more the person actually take an interest in what you say. Perhaps he even makes an effort to do something about. Hardy, har, har. Fat chance. Most of the time if you try to tell someone that you feel mistreated, she looks at you like you are from Alpha Centuri--that is a galaxy far, far away.

Still think that society is not based on deception? Well, what about the propaganda on the legal system, the place where "justice" is supposed to be served? Since when was "justice ever really served in a courtroom? So, why not just call it what it is? It is not the justice system. It is simply a system of arbitration that is almost always a disaster for everyone involved--except lawyers and judges--and very often those who are the most decent and rational are the biggest losers. These are just a few of the things that make holding a conviction very difficult, and it is why the philosophy of war and self-defense are good ways to protect your convictions--and your sanity.

Movies like Cinderella Man are rare on the contemporary scene. It is reminiscent of the Classic movies especially American movies that had a wholesome, feel-good quality to them. It was an enlightened quality and it was commonplace in movies like High Noon, The Magnificent Seven, Man of the Thousand Faces, Angels with Dirty Faces, Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, Dr. No, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, and so many others.

Cinderella Man does something else that is quite understandable given the current cultural and intellectual climate. It makes you wonder is it really worth it to fight for something that you believe in? LSV

Jobs and Parents

It is quite remarkable how similar jobs and parents are. They both seem to set unreasonable expectations on those whose power is limited. They both seem to encourage phoniness. They both seem to perpetuate bad behaviors. Most of all they both seem to promote an uncooperative sentiment.

If one has a lifetime vested in society as it is, then these assertions would seem harsh and negative, or at least that is what they would be called. Or, worse still anyone with the courage to state them would be called angry and hateful as if these very real human emotions are somehow inhuman. It goes without saying that anger and hatred in excess, like anything else, are bad. On the other hand, they most certainly have their purposes most particularly when it comes to self-defense and combat. Rage and hatred at an attacker for example gives one the much needed power to launch a pre-emptive attack if possible, or to respond effectively and brutally when necessary to repel an unprovoked act of violence. These are uncomfortable things, but many things in this life with Man are uncomfortable. In fact, life among Man is extraordinarily difficult especially it seems in America where few desire to cooperate even a little and even when it makes everything better for all concerned. It is a common practice to smear uncomfortable things in order to dismiss them out of hand; but uncomfortable or not, life must be dealt with. Just because some are hardheaded about evading unpleasantness with superficiality, does not make reality disappear. Wishes do not get things done, action does. In order to properly act given the way that the world is, one must have a clear mind and a clear conscience. Sometimes, this is not always easy to do when one is also generally penalized for strong convictions.

What happens to those for whom understanding and truth are the dominant values of life? These people become outsiders, and no matter how reasonable their viewpoints are, they will remain outsiders. This can be a frustrating experience especially if one genuinely likes and appreciates the enlightenment that comes with sharing important ideas with others. The rift between such people and the rest of society seems to grow more and more prominent with each passing day and no other areas paint the rift with deeper crevices than jobs and parents.

Jobs and parents build insurmountable walls for anyone both young and old that is sensitive, value-oriented, or intellectual. It is even worse for men because men are still supposed to be tough. And, one should be tough, not for all of the exploitative reasons that people often suggest. One should be tough for one's own sake to protect the sensitivity, intelligence, value, and strength that one attempts to build throughout life despite the penalties for trying to do so. For if you have any of these magnificent traits, you will be a stranger in your own land even if you do not want to be. You will be unable to bridge the lacuna formed through so many years that people spend escaping into superficiality.

Jobs build these walls in their unreasonable expectations. I have been told for example that I should "smile" more, as if smiling is some indication that everything is alright. Interestingly enough, the kinds of people who say such things rarely take the positive action to give you something to smile about. For you see, their chastisement toward you is supposed to be enough thereby putting the burden of action on someone else's shoulders. What is even more perplexing is the fact that jobs rarely give you something to smile about. Jobs never pay enough. Managers always expect everything short of outright slavery. Recognition and encouragement for a job well done is sparse. And, few people in management ever provide any kind of encouragement except fear and intimidation. That is still how jobs get people to perform. Managers will tell their people to "ask questions if you do not understand something." And, when someone does ask questions he is reprimanded for asking to many questions or for "wanting things in black and white." Therefore, if one does not ask questions to better understand a job's basic functions, performance will suffer. And, you will get in trouble for that too. Thus, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. From this steaming heap success is supposed to miraculously rise. And, when it does not--as it cannot--YOU are to blame. You are the stupid, and incompetent one. Now if one follows this logic, one is lead straight to the bar or the psychiatrist's couch. Is this supposed to be the "Great Society" about which so many people would give their lives to pursue? I think not.

Always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing--Abraham Lincoln.

