The Poet: David Whyte, "In the Beginning"

"In the Beginning"

"Sometimes simplicity rises

like a blossom of fire

from the white silk of your own skin.

You were there in the beginning

you heard the story, you heard the merciless

and tender words telling you where you had to go.

Exile is never easy and the journey

itself leaves a bitter taste. But then,

when you heard that voice, you had to go.

You couldn't sit by the fire, you couldn't live

so close to the live flame of that compassion

you had to go out in the world and make it your own

so you could come back with

that flame in your voice, saying listen...

this warmth, this unbearable light, this fearful love...

It is all here, it is all here."

~ David Whyte

The Daily "Near You?"

Jersey, Jersey. Thanks for stopping by!

- https://www.hotels.com/go/england/

"Russian Typical (Brand New) House & Land Package"; "Moscow After Midnight"

Meanwhile, in a sane, civilized society...

Full screen recommended.

Travelling With Russia, 6/7/26

"Russian Typical (Brand New) House & Land Package"

"What does a typical house and land package in Russia look like? Take a tour of the Mart House 2.0 residential complex to see a move-in-ready home in action. Located just 40 km from Moscow, Mart House 2.0 offers ready-made houses surrounded by parks and recreational spaces."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

"Moscow After Midnight 🇷🇺 Real Nightlife in Russia"

"Experience the energy of Moscow after midnight on this immersive 4K HDR walking tour through the heart of Russia's capital. Join me as we explore Moscow nightlife, vibrant streets, city lights, luxury architecture, beautiful urban scenery, and the unique atmosphere that makes Moscow one of the most fascinating cities in the world after dark. This real-time night walk captures authentic street life, evening vibes, illuminated landmarks, modern city views, and the rhythm of Moscow at night without commentary."

Comments here:

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o

What don't you ever see, anywhere, in every video? Not one piece of litter or trash on the ground, immaculately clean everywhere, no graffiti, no homeless, drug addicts or drunks laying on the sidewalk... contrast that with the filth infested, violent-crime garbage-dump lunatic asylum Hell holes American cities have become. Where would you rather live?

- CP

"Every Day..."

“Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans to gain or maintain power. What is more, those who choose not to empathize may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it through our own apathy. If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

– J. K. Rowling, Harvard Commencement, June 5, 2008

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"If Something Cannot Go On Forever, It Will Stop"

"If Something Cannot Go On Forever, It Will Stop"

So let's try to figure out what "stop" might mean in the real world.

by Bill Quick

Excerpt: "Herb Stein created his famous “law” as a useful analytical tool for approaching potentially harmful long-running economic trends, primarily to make the point that government intervention might not be necessary since, if a particular trend is not supported by existing realities, it will eventually collapse on its own. In a way, it is an economics version of the Oliver Wendell Holmes’ tale of the "One Hoss Shay."

"The parson was working his Sunday's text,-

Had got to fifthly, and stopped perplexed

At what the - Moses - was coming next.

All at once the horse stood still,

Close by the meet'n'-house on the hill.

First a shiver, and then a thrill,

Then something decidedly like a spill, - 

And the parson was sitting upon a rock,

At half-past nine by the meet'n'-house-clock, -

Just the hour of the Earthquake-shock!

What do you think the parson found,

When he got up and stared around?

The poor old chaise in a heap or mound,

As if it had been to the mill and ground!

You see, of course, if you're not a dunce,

How it went to pieces all at once, -

All at once, and nothing first, -

Just as bubbles do when they burst.

End of the wonderful one-hoss shay."

Logic is logic. That's all I say. This “shay” had been built throughout with the finest materials available, and each part lasted just as long as the others…until they all turned to dust at the same moment, leaving the man who depended upon the shay flat-assed on the ground, wondering what had happened.

