Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Ten Commandments of Nihilism: Left, Bereft, and F'ed

Yesterday I made reference to the Ten Commandments of Nihilism, one of which is Thou shalt not judge. A commenter asked if I would post all ten commandments, which I will proceed to do.

You may remember that last summer I did a series of posts on the esoteric -- but very practical -- understanding of the biblical ten commandments, which not only form the basis of ethical behavior, but also encapsulate the essence of human wisdom and provide a concrete and universally applicable yoga, or "technology," so to speak, for a spiritual practice.

The first thing you must understand is that, just as the atheist is an implicit theist, the nihilist doesn't really believe nothing, but elevates nothing to the highest wisdom. In so doing, they overturn the order of the cosmos and horizontalize the vertical, paving the way for us to be left, bereft, and f'ed, just like they are (or will be, once they are officially conquered by Islam) in western Europe.

Since nothing is sacred to a nihilist -- literally -- one would think they would be pretty tough, pretty insensitive to insults. But somehow, the opposite is true. The list of lefitst sacred cowpies (Imus recently stepped in one) and iconmen (a couple of whom got him fired) is endless. Why is that?

Let us start with the axiom that the Absolute is necessarily both immanent and transcendent, meaning that it is both "in" the world and "beyond" it. The relative world -- i.e., maya -- may be thought of as the peripheral "radiance" from the nonlocally central sun of the Absolute.

As such, the relative necessarily and inevitably contains degrees of being, with the first and last degree known as “God.” But around these parts we just call it O, so as to avoid pretending that we understand it just because we have a word for it.

It is only possible for us to know the Good, the True, and the Beautiful because we can recognize and distinguish them in the light of the Absolute. For example, in the absence of the Absolute, there cannot actually be any truth, since truth is ipso facto true, and therefore absolute in its own way. In other words, the "relative absoluteness" of any truth is a reflection of O in the herebelow.

Now, the other day, a reader suggested that I become more "mystical," and "let Petey take over" in my writing. I don't think anyone would really like that, because those last two mystagogic paragraphs are an example of "how Petey talks." He's a bit pompous and inscrutible, and one can never know for certain whether he is "pulling my piñata," as he calls it. Sometimes he enjoys "testing" me, and will toss out some pearl of bogus Chopraesque windbaggery just to keep me on my toes.

The long and short of it is that he doesn't want me to just take dictation and pass it along, unlike his obsessive-compulsive friend, Gabriel, who insisted on absolute fidelity to his words. No; Petey wants me first of all to understand, and only then pass along my understanding to others.

But "understanding" is not something you can pass along from mind to mind, like an object (or even like a mental object, such as a mathematical equation or rule of reason). Rather, understanding -- as opposed to knowledge -- is something that must be facilitated in another, which is much more tricky. Anyone can "teach." Much more difficult to facilitate "understanding" of a suprasensible reality. But that is the only option, for if one attempts to "know" this reality in the usual way, one will only generate "minus k."

Anyway, let's break down some of Petey's lofty pneumababble and trancelight it into plain english. The ten commandments of nihilism are simply a reversal of the actual ten commandments, so that they represent the quintessence of cosmic stupidity and a detailed lesson on how not to live -- or how to shovel with both hands and how to comprehensively waste your life.

Thus, the first commandment of nihilsim is the converse of the actual first commandment. Instead of “I am your God and you shall have no other gods before me,” the parallel looniverse of the secular left begins with the commandment that “there is no Absolute and you shall bow down before all of the sacred relativities we have inserted in its place.”

From this first commandment follow all of implications and ramifications of nihilism. You might say that the subsequent nine commandments are "fractals" of the first, in that each of them represents the first in miniature -- or shall we say, the first commandment applied to this or that more limited realm -- just as the real first commandment is the basis of the other nine.

Also, it should be kept in mind that the first five commandments apply to the vertical (i.e., man-to-god relations), the second five to the horizontal (i.e., human-to-human relations). But in the case of the ten commandments of nihilism, there is reversal, so that the vertical commandments become horizontalized, while the horizontal ones become verticalized.

Sorry. That was Petey talking again. Allow me to explain.

The first commandment of nihilism is that God, the Absolute, does not exist, and that you shall have no gods before this. Therefore, the commandment affirms that the vertical does not exist, and that there is only the horizontal, or relative. Thus, the horizontalization of the vertical, which instantaneously creates an absurd universe. Whereas God created the universe ex nihilo -- i.e., something from nothing -- the devout nihilist creates nothing out of something. And that takes some doing -- some real mental gymgnosticism.

The reason why we bobject to leftism is that it represents the political program of nihilism -- i.e, the horizontal implications of the vertical commandments of nihilism. However, since the nihilist's cosmos is literally upside-down, this means that that the nihilist's political program becomes absolute -- which is to say totalitarian (often concealed in the form of politically correct totolerantarianism, which involves denial of your right to push back against the bullies).

Paradox? No, not at all. Man was made to know and to worship the Absolute. If you eliminate the Absolute, then you will simply insert something else in its place -- a false absolute -- which is what all statist, socialist, and collectivist schemes do. When Hillary Clinton promises that she is going to steal your money because she knows better how to spend it than you do, first of all, believe her.

But secondly, realize that she is "the voice of the nihil," for the human being represents the "absolute within the relative," a state of affairs from which all of our sacred rights and obligations emanate. This is why there is nothing so precious as a human being, whose freedom and dignity are absolute, and whose "relative sovereignty" must be respected.

In this regard, America's founding avatars were the diamatriarchical opposite of Hillary. In contrast to her, their philosophy represents the political program of true vertical understanding. This is why they could say with perfect clarity that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. This is just another way of saying that the Absolute exists a priori, and that our absolute rights only exist in light of this fact. Take away the Absolute, and no rights can intrinsically exist. And if they don't, then reach for your wallet, because your money absolutely belongs to Hillary. So says Petey, the wise, the compassionate, the mirthiful!

