AOM - VII - The Culture Of Death

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Death is but a breath, a moment, a thought
there is no tomorrow, nor yesterday, or today
it is an inevitable and expected ending
and a possible genesis of a new beginning

Do not fear the smile of death
nor seek its unique presence
anticipation feeds the fear
the time will draw nigh soon enough

There is only today, the time is now
do not live for death, for that brings no peace
embrace people, embrace things, embrace life
it is there your answers will ultimately be found

~ ki ~

ANATOMY OF A MASSACRE - VII - THE CULTURE OF DEATH

THE CULTURE OF DEATH

We live in a land that worships death. We glorify it. Not all of us by any means, but who is doing anything to stop it? Is anybody asking questions? I hear none of substance. Is anyone complaining about it? Who isn't? Are there those that are doing something about it? None that I see. I hear so many individuals talk of furthering the discussion, about having a 'conversation'. But there is no dialogue that exists between those that disagree. We have evolved to the point where we all have a voice. To a point where no one is capable of listening. I see no exchange of ideas. I see no contemplation of possibilities or alternatives. I see no debate. And therefore there is no progress, there are no answers and no resolution to even our simplest issues. And the larger issues? The ones with dire consequences for us all? As well as our children, and their children? Good luck with that! The politicians? The parents? The teachers? The protesters? Anybody? Really? No one? What is WRONG with you people?

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

~ Edmund Burke ~

The problem is, who are the good men? Are you one of those few? Then why are you doing nothing? Why do you let those who are not good men form our direction and our future? Why are YOU not the one we look to with hope in our hearts and confidence in our minds and trust in our souls? Where are the individuals of intellect and integrity? Where are those people of character who can show us the way to a better tomorrow? Have they given up? Have they never existed? Do they live in fear? Have we all gone insane? Have our schools 'bred' these things out of them? Take your pick. Maybe all of the above. Maybe none. Maybe they're tired of our infantile machinations. Maybe they have left us to our own destinies, to our inevitable self-destruction. I only hope they are out there somewhere. Someday we will need them to pick up the pieces and try again. I wish them luck. They're going to need it!

There are almost 160 thousand people, that’s 160,000 people, who die EVERY single day on this planet. Many are from natural causes, some of which could have been prevented by various means, from preventive care to a country coming to its senses and governing properly. And many are from violent acts and diseases that should be unacceptable, but are not. We do little if anything to prevent these things from happening. We send our $19 dollars a month and sit back and resume our lives. At least when that horrible commercial comes on the tube, we can feel justified in ignoring it. WE are part of the solution! Give yourself a good round of applause. But don't forget that $19 a month for the ASPCA. And then there are the Shriners. And St. Jude’s. Breast cancer.

Don't forget your pink ribbon so everyone knows you gave. Crap, I forgot the vets. They should be upfront. Alzheimer’s. Mental health. That’s gonna fix the shootings, right? That will be $19,000, thank you very much! Monthly. You want to put that on your card? You know, so we don't have to bug you all the time? And remember, that’s for life. None of these things will get fixed anytime soon. But we’re not really here to create solutions. We’re administrators. That’s what we do.

The point is that death is a part of life. 160,000 a day and there is absolutely NOTHING that you can do about it. That’s over 56 million people every year. And these deaths are replaced by more than twice as many births. Every day. Death is not the issue. Hatred is the issue. Respect for life is the issue. All the negatives we can discuss lose their immediacy if we respect life.

Stop protesting with hatred in your heart and condescension on your lips and stop screaming that we should spend millions and billions if it saves a single child. I have no idea who believes that. It is not true and I think we both know it. It is not practical. It is not possible. It is self-destructive. But we CAN respect life and do whatever possible to have that reflected in our actions and in our lives. Death has no mercy.

AND, . . . . there are over 600 thousand, yeah, that’s 600,000 abortions performed every year, just in the US. And ironically, that is well over 50 million additional deaths worldwide, which is almost equal to the total deaths reported. That’s a lot of tiny dead bodies. It seems that abortions are not even considered in the world death rates. Over 2 billion, that’s with a B, over the last 50 years.

And you’re OK with that? I’m not. More innocent than the 17 we lost the other week in Parkland. Futures erased. No life. No love. No struggles, but no joys either. Lives wasted. What are we doing about it? Nothing. The abortions will continue, and so will the shootings. Why is it a choice to abort an innocent human being in the womb but not acceptable to kill a high school student?

This is NOT a rhetorical question. I really want to know. Well, I want to know what YOU think. I already know. Neither is acceptable. Never were. Never will be. But we don't want to get bogged down with the ethics of abortion. We are talking of the 17. We were talking of the 100 million that die every year. We were talking of ethics and morals. We were talking of philosophy. At least I was.

What do you see when you watch the news every day? If you watch at all. More and more individuals every day are getting their 'information', their 'truth', through the net. That way they don't have to see the uncomfortable aspects of life that they do not WANT to see. Now we watch just what we agree with, irrespective of validity or objectivity. No need to think anymore. Is it information, or just self-serving propaganda, or self-fulfilling prophecy? Never before have we created our own realities and truth more so than we do today.

You may just get to see a cute kitten caught in a pipe somewhere, or some disabled child getting something through Make-A-Wish now and again. But mostly, you get political discourse, known as polite hatred, or violence and mayhem, death and destruction, something not so polite. That is the meat and potatoes of our media today. The culture of Death. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. Terrorism, school shootings, murder, an infinite menu of depravity with only a single redeeming connection. DEATH. That's the ticket. They think that is what America wants. Not this American. But that is what America gets. Little verifiable fact. Very little knowledge. But a lot of opinion, political agendas, and more than enough hatred. It makes you not want to even watch the news anymore. And with each passing day, I find myself watching just a little less.