Keep all this in mind while we consider a seemingly unrelated subject. I am an aficionado of cyclical theories of history, many of which are discussed in this excellent piece by Alexander Macris, "The Wisdom of Naram-Sim." Let’s concentrate on just one of them for the moment, because it is currently serving as my own map through todays confusing and perilous times:

A more recent cyclical theory of history is Strauss-Howe generational theory. According to Strauss and Howe, historical events occur in 80-year cycles, each marked by four turnings of a generation (20 years). Strauss-Howe theory has given rise to the oft-discussed concept of the Fourth Turning. Strauss-Howe theory is based on the idea that each generation of human beings predictably differs from the prior generation based on the conditions of its upbringing. Put bluntly, a new crisis occurs when the generation that remembered the last crisis dies off and a new generation that has known only good times take the wheel of the ship of state.

The concept is often summarized using the famous quote by author G. Michael Hopf in his book "Those Who Remain:"

“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times.

Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times.”

Full, most highly recommended article is here:

- https://billquick.substack.com/

A Timely Repost: “Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent”

Full screen highly recommended.

“Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song

Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent”

By Melanie Curtin

“Everyone knows they need to manage their stress. When things get difficult at work, school, or in your personal life, you can use as many tips, tricks, and techniques as you can get to calm your nerves. So here’s a science-backed one: make a playlist of the 10 songs found to be the most relaxing on earth. Sound therapies have long been popular as a way of relaxing and restoring one’s health. For centuries, indigenous cultures have used music to enhance well-being and improve health conditions.

Now, neuroscientists out of the UK have specified which tunes give you the most bang for your musical buck. The study was conducted on participants who attempted to solve difficult puzzles as quickly as possible while connected to sensors. The puzzles induced a certain level of stress, and participants listened to different songs while researchers measured brain activity as well as physiological states that included heart rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing.

According to Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International, which conducted the research, the top song produced a greater state of relaxation than any other music tested to date. In fact, listening to that one song- “Weightless”- resulted in a striking 65 percent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety, and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates. That is remarkable.

Equally remarkable is the fact the song was actually constructed to do so. The group that created “Weightless”, Marconi Union, did so in collaboration with sound therapists. Its carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines help slow a listener’s heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

When it comes to lowering anxiety, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Stress either exacerbates or increases the risk of health issues like heart disease, obesity, depression, gastrointestinal problems, asthma, and more. More troubling still, a recent paper out of Harvard and Stanford found health issues from job stress alone cause more deaths than diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or influenza.

In this age of constant bombardment, the science is clear: if you want your mind and body to last, you’ve got to prioritize giving them a rest. Music is an easy way to take some of the pressure off of all the pings, dings, apps, tags, texts, emails, appointments, meetings, and deadlines that can easily spike your stress level and leave you feeling drained and anxious.

Of the top track, Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson said, “‘Weightless’ was so effective, many women became drowsy, and I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.” So don’t drive while listening to these, but do take advantage of them:

10. “We Can Fly,” by Rue du Soleil (Café Del Mar)

9. “Canzonetta Sull’aria,” by Mozart

8. “Someone Like You,” by Adele

7. “Pure Shores,” by All Saints

6. “Please Don’t Go,” by Barcelona

5. “Strawberry Swing,” by Coldplay

4. “Watermark,” by Enya

3. “Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix),” by DJ Shah

2. “Electra,” by Airstream

1. “Weightless,” by Marconi Union

I made a public playlist of all of them on Spotify that runs about 50 minutes (it’s also downloadable).”

- http://www.stumbleupon.com/

"How It Really Is"

"A lot worse" is a gross under-estimation...

"Your Own Assumptions..."

 

"It's Begun, But Most Just Don't Know It Yet..."

Full screen recommended.

Jiang Xueqin, 6/7/26

"It's Begun, But Most Just Don't Know It Yet..."

"Jiang Xueqin discusses how World War 3 has already begun, 

which now risks escalating to all-out war."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Silent Debt Trap: Rome Fell, Are We Next?"

Full screen recommended.

