By Doug “Uncola” Lynn via TheBurningPlatform.com
The impending winter makes fall a busy time. Even rainy days are spent finishing off an area of my basement before snow flies. Unknown until recently, Yellow Jacket wasps had been illegally invading, and illicitly breeding, behind the exterior border of my home; even creating a hive in the wall so large it filled a 30 gallon trash bag. Once I noticed the excessive activity of the winged terrorists outside, I soon discovered the interior drywall had become discolored and soft. I speculate within another one or two weeks they would have burrowed through. This would have been extremely unpleasant, especially had it occurred in the middle of the night while we inhabitants were asleep, unsuspecting.
Whether working outside in expectation of winter’s desolation and cold violence, or working inside as the leaves and rain fall, while insulating, hanging drywall, fastening, taping, mudding, sanding, texturing, priming, and painting, I talk to myself. I ask me how I could improve; and I curse out loud over the tiniest of my mistakes. I knew better, I tell myself. What was I thinking? Why must this be done in just this manner? To protect and care for my family and my home, I reply. Do it right. But to whom am I speaking? And who is listening?
This is the duality of human nature that we all share. It allows us to converse with ourselves. The inner dialogue is never-ending; ceaselessly communicating back and forth. At times, even tossing to and fro like warring ships at sea. Dual forces light and dark, negentropy rising from entropy as logos and pathos rub on apathy in the constant friction between Apollo and Dionysus.
My inner battles are daily fought and often won
What I do, determines who I become
Although my thoughts flutter and sing like birds
My actions speak louder than words.
When considering any course of action, we definitely operate from within the construct of our beliefs. This takes faith. For example, both logic and experience allows me to accept that wasps can sting; that winter’s chill cometh. Therefore, I act accordingly. If I did not, then I would be known differently. By my actions, you shall know me. And so it is with everyone. The inner dialogue and analysis gives rise to belief, to faith in things unseen, to choice and consequences. The very words translate and transcend, taking on real shape and form onto three dimensions. On a global scale, the discourse and debate materialize upon vast seas of humanity roiling by winds of belief systems clashing in ideological storms and war.
Today people are divided, same as it ever was. Now, even in U.S. football stadiums, our Gods are playing to win. The deity of Global One-Worldism and Unity blending Tomorrow People into varying shades of brown, against the God of real diversity separating by borders, boundaries, heritages, flags, and colors.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2: 12-13
You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
James 2: 24
The winds of war are raging just as they’ve always raged. The opposing sides operate according to their beliefs; what they think is best. They have made their choice and their actions show not only what they believe, but who they are. To try and change anyone would be like attempting to reason with the wasps that once lived in my wall.
President Donald Trump, and many fans of the National Football League believe players should stand in respect for America’s flag, national anthem, and for those who gave their lives defending liberty. Many players in the NFL believe that others of their skin-color are oppressed, and even killed, by those dressed in blue who are obligated to protect them under the law. These players consider Donald Trump as representative of their nation’s injustice.
So everyone acts accordingly. Football fans burn their NFL tickets and gear. Owners fear their players more than their fans (i.e. their customers) and take a knee. Athletes defy the same nation that provides them the freedom to do so because they say the Constitution under that nation’s flag gives them the right to protest said nation, as well as the fans and voters who made them multi-millionaires.
However, for those on the political left, they are not actually operating from their belief in the U.S. Constitution. On the contrary, they are acting to destroy the very law that provides freedom. To the political leftists, their politics is their One True Faith and they act on their beliefs to tear down any dissent. They shill for unity, but unity only against that which they oppose. Their kind of equality does not lift people higher; it merely pulls others down to their knees. One for all and all for one in a kind of collectivist revolution which, left unchecked, replaces freedom, law, and real justice with Cambodian-style funhouses like under the Khmer Rouge, or the Soviet gulags of Stalin:
To do evil a human being must first of all believe that what he’s doing is good, or else that it’s a well-considered act in conformity with natural law. Fortunately, it is in the nature of the human being to seek justification for his actions.
Macbeth’s self-justifications were feeble – and his conscience devoured him. Yes, even Iago was a little lamb too. The imagination and the spiritual strength of Shakespeare’s evildoers stopped short at a dozen corpses. Because they had no ideology.