Let us say for example that you believe in this quote and support the sentiment that it implies. What position will that give you in this society? More often than not, you will feel more like public enemy number one than Osama Bin Laden does. All of the claims to the contrary notwithstanding, such positive attitudes are quite foreign in most jobs. Most jobs are a collection of highly neurotic and insincere people that look at such positive thinking as strange and bizarre. What will happen for example if you come to work every day with a feeling of loyalty toward your company because you believe that the company generally treats its employees well? You will quickly find yourself isolated in this sentiment. While you work diligently others will play with toy guns and get all of the promotions and accolades.

Let us say for example as a child or adolescent you also believe in the sentiment that President Lincoln expressed. More often than not your parents will tell you to get your head out of the clouds or show indifference towards your belief. Friends will often laugh at you as strange and out of place. Essentially, anytime that you advocate a sensible outlook in life, one that will lift you higher and take you further in life, you will be isolated. What do you do to protect yourself against this onslaught? What do you do to maintain a healthy outlook and continue the struggle against the the stone-headed monster of mindless conformity?

If you couple the extreme alienation that one feels in being serious and substantive in an ocean of banality with talent, and a commitment to fitness, the alienation is compounded exponentially. The gap widens between the callous and the careful, between the value-phobic and the value-driven. What do you do? Whine? Cry? Draw little yellow "smiley" faces? These are not viable options for rational adults least of all for men of strength. So what is the solution? Run away? It is very tempting when one thinks of concepts like liberty, justice, and loyalty while others laugh them away in the grunt-like laughs of brutes. The alienation one feels as a result of the cultural juggernaut of superficiality makes the point of Atlas Shrugged all the more poignant. But, is it feasible to run away? Certainly to become emotionally and psychologically invested in such environments makes no sense at all. However, to run away means to give up on one's own life. It is understandable, but not logical.





Diligence will get your fired these days. Diligence tends not to garner reward, but contempt of one form or another. This is particularly shocking in the workplace where one would expect a certain modicum of rationality based on the desire to make a profit.



It is really quite amazing how similar jobs are to parents. Both tend to be insincere and inconsistent. Companies tout the importance of customer service, while failing to properly train their employees to provide that customer service, or by hiring people whose overall competence is quite low to provide customer service implying that the view of customer service is also quite low. Parents slam their children with guilt and pressure to "perform," impress, and lie while touting the importance of honesty, integrity, and all of that other mother jazz. Company representatives tell a customer "that is not my department" and bounce customers around ad infinitum while playing "cool" music or recordings that say "your call may be monitored for quality assurance." Consequently a customer never gets a definite answer to his question, but I suppose the low level of quality there is somehow overlooked. On the other hand, Parents also communicate mixed messages. They spend an inordinate amount of time teaching one to be "polite" even to obnoxious people, to pretend to like someone even if one feels justifiable hatred for the person. Even the concept of hate itself is made to be taboo even though it is very human and can never be expunged. Hate is strongly tied to a sense of justice and dignity. This creates an unexpected result, instead of people feeling less hatred, hatred becomes the undercurrent of human emotion. Now in this mix of absurdity one is supposed to lead a "healthy," "productive" life, both of these notions of course defined in terms of precepts that do not always make sense in themselves. For example, to fit in one is supposed to drink beer, eat pizza, and be funny, yet none of these always lead to a "healthy" life or increased productivity.






People are mentally disturbed. They expect the impossible and when one does not deliver one is made to feel small in more ways than one: a failure, a moron, a loser, and in this era of humiliation, these are the most common messages one gets. Now this is extremely difficult for any reasonably well-adjusted adult to deal with, how the can a child be expected to cope with such instability? Compound that with dysfunctional families, and it is a wonder that anyone can make it through this life or would want to.





Strength and reason seem to be the only saving graces. One must live for himself and cast aside all of the foolish trivialities that present-day society seems determined to foist upon individuals even those who do not want them. One must learn to live somewhat detached from irrationality--which in practical terms represents a huge part of life among humans--and in order to do that one needs to be rational, to follow rational principles, principles that make common sense regardless of what others think. One must get one's sense of self and in some ways worth from those principles and not from test scores, bank accounts, job promotions, or parental approval. To do that, to maintain that level of independence requires the value of strength. But, strength is not enough, because this cultural juggernaut of absurdity is so vast and so pervasive, that it will attempt to smother individuality and suffocate one's recognition of truth in order to create just another unthinking conformist. Therefore, one must be prepared and willing to combat the attacks on one's intellectual navigational system that reason, intelligence, and common sense represent. For these values allow one to realize one's potential, as Plato once put it, to cultivate one's talent to the highest level possible. In other words, one needs that navigational system to figure out existence, to integrate reality as Ayn Rand often wrote. One needs the bearings of common sense and reason to arrive at the truth, not the truth that society peddles to facilitate its own conventions, but objective truth and there is such a thing. Objective truth is the thing that dictates for example how organisms can succeed on this earth. Objective truth is the truth that determines under what conditions one can learn, develop strength, and bolster one's character. Objective truth determines that bullets when fired from a gun at the head will kill. All of the laughter and smart-ass remarks to the contrary will not change this fact.









