Roll THE CROOKED DICE/

Every time I hear a political speech or I read those of our leaders, I am horrified at having, for years, heard nothing which sounded human. It is always the same words telling the same lies. And the fact that men accept this, that the people’s anger has not destroyed these hollow clowns, strikes me as proof that men attribute no importance to the way they are governed; that they gamble – yes, gamble – with a whole part of their life and their so called 'vital interests.

Albert Camus

It has been said that the motivation for gambling is best understood as a longing for excitement rather than material gain.  The acceptance of politics as a form of wagering shows that a craving for diversion has superseded a desire for improvement; trading the pursuit of better governance for the entertainment supplied by hollow clowns.  

Staking one's life and livelihood for transitory thrills has lead to the rejection of reality and truth, and the acceptance of banal tyranny.  

Knowing the dice to be crooked, yet willing to roll; risking everything for a hat full of hollow- how less than kind, how much like kin these creatures have become.

Ogre Outrage

 Once this habit is well established, you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending and yet having a grievance when offense is taken.

C.S. Lewis- Screwtape Letters

One of the more gratifying trends in current political discourse has to be our success in fomenting  virulent verbal attacks between adversaries.  Through our efforts, contempt has been sanctified; acts of malice are seen as a sign of courage and strength rather than being acknowledged as indulgent vices born of cowardice.  

To this end, we have employed the technique of ogre outrage.  Vile and vicious epithets are spewed out under the guise of "speaking truth', knowing full well they hold only the slightest connection to veracity, and are designed sorely to inflict pain.  

If the slander prompts a negative response, the attacker then lambasts their victim; accusing them of trying to cancel legitimate discourse, or asserting that the gutter insults are merely "jokes", not to be taken seriously.

If, however, one does not respond to the verbal assault, then the vilification is deemed vindicated and a more pernicious denigration follows.  Thus, under the guise of dialogue, the most atrocious utterances can be voiced without any sense of remorse or responsibility; and should offense be taken, the attacker feels justified in being aggrieved.  

Outrageous Ogres acting offensively who are outraged when anyone is offended - that's what gladdens the hearts of the August Assembly.  

Dr. Mordacious "Deceit as the tool of Statecraft"

Gift of the MAGA

WE WILL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WISH, BUT NOT THE PAIN OF ANOTHER.-

CORDWAINER SMITH

The era of MAGA sounds a despicable decree- we will give you nothing, but the pain of others.  For those who have become accustomed to misery and despair of escape, another's agony provides them solace.  This strain of sickness runs through the history of society; whether the spectacle of the colosseum or the squalor of the hometown hanging, the stupefying satisfaction derived from observing the torment of others has a dark hold on humankind.  

The birthright of suffering remains as sure as the upward flight of sparks, but the relish with which some devour the misfortunes of others- that is chosen and preventable.  Lacking beneficial offerings, MAGA  delights in inflicting anguish as it revels in dehumanizing and debasing vulnerable people.  Embracing exploitation, rending scapegoats, and mauling the defenseless gorge but never satiate their cravings for the suffering of others.  

They have squeezed themselves hollow with a lust for power, and no amount of cruelty and torture can fill that void.  This is the gift of the MAGA.

MASKS OFF

 How to start a war?  Nurture your own latent hungers for power.  Forget that only madmen pursue power for its own stake.  Let such madmen gain power- even you.  Let such madmen act behind their conventional masks of sanity.  Whether their masks be fashioned from the delusions of defense or the theological aura of law, war will come.

-Gowachin aphorism

War has come and with it, the loss of any semblance of sanity.  We are delivered whatever madness the day requires; delivered from the electronic rooftops throughout a land under siege.  Any that speak against it are denounced as traitors, branded as demons, and threatened with extermination.  

Bloodlust feeds a frenzy that sacrifices life, liberty and resources on the altar of hubris; an altar dedicated to a despot divorced from reason and compassion.  Conceive in fear and forged in hatred, his rages consume the country that elected him and threaten the world at large.  

The mask has been removed, revealing the darkest impulses hidden beneath.  The face of war mirrors our own.

Beyond Belief

 Beyond Belief

History repeats the old conceits

the glib replies, the same defeats.

Elvis Costello

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To not know in the context of faith is to remain humble and teachable. To toss away the conflicting and unusable beliefs of the mind is to be free of human chatter and hubris and a step closer to the divine. Where faith does not fill in the cracks, fear will. Faith is an attitude of acceptance of not knowing.

