Friday, April 27, 2007

The Ninth Commandment of Nihilism: You Shall Eternally Live a Lie

What an outstanding link forwarded to us by Johan the Cosmic Swede, The Big White Lie. In it, the author summarizes the appeal of conservatism:

"The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine. I don’t have to say that everyone’s special or that the rich cause poverty or that all religions are a path to God. I don’t have to claim that a bad writer like Alice Walker is a good one or that a good writer like Toni Morrison is a great one. I don’t have to pretend that Islam means peace."

I don't know if I can improve upon that pithy insight. Again, a source of much confusion emanates from the left's misappropriation of the beautiful word "liberal" to flatter themselves and imply that theirs is anything other than a form of mental and spiritual bondage. (Being that they have now sullied the word "liberal," they have had to come up with a new magical word under which to hide their illiberal philosophy, "progressivism.")

In fact, there are few things less liberating than the self-imposed mental strait-jacket in which the leftist tries to think and live. The warp and weft of the strait-jacket are the various lies that constitute his worldview -- including a primordial lie which forms the substance of the threads. Leftism is a "web of lies," and for this reason, soon enough becomes a den of thieves. But there is honor among the thieves: it is called "political correctness."

There is a kind of pseudo-liberation that accompanies the Lie, is there not? Thanks to Freud's insights, it is now a banality to point out that the epistemophilic (truth-loving) impulse is easily subverted by various unconscious processes, so that we believe things not because they are true, but because they are comfortable, convenient, self-flattering, etc. But in reality, the only appropriate motive for believing something is that it be true.

For example, the "women's liberation movement" can promulgate the lie that women and men are identical, and one assumes that the lie will have a certain appeal to a certain kind of disturbed woman, who will embrace the lie and feel "liberated" from the pain of sexual difference, or from some feeling of inferiority, or of internalized oppression, or of hostility (or disappointment or frustration) toward men.

But for a normal person, these sexual differences are a source of delight -- and at times frustration and bewilderment. But the frustrations are like the rocks against which we polish our character -- in short, through which we grow toward the divine image and likeness. Growth only occurs amidst some kind of dynamic tension, so the easiest way to eliminate growth is to remove the tension with a magical ideology such as radical feminism. But all politically correct speech is designed to eliminate a tension that would make growth possible.

Here is a simple example, one brought up by Rudy Giuliani the other day. Better yet, I'll just say it how I would have said it: the so-called Palestinians are a gang of bloodthirsty cannibals, so it doesn't matter if they are led by one barbarian faction or the other. Until they recognize Israel's right to exist and stop behaving like savages, then there is nothing to discuss. Such barbarians are certainly not deserving of a state, if that's what you're driving at. What, are you crazy?"

Ooooh, tension! Yes, but so bracing, so refreshing! You cannot make the tension go away with banalities and canards such as "ancient hatreds," "occupation," "moral equivalence," "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," etc. Those are all vicious lies, vicious because they reward evil, punish the good, and prevent healthy change, or growth.

But if you can first establish the Big Lie that absolute truth does not exist (or that humans cannot know it), then you have paved the way for people to legitimately believe all kinds of nonsense that results from the "motivated stupidity" of the unconscious. You have, in effect, sanctioned mental illness. Not just sanctioned, but elevated it to the ultimate value. For make no mistake: if you understand what I am saying, then you will understand that multiculturalism, moral relativism, diversity, "tolerance," and all the other ruling ideas of leftism are not just wrong, but sick. And not just sick, but terminal. They are sickness unto death, in that, once embraced, the mind is strangled by them from the inside out, and cannot grow toward Truth. Rather, the mind can only grow if the person liberates himself from the leftist strait-jacket altogether.

As Hermanic Mysteress Joan pointed out the other day, the founder of leftism, Professor S. Nake, based his entire appeal on a false promissse that partaking of his philosssophy would result in immortality. But the opposite is true: partaking of this philosophy represents death to the mind, since the mind can only grow by metabolizing truth. Yes, it also grows as a result of metabolizing love, but not if it is the wrong kind of love. This is a critical point that many sentimental and flabby-minded leftists do not understand -- you know, the idea that "All You Need is Love." Not true. If you love what is false, or indecent, or ugly, then love is the last thing we need -- any more than we need hatred of what is good.

