Now that the remains of the Saturnalia dinocrow have been swept into the trash bin, it seems appropriate for me to blow off a little steam here on your page which is far more conducive to acute cynicism than my own.
Elevating Pagan beliefs above those of the Judeo-Christian crowd seems a bit like extolling the virtues of Scientology over those of EST – in other words, it feels like an emotional splitting of hairs to select the most suitable fairy tale for one’s innate proclivities. Regardless, I do acknowledge the comparative lack of aggression in the nature-worshipers of old, and that’s no small thing.
I say that it’s no small thing, of course, because no group is more responsible (aside, perhaps, from former KGB operatives) for the current ascendancy of fascism in the U.S. than those who claim to base their lives on the moral code expostulated by “The Prince of Peace”. Ironically, these are the same people who scream the loudest about the evils of radical Islam, often referring to it as the most significant threat to our species. Hogwash. If these people had any self-awareness, they’d realize that the radical, perverted strain of Islam that inspires global acts of terror is the perfect religion for them. It’s got everything they love: monotheism, rigid power structures, self-righteous judgment, holy wars, misogyny, homophobia, megalomaniac preachers, and of course – HATE, HATE, HATE. What more could they want? I know why American “Evangelical Christians” are so triggered by radical Muslims: envy, plain and simple. Give them the theocracy they so obviously crave and voila – they will find themselves on the same fertile ground for religion-inspired totalitarianism as their alleged enemies currently enjoy. And let’s face it, we’re just one election away from that being a reality.
So, yeah, my tolerance for the terminally religious is at an all-time low.
Regardless, 2020 is going to be an interesting one.
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on,
‘ Mudge
Anonymole - apocryphal agitators 
making up ancient beliefs and consulting comic books for their costumes…
That one’s worth stealing.
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I was thinking the same thing, although I no longer have a domain where utilizing such a phrase would make sense.
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I have no real one-off for it, but I have this character who runs away to Cambridge to escape her responsibilities. She has a hard time with no one knowing where Stonehenge came from and it’s perfect for one of her “Seriously?” moments.
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I’m with you all of this except the idea that the nature-based religions were less aggressive. There was plenty of aggression, plenty of wars. In their favor, they didn’t for the most part demand that other people worship their gods, and they didn’t have world-shattering weapons to work with.
But then I’m splitting hairs. The whole “paganism” revival drives me nuts. People making up ancient beliefs and consulting comic books for their costumes…
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Basing an entire system of belief on a bunch of books that dudes wrote a couple of thousand years ago about other imaginary sky dudes is illogical. That’s all I got;-)
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This smacks of Aristotelian logic. I have Muslim neighbors. And Iranians. Jews. Section 8 black folks. Asian (slanty eyes, not swarthy) in freaking droves. Even Hispanics. Middle-aged Bikers in suburban camo. Birkenstock Prius people. And gays! I don’t hate any of them. I’m not fond of Pajama Pants man who lets his tiny dog shit in my yard, but it’s a tiny dog, so…Whatever their cult, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my dog walk I don’t care. Polarization is a media feeding frenzy. And an unworthy topic of reasonable people. Gloom and doom and all is fucked up. Of course it is. Next.
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I absolutely concur. I still find it fun (occasionally) to thus pontificate, but I really don’t have a dog in this — or any other — fight, precisely for the reasons you stated. In fact, it represents the entire “logic” behind my decision to shit-can my philosophy and politics-heavy blog in favor of waxing moronic about a Nickelodeon soap opera.
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OK, Mudge, that explains your new blog. I really enjoyed your older one…waxing moronically….I thought it was highly entertaining! Anyway, Christians v Muslims….it’s in the Bible…the thread is… Abraham…sons Ishmael…Isaac…one born from wife, one born from maid. One got involved with Christianity…the other with Muslim religion. That’s the string. Anyway, ’nuff said.
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Thanks, George. Re-reading my explanation of the teen soap thing, it almost sounds like I’m calling it a piece of message-laden performance art, which isn’t entirely true. I sincerely love that steaming pile of televised dog crap and enthusiastically sang its praises through the vehicle of incessant vulgar mockery. Amazingly, just in the past 2 weeks, actual cast members of the show have found my page and much to my surprise, they love it, obscene insults and all. As far as philosophy and metaphysics go, I think my growing feelings of hopelessness for the species killed my passion to talk about the whys and wherefores of it all. But I usually don’t think much about the hopelessness, either — to a certain extent, I am sticking my fingers in my ears and saying, “nyah nyah, I can’t hear you” to the rest of my fellow humans. It’s surprisingly effective in fostering a certain contentedness.
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It’s always beer thirty somewhere…
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I believe Phil arrives here hoping to find dazzling, strange or disturbing — in a literary sense. Lately, nostalgic decorations adorn the site, posts of only mediocre writing examples. I see his point. I’d offer the concept of cycles and that the holidays are one where we look back, settle into a comfy chair, and pontificate sentimental.
Mudge, I challenge you to re-dip your toe in literary waters. Ningun Santuario surely has a brother, sister or litter of puppies.
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Perhaps. If inspiration for such fiction finds me, I’m sure I’ll do something with it, but it’s managed to avoid me for an entire year now. The only thing you can bank on from me in 2020 is the script I plan to write for the Fifteen reunion show of my imagination. Often, when I look back at some of my older philosophical posts of yore (including the heavier fiction), I find myself mockingly laughing at my own former sense of intellectual self-importance. Truth be told, most of it was rehashed, recycled, paraphrased, or just plain pulled from my ass. But it sounded deceptively learned. Smoke and mirrors, all of it.
