Swords and Plowshares

Existential Crisis Hour

January 8th, 2021 C.E.

“O Eve, in evil hour thou didst give ear

To that false Worm, of whomsoever taught

To Counterfeit Man’s voice, true in our Fall

False in our promis’d Rising; since our Eyes

Opened we find indeed, and find we know

Both Good and Evil, Good lost, and Evil got

Bad Fruit of Knowledge, if this be to know,

Which leaves us naked thus, of Honour void,

Of Innocence, of Faith, of Purity…”

- John Milton, Paradise Lost

Hello friends. Back to our normal format this week. Happy new year. Here we are. One hundred years ago Warren G Harding was sworn in as the 29th President of the United States and Sacco and Vanzetti were found guilty for murder after an armed robbery of a shoe company in Braintree, Massachusetts. I hope, as our country is on fire, you may find some respite in my ramblings.

Sacco and Vanzetti

On January 17th, 1961, the 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his farewell address to the nation. In it, he said the following:

“We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these holocausts, America is today the strongest, the most influential, and most productive nation in the world. Understandably proud of this preeminence we yet realize that America’s leadership and prestige depend not merely on our unmatched material progress, riches, and military strength but on how we use our power in the interest of world peace and human betterment… Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares, could, with time and as required make swords as well…”

Just something to reflect on. Let’s talk about New Years Resolutions. What are they? Where did they come from? What is mine? Do you even care? Alternative R&B singer Kilo Kish has a spoken-word track on her album “Reflections in Real Time” in which she says the following:

“If you say I’m in control and my actions serve to give my life meaning does it have a meaning if I choose an action? (no) Are my goals necessary or do they just serve as a way to pass the time in an existence that began outside my control? (no) Does it Matter? No. If I’m in my body and you’re in yours with no way to swap how can we ever truly be together? (can’t) No matter how hard I press my face into yours a space remains so am I alone? Yep… Nope… God no…” (from “Existential Crisis Hour!”)

Lakisha Robinson, AKA Kilo Kish AKA THE QUEEN!

You get the point. Or do you? Does it matter? I guess what I’m trying to say is who cares about resolutions when the void is inevitable? I can be the fittest, strongest, most handsome being on the planet or die poor and alone on the streets but my life will still have the same outcome. One insignificant blip on a radar full of signifieds and signifiers that have no meaning except those that we apply ourselves- including God and the self. Apply meaning to your life if you must but understand it is futile. It may be within our power to change ourselves but we cannot change the invisible author that is the cosmos. From stardust, we originated and to stardust, we shall return. You may think I’m being pessimistic but I call it logic.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t try and better yourself or that I don’t want to… It’s just frustrating worrying about Covid and the country’s problems and all that when in the end we are all just pawns in a game that is larger than ourselves. I mean, think about Ptolemy, the dude who figured out we (and the Earth) were actually, *spoiler alert*, NOT the center of the universe. Now, I am in NO WAY saying that I don’t care about covid safety protocol and the tragedy that are these United States at the current moment in time. Of course, I do. Those of you that know me personally know that I am passionate about these issues. What really grinds my gears though is people thinking that this current moment in time is the be-all-end-all, when, frankly my friends, it is far from it. There will come a time when the Milky Way Galaxy collides with Andromeda and these events will be only etched markings and emojis in a forgotten tombstone of ancient history.

Also, my New Years Resolution is to write more. Yes, I know I’m a hypocrite. All jokes aside, I think it’s just important to think beyond this Earthly realm sometimes.