Historian Catalogue, 6/7/26

"The Silent Debt Trap: 

Rome Fell, Are We Next?"

"America's national debt crossed $39 TRILLION - and the people in charge have no plan to stop it. But here's what no one is telling you: this isn't new. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire ran the exact same playbook. They debased their currency. They distracted their citizens. They let the elite quietly exit while ordinary people held worthless coins. And then the empire fell. This isn't conspiracy theory. This is macroeconomic history. And it's already happened before."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "The World Cup is a Scam!"

Full screen recommended

Dan, I Allegedly 6/7/26

"The World Cup is a Scam!"

"The FIFA World Cup was supposed to be the biggest sporting event on earth for ordinary fans. Instead, it has become a luxury experience that many families simply cannot afford. In this video, I break down the shocking reality behind World Cup ticket prices, dynamic pricing, hotel gouging, parking fees, airfare spikes, corporate hospitality packages, food costs, merchandise markups, and the billions of dollars flowing into FIFA's coffers while fans get squeezed at every turn. 

If you've looked at ticket prices and wondered who can actually afford to attend these games, you're not alone. From $1,000 nosebleed seats to $150 parking, $20 beers, and hotel rooms that cost more than a monthly mortgage payment, the average sports fan is being priced out of the world's most popular sport. We also compare these costs to what we're seeing in the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and other major sporting events. Has professional sports become a billionaire's playground? Is the World Cup still for the fans, or is it just another corporate cash machine? Watch until the end and tell me what you think in the comments."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"A Harsh Reality Is About to Hit Millions Across America"

Full screen recommended.

The Unfolded States, 6/7/26

"A Harsh Reality Is About to 

Hit Millions Across America"

"In recent years, homelessness has become one of the most visible issues across America. But is homelessness really the problem, or is it a symptom of something much bigger? In this video, we explore how rising housing costs, shrinking financial flexibility, and changing public policies are creating new challenges for millions of Americans. From housing instability to the growing debate over public camping laws, we examine the economic forces shaping the conversation. We also take a closer look at the Housing Affordability Crisis and why so many households are feeling pressure even if they still have stable jobs and housing. 

As mortgage rates, rent, insurance, healthcare, and other expenses continue competing for a larger share of income, many families are finding themselves with less room for error than they had in the past. The result is a growing concern about long-term financial resilience and the future of housing in America. Whether you're a homeowner, renter, investor, or simply concerned about the Cost of Living, this analysis breaks down the trends, data, and policy debates that could shape the next decade. Watch until the end and let us know: what do you think is putting the most pressure on American households today?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Americans Aren’t Prepared For This Shifting Economy"

Full screen recommended.

Snyder Reports, 6/7/26

"Americans Aren’t Prepared For This Shifting Economy"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Poet: Anne Sexton, "Courage"

"Courage"

"It is in the small things we see it.

The child's first step,

as awesome as an earthquake.

The first time you rode a bike,

wallowing up the sidewalk.

The first spanking when your heart

went on a journey all alone.

When they called you crybaby

or poor or fatty or crazy

and made you into an alien,

you drank their acid

and concealed it.

Later,

if you faced the death of bombs and bullets

you did not do it with a banner,

you did it with only a hat to

cover your heart.

You did not fondle the weakness inside you

though it was there.

Your courage was a small coal

that you kept swallowing.

If your buddy saved you

and died himself in so doing,

then his courage was not courage,

it was love; love as simple as shaving soap.

Later,

if you have endured a great despair,

then you did it alone,

getting a transfusion from the fire,

picking the scabs off your heart,

then wringing it out like a sock.

Next, my kinsman, you powdered your sorrow,

you gave it a back rub

and then you covered it with a blanket

and after it had slept a while

it woke to the wings of the roses

and was transformed.

