What a piece of work is man...

I recently read a post that said, what is the biggest problem on earth today?

A top answer was human beings. I thought on it and wrote this in response:

I like to take the optomistic approach. Human beings are the most capable species on the planet. We have created marvels of science, technology and even nature that were unmatched in the billions of years the dinosaurs existed.

Ice ages/climate changes have come and gone, however, the inspired and awesome resources that humanity has created have never existed before. That being said, I do wish we had things like the atmospheric condensers as suggested in Star Trek TNG's "the inner light" but that kind of technology may not exist yet. If it doesn't I am sure someone's working on it. In short, I am trying to say that a cosmic catastrophe can happen at any time (errant asteroid from the asteroid belt in the center of our galaxy, a supernova sun, an errant solar flare, extreme climate change, overpopulation causing massive destruction that cannot be fixed); the point is, that if anything in the history of the world has the capability of fixing it or evolving to find a solution no matter what happens, it is the human race. We have the tools and the capability, and while we do have our issues, the best hope for the world is mankind.

Complaining about our shortcomings is a tool of the weak but it is also understandable. When you lack the ability to look at the big picture or even are just simply frustrated and feel that the big picture is hopeless, it is easy to complain. I do not fault you or anyone for complaining because the problems facing our planet and our species are large and frustrating; often times, it seems like there's no end in sight but have faith in a creator or at the very least something larger than yourself and take solace in the fact that we are amazing creatures.

I will end with Shakespeare, "what a piece of work is man; How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, In form and moving how express and admirable, In action how like an Angel, In apprehension how like a god, The beauty of the world, The paragon of animals."

Atten... Hut!

There are those out there whose brains are focused in on happy things. There are also amongst them whose minds are fraught with worry or depression because the hardships and trials of this world are too much to bear; Or their brain chemistry plays tricks on them so doctor's pump them full of pills but I believe in another brand. A brand of person whose mind, no matter what they set it to always turns everything into a battle.

Sometimes they come off as disciplined but war is chaotic so there are some bred for it who come off as chaos. The chaos is only intensified no matter how much they run from it.

I have always been fascinated with war and the duty that befits a soldier. In youth, I played soldiers with my friends and built military dictatorships in the woods in cities made from sticks.

As I got older, I dabbled in the social hierarchy of an animalistic group of boys but was never so satisfied as when they went to war with each other and I got to serve as a soldier for either side.

My father thought wrestling would scratch the itch but he was wrong. Wrestling was just a fool's errand because it involved no strategy, just me (a little fat kid) getting his butt kicked; most likely because I was severely underpowered going against a much larger force in the midst of a testosterone fueled tank battle. Not that a suicide mission frightened me. On the contrary, I went in the ring every time and fought my hardest against unwinnable odds. I came out beaten and torn and not once shed a tear for myself. At my last match, I got so angry that I lost by points but I never let him put me on the ground. No, although it was physical battle, it was no war.

In highschool I dropped a bunch of weight and found delight in things like our Jewish fraternity which made use of a militant leadership structure with gubernatorial rewards that would have made the Roman Senate green with envy. Soldiers who fought to be the best chapter in the league were venerated with women and prizes the same way a Roman legion would have been.

Ironically, this was around the time that I first thought about joining the military and my parents discouraged it as they insisted that we were in the middle of a war and they would not watch their son go to his death.

More to the irony, later in life, after I had finished highschool, a friend in that same Jewish youth group did go off to war and was killed by a roadside bomb. I still remember driving in a procession to the graveyard and seeing the people lining the streets as we went by and crying because no finer a soldier had I ever met then my friend Jeremy Kane.

Back to highschool, however, my parents were delighted in my involvement with theater, however, I played Rolf and Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music and delighted that both were soldiers; Comberferre in Les Miserables who I delighted that he was the philosophy behind the revolution in the books and in real life as I read the story, an actual person fought and died just as he did in the June Rebellion in Paris. Oliver was not so much a war but there was a struggle of penniless orphans fighting to survive by any means necessary and Guys and Dolls was Gangsters vs. Police. I just happened to be on the side of the bad guys. So theater was all about actually living war for me.

In my dreams, I have often dreamed about the struggle between heaven and hell and great winged creatures vs. Demons or humanity is a running theme in my writing. 