From this you see that -- of necessity --
Love is the seed in you of every virtue,
And of all acts deserving punishment.
--Dante

The same man -- being that he was a borderline personality, it is not surprising -- wrote the lines Just gimme some truth / All I want is the truth (no, not Dante, Lennon). Now, that's more like it. However, in Lennon's case, since he maintained until the end of his life that "all you need is love," he never found the truth which he demanded. Instead, he died with a headful of gimme -- as do all committed leftists.

Yes, it is an eternal tragedy, but they don't know it, and will hate you if you try to dislodge the vital lie from their head. For they love the lie, the comforter, the helper, the anti-paraclete. Come to think about it, as the man himself sang, Whatever gets you through the night, it's alright / Do it wrong or do it right, it's alright. The Lie is whatever gets you through the long night sea journey between birth and death. It is what the Nowhere Man clutches to his breast between nothing and nullity.

Oh my, yes (from the same City Lights piece linked above):

"This is leftism’s great strength: it’s all white lies. That’s its only advantage, as far as I can tell. None of its programs actually works, after all. From statism and income redistribution to liberalized criminal laws and multiculturalism, from its assault on religion to its redefinition of family, leftist policies have made the common life worse wherever they’re installed. But because it depends on — indeed is defined by — describing the human condition inaccurately, leftism is nothing if not polite. With its tortuous attempts to rename unpleasant facts out of existence — he’s not crippled, dear, he’s handicapped; it’s not a slum, it’s an inner city; it’s not surrender, it’s redeployment — leftism has outlived its own failure by hiding itself within the most labyrinthine construct of social delicacy since Victoria was queen."

But there are manners and there is "mannerism," an "exaggerated or affected adherence to a particular style or manner." Or, one can have no manners at all while being "mannered," which is to say, "having an artificial or stilted character." The purpose of good manners is to promote civility by distinguishing ourselves from our animal nature through various rituals and behavors. But the elaborate mannerisms and affectations of political correctness are indeed exaggerated, artificial, and stilted. No one can adhere to them and still be a "real person."

Now, this thought came to me yesterday afternoon while doing some serious hangtime in the backyard hammock: human beings live between Truth and understanding.

Eh, what Petey? Could you repeat that? I was dozing off!

But my household gnome had already shimmered past the hedge to God knows where.

What could Petey have possibly meant?

I suppose it is this: truth is given to us to understand. This is a critical point, because while a man can know many things that are untrue, it is not possible to understand something that is untrue. For example, this is why we cannot understand true evil. It is incomprehensible, which is one of the things that marks it as evil.

On the other hand, this is why it is not exactly correct to say that we can "know" God. After all, most of the evil committed in the name of God is done so in the belief that they know God. But do they understand God? No, obviously not.

As brother Blake expressed it, truth cannot be told so as to be understood and not believed. This is why leftists do not understand religion, despite what they may "know" about it. And again, this is why it is so utterly fruitless to debate an atheist, because all they can tell you is what they know. But ask them what they understand of God, and their only honest response can be "nothing."

Which is a good place to start the healing process -- of liberating oneself from the wisdom that is folly in the eyes of God. That worldly wisdom has an expiration date, which is the date you expire. And you shall surely expire.

*****

About eight months ago I wrote a post on the actual commandment, entitled "Lies and the Lying Liars who Live Them." I'm guessing it will be new to most readers. For the rest of you, you're free. Here are some excerpts:

"Lies and the Lying Liars who Live Them"

That would be us. For, depending on how you look at it, God became man so that man might become God. Or, Brahman became Maya so that Maya might become Brahman. Or perhaps Truth became falsehood so that falsehood might become Truth.

The enigmatic Christian esoterist Boris Mouravieff wrote that “We live in a world ruled by lies. Lying and stealing are the dominant elements of human character whatever the race, creed or caste. Whoever says that this is not true simply tells another lie. Man lies because in a world ruled by lies it is not possible to for him to do otherwise.... [T]he progress of this civilization, which is the fruit of an intellectual culture, considerably increases the need for lying.”

