Smash and Dream.

Or maybe dream and smash? Angry people often believe that every problem is somebody else’s fault. If they can’t find an avatar scapegoat, they blame immigrants, government, society, or vague cabals. Somebody is obviously making them victims, because they’re not doing as well as mommy and daddy told them they would .

So they dream of a better world, like most of us. But they are certain that vague and evil powers will stop their desires. So first they must smash and destroy everything and rebuild in the rubble for a glorious future .

Oh, sure, lots of people will be hurt and die. Maybe even they will die. But they will be happy martyrs, welcomed into their vision of eternal heaven, admired down the future ages. Happy imaginations .

Usually, they expect that right will prevail. A little because it must be true and right. A lot because its purity will make it a strong survivor. To be honest, most of the greatest smashers also believe they will remain since they are the strongest .

Finally successful. Mommy and daddy must be proud .

And now – all settles down to sweetness and light .

Finally, the right people in charge .

The more things change …

Fantastic Tales

I enjoyed Bible stories as a youth. Then those of the “golden age” of science fiction. Even now some space opera and fantasy. All had little twists and turns, many preached a certain view of society. Fortunately, I never confused them with science or history. Sociology – well that hung out somewhere in the middle .

I know the attraction of all those (mostly) male superheroes or charmed individuals who thrive against all odds. But, again, I rarely confused their exploits with what happened in my real life .

What bothers me now is that many people are overwhelmed with a glut of knowledge that still seems unable to predict their individual future usefully. So they cling to militaristic utopias like Heinlein’s StarshipTroopers. Or unfettered economic systems _ some controlled, some free. Or libertarian or dystopian or … And worse, these become not merely touchstones for their own consciousness, which may be a genuinely useful function, but also a blueprint for how society should really be, or actually is, or how they should act .

Ayn Rand is my personal hate. But any fiction is – really – fiction. Each person is more complex than described in a novel. Each society more chaotically unpredictable. Each solution encrusted with its own problems . And each individual life unique.

But not in these tales. “If only” has replaced “once upon a time” in our current fairy tales .

Lost Words

Young people tend to have nightmares or fantasies about old people (to be fair, old people reciprocate.) It is usually annoying to read “youngsters” giving us irrelevant advice, writing ridiculous entertainment scripts about elders, or solemnly discussing our plight.

It is true we have slowed down and become more careful. (But hardly so slow as the memory medicine ads would proclaim.) It is usually true that we gradually lose our taste for grand adventures – adventures occur all around us all the time, sometimes as simple as going to the store. We remain fully human, but (in spite of protestation) not as we were at 30 .

I feel a gradual degradation, which I accept (as I must, since – in spite of those ads for expensive medication – it is inevitable). Perhaps the most annoying are the constant little gaps in mind and memory. Particularly nasty are the constant stream of “lost words.” I know exactly what I want to say, know there is a word for it, know I know there is a word for it – but nothing but blank .

That clues me into other patterns I may not be quite aware of. Reflexes, adjustment to light changes, peripheral vision, and on and on .

In fact, what most amazes me in the whole process is how much I used to have, how much I can lose, and how I nevertheless remain me.

Chairman Trump

Americans are used to hearing about the “rule of law” which sets the ideals of our Republic above other forms of government. But it seems to have been forgotten that “rule of law” does not mean simply obeying whatever momentary capricious rules are enforced by a government in power. In that sense anyone in an organized state – China North Korea Nazi Germany – lived under a “rule of law.”

The idealized American conception, however, implied more than that. It thought that laws were formulated following certain procedures, that most law was stable, that all classes of people were treated the same and – importantly – that historic “rights” were protected .

When any leader – a king, a military dictator, or a popularly elected official – can arbitrarily not enforce certain laws, artificially enhance others, pardon offenders at will, “go after” enemies legally and economically – that is not what we have considered a “rule of law”. Increasingly, that situation seems to be what we have now .

Elite philosophers through the ages have known that the concept of “rule of law” is fragile. It is hard to establish, easy to destroy. As we are now witnessing .

Decoration

Anything added to an artifact that does not affect its functionality can be regarded as decoration. Such can be seen as one of the most enduring aspects of human creative spirit, serving no purpose but to make something more interesting or attractive .

In any craft, the first approximation of decoration is elegance. At a certain level, we truly regard a craft masterpiece as art. Whether it is ” fine art” or not is a question best left to those who care about such trivia .

People’s ingenuity has been able to replicate (often in mass quantity with machines) any fine original creation. Today we are surrounded by beautiful (at least to some) elegant and often functional objects. Created once by the glory of the craftperson’s spirit and training, now available to all .

For a few of us, a majestic extreme of decoration is a flat-bounded surface on a wall, drawn and colored in a pleasing or informative way. We visit museums to be entranced and amazed by these pictures. Nobody is quite sure why. Photographs usually do not provide the same kick. Children’s work may do so. It’s mysterious .

These days, for the craftsman or artist, the final production must be an end in itself. Only a few friends will notice. There is a glut of decoration – good and otherwise – in the world .

Yet craft, art, even appreciation of decoration, remains a joy of our spiritual life .