Objective truth determines that if one does not know how to spell or perform basic arithmetical functions, one will not be able to perform well in job settings. Objective truth determines that if one's family life is tumultuous, one will perform poorly in almost all areas even those areas that parents make such a big deal about like school. Therefore, when a parent propagandizes their children in the importance of formal schooling while making the home environment a living hell or by taking no interest in a child's development, they behave no differently than executive managers who talk about "best practices" or making things "open" "transparent" and "frictionless," while taking no concrete steps to implement any of these things. These are the kinds of things that make modern life more like the theatre of the absurd than what life is supposed to be: exciting, adventurous, and enjoyable. And, since life does tend to be absurd, rather than mindlessly "celebrating" the chaos, it seem far more logical to adopt a philosophy of self-defense that can allow one to embrace one's rational values, enjoy life to some extent, while maintaining at least a certain modicum of dignity and principled integrity. LSV

Ruthlessness is required

One of the unfortunate things about modern times is the need for one to be totally ruthless in one's dealings with others and in maintaining one's values. This poses a particular problem for those who may be inclined toward compassion and other traits considered to be more "humane." The nicer or more compassionate one is, the less likely he is to get ahead. That is the hard, cold truth of it. For the world tends to reward obnoxiousness. To be ruthless in defending one's values and in maintaining strength of character seems to be the only rational alternative given these circumstances.

One is supposed to believe that humans are one big happy family, and if one accepts all of the superficial banter that goes on, one would think that murders, rapes, robberies, embezzlement, and other forms of treachery never take place. Take "good morning." In America, everyone wants to start the day off with cheerful 'good morning,' and a little yellow smiley face. Very, few people actually take the positive action that a good morning requires. They are as indifferent, hostile, belligerent, and inconsiderate as ever underneath that "yellow smiley face." Even so, one is supposed to believe it is a "good morning." Well, reason demands that if a day actually has a "good morning," there should be some tangible proof of it. A morning is not 'good' simply because one claims it to be. Here is the way it works in America. One gets fired, arrested, sued, and evicted but as long as it is done with a yellow smiley face, it is all supposed to be good. Cultural moors are completely out of touch with reality. One reason is because events and behavior rarely bare the weight of substance. Even the most gravest of circumstances are belittled to giggling and jokes. And, what is even more perplexing, is all of the comedy and smiles are not making people any nicer or kinder. It is all an illusion.

It seems that the nicer and more decent one is, the more likely one is to fall victim to some act of malice. That is not to say that there are no more decent people, but that decency no longer seems to be the dominant trait in public dealings. Some people attribute this to the fall of religion and the rise of secularism. Since religion typically carries a rather heavy dose of morality, there may be some truth to this. However, the reasons for the change in behavior are less important that the effects that it has on everyday life most particularly those who notice it. A great majority of people accept malice as a normal part of life. It is not. However, one must prepare to combat the forces of malice most particularly when one does not embrace a malicious world view. In other words, the more brutal and cruel becomes the world, the more necessary is the combative mindset.

Females have a much easier time of it than men in general. All of the popular talk about this being a man's world and boo-hoo-hoo for women is a trivial distraction. The fact is, men are doers and in general women are not. Women do not want to read, educate themselves, solve problems, or generally face reality. Many women simply want a man to take care of them. That may have sounded attractive to some men a long time ago like in feudal times, but there is just too much responsibility and pressure on rational men today to be burdened with such invertebrate dependency. When a female projects an outward decency or kindness, it does well for her. Everyone, men and women alike want to help her and make life easier. On the other hand, when a man exhibits those same traits of human decency, it is viewed unfavorably. Certainly on the surface everyone says how "wonderful" he is, but the substance and the reality of it are quite different matters. Others seem to view him as a target. Women want him to lift heavy objects because he looks like a "strong man." 'Strong' in this case being an inverted compliment designed to distract one from the person's true intentions: to get a mule to do the heavy lifting. Men tend to view decent men as a different kind of target, one to be pounced upon and bullied verbally or otherwise. This is another area where a man must be ruthless, ruthless in how he protects his dignity, ruthless in identifying all attempts to exploit his strength.