The founders did not enumerate all of the rights that follow from the affirmation of the Absolute, but among them are, of course, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Here again, each of these is absolute. Make no mistake, either a human life is infinitely precious or it is worthless. You can pretend that there is some middle ground, but you are simply pretending and you know it, you rascal.

If human beings are really nothing more than Darwinian machines that resulted from a random shuffling of material genes, then obviously, there can be no absolute rights, only human agreements. By definition, our rights cannot be rooted in anything transcendent or timelessly true. Is this not obvious? Again, the only thing I ask of leftists is that they have the courage of their absence of convictions and admit that their first commandment pulls certain inevitable ramifications in its wake, including the absence of any meaning aside from what we make up -- which is no meaning at all.

Liberty too can only be derived from the real first commandment. This is why the first commandment of nihilism always leads to one or another form of slavery. The slavery may be physical or it may be psychological, and you may well forge the fetters of your own enslavement, but make no mistake, you will be a slave -- a slave to the passions, to ideology, to maya, to the relative, to anything other than God. This is why surrender to God is the way of liberty, while surrender to anything less is the way of slavery. Therefore, St. Paul is simply passing along a metaphysical truism when he says Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

I don't know how anything could be more obvious, for not only is God the guarantor of liberty, but our spiritual liberty -- one purpose of which is to distinguish between good and evil -- is ipso facto the sufficient proof of God. Freedom, which is to say, free will, exists. But not for a nihilst, or a scientific materialist, or rank-and-foul Islamists, for that matter. In each case, they deny God (or the true God), and therefore diminish liberty.

Starting with the latter, I don't want to get into a full explanation, but suffice it to say that the Islamists deny horizontal causation and insist that God intervenes on a moment by moment basis to cause everything, so that free will doesn't really exist. To be fair, some deluded Christian fundamentalists also believe this, but they are mostly harmless.

A nihilist thinks he is free -- after all, he has replaced God with himself, and is therefore the most exalted thing in the universe. However, there is a big difference between being "lost" and being "free." If I drop you off in the middle of the Sahara desert and leave you there with no means of communication or transportation, you are certainly "free" -- even unto death, which will occur within a matter of days.

But one is actually only free in any meaningful sense of the word if the freedom has a direction, a meaning, an end, and a telos. Your freedom is only valuable because it is the existential prerequisite to arrive at a meaningful destination. Again, is this not obvious? My son, who is two years old, is very spontaneous and "free." But what if this freedom did not exist in a stream of psychological development with a meaningful endpont? Then we would not call him "free." Rather, we would call him "retarded."

Which is what we call secular leftists -- not mentally retarded, but spiritually so, by their own acknowledgment. Indeed, they are proud of their infirmity. They write books about it, teach classes in it, publish newspapers to propagate it, found political programs upon it. They obviously want us to be like them -- which is to say, slaves.

And a scientific materialist cannot be free, since freedom cannot be derived from matter. Or, if it can, then matter is not what we thought it was. Rather, it is more like a "divine substance," which, of course, it is. For example, this is why it may serve as a receptacle for so much divine beauty.

Well, I'm writing under duress this morning. Slept a little later, his majesty woke up a little earlier, and the in-laws are en route canal. Just kidding. Anyway, to be continued. Don't forget to enjoy the coony tunes in the sidebar. Some good stuff in there. Stay With Me, by Lorraine Ellison, never fails to send a chill up my spine. Or as brother Sam Phillips said, this is where the soul of man never dies.

86 comments:

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"Since nothing is sacred to a nihilist -- literally -- one would think they would be pretty tough, pretty insensitive to insults. But somehow, the opposite is true. The list of lefitst sacred cowpies (Imus recently stepped in one) and iconmen (a couple of whom got him fired) is endless."

This one had me snickering and then laughing aloud.
My wife thinks I'm retarded.
I told her. you had to be there. :^)

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"However, since the nihilist's cosmos is literally upside-down, this means that that the nihilist's political program becomes absolute -- which is to say totalitarian (often concealed in the form of politically correct totolerantarianism, which involves denial of your right to push back against the bullies)."

Totolerantarianism-
The 'feel good' position of pacifism.
Until the bully smashes your face!

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"Make no mistake, either a human life is infinitely precious or it is worthless."

Absolutely!
Hurray for the Supreme Court.
They finally got one right today!

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Good luck with the in-laws, Bob.
We're all rootin' for you!

Anonymous said...

Indigo Girls, Bob? I'm surprised :) I haven't heard much of their music since I was in my first college, and I'm sure you can imagine the demographic with which they were most popular. They do have a few great tunes, though. I had a friend who used to sing the Romeo & Juliet song to me all the time.

Now U2's Wanderer is on. I thought I new most of their music, but this one is new to me too. Thanks for the tunes, Bob!

RE today's post,
"Make no mistake, either a human life is infinitely precious or it is worthless."
This is such a simple, clear statement, yet there are so many who would argue with it. For instance, leftists would see this, say they agreed, and immediately flip it over to justify doing away with the death penalty (usually while being in favor of abortion). Further, they would say that we must not consider life as precious as they do when we advocate the death penalty for the most heinous of crimes. Of course, the reason to advocate the death penalty for murder is precisely because the intentional taking of innocent life is so grievous, so foul and evil, that the only civilized response is to take the life of the murderer.

Hmm - it's occurred to me that I've just skipped ahead a couple of commandments. Well, time to sit back and allow the smart coons to have their say :)

wv: pepmze
Cheer up, Mizze - it can't be that bad! You'll find who you're looking for, probably when and where you least expect it ;)

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"But around these parts we just call it O, so as to avoid pretending that we understand it just because we have a word for it."