I believe it was Burke who said that culture “reconciles a man to everything,” no matter how foolish or barbarous the custom. But some cultures are so immersed in the Lie that they cannot help producing lying liars, most dramatically in the Middle East, but obviously here in the United States as well, only in a more subtle form. For example, the pressure of political correctness is an instrument of coercion designed to reconcile you to the infrahuman lies of the left.

In conducting a psychological evaluation, patients are often motivated to lie -- to make it appear that they are better or worse off than they actually are, or that one thing is responsible for their distress when it is actually another. And yet, a part of them knows they are lying and is uncomfortable with the fact. In his heart, even absent a divine commandment, man (a normal man, anyway) knows that he should not lie. Why is that? Why this grudging respect for a thing called truth, even among cynical postmodernists who are too jaded to believe that such a thing exists?

We live in a world of forces. Just as human beings are tripartite entities consisting of body, mind and spirit, there are physical forces, mental forces, and spiritual forces. In the spiritual-intellectual realm, truth is a force. There is a reactionary counter-force which we call "lying," which, if you think about it for even a moment, has probably had a greater impact and influence on the world than Truth. Or at the very least, it is a constant battle. Truth is always embattled on all sides, just as light is by definition surrounded by darkness. Darkness, on the other hand, is not necessarily surrounded by light. Not for nothing did Jesus crack that the adversary “was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own substance, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

This is an interesting statement, for it suggests that lies are somehow a "human substance," somewhat like a spider that spins a web out of its own body. Truth, on the other hand, is not, and cannot be of human origins. It is somehow anterior to us, and it is only for us to discover or remember it -- what Plato called anamnesis. And oh what a tangled web we weave, compared to the spider.....

You'd think it would be uncontroversial to utter a simple truth, but you'd be wrong, wouldn't you? If you don't believe in the force of falsehood, try sharing a controversial but banal truth at one of our elite universities, such as "men and women are fundamentally different and, on average, excel at different things," or "children do better with a mother and a father than with two mothers and two fathers," or “racial quotas hurt blacks," or “some, if not most, cultures are patently sick." It seems that to carry Truth is to pick up a cross and paint a target on one's back.

Animals cannot lie. While they can have certain naturally selected mechanisms of deception, they cannot live a lie (actually, as an astute commenter mentioned the other day, it might be possible if the luckless pet has a particularly nutty owner, like James Wolcott). But living a lie is in the normal course of events for human beings. Talleyrand once remarked that language was given to man so as to conceal his thoughts. Interestingly, this problem is fully recognized in scripture, as the very first conversations recorded in the Bible are a tissue of lies. The serpent lies to the woman, the woman transmits the lie to the man, and the man lies about it to God. The very emergence of self-consciousness seems to be inseparable from lying. Isn’t that interesting?

A cursory glance at history -- or at the idiotorial pages of the New York Times -- establishes the fact that lying is absolutely fundamental to human existence, even though the idea wasn't systematized until the early 20th century, in the works of Freud (the good Freud) and his followers. In particular, the psychoanalyst W.R. Bion developed a sophisticated epistemology showing how a vital lie is at the basis of most all forms of psychopathology. He made the provocative observation that the lie requires a thinker to think it, whereas the truth does not, for it simply is. We discover truth, but it takes a thinker to concoct the lie (and, I might add, a brilliant thinker such as Marx or Chomsky to create the most grandiose lies). And once the lie is in place, it causes the psyche to enter a sort of parallel universe, for it constructs itself on the foundations of that primordial lie.

In my own colorful terminology, I have called these internalized lies "mind parasites." I believe the term is an accurate one, for it is meant to convey the idea that a vital lie that lodges itself in the psyche is not static, but takes on the characteristics of the host, so to speak. In other words, the mind parasite has at its disposal the most complex and sophisticated entity in all of creation, the human brain. Therefore, it can easily justify itself, elaborate itself, gang up on the truth, intimidate healthier parts of the psyche. It's like a dictator who uses legitimate means to come to power, but then corruptly uses all of the levers of power to stay there and eliminate opponents -- similar to how liberalism gradually morphed into the illiberal leftism which now controls the Democratic party.

Just as freedom and truth are necessarily linked -- i.e., no one who is living a lie is actually free -- those who are in thrall to the lie are slaves. While they may enjoy a subjective sense of freedom, it is an illusion. In fact, they have forfeited their freedom and are attached to a spiritually suffocating demon generated out of their own psychic substance, just like the above referenced spider.