Ruthlessness is not always a case of fending off an eminent attack. Often it is more subtle, more critically psychological. For example, to keep what one earns in a socially inclined society requires ruthlessness. Lists abound of wealthy people who often relinquish one-half of their fortunes to women who rarely help them to build it simply by virtue of a marriage from which men typically receive little: Michael Jordan, Steven Spielberg, Paul McCartney, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, etc. These men brought great joy to the world, what was their "wives" claim to fame? A marriage certificate. Live requires ruthlessness in marriage.

Ruthlessness is necessary in "learning" environments where one will very often feel completely alienated in a classroom of clowns. It is no wonder that Americans read on a seventh grade reading level since a great many Americans feel that knowledge has less value than sports and liquor, and who laugh their way through everything. But, for those who want to learn, learning will be hard in most formal settings.

Ruthlessness is necessary in business not so much due to competition. Very often the competition will behave quite rationally, but one needs ruthlessness to wade through all of the inane red tape, to cope with the ubiquitous lack of competence and the absence of real quality. What makes ruthlessness even more necessary is the fact that so few people show any concern such things and blithely carry on their lives in a subnambulistic state perfectly content with shallowness. Yet, one must live in this world too. Is one supposed to just shrug and relinquish all values? That is not feasible.

Ruthlessness is required in love where pretense not sincerity is the dominant practice. Very few people think matters through. Even fewer, most particularly women, think about the meaning of love. Certainly meaning and sincerity are tossed about like bread crumbs in the wind, and the seriousness of relationships remains a mystery to most. But, what of the ones who think about such things? What about the ones for whom love is more than an erection, an orgasm, or a divorce settlement? In other words, what of the ones who do not fit into the popular scheme of things?

Ruthlessness is particularly necessary for those who are compassionate. This sounds like a contradiction, but it is not. In this world, compassion is not a valuable commodity, and in most situations it becomes a liability for those who believe in it. 'Compassion' in this instance is not the obvious demonstrations of charitable giving or selective acts of kindness to show others how humane one is. Compassion in this instance has nothing in fact to do with others. I am talking about the compassion that is derived from reason and a very logical process. When one looks at the world, one immediately realizes that there are other people in it. One does not live alone and the world most certainly does not revolve around any one person. Yet, in America this is precisely how a great many people behave. An exaggerated sense of self-importance is obvious in just about everything people do these days. For example, the attitude that the world owes one a living is so ingrained that people describe their lives in ways that blatantly demean other people "they will pay for me to do what I love" not "I will earn what they pay." It is a logical consequence of the idea that the self is all that matters. Giving importance to the self is rational, but it cannot exist independent of reality or context. However, reality for a great many people is fragmented into pieces, and the only piece that seems to matter to many is 'mine.'

In a recent radio interview on KUSC in California a student of Julliard described her experience in a business class for musicians. The class teaches things like how to build a resume, find a manager, manage personal finances etc. It is an extremely useful class and it shows that Julliard deserves its brilliant reputation. It is no wonder that many fine musicians of the caliber of Miles Davis attended there. Such classes--if more people understood the concept of context--should be standard fare in most educational curriculums along with things like buying a home, investing, remodeling, etc. In other words, all of the subjects that are helpful for leading a successful life should also be offered in school. School is after all is advertised as a place to learn. In the interview the student remarked that she needed to learn about resumes in order to "get someone to pay me for what I like to do." This is shocking in what it implies. The implication is that other people owe her a living. The idea that one freely exchange services and talent for payment does not figure into this kind of mentality.

The idea that others owe one a living and that one simply has to "get" one to cater to one's whims or to beguile someone into doing one's bidding is weak. But, it is an idea that has come to dominate the cultural landscape. This creates a significant problem for those who value character. For, it creates a vicious environment in which to try to thrive. If one attempts to enter into relationships openly without the proper psychological and emotional fortifications, the results can be disastrous. In other words, if one enters into relationships with the idea of free and fair trade while "competing" with those who could care less about either and think nothing of lying to get what they want, that person will be at a severe disadvantage. This is yet another reason that ruthlessness is necessary to protect the character one spends a lifetime building. In other words, ruthlessness is required in all of the areas where one would least expect to need it.

Very often one will feel alone in a sea of confusion, triteness, banality, and outright stupidity. This forces one to make a choice between lowering one's intellect to the least common denominator--a choice that many people unflinchingly make--and extreme isolation. For, if one desires to maintain a certain sense of dignity, pride, intelligence, strength, and value, it will cause severe alienation. This is often not a choice that one makes voluntarily. Most of the time others will make it for you. They will not specify a reason that they do not "like" you. They will simply stop talking to you or associating with you. Why? Not because you are a rapist, a murderer, an arsonist, or a pedophile, but simply because you show no interest in their inane and vulgar cartoons, or their exaggerated interest in drugs and alcohol, or their pointless jokes, etc. They do not want to rise to a higher level. They want you to come down to theirs or face the consequences of alienation. And, after all, we have been taught that alienation is a very bad thing. One "needs" friends don't you know. How does one cope with this but through a ruthless application of one's own principles, goals, and dreams?