Not to mention that "G" or "D" just doesn't sound cool.

Anonymous said...

To expand on Paul's coonment on liberty, one of my favorite passages:

Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
(2Cor 3:16-18, NKJV)

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Indigo Girls?
That sounds like Cousin Dupree's doing.

Gagdad Bob said...

Julie:

I'm man enough to be in touch with my inner lesbian.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

River's interpretation of the inversion of the 10 (take as thou wilt...)

1. I delivered myself from all that stuff, so I'm God. Or, anything is God. Whichever. Everything comes from me, so its all the same.

2. You shall always have graven images and agendas and things to worship to stave off the hopeless hole of nothing. Even falsehood is better than the foreboding truth of the nihil! Also, you may not make an image of me that I don't like at any given time.

3. You may never curse me, but I can curse you. Cursing and mocking is all in good fun, unless I say it isn't.

4. You must be continually reminded of your failures - restlessness is a virtue, because it, you know, drives you or something. Freedom is an illusion unless you think it isn't. Make sure you're always doing whatever you want at that moment, even though you really can't want it! Also, everything is meaningless and passes away. Wrecking and destroying things is fine since it is a statement of this 'truth'.

5. **ck your parents, and the man, and whoever else you feel like cussing out. Doing this keeps you forever young!

6. The ending of any life under any circumstances is evil! Definition of life, ending, under, circumstances and any may vary. By whatever I think. But killing is always wrong! Unless I do it, in which case it is unquestionably justified.

7. Don't you dare mess with my woman/man, ever, ever, ever. Doing so will result in death. I can mess with yours, though. Free love, man.

8. Don't mess with my stuff, ever, ever, ever, doing so is punishable at least an eye for an eye, which might include any damages I can make up. But, your stuff- always share it. ALWAYS. To not do so is a great evil.

9. Never, ever lie to me. But, I may lie to you as the situation suits. But don't judge my lying - you liar! You know I'm justified. NEVER JUDGE ME.

10. Don't dare ever envy my stuff, or rather, not in the creepy "I want to have it" way. You can feel free to feel miserable that you don't have it and to bask me in adoration out of your envy. As for other people, you must always envy someone, because the grass is always greener on the other side.

(that is just a minor inversion, someone can whip up a better one.)

robinstarfish said...

Two Lane Blacktop
joy of the highway
ecstasy of reminding
asphalt swept with rain

----------------
A surefire method of cleansing the mind is to get in the car and drive through this great country. There's beauty out there. Go get it.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

PS - I think the colloquialism is spelled 'eph'd'. If that was what you were goin' for, Bob.

Anonymous said...

Comment on todays post:

Bob writes:

"I ask of leftists is that they have the courage of their absence of convictions and admit that their first commandment pulls certain inevitable ramifications in its wake, including the absence of any meaning aside from what we make up -- which is no meaning at all."

The last tag is not something that necessarily follows. The existentianlist finds that the meaning he makes for himself is plenty significant and meaningful.

Meaning is of course subjective. If something is meaningful to you, then it is meaningful whether there is any basis for it or not. "Meaningfulness" is a state of mind like an emotion or an attitude.

The self-making of meaning is the centerpiece of existentialist philosophy and is a ramification of which we take full credit.

Anonymous said...

Bob, I don't think the Euro's are doing so badly. They seem a pretty happy lot and I just don't think Islam is going to get up in there anytime in this millenium.

Plus, the Germans and the Swedes again have the best submarines and artillery in the world. Ya just can't keep them Nords down. So how do ya figure?

Anonymous said...

"They seem a pretty happy lot..."
Oh, really?
What do you think, friend Magnus? Johann?
I'd say you two are qualified observers.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

the Self certainly makes Meaning, if you know what I mean.

All that critical theory and they still haven't figured out that they are still basically Judeo-Christian in their thinking.

Gagdad Bob said...

FF:

Needless to say, we disagree. Schuon sums up my view nicely:

"Existentialism has achieved the tour de force or the monstrous contortion of representing the commonest stupidity as intelligence and disguising it as philosophy, and of holding intelligence up to ridicule, that of all intelligent men of all times.... [A]nd if it be original to elevate error into truth, vice into virtue and evil into good the same may be said of representing stupidity as intelligence and vice versa; all that was wanted was to conceive the idea. All down the ages to philosophize was to think; it has been reserved to the twentieth century not to think and to make a philosophy of it."

Mizz E said...

<pepmze> Woooo, wasn't espectin' a direct "message". Thanks Julie, that is my attitude - "just when you least . . ."
Right now I'm in need of pep for relocating 'la den'.

GB - You be, do, are the Facilitator Extraordinaire

Anonymous said...

There is right and wrong?
There is black and white?
Spartan thinking is permitted?
Of course? ;~)

Uh robinstarfish,
What is that XSS untrusted crossfeed emanating from your Web Log? Just curious. ;~\

Anonymous said...

So the Europeans aren't doing too badly, eh? I recommend reading some Mark Steyn, who definitely has a different opinion.

If we define slavery as being forced, against your will, to work for the benefit of another, then that is all that the leftist agenda offers. I am reminded of this fact every year at this time, as I render unto Caesar.

Actually, that is wrong; the leftist agenda offers one more thing: it is always wrong to fight back. Doesn't matter if we're talking about a couple of 3rd graders on the playground, a bunch of college students trapped on a gun-free school, or the 101st Airborne taking down the Taliban. And it always leads to disaster.

By the way, Bob, it is nice to run into Leonard Cohen fans, I don't see many. IMHO, one of the greatest poets of our time. I don't think of his work as songs, rather poetry put to music.

Anonymous said...

