What a Ninja

[ This entry originated » here. ]

Speaking of a lot happening .. I want to mention, ever so briefly, this article by Egan.

I had opened that page in a separate browser tab, but I got distracted and called away before I had a chance to read it.

Some time later, I clicked on the tab and started to scan the text there.

I normally browse the web with a separate dedicated browser with Javascript disabled .. because so many sites go crazy with Javascript, which can consume system resources for no good reason.

The effect of browsing with Javascript disabled .. is that the text sits well below the page title at the top .. separated by a large (un-sized) version of the photo they use.

After reading a few sentences, I was so impressed that I wondered, "Who is writing this?" .. and I scrolled up to the top of the page.

When I saw that it was Egan, I said (out loud), "You are such a ninja."

••• today's entry continues here below •••

He continues to impress me .. in ever increasing ways. [ Just like John fucking Oliver .. who is kicking ass on a hyper-geometric scale. ] What a skill set he wields.

[ When I read this, I thought, "Now he's showing off." ]

» An Impressive Motherfucker

In the book on Oppenheimer, titled American Prometheus,

there is quote by David Lilenthal that says, speaking of Oppenheimer:

"He is worth living a lifetime just to know that mankind has been able to produce such a being."

I thought of that quote afterwards .. while I was contemplating Egan's skill set ..

.. and how he might have been able to stock his writer's tool box with such impressive tools.

I am not sure if I am actually awe'ed with his skill set .. but I can feel my respect for him definitely heading in that direction.

He makes it look easy, which is part of his signature. But that is not easy to do what he does. Go ahead and give it a try and you'll see what I mean.

» Responsibility of Building a Self vs Uniform Obedience of the Crowd

I was reading this thing earlier today about Joyce .. a remarkable thing .. especially in light of current events.

The passage is talking about how both Yeats and Joyce favored Parnell over O'Connell. Parnell is described as a solitary figure, possessing a "highly individuated selfhood."

While the terms demagoguery, populism and garrulity are used to describe O'Connell, whose followers typify » the "uniform obedience of the crowd."

They are actually talking here about Irish Self-Rule .. and not being ruled by Britain (government) and Rome (church, religion).

They make the point that, if the Irish are to truly rule themselves, then Parnell is obviously the man for the job.

» They do not have What it Takes to Accept Responsibility

But the people balk. They do not have what it takes to bring about self-rule. They choose instead to opt for O'Connell the demagogue.

And the reason why they rejected Parnell is because » "They could not take on the responsibility of becoming themselves; they turned instead into the infernal mob condition to which earlier in their history they had been reduced."

Is that not a remarkable passage? It reminds me of Mel Gibson riding up-n-down the field on horseback, with half of his face painted blue ..

.. telling the Scots assembled there on the field of battle that it would be better for them to die here today .. than to lie on their deathbeds many years in the future .. regretting having fought oppression when they had the chance. (And feeling like a big pussy for the rest of their lives.)

No? Does not much of life come down to this very thing right here .. both individually and societally .. as represented by Parnell vs O'Connell?

Is this not the thing that America is dealing with right now? Along with many European democracies.

See .. this thing here with Parnell vs O'Connell .. this is the thing that makes all the difference. This developing and becoming a self. I mean, I can see that Egan has built himself a self. An impressive self.

It is very difficult to do that. So I am not so surprised that most Irishmen went for Trump .. uh, I mean, for O'Connell.

» Rotten at the Core

If I were the God-of-the-Universe, the Trump administration would seem like an excellent opportunity .. to reveal the rottenness that lies at the core of a political organization .. that, until very recently, had held up its values as a model of moral excellence.

(I bet that Andrea Mitchell knows exactly what I am talking about. I bet that David also knows what I am talking about.)

Everybody remembers how they used to stand in line .. waiting their turn to step up onto the GOP soap box and decry the moral shortcomings of everybody else .. who did not live up to their lofty moral standards. (Ken Starr knows what I am talking about here.)