Think of a vivid example that comes readily to mind -- the Islamists. Is it not obvious to one and all (er, no) that they are absolutely enslaved by artificial beings of their own creation? And that they want everyone else to be enslaved by the same demons? Does this not demonstrate the insane power of demons and the lies they propagate? And how the liberal media simply treats the lie as another variety of truth? You know, "who are we to judge? The Middle East is just too complex."

There are personal mind parasites and collective mind parasites. Many cultures revolve entirely around monstrous entities that have been engendered by whole communities, such as the Aztec. Here again, it would be wrong to say that the Aztec had a bloodthirsty god -- rather, it clearly had them. Thousands upon thousands of human beings sacrificed to satisfy this god's appetite for human blood, elaborate mechanisms set up to supply fresh bodies, the heart of the sacrificial victim cut out by the officiating priest who would himself take a bite out of it while it was still beating. A whole society of Jeffrey Dahmers trying desperately to allay their existential anxiety by vampirically ingesting the life force of others. The head-chopping Izlambies are just the latest edition of this primordial anti-religion. But you undoubtedly know some people in your own life who do the same thing -- hungry ghosts who "feed" on the spirit (or the blog) of others.

In all times and in all places, human beings have looked for ways to objectify, worship, and appease their self-created demons. This is preferable to having them run around loose in one's own psyche. Take again the example of the typical beast of Islamist depravity. How would one even begin to tell him: "you have a persecutory entity inside of you that your life revolves around. You have placed it outside of yourself, in the 'infidels,' so as to make your life bearable, for it conceals a truth that is too painful to endure. Would you like to put down that meat cleaver and talk about it?"

To a large extent, this dynamic is at the heart of more mundane politics as well. For those who do not experience George Bush as a demon, it is impossible to understand those who do, any more than we can really understand the motivations of the Aztec. The collective mind parasite has a grammar and logic all its own, inaccessible to all but initiates into the Lie. And even they do not really understand it. Rather, they just bow down before it and obey it.

You don't actually want to get that close to an intoxicating Lie of that magnitude. It's not safe. Better to observe it from a respectful distance. Otherwise, you will find yourself pulled down into a false world of counter-lying rather than simple truth. You cannot create an artificial "good demon,” which is what secular leftists are trying to do when they aren't creating bad ones. Those critical critics who criticize my "negativity" probably think I am engaging in the former--heatedly countering the lie -- when I am calmly engaged in the latter -- simply affirming the truth as naturally as a bird sings. This is the inner meaning of "resist not evil." Resist it in the wrong way, and you come into its orbit.

For a demon operates through a combination of will and imagination. You may think of perverse will as the male principle and perverse imagination as the female principle. Together they beget the demon child that then controls the parents, taking over both will and imagination. Consider how so much art and academic nonsense is nothing more than the elaboration of the perverse imagination -- ideological superstructures giving cover to lies of various magnitude. Think of how much "activism" is simply the angry agitation of the perverse will.

Truth is a living thing, a Being that cannot be reduced to the idolatrous systems of men, especially corrupted men who do not honor Truth to begin with. Most modern and postmodern ideologies and philosophies are opiates for elites too sophisticated for such nonsense as Truth. But like all misused drugs, “Lies gravely affect our mind; they distort the undeveloped organs of the Personality, upon which depends the effort that must lead us to the second Birth.... Even more, lying makes the man who aspires to evolution go backwards” (Mouravieff).

Why is that? Maybe because the Truth became falsehood so that falsehood might become Truth.

*****

Such a tangled web, whether it is the war or the economy.

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have just discovered the strategy that will amke everyone happy.

Read the posts. They're all excellent. Quit commenting and never read the comments.

They are mostly the self-delusions of juveniles.

Mizz E said...

word veri: wvsotlty

So be it:

Truth liberates
Lies enslave

Need more?
wv: bhfzrnq (Balthasar)

The goal is fruitfulness, meaning, the victory of a truth that is indistinguishable from love.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

exo-man: do you take multivitamins? You're just so full of irony!

Anonymous said...

"All Cretans are liars"


e tu,exo-man??

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Of course, since exo uses an 'other' identity, we are free to take his posts with a grain of salt - as we cannot prove with any certainty who makes them.