Sawdust,
"it is always wrong to fight back." Unless, of course, you're a card-carrying member of a certified minority or victim class, in which case anything you do is right because you're just reacting to your victimization.

Thus, it is always wrong to fight back if you are a white, middle or upper class, male of any age. Some consideration may be given if your are poor, but it is very limited.

On another note, I just tried to skip past a couple of songs because I've already heard them today. After the last attempt, a box popped up and said "You're going to have to listen to some of these," followed by a button labeled "Whatever"
Did Dupree dictate the dialogue?!

Van Harvey said...

Gagdad Bob said... "I'm man enough to be in touch with my inner lesbian."

Me too.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Gagdad Bob said... "I'm man enough to be in touch with my inner lesbian."

It's a recurring theme for me, as well. Is this some kind of coincidence?

James said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

>>"understanding" is not something you can pass along from mind to mind, like an object (or even like a mental object, such as a mathematical equation or rule of reason). Rather, understanding -- as opposed to knowledge -- is something that must be facilitated in another . . <<

Understanding can't be taught in the traditional manner, but I think a spiritually advanced soul can spiritually quicken another soul, often by dint of simple proximity.

This is why authentic spiritual teachers have to be extremely selective about potential students - authentic teachers can't take an egalitarian, welcome-all approach. (which would be a very politically incorrect approach in many quarters) People who are spiritually quickened before they are ready can suffer dire consequences.

Gagdad Bob said...

Julie:

If you refresh the page, it will start at a new song. I keep programming in new songs, but I've notice that it does tend to repeat certain ones. I think that must be to defeat people who just want to download a song in order to steal it. However, the newly programmed songs will eventually come through.

Anonymous said...

It also, according to their site, has to do with their status as "internet radio," and is also why you can only have 3 songs/ artist on your playlist. Pandora is similar - there is a limit to how many songs you may skip in a given span of time.

Van Harvey said...

frankl's follower said... "Meaning is of course subjective. If something is meaningful to you, then it is meaningful whether there is any basis for it or not. "Meaningfulness" is a state of mind like an emotion or an attitude.

The self-making of meaning is the centerpiece of existentialist philosophy and is a ramification of which we take full credit."

While that statement is intended to slick people into equating 'Meaning' with 'Interesting' and get an unsure "...ummm... ok..." from them, that isn't really what you mean.

The line "If something is meaningful to you,..." is there to hook people, so that the next one "whether there is any basis for it or not" can slip in the 'idea' that there is no real single truth, only what you hold to be true.

Gagdad had it pegged correctly.

You can only make your statement though, by having first smuggled in the admission of the existence of there being something of which to talk about having meaning, and that you can identify it - meaning that Truth exists (and of course that you are able to realize it, being conscious).

Without that you would be left with "...the absence of any meaning aside from what we make up -- which is no meaning at all."... except that even then it would only be an assertion, because you really can't say or do a single thing without implicitly recognizing that there is One Cosmos, One Truth of which all partake. Of course you can assert it to your hearts content, but only while lying to yourself about it in the same breath.

What with that fraud being the "centerpiece of existentialist philosophy", it kind of falls apart on you.

Having made that assertion and lied to yourself, then you can posture that "My Meaning" is independent of all other meaning" all you want - but then you're like the emperor with his nous clothes - and they are quite transparent to coonvision.

And the cellulite - ugh.

Anonymous said...

Just want to reassert that Truth and Beauty are, by definition, "ineffable".

Nihilism is truly effably eff'd, however.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

By the way, Will, this reminds me of something. A lot of evangelism falls short because it 'does not speak the language of initiation'. This is not meant in the sense that we intend to hoard secrets or manipulate, but in the same sense you said, the person will not be ready for it. (I trust in the Holy Ghost to help me on discernment for that.) If they aren't, they may 'accept' it but be overwhelmed - like a lifetime leftist watching Evan Sayet might be - or they will become thoroughly turned around.

Here is an example of 'right message, wrong message': (with apologies to author if I mistake his intent.)

"We need to stop being blind! There is a spiritual realm and there is a war going on. It is classic good against evil. This may sound crazy but there is only one truth to any story. Ismael was a son of Abraham and so was Isaac. Which one was the legitimate son? The one who was written about through out that time till now is Isaac. It wasn't until the religion of Islam started around 500ad that it was written about Ishmael being the legitimate son. Christianity and Islam are two great faith in the world to this day. Which side of the battle are you on? A devout Muslim believes in Jihad and must take as many infidels to the grave as well as himself to confirm his entry into paradise while a devout Christian is told by Jesus to love your enemy and give up your life for your friends. You decide for your selves but I choose the Love of Jesus as the TRUTH!!!"

He is speaking what is true (right message) but speaking somewhat of a mishmash of initiatory/deep language (wrong message.) Thus to a non-initiate it looks like nonsense. To him it looks fine because he is initiated into spirituality (or Christianity more specifically.)

So this is my point, I think, Will. Our acceptance works like the Father's love: That is, it is unconditionally offered, but accepting it is conditional on our part. Thus Jesus always accepted anyone, but situated himself to allow them to reject him if they were not ready or could not accept the teaching. He allows everyone to listen and join him but teaches hard things, so that those who are unready will turn away.

And those who he knows are against the truth he does not mince words with - the pit of viperssss!

Which is why, I think, blogs are so wonderful - anyone can stop by, and they truly must reject themselves. So speak of hard things!

wv: bobaxufc!!!!

(bobaxufic? A new word?)

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

PS - his style of speaking may work in certain contexts, by the way, but I have my doubts about the internet. Sophisticated people cannot hear true things spoken plainly, much less the deeper things of theology. For some simple hard truth & love wins their hearts, but for the moderns and pomos, they aren't even ready for that.

Anonymous said...