Now their hypocritical assses are required to defend on a nearly daily basis values and behaviors that have already been judged and condemned. Nicholas Kristof knows what I am talking about.

There is a name for people who hold others to impossibly high standards of behavior .. yet, for themselves, they continue to make an endless series of excuses for why their own behavior does not match up to the lofty moral standards that they have set for others.

But it is not a very nice name .. so I won't mention it here.

» The Very Fine Nazis

Paul writes that some believers will turn away from and depart from the faith in the latter times .. choosing instead to follow people who "speak lies in hypocrisy." You reckon he might know?

If I were the God of the universe, I would first give them an opportunity ..

.. to respond to the ugly reality that lies at the heart of their very core.

Maybe they do indeed have what it takes to step up to the moral plate and respond with a solid base hit.

Or, maybe they dont.

Odds are that they dont have it in them.

But you have to at least give them a chance.

David says that they have already sold their souls.

If anybody would know.

You can lead a horse to water...

» My Vision

In my mind's eye I can see a locomotive steaming furiously along a track. At one time this locomotive may indeed have been steaming toward a noble destination.

But something happened along the way. It happened slowly. Moral decay set in. A moral rot took hold and the railroad company was powerless to eradicate this rot. Tho they certainly tried a number of times.

And now this train is heading off a cliff. Because the track ahead is out. Nobody ever expected that it would ever come to this, so no energy was ever expended to keep building track in that direction.

The original builders of the track said, "If it ever comes to this, then these fuckers deserve to go sailing off a cliff into the abyss of oblivion." And everyone present said a hearty, "Amen."

But now we find ourselves here .. heading off a cliff.

There is a part of me, which I call the "existentialist observer," that is very much interested in this phenomena.

I am interested in how long people remain attached to this steaming locomotive .. people who have hitched their wagons, so to speak .. to a set of values that have long been judged and condemned .. before they jump off.

At what point do they say to themselves, "Oh, I can see where this fucker is headed .. and I dont want to go there." ?

This interests me. Human nature in general interests me. Why do people do the seemingly crazy shit that they do? Can they not see that such a thing is full of folly?

Is denial really that powerful? Is the pressure of society to conform really that strong?

» Tuck-n-Roll

I dont really know why people would cling to and defend values that have already been judged and condemned, but I know that the longer they cling to their steaming locomotive, the more difficult it becomes to jump off before the whole fucking train goes sailing off the cliff .. plummeting into abyss below.

The bottomless abyss. The moral black hole. From which there is no escape .. and no hope of escape. I would wax more plain here if I thought it would help.

But if somebody can't see the obvious coming from here .. then, they are beyond help. No? They clearly do not want to see the obvious.

I can hear something inside of me calling out to them saying, "Come on .. you can do it. Tuck-n-roll, motherfucker. There's not much time left. Hurry .. do it now."

They will no doubt have many, increasingly perilous opportunities to jump .. such as this one. Here's another. So the observer can't help but wonder, "What's it going to take? Is there anything sacred to them?" Are they going down with the ship?

Bret knows what I am talking about. So does Stephen.

This article by Timothy Snyder says (12th paragraph):

"The president has provided American Nazis with three services, for which they have thanked him: He has normalized their ideology; he has excused their actions; and he has given them hope that he will blame his opponents the next time America is struck by terrorism."

I dont know how I know this, but I know that they have heaped harsh judgment upon others. So I know that their own judgment will be harsh.

It's not going to be pretty. You might want to avert your gaze. It will be difficult to look upon such a thing. No one will blame you if you look away.

The day of their calamity is near.

» Accepting the Weighty Responsibility of Self-Education

The quote that I referenced above talks about the Irish people lacking the responsibility for becoming themselves.

I feel that self education is a key ingredient in accepting this decisive responsibilty. Accepting the responsibilty to educate yourself .. this is a key thing.

Because you can have an educated person who is not particularly intelligent .. but you can also have an intelligent person who is not educated. (It seems obvious, I know. Painfully obvious, at times.)

What is the difference between self-education and self-delusion?