Thursday, November 09, 2006

I love Free Speech

I would have started with a little piece about how I would have, in turn, 'started with a treatise on how difficult it is to write a good into to something, but that would be too stereotypical'...only THAT would be too stereotypical.

So is the above, come to think of it. Please disregard. Good.

Court Jester


Ever read something that was pure Gold? Normally, I'd just let my good friend's writing speak for itself, but this is an exception. I won't pretend to understand what he says, not all of it. I don't think I am meant to, nor should I need to. It's a beautiful piece of writing, and it did make me reflect a little.

At lunch today, Gold and The Black Panther were coercing some question or issue out of the Silver Fox - I know not what - and somewhere, there was a comparison to royalty who 'understood all and yet none'. Truly, if Gold were King of the Cosmos as such, I would be the court Jester. Of kingly wit, but not of kingly stature. I contend that it holds: In Shakespeare, fools are indeed rapier-sharp, but they are not infallible... The "oh Lord, sir" scene from 'All's Well...' comes to mind here. Great idea, but entirely imperfect. I think that's a lot of who I am.

I suppose the credit for much of the writing goes to the 'old friend' of
Gold's, although I wonder if that isn't metaphor, or at least license on the part of his memory; it is much like his style, either way. Like him, it is unique, and unmistakable. "Sure", you say, "everyone is unique"...no. Everyone is different. There are few who are truly unique. It is for this reason that I fear mediocrity, and would rather be memorably unpleasant than unremarkable. I don't think Gold needs ever fear it as I do.

I am very happy for
Gold right now, because I know where he's at, more or less. This blog started well after I had passed that point, but there was a time when things were going rather my way. These times come, and they go... and if you asked me why we live at all, I would say "because sometimes, your number comes up". I know a few people who are more or less in this stage. Ironic, because one has just ended for me.

"
Though there is no one completely like me, I resonate with others, for reasons unknown. All emotional creatures do. We call and respond to others, in infinite ways. If you called one who was perfectly alike, you would just receive an identical call, and you would give an identical response. No difference. Alone."

- He says. I think the reason is not so unknown. The answer is in that statement: without difference, there is no discourse. I submit that we resonate best not with the people who have the same answers, but those who ask the same questions. Why do we resonate, exactly? If being with a crowd of people exactly like you is being alone, having only one's own company is the closest thing we have to that. Any debate is ALL YOU. We resonate, because that loneliness is unbearable.

The Black Panther has some theory of love between us. I think it exists in all my friendships, to lesser and greater extent. I DON'T think it's what Panther would like it to be, not here or elsewhere. Better luck next time. Friends are the ultimate confirmation that the world is not the cold, lonely place that the facts and emo kids make it sound like.

I could go on, but I think I've hit the limit of it being POSSIBLY coherent.

A World of Difference


This will be short. I think I will follow up on my "Game purchases to Donations" thing. I have bought Far Cry ($10) and plan to buy another $80 or $90 worth of games in the next little while. Well, a nice brochure came, and apparently, an equal $100 can get:

1 dozen tree saplings
Clean water for 1 child
Books for 1 child

among other things, of course. These are just 3 I liked. It means spending around $200 in total, but big deal. Money is easy come, easy go. Children shouldn't be.

PEOPLE READING THIS: DON'T GET ME CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING IT. SEND $20 OR SO TO CHARITY INSTEAD.

Maybe the true spirit of the Holiday can be won back from the Greedy, and given to the Needy.

Hope and Despair


The US has finally hobbled Bush, and it shows. When the name-calling stops, and the invitations to dinner start, well...that's when you know the hurt has been put on someone. I said in my World issues class that "The brinkmanship worked both ways: North Korea and Iran could taunt the US, and then play underdog for a PR victory". If the Democrats (wisely) try to fix problems, rather than shoot them, I think these countries might lose their ability to intimidate. At the same time, I think that Western self-interest will (depressingly) prevail over humanitarian considerations.

A former student of my World Issues teacher (who had a 98% in the course!) did a presentation on Middle East politics. Short-sighted interest by the West killed thousands of Iranians. When the Islamic revolution came, still it was seen as a setback (at least in the US). Why can we not see farther than our noses?!?! I want to be proud as a citizen of a society that has made great advances, but when I see how brutal dictatorship, war, and genocide are disregarded when it suits the cause of our governments, it is hard. We are told that World War 2 was fought for freedom. Why, then, are dictators, and genocidal generals allowed to live free today? On this remembrance day, ask yourself "Was it only injustice because it happened inside the West?". The only hope I found is when I asked the man "Do you think that there could be an optimal solution for immigrant Muslims and Europeans to live together?", and he said that no one wanted to build an Islamic state in the West. I think Terrorists think otherwise, but I'm sure that it's true for the majority. I can live with Islamic states, because people like the presenter might one day help lead them. If the will of the people is to have theocracy, why do we support secular tyranny? Double standards are not becoming of us, and yet so common in our politics, and society.

All in all, Hope and Despair ride together in the news.

Sweet Treat


There is a Gay Pride parade scheduled in Jerusalem. The pope says that it should be banned, as it would offend the faithful of all 3 religions to which it is holy. Apparently, freedom of speech is restricted when it would "offend the faithful" (this is not extrapolation, he says it himself). BULLSHIT!. I have free speech because it CAN and SHOULD be offensive. Because people need to think, and to communicate. You know what?

Screw you, Pope! Leave the Homosexuals, Condom users, Abortion clinics, Stem Cell researchers, Teachers, and Supporters thereof ALONE!...

...Or is it somehow OK to offend these people, religious or not?


And THIS is why I'm not so sure about Theocracy: Free speech must be TOTALLY free. It is a RIGHT. The RESPONSIBILITY is not to offend without good reason. If free speech is not free, everything objectionable becomes heresy sooner or later. China is a secular example, sure...but religion proves nothing by being equally bad.

Now, a Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem is a sweet treat, because it will offend the church. Before you say "but what about good reason?", let me tell you about the most sickening thing I have ever seen in person:It was at the Reach Provincials last year, In a Catholic school. In CHILDREN'S HANDWRITING on the board, were answers to questions about a film. The content of these answers made it plain that the movie featured, and vilified to some extent, a lesbian couple. The words are etched into my mind "they are selfish" and "I didn't like it when they kissed". WHAT GAVE THEM THE RIGHT? WHAT GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO TURN CHILDREN AGAINST FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS LIKE THAT? And in Ottawa, at least, it's your tax dollars partially at work. The Church deserves worse than a symbolic defeat like this. I hope the parade happens, because no one should bow to such a twisted, awful authority's demands.


I think it's time for bed. And Food. That was some good Catharsis. G-E-W-D good. The colours are a little wonky on this post, I know...I'll fix them tomorrow.

4 comments:

GoldMatenes said...

And the fool is the one who quietly knows what's going on: Puck, Feste...
Fool in name, but not in nature.

I just love to write sometimes, get everything out of my head.

---

Children do what they're told because they don't know any other way. I was told as a child that it is 'strange', and yes, even 'wrong' for alternate relationships to exist. And yes, it made a little nervous at first. But..

...I grew up.
First I learned there was a Santa Claus. Then I learned there wasn't. Soon I realised that, all along, there was one...
because the kids still smile at his name, and so do I.

GoldMatenes said...

We should start a band called 'The Popebreakers'.

Loud said...

At very least, that should be a post title on one of our blogs. I might counter-propose the name 'Un"Pope"ular' for the band

GoldMatenes said...

Popecrackers
Papal Fire
AR3 Anti-pope

Some Rights Reserved

Creative Commons License
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.