Ideology – that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification and gives the evildoer the necessary steadfastness and determination. That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and other’s eyes, so that he won’t hear reproaches and curses but will receive praise and honors. That was how the agents of the Inquisition fortified their wills: by invoking Christianity; the conquerors of foreign lands, by extolling the grandeur of their Motherland; the colonizers, by civilization; the Nazis by race; and the Jacobins (early and late), by equality, brotherhood, and the happiness of future generations.
Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions. This cannot be denied, nor passed over, nor surpressed. How, then, do we dare insist that evildoers do not exist? And what was it that destroyed these millions?
…That is the precise line the Shakespearean evildoer could not cross. But the evildoer with ideology does cross it, and his eyes remain dry and clear.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, “The Gulag Archipelago”
If you want to know if NFL owners actually care for their fans, watch what they do. If you believe the dying John McCain is more concerned about the global elite power brokers releasing videos of him in flagrante delicto with farm animals more than your rising Obamacare premiums, you should realize it doesn’t matter.
Actions speak louder than words.
If you believe the NFL fracas is a mere media diversion and wonder why Donald Trump can so valiantly challenge the owners and players of the NFL while simultaneously supporting the political establishment’s loser Luther Strange, over Roy Moore, in the recent Alabama senate race, it doesn’t matter.
Actions speak louder than words.
What does it really mean to be an American today, anyway? If we can’t judge a book by its cover, then we must judge it by the story as it unfolds. How, then, is the tale of our own lives told, if not page by page, day by day, by what we do?
Actions speak louder than words.
This post was my attempt to light a candle, rather than cursing the darkness. What else can be done at this time?
“Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
It applies to more than prophets.
Very nice piece, we would all do well to think about our actions every day.
Fuck. I wanted to be first to comment on this terrific piece.
Damned farmer posts at 6:39 in the friggen morning??!!
Good post!
Uncola
You concentrate on actions being louder than words, and even offer up some Scripture.
I do not disagree with you. But, I have a question.
What about Proverbs 23:7 (there are others with a similar theme); —- “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
This is NOT a trap/trick question. However you feel is fine with me.
Specifically, does the thought follow the action? Or, vice versa?
Very nice piece.
TIA
“Specifically, does the thought follow the action? Or, vice versa?”
Mans action begin as his thoughts, with only a little exception (survival reflexes) we are not controlled by instinct alone, with our thinking originating solely as instinctual stimulus from the environment, the way the animals are.
If it were not that way there would be no Free Will and if there were no free will there would be no sin since our actions would not be something we control.
Feeling. Thought. Action.
Reaction is composed of feeling thought action.
…. that is the correct reaction to a stimuli.
Example: Upon reading Maggie’s tip about the sequence of acts which compose a human action/reaction event in a fictional way, Stucky’s heart skipped a beat. [Feeling.] He realized Maggie was much more than just a bunny killer from the Ozarks. [Thought.] He leaned back in his chair and took an [Action] of which we shall not speak since we are in Bible terminology here.
Proverbs 23 [shoutout RiNS] and number 7… “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Maggie’s reaction? What was her feeling? Disgust? Amusement? Hmmm?
Heir Stuckmeister,
I do believe thought, based on belief, presupposes action, most definitely. Therefore, if we are known by our actions, then – as that proverb says – we are what we think/believe.
If someone is thinking about getting a divorce, or quitting their job, they probably will. But at our funerals, our lives will be primarily summarized (considered? judged?) by whatever action(s) consumed the majority of our time on this blue sphere:
“Bob? Oh yeah, he was a hell of a salesman.”
“Karla? She was a drunk. She just couldn’t put that bottle down.”
“John? One hell of a musician.”
And so on…
That’s how I see it anyway. For whatever reason, I think about stuff like this all the time.
I’m glad you liked the piece. I wasn’t sure about this one, but it was on my mind and I thought what the hell, let it fly and see what comes back. I’m looking for answers just like everyone else.
Great post, I thank you, Ive been reading here for a year or so. But this is my first comment. Yes I read the rules for newbs… (although Im not the best at rule following). Thank you all for your work. Ive been on a journey seeking truth as well. Mr Uncola that was a great post and Im sure to get some shit for this being my first post but here goes. 6 is an answer to the question of (What is 1+1). It may be incorrect but its an answer. That is why it is best to seek truth. LOL I say that with the utmost respect and a reasonable assumption that you would agree.
