I know and have known dozens of people who own motorcycles. Maybe a double handful of those Ride. Four Bikers have been close personal contacts. At least two of those associates are born again.
A month or so ago, two unrelated Facebook friends referenced a TV show known as The Sons of Anarchy. Good Internet had just been piped into my home, so I watched the first couple of seasons online.
Like a fifteen car pileup, it drew my attention. It took until the start of the third season for me to pull my eyes from it. Yes, there was a code of honor; there was the love of family; there was a kind of justice, but there was nothing inherently good about it. Hollywood keeps its characters in constant strife, and tweaks all story lines to conform to their own worldview. Truth doesn't matter.
Truth is, while isolated incidents and even some story lines were believable, the combination was not. There should have been more jail time, injury, and/or death for all. I know of only one old biker who still rides, and he does that only for show. Also, he has lost his hearing. Cops are not stupid, and in any department, more than one of them is going to be a 'straight arrow'. Based on these deviations from reality and the excessive emotional pain the characters constantly generate, I developed a great dislike for the show.
I realize that TV is not real, but Hollywood acts like they are showing the 'real deal' in their fiction. Actually, many writers such as myself do attempt to illustrate reality with our fiction. Aesop used stories to convey wisdom. Shakespeare and Steinbeck illustrated the human condition. Maybe that's why most of Hollywood disgusts me. It seems that they have completely abandoned this facet of fiction that reveals truth and replaced it with this facet of coercion. They seem obligated to drive home certain narratives without ever allowing certain alternate opinions or even facts that contradict.
My daughter told me that new experiences, even second-hand or fictional, cause the brain to produce dopamine. Even unpleasant experiences can cause the production of dopamine. That must be why SoA captured my attention. I am not, however, an addict (dependent personality disorder). Nope. Not me, but I was married to one.
In sixteen days, I may return to an old experience that causes a rush: NaNoWriMo. November is usually a tough month with many obligations, so maybe not. It is, however, my kind of fun! Certainly, I can do better than watching SoA!
Showing posts with label sociology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sociology. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Thursday, July 4, 2013
130704 Barbarians.
Barbarism is a possibility. Is it likely? Rome fell. Persia fell. The Toltec Empire fell. Who’s to say that modern empires wouldn’t fall? Technology is no proof of civilization. The Aztecs performed heart surgery, and ancient Egyptians made batteries. Some say that this is proof that space aliens came to earth. That really insults achievers. Ancient people had a lot more smarts than modern people think they had. Few had the means to record their thoughts. There were no PDAs, no Daytimers, no How-To Books, no To-Do lists. They kept it all in their heads, which takes a certain degree of skill and intelligence. Many of us would not live long if we had to grow or catch our own food, or face other hazards of nature.
Barbarism doesn’t have to be low tech. People talk a lot about George Orwell’s 1984. Most probably read the Cliff Notes, or just repeat what others say about it. Read the book. Read it as it was written. It is a study in barbarism – with technology and in communism. A companion book is Brave New World. Both books have been so long on the ‘dissect it to death’ literary lists for schools, that no one can see what the authors were really trying to show. Aldous Huxley’s book shows barbarism within a corrupted form of capitalism. Government controlled too much, and only those on the edges of civilization were truly free. Freedom isn’t having. Freedom is self-determination.
Today, I saw my dad. I enjoy our meetings. He is reading a book about US involvement in The Great War, or the War to End All Wars. The book has a bit in it about how people thought at the time. That was one hundred years ago. Some thoughts have come full circle. The ‘elite thinkers’, however, are still called ‘Progressives’. In Ancient Greece, they were called ‘Gnostics’. They would think, and because they could think it, it must have been true. We laugh at what the ancient Greeks thought about science, but some religious and political ideas are still alive today. The “I think it, so it must be true” mind set is chief among them. Proof is not needed, and is considered to be in bad taste, even rude. Indeed, many current arguments in politics and religion originated in Ancient Greece:
Who or what is God?
Do gods exist?
Why am I here?
Who controls me?
Whom do I control?
What is ‘good’ or ‘evil’?
What is freedom?
Does happiness matter?
All these modern questions were asked by ancient Greek philosophers.
The trial in Florida may inspire some to ignore the rule of law.
How does a discussion on ancient philosophers relate to the trail that shouldn’t have been? These are the barbarians at the gate! Civilization cannot stand against the tit for tat mentality of 'us' and 'them'. There are people who don’t know, and don’t want to know what it means to get along with others who are different. The term, ‘white Hispanic’ is silly nomenclature that was made up on the spot to cover the prejudice of the elite progressives in this country. Most Hispanics ARE Caucasian, but some are Negro, maybe Oriental. This particular Hispanic was trying to protect his multi-cultural neighbors from what he thought was a viable threat. Two white people were killed in the days following the incident. Their murderers stated on video that the deaths were definitely acts of revenge, not self-defense. Many others claim that they will riot and/or do other illegal acts should Zimmerman be found legally not-guilty.
Barbarians.
Barbarism doesn’t have to be low tech. People talk a lot about George Orwell’s 1984. Most probably read the Cliff Notes, or just repeat what others say about it. Read the book. Read it as it was written. It is a study in barbarism – with technology and in communism. A companion book is Brave New World. Both books have been so long on the ‘dissect it to death’ literary lists for schools, that no one can see what the authors were really trying to show. Aldous Huxley’s book shows barbarism within a corrupted form of capitalism. Government controlled too much, and only those on the edges of civilization were truly free. Freedom isn’t having. Freedom is self-determination.
Today, I saw my dad. I enjoy our meetings. He is reading a book about US involvement in The Great War, or the War to End All Wars. The book has a bit in it about how people thought at the time. That was one hundred years ago. Some thoughts have come full circle. The ‘elite thinkers’, however, are still called ‘Progressives’. In Ancient Greece, they were called ‘Gnostics’. They would think, and because they could think it, it must have been true. We laugh at what the ancient Greeks thought about science, but some religious and political ideas are still alive today. The “I think it, so it must be true” mind set is chief among them. Proof is not needed, and is considered to be in bad taste, even rude. Indeed, many current arguments in politics and religion originated in Ancient Greece:
Who or what is God?
Do gods exist?
Why am I here?
Who controls me?
Whom do I control?
What is ‘good’ or ‘evil’?
What is freedom?
Does happiness matter?
All these modern questions were asked by ancient Greek philosophers.
The trial in Florida may inspire some to ignore the rule of law.
How does a discussion on ancient philosophers relate to the trail that shouldn’t have been? These are the barbarians at the gate! Civilization cannot stand against the tit for tat mentality of 'us' and 'them'. There are people who don’t know, and don’t want to know what it means to get along with others who are different. The term, ‘white Hispanic’ is silly nomenclature that was made up on the spot to cover the prejudice of the elite progressives in this country. Most Hispanics ARE Caucasian, but some are Negro, maybe Oriental. This particular Hispanic was trying to protect his multi-cultural neighbors from what he thought was a viable threat. Two white people were killed in the days following the incident. Their murderers stated on video that the deaths were definitely acts of revenge, not self-defense. Many others claim that they will riot and/or do other illegal acts should Zimmerman be found legally not-guilty.
Barbarians.
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