Bong Hits for Jesus

A recent BBC poll recently put America as the number three country that is viewed poorly around the world behind Iran and Israel. This poll suggests a great deal about the world, the BBC, the media, the general intelligence level, and America not so much because America's foreign policy is flawed, but because few Americans exhibit the strength to stand against such attacks--or any attacks for that matter the battle in Iraq notwithstanding. No country, like no individual is perfect. While Hatred for America is not new, the extent to which American born natives seem malcontent with their "Fatherland" does seem to be unique to these times.

It is even more shocking how few people know much about America or the amazing but extremely well-conceived political experiment America was back in 1776. This is not some pitiful lament for bygone times, but strong praise for principles that empower the individual, and for an individual that is a beautiful thing. It does no good to recycle the past, but it is instructive to understand it most particularly when one considers that until America, most of the world understood human and political relations in terms of monarchy, feudalism, or some other type of collectivism. America was the nation to put into practice principles that advanced the idea that a Man is an individual and that he has certain rights that are not granted, allowed, tolerated, or restricted by anyone else including--and in the case of the founders particularly including--government. So, what we have now instead of a tyranny of the law is a tyranny of the mind, and it is a most insidious tyranny. It is not a tyranny that necessarily advocates a cause like the "Fatherland" or the "Proletariat." It is a tyranny that advocates nothing more than blind stupidity and holds ignorance and superficiality as things to which to aspire.

One cannot help but to look around at the kinds of people that have begun to populate America and not feel terribly alone. Aside from the usual homeless and mentally disturbed, the unkempt individuals, or the immigrants who have no pride or loyalty toward American principles, there seems to be a particularly low level of intellect on the part of a great many people. They speak in grunts and groans. They never look up. Their laughter is subdued and disingenuous. Just about the only thing that people express with any sort of passion is anger and malice. It is no wonder that a case like "bong hits for Jesus" then would now be before the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the land. Let us pause for a moment to repeat that: The Supreme Court of the United States of America. This is the supreme court of the land--hence the word 'supreme.' It decides the irrefutable--unless it overturns itself. There is no further appeal. Quite apart from the fact that the separation of powers was a positively brilliant creation and works towards its end extremely well, the Supreme Court of the United States like the President and the Congress have a certain awe attached with them: the history, the nation that stands behind them, the power, all make for quite spectacular concepts. It is unfortunate that they do not carry the luster that perhaps they should given the concepts behind their creation, but does that mean they should be belittled or defiled? Well, when a nation is populated with people, many of whom are immigrants with questionable loyalties, who have trouble reading, writing, spelling, and adding, it is not too difficult to see why even hallowed institutions lose their meaning. These words are not borne of hatred, but of sadness really because when one feels pride for American principles or rational principles in general, one often stands alone, and this fact speaks to the importance of the combat mentality, a mentality that is capable of defending itself and its ideals.
One of the cases currently before the Supreme Court of the United States of America concerns an individual who attempted to put up a sign that read "Bong hits for Jesus." And, now the country is abuzz with the case. However, what does it say about an individual, and even more so about a school system and a nation that students, who should be learning how to read and write, have time to put up meaningless signs? Furthermore, what does it say about a family, a "community," and a nation that such an act would be permitted to bleed valuable resources including time, money, and energy to debate childishness? People find it perfectly acceptable to argue, not about issues that affect the nature of existence, but over irrationality. Why?