It's all so disturbing and so unnecessary. So self-serving and not accomplishing anything. It's disgusting. They lament that they are only reporting the news. This is true to some degree, but they are choosing what they present, and it is for us to decide if it has any value. Which is why the networks continue to lose their audiences and continue to lose relevancy. Their newscasts are worthless. Their educational shows are devolving into ideological indoctrination. Their comedies are mindless and the rest is gratuitous violence. Is it possible that television will one day disappear? It certainly is possible. Or will it end up simply with infinite choices of cooking shows, talk shows, and sporting events? But for now, we are force-fed not what we want to see or need to know but what they want us to consume.

They show us our country and our world. All the suffering. All the pain. All the death. Nothing new really. But in contrast to a hundred years ago, our technology allows us to see every depravity up close and personal, and not weeks afterward, when new events have usurped our attentions with new calamities, but immediately, even while they are happening. Right there, in front of our faces, on our computers and our phones and our boob tubes. More information than our little minds can comprehend. More than we want and certainly more than we need. Our irresponsible media makes sure we get every last little bit of hate. Sometimes we even get some real information, but that is incidental.

The deaths are important. And an event like Parkland is no exception. In fact, it is their pièce de résistance. It is everything all wrapped into one big beautiful package. There is death of course. The death of the children. The death of teachers. Wounded. A shootout with the death of the shooter would have been nice but he will now be in the news forever. We have interviews with students and teachers and police and politicians. If you saw a dead body you will get interviewed and get on the news. If you knew the shooter everyone wants a piece of you. If you hate the shooter you will definitely get an invitation. If you have any celebrity at all you have a shot at the talk show circuit.

If you start a protest and hate who we hate in the media, you just may have started a new career. Every last morbid aspect of the shootings. Two weeks later and I have still not heard their names. I know nothing about them. Not important. They're dead. Let's talk about the shooter. Let's glorify him. Let’s focus on the guns. Let's feed into all the delusions out there in America. The delusion that we can stop this carnage with protests and chants of 'NEVER AGAIN!’ And what is worse are the delusions that are taking place in some damaged mind somewhere out there in tv land. The next shooter, envisioning himself in the glare of the cameras, a platform to act out his fantasies, his grievances, his destiny.

The shooters need our attention, but not the glare of the cameras and not after they have done the unthinkable. They need our attention well before that, when there is still the possibility that we can reach them, and discuss their misgivings about country, and family, and life. And self. When it is still possible to instill in them ethics and morals and integrity and philosophy. While we can show them that there are other alternatives to despair and death. But if we do not believe these things ourselves, and strive to make them a part of our own lives, then what else can we expect except what we are now enduring.

You will never get what you want simply because you want it. That is yet another delusion. You get what you work for, and usually, you need to work very hard indeed. I cry for the innocent children who died. I cry for the innocence lost for those who survive. I cry even for the innocence never imagined or experienced by the shooters. They ultimately must accept responsibilities for their actions, but in many ways, they had no options. They never had a chance. Because no one cared enough. Because no one cared at all.

Wake up America! It does not have to be this way! Show them that it is really possible to be happy, to get along with other people, and to address and resolve differences. Be the best person YOU can be, and make the changes YOU need to be successful. Stop telling other people how to live their lives. Make a decision to live your own life with a better mindset. Stop the protests. Stop the hatred. Acknowledge that you hate, and work to change your own personal paradigm. If you cannot do this, then why should they? Why should anyone? Why? Because it is the right thing to do. The sensible thing. The reasonable thing. Otherwise, they will continue on their path to destruction and the end result will be inevitable.

It is not a particularly good analogy but ' Hate makes the world go round '. It makes it go round, and it makes it go down. There is a curious anomaly that I see more and more, with every liberal protest, irrespective of the issue, that demands comment. For want of a better word, we will describe them as 'grandmas', holding variations of the same message: 'I am tired of still protesting this crap'.

Poignant. Interesting. From the Vietnam era to today, these people have been protesting and they are still not satisfied. They will never be satisfied. They are frustrated. But they never even consider if THEY are the problem. Why THEY are failing. They really don't even understand WHAT they protest. They are very unhappy people. They want what they want and, of course, they want it now. Now is represented by over 60 years of impotence and ineffectual action. No one is really listening to them anymore. They are political static. They are the equivalent to electronic 'noise'.

And to relate this to our shooters? They have been listening. They are perceptive enough to know that the protests have landed on deaf ears. Maybe even notice the lack of substance of your arguments. Possibly they can see the real reason why your efforts have resulted in failure. They recognize your essence for what it is. Vile and undisguised hatred, pure and simple. They have watched it every minute of every day of their entire lives. It is debilitating. It brings them nothing but despair and hopelessness. They don't realize that there can be other alternatives. All kinds of people tell them the alternatives exist, but no one actually shows them how to get there. They have to do it on their own. And they can't. They don't have the personal capabilities. They don't see any way out.

We have not given them the tools and resources or direction and support to confront and combat the feelings. So they do the only thing that seems plausible. They give up. It's as simple as that. They don't want to live with the hate. They abhor the hate. They see that they are part of the hate. They want to end it so they do. They do not have the strength to just kill themselves so they kill others, and often this results in their own demise. But in the end, they kill themselves, and we all have to share in the eventuality of their actions. We are all responsible and yet I am confident that many will not agree. And those that protest the most will be the ones most culpable. As is always the case.

The Haters just gotta Hate.

And the Culture of Death continues its relentless march forward
into an uncertain and ominous future.

Lone Cypress Workshop  

Anatomy Of A Massacre - VII - The Culture Of Death