But there are manners and there is "mannerism," an "exaggerated or affected adherence to a particular style or manner." Or, one can have no manners at all while being "mannered," which is to say, "having an artificial or stilted character." The purpose of good manners is to promote civility by distinguishing ourselves from our animal nature through various rituals and behavors. But the elaborate mannerisms and affectations of political correctness are indeed exaggerated, artificial, and stilted. No one can adhere to them and still be a "real person."

By the way, an interesting point. Someone I knew used to ask people to do things they weren't going to do, but would do it nicely. They were then surprised to find that the person said no, or might have even given a sharp retort.

The difference between manners and mannerisms; manners are 'sincere' that is, they extend from an appreciation and understanding of what people truly are and how they ought to be treated. Manners are only as deep as the person who uses them.

While granted, manners developed by a deep person and used by the shallow will be better than those developed by the shallow, shallow is still shallow.

Shallow manners is just mannerisms. Asking nicely is not manners but a mannerism. You don't ask someone nicely to go fill up their car and pay for the gas. Having manners (instead of polite mannerisms) you would know you don't ask someone that.

But nowadays mannerisms triumph; you can be racist, but as long as your racism is couched in the proper mannerisms it becomes acceptable.

Its an ultimate flatland leveling operation; depth counts for nothing, gains one nothing, and shallowness is no disadvantage.

It reminds me of... what? I can't put my finger on it. But I recall that cultish organizations ask for particular shibboleths, and so forth, and require no actual test of character. More exclusive ones do a test of loyalty, which usually involves pitting your nature (whether good or bad) against loyalty to what the cult stands for.

The best cults are the ones that require so little to be in that anyone can join.

On the contrary, the best religions are the ones that can save anyone, but the harshness of truth prevents all who reject it from staying.

Joan of Argghh! said...

Exo-man said, "They are mostly the self-delusions of juveniles."

Are not.

Webutante said...

Gosh, Bob, I'm not used to reading such lengthy, well written posts. I even rescheduled my lunch date for a little later, so I could finish reading this.

Everytime I think of Lennon, I recall how he referred to Yoko at "mommy." And also remember some sort of photos of him in a fetal pose around her.

That should tip us all off to the ravages of relativism's effects on maturity.

Anonymous said...

Exo,

I'm counting on you to lead by example.

Anonymous said...

Of course you'll never read that last comment cause you'll never be back here to read it.

Riiiight!

Anonymous said...

Watch out River, Hoarhey, and Joan. You're coming dangerously close to earning a thrashing at the point of exo's rapier-like wit. I'd back off if I were you.

wv: sitpeak
('nuff said!)

JWM

Mizz E said...

Speaking of affirming the truth as naturally as a bird sings....

Merriment time is offically underway, all day Coonsters.

Disclaimer: Hostess not responsible for the consequences of BingYOBrew and singing-a-long.

Men's muscles move better when their souls are making merry music..... ~ George Eliot

Joan of Argghh! said...

JWM,

Ain't skeerd.

Besides, "exo" only makes me think of "exoskeleton" which of course conjures up mental images of insects.

Grasshoppers, mostly.

:p

Van Harvey said...

exo-man said tantalizingly dumb stuff and ...ah... crud. Hoarhey beat me to the replies.
Those were mine! Give 'em back! I'm gonna tell GagDad on you!

wv:zrmha (not sure, but seems appropriate)

Anonymous said...

arrrghhh, Joan:
Why did you have to bring up grasshoppers? They are my one true phobia. Had a big one jump in my mouth when I was a kid. Traumatized me for life. I still loathe the damn things.
wv:kfuxd
(not makin' that up!)

JWM

Lisa said...

yeah, i was gonna pipe in with exo-pot meet exo-kettle! Tawk amungst yurselves....don't get too phaklempt.

But on a serious note...I have also come to realize the joys and importance of hammock time. Mine arrived last week and I put it together all by myself! Yes, it's a proud moment for a lone female coon! Anyway, I have started a rigorous program of daily hammocontrology time and am developing the newest and latest greatest form of exercise for those truly interested in slack and working from the center without leaving your hammock! Geez, another book that is yet to be written...stay tuned!

Van Harvey said...