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The fact that you can detect such contrivances in your past writing says to me, as it also happens when I reflect, that you, we’ve grown as writers. Perhaps the next attempt will reflect true authenticity.
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I have no problem with window dressing, or component built or formula or how my heart feels at Christmastime or sentimental. Hell I wrote sentimental for years. I still do, you just need to know who the characters really are in instances of formulaic composition. However I let them tell me how it goes, which is where I am right now. I don;t care if you want to go to a p[osh hotel and make love, you need to rob a fucking bank, so can we can get back on track here? I get it. Just don’t write WAMF to fill up the holes, all I’m sayin’.
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OK OK. I’ve got enough pock marks from your sharp stick. This is a process.
I will say, in support of your argument, that if I don’t get my stories out soonish, I’m afraid the history of my ancestors’ dementia will steal them away. Seriously.
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That’s sorta like having a really ugly girlfriend and hoping when you wake up she’ll be dead or you’ll be blind instead of find finding the door in the dark and doing the right thing for yourself. Get them out, by all means. I understand that one. Every day I wake up is another one past what I felt my sell date was going to be. Write them. Polish them. The hell with wasting time on all that coulda woulda shoulda. We can talk about that at length if you want. Elsewhere.
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As soon as ShadowShoals in in the can I’m gonna buy a cheap ticket to Texas and expect to be shown the sights and sites.
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Waxing moronic IS the discussion of politics. Taking it to a Nick Soap is a far better calling. And higher use. My .02. All that chicken or egg poli-philo stuff makes my head hurt. If throwing a rock or wasting a thought would change it, I would. But…So wax moronic on something that matters. Like an old Nick soap.
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One of the hits of my family gatherings is when I tell my jingoistic, fanatically religious family members that, if not for an accident of birth, they would be Middle-Eastern terrorists today.
That always goes over well. 😁
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It’s been explained to me that Christians “hate” Muslim’s because Abraham two sons, Ishmael and whoever. I dunno. Google it. Too depressing.
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Hey, I was there:
https://drive.google.com/uc?id=0ByEuLdqilb_ReFRmY3VoM2NYdTQ
Does that make me an honorary Pagan?
Well argued, as always.
Comparing Paganism vs Christianity, hmm, OK. I’ll admit that comparing any set of religions is like pitting StarTrek against StarWars, two impossible, fantastical fabrications with no basis in reality that have each gained a fanatical fringe. I would point out, however, that with the former, at least you get your choice of god, none of which seem all that set on fealty, punishment and retribution. Plus, you get a god of wine, and a different one for beer, what’s not to love?
Regarding that fanatical fringe… At least in these last few centuries, the Christians appear to have tempered their leptokurtotic tails. Maybe it’s the extra 700 years they’ve had to get all that genocide out of their systems. Sure their fringe continue to commit atrocities but I posit — at a much reduced rate. Muslims, on the other hand, still have yet to find the means to corral their fanatics.
Leptokurtosis is the concept of fat tails on a distribution curve. It’s what Nassim Taleb detailed in his book Fooled by Randomness. Briefly, leptokurtosis is when a random set of data plots an unnatural curve such that a greater percentage of data points fall within a narrower central area, with an accompanying “thicker” flare of the tails of the curve out to the sides. When a stochastic prediction for a standard distribution says that 1 out of 1000 Muslims may present as radicalized, the leptokurtotic distribution says that more like 3 would show evidence of fringe behavior.
And that’s really the problem with Islam — the current ratio of normal to radical. As noted, Christianity certainly had its go at massively radicalized periods. No doubt today’s Religious Righteous pine for days of old where the pious pontiffs were celebrated, not for their dedication, but for their brutality.
Christians have lost the ping of their malicious mettle. Tempered no doubt by the influence of rational atheists.
Muslims, I suggest, remain conflicted between modern morals and ancient traditions, the zealots among them choosing extreme interpretations, in a disproportionate ratio.
I do see your point though: extremists envy. It’s an entertaining supposition.
Let’s just bring back Christ and Mohammad and let them fight for supremacy. Or, more realistically, get stand-ins to duel in their stead. An ESPN/700 Club/Aljazera special presentation.
PS: I think you may need to go fishing…
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Muslims, I suggest, remain conflicted between modern morals and ancient traditions – been to Puritan witch burning lately? Or a divorce? Or a scary church in the swamp? Or down the street? This country of ours was founded by literal tradionalists and we have a coutry that can’t decide to listen to their genitals, themselves or their preacher. Holy. Shit. And I mean that literally.
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Or to put it another way: stupidity + time = culture.
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Hi Crud Mud,
Well, it’s too bad this is not an inoculation that could be given to the whole population. However, I welcome my depression. I use it to spur me on to something else, away from our collective misery. I prefer my misery to be self-contained, like a coal in my gut, burning through my skin and keeping me warm at night. Sadness, hopelessness, anxiety … all of these things, if utilized in a positive way, can help in the act of creation. Pure happiness is also helpful and I strive for it whenever I can, but it is tough to find and the other stuff is constantly in my face. An understanding of history is what really makes the whole thing so scary. Oh well, see you in hell. Thanks. Duke
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Yep, we may as well creatively harness the darkness in the process of literary alchemy while ill-defined “happiness” remains evasive. Or at least until the stupidity innoculation you envision becomes a reality.
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