The Historical Cycle of Empires

Random rantings on politics, corruption, the pitfalls of racial dynamics, and American laziness: As the fissures in the economic empire continue to be exposed, the question arises as to if it is an appropriate time to assemble my fearsome hordes and purge the present social order in lakes of fire and streams of blood. Given the magnitude of the greed and corruption being exposed in both the private and public sectors of our society, the opportunity for social reorganization is approaching. Despite that fact, things have not yet deteriorated enough through all segments of the populace to fully enable transformation on the scale necessary to make a difference. People think that the coming election is so critical to the future of the nation. Hah! Complete fallacy because no matter which candidate wins they will not be able to effect the necessary change to address the fundamental issues. McCain is past his prime and would be completely hamstrung by opposition from the reactionary politics of the fascist conservative right and the vitriolic mania of the misguided political correctness of the far left. Obama's vision of change sounds good but it will likely amount to a bunch of nothing because of some realities that will limit his effectiveness. Some overtly racist elements of the existing system will simply not cooperate and will hole up in a bunker mentality to protect their privileged positions against any hint of social reorganization in terms of class/race/etc.... Despite Obama's purported vision for a post-racial dynamic in politics, the elements of society that apply racial dynamics to everything in the name of political correctness will be disappointed that Obama's election will not have fundamentally changed much of anything. Obama might well become the first minority president, but if he gets the position he will be forced to pursue moderate policies on account of the fact that the drastic changes necessary to fully address the situation will be extremely controversial and risky. Racial political concerns and the risk of too rapid a social transformation will force Obama to take a safe course on most issues. I contend the first minority president, due to racial concerns, will not be allowed by the powers that be to take risks that might risk the legacy associated with the first minority presidency. Image will supersede substance because of the present dynamics surrounding racism and racial politics in this country. Conveniently or insidiously, depending on your view, the present financial crisis provides a built in justification for limiting the pragmatic application of any real policy of change. There isn't any money left in the system to embark on large scale social transformations of any type - public sector or private sector. The industrial capacity of the nation is too much in ruins to adopt a modern version of a New Deal system, the population no longer has the industrial training, discipline, or scientific skill to produce manufactured goods or effectively rebuild infrastructure, the populace is too lazy and mollified to work through the difficult times in a meaningful way. People can no longer tolerate hard work and boredom as they demand instant gratification and entertainment. Difficult times are needed to retrain and cleanse our worthless society through suffering and despair. Only then will expectations be lowered to a point where the simple pleasures of life can be enjoyed. While this will likely happen over many years, it will not happen quickly. The present population of whack job conservatives and idiotic liberals must die off or be killed off to allow the proper change in society to occur. It will take a long time and US imperial power will continue to erode. By the time it is done, most people will be worse off anyway. Either McCain or Obama will preside over this continued deterioration as the empire falls and they will be attached to this decline. It's happened many times before, and it will happen many times in the future. At some point the system will fall enough for this empire to be overthrown by ravaging hordes, but I might be on my deathbed by the time the carnage ensues - we'll see. Forgive the incoherence of this rant. Have a nice day!

Another Year Escapes My Grasp

More incoherent rambling. I'm now another year older. Although my emotional vacuousness allows me to stoically accept the gradual continued deterioration of my body and memory capacity, each year drifts by faster and faster. While it is logical that each year should seem to pass faster with each representing a smaller fraction of one's life, the rapid advance and changed perspective remain no less disconcerting. The only thing that is more disconcerting for me is the rapid growth of my daughter as I watch years slip away due to my ridiculous life circumstances. However, the present short term sacrifice should improve the balance of her life - hopefully making it worth it overall. We'll see. It's a calculated risk - maybe it won't be in vain. Although as our empire begins to fall, the outlook for her life could be more restrictive than I would like to imagine. Despite the present panic, I do expect this empire probably to survive until we are all old and crotchety (although KFR is already trying to reside there). While I personally have little problem with a collapse to anarchy, the truth is most people are sheep and they will not be able to handle the fallout. When this empire goes down, it will not raise the oppressed in the world, the poor will still be poor, a few rich will get sacrificed to the masses, most of the parasitic rich will find a new way to feed off of society, some newcomers will rise to prominent positions just to be corrupted by power and wealth like all that have preceded them, new ideologies will be promoted that will prove as vacant as the previous ones, a bloodbath will ensue to relieve some of the overpopulation pressure, and a new system will likely emerge to prove functional for awhile before it begins its devolution toward corruption. Such is the inevitable cycle of life. When this empire falls, humanity will sink into its cesspool default state for a time. Decadence must be purged through privation to reduce expectations, then the little pleasures in life can be appreciated once again - all hail strong drink, good food, and hedonistic sex. Unfortunately, most people that have been mollified by modern society need meaning and structure and cannot live in an abyss of anarchy. They will not be able to endure such changes and will simply become worthless piles of self-commiserating goo wishing for guarantees of safety and their prior enslavement to the old imperial order. The only way to avoid such a cruel fate and escape despair is to establish me as benevolent dictator for life so that I may rule with an iron fist and sage wisdom. My empire would be better - harsher, but alot more fun. I'm probably old enough now to meet the requisite age limit for the position. Just cross out president and just make sure to write me in on the ballot this November. When the election is stolen from me I will raise my forces to seize power. I'll fix congress through fatal proscription and replace them with my own brand of lackeys. They can't possibly be worse than what we have now. Rant done! Fine!