Irrational arguments have been elevated to the level of legitimate debate and since the intellect of many people seems to be quite low, very few people seem to have the capacity to say "no, that is stupid," and simply leave it at that. The case of "bong hits for Jesus" had to be pushed through the court systems and argued every the step of the way. One wonders who is paying for all of this folly? It would not be terribly surprising to learn that it is YOU Mr. dumb taxpayer that is paying, or at least that is the implication: Americans are so stupid that they do not even realize when they are embroiled in an irrational and meaningless debate. That is the demeaning malcontentment that seems to be the undercurrent of so many conversations. The tone that many people use seems to suggest: I think that you are stupid. But, what if that is not true? How does one deal with the insult while maintaining some semblance of dignity? What is the truly intelligent person supposed to do in this case? How is he or she supposed to react? Why are so few people apt to stand against stupidity and loudly pronounce: "the emperor has no clothes!" Interestingly enough the answers to these questions are revealed in cases like "Bong Hits for Jesus." The student that brought this case to court, what do we know about him? Apparently instead of staying in his classroom and earnestly learning something that could benefit Mankind in some way the "student" was unrolling a banner and no doubt rolling a joint. One of the causalities of this incessant attack on intelligence and logic is that people rarely ask pertinent questions. People rarely seek substantial knowledge about things in order to enhance one's understanding. However, the fact that truth and reality are not popular does not change them. For, people like the "Bong Hits for Jesus" sign-waver become the FBI agents charged with finding spies, terrorists, and other criminals. They become the doctors, the lawyers, the scientists, the journalists, the writers, the actors, the politicians. In other words, the people like that boy who cried wolf with the sign become the nation. And, if they are nothing more than unkempt, hulking brutes that only know how to pursue urges not happiness and could never possibly tell the difference between the two, it not only bodes poorly for America, it makes the lives of the dedicated, hard-working, intelligent, goal-oriented people that much more difficult. Very little is said about this fact. But, that does not make profundity and those that seek it any less relevant. It just means that they must get aggressive about seeking it and protecting it for themselves. For, very few people are inclined to think in terms of fundamentals or to think at all. Instead, the nation is blinded with arguments about nonsensical things. It is the logical consequence of the obliteration of standards. The ability to differentiate diamonds from dung is an important human faculty. It is what allows humans to survive successfully. When all but a few people are willing to make distinctions and even more importantly to understand those distinctions then it is easy to see how so many people can equate "Bong Hits for Jesus" with freedom of speech, illness with health, crime with merit, irrationality with reason, the Iranian nation with the American nation and so on. This affliction of folly is not unique to America. The BBC poll mentioned above shows it. That so many people in the world could be so shallow as to categorize America with countries like Iran is not so much a reflection of American foreign policy as it is a reflection of just how superficial people are content to be.

How does one combat this? Or better still, is it even worth it to ask such questions? Often I ask myself these questions because if one has any honesty at all and is not content to simply smile and nod at things, these questions are inescapable. At the same time, no one seems to ask such questions or even care not only in the mainstream media, but in every day life. I have only met one person in my life, my martial arts teacher, who was ever concerned at all about big issues let alone wanted to discuss them to any degree. I have always known that people do ask important questions about reality and life, Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, Socrates, Isaac Newton, there are many others. But, in every day life one rarely meets such intellectual giants for that much needed spiritual and intellectual inspiration, the inspiration that allows one to keep on despite mountains of discouragement. There is only so much negativity that one can take before one just wants to give up on the world. What is the point of it all? What is the point in asking for reasons when people look at you as if the word reason is foreign and incomprehensible? What is the point in trying to find a better way to do things only to be confronted with people who just want to go shopping, watch sports, or drink beer? What is the point in giving a damn when no one else seems to? To appeal to ridiculously lofty ideals about "humanity" and "being a better man" or "rising above the fray" is just a lot of bullshit. One would have to be as stupid as a rock to blindly push forward and ask questions, attempt to understand, to show compassion while others are blowing bubbles up one's nose--or worse. The level of general discussion never strays far from the latest gossip or fad and if anyone is ever caught dead talking about something meaningful, it is generally oriented toward hostility of some kind. Why does kindness have to be phony and anger have to be real? Does it say something about the so-called human animal that people are better at expressing anger than any other emotion except perhaps orgasms? There is nothing inherently wrong with either one, but what does an intelligent bloke do who wants intellectual stimulation when all others seem to want is genital stimulation? How many times can one bang his head against a disparate cultural wall? It seems that the philosophy of combat oriented toward self-preservation and enhancement is the only logical choice for rational people. In other words as Winston Churchill said, "Fight On, if necessary for years; if necessary, alone."

This is not borne of negativity, but from a love rational principles and truth. It is the bastard offspring from the unlikely union of a desire to understand the world and the intense and frustration felt from encountering so many others who could care less.

