Enough for Everybody

Veterans Day

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the guns fell silent all along the western front. 

So ended the First World War – the most devastating war Europe had ever experienced; begun one hundred years ago last August, ending four bloody years later. 

It was the world’s first exposure to industrial-scale murder.  Over a billion (with a ‘b’) artillery shells were fired into the frontier of trenches that stretched across France and Belgium, from Switzerland to the North Sea.  Four million soldiers died in those trenches, and in the shell-pocked moonscape ‘no-man’s land’ hell that separated the sides. 

When it ended, there was briefly a hope that humanity had learned its lesson about militarism.  In that light, November 11 was established as a holiday to celebrate peace.  Here is the final clause in the US Congressional resolution of 1926:    

“Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”

It’s an international holiday.  Though it goes by different names in different countries, the prayers for peace, and the expressions of respect for those who have borne the brunt of conflict are common. 

Greetings for Veteran’s Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day. 

Peace!  

Voter Fraud

As an opening gambit in many swindles, the swindler warns his prey of the danger that lurks all around – particularly directing attention to others who might be planning a crime.  As the victim’s attention is directed away, his wallet disappears. 

This misdirection is often very effective; so effective that—if the victim doesn't notice who ended up with his wallet—the crime may validate the warning, strengthening the  bond between predator and prey.    

The campaign to disenfranchise voters—through restrictions on early and absentee voting, wholesale purging of voter rolls, strict voter ID laws, and intimidation gangs at polls in poor and minority precincts—is NOT an attempt to COMBAT voter fraud.  IT IS VOTER FRAUD – fraud of a magnitude not seen since the days of Jim Crow. 

Promoters of these restrictions have spread rumors about widespread voter fraud, but aside from a small minority of easily-confused and frightened voters, these rumors are not really even intended to be believed.  They just serve as semi-transparent window dressing, so people can feel validated in cheating others out of their right to vote. 

Clearly, those promoting these programs, and pulling the strings of the gullible, completely understand what they’re doing and why – and are cynical enough to not need the window dressing for themselves.  They have looked around—both at the country today, and at the demographic trends—and realize that the plutocracy they represent cannot long survive in a fully-participatory, empowered democracy.  Their only hope is to make sure participation is suppressed. 

There is nothing new about the suppression of democracy in this country.  From the days of the Federalist Party, there have always been those who stand to lose by greater participation.   Restrictions against women, blacks, Indians, and even non-property owners are all part of our history.  The difference now is the trajectory and the transparency.  Instead of moving in the direction of more inclusion, we are back-sliding.  In the past this was done openly; now we’re supposed to pretend there’s a higher motive.  Pretty much everybody knows better; but some of you know you’re not supposed to admit it.  
 

With the Voting Rights Act gutted by the usual suspects on the Supreme Court, the disenfranchisement may work in tipping a number of close races this time.  Many will celebrate now what we should all be grieving.  We are becoming a nation that condones and institutionalizes cheating in the most important civil function we perform. 

Whatever we call the system that is evolving, we should avoid words like ‘democracy’; they are meaningless and foolish in this context.  

LAZARUS WEPT

LAZARUS WEPT

Give me your energetic,
your rich;
your landed gentry
yearning to breathe free –
of taxation, welfare,
or any obligations
intended to meet the needs of
the huddled masses. 

As for the retched refuse

of your teeming shores …
they will be detained,
then returned to you.
  

Prejudice and Assimilation

A persecuted ethnic or religious minority cannot overcome discrimination and prejudice by assimilating within the oppressing society, then participating in discrimination against a new target.  This only serves to validate the idea of discrimination; and merely postpones the day when one will once again become the target.    

The only thing this changes is that, when the cold stares and furtive innuendo are once again directed at these people, they will no longer have any moral high ground from which to appeal.   

Gravity and Reality

Gravity is one of the fundamental forces that define the universe.  It defines the orbits of moons and planets – and even the very shapes of these bodies.  It is the physical manifestation of matter’s drive to aggrandize itself across the vastness of space.  Gravity holds us to the Earth, and holds the Earth together.  Concentrated in stars, gravity is so strong, it fuses hydrogen nuclei to make helium, lighting our days.  

But in too great a concentration, it just swallows up everything.  The gravity within a black hole is so strong that not even light can escape. 

Similarly, the quest to accumulate wealth and power is a key driving force in the human experience.  It’s why we seek new lands, build railroads, skyscrapers, and the internet.  Within bounds, it can shape incredible innovation and creativity; generating jobs, wealth and plenty. 

But when unchecked wealth and power become too concentrated, they too create a black hole, which swallows everything within its horizon – bending and shaping it to its will.  Once in its sway, neither light, nor truth, nor sustenance escapes. 

Some physicists speculate that within a black hole, a separate reality may exist; one warped and distorted by the intense forces of the concentrated mass, but within which, this distorted microcosm may seem somehow normal – and the universe outside the influence of this overbearing force seem  distorted.  

The More You Know

Educated, well-informed people equivocate, qualifying their comments with reservations, uncertainty, and exceptions.  
Children, fools and zealots declare their beliefs with an absolute certainty that is the unique possession of those who just don't know what they don't know; and who either can't comprehend, or don't care about nuance or complexity.