Thank You
Okay, here’s some shit. Since you wanted some. I’m the TBP welcoming committee.
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Very Nice work! ” The inner dialogue is never-ending; ceaselessly communicating back and forth. At times, even tossing to and fro like warring ships at sea.” – Might want to try some meditation and give your brain a little rest.
Deface the Currency,
Diogenes
@ Dio –
True dat. I will say this, though: if the goal of meditation is to become more calm and relaxed, I do get that from writing things down. In a way, this piece was a meditation on faith, and action, and judgement (discernment?). I was a little agitated before I wrote it and felt more calm after it was written. It’s nice to have this burning platform as a forum to test ideas and generate discussion. Is wild that your namesake believed virtue was better revealed in action than in theory. May you ever be banished from Sinope. ?
Diogenes from Sinope is one of my heros. Hence the use of his name. You are the first one to catch on.
Deface the Currency,
Diogenes
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In black and white, very nice. Now only if all could read and comprehend. Wishful thinking…
Nice, but Character comes first. It can’t be manufactured by good-think….
Just finishing up my second breakfast, like a Hobbit, fresh dug potatoes and apple cider.
I wanted to add that a lot of us- specifically the kinds of people drawn to a place like TBP- are under the assumption that everyone thinks about what they do, considers options, look to history or past experience as some kind of guidance, that they ponder and reflect. This simply isn’t so. The majority of people go through the motions without every giving a moment’s thought to their motivations or the possible outcomes. That requires something beyond ability of the average person. It doesn’t mean that people with limited intelligence or capacity aren’t capable, nor that those with high IQ and advanced degrees apply those gifts to higher ends. I wish I knew if the desire to improve oneself and become a better person throughout your lifetime was voluntary choice based on experience and an innate genetic predisposition or something divinely inspired. Maybe it’s a combination of both.
I do know that for anyone to change- from better to worse or visa versa- there has to be an internal drive. External factors may have influence, from being needled by your loved ones and friends to quit acting a certain way to being the victim of MK Ultra-like brainwashing, like Ted Kaczynski, but the actions, the actual fulfillment of one’s inner most desires has agency that begins with self.
Now I will be thinking on this all day while I work.
“I wanted to add that a lot of us- specifically the kinds of people drawn to a place like TBP- are under the assumption that everyone thinks about what they do, considers options, look to history or past experience as some kind of guidance, that they ponder and reflect. This simply isn’t so. The majority of people go through the motions without every giving a moment’s thought to their motivations or the possible outcomes.”
I think this has been my biggest insight since discovering TBP. People confuse the shit out of me because my go to starting position has always been that people think about such things just as I do. I just never even considered that the majority are effectively just brain dead zombies going through the motions of life.
Sometimes I wish I could just turn my brain off and go with the flow but I’m hard wired to do the opposite. To not consider ones options as they move through life would be akin being deaf, dumb and blind with no sense of smell, taste or touch.
Whether it is intentional or genetic I can’t say. I don’t sit around actively thinking about how I can be a better person or improve myself. I generally define a goal for my future such as financial security then I just begin problem solving my way through all the obstacles in my path to achieving that goal. More than anything though it’s my sense of wonder and curiosity that stimulates thinking more than anything else.
In recent years, in various social situations I’ve been asking people about their “curiosity” in regard to all manner of things big and small and I’m discorving that many have no sense of curiosity and I seem to be the first person to have ever asked them about such things. I’m curious about whether this lack of curiosity is a result of the intentional dumbing down of ‘Murica more that genetics or intention.
I’m discorving
What?
Uncola,
One of your best pieces.
I had a visit from a good customer yesterday who is a cop and we had a long discussion about this topic and others.
Cops are funny people because they tend to see the world more as how it is than as how they would like it to be (unlike the majority of the general public) so the conversation is deeper in that sense and I enjoy it.
He asked me what I thought I could do about the sad state of the country, and I said at this late stage in the game, not a hell of a lot. We are too far gone as a society, to which he responds that is probably the right way to look at things because it is our right to enjoy our lives and any attempt to right wrongs would likely lead to our own destruction in the financial and legal sense and probably in the media as well.
I’m not sure if that was a threat or a simple statement of fact. In this day and age with cops, friends or not, you never know.