Individuality

The French culture, French writers in particular, seem to understand the challenge that individuality poses for human existence in modern society. Writers like Baudelaire, Nerval, Rimbaud, Eluard, Batailles, and Proust seem to understand the contradictions that exist for the individual most particularly when that individual has a heart that dreams. There comes in life a rude awakening when you believe in true love, sincerity, and the like because one quickly learns that both of these are extremely rare despite the fact that so many institutions promote the values of truth and love. The indoctrination in the art of deception--recall from a previous post that all warfare is based on deception--begins from a very young age when one is told to "smile like you mean it" even when you don't; to tell bosses how funny or smart they are when they are as dumb and humorless as rocks; to tell parents what they want here even though they are biggest hypocrites on earth; and to be kind to people who abuse you even when you hate them. Life among other humans seems to be rife with pressures to deceive, and some people are quite good at it. It is not the we want to be this way or have what would be no doubt called a "cynical" view of life. These views come from real-life experiences in college classrooms where we have been told not to study so hard. These views come from experiences with parents who gave gifts and cards that spoke of "love" and "family," but rarely seeing the actions from them to support it. Very often people are hypercritical of such "cynicism" not because they want to positive and inspirational in their outlooks on life, because they simply do not want to try too hard to be consistent. So, they repeat what they see so many others doing. They repeat the deceptions, the "white lies," the indifference, the disinterest, or worse the abuse. For somehow they see that as easier than the road to self-enrichment and improvement. Somehow meanness is easier than kindness; rudeness is more expedient than politeness; dirtiness is faster than cleanliness; slovenliness is quicker than restraint. In essence atrocious acts repeat themselves because for some reason people seem to prefer indulgence over all other choices. Indulgence is the human condition. Is it a necessary condition? I think not, but it is no doubt one of the most prevalent. And, the ones who suffer most are the innocent. The kind hearted people who may not have the constitution or desire to fight back, who may not see the necessity of the warrior spirit in survival, who simply may just want to live and enjoy life. Why must they be stepped on, pushed aside, or bullied? And, they will be just as sure as there are other people in the world. Why does individuality require blood and iron? More importantly, what does that say about the humans that live on this earth?

Have you ever pretended to be an alien? I have not had to work to hard to pretend since I have been called it so often. Why you may ask? No reason really except that I do not smoke, drink, or gamble, a rarity I am told among humans. In more reasonable settings such would be praised, and I when I encounter I do praise it. Although I rarely encounter it. But, even the praise garners strange looks. So, what does it say about a culture that alienates healthy lifestyles or rational thoughts?

Individuality is a struggle. It is the great struggle. Sometimes it feels like the weight of centuries hangs on one's shoulders in listening to the level of conversations and the topic of many discussions: hollow, mindless chatter about drugs, liquor, body parts, bodily functions, gossip and other miscellaneous trivialities. By themselves these topics are not necessarily repugnant. Sex for example, is a beautiful thing. However, these things do become boring when they are the center and focus of almost all conversations even supposedly "enlightened" discussions. When was the last time that you heard someone speaking about existence, human knowledge, history, geography, or the nature of God? One's interests need not even be that grand. How about other life-effecting issues like inflation, diet, nutrition, exercise, jobs, law, science, inventions, anything positive and enriching will do but even these are rare. It seems that the only escape one has is to books, art, or films if one has an interest in pondering life's many splendors or doing anything on this earth besides consuming, excreting, and imbibing, one can expect an infinity of solitude.

Dr. Robert Lindner author of the book Rebel Without a Cause: The Story of a Criminal Psychopath, once wrote that the one sign of a society's decline is the rise in the number of its psychopaths. It is not too difficult to see why. When the cultural fabric disintegrates, all kinds of anarchic behavior is encouraged. Now, this is not a column advocating traditions and conventions. Most conventions are asinine anyway. It is a column that presents the challenges rational individuals face in a crumbling environment. And, this environment is most certainly crumbling.


This is a sick society. Let us be frank. For, frankness is a most rare thing in a world grown fat with illusion. It is a society where public libraries are no longer great repositories of learning and erudition where the accumulation of the society's knowledge can be housed and enjoyed for posterity. No. Public libraries are now public latrines where aggressive vagabonds can wash themselves in toilets and other productive, tax-paying members of the same society are supposed to feel sorry for them. And, should courageous individuals stand up to such irrationality or simply complain without fear, these individuals not the homeless bums will endure public scorn and castigation. For it seems in an environment where indulgence is king, the strong among us are the only true subjects of the kingdom. These are not times where one can do battle with evil and live chivalrously with pride in one's actions. Chivalry? Ha! What the f--k is that?

These are dangerous times where the strong are supposed to suffer willingly in silence while compensating others for the void their indulgence creates. So, if you go to the library to read and to learn, you will likely encounter strange beings. That is they will seem strange to you but normal to everyone else. For, who is to say what is normal right? But, these beings will be objectively strange. They twist and jerk and writhe to themselves in sputtering noises with not even a pretense of learning. They are strange in the sense that there is an objective standard of normalcy as measured by life. Life requires that one remain focused to learn. Life--and reason--require that one have control over himself so as not to disturb others from learning. But, in this society it is perfectly "normal" to attempt to do multiple things like driving while searching for candy on the floor of one's car, or "studying" while the radio and t.v. are on blast. So, when a crackpot comes to a library yelling, arguing, or laughing out loud, most seem to think that it is no big deal. Dude, lighten up. He is just having fun. To which my response is not a word, but a hearty gesture: two middle fingers. Drop dead!

It is a a big deal to anyone who would like to learn. A moron would not understand that, and moron is the level to which a great many people aspire, a moron and no more.