Later,

when you face old age and its natural conclusion

your courage will still be shown in the little ways,

each spring will be a sword you'll sharpen,

those you love will live in a fever of love,

and you'll bargain with the calendar

and at the last moment

when death opens the back door

you'll put on your carpet slippers

and stride out."

~ Anne Sexton

"The Last Asteroid"

Full screen recommended.

oltsev art, "The Last Asteroid"

"None of them know it's their last hour. Or maybe they do. And yet, this is what they've chosen. Inspired by a song in another language, about love at the end of everything. I heard it once and couldn't stop thinking about it."

Blues Masterpiece, "After I'm Gone"

Full screen recommended.

 Blues Masterpiece, "After I'm Gone"

“After I’m Gone” is a reflective, soul-deep blues about legacy, memory, and what remains when a life moves on. The singer wonders who will remember, who will care, and what pieces of their story will still echo after they’re no longer around. Carried by slow, steady guitar and the mournful cry of the harmonica, the song moves with quiet weight and sincerity. The voice is calm but heavy with thought - not afraid, just aware of time passing and the marks we leave behind. It’s not about fear… it’s about meaning."

Native Elder, "The Truth About America"

A Must-view!

Native Elder, "The Truth About America"

"Sometimes..."

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Worldwide Famine Is Being Engineered, Mass Starvation and WW3"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 6/6/26

"Worldwide Famine Is Being Engineered,

 Mass Starvation and WW3"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"US - Israel, Iran War, 6/6/26""

Professor Jiang Xueqin, 6/6/26

"Middle East Crisis Escalates Again - 

What Comes Next Will Shock You"

"Just when it seemed the Middle East was gradually stabilizing, a fresh surge of tensions has re-emerged across the region, sparking renewed concerns over security, energy stability, and the shifting global balance of power. In this lecture, Professor Jiang Xueqin explores the deeper geopolitical drivers behind the latest escalation, showing how events that appear isolated are often connected to broader structural changes unfolding across the region. This analysis goes beyond partisan narratives - focusing instead on strategic incentives, regional power dynamics, and the long-term competition shaping the future of the Middle East."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Scott Ritter, 6/6/26

"The Final Shock" - Iran Halts World Oil 

as Israel's Fatal Blunder Breaks Middle East"

"The global energy architecture and the final remnants of Western military dominance have officially collapsed into total chaos as a synchronized multi-front escalation completely paralyzes allied command nodes across the Middle East. Today in our emergency broadcast with legendary military analyst and former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter, we analyze the devastating structural shockwaves caused by Iran’s unprecedented maritime bombshell over the Strait of Hormuz and the simultaneous violent destruction of the Lebanon ceasefire framework. Scott Ritter links the heavily classified troop movement logs and corporate media-censored naval tracking data to reveal how Donald Trump’s administration has been backed into an inescapable strategic corner, while unilateral frontline actions have triggered a catastrophic chain reaction that allied air defense shields are fundamentally unequipped to contain.

 Alongside host Mario, we look directly behind the desperately filtered stability propaganda of transatlantic media conglomerates to dissect the raw physical limitations of Western interceptor frameworks when challenged by an integrated saturation matrix. We dive deep into Scott Ritter’s brutal and uncompromising defense realism, demonstrating with raw industrial numbers why the attempt to enforce a unilateral dictate has completely backfired, leaving thousands of forward-deployed Western personnel and critical maritime logistics networks totally defenseless against an incoming asymmetric response. Watch this urgent and unfiltered intelligence briefing until the very single second to understand why the traditional framework of unipolar global enforcement has reached its definitive military expiration date, how this unprecedented multi-theater panic operates in real time across broken decision-making sectors, and why this historic crisis marks the permanent and violent destruction of Western hegemony."

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o

Larry Johnson, 6/6/26

"They Think Iran Has It, And That Changes Everything"

Comments here:

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Jeremiah Babe, "The FED Won't Be Able To Save You This Time"

Jeremiah Babe, 6/6/26

"The FED Won't Be Able To Save You This Time"

Comments here:

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o

"Markets Take a Deeper Dive!"

