A transmission from A Silver Mt. Zion. On the Failure of One Small Community in Achieving its own Ill-Defined Dreams And/Or Goals…

And we were an army of dead women and men, shuffling pointlessly across and thru this glorious new century with all its interactive toys, internet prattle, electrified restraining harnesses, billion-dollar death rays and supermax penitentiaries, and its goddamned evermore refined, irrational, and terminal economies of blood, misery and slow fucking doom? And please know, or already understand, that this record is so fucking useless as a one way transmission, like all one-way transmissions need to cease forever for sure, in this already-existing mess of radiation, electricity and noise and clamor and lies.. And&So and but some time somewhere some tiny action took root maybe, and none of us never heard about it yet, and the earth did it’s slow twirl in spite of me? And so we all woke up hungover, &always still more tired of, or more spooked or scared, and barely shuffled thru a little bit more? And while we were sleeping they even took our neighborhoods away, and everything turned into Disneyland and marionettes and chipboard and spit? No more lovely aimless strolls allowed, no more long wandering nights all burning with possibility, wonder, or joy- not here no, not with the flashing copcar light show and park curfews and the whole “yeah you can live here, but you can’t live here, I mean you can pay your rent and to&fro a little but that’s about all bub, and don’t you forget it hawhawhwaw”?and we learned the rules way to well, and they altered the way we felt and lived and breathed even? And what about the story of us all abandoning each other, because we were too self-involved to figure out how alone we all really felt mostly nearly all the time? (meaning that we all treated each other reallyreallyreally badly, man)?(and crafted our own neurotic soap operas with our boring sad couplings and irony, television and cocktails?) And in our infinite weakness we figured everything was shit anyways so might as well get used to the smell? and we gathered in compromised halls that reeked of failure, distance and self-alienation? And so we never really met? And since we never met, we never schemed or planned or manifested the ruined dreams that didn't have to be ruined at all? And never figured out how to counter all the bland agents of recuperation, who stole our brightest hopes always, and shot 'em out of satellites at a buck-fifty-nine an hour? (And would you believe us if we told you that we built a machine that'll bring all their fucking satellites the fuck down?) And the arguments for&against were never complicated but were certainly fucking complex? And we created slack fact-ions, and made believe that we were seditionaries, but were too easily moved or else did not ever move at all? And never stormed the gates or walls? But crafted clumsy things with out hands, and those things were important to us, those clumsy abstracted towers and minarets we crafted with our own worried hands?and built our own confused belief systems, which were endlessly and crucially beautiful in their small stubborn tangles of loss, worry, faith, and need? And made small gestures with our hands or eyes that were endlessly redeeming, and made us all sometimes almost believe in saints and/or angels? And daydreamed endlessly about living a little more quietly or a little bit louder for awhile? And almost always strived for a little more engagement with this falling/fallen world? Or hardened our resolve sometimes and bent our heads and backs into the task at hand and dug and built or erected? Or transmitted occasional epiphanies or urgent fears with photocopiers, silkscreens and CDR's? And found answers sometimes in the empty places, like gangs of birds flying out of dead buildings, beneath the sun's blind white hole? Like trees growing thru fences or an abandoned jar filled with a summer's worth of rusty water out there behind the place where the heavy trains roll? And found hope in the idea of the futile gesture? And manifested sometimes with bricks in our hands? And built something here in spite of and will not let them take it from us so easily? So please O please, let's please figure out soon what exactly we can build here on this parched and fallow ground.(Knowing all along, that sooner or later their bulldozers will come and tear it all down...)(But we can build it in spite of, and leave dusty notes about our journey's behind...And resistances grew from tender places, and we fought the good fight whenever it staggered down our lonesome, twisted roads...

While reading Don't Think of an Elephant! by George Lakoff, I came across a conclusion about Adam Smith's philosophy that our European History class somehow failed to cover:

"[According] to Adam Smith's 'law of nature,' if everyone pursues her own self-interest, then by the invisible hand, by nature, the self-interest of all will be maximized. That is, it is moral to pursue your self-interest, and there is a name for those people who do not do it. The name is do-gooder. A do-gooder is someone who is trying to help someone else rather than herself and is getting in the way of those who are pursuing their self-interest. Do-gooders screw up the system."

Wow. Where to begin? Fist of all, correct me if I'm wrong, but I take Smith's "law of nature" to mean that the world is better off with a bunch of Hitlers than with a bunch of Mother Theresas (and moreover that if there were any Mother Theresas inhabiting the world, they'd be ruining it for the Hitlers who are the most moral because they are pursuing their self-interests). Even if it so happened that the world was 100% full of Hitlers, I doubt that their collective happiness would be "maximized." Forgive me for using extremes, but Adam was asking for it.

Second of all, it is my firm belief that not only do "do-gooders" NOT screw up the system...rather, they ARE the system...it is greedy and selfish persons, organizations, corporations, etc. that are ruining the system that the do-gooders are trying to protect. I do not believe that "the system" should be one like "a boot stamping on a human face--for ever," but instead one like a human hand reaching out to help someone escape such a situation. Do-gooders are not ruining the work of selfishness, selfishness is ruining the work of do-gooders. If everyone pursues the best interests of humanity and the world at large, ONLY THEN will the self-interest of all be maximized, for every man will have access to all this world has to offer.