Rea Nolan Martin

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Assuming certainty sacrifices truth for convience.  Abandoning doubt and reflection may make acting easier, but it risks enacting evil under the guise of good.  Here, belief becomes an excuse to justify ignorance, and an impediment to learning and growth.  The idea that ones "belief" legitimizes ignoring facts and opposing viewpoints poisons reasoned discourse, and leads to intellectual bigotry; the assertion that an opinion can't be challenged simply because one finds it desirable.  

Pursuing truth necessitates a willingness to change ones views, to admit a mistake or misconception and alter one's perspective.  It is disconcerting to concede error; but shackling one's self-esteem to any one way of thinking jeopardizes an objective connection to reality and compromises a commitment to a healthy personality.  

The question becomes- how does one act appropriately in the face of limited knowledge and understanding?  Faith, I believe, is the answer.  By accepting one's limitations and acting accordingly, faith allows us to overcome fear and hate, This affords us the opportunity to act with the compassionate comprehension that our best efforts are subject to failure, but we need not be deterred into inaction or despair.  Rather than deny the veracity of a given situation and repeat our blunders, we accept our responsibility and alter our actions.  

Ignorance isn't evil in and of itself, it's the ignorance we will upon ourselves and others that is malevolent.  Faith allows us to affirm that which lies beyond our cognizance; to deal with uncertainty in a fashion that befits our humanity.  By doing the best we can and demonstrating a willingness to change, faith allows us to reject hubris and remain both hopeful and humble.  

There may be comfort in seeing the world through an inflexible and unchanging worldview, but it is a cold comfort; one destined to leave us frozen in a wasteland of dread and doom.  The values of compassion and understanding are needed to guide us along the path of righteousness; so no matter what misguided footfalls befall us, we will not lose our way as we move beyond belief.

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I've got a feeling

I'm gonna get a lot of grief

Once it seemed so appealing

Now I am beyond belief

Elvis Costello

Patriotism. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name.

Ambrose Bierce

In an election year, there tends to be a great deal of flag waving.  The brandishing of Old Glory seems obligatory for candidates; yet it seems wielded more as a weapon than a standard of love for one's country.  Beneath the banner of the Stars and Stripes, the promise of liberty and justice becomes superseded by a nationalistic fervor intent on the exclusion and vilification of one's perceived opponents, as if cherishing America is contingent upon despising political foes.  Abandoning the notion of reasoned discourse in pursuit of truth, this brand of patriotism demands a slavish conformity to party above country; and leads inevitably towards the blind ambition of power at any price.  It brands disagreement as degeneracy; thus any dissimilarity is recast as deviltry worthy of contempt and destruction.  In doing so, the fires of discord blaze, and the resulting conflagration consumes the country that is supposedly revered.

In the pursuit of notoriety, the torch of this patriotism supplies more heat than light; illuminating a darkness best left to the shadows.

The B vocabulary / beguile, bedevil, berate

 The B vocabulary consisted of words which had been deliberately constructed for political purposes; words, that is to say, which not only had in every case a political implication, but were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them.  

George Orwell-1984

The control of language supplies a power seeker with an integral tool for shaping thought.  To win an argument without the use of logic or reason may seem counter intuitive, but in fact, it can be far more effective, and easier to accomplish.  Simply by framing the argument in terms that preclude an accurate analysis of the issue, an advocate sidesteps a rational discussion that could lead to greater understanding, and substitutes instead a nebulous concept ripe for manipulation.  

Thus, when the term "groomer" is bandied about in the discussion of child welfare, the revulsion it provokes impedes dispassionate discourse. It instead ignites a fearful hatred focused on anyone who disagrees with the proposition that orthodox gender conformity is the only measure of true rectitude, and any other opinion is tantamount to child abuse.  Likewise, using the designation "woke" reframes hateful bigotry as virtuous; implying that concern and compassion for others and their differences is inherently bogus, and such, must be strenuously opposed.  

The employment of such terms imposes a mental state of willful ignorance upon the user; rendering them nearly impervious to persuasion, no matter how reasonable or judicious the argument may be.  The development of such term doesn't occur by accident; they are crafted specifically to bend and warp sensible minds to an unsound state, and thereby beguile the unwary.

The B vocabulary may be trendy, it may be convenient, and it may be ubiquitous, but beware; lest it becomes an excuse to bedevil and berate others, thereby bedimming the perception of truth and virtue.