"Something Happened With The Food in America And You Can Feel It Every Day"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist. 6/6/26

"Something Happened With The Food in 

America And You Can Feel It Every Day"

"Something happened to the food in America, and your body knew before you did. Come home from a trip and your stomach turns on you in three days. Food coloring strong enough to dye human hair. Chocolate that's barely chocolate anymore. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. In this video we break down what's really happening to the American food supply, from lab-grown cocoa replacing real cacao, to gene-edited produce hitting shelves without a label, to glyphosate and skincare ingredients nobody ever voted on. The pattern underneath is always the same. A handful of corporations control what's on the shelf, and the only choice left is to read every label or pay double. It's why more Americans are walking away from the grocery store and starting to grow their own food. Have you noticed it where you shop? The strange bread, the fake-looking chicken, the prices that won't stop climbing? Drop it in the comments. And if this opened your eyes, subscribe for more."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away, in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries, embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust.

Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210903.html

"I'm Sure..."

"I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. 

It's just been too intelligent to come here."

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the 

Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

- Arthur C. Clarke

Chet Raymo, “Very, Very, Very, Very, Very...”

“Very, Very, Very, Very, Very...”

by Chet Raymo

"In a short story that was published posthumously in the New Yorker, the inestimable Primo Levi meditated on the limits of language. The story was called “The Tranquil Star.” He writes "The star was very big and very hot, and its weight was enormous," and realizes immediately that the adjectives have failed him: “For a discussion of stars our language is inadequate and seems laughable, as if someone were trying to plow with a feather. It's a language that was born with us, suitable for describing objects more or less as large and long-lasting as we are; it has our dimensions, it's human. It doesn't go beyond what our senses tell us.

Until fairly recently in human history, there was nothing smaller than a scabies mite, writes Levi, and therefore no adjective to describe it. Nothing bigger than the sea or sky. Nothing hotter than fire. We can add modifiers: very big, very small, very hot. Or use adjectives of dubious superlativeness: enormous, colossal, extraordinary. But, really, these feeble stretchings of language don't take us very far in grasping the very, very, very extraordinarily diminutive or spectacularly colossal dimensions of atomic matter or cosmic space and time. We can overcome the limitations of language, Levi say, "only with a violent effort of the imagination."

I spent more than forty years trying to find ways to violently stretch the imaginations of my students (and myself) to accommodate the dimensions of the universe revealed by science. I would project onto a huge screen a photograph of a firestorm on the Sun, then superimpose a scale-sized Earth, which fit comfortably inside a loop of solar fire. I would take the class into the College Quad here near Boston, where I had set up a basketball to represent the Sun, then gathered 100 feet away with a pinhead Earth; we walked together with our pin in the great annual journey of the Earth, and looked through a telescope at the marble-sized Jupiter than I had previously installed at the other end of the long Quad (the next closest star system would have been a couple of basketballs in Hawaii). We walked geologic timelines that took us from one end of the campus to the other.

In one of my Globe essays I used this analogy: “Imagine the human DNA as a strand of sewing thread. On this scale, the DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a typical human cell would be about 150 miles long, with about 600 nucleotide pairs per inch. That is, the DNA in a single cell is equivalent to 1000 spools of sewing thread, representing two copies of the genetic code. Take all that thread - the 1000 spools worth - and crumple it into 46 wads (the chromosomes). Stuff the wads into a shoe box (the cell nucleus) along with - oh, say enough chicken soup to fill the box. Toss the shoe box into a steamer trunk (the cell), and fill the rest of the trunk with more soup. Take the steamer trunk with its contents and shrink it down to an invisibly small object, smaller than the point of a pin. Multiply that tiny object by a trillion and you have the trillion cells of the human body, each with its full complement of DNA.”