(this may be a double post--if so, I apologize)

I just wanted to thank julie for her comment. I'm still practicing, so I haven't even told my best friends about my new project, but it still felt great to be noticed.

Also, U2's "The Wanderer" is early proof that Johnny Cash's talent aged beautifully. I consider the song "The Man Comes Around" to be as great as anything he ever did.

Anonymous said...

Hi all:

I've got a very quick internet connection to say hi to my fellow coons. I'm in Italy on a 10 day church choir tour and will have some questions for Bob and the group based on my observations after I get back and somehow catch up on all of the postings and comments.

I just wanted to say hi to the group and let you know that I've been missing my daily dose of the most from the cosmos and look forward to returning.

Just one point before I have to shut down - for someone who relies on a live internet connection for my living, my 10 days without internet (ok, and starbucks) has not only been survivable but rejuvenating! Highly recommended to all the coondom!

Van Harvey said...

Alan said "10 days without internet..."
[shudder]
"...ok, and starbucks..."
[Ackh! Gasp! Thbpfft!...] - expires.

Mizz E said...

Italian Coffee Houses - oh, don't get me started.
When this art teacher was about to turn 50 and realized she had never been to Europe, never had live encounters with the artworks, architecture and atmosphere that bore them, she gave herself a present and landed in Rome for a 2 week adventure.
It was there I discovered the origins and the houses of the origins of CappuccinO y EspressO.

Alan will confirm when he gets a chance.

robinstarfish said...

glasr said - "Uh robinstarfish,
What is that XSS untrusted crossfeed emanating from your Web Log? Just curious. ;~\ "

Probably the new finetunes embed. I had to create some mayhem too, can't let the bobster have all the fun!

If it turns out it is causing a problem, I will remove it.

BTW, internet radio is in big trouble so enjoy it while you can.

Anonymous said...

Bob, I have considered the conditions of freedom and liberty to be amongst my highest values - but in today's post, as well as many, many others, you've shown me that my thinking about these values has been very incomplete.

In several places today, you asked "Is this or that not obvious?" Well, er, YES - now that you mentioned it!

Thanks again.

(F'ed @ OC = Facilitated)

Anonymous said...

the bunnies,
It was my pleasure! You had a very thoughtful post, and you asked an excellent question.

Anonymous said...

Ugh, pondering the last few days on nihilism, murder, evil & denial is getting me down & kinda feeling hopeless about the human condition.

I have a Coongirl antidote for these blues, a pressing question:

RIVER - did you ever take flowers or take your coffeeshop crush out for a date? Been waiting weeks now for the update.

TSEBRING - don't think you're off the hook either. I waiting on the lady email pal update too.

Get with the program guys, your sisterunderthepelt is tapping her foot & is not going to drop this pressing question. Plan to nag & badger (can coons badger?) you for answers, or at least taking you to water & washing you until you cough up.

Anonymous said...

hey, yeah - details please!

Anonymous said...

Bob,

Remember yesterday's post, when you said that the Left would spin the VA Tech massacre so that the killer ended up being the "victim"? Well, this guy has done just that...and much, much more.

Other than Fred "The Ultimate Self-Hating Queer" Phelps, I can't think of anyone who's used the mass killing as an excuse for crueler or more insane rhetoric.

Stephen Macdonald said...

Aquila,

Yeah, I read that too. Sometimes I find it incredible that there isn't more political violence in the US. I suppose it is a testament to the resilience of the US system that men like this can speak such utter depravity and not be lynched by a mob (though he certainly deserves it).

I'm really getting to the point where the only way I can deal with all of this is to pray to and meditate on God. I'm finding it increasingly hard to read LGF. The bad news is so relentless...

I like it here better.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Hmmm... that whole Coffee house thing didn't work out so well...

But, there is this other girl, who is quite a bit closer to me. And, she endured me explaining Schoun.

So, it's a start.

Also, continual prayer (not to distract from the recent atrocity) as I have a major project due at the beginning of next week.

Whew!

Thanks, coons. Can't wait to see Bob's 'Nihilists' Ten Commandments' :)

Also, diggin' the coony tunes. Great in the morning!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I too often feel 'way too-informed about the events of the world - and have to just "look away," and intentionally turn to better things. That's ALWAYS been the challenge for the seeker, but we'd probably all agree that Ordinary Life seems "a little extreme" nowadays.

Anonymous said...

River:
Thanks for responding, I feel better already.

Ok, nix the waitress-in-a-doughnut-shop, I mean Barista/Server or whatever.

So, now we have 'other girl' & that will do for today. Don't forget to intersperse Schoun with flowers, or nature walks, or something to show you're well rounded. A girl wants more than just brains.

As to your project, I'm confident you'll do very well & my prayers are with you, whatever the outcome. Know you said you had, or might have BIG decisions to make. Don't stress. Just remember He is with you & even what may look like a disaster at first glance, can turn out to be the greatest of blessings.

You Go Guy!

Stephen Macdonald said...

Yes, we really should concentrate on the good and the beautiful.

Cooney Toons provides dollops of the latter recently.

One band that I was never particularly into but re-discovered based on Bob's recommendation is the Allman Brothers. I had a few CDs but hadn't played them in years. Now I'm a fan and have finally completed the entire collection (AFAIK):

Allman Brothers Live In San Fransico '73
An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band - 1st Set
An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band - 2nd Set
Atlanta International Pop Festival
Beginnings
Brothers And Sisters
Dreams
Duane Allman - An Anthology
Eat A Peach
Fillmore East (closing night) '71
Hell & High Water
Hittin' The Note
Hot, High & Hallucinating
Instant Live - Atlanta
Instant Live, Pittsburgh
Lakeside Amphitheater
Live At Ludlow Garage 1970
Live In Milwaukee - 2005
Maple Leaf
Mycology An Anthology
One Way Out (Live At The Beacon Theatre)
Peakin' At The Beacon
Seven Turns
Shades Of Two Worlds
The Allman Brothers Band
The Fillmore Concerts
True Gravity

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Allman Brothers - Midnight Rider was a song that caught my ear when I was a teen, and I just couldn't shake it. Just something about, "And I got one more... silver dollar... and I ain't gonna let them catch me no, I ain't gonna let them catch me no, I ain't gonna let them catch... the Midnight Rider...'