We both admitted that insofar as the purpose and motives behind each person’s actions are concerned that it is impossible to know for sure what they may be until it is too late and they have been acted upon. I suspect he was trying to analyze mine.
We are what we think perhaps, but more accurately we are what we decide we will be. We have thousands of thoughts daily which we do not necessarily control and we become what we decide we will act upon. It is like there is a dichotomy between the mind and the soul with one monitoring the other, or perhaps with each vying for control of the material. The id versus the super-ego for control of the corporeal perhaps?
Anyways, I’m glad you found the nest of yellow jackets before it was too late. I wonder what will rot my own house that I have missed and whether it will be of my own making or if I have overlooked something or someone that is working at something destructive under my nose? I wonder if I will have the wisdom to know how and when to act if I see it happening?
Enquiring minds in strange times… thanks for writing.
Great comment, FM. I wanted to delve into the separation of the mind–id, ego, superego, conscious, subconscious, conscience–but hell, even leaving the soul out of it, it is an infinite rabbit hole.
Lao Tzu’s process about thoughts leading through actions and habit to character is spot on, of course, but there is a whole web of complexity at the root level of thoughts. Thoughts come in all shapes and forms and they come from nowhere and everywhere and they are legion.
I think we can choose (at a conscious level) the ones that we latch onto–“You can’t stop the birds from flying overhead, but you can stop them from making a nest in you hair.”
Also, however, I think we can make subconscious changes as well, that make more good thoughts come in and fewer bad. This is what is being done through meditation, Mantras, prayer, visualization, etc. Whether there is a spiritual component to it is immaterial (no pun intended)…because it unquestionably works.
What can we do? We all have spheres of influences that we operate in. Some have large ones like the president and some not so large like me. I’ve tried to stop complaining about things I can’t control, like the NFL protest, and work on what I can. I try to spread love. That’s my encouragement to all who are tied up in knots over the condition our society is in with the assorted culture wars. Get off the couch and the computer and go model the behavior you want the world replicate.
I see it as a problem of the distribution of freedom. This country prides itself on the freedom it permits, elevating it to almost a religious faith.
Constraints on freedom have become socially and culturally taboo. Because the nature of humans is essentially self-centered, freedom without restraint means that there must be a fine balance struck between what a society permits and what it prohibits. A shared value system based generally on Christian ethics is disappearing because of loss of interest in traditional religion coupled with mass immigration of those with differing faith and value systems.
An easy and obvious example is the freedom to have children outside of marriage (including common-law marriage, of course). Back in the day, children without committed fathers were called bastards and both mother and child were subject to great social disapproval and prejudice. This shared value inhibited the number of children born to disadvantage. It helped young women protect themselves from irresponsible mating.
The new religion of freedom destroyed the constraints on illegitimacy. Now, every woman must be free to breed as often and indiscriminately as she wants. And to protect her freedom to do so, the larger society can no longer frown on her, but must instead pay her for her poor choices. It must also pay for all the remedies needed for her handicapped offspring.
If it dare complain, it now receives all the vitriol once poured upon the woman. The result is an ever-growing collection of illegitimate children for the taxpayers to care for and an increase in other problems this new paradigm creates.
I don’t wish to constrain anyone’s moral choices, nor do I believe in looking down my nose at someone because I am holier than her. Far from it. So what is to be done? Simple: destructive behavior cannot be rewarded. Stupid use of freedom must be restrained. What the kneelers are doing is a stupid use of freedom, as will be obvious by the time the story ends and a pleasurable pastime has been ruined. Meantime, the cultural arbiters will reward them with praise and lecture and guilt-trip those who disagree. They respond similarly to the antics of Antifa.
Uncola, you asked what do we do? What I believe must be changed at the cultural level is outlined above. However, I also believe it is too late to stop the tsunami of moral relativity that is engulfing us. I am not hopeful. This ship is going down.
Methinks most people bee like wasps; they just doin’ what they doin’.
I always liked what Viktor Frankl, the founder “logotherapy” (a type of existential analysis) once wrote (in either his “Man Search for Meaning” book or his “Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning” – I can’t remember which one right now):
The Statue of Liberty on the East Coast should have been balanced by a Statue of Responsibility on the Left Coast.
Fantastic comments by everyone so far. Y’all have made my day. Thank you.