I get great pleasure from standing with the soldiers at monument terrace in Lynchburg these days because although I've never fought in a war or been enlisted, I still fight battles in my life and mind. I still think with duty and honor and what would the soldier do? I have followed orders to the letter and when I haven't I have always thought of the end goal as a general would and sought to win a battle for the majority of people with the least amount of casualties (however they represent themselves). When someone gives me kudos for anything I've done I continue to use the same phrase to say "your welcome;" I tell them simply, "it's an honor to serve."

As we all go down the path of life, we will all fight our own battles and although there may not be many people as entrenched in battle in their minds as I am, we all seek to serve. The Bible says we cannot serve two masters so above all serve God first; but in service to him, serve his creation: your fellow man and woman as best you can. For each one of us is a soldier and until the lay us down to rest, welcome to the war recruits...

Why do people vote for Trump?

He's pig-headed, he's a misogynist, he's an opportunist, he's insane: these are all frequent terms used to describe the man. I know what you're thinking and before you say anything, let me say that I don't advocate for Trump; nor do I think that you should vote for him; nor am I voting for him but I would like to explore what makes someone vote for Trump.

So Hillary, Trump and every other political baddy ever, have been compared to Hitler. First of all, that's got to stop because none of said politicians have ever murdered 6 million people. It's the same reason we can't accuse them or Bernie of being Stalin, because even though Hitler is the better known villain, Stalin killed 10 million over a few more years. The point is that both of these guys are astronomical baddies. Comparisons being made to them are unfair and untrue so that's got to stop. So if neither one is really a super villain, why hate them?

Well, Hillary is a Clinton, and Clintons are an honorable house. We went through the Bushes and showed with Jeb Bush getting pushed out of the election, that we are tired of dynasty in this country but Hillary is an honorable family woman and deserves your vote. The other thing is that noticeable change did not come to the masses in their time of need during the last 8 years but the Democrats are an honorable party. My father quoted off to me earlier that now a tiny percent of the population owns half of THE WORLD'S wealth! That's unimaginable.

We have been through the ringer with Bill Clinton lying and now his wife is up after she got caught deleting emails, wrapped up in Benghazi with our soldiers lives lost and people tend to die of mysterious circumstance often when they oppose her but she is an honorable woman so we have to take her word that she's innocent and things just happen. This does not bode well for her especially for an uneducated (a large portion of the United States) populous.

I'm not here to honor Trump, but to understand why people vote for him. If she says he's pig-headed than he must be for she is an honorable woman.

People in this country want change and they want drastic change and here's where history does have similarities to past events. The people of Germany were so beat up after WWI and blamed for that war that their situation became dire. Desperate people act on instinct and vote for anyone who offers change and resolve to their problems even if that means insane ideas that put people in awkward moral dilemmas. Hillary is a diplomat and a politician. She offers long term plans, more spending and no quick solutions to any problems.

As I said, I do not support Trump and if I had my way, state self governance would be a thing again because America is too large and with too much diverse need to have as powerful of a central government that we have. However, the question that I try to answer is not what i believe or what anyone believes, but why do people vote Trump despite the media backlash: Because he offers them quick change.

People think that since he's a business man, he will know how to run the country like a business (even though he's not a particularly good businessman which is why I won't vote for him). People need hope right now, not politicians and even though Hillary may be the better option, people will vote for the candidate that gives them hope!

It won't matter in the end though. The popular vote doesn't count and Hillary is a ruthless murderer who will do anything, and I mean anything, to get her way, so this election at the poles, I'm going to vote third party and no one in the world can make me feel guilty about that because I will at least sleep better knowing that I didn't cast my vote for either one of these showboating aristocrats...

The meat bags libido

So I was at the nursing home when the hot hospital administrator and a young pernicious suitor stood at the elevator that I had to get on to go down a floor.  I should have known better, "take the stairs!" but, I got on the elevator where the two engaged in the pathetic repartee and banter, that is the romantic tryst of the young and semi-powerful. 

He showed his ego and she quickly tried to close the door like a desperate woman trying to blockade her sanctuary from zombie attack.

"That's a nice pin, why did you choose to wear that?" She pleaded with me.

"You're being used to deflect. Did you know that? How does that feel?" said the young cad.

Ignoring them both, "I just liked it.  Had it lying around and decided to wear it." I said with a quick smile and inner distaste for this intrinsically human moment.

As I left the hospital he sat there in a white SUV at the entrance till he noticed I was trying to get out.  In my mind I played scenes of the two engaged in awkward debate in the car.  Advances that are unrequited become debate afterall...