Would like to hear more of their stuff, but never got the time to do it.

For other days!

Thanks, ximeze, for the prayers and blessings.

PS all, Mizze's got some good stuff (though I'll bet y'all have read already...)

'Towards all this external evil, the man within the breast assumes a warlike attitude, and affirms his ability to cope single-handed with the infinite army of enemies. To this military attitude of the soul we give the name of Heroism.'

Thus the eternal story of the single hero (which is told in books, and now in video games.)

Good Knight, all!

Gagdad Bob said...

I'm having great fun with the Coony Tunes myself. I keep deleting and adding new ones. My dream job would have been a free-form DJ at an underground FM radio station, circa '69-'74.

Gagdad Bob said...

Duane Allman... it just doesn't get any better. Smoov, you should obtain a copy of the remixed version of Layla that came out in the early 1990s. The remixing allows you to hear Allman's contribitions more clearly....

J. Peden said...

aquila, thanks - my take on your link to Sherwood Ross' outburst via lgf, given that I am not a psychologist:

Sounds to me like the impotent Ross is too chicken to commit suicide for his self-derived and then projected guilt, so wants us to do it first. Then just maybe he'll decide. [Right]

He hates himself and blames us instead. What else is new among Faux Liberals? Well, what else new might be that the psychotic stessors are getting too great for those with what might be called, per Bob, Nihilist Derangement Syndrome, and they are perhaps nearing implosion.

After all, remember, the affliction comprising Faux Liberalism is "progressive".

Their emotes are getting so distorted and desperate that they don't bother me so much as fascinate and encourage me. I'm afraid the wandering uterus has become totally unhinged from nearly everything and has finally entered the brain.

If we could get poor evil-minion Ross to listen to only one of Bob's discussions, he would probably disintegrate. But such exposure still might be his only hope.

Anonymous said...

"I'm afraid the wandering uterus has become totally unhinged from nearly everything and has finally entered the brain."

Aaaah. I LOVE Coonville!

wv: phgxtv
Yup
wv2: sorus
Yup2

NoMo said...

"Well, I'm writing under duress this morning." Wow, Bob, you really are comfortable with your manhood -- oh, that's dUress. Sorry.

But seriously, you definitely rock and roll under pressure. Great post!

COONS!

Anonymous said...

Existentialism is not for the faint of heart. You have to feel yourself as alone in a large, uncaring universe in which there is no God, and other people can't be really be depended on.

Everything you've ever done will come to nothing, as time erases all things in due course. And even if something was "accomplished" it all comes to nothing because the entire thing is an absurd and empty gesture done for no end. There is nobody and nothing watching the performance of your life.

All pleasures and pains eventually lead to one thing, the annhiliation and nothingness of death.

So then, deeply feeling all that, the existentialist summons forth his free will, and fortified with nothing beyond that, decides to feel "meaning" in whatever he or she decides. It could be a pair of Argyle socks or a committment to a book club. It doesn't matter what it is, it only matters that the person has made the choice.

This is as high as one gets. There is a dignity in facing against the absurd emptiness that is this cosmos and spitting in its face. Defiance is the hightest virtue available. Like Nietchze, we bite off the head of the snake.

The way of the existentialist takes a huge amount of discipline and self-mastery. For him, the easy path of religion is not good enough. He takes the hard road.

Even if he is wrong, and God exists, he has still shown the manly virtues of fortitude and forbearance; few other paths offer such a baptism in naked fear.

Anonymous said...

Reality is for people that can't face drugs.

Anonymous said...

I will never forget coming home to my dorm room one afternoon to discover my roommate, a lanky doper not much given to unnecessary drama, in tears. Real tears. "What's wrong?" "Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash!" he wailed. "Who's Duane Allman?" I asked. He looked at me with glistening, stupified eyes and practically shouted, "He was the greatest slide guitar player that ever lived!" So went my introduction to one of my all-time favorite bands.

But that was then, this is now. Derek Trucks. Anyone groove on this guy? Anyone ever seen him cover a Duane Allman lead and hear what he does NOT play? Amaysing and Amen!

Anonymous said...

Franklstein.
That's not a philosophy; it's a disease.

JWM

Anonymous said...

Al Frankel-stein said:

"There is a dignity in facing against the absurd emptiness that is this cosmos and spitting in its face. Defiance is the highest virtue available."

Hmmm, a self righteous victim of nothing, now that’s a good one.

If it's all emptiness then why the acrimony? Who/what are you getting back at?

"I'LL SHOW YOU, YOU EMPTY NOTHINGNESS!!!"

Where is the defiance coming from? Why not indifference as the highest virtue?

Didn’t you read about yourself in Bob’s post?

“The first thing you must understand is that, just as the atheist is an implicit theist, the nihilist doesn't really believe nothing, but elevates nothing to the highest wisdom. In so doing, they overturn the order of the cosmos and horizontalize the vertical, paving the way for us to be left, bereft, and f'ed….”


BTW, Baptism in fear sounds kinda kinky, sort of a narcissists conviction doctrine.

Anonymous said...

That would be, baptism in NAKED fear sounds like a narcissists conviction doctrine.
What a concept to build a life around. :^(
After death, I guess God would probably just let you continue on with it, manly and virtuous path that it is (of course without the body and thus the ability to change anything).
Since he don't play, he'll give you your free will choice. ;)

Anonymous said...