Gayle in my observations this subject is as deep as one (with enough spart time) wants to take it.
Check this out, if you so desire…..https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#all/15ebd009a2ba13b1
Thank you, I will.
spart time?
The early-rising, east coast farmer beat me to it, but it bears repeating that few do what they “think” is right. I have stated before that even for we critically thinking INTJs that post regularly around here, emotion can override logic in a heartbeat. The vast majority think what they are told to think and, more importantly, feel how they are made to feel by the propaganda machine.
On top of this, throw in the mob mentality of ideology and fuggetahbowdit. This is exactly the process Bernay’s describes:
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
This is always driven at the emotional level rather than a rational one. Emotions are MUCH more powerful and much easier to influence.
Now, on an individual level, we become what we think about, just like Lao Tzu laid out. It is that simple. One can say actions speak louder and all that, but no action ever taken by a human being has ever been done without a thought first taking place…whether this the basest of impulse or long-term complex planning.
Thoughts always come first. Trying to do good works without first thinking good thoughts is an exercise in futility.
Reminds me of the quote:
Neurotics build castles in the air. Psychotics live in them.
That reminds me of the quote:
Neurotics build castles in the air. Psychotics live in them.
Uncola ends with “What else can be done at this time?”
Francis Marion writes “He asked me what I thought I could do about the sad state of the country…”
I am reminded of when Mother Theresa was taking questions after a public speech, she was asked by random person,”What can I do for world peace?”
Mother Theresa’s answer was “Go home and love your family.”
For me, at this point in my life, that’s about all I strive for anymore.
Perhaps also this, as Tolstoy says:
“I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.”
Leo Tolstoy
Happiness would be living in the Shire with Hardscrabble Farmer as your hairy-footed vertically challenged neighbor. If I had to choose between second breakfasts or civil war, I’ll take option # 1, Alex, with a side of hash browns please.
I will be disappointed in everyone on TBP is this doesn’t generate at least as many comments as the football nonsense.
I get the whole talking to oneself thing. Uncola has a much more colorful way of expressing it. My thoughts used to keep me awake at night. Things I couldn’t do anything about, things that are talked about at length here.
Maybe that’s what draws me to TBP. People express much of the things I think about here, so I don’t feel so..well..weird? It’s not so much that the issues are talked about, it’s that much (not all) of what is stated here by various people, I agree with. And it’s not only that I agree with it, either, because I have friends and family that I’m in agreement with, it’s HOW things are put into words. You all help me articulate what I’m thinking. Word retrieval, for me, has become quite a problem. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I have been under anesthesia five times in 20 months or not but the last surgery has really affected me. So thanks for all your help!
Yes, the thought comes before the action, most of the time. In the past, I have caused serious problems for myself and others by doing what I knew was wrong before I did it. Everyone knows the difference between wrong and right. Even the toddler, who looks at his parents before he touches the pretty thing on the coffee table.
Ideology is a huge problem and people feel quite strongly about their chosen ideologies. How they come to believe those ideologies is beyond me. No one seems to care about facts. It really blows my mind. I was fed the same crap in public school that everyone else was. Many of you were, too. Is it really all personality driven do you think?
I think Drud nailed it: “This is always driven at the emotional level rather than a rational one. Emotions are MUCH more powerful and much easier to influence.”
I hear emotion driven arguments all the time. There doesn’t seem to be any way to get through to these people.
People are always taken somewhat aback by my lack of emotion. I am not easily excited, or angered. It’s not that I am not a feeling person..quite the opposite, really, but control is important to me. Maybe it’s too important, sometimes, since people tend to think I’m overly reserved, aka, stuck up.
There seems to be a total lack of control in society..feel whatever you want..do whatever you want! No concern that what you do may affect yourself and others adversely, if not immediately, then in the long run.
I believe that we are going through a 4th Turning. Linear history just does not make sense of anything, cyclical history does. We just have to weather the storm as best as we can and hope that when we emerge on the other side of it, things will be better, not worse.
While there is nothing I can do to stop it, we can make things better within our circle of neighbors and friends by treating them in the same manner as we would want them to treat us. Build some sort of trust. Never give up on trying to educate them to what is really going on.
A lot of people are starting to get it, the problem is, they are about 10 years behind us.
