July 1, 2002
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To know any of these states of mind with clarity appears based in
assumptions rarely made explicit. To be clear whether or not one harbors
illusion, is deluded or confused remains matters of perspective, in turn,
a function of perception.
In one dimensional actuality, my point is all. In two dimensional actuality, my line is all. In three dimensional actuality, my space is all. Here in 3D, at least, I can measure length, width and breadth. I can look up, down and across and hold the belief that I see something. I can name "time" as movement within space. I can assign names to measures, inches, meters, furlongs, fathoms. In terms of time, I can name past, present and future. I can point out that past is back there, present is here and future is out there. I can mutter about such matters as infinity, universe and cosmos. While, all of which are quite beyond ordinary perception, when mentioned, people will nod knowingly. To follow along, it is probably reasonable to state that the assumptions underlying three dimensions include limiting human senses to five. Such definitions also reasonably describe the parameters, the conditioned perceptions of actuality, common to educated or aware human beings of relative affluence -- especially those of North America and Europe which includes the elites and oligarchies dominant over most of the planet. Better and smarter folks agree on five senses. . . three dimensions. Right! Questions? Q. Is W a reincarnation of Danny Quayle? A. Good question. Reincarnation as a concept or as a potential actuality was thrown out by early Christian authorities. It was probably dead to official Christianity, then defined as Rome and Roman Catholic in present terms, by the mid 400s A.D. It is likely, therefore, that 21st Century Baptists, Protestants in general and, certainly Roman Catholics do not believe officially in reincarnation. Whether that belief begs the reincarnation of Christ will be ignored in this session. Therefore the malaprops of Danny Quayle are no more predictive of W than those of Eisenhower who early perfected the skill. Eisenhower was not noted for his intellectual acuities, either. Let's see, Ms. Questioner, if, as monarch, you could stand up and ad lib from memory or by reading a prompter. Could you, without a bit of malapropism, handle the briefing notes so carefully prepared, for which you have been so carefully rehearsed and have been so carefully repeated to you so often? We may, if we care to look, discover that malaprops are an excellent politicians' tool to divert attention from issues, questions of competencies and such. Media delight in reporting the non-sequiturs and such much more than examining issues, discovering competency. Reporting mis-spoken nonsense is much safer in terms of media career protection and advancement. The more we are diverted in these ways, the more we are deluded, under illusions and confused. Which is how politicians want us. Ask who benefits. Q. Where have all the militia gone? A. In the one, possibly two dimensional worlds that politicians assume, if militias are not here, they are no where. Not being here in terms of media reports or available to direct experiencing, that is, they are nowhere -- neither on point, nor on-line. Except that web surfers, on-line in 3D, may find electronic indications of militias. History notes that armed groups not enlisted formally within military structures as National Guards, reserves or such classifications may be given many descriptive names. The may be gangs or bandits (if Blacks or Hispanics) or renegades of some sort or militias. Depends on perspective and perception. A word much in favor these days is paramilitaries. Guerillas are not in much favor at the moment unless they are a them. Guerillas are folks working out of hills or backcountry. Paramilitaries go home after work. Militias uphold the U. S. constitutional second amendment right to bear arms -- and so forth and so on. Good guys. Don't bother with them or about them -- for now. Forget Oklahoma City. He is dead and gone. Out of dimension, out of mind. Off point, out of line. Leftists or activists or those of differing views are rebels or more currently terrorists. Rightists or death squads or those holding the perspectives of an oligarchy or dominant elite are freedom fighters or paramilitaries. "Paramilitary" accords a kind of legitimacy, part of the military, sort of. Not likely to be a menace to established order or insider trading. Given the imperial nature of present American rulers and sycophants, given the propensity for those of such minds to enlist freedom fighters and paramilitaries to their purposes, the once-upon-a-time militias are nowhere. When the Pentagon is under control, who needs militias? Shall we assume that being nowhere, militias no longer exist? Probably not a bad assumption -- one which serves some purposes better than others. I suspect that being left to imagine that they have gone away, crawled back into the mountains, slithered out into the deserts, content with doing moonshine and pulling on longnecks, serves some purpose. What would you assume? I remember some encounters with militias. Working in Los Angeles maybe twenty-five years ago, I became friendly with a young man, white guy. Bright, alive, on the ball, trim, clean-looking guy, too. One day he asked if I wanted to take a ride with him. Big Buick four-door sedan, no less. He wanted to show me something. We drove to a Taco Bell, picked up some burritos and went outback into a big park. He