Almost Right

People like to seize on the clearest and simplest explanations of phenomena. Things fall to earth because they “want to be nearer to it”. The Earth is flat. Those explanations are, actually, almost right. They are good enough for everyday life. They only fail if one is trying to predict something or control it. Malaria was associated, rightly, with bad air and swamps. Which just happened to also be filled with disease carrying mosquitoes. Avoiding the bad air in season almost worked very well. But it was useless for an eventual solution which required either draining or spraying the swamps.

I’m reminded of this with the MAHA fanatics, who once again want clean, simple explanations to complex problems. They point out that “science was wrong” in believing that COVID 19 was spread by infected air particles (largely able to be stopped by masks) when it was actually conveyed by tiny free floating viruses (against which most masks were useless). MAHA doesn’t believe science should ever be wrong _ if science gives incorrect advice it’s because scientists have nasty secret agendas .

Probably science has become much too complicated for most of us to understand. And it is still notably wrong or incoherent or provisional in many matters of health. So if flat earth and bad air were good enough for our grandparents, folks are sure they should be good enough for us .

Plato

Now that rich white men have seized power, studying dead white men is all the rage. Mostly it’s a social signal to show who has “merit.” Among the things one must know to be admitted to the club is a gloss of Plato .

I’ve read Plato. I found him a boring ignorant old fool. As are the philosophical musings of anything written before the 19th century – particularly before Darwin and Einstein who finally placed humans properly in the universe .

I enthusiastically enjoy history. I freely admit that any human over the last 50,000 years could think as well as I do, experience life just as deeply. People are complex, amazing, and deal with existence in miraculous ways .

But logic – Plato is very logical, for example – is a tricky tool. Useful but easily dangerous. Politicians, preachers, and various madmen are always able to construct wonderful logical castles on completely wrong and stupid foundations. Plato sees visions of “real ideal” and imagines fairy tale perfect men who wisely use logic to rule everything. He includes souls and reincarnation. In fact, he has no idea of everything we actually know about – well – everything .

Oh, there are major things still unknown and maybe unknowable. The nature of time, the meaning of consciousness, the purpose (if any) of life. None of that related to the cold dead weight of writings such as the Republic.

Learning to See

Seeing seems completely obvious to us, but computer researchers have discovered just how weird it is. We combine binocular vision with experience to create objects – some as they are, some different, some imaginary. Nothing is really “objective” or “true”. More than that, we constantly select and focus. Our vision keeps constantly shifting second by second. We learn to find what is relevant to us. A hunter sees signs of prey or movement in the grass. A developer or general maps terrain to possible advantage. Artists look for patterns that are beautiful or interesting .

When I start to sketch, after a period of inactivity, the first thing I notice is how odd my results are. Stuff seems the wrong size or color. Nothing matches what would be on a photograph of the same view .

Ah, that’s a modern dilemma. Old paintings, especially pre-renaissance, had less strict rules – or the rules were different. Important people, for example, were usually larger than less important people. Certain conventions – “city walls” for example – were almost pictograms. Oh, some work was magnificently “realistic” – cave paintings, Roman mosaics, Chinese flowers and birds. But all saw in certain ways, and accepted certain conventions .

As do I. My sketches try to become more and more like photographs. I resist the tendency fiercely, but I am losing. That tension actually provides a lot of entertaining, engrossing, fun.

Should Be Better, Could Be Worse

Pop psychology asks “is the glass half empty or half full?” I’m a middling type, so I always thought “both”. I was more aware that by tomorrow the glass might be overflowing, dry, or broken .

I’ve led a fortunate life. One of the great gifts – unappreciated at the time – was a spell of near poverty when I was a young adult. It put some perspective into my outlook. Since then, I’ve always been much more keenly aware of the difficulties others have than of their imagined happiness .

It settled into “should be better, could be worse”. That philosophy has served well at work, raising a family, and now in retirement. Half empty, half full, no matter, adjust and seize the day .

Interestingly, most of it is a simple mental adjustment. After all, a monk sworn to poverty can be quite content. Wealthy people with the world at their fingertips can be neurotically miserable. I’ve cultivated a sense of permanent contentment, as opposed to the militant envy screamed by this culture and its commercials .

Anyway, there the glass sits, inertly evoking whatever mood we desire. That trick of permanent uncertainty and our ability to control how we feel about it is one of the greatest glories of being human .

Venal

“Venal” is a useful old word for describing someone in government who is susceptible to bribes. In the most egregious cases, that someone also actively solicits them. Usually this is accompanied with threats if the bribes are not forthcoming .

Much of the world works this way. It always did. Local officials can rarely avoid it, even if they are basically honest. It’s human nature to expect gratitude and to return favor for favor .

The sometime naive idealism of Americans believed they could avoid it. Laws. Checks and balances. A free press. Strong opposition parties. We happily followed accusations, investigations, trials, convictions .

Now? Well, venal often refers to monetary bribes, but there are others. Flattery for example. Stroking the ego, right or wrong. “No backbone”. We see the signs.

Not that money is out of the picture. Billions are being made by high and low officials on crypto deals, inside trading, and pure slush spending .

Nor are the massive threats missing .

I guess, given that everyone thinks it’s okay, a venal government is what we have come to deserve. A payout for our native cynicism. No longer exceptional. Just like everyone else .