R.E.S.P.E.C.T

It is widely believed that if one climbs the ladder of power, they are imbued with respect but I think that's a small minded view of the dimwitted and a pigheaded view of the powerful. For those of us in between, respect is earned.

My director Todd who's the boss of my boss, has earned respect from me because daily his door is opened and he is always encouraging and talks to me when I have issues on my mind. It is for this reason, he earned my respect and in any given situation, I would support his cause.

Not all my bosses, however, have been that way. I once worked for someone who was never there and when they were there, they were short and always hurried when addressing me. This person did not receive my respect because they didn't even try to earn it. At that job, I tried my best because I wanted the respect of my patrons but in any of the hard work I did, I would not have devoted myself to that person and if the opportunity presented itself to usurp them, I gladly would have presented myself as a candidate based on my own honor and attention to those around me.

People we don't know are often imbued with respect by the weak minded and often worshiped like gods. Steve Jobs is respected because he made Apple computers which sucks the life out of people while devoting itself to little more than itself. I have 0 respect for Steve Jobs because he was power hungry and notorious for his ruthlessness to his own workers. I did not mourn his death because he was a false idol and when he died, in my eyes, so did his legacy.

Another example is Jerry Falwell Jr. Who many in the town of Lynchburg imbue with godlike status because of his family, but there is only one God and it's not Jerry Jr. His father put this town on the map and now he continues to grow it at an unwarranted pace, while lining his own pockets and putting people out of their livelihoods if they stand against him and his ideals. I have no respect for this man. An American man believed in diplomacy and democracy and when one stands against him, he is willing to open the floor to his constituency because he does not answer to only himself. That is monarchy and as an American, I can never agree with a monarchy. Call me a traditionalist and a conservative but I believe that we work together without a single person calling all the shots or we do not work at all.

The president works for the American people and I think we've strayed from this line of thinking as well. One does not make executive orders if the people vote against it. The people are not represented by other people like saintly intermediaries to god, we should represent ourselves and votes and petitions should still make a difference and they don't and lime Jerry Jr. This is why I don't respect the American political system any longer.

What I do respect are the ones who fight to their last for those initial ideas of what freedom and equality are all about. I respect soldiers who are willing to fight and die for our country but still remember that all life is sacred and man is fallible. I respect my friend PT who is in great shape and could definitely look down on other guys who do not offer eye candy and might even slow him down on his daily work out but he not only doesn't look down on others but lifts up and understands all people. I respect the people who live in low income neighborhoods but still give 100% of themselves to others and do not look at everyone as their enemy but rather they see everyone as a potential friend. I respect people who do not blame others for their situation, who can be objective, who love first and hold action as paramount. I respect people who when they see someone doing the wrong thing they try to help until they can no longer do so. I respect people who are accepting of help and actively seek to do the right thing and when their decisions affect others, I respect those who seek the opinions of those they affect.

Respect is earned by the individual. Respect is earned by people. CEO's, Kings, and people of power in every walk of life may have power but to earn respect, they have to be representative of a leader, a philosopher and one who is both humble and pure in their intent. We may not all make the cut, i n fact most won't but the desire to get there, earns my respect.

Torture

In a forum last night, I found a person making the argument that masochists would make the best spies because they like pain so they could stand up to any kind of torture. Clearly, this person must not have understood the nature of torture. A torturer, does not simply try to inflict pain. It's not about inflicting fear either. It's about power. For one who is completely in tune with their senses and loves pain like a masochist, sensory input invigorates them. For this, I would use a paralytic to inhibit movement and a sensory deprivation tank to take away all sensory input. As they lay in the tank with all senses deprived, the lack of sensory input would create boredom in the subject and cause them to start to experience the world that they sought to escape from through pain. All masochists do not necessarily need pain to survive but if they've endured so much they have begun to enjoy it, then sensory deprivation would be torturous for them and they may even go through withdrawal from not having the input they'd become accustomed to. Flashes of light could be added within the tank as well to give them the hope that there might be a reintroduction to the world but enough time in the tank and I'm sure I could get them to give up any information I wanted.

The mind is such a fragile thing. People can be indoctrinated to do pretty much anything. Even the psychopath has a sense of self preservation, but the goal of a torturer, is knowing how far to take it and finding the weakness in a man. I say man because the golden rule is and has always been that no matter what war you're fighting, "no women, no children." This rule separates us from the dogs in the middle East who'd chew off their own foot if it would suit their cause. They're not artists and they're not people when they do what they do. A man who kills women and children by cutting their heads off, is the reason that a torturer would be completely vindicated in his craft. God will judge them but it is up to man to stop them, by any means necessary.