parked in a cul-de-sac away from curious eyes. We munched and yakked a while. Then he walked back of his sedan and opened the trunk. Inside, beautifully fitted into cases and racks was a small arsenal. He had a fascinating collection of weaponry, tools, equipment, radios, devices for local destruction, rations, you name it. He told me his group goes out into the deserts north and east of Los Angeles at least one weekend a month for their drills and bivouacs. Out in Arkansas, there is a small college with strong Christian fiber. On their present day website, you will find a ringing endorsement from George W. Bush. Many years ago, when visited, one of the buildings at that college contained in a secure basement a very impressive mainframe computer with lots of whirling tape drives, air conditioning, serious-looking minders -- the whole deal. Among the collections on these data gatherers was a very lengthy list of people considered dangerous to the interests of quite right wing organizations. People in the computer room referred to this database as The Hit List for immediate implementation when "it" happened. The definition of "it" was fairly clear. Watch your back, in other words. Several times while wandering about the southwestern states far out on backroads, I came across militia groups on outings. There are areas with dusty roads quite permanently blocked to prevent access to training areas. Training camps, like the kinds of places recently blasted to dust in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and other places unremarked upon. These folks are intense, well equipped and quite convinced of their missions. The hardware they wander around carrying is very serious. For short term encounters what I have observed exceeds that available to local and state police. Armories throughout the southwestern states and, by extension, elsewhere are easy to penetrate and have been penetrated. Who benefits from the disappeared militias? Q. I don't understand how the present "administration" gets away with dismantling the environmental, ecological, civil rights, international agreements, etc. so fast? A. The old fashioned phrase, Coup d'Etat, describes a non-democratic taking over of a government, for example. In a Coup it is important to control. Control media. Control military. Have the sympathy, cooperation and assistance of key power factors. The present "administration" has control. Nominal "opposition" such as Democrats in Congress, puts on some show now and them, but goes along with the key items. Want a War On Terror? Only one member of Congress votes no. Want a preemptive strike on Iraq? Prominent Congressional Democrats, line up to endorse. Other governments represented by their politicians, when not stumbling over each other to do obeisance, mutter impotently for sound bites and photo sessions not run on American media. They rush to visit the While House for sound bites and photo sessions in feudal displays of fealty. Want to beat up on some local activists or such, call them "Terrorists" and have at it. Today's Uncle will send "advisors" and hardware galore. Your problem, Questioner, is that you are in 3D and the "administration" works in 1D or, sometimes, 2D. Actuality, whatever goes on out there to folks living there, is more like 4D. Nobody not there sees anything other than what comes through their perceptual networks. Actuality doesn't exist. Got it? Control, no matter how acquired or seized, is the key point. I assume that those presently in control make some basic assumptions about their ability to hold control. One, barring something quite unknown, perhaps unknowable at the moment, those folks could count on two years --2000-2002 -- during which they could get away with a great deal just by doing it. Two, during those two years, they could also do everything in their powers to manipulate the Congressional Elections of 2002 to end up with solid majorities in both houses of Congress. And then move forward to get elected apparently honestly in 2004. Notice I don't say "re-elected." Start a War on Terror. Find some Axis of Evil centered on weapons of mass destruction. Whip up media frenzies. In parallel, we can note that elections in Europe are swinging strongly to rightist parties and candidates. By quickly dismantling as much as possible in programs and legislation painfully achieved in decades of work, even if voted out and accepting that vote (remember Burma-Myanmar), it will take more decades to get back to pre-2000 levels assuming there is political will. Not a good assumption based on past performances. Ask again who benefits. · · · · · ·
Milo Clark, a founding member of Swans, had it all: Harvard MBA, big house, three-car garage, top management... Yet, once he had seemingly achieved the famed American dream he felt something was missing somewhere. As any good executive he decided to investigate. Since then, he has become a curmudgeon and, after living in Berkeley, California, where he was growing bamboos, making water gardens, listening to muses, writing, cogitating and pondering, he has moved on to the Big Island in Hawaii where he creates thought forms about sunshine. Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this article on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work without the expressed written authorization of Swans, which will seek permission from the author. This material is copyrighted, © Milo G. Clark 2002. All rights reserved. |
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Milo Clark on Swans
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