Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole in your culture...
I've seen the future, brother: it is murder.
- Leonard Cohen - The Future
The old cliche says that it is important to understand history if we are to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Unfortunately history is bent and moulded by the empires; facts hidden in a cloud of lies and twisted truth.
We are told to be proud of our nationhood; wave the flag for our culture of bravery and wonderful art; die for our country.
Don't be seduced by nationalism.
Culture is a living thing; it’s about what’s happening now; the only culture displayed in a museum is essentially dead culture.
Do not mistake tradition for culture; traditions are cultural activities that have been transformed, for whatever reasons, into rules.
Culture is what is happening right now – it’s alive.
Culture the digital voice of dissent that grows louder and louder.
Culture is hungry for change.
It’s our traditions that narrow our perception of the world, keep us safe in their familiarity, imprison us within their limitations - follow the rules and you won't get into any trouble.
The more diverse cultures we experience and absorb, the more open we are to new ideas, broader brush strokes; the light of shared humanity.
Culture is the detail, thought is the canvas
Don't get stopped at the traditional checkpoint where armed historians check your papers for traces of anarchy.
Don't make a flag of tradition to wave at the election of dead leaders or in support of global violence.
Wave a banner for thought, stitched it with support for the oppressed cultures and paint it with words that expose the Empires' historic lies.
and stuff it up the hole in your culture...
I've seen the future, brother: it is murder.
- Leonard Cohen - The Future
The old cliche says that it is important to understand history if we are to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Unfortunately history is bent and moulded by the empires; facts hidden in a cloud of lies and twisted truth.
We are told to be proud of our nationhood; wave the flag for our culture of bravery and wonderful art; die for our country.
Don't be seduced by nationalism.
Culture is a living thing; it’s about what’s happening now; the only culture displayed in a museum is essentially dead culture.
Do not mistake tradition for culture; traditions are cultural activities that have been transformed, for whatever reasons, into rules.
Culture is what is happening right now – it’s alive.
Culture the digital voice of dissent that grows louder and louder.
Culture is hungry for change.
It’s our traditions that narrow our perception of the world, keep us safe in their familiarity, imprison us within their limitations - follow the rules and you won't get into any trouble.
The more diverse cultures we experience and absorb, the more open we are to new ideas, broader brush strokes; the light of shared humanity.
Culture is the detail, thought is the canvas
Don't get stopped at the traditional checkpoint where armed historians check your papers for traces of anarchy.
Don't make a flag of tradition to wave at the election of dead leaders or in support of global violence.
Wave a banner for thought, stitched it with support for the oppressed cultures and paint it with words that expose the Empires' historic lies.
4 comments:
That the following is the second Chat Room comment recorded in the Further Left Library means it has been there a long time.
"I hear in patriotic utterances a slave of limited vision who justifies a master’s brutality and position. Geographic boundaries are naught but fences around hearts within. They better control and maintain riches and power of those who configured the lines and formulated repeated lies. One can break out by dreaming beyond a master’s litany and joining the universal quest for freedom. Are you ready to fight the master, or does love of lies, worship of toys, and hunger for crumbs hold you back?"
History sets an obvious cyclical pattern that is oft repeated. We need to be more cognizant of our past only because perhaps there is a minute chance of changing the events that will once again lead to our destruction. The World has lived these events already, there's nothing new under the sun.
Nationalism can be a corrupted concept but ultimately a country is defined by borders, language, and culture. Without adherence to these factors we risk losing our sovereignty. While many admirable nations exist, I don't want to embrace globalism because that would entail acceptance of countries that promote terrorism, oppression and occasionally the mass murder of their own people.
The concept of the world having already lived these events is too mystical for an old atheist like me.
The empires, old and new, use nationalism as a sedative to cover their activities.
The use of words to create emotive images often cloud the facts.
For example, the US; British; German; French; Spanish et al administrations most powerful weapon at the moment is terrorism.
These empires are vastly skilled in terrorism (refer activities in South America, Middle East, Africa, Asia over the last century - not to mention the extermination of North American tribes).
Show me an honourable nation and I'll show you a nation that has not risen to Empire.
Let me state for the record that I am opposed to violence in any form, but it is important to realise that attacks by terrorists groups (IRA; ANC; ETA; Hamas; Al Qaeda et al) do not happen for no reason, their roots usually lie in the activities of empire.
Interestingly, the use of the term 'freedom fighter' to describe approved terrorist groups seems to have disappeared from the global vocabulary.
I do not wish to offend the people of any nation, but I believe that we should be accountable for the people we elect to power as much as they should be accountable to us.
Read up on the history of South Africa for another view on the activities of empire.
Good people stand idly by and watch it all crumble because we tire of the constant struggle. We promote decent political candidates that seem to match our ideals only to see them falter and sway in the direction of their biggest lobbies and contributors. That's why my blog is only frivolity and crass humour, I've reached conspiracy and political intrigue overload. Your writing is so eloquent, I do enjoy your perspective on things. While I may beg to differ with much of your ideology, I have to admit that your rationale is well articulated and your analogies are superbly clever. Much better than the average garden variety profanity laced protester.
Post a Comment