Franklstein,

First, you are correct that there is an existential ground that interiornauts encounter in their journey to the center. You are also correct that this encounter appears on the surface to yield nothing but absurdity and meaninglessness. These things the existentialists got right in their analysis, and I respect that they brought western philosophy to its core question, so aptly expressed by Hamlet, "To be or not to be, that is the question...".

BUT, the one thing existentialists never quite got over was the very FACT of their existential encounter. What does it REALLY mean to be able to shake your fist at an absurd cosmos? How can the existentialist even MAKE judgments like, "This is an absurd existence"? The answer is that these experiential facts argue that there is indeed an ESSENCE that precedes existence, and this essence is of such a kind as to be CAPABLE of judging and shaking fists. In other words, this CAPABILITY requires no actual "will-to-power" or "leap of faith" unless one WILLFULLY chooses to get one's essence stuck in the absurdity. In other words, the true existential dilemma is that the existential dilemma is itself an absurdity. It is, in the words of the eastern thinkers, Maya.

To pierce the veil of existential absurdity (and I strongly recommend you reread my earlier post on this thread on 2Cor3:16-18, because this is exactly the sort of veil that Paul discusses) requires putting on the coon glasses to gain a transcendental coonvision. This transcendental (in the Kantian sense) approach defeats the existential problem, but requires that the interiornaut get over his or her preoccupation with his or her selfhood. It is the egoistic self that becomes preoccupied with "absurdity" and needs an attitude readjustment, but this adjustment is not, when all is said and done, a matter of individual choice, but rather a matter of Divine Grace and Holy Intervention. In other words, when one gets struck by coonvision one is instantly aware of the PRESENCE of the ultimate other. This is the source of hope, and faith, and love.

Ultimately, I have great respect for existentialism as an important step on the journey to integrated wholeness. Many people who have felt themselves on a thread over the dark pit of existence gain a deep appreciation for their own essence, and the absolute certainty of the absolute meaningfulness of our existence and the love of O. However, those who dance on the razor's edge also risk getting cut. The flaming sword of Eden, wielded by Christ Himself, brooks no compromises, for it is truly "terrible and swift."

With that I leave you with a final hymn to coontemplate in light of today's meditation of existence:

Battle Hymn of the Republic (1861)
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free;
[originally …let us die to make men free]
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.

wv: nugbs (snug as a bug in a rug)

Magnus Itland said...

This just may disappoint my American readers, but Europeans generally consider themselves quite happy by global standards. This is probably because global standards mostly consist of places like China, Iran, Indonesia and Nigeria. The happiest of the lot are the Danes, but I attribute that to the pastries.

Europe is actually becoming steadily more Americanized in many ways, but I don't think your mainstream media would want to talk about that. They seem to enjoy portraying an imaginary Europe that hates and scorns the USA. Whenever some ruffian stages a protest or insults America, you can count on certain news agencies to be there and roll in the mud. They don't tell about how we quietly restructure our business after American models, how young people go online and check American dictionaries for facts, or how American magazines jostle with and crowd out their local equivalents in kiosks and book stores.

It seems to me that America is winning on all fronts except at home.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Cuz. He deserved it.

Stephen Macdonald said...

Magnus Itland ...

I don't doubt that what you say about Europe is true. We conservatives are not immune from human frailty and often mistakenly exaggerate in these matters (though we do not purposefully lie in the manner of the left).

My question is: is Europe moving toward or away from God? Canadians too tend to be "happy" and are even more "Americanized" than Europeans. However Canada faces extinction as a culture in 100 years because she has abandoned God (except for Muslim immigrants) and hence ultimately has abandoened Life (unrestricted abortion, 1.4 fecundity rate, etc.).

Does Europe have a future qua Europe?

(BTW, learning that Europe is doing better than we thought is not "disappointing" - most of us love most aspects of the Europe of old, and want to see her prosper under God).

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

JWM said...
Franklstein.
That's not a philosophy; it's a disease.

Heh! That was good JWM!

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Hoarhey said:
"Hmmm, a self righteous victim of nothing, now that’s a good one.

If it's all emptiness then why the acrimony? Who/what are you getting back at?

"I'LL SHOW YOU, YOU EMPTY NOTHINGNESS!!!"

Where is the defiance coming from? Why not indifference as the highest virtue?"

Wow, Hoarhey! You deftly knocked the foundation of nothingness right out from underneath Frankenberry.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Hi Alan!
Have you tried any of the Italian food?
You know, when in Rome...

Have fun!

Magnus Itland said...

Smoov:
The future of Europe is very much a cultural battlefield right now. On one side, there is the Muslim immigration with a high fertility. On the other hand, there is the "native" Europeans with a low fertility (in most of the countries) but with a significant cultural import from the USA. Despite repeated attempts to forge a "common European identity" in the European Union, I personally believe that Europe will have to choose between becoming part of the Global United States or the greater Islamic Homeland. As things look today, Europe will probably be Americanized well before it can be Islamized, especially now that talks about Turkey's entry into the Union have been set aside.

An Americanized Europe will probably have a higher fertility, similar to that of the United States... unless the United States decides to go the way of Europe instead, of course.

Also, the European leftists are increasingly colliding head-on with the Islamists. Feminists have discovered how Arabic and African cultures treat women, and they are not amused. The gays are realizing that death penalty awaits them if Islamists ever come to power. Multiculturalists realize that to Islamists, there can only be one culture, one world under Allah. The honeymoon is definitely over for Islamism in Europe.

Anonymous said...

Magnus said:
"The happiest of the lot are the Danes, but I attribute that to the pastries."

Magnus, you're now officially on my ISS Watch-list. Very funny!

Van Harvey said...

J. Peden said "the wandering uterus has become totally unhinged from nearly everything and has finally entered the brain."