I like you more and more MC. If you want to buy the 9 acre plot next to ours, I know the owner. She likes a good bottle of Jack black label once in a while, so I stop at the Class VI at Fort Leonardwood once in a while. Being a retired Vet has its rare benefits.
Oh, thanks so much Maggie! I really appreciate that! We already have 12 acres about 5 hours north of you. We are about 25 miles from Whiteman. You live in a much more picturesque part of the state, though. I just could not be that far away from my grand kids, particularly a 12 yr old boy who really needs grandpa’s masculine influence. Dirt bike riding and all that..
However, I do love the area you are in, maybe a visit?
Let’s make it happen. Your grandson a deer hunter? Horseman? Does he like rabbits?
We are very picturesque here… It is beautiful country.
Ah, worry. That’s a great topic. We all spend so much time and energy (you know, the truly valuable things) doing it and yet it is so, so foolish.
“When you worry, you suffer twice.”
-Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
or to go only slightly deeper:
“It is pointless to worry about things you can’t control, because you can’t control them. It is pointless to worry about the things you can control, because you can control them.”
-Wayne Dyer
Q: Who could possibly argue with such relentless and obvious logic?
A: Everyone who ever lived on a daily basis.
Actions do reveal our our thoughts but words are important.Just ask Jesus Christ ” By your Words you will be justified ,and by your Words you will be condemned” Matt:12-37
As we go through this 4th turning it would be prudent to remember we have been taken over by a hostile elite who are driven by Godless ideologies .The ruling Elites hate all people but especially Traditional White Americans or Christians. ” They hated Christians.Driven by Ethnic hatred they tortured and slaughtered Millions of Russians without a shred of human remorse ” Aleksandr Solhenitsyn.
A good read about our new ” Ruling class ” “The Holodomor and other Jewish Atrocities.” All of the elites are not Jewish but 99% are driven by the same worldview whether they realize it or not. Know your enemies in thought ,word and especially deeds.Go to their websites.What you hear may surprise you.
Really uninformed…. The military does not defend your freedom… Military Industrial Complex is about profit… Trump, Obama, Bush all grocery clerks for bankers and war profiteers… Like they ever served in the military… Get real… Trump is a shill…
History will not be kind to the knee takers, the indolant, the apathetically cynical or the warmongering profiteers:
“Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence, nine died of wounds or hardships during the war. Five were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment. Several lost wives, sons or entire families. One lost his 13 children. Two wives were brutally treated. All were at one time or another the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes. Twelve signers had their homes completely burned. Seventeen lost everything they owned. Yet not one defected or went back on his pledged word. Their honor, and the nation they sacrificed so much to create is still intact.”
http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~marcsulf/our_sacred_honor.html
Uncola slaughters yellow jackets, deeming them a threat to his family. He is not satisfied with building screens on the doors and windows; he is not limited to killing the ones that actually stung his dependents, because they ARE dependent; in the sense that if protection is needed, he is the one that must protect them. He not only removes the obvious (flying around) threat, he slaughters them wholesale, down to the last grub and larva, every last one that is anywhere near his family and might become a threat. Then he destroys their habitation (nest) to make it even more difficult for any to come back and re-infest.
I hear various people calling for white people to “hurry up and become extinct”. What is the proper response to this threat? Is it real, and if so, how should it be dealt with? Shall it be deferred until the last minute? Limited only to those who actually attack? Limited only to those areas under attack at that moment?
Hard thoughts for hard times.
James @ Making My Mind Wander,
Here is a small part of the hive.
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If they are incapable of showing mercy, then they shall be judged by freedom’s law. Root them out! Root them out! By GOD ALMIGHTY ROOT THEM OUT!!! Destroy their quarters, take their Queen, and KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM MATERNALCOPULATORS! Then rebuild.
I’m speaking only of wasps. Really.
“What else can be done?” -Uncola’s essay ending question.
For me, the answer is to simplify your life. That starts with having your financial house in order. That opens the door to all kinds of freedom.
I now operate under the assumption that the country’s current trajectory will remain. That means chaos and increased authoritarian rule. My therapy for the last 10 years has been to collect books. Specifically, books that will still be worth a read 50 years from now. I’ve purged my shelves of the Vince Flynn spy thrillers and now only have books that I think would be worthwhile for my grandkids to read, with the assumption that a new Dark Ages might come. There are many great books, now out-of-print, that can still be obtained for little or nothing at various book sales. If I travel 40 miles one-way to a sale that nets only 6 books, I still think it worthwhile.