You do not have a right to quiet and peace while you learn because that is "unreasonable." But, a dirty, rotten, unemployed maggot enjoys full luxuries and protection. After all, he is just frustrated because he had a bad day. Porn is his outlet, that and emotional outbursts. You, you have no rights sucker. You have to work all day long and creatively pursue your goals. Why do you need a full night's sleep. Homeboy just wants to party. You must learn to compensate for his inadequacy. Marx said so and that form of sacrifice is still very much avante garde: from each according to his ability to each according to his need. You are not supposed to admonish someone for poor behavior. He has needs. You don't. Just accept it into your life like incurable cancer. Otherwise, it is you who will be deemed the alien and out of place. You who will be slapped in handcuffs for standing up for your rights. Oh, it is perfectly acceptable to take to the streets for global warming or the death penalty when some obscure killer is about to be fried, even if it is a farce and you are full of crap or just there to get laid. For, the best looking chicks always give it up for a cause. You don't have to be sincere anyway. Just appear to be.

How dare you go to the library fully expecting to learn and and improve yourself. Shame on you! the library is no place to learn. It is a corral for mental patients. They have to have somewhere to go after all. You should know better. Be like the rest of us. Have a beer and watch the game. Lighten up 'bro.'

A great teacher of martial arts called this kind of horse dung "bullshitsu."

It is no wonder that Americans know so little about history, philosophy, mathematics, geography, or any other field of learning besides sports statistics and which star is pregnant. It is no wonder that many others in the world see America as a nation of cry babies, who get angry at having to wait for things that take time like city planning, global trade, and caution; yet will wait on a line at the post office for forty-five minutes and never see the irony in their illogical tiraids.

Robert Ringer, a very wise thinker, wrote a book called Restoring the American Dream. It is a noble book for those who still dream, a Herculean feat in itself because the weight of the world bears down on optimism and curiosity like a fat giant until it is no more than a smithereen, that is unless one has the strength of Hercules to combat it. So, to be a dreamer in these times requires not only strength, but the fighting spirit. It also requires the ability to recognize the that there is a fight and a fundamental conflict of values at stake. I mention the book because it is good, but also because it highlights a sentiment that is easy to have. It is understandable that one would think the dream originally established in 1776 could be restored. It was a magnificent dream. The first of its kind in a world that had known only barbarism and other variations of slavery. It was a dream that gave legal protection to the pursuit of happiness and life, a dream that said a man's life is his own and does not belong to the land or his lord. One must understand something of history to understand just how special this dream was. Unfortunately, that dream will never be restored. And, quite frankly to speak of its restoration can only be an exercise. This is in no way a reflection on Mr. Ringer who was absolutely correct in his sentiment. This is rather an observation of the times. For, the level of the general mentality is far too low for there to be the possibility that the dream could ever be restored. These are times when middle aged men sit in libraries hitting on high school kids and watching pornography. There is no way that a society that offers that as its best could ever restore the dream and the promise it made. Again, this is not a column for moralistic condemnations. It is a simply a observation of the prevalence of such things. When sex, drugs, and alcohol are all that people can talk about it is because they have very little else of value to say, which means that they think of very little else. That is not the indication of a society that can restore an American dream. It is the sign of a society where most people would not even know what it means.

The modern American mentality is far too malicious and the ideas that people tend to entertain are far to corrosive for a restoration. To most the American dream represents getting a lot of money without doing much work. Wealth does not matter, only money. In fact, few people understand the difference between concepts like wealth, merit, or trade all fundamental to a basic understanding of the American dream. This is one of the things that makes contemporary times so antagonistic to the rational mind, which has to be a tiger mind. For, while the rational individual is living his life based on concepts like trade--exchanging the basic courtesy of politeness for example--others could care less. So, predictably the rational individual locks horns with the world, and if he follows conventional thought, he will be mauled. For, others will constantly strive to tell him to cut off his horns and abandon the values that give him the strength of clarity such as reason, reason, or emotional health, while they indulge in whatever whims they choose.


These are times that writers like Ayn Rand are enormously helpful for living a reasonably sane life. For, without the intellectual ammunition that writers like Ms. Rand provides, life would truly be the Wasteland that T. S. Eliot describes.

It is very easy to wonder "what's the point of it all" when so few people seem concerned with substance or value and so many deride you for desiring them. However, when you have a solid philosophy upon which to build your understanding of the world and yourself, you become strong.

Ayn Rand was one of the greatest helpers of Man. It seems that the best rational individuals can do in the present environment is to read people like Ayn Rand and Robert Ringer not so much to change the world or win others over to the side of reason. Who wants them anyway when all that they offer is petty and small. Life is far too short for that. Besides, it is a lost cause. Instead, it is far better to read these good authors for some much needed intellectual ammunition so that as one pursues his own goals he can do so without the self-incrimination that so many others will incite him to practice.