"Yes, it is an eternal tragedy, but they don't know it, and will hate you if you try to dislodge the vital lie from their head. For they love the lie, the comforter, the helper, the anti-paraclete."

Leftissst thought is what enables you to hold any pet theory, desire or goal you want to - and no one, among your fellow believer that isss, can say that you are wrong. They might say that you're not being realistic, but even there you get a little boost, some credit - there's some romance to being for a longshot - some cache'.

Then along come the damn conservatives and just blast all your glamour to hell by saying "but that's wrong. It won't work. This is right, just look, stick to that, and you'll get back on track."

Where the hell's the glamour in getting back on track! Not even a cool looking $500 mussed up hair do can make that look romantic.

Sheesh. Darn coony spoil sports.

Anonymous said...

Lisa:

The technical term for hammock time is "cocooning."

Van Harvey said...

sniff sniff "...human beings live between..."

hmmyumm, nibble "...live between Truth ..." arurgh? cookie?

"...human beings live between Truth and understanding."

Ha! COOKIE! Gobble, munch, snarf, metabolize, metabolize, metabolize... ulp... ahhhh.

dat taste good.

Van Harvey said...

Frankly I'm a little annoyed that we haven't been lectured on being too hostile yet.

robinstarfish said...

Mobile Warming
don't turn that handle
seriously don't touch that
damn nothing happened

Lisa said...

Yes, true at that Petey, but the scientific term for the activity during cocooning is hammocoontrology.

Anonymous said...

A Priest served, for and in the USMC, forty three years. On his death bed in Bethesda Naval Hospital the Priest's last wish was to have Senators Kennedy and Clinton visit before he died. Never ones to pass up the opportunity to show how much they support our troops, the good Senators rushed to Bethesda, photographers in tow. Upon arrival, each breathlessly asked the Priest how they could help him in his final moments.

"Please, my children, take my hands." The Senators obliged. "I have tried to live a Christ like life.", explained the Priest. "Now, I would like to die like Christ, between two thieving liars." ;~)!

Anonymous said...

Joan,

I was thinking more along the lines of a tick.
At least a person can fish for rainbow trout with a grasshopper.

Anonymous said...

lucid, insightful, honest, balanced, magnanimous, touching, entertaining, challenging...

BEST.POST.EVER.


wv: gbvsbo (Gagdad Bob vs. Body Odor? -- smells about right to me)

Anonymous said...

River,

Great insights as usual.

You wouldn't happen to have an available sister, would you? You would make a kick-ass brother/coon-in-law.

Anonymous said...

I'm beginning to grow very fond of exo-man. I would like to nominate him for the position of Coon Jester to the Court of Petey.

What say you merry band of coons?

Lisa said...

eh, we've had better trolls....

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

well, he's not the best troll, but he certainly is unique.

Anonymous said...

Ah, the insect has returned

Anonymous said...

Well, this post is a damning indictment of the left. However, the left and right are not much different from each other.

Same business models, same technology, same religions (leaning to Buddhism on the left and Judaism on the right)

Same food, same schools, same..blah blah blah.

It's all bad, including you conservatives. You are simply not being radical enough to make a dent in this culture.

You parse spurious "differences" with great energy on this blog, and Dailykos does the same for its part, but should a leftist and a conservative meet, there is no way to tell the twain apart. Not even the clothes are different.

"God" makes no differnce. He does not affect the GNP, he does not bring up grades, he does not make for healthy children. People do all that, no matter what they "believe."

Where oh where is the action? What do raccoons "do" that is "new?"

Anonymous said...

Your blog plus your fellow travellers would have no trouble at all getting jobs and contracts at the Ministry of "Truth" in Orwell's 1984.

Anonymous said...

Being that 1984 was an anti-left screed, that's the most Orwellian thing I've heard all day.

Anonymous said...

JWM,

You're supposed to cook them first.

Anonymous said...

"Here is a simple example, one brought up by Rudy Giuliani the other day. Better yet, I'll just say it how I would have said it: the so-called Palestinians are a gang of bloodthirsty cannibals, so it doesn't matter if they are led by one barbarian faction or the other. Until they recognize Israel's right to exist and stop behaving like savages, then there is nothing to discuss. Such barbarians are certainly not deserving of a state, if that's what you're driving at. What, are you crazy?"