I built a man-cave with a bunch of comfy-chairs that currently holds 7,000 books, with room for almost twice that many. Two dehumidifiers run 24-7 in the room. And, yes, the wife shakes her head at my indulgence. (She loves the bar though).
That’s been my answer to “What else can be done?”.
Consequences are the best teacher. So much of what has been done has been an attempt to avoid individual consequences for individual actions stemming from individual thoughts stemming from individual beliefs. The biggest test of character is accepting responsibility for one’s actions, words, and thoughts. Having to do so forces an alignment between what we do and who we are. That taking responsibility has become something rare and rarely noticed tells you all you need to know about where we’re heading.
Great piece, Doug, it will go up on SLL tonight.
Lao Tzu thought more with his gut than his head. Earths energy flows to your center, radiating out. Now disconnected, unnatural and lost, we stumble around with heads filled with shit.
It is reassuring to my ongoing battle with sanity to hear that others have same conversations. Curse aloud at things beyond one’s control.
Indifference is the workshop of the Oppressors which manufactures the fools who then run errands for the Hope and Change to Make America Great Again
I have over the past five years done much reflecting on a life lived. Come to realize that I have been waiting for a train that has always and always will be running one hour late. The only solution for the individual to survive what is coming is to change tact and plot a different course.
My Son just finished building a woodshed for his Mom. He helped me finish interior of my garage last fall and decided that if the old man could do it then so could he. I went up to help him last weekend with the roof. Returned the favour by helping to build something for him.
It was amazing and humbling as it made clear that my role in life is to raise my children to be good adults.
Actions speak louder than words.
and the example leads the way.
What can be done?
If you build it…
They will come
and most important of all
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Why just sit eating donuts.
Better to make them instead.
When considering any course of action, we definitely operate from within the construct of our beliefs. [??] This takes faith. [??] For example, both logic and experience allows me to accept that wasps can sting; that winter’s chill cometh. Therefore, I act accordingly. If I did not, then I would be known differently. By my actions, you shall know me. [??] And so it is with everyone. [??????] The inner dialogue and analysis gives rise to belief, to faith in things unseen, to choice and consequences. [PHEW!] The very words translate and transcend, taking on real shape and form onto three dimensions. [Well, as you think you are, as you think you do, etc.] On a global scale, the discourse and debate materialize upon vast seas of humanity roiling by winds of belief systems clashing in ideological storms and war. [Piffle.]
I disagree, Doug. States of consciousness within the grasp of human beings burst easily, effortlessly, through the confines of both thought constructs and “belief”, those habitual, reliable constructs of thoughts we come to think of as “beliefs”. A marvelous teacher and recognized adept, Rev. Blighton (“Father Paul”), a founder of the “Holy Order of MANS”, reportedly loved to declare “Anything beLIEved is a LIE” (capitalization mine), which seems to me a very good starting point for practicing the “presence of GOD”, mindlessness, and seeking the “kingdom of GOD” within, by whatever appellation.
I have had my meticulously built steel-and-glass ivory towers shattered (fortunately, before this era of micro-nukes), once, twice, thrice….Here I be, still beLIEving, of course, and still counting! Each and every “crossroads” I have encountered over my 70 years came with dissolution, destruction, and demolition of my carefully (sometimes carelessly) constructed crystalline structure of lies. I look forward, with hope, to the next crossroads I encounter along this long and winding road, even at my advanced age. Refreshing!
My two cents’ worth.
@ A.D. – It’s one thing to have tears that cry, and quite another to have tears that cry and know why.
Descartes was right: We think and therefore we are. And, when there are no answers, choice remains; even if the only remaining choice is the decision of our perspective.
Like Forrest Gump’s feather: Randomly blowing in the breeze? Or is the breeze representative of something universal, and connected; guiding our sails, as it were, towards that which was previously undiscovered?
It is likely both, neither mutually exclusive, or inclusive, and in varying degrees.
Therefore,
When considering any course of action, we definitely operate from within the construct of our beliefs. This takes faith.
One way, or another.
That is my perspective anyway. Great comment, Alan. And worth far more than $0.02 in my opinion. Thank you.
Doug, thank you acknowledging my comment.