Or this description from 'Waking Zero': “The track of the Prime Meridian across England from Peace Haven in the south to the mouth of the River Humber in the north is nearly 200 miles. If that distance is taken to represent the 13.7 billion year history of the universe, as we understand it today, then all of recorded human history is less than a single step. The entire story I have told in this book, from the Alexandrian astronomers and geographers to the present-day astronomers who launch telescopes into space, would fit neatly into a single footprint. If the 200 miles of the meridian track is taken to represent the distance to the most distant objects we observe with our telescopes, then a couple of steps would take us across the Milky Way Galaxy. A mote of dust from my shoe is large enough to contain not only our own solar system but many neighboring stars.”

But as hard as one tries, the scale of these things escape us. If one could truly comprehend what we are seeing when we look, say, at the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Photo above, which I have done my best to convey to myself and others in a dozen ways, it would surely shake to the core some of our most cherished beliefs. Just as our language is contrived on a human scale, so too are our gods.”

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

"A Reasonable End"

"A Reasonable End"

by The ZMan

"Did cavemen feel guilt? Shame? It may sound like a stupid and pointless question, but it is a place to start when trying to understand the current crisis. While we cannot know if primitive man felt things like shame, we can guess. In fact, that is the point of the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. Shame and guilt were not natural to men until introduced by devilish forces. At least that is what the authors of the Adam and Eve story surmised when trying to answer those questions.

To feel guilt one must have a guilty mind when committing some act, which means you knew the act was wrong when you did it. You can also feel guilt for having unknowingly broken a rule but learning after the fact that you broke the rule and should have known you were breaking the rule. Shame works the same way. It is impossible to feel guilt for having broken a rule if you never know about the rule or you reject the legitimacy of the rule or the authority that made the rule.

Our cavemen therefore could only feel guilt or shame if in their group there existed a set of normative rules from a recognized authority. Given the simplicity of their life and the demands of it, they probably had few rules on individual conduct. Those that did exist were most likely related to the preservation of the group. Males had to be good hunters and not avoid pulling their weight in the hunt. Members had to sacrifice themselves for the good of the group. That was about it for their morality.

To answer the question at the start, the sense of guilt and shame was probably as primitive as the moral code that existed within the group. Given that early bands of humans were surely based on blood, as in they were extended families, not propositional collections of strangers, things like guilt and shame arose from the biological loyal that lies at the heart of man. We abide by the rules of our kind because they are our family, and we have a natural loyalty to them.

This works fine in small groups, but once small groups started to band together to defend hunting grounds and defensible shelters, something more was needed to extend that natural sense of loyalty to the whole group. The trading of women, which we know was a part of early man’s existence, was one solution. This binds the groups by blood and therefore tapped into biological loyalty. The human sciences tell us that the formation of larger human groups was biological.

This works with a federation of kin groups, but once human settlements reached a large enough size, this was no longer practical, so something else arrived. The solution to the limits of blood was religion, specifically gods. Distantly related people may not feel a great loyalty to one another, but those protected by the same god can feel loyalty to one another in service to that god. Guilt and shame over breaking god’s rules works just as well as guilt and shame over harming the family.

A crude way of summarizing this is we went from, “We are the sons of Grog and this is how the sons of Grog live” to “We are the people who live by this portion of the river, and this is how we live.” The next logical step was, “We are the followers of sky god, and this is how we live.” This allows for the group to expand, as new members merely must accept sky god and be accepted by sky god. It harnesses guilt and shame in the service of a group whose size extends beyond blood.

While the mental state of early man is a bit of a guess for us, we do know that humans organized around their gods. This was the state of the ancient world, about which we know a great deal. While what led to this stage of human development is a bit of guesswork, we know that mankind arrived at this point. By the time there are fully formed gods, there are fully formed moral codes attached to them that define large groups of people with a sense of identity.