Bob, I like your version better.
It's more refreshing than a slurpee on a hot summer day!
More nutritious too.

Anonymous said...

"I suppose it is this: truth is given to us to understand. This is a critical point, because while a man can know many things that are untrue, it is not possible to understand something that is untrue. For example, this is why we cannot understand true evil. It is incomprehensible, which is one of the things that marks it as evil."

Bob, is this why demonic "possession" takes place in humans? Because only the demon can understand evil? Therefor the only way a human can get anywhere close to "understanding" evil is for the human to surrender completely to evil, but, once that happens he is no longer human.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Oh, that's the true genius of 1984 - you see, unless one knows the truth one will be unable to distinguish those they dislike from 'big brother'. But there IS a big brother, or some who would love to be him, isn't there?

But unless you see the world as it is, you will continue to rewrite each true thing with falsehood until you live Behind the Looking-Glass.

Then, you will see Orwell's villain right where he ought to be, right? Strangely, unusually, ALWAYS where you want him to be... odd...

Almost too perfect, isn't it?

Of course, Orwell's villain is exactly who he says he is - isn't he? Wasn't he all along? Was it ever any different but for our imagination? But for a fortnight or a daydream?

The answer to the riddle is - he who truly desires to control the lives of others for their 'good'.

Who is that? Isn't that enigmatic, too?

Okay, here's another clue - he makes himself God.

Don't get slipped up, here - we're moving right along - you keeping up?

Do you know of whom I speak? Not yet? How about one more?

He replaces all truth with what he desires people to believe.

Still not getting warm? We're getting pretty specific here. Fine, another:

He tells others what he wants them to believe, but never what he truly knows.

Does that narrow it down a bit? Who are we talking about?

Well, sorry to leave you hanging. But suffice it to say, O troll, that language is wings and no cage, truth is no secret, man is surely fallen, and God is surely One.

By their fruit ye shall know them, those rotten fruity bastards.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Orwell:

http://www.redstate.com/stories/foreign_affairs/the_pirates_of_tehran

"What are we, Reuters?"

Fred Thompson gets it.

Anonymous said...

zero...youve really got to be kidding. If you're not, then your moniker is well-earned.

Anonymous said...

As frightening as the specter of biological, chemical or nuclear attack is, I think, as Bob has inplied, that the Lie is the most fearful and lethal weapon that we as Americans and as True Liberals should fear. The Lie is a weapon that can be deployed by absolutely anyone, at any time, anywhere, and there is no defense against it...none, that is, except Truth. But, when a nation becomes too self absorbed and, like a toddler, too fascinated with its own private parts and its own excrement (i.e, Imus and Nicole Smith), the Lie has an open avenue to the minds and hearts ot its citizens, having been starved of truth and fed a steady diet of smaller lies. For lies, and the Lie, often appeal to our flesh and the pleasure centers of our brains more so than truths and Truth, which often require hard discipline and patience to grasp in their totality, i.e the monk, the saddhu, or any such seeker. Confining ourselves to monestaries or caves in the Himalayas is not needed; simply the maturity and discipline as a nation to tune out our genitals and our bellies and tune in to our spirits, if just for a fleeting moment. Indeed, I find myself often repeating those Lennon lyrics crying out for "some truth" (though I dont automatically assume that truth is anything antiwar, like he did). Its awfully hard to come by in the media these days (with the possible exeception of talk radio or Fox News), and even harder to find in the theatres. Jesus certainly was right when he spoke of the broad way that leads to death, and the Narrow Way that leads to life. That broad way seems to be getting more crowded by the moment; too bad it ends in a 3000 foot drop.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it rich?
Are we a pair?
Me here at last on the ground,
You in mid-air.
Send in the cloons.

Isn't it bliss?
Don't you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who can't move.
Where are the cloons?
Send in the cloons.

Just when I'd stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours,
Making my entrance again with my usual flair,
Sure of my lines,
No one is there.

Don't you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear.
But where are the cloons?
Quick, send in the cloons.
Don't bother, they're here.

Gagdad Bob and Merry Krewe, Looks like Sondheim had your number way before you taught yourself to count...

Anonymous said...