Selflessness is the ultimate manifestation of humankind.

"Sports is another crucial example of the indoctrination system . . . It offers people something to pay attention to that is of no importance . . . It keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have an idea of something about . . . People have the most exotic information and understanding about all sorts of arcane issues . . . It's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority, and group cohesion behind leadership elements, in fact its training in irrational jingoism . . . That's why energy is devoted to supporting them . . . and advertisers are willing to pay for them."
-Noam Chomsky, preeminent intellectual and highly distinguished professor of linguistics at MIT

Why does our society pay so much attention to professional sports, when they give virtually nothing back to the world? Just imagine if all the energy, time, and money we spent on sports were instead used to improve education, healthcare, and quality of life overall. There's no question that professional sports teams are luxuries and that they detract from the well-being of those among our society that are struggling to survive while we sit idle, consume junk food, and cheer for players we've never met.

Recently, The Daily Show hosted sports commentator Bob Costas. He has always struck me as a very kind and intelligent man, but talk about your exotic information and understanding about arcane issues. It's this guy's job to research and talk about sports ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. I believe he could easily be contributing something much more useful to society.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not against sports altogether. Sports are tremendously valuable in that they build friendships, get people to enjoy exercise, and teach them how to work as a team. For this reason I am a proponent of intramural sports, because the focus is more on getting active than on passively observing the activity. Everyone should be encouraged to get out there and play his/her heart out. It is a shame that many college-level and even high school-level sports have lost sight of this goal, and have forsaken the concepts of fun and participation for unhealthy levels of stress and competition.

But most of all, it should not be seen as the duty of the public to pay taxes for constructing and maintaining extravagant stadiums, arenas, and the like.

That's all I have for now. As always, post if you disagree or have a problem with any of the ideas presented. Should you agree, you might want to print this out for future protests/demonstrations.

In light of the fact that most of my friends are soon to turn 18*:

Are you conscientious? Do you object to war? If so, you could probably qualify as a Conscientious Objector. According to the U.S. Selective Service, "A conscientious objector is one who is opposed to serving in the armed forces and/or bearing arms on the grounds of moral or religious principles." Now, why should you care? Well, believe it or not, the U.S House of Representatives just last year introduced a bill to re-instate a military draft. Though the bill failed, the threat of the first draft since the nightmare of the Vietnam War has since been far too close for comfort. Such a threat should not be all that surprising, however, considering that as the demand for troops in Iraq continues into perpetuity, recruitment numbers promise to keep plummeting.

I want to make sure that all my friends (females can be drafted, too) aren't gobbled up by the draft, so although forced conscription in the near future may seem unlikely to you, ask yourself if fighting in a war is something you really want to risk. In the event that there is a draft, you may get as few as 10 days to put together documentation for a conscientious objector (CO) claim. This documentation includes such things as letters, diaries, photos of you at rallies, clippings of demonstrations you attended, and anything else that demonstrates a belief that war is unjustifiable. If you have stuff like that, start compiling it right away. All of you (excluding the females) are required to register for the draft during a 60 day period that begins 30 days before your 18th birthday. When it comes time for you to register, the key is that you write "I am a conscientious objector to war in any form because of my ethical/moral/religious (whichever best applies to you) beliefs" on your Selective Service cards. For a continuation of in-depth instructions on how to legally outsmart the Selective Service and avoid conscription, visit http://www.nisbco.org/literature/basic.htm.

*If your name is David Michael Crane, you should send a letter to the Selective Service stating that you registered without mentioning that you are a conscientious objector.

Further resources on conscientious objection:
http://www.nisbco.org/index.htm
http://www.objector.org/
http://www.forusa.org/documents/FORThoughts_000.pdf
http://www.sss.gov/FSconsobj.htm <--the enemy...don't believe everything they say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector

Peace out.

An Open Letter

In response to david's expressed concern:
"i wanna know what JP thinks not isaac or PETA or whatever, enough links, more JP!"

Dear David (and every other male in the audience),

I hear you bro, and I'm sorry if I've been too heavy on the links for your taste. However, with all due respect, my intention is not to make this blog about "JP," but rather about connecting friends and close relations to ideas, issues, and activities that are (hopefully) both interesting and useful. While there will be an occasional "mindfuck" entry to which I may not necessarily adhere personally, you can pretty much count on whatever I post to be virtually synonymous with "what JP thinks." I realize what you're asking for is less regurgitation and more independent thought...I'm working on that. When I feel something needs to be communicated, I'll communicate it. Lastly, should any premise or facet of this blog bother you, by all means, express it!

Your own true love (lost at sea),
John Paul

P.S. I should sheepishly point out that I only link to an entry in Isaac’s blog when I have made a comment that I wish to share with my audience (however small and similar to Isaac’s that audience may be).

Anonymous comments are now officially allowed...sorry for the inconvenience.

In other news, this blog may one day become just one huge link to Isaac's blog.

alk3o17 (12:42:20 AM): i intend for open discussion to be encouraged on all topics i bring up
sjkcutie87 (12:43:04 AM): mayb u should tell ppl that then
alk3o17 (12:47:48 AM): i hereby invite you [all] to comment on my blog as frequently as you like