That does not solve the puzzle of this age. We know that folk religions eventually gave way to universal religions. About ninety percent of humans belong to a universal religion, which means their religion is open to everyone. You do not have to be born into Hinduism to be a Hindu. Only a tiny portion of humanity sticks with folk religions like Judaism which have a biological component. Everyone else is open to people outside the blood, as long as they accept the moral claims of the faith.

Of course, universalist religion did not end human conflict. In fact, they probably made it worse as the base assumption of universalist religion is that there is only one way to live because there is only one moral authority. Once you accept that your god is the only god, it means the other gods are false. Worse yet, those gods are an afront to your god and they must be eliminated. The way to do that is to conquer the people who are offering up the false god as a challenge to the true god.

The modern West has complicated this further by removing God entirely from the Christian moral framework and replacing him with a mirror called reason. It is reason that tells us that there must be one way of organizing society. It is reason that tells us there must be one moral code. Therefore, it is reason that tells us that alternative ways of organizing society must be false. The same is true for alternative morality, which like a false god, is an afront to reason.

If you think about it, this iteration of the Great Awakening has been little more than the believers of one god attacking those who either reject their god or worship another God, like the God of the Bible. Not only do they hate your lack of guilt over violating their codes, but they also feel guilty for not imposing those codes on you. The followers of the god of reason ended up at witch burning as the solution to heresy. They seek salvation through the spilling of blood.

The crisis in the West is a crisis of reason. We have reasoned ourselves to a dead end where shame and guilt are tied to the assertion that there must be only one moral authority, and it emits only one moral code. Those who must have the warm embrace of faith now target their sense of guilt and shame toward their own kind, for the sin of not embracing what they believe is the only moral code. The rest are left to defend themselves and civilization from the true believers.

The question at the heart of the crisis is can the fury of these zealots be reoriented toward a folk religion or even a passive universalism? If the answer is no, then how can society defend against them? Another way of stating it is, can the cancer be put into remission or must it be removed? It is a terrible question that no one wants to face, but the West must face it. The god of reason is either reformed or removed along with her followers as that is the only reasonable thing to do."

- https://thezman.com/

The Poet: Iris Tree, "The Complex Life"

"The Complex Life"

"I know it to be true that those who live

As do the grasses and the lilies of the field

Receiving joy from Heaven, sweetly yield

Their joy to Earth, and taking Beauty, give.

But we are gathered for the looms of Fate

That Time with ever-turning multiplying wheels

Spins into complex patterns and conceals

His huge invention with forms intricate.

Each generation blindly fills the plan,

A sorry muddle or an inspiration of God

With many processes from out the sod,

The Earth and Heaven are mingled and made man.

We must be tired and sleepless, gaily sad,

Frothing like waves in clamorous confusion,

A chemistry of subtle interfusion,

Experiments of genius that the ignorant call mad.

We spell the crimes of our unruly days,

We see a fabled Arcady in our mind,

We crave perfection that we may not find.

Time laughs within the clock and Destiny plays.

You peasants and you hermits simple livers!

So picturesquely pure all unconcerned

While we give up our bodies to be burned,

And dredge for treasure in the muddy rivers.

We drink and die and sell ourselves for power,

We hunt with treacherous steps and stealthy knife,

We make a gaudy havoc of our life

And live a thousand ages in an hour.

Our loves are spoilt by introspective guile,

We vivisect our souls with elaborate tools,

We dance in couples to the tune of fools,

And dream of harassed continents the while.

Subconscious visions hold us and we fashion

Delirious verses tortured statues spasms of paint,

Make cryptic perorations of complaint,

Inverted religion and perverted passion.

But since we are children of this age,

In curious ways discovering salvation,

I will not quit my muddled generation,

But ever plead for Beauty in this rage.

Although I know that Nature’s bounty yields

Unto simplicity a beautiful content,

Only when battle breaks me and my strength is spent

Will I give back my body to the fields."

-  Iris Tree

o

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The Daily "Near You?"

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. Thanks for stopping by!