The Witch

Often times, people will get upset over a book and ban it. They get upset over a movie and speak out against it. Art is called out for being nonsense because of its subject matter or content but the way I see it: if a child dies in an African war, does that mean you can stop it from happening by not looking at the pictures of it or criticizing the artist?

Sin is a concept we don't talk about. We marginalize sin because lying is something we can justify with it being a white lie. Lust is something we can justify by it being simple human nature but when we see it graphically portrayed in a truly disturbing context, then all of a sudden, we're offended and up in arms.

Envy, greed and wrath in our everyday lives look like a guy calling another guy a jerk for getting a bonus for hard work on a project at work; taking that bonus and using it to buy things he doesn't need or things that bog his life down with more sin; yelling at his wife or child because these things and this money have made him just as miserable as the man who envies him.

The movie The Witch, which promised to be a horror film turned out to not be a horror film but rather a graphic representation of these sins. There were moments in the movie that were a bit gratuitous but like any work of art, they were made to seriously piss someone off, and not to simply touch upon why a sin was dangerous to mankind.

The background of the Puritan characters made it obvious what they were trying to do and the fact that they hardly touched on The Witch, herself: where she came from, why she walked the woods, what woods these were and why these particular woods were significant; showed that the film wasn't about the witch, it was about the devil and sin.

At one point in the movie, the father of the family gets down on his knees and begs God, "forgive me for my pride! Do not punish my children!"

So for those who haven't seen the movie but intend to, you can stop here but for those who haven't or don't want to, here's the recap:

We see the little brother exemplifying lust. He lusts after Thomasan when she's in bed, while she washes clothes in the river and then when he meets the witch, he lusts after her and culminates in an orgasmic death reminiscent of The Exorcist movies to really solidify that: for all his puritain training and prayer, which he does often throughout the movie, he has not been saved through baptism and he still is the perfect candidate for sin just by being human.

Second: Gluttony. There is no exemplifying characters of Gluttony that I saw because the family is starving but perhaps the two fat little twins could be a hint of this. The mother's crying over her baby and neglecting her children could be seen as her being gluttonous in her neglect. The Father's cutting wood to drown out his sorrows could be considered gluttonous and perhaps his death at the end, burried under wood was representative of that sin.

Greed: the covetous nature of the wife over the silver cup could have represented greed. The entire motif of selling ones soul to the devil to get their loved ones back or to "see the world" as the devil says at the end could be considered greed.

Sloth: the mother was constantly having the daughter do all the chores and having the father go out to hunt and thinking about selling her silver cup to sustain her sloth. She came out only to yell at the Thomasan so the question of her being slothful was answered absolutely.

Wrath was also obvious in her as she turned her anger with their situation and not having enough and her bratty kids on Thomasan and at the end, culminated in trying to murder her as the embodiment of wrath.

Envy was also obvious as the mother was envious of Thomasan for being still young and beautiful and still in the house when she should, "already be married and serving a husband," just as the mother had done herself. That envy lead to wrath and her death so that commentary was obvious there.

As the father says at the end, pride is his biggest sin. He does not admit to taking his son hunting in the woods or selling his wife's silver cup because he is filled with pride. He lets his pride come before his wife and his children because he can barely keep it together after his pride gets the family kicked off their plantation at the beginning of the movie. Pride, may be the biggest theme in this entire movie because the daughter has it until she looses her cool at the end and shows that she has it, the dad has it and it gets him killed. The mother has it because she can't just admit that she's envious of her daughter Thomasan and that she's mad at her husband for getting them all kicked out of the place they lived and bringing them to the US in the first place. Pride is the single largest sin of the movie.

The movie itself could have used subtlety to illustrate some of these points a little better and not used such graphic imagery to explain their points but they remained consistent with the time period and not all of the graphic imagry was unfounded. There were places in there that I felt warranted less metaphoric pedantic motif and more attention to story and plot but as one who has been trained in English to read between the lines, I can see what the writers of the movie were trying to do.

Their movie will not get them an Oscar and it will probably be ignored and trashed by most who see it but I feel that to really see the movie, you have to be someone very specific. Someone who can both understand what the movie says, without being blatent or obvious, and someone who can appreciate and know what sin really is. When you are that someone, you recognize these sins from afar and come out of the movie very quiet because you have seen these things before, in your own life.