Speaking of which, let’s turn our attention to something somewhat similar but also different: the paradox of worldly possessions. What do I mean about this? Well, take a moment if you’re reading this at home and look around. What do you need? What can you live without? I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times. My point is not to preach but to observe. In the past year or so, an interesting theme has emerged, a paradox. Toilet paper. We all use it. Before March I feel as if the idea behind it changed a bit. Think of salt… a rarity in bygone days, now a common household item. I’m sure some of you witnessed the shopping aisles completely barren of toilet paper when the pandemic first arrived. Two years ago we would have thought nothing of it. Just another item on the shopping list. Surgical/Covid masks. Before the pandemic, mostly doctors and people, usually of Asian descent who were feeling ill (at least from what I’ve seen at Saint Joe and Saint Mikes throughout the years), would don these masks. Now (hopefully) they have become a staple. A fashion statement, even. I wear my Boba Fett themed mask on special occasions. Before 2020 I would have laughed at such a sentiment.

There is an interesting passage from a satirical article written in the Middle Ages which reminds me of this paradox. Around the year 1,200, this was written to mock the papacy and all their shady dealings with Indulgences and the selling of false relics.

“Here begins the Gospel according to the marks of silver. In that time, the pope said unto the Romans: ‘When the Son of Man comes to the seat of Our Majesty, first say unto him, ‘Friend, wherefore art thou come?’ But if he should persevere in his knocking and give thee nothing, cast him forth into the outer darkness.’ And it came to pass that a certain poor cleric came to the lord pope’s court and cried out, saying: “Have mercy even unto me, ye doorkeepers of the pope, because the hand of poverty has touched me. For I am needy and poor… ‘friend, thy poverty go with thee to damnation. Get thee behind me, Satan, because ye taste not of the things that savor of money…”

(The Gospel According to the Marks of Silver (c.1200) [The Medieval Record, 1977] pg 322 of Reading the Middle Ages, edited by Barbara Rosenwein, Third Edition, 2018)

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So what does the greedy church of the Middle Ages have to do with TP and Covid masks? I guarantee if you were to go on Amazon right now and look up either of those things you would find prices that went through the roof. Same issue, different day. Where does that leave us? I’m not entirely sure. What I do know is Radix Malorum est Cupiditas- greed is the root of all evil. I don’t know if there are any Grammarly users out there but it’s telling me my tone is “sad” and there’s a little face frowning at me so let’s end tonight on some happy notes, shall we?

MEDIA IN THE WEEK

I’ve rewatched two Wes Anderson films this week: Moonrise Kingdom and The Life Aquatic, respectively. These are two films you seriously need to watch if you haven’t done so already. Whimsy sets and worlds, dramatic acting, suspenseful plots- what more could one ask?

(2012)

(2004)

Last night I watched 12 Years a Slave for the first time. Wow. I don’t even know what to say about that one. It is an important film that shows the harsh realities of the Patrolmen and bounty hunters of the Antebellum south that our history lessons usually skip over. What I will say less about the film and more about the actual man, though, is how do not know what happened to him. Seems a bit suspicious to me that he just disappeared. Not to be a downer but maybe he got captured and the same thing happened?

12 Years A Slave, (2013) dir Steve McQueen

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art:

The 2015 handbook Glyph* showcases some interesting fonts designed throughout the years

Palatino Linotype Regular Question Mark

This John Chamberlain sculpture is made up of scavenged automobile parts, it’s currently displayed at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

“Johnny Bird”, John Chamberlain, 1959

“Healing Pool 3D” by Retrauxvideo

Cecilia Bonilla juxtaposes black and white photographs of insects and humans in interesting and creative ways. To see more of her work click here

“Between Animals and Trees 12”, Cecilia Bonilla, 2020

all art belongs to the respective artists and is used on this blog with fair use under article 107 of the US Copyright Act

As per popular request, I’ve decided to make Bug of the Week official. This is the Eurema Nicippe, also known as The Sleepy Orange Butterfly, which is kind of how I feel these days.

(Image: Wikipedia) idea from the Natl Audubon Society Guide to the Southeastern States

Need some music suggestions? I’m your guy.

The Shadows- Man of Mystery

Aaron Smith- Dancin (KRONO Remix)

Luxury Elite- Totally Rad

Jack Stauber- Dinner is Not Over

Well, thanks for joining me tonight. I hope my words made you think. In the end, isn’t that all we are? Thinking, feeling machines.

Regards,

-Connor