Attempting to Jumpstart my Brain

I'll try to get back into proper TIS form of barbaric simplicity over the next few days. Still having picture issues, but here is a relevant big club picture for this post.

After a very enjoyable, yet hectic, summer, I have spent the last few weeks actually trying to reassimilate Greek into my head in order to complete my Polybius paper from Spring Quarter. Finally, it is done and I can now start to look forward and prepare for a new quarter of teaching. The sections are twice as long as what I have done before, but I have considerable autonomy. Next week I have to try to get the students to digest Gilgamesh and the Law Code of Hammurabi. At least with Gilgamesh I get to debate the themes associated with the human condition under civilization versus a natural state of existence as essentially a wild beast - corruptive knowledge vs. blissful ignorance. We'll see which they think is better, and I will bring out the pitfalls of each side. Maybe, I'll extol the virtue of my barbaric big club political theory, but I doubt it.

In any case, I will get to elaborate on the insidious dangers and mollifying effects of love:

"for when he murmurs love to you the wild beasts that shared his life in the hills will reject him...as he lay on her murmuring love...For six days and seven night they lay together, for Enkidu had forgotten his home in the hills; but when he was satisfied he went back to the wild beasts. Then, when the wild creatures saw him they fled. Enkidu would have followed, but his body was bound as though with a cord, his knees gave way when he started to run, his swiftness was gone...; Enkidu was grown weak..." (The Coming of Enkidu: Epic of Gilgamesh) Love is false, Trust in Steel!

Being Worthless in the Valley

I've been relaxing in the mountains and spending time with Madaline since my return from Rome. Attended some large family functions, went to the Drive-In, wandered around the mountains, etc... . That has been wonderful, but my schedule has resulted in me falling way behind on my Polybius paper that had been extended from it's due date during my time in Italy. The course was the hardest I've ever taken and I still need to do well enough on this project. I've not been able to properly link my pictures from Picasa to this blog. I have at least 3000 pics. I haven't had time or the proper internet connection to deal with it. I forgot what I did before when I got the slideshow to link to this blog. I had trouble before because the link wouldn't paste right according to instructions and I can't recall how I fixed the problem earlier last spring. If anybody knows, send me an email. I'm completely broke until at least mid-Sept, so I'm not sure how the next month is going to go or if I can travel anywhere.

Madaline starts junior high in 8 days and I will be wrapped up in that and the local fair through Labor Day. I hope everyone else's summer is going well! I'll try to get at least a few pics operational. Be well!

Triumphal Return

After a grueling flight from Rome and some sleep in my own apartment, it feels good to be back stateside despite the great time I had in Italy over the last couple of months. The excavation went well although I was very busy and in a fairly remote area of the mountains of central Italy. I had a wonderful time my last week in Rome with lots of good company, food, and vino to go with the endless sites and museums I went through. My time in Naples and Pompeii was great also. I also actually really enjoyed some of the mid-sized Italian communities in the center of Italy like Sulmona, L'Aquila, Avezzano, and Rieti. These areas were not as blazing hot as Rome and had a more relaxed environment where you could connect with the local culture without all the tourists and craziness in Rome. I was in very high mountainous areas with lovely scenery and good weather to eat and drink at small establishments with friendly people. All in all a very good trip. I will not be able to drive to Oregon this next week as I have to get to see my daughter as quickly as possible following some meetings with faculty this week. I will likely be in Oregon until Sept 12th, and I will possibly try to visit during that time if I can work out transportation.

Off to the Heart of the Ancient Empire!

I leave in a half an hour for the flight to Rome. I am starting to amp up my repressed energy levels for this long awaited odyssey. Everything looks good to go. I will stay in communication via this blog as best I can, but we'll see how it goes. Be well and have a good summer! Ciao!!!

An End to the Quarter from Hell

I have basically concluded my Spring 08 quarter with the completion of my Greek translation final. It was a pretty difficult test, but it could have been worse. I performed respectably well in places, but the actual grading criteria are beyond brutal. In any case, it is done and I have to turn in the accompanying paper for this course in early September which should allow for a balancing out of the grading due to my ability to control the quality of the paper. My primary advisor is very happy with my progress and that is what counts the most. Anyway, I would not want to have to many quarters like this one. The final was further complicated by a minor sinus surgery that was performed on me Friday afternoon to repair some tissue that was damaged when I was exposed to some nasty stuff in the desert sands half-way around the world. They cut a calloused piece of tissue out that had been singed and healed in a less than optimal way. Apparently it is this area that has been collecting material around it that contributes to recurrent sinus infections. The cleaner air in Oregon likely made the problem less of an issue, but here it became more troublesome - I shake my fist at the vile entity that is smog! In any case, the surgery led to 3 days of migraines right before I took the worst final of my life. At least it looks like I survived. I fly back to see my daughter at 6am tomorrow before my departure to Italy on Monday. My family is doing well enough, but I have to have my daughter's birthday party early because of my schedule this summer. She at least gets one early, but it is not optimal. It will be good to see my daughter, the rest is relatively meaningless. Up through this weekend, despite the surgery, I was still attempting to integrate my schedule for dating. I even had a brunch date, which I hadn't done in years, - it seemed to go well, but I simply can't juggle to many things at once. At least I have a myriad of foundations in place for when I return from Italy and despite my inability to drink lately I've resurrected enough charm to be respectably appealing. Unfortunately, charm takes more energy than I would like. Maybe I can seem charming to the Italian ladies this summer as I will be feeling much better. Ciao!