Really like that!

Great comment!

Van Harvey said...

frankl-stein's monster said... "There is nobody and nothing watching the performance of your life. All pleasures and pains eventually lead to one thing, the annhiliation and nothingness of death... decides to feel "meaning" in whatever ... could be a pair of Argyle socks ...it only matters that the person has made the choice."

Even within that conviction, the conclusion is false, and childish.

Having until recently been sure that "All pleasures and pains eventually lead to one thing, the annhiliation and nothingness of death.", I felt no terror at it, it was just the way things were - like it or not. Nor was I selfduped into thinking that that meant that I could or should "... decides to feel "meaning" in whatever ... could be a pair of Argyle socks"

Whether or not we continue on, we are here NOW and the Universe is still "Uni", it is one, even if Truth for you is only a 'factual identification of things as they are', they are facts of One Whole, and we, as with everything else, have a 'nature' every bit as real as does a chunk of granite or a polished diamond.

Our Rights and responsibilities can be traced back to that fact - if you can't trace them back to that, you probably don't understand them as well as you think you do. Probably chose to flatten your understanding, trying to avoid the heirarchical nature of our conceptual minds. I think that if you keep your eyes open, and trace those facts back further, inwardly outwards, you just might find something else there as well - waiting for you.

Whether or not you do, The Universe was created as (or if you want to be stubborn about it - just IS) a whole, and contains everything we need in order to discover it, our role in it, and with careful consideration, a deeper meaning within it.

In no logical interpretation of reality, with or without God, does finding meaning in a pair of Argyle Socks make sense, nor does it make the decision to, anything other than juvenile.

Believing that you, and life, end with death may be empty, but it's no excuse for foolishness.

Van Harvey said...

hoarhey said about the well named frankl-stein's monster, "Didn’t you read about yourself in Bob’s post?"

To which I'd add, didn't you read about yourself in the Virginia Tech Shooters NBC post?

Anonymous said...

Gagdad, I'm being deleted for asking about the link between one of your regulars and a "purple prose" site. I assume you are the only one with the power to delete, thus that I am offending you or breaking some unposted blog rule specific to this site. Please forgive my curiosity. I do not mean it to be percieved as crude or salacious. My earlier flip tone was simply an attempt to "keep up", as humor and entendre are side dishes served with every entre you offer up on this blog. Now that I see that this is sensitive for/to someone, I regret that attempt, and offer my apology. I am more interested in why this link is present, and the thought processes behind it as they apply to someone with "ascendant tendencies". Also with the deletions.

Since the link is present and working, it must be so because the person not mentioned intends it. Who am I offending and why?

Van Harvey said...

Smoov & Magnus,
Interesting exchange and encouraging, thanks.

I wonder if they are more Content, than Happy? Or Pacified? Certainly small 'h' happy, rather than Happiness.

Ximeze, yep on the IIS, certainly a better take on the Danes than Hamlets.

Gagdad Bob said...

Music lover:

If you are genuinely curious, I suggest that you ask her. Her site and email are avilable to you. It is not my business.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Gagdad Bob. I will of course ask. I didn't see a comments section on the site but will dig again. I initially figured the link was there partly FOR the questions and comments it would raise. Now I know differently, at least from your side. And again I apologize for unintentionally stepping outside what you consider appropriate comment or question. Having recently found your site I don't want to offend before I have a chance to understand this place. I'm not sure I understand the deletion of my questions, but I do understand that you choose not to make this "your business". And I can respect that. The intriguing mix of earth and spirit definitely has my attention.

So, speaking of ascendence, how 'bout that Trucks fella?

Anonymous said...

Did I miss a Cuz post?
I haven't seen the Cuz in awhile.
Hey Cuz!

Van Harvey said...

Hoarhey,
I think it was more of what Cuz tooketh awayth, rather than what he givethed...?

Anonymous said...

Hey Amos! Hey Andy!

heehaw! heehaw! heehaw!

Van Harvey said...

Hey Hoarhey,
I think we've got ourselves our own personal trolldrooler!
Anonymous said..."Hey Amos! Hey Andy! heehaw! heehaw! heehaw!"

(you've got to take it out for a walk first)

Anonymous said...

Hoarhey-

Ben has the rest of the story.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous does sound a bit envious doesn't he/she/it?

Anonymous said...

And makes one hell of a jackass out of him/her/itself. On almost every post now.

a.k.a. Blandly Urbane said...

Discovered this site via SigCarlAlfred. I'm not even going to try to track all the comments; only enough to feel out of the loop to keep my loner status intact so to speak.

Extremely enjoyable read. I get the impression you know what you're talking about if only because it makes sense and I wholeheartedly agree.

Nihilism as described in this post goes a long, long, way toward understanding those on the Left that I have had much difficulty understanding; do they really believe what they say/believe or are they just taking a stance for the game of politics. You have verified or at least brought me closer to the conclusion that I have dreaded.

Thanks for the lift

Bob's Blog said...

Bob,
I am still thinking about your post from yesterday. I have been preaching for about thirty years to all who will listen (mighty few) about all of the things you said yesterday about victimhood. Your statement about the overly aggressive or verbally abusive man being a feminized man was the most thought-provoking to me. I would love it if you could develop that theme in a future post. Thank you for all of the thought you put in to these marvelous posts.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Hoarhey. Didn't mean to exclude you. Here's the translation:
!wah-eeh !wah-eeh !wah-eeh

Anonymous said...

There we go. Chalk another one up!

J. Peden said...

"Hey Amos! Hey Andy!

heehaw! heehaw! heehaw!"
anon

What? Compliments from a bigot? Who'd a thought there would ever come that day?...

Now where did that Jethro boy go, Granny?

Jed, I think he's over seein' Friends.

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