An Open Letter to the Future
170 Broadway - NYC
September 24, 2001
On the first day of the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate forces routed the Union troops, driving them from the field in complete disarray, leaving the bulk of the Federals clinging to makeshift trenches and redoubts with their backs pressed against the river.
That night, subordinate Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman found commanding Gen. Ulysses S Grant sitting under a tree:
Sherman: Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?
Grant: Yes… Lick ‘em tomorrow, though.
7/23/2006
Open Letter to the Future
I am writing this to let you know that in the year 2006, we were not all shallow phonies, empty headed materialists, superstitious fearful fools, mean ignorant hateful bullies, vain little insecure beings whose only pleasure comes from others pain and suffering.
No.
Some of us know:
That the sensation of love is far superior to the bitterness of hate.
That the expression of the spirit through art is far more important than the expression of the human shrillness through possession.
That curiosity and inquisitiveness should be honored and cherished and not ridiculed and crushed.
That the true goal of Our being here, Our lives, Our entire existence, is to raise the quality of thought and condition for ALL and not for an arbitrary few who were born at the right place at the right time.
I have no idea what kind of world you live in.
I have no idea what philosophies are being embraced by the masses.
All I know is if you feel infinity for any of the above mentioned sentiments, you were not alone.
And I know you are not alone in your time as well.
Yours Truly,
Lawrence W Blanchard
posted by Larry B | 8:15 AM
5 Comments:
General William Tecumseh Sherman, 1867: "The more Indians we can kill this year, the less will have to be killed the next war, for the more I see of these Indians, the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or maintained as a species of paupers."
Chief Gall, a leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux warriors at Little Bighorn: "If you had a country which was very valuable, which had always belonged to your people, and men of another race came to take it away by force, what would your people do? Would they fight?"
Hi Larry,
Have a look at this. It made me laugh...
And Sherman was named after the Shawnee warrior chief Tecumseh.
Go figure.
And Ky,
Yes The Onion is consistantly funny, usually stating some obvious truths while concealing them in satiric articles. It is a sign of the times that the only places you get intellectual honesty are absurdist venues such as The Onion, The Simpsons or The Daily Show.
Case and point:
On last night's Simpsons rerun the scene was of a baseball player hitting a homerun. They cut to the announcer calling the play:
ITS GOING...GOING...and like America's credibility on the world stage...ITS GONE!!!
Insight and honesty - from a cartoon. Now if only we could get those "Liberal Leaning" humans who run the media to be the same.
Thanks for the comments!
Insight and honesty from whose point of view? Finding "intellectual honesty" from satirical media outlets such as The Onion; from fantastical cartoons; and a show filled wtih hubris, hopefully doesn't represent the viewpoints of the "average" American.
Are you sure that the statement during the baseball game: "ITS GOING...GOING...and like America's credibility on the world stage...ITS GONE!!!", wasn't, in fact, being broadcast out of the mouth of John Kerry or Howard Dean? Perhaps it was John Kerry, as, in fact again, he is the man who last week made the statement that if he was president, all of this ongoing turmoil between Israel and Lebanon would never be happening. This, if taken literally, would be a prime example of the definition of the word, "hubris."
Here is a snippet of conversation from a date I was on many years ago:
Me: Blah, blah, blah…(I do not remember the subject so just fill in the blank. If you like my writings make it something witty. If you think I'm a jerk make it asinine…it all depends on your point of view of course.)
Woman: But that’s in YOUR OPINION right?
Me: Of course.
Woman: Because you didn't say that.
Me: Well who the hell else's opinion would it be?
Besides being a beautiful illustration of the Malcolm X observation, "...and some of us by the way we act, have even lost our minds," this true anecdote helps keep things in perspective for me.
So, for the record, all of the preceding and following opinions in this reply are mine.
From whose point of view? An excellent question. Can there be an objective absolute truth or is everything we see and hear mere perception? I don’t know and never will. It’s the ones who do “know” that scare me. They're the ones pretty much responsible for all of the bullshit that is going on in the world today.
But leaving that somewhat enlightened philosophical relativism and getting back to the more accepted labeled categorized version of realty, you make a statement about the “viewpoints of the average American” and you hope they get no “intellectual honesty” out of their creative art forms...in this case The Simpsons, The Daily Show and The Onion. So to be clear about this “point of view,” whom would you describe as an “average American?”