Bob, you could take some lessons from exo on time management. He writes his truth in three sentences while it takes you...well, some tenderizing to make your points pallatable. And he manages to garner the majority of the comments even on your own blog. Just a bobservation.

Gagdad Bob said...

You have the germ of an idea there, but could you flesh it out a bit?

Rick said...

Line judge,
Although I may agree that, say, a ‘universal truth’ can, and perhaps should be able to be captured in just a few sentences…or even just two words (read: I AM).
(Those are not just two words to me, by the way…but by being only two words draws you like a magnet to them to meditate on them. You cannot ignore them.)
But Bob, fortunately for us readers, goes into the truths and expands their depth for us.
I enjoy reading Bob’s ‘live meditations’ on certain universal truths – that’s how I look at them anyway. I would not necessarily have ever interpreted the concepts the way he does – not in the particular details anyway.
He not telling us ‘what to think’ but ‘how you may consider thinking’ about them.
If he’s dealing with a universal truth, expansion doesn’t take away from it, it adds to it, or at least accompanies it, reflects it with higher resolution, if you will.

Anonymous said...

Coons love words.

Short enough for ya?


Re: language
A new-found delight: Happy Alchemy by Robertson Davies. A posthumously published collection of essays, lectures, and other bits and pieces, most on theater and music, by this fine Canadian novelist.

Lisa said...

Dude, synchronicity at work again. How did you do that one, anon.? At around 5pm yesterday when reading the comments at that time, I was singing the same song to myself.

Mizz E said...

Sal,
Short nuff. Read Amazon reviews too & HA is on it's way. Cost $.01 + shipping. Thanks for the delicious deal.

Anonymous said...

Some flesh for the bones? OK.

By my count, 28 of the present 46 comments were more directed at trolls rather than your post. Of the 28, one (perhaps) seemed to be making an effort to understand rather than react to what a troll wrote.

By deduction then, emotion has (on this post anyway) bested any quest for deeper understanding of your post. So much for any obvious distinctions regarding the coonage assembled today and the other assorted critters patrolling these here parts.

Question: does this speak to
A) the quality of the "troll" (read "opposing viewpoint" in a different venue) comments?

B) the lack of quality of this particular post

C) A rather leftish slant (to use your rules for distinction) in your commenters

To stick in my two cents, I submit C.

You get out of an experience what you put in. ("Reap what you sow" in some circles, "rip what you sew badly" in others.) Taking today's post as an example, exo-man's possible final comment rings true.

Anonymous said...

I will speak only for myself, and say that it's a lot more fun to bash trolls than to praise the almighty B'ob, whose head is already a couple sizes too big for its britches.

Anonymous said...

Yeehaw Dupree! We draw the same coonclusions! Now I'm off to bash the dailykos crowd! Ain't it fun being enlightened?

Anonymous said...

Dupree, I call that a "C". Also.

Van Harvey said...

Dearest troll,
Conversation among raccoons and other normal people, rarely follow a single regimented party linejudge. If you are searching for unthinking one track koolaid-drinking, you need to drag your Ass and textual flatulance back to your kos sites. Hee-haw.

Anonymous said...

Make that 29 comments.

Ban: your leftist traits are showing. Perhaps you'd better tear a little deeper at your own flesh.

sarka`zein, n'at.

Anonymous said...

You might possibly the most pretentious writer in the world. If you were one-tenth as talented as you think you are, you might be mildly amusing; as it is, you're awful. Goldstein-level awful.

Anonymous said...

Mamie demonstrates for us the essential leftwing debating technique: the personal attack. If you can't take on the arguments presented, resort to calling names or lobbing insults instead.

Seems she had a goat to get. ;)

Joan of Argghh! said...

Y'know, line judge, it could be that the B'ob has pretty much covered the subject so thoroughly that there's not much else for the 'coons to do except sleep in the hammock after a full meal.

What is there to add? But sometimes a question comes up, sometimes a troll pops up. Today, it was you, in all of your permutations. Tomorrow or the next day it just may be a big den fight over the latest picks on B'ob's turntable. Or a debate about abortion.

But yeah, trolls are a yummy temptation for young coons... and Van.

:o)

Van Harvey said...

Uurhp...!
(oh, excuse me, fatty foods, don't you know)

Anonymous said...

Ain't big sisters great? Remember to share the bandaids.

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