Uninteresting Times

 

There's nothing particularly interesting about the times we live in.  The supposed Chinese curse ("may you live in interesting times") is apparently apocryphal but also inaccurate.  It's intended to be ironic, of course. "Interesting" is to function as a condemnation. Interesting times are supposed to be bad times.

The times are bad, and in many ways.  But there's nothing interesting about them.  It would be mild to describe them as "banal" though of course they are--remarkably so, in fact, as odd as that sounds.  The people who dominate the nation and our society are common, boring, dull, greedy, ignorant, crude characters.  They're extraordinary only because they're despicable and in their brutish way capable of doing great harm.  There's nothing interesting about them.

Hannah Ahrendt wrote of the banality of evil in connection with the trial of Adolph Eichmann and the Holocaust. To simplify and summarize, her point was that Eichmann and the other perpetrators of the various atrocities committed by Nazi Germany were "normal" people; not evil geniuses or psychopaths.  Our rulers believe themselves to be entirely normal, and those who have exposed us to their rule delight in their supposed normalcy.

Perhaps normality is itself a curse. Where nothing is different or interesting and all people have the same thoughts, interests and desires, what is there to hope for or to do which hasn't been done or achieved already?  What enlivens our lives?  There is no interest in discovering or experiencing anything new.  We drown in a culture of sameness.  We fester. We rot.

It's easy enough to infer how those who are abnormal or considered different will be treated in such circumstances.  We haven't (yet) even begun to approach the level of evil achieved in the past but the normals of our time have made it clear that there will be no concern or mercy for the others who appear in their midst.  They'll be isolated or sent away, or worse.

Perhaps the curse should be:  "May you live in uninteresting times."  Beware the normal. Especially the zealously normal.

Hoisting the Black Flag

 

The "black flag" referred to by the Sage of Baltimore, H.L. Mencken, in the quote at the head of this post likely is the flag associated with piracy.  It would sometimes be adorned with a skull and bones, crossed, and be called the "Jolly Roger."  The black flag may be contrasted with the white flag which signals surrender.  Black symbolizes defiance and anger; fury and rage, in fact.  No quarter given or expected.  Violence.  Thus the reference to slitting throats.

We can take comfort in the use of the word "tempted" here.  No claim is made by Mencken that a normal person must or would or should actually slit throats.  Nor do I make any such claim.  That's something no aspiring Stoic could do.  But the times are such that a person may be tempted to hoist the Black Flag, metaphorically speaking at least.

I don't recall a time during my sadly rather lengthy lifetime (relatively speaking) when our politics and society have been so clearly corrupt.  The corruption of our politics is exacerbated by the incompetence and venality of our politicians.  Worse is the abject, cringing manner in which they carry out the commands of their paymasters and the morally if not yet physically scabrous figure lurking in White House.

If we look to humanity's long history we'll find instances in which governments have been as wretched and even more wretched than that which now abides.  But I doubt we'll be able to identify one which held the history and ideals of the nation and people it governed in contempt.  Yet that's characteristic of this government.  It flaunts it's contempt for freedom of thought and expression.  It demands that private institutions act as it deems fit; it actively hinders efforts to assist the poor and needy; it's intolerant of views which differ from those it relentlessly promotes.  In these respects and its hatred for the rule of law it's decidedly against the idea of American exceptionalism.

It's this determined effort to subvert constitutional rights and the Constitution itself that renders our so-called leaders despicable. Their smugness and self-righteousness while going about this subversion adds to the temptation referred to by Mencken.  It's difficult to believe our Great Republic has devolved so entirely, so quickly.

The Unenlightenment

 

The Enlightenment refers to the time in the intellectual history of the West from about 1700 forward which featured an emphasis on the use of reason and the methods of science in gaining knowledge.  Enlightenment thinkers are said to have believed that progress was possible in human affairs, and that certain values were universal.  The Founding Fathers of our Great Republic are generally considered men of the Enightenment.

It became the fashion starting in the 19th century to criticize the Enlightenment and the reliance on reason and science to explore the world and solve humanity's problems.  This critique became prevalent in the 20th century, the heyday of existentialism and postmodernism. It's unclear, to me at least, whether any alternative method of discovery or problem solving was ever seriously proposed by the critics.  But the First World War was thought to have demonstrated that reason was an inadequate guide, and humanity fundamentally irrational.

Attempts were made to harness scientific discoveries in the quantum world to establish the universe is disordered and makes no sense.  These discoveries were made by scientists, however, employing the methods of science. Just why these discoveries are thought to establish anything besides the fact we have much yet to learn is unclear.

Assume it's true that we're fundamentally irrational, and that the notion of continual progress through reason and science is baseless.  Assume intuition, the various forms of the so-called "Will", the Elan Vital or whatever other mysterious, unanalyzable forces you care to name play a part in our wretched lives.  It doesn't follow that reason and the scientific method have no part to play.  They may not have brought about universal peace but have been spectacularly successful in improving the quality of life and explaining how things work and what they are.  They may be misused, but remain most useful.

The Enlightment replaced a world view which relied on dogma, appeals to unquestionable authority and revelation.  Before it and setting the stage for it, the Renaissance revealed what had been achieved before the world was throttled by a narrow, intolerant and exclusive theocracy.

By abandoning the ideals of the Enlightment we're regressing. The New Dark Age dawns. The current regime appoints the equivalent of witch doctors to secure the health of the nation through fads and unfounded theories.  We embrace autocracy, being less and less inclined to think for ourselves. We're willing to accept untruths despite evidence to the contrary because they're consistent with dogma.

In a way, it's a lazy, comfortable path through life provided we're willing to accept our place and content to let our lords govern us and reap the benefits of our toil.

Homo Homini Lupus Est

 

It's interesting how appropriate Latin phrases can be.  They're succinct, and sharp.  In this case, the phrase that's the title to this post may be translated as:  "Man is a wolf to his fellow man."  It's appropriate as a description of what takes place whenever one of us has an advantage over others and seeks to exploit it, but is particularly descriptive of the current state of our Glorious Union.

Today is the Fabulous Fourth and consistent with the wish of their master his thralls in Congress have managed to adopt an enormous tax-and-spend bill bearing the silly name he wished it to bear.  As may be expected, it lavishly benefits the haves at the expense of the have-nots, and reflects the curious belief so dear to the wealthy and their minions that the nation is infested with malingerers taking advantage of social services.  It's a conceit which may serve to assuage any concern with the less fortunate a wolf may have.

The bill appropriates millions to the development of a sculpture garden to be filled with sculptures of great Americans, no doubt to be carefully selected.  It seems Disney will be our guide when it comes to expressions of patriotism.  Extravagance is characteristic of oligarchs and has been typical of very wealthy Americans, as was evident during the Gilded Age.  The New Gilded Age has begun, clearly, and it seems the gap between rich and poor now is even greater than it was in the time of the Robber Barons.

Perhaps "Alligator Alcatraz" is the best example of the lengths to which we'll go in our capacity as wolves to our fellow men.  Requiring immigrants to comply with the law is one thing on which all may agree, but the means used to accomplish this may be reasonable.  But it's not allowed to be, wolves being wolves.  

Evidence that those we're in such a frenzy to deport have engaged in criminal conduct is sadly lacking, but the urge to treat them as criminals is apparently overwhelming.  To do so in such a showy, gloating fashion is particularly unworthy.

But there's no such thing as a worthy wolf.