Is it someone who was born and lived his whole life in the United States of America, has worked nine to five for some kind of business entity since the age of 16, takes public transportation to work, pays his taxes, lives in a modest apartment and consumes retail?
Well that’s me.
And my friends and acquaintances also fit that same description more or less (I.E. Elitist, Grey Poupon eating, "The Lincoln Town car please," Aristocrats) and they have agreed many times with my observations over the years so, to address your musing, the answer is:
It Does
Now I have a question for you.
How do you see yourself?
Assuming that you were born in this country...or a naturalized citizen...do you consider yourself an “Average American?” If not, do you think you are below average? Above average? Well above average? Superior?
No. You were probably using the term “Average American” as an imaginary reference point. A non-existent which usually gets applied to anyone who is buying whatever the power structure is selling. Sort of like the word “normal.”
But that’s just it isn’t it? The continuing need to package the human spirit.
I mean the “point of view” I state, and the "points of view" I've heard others express, come literally from “Average Americans” but for some reason they get categorized as fringe, weirdo ideas and anyone who has them is either a “nut” a “commie” a “pinko” a “faggot” or whatever slur is in that week. The reality is that these thoughts come from descent hard working people who love their country and want to make the world a better place. And, of course, that ridiculous sentiment is taught to be feared and hated.
Which brings me to “intellectual honesty.” I define that state of grace as the act of stating an honest “subjective” opinion based on reason and observation of whatever “objective” idea or event you are discussing without fear of offending or contradicting any pre-conceived notions anybody has...and that includes the speaker himself.
So, the other day, on CNN, MSNBC or whichever propaganda machine was on my TV, I saw some of a Condoleezza Rice press conference. I think it was on her recent trip to the Middle East which was in direct response to the eruption of yet more violent horse shit between two groups of people “who know.” The clip I saw had Rice saying things like “The death of innocent civilians can not be tolerated.” It was something like that but I don’t remember the exact quote.
My immediate reaction was:
This person, The Secretary of State of the United States, has absolutely no credibility here and certainly is not occupying any moral high ground.
Now if you agree or disagree with my observation is not important. The fact that I, an “Average American” and many of my friends, also “Average Americans,” have that opinion is.
Why?
Because if “average” people...you know the ones I’m talking about...
The ones who pay the bills around here
The ones who support their families which in turn create communities
The ones who pretty much do most of the living and dying in this country
...then isn’t it possible, damn likely actually, that people in other countries are thinking the same way?
Especially if you consider that other nation’s news gathering media might not assume that every action and policy the U.S. takes is for an altruistic benign reason and report accordingly.
These nation's populations are probably not exposed to the endless assaults on their common senses by our “up is down” leaders and politicos whose proclamations are then reinforced by the mind numbing repetitious cheers of the Rah-Rah homecoming squad absurdly referred to as “The Liberal Media.”
And let me beat you to the punch. I know other countries have sleaze bag political hacks just like us. The quality of their assholes to ours is not my point. My point is that we are heavily conditioned with the idea of “American Exceptionalism” in this country. From the earliest time when we begin to read all the way to the day we die. And, for the most part, we accept this “point of view” as a fact of life.
But even with all this indoctrination,sometimes “objective truth” still gets out. The freedom of expression that still exists in this country allows it.
Why the hell do you think the powers that be try to curtail such freedoms at every turn? By using terms like “decency” “family values” “patriotism” and “freedom” they make the embrace of conformist militarism palatable.
But back to the concept of Intellectual Honesty, The Simpsons episode I referenced earlier, the one you thought was written by John Kerry or Howard Dean, was actually produced last season but definitely felt like it was directly referring to Condi Rice didn’t it?
You do have to admit that the idea of the U.S. government criticizing the situation of “innocent civilians” being killed as "unacceptable" is a tad hypocritical right?
I mean it was somewhat of a “valid” point, no?
It sounds like it is worth a discussion or at least a mention, don’t you think?
Did any of the reporters at CNN, MSNBC or FOX ask her?
Just my point of view.
Sorry for the length of this reply, but your seemingly incidental comment actually was quite thought provoking.
Thanks.
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