Picking up where you brought us, I hope for the edification of our “fellow travelers” — you and the web host deserve full credit for the line-up of us all! — Descartes was an early example of how to “divide and conquer”, the ancient forerunner of the Hegelian dialectic, here applied to peeling [carving] away a domain — the “material world” — from an already corrupted “Occult Renaissance Church of Rome” (ref. Michael Hoffman’s masterwork). Materialism, scientism, and elitism, with the overlay and direction of Talmudism and Babylonian Money Magick toddled right along! See clearly what we have today!
No, as Yogi Bhajan stated so simply, so succinctly, “You were given Mind; you were not given to the Mind.” One of the most direct avenues of escape: Head to the heart!!! Headiness, mindiness — I have a correspondent who berates ME continuously, vociferously, for my own reliance on Mind!! — we have to find refure in heart, with its own nervous system (!!), invite, invoke, and revel in LOVE until we can come from our hearts to engage the minds of others.
All considerations of “thinking”, thoughts, constructs of thought, belief systems, dissolve in that process. Then, we can construct anew, more congruent with Reality.
Do I get a nickel for this one?? Love to all, penniless or not! Alan
It is so very refreshing and encouraging to see so many people here that are alive. As for the comments, there is more than I can digest. All good stuff. Makes one grateful to be alive. As for gratitude itself, it is my doorway into a better realm.
This place is alive, indeed.
Amidst all of the existential and philosophical analysis on this thread, Maggie and Mary Christine still had the time discuss getting together for a nice visit. Will it be coffee and cookies? Tea and strumpets? Or bunny burgers and Budweiser? It will probably depend upon the time of day? Even so, I wonder.
Is it too late to toss the little fish back, EC?
I’d been thinking of having an open house here at the log home now that it is completely finished… even the basement but don’t tell the taxman.
Perhaps it is time for that pole dancing class I promised Nick I would take once I lost the baby weight. It’s twenty years later, but what the hell, I got into my wedding dress on my 25th anniversary the other day and made Nick laugh. The dress was pre-DD.
Being held accountable for our actions.
That is what everyone is trying to avoid, isn’t it?
No, not to my mind. Taking personal and individual responsibility for one’s experience [not “our” experience] — (((Werner Erhard))) had a bunch of JEWels of Truth-iness to dispense — is an initial aim. THEN, to take personal and individual responsibility for the experience of OTHERS — Christ Jesus, I understand and believe, achieved that level of human accomplishment — becomes the true test of an awakened, enlightened human being. So, give, expecting nothing back (no usury), and GOD is in your debt, Grace to follow. ‘Nuf said here!
If Alexander Dumas had written, ” The Three Musketeers ” as a socialist they would have said,” All For One And None For All ” .
The NFL will soon come to stand for No Fan Loyalty…because the idiots kneeling don’t give a crap about the fans.
The BLM etc. movements of the Left have never learned that Free Speech comes with consequences .
As to logic…it’s logical that I’ll have bourbon and watch it all burn down .
Then the communist version would be: “None For One And All For All”
It is always interesting to see economic illiteracy at work.
Owners are afraid of their players? What bollocks.
The NFL as a league is expecting to make $13B in 2018. Salary cap for all NFL teams is around $163M. $163M x 32 teams = $5.2B
The owners make tons of money off the players and get heavily subsidized by their cities to boot (stadiums and tax concessions).
@ C1ue – The owners fear a player walk-out and the ensuing media storm that would follow, more than apathetic NFL fans (i.e. the majority?) abandoning the game. I stand by my statement. For the owners, it’s a numbers game/gamble; a business decision. Tell me more about my economic illiteracy.
A wasp invasion in your home,like all problems that can result in harm and /or death just stock up on candles/flowers/teddy bears,all will be fine!
Really though,good thing you caught it in time,what a rat fuck that could have been.I had a huge beehive in a customers wall,they called some bee keepers who got majority of hive and rest of bees died off.They were unhappy about the die off but glad hive was saved and now have 4 bee boxes cooking on their property,they got guy who removed original swarm nest to teach em a bit and set em up,still get free honey when in area.
Assholes with wings, terrorists!
Those little bastards got into my siding a couple years ago. Beings I’m a sick bastard and wish nothing but ill will and torture upon them; I went with the shopvac option.
Great entertainment watching them get slurped up.