J. M. Verville

Tonight I felt a burning hole in my heart and I nearly shed tears as I was walking back briskly to my room…

1 year ago, my last very close friend who lived near me moved away. The rest of my closest friends all live a minimum of 40 minutes away. 2 years before him, the other had moved as well… Ironically, both are named Eric.

They were the greatest cure for mid-week depression and the general sadness I now feel enduring each day… Each week we’d meet at some point and I could drown the world out over some liquor and food, spilling my heart and feelings out and drinking their stories up like I drank my soju. We’ll call them Eric P. and Eric S. (more…)

I grew up in a rural area and I never spent a summer without spending extensive time on the lakes and streams of Minnesota & North Dakota; I spent many years living next to a horse ranch, spending days hiking in the beautiful forest, climbing trees, playing ‘war’ and using pine cones as grenades, sticks as rifles, envisioning myself as a bold, American Soldier systematically destroying the Nazi invaders.

I have been fortunate to be in the Army where I can frequently commune with nature — the uplifting feeling you receive when hiking in the mountains or in the forests and valleys is incomparable. On sad Sunday and Monday nights I feel so drawn as to walk out the back gate of the post and hike the mountainous terrain, imbibing the sunset and feeling the cool wind…

Less and less have I been able to do this and more and more I find a hole in my heart, a separation from nature.

More and more I find I am meeting people who have never been fishing and spend essentially no time in the ‘great outdoors.’ I have even met a plethora of women who fear pigeons (small birds of all things!). (more…)

In the feminist revolution of the 1960s we saw a great departure from the previous notion of feminism.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, a prominent and intelligent feminist of the 19th century, advocated the equality of women and their introduction into the public life while retaining a sense of the natural sphere that men and women have.

In the 19th century, it was a far clearer issue as most labor was still fundamentally very manual labor and due to the larger physiques of men and superior upper body strength men were far more suited for the labor of the time. Furthermore, due to lack of effective contraception and the general necessity of children and the trends in the lifestyles of the time, there were larger families and a lot more house work that would have to be performed to make the household function.

She painted a harmonious picture of men and women being separate in their roles within the society though fundamentally the same.

Of course, as the industrial revolution proceeded to its clear end and more work was being done with more sophisticated technology, the notion of the woman’s role being in the home was drastically altered… And to some extent, rightfully so. In intellectual faculties men and women are the same though emotions and attitudes may differ due to chemical differences within them and the natural social factors that divide men and women.

Now we must think of the roles of men and women today.

There is a poisonous thought that exists out there, that denies men and women of the natural beauty and glory within their differences, that seeks to prove that there is literally no difference between men and women except for those that are socially created. The idea that we can abolish gender roles all together…

This is damaging and unscientific. Men produce forty to sixty times more testosterone — testosterone, though it does not make one inherently more aggressive due to the fact that behaviors can be controlled, can be shown to make men less inhibited towards aggression. Animal species with lower levels of testosterone are less aggressive.

Thus, men will have different natural views of violent behavior and aggressive behavior. This wouldn’t just effect the notion that men may be more aggressive in a sense of violence but could also attest to the sense of ambition that men may have — pursuing goals with more reckless abandon, etc. (more…)

In the modern age we find ourselves as never before surrounded by meaningless prosperity that historically marks the death of any civilized society; we see the morals of the world gnawed upon by the pathetic existence amongst hitherto unknown pleasures. Our humanity is undermined by new languages and ideas that prevent criticism and thoughtfulness; our humanity is put in jeopardy by forcefed decadence and materialism.

Our souls decay under the naked technologies which direct us into pointless futures measured by a warped sense of tolerance and misguided materialism.

It is impossible to find a shard of primordial grandeur in the world we have landed ourselves in. We have to recreate it using only our ancestral inspirations and the phlegm coughed up from our throats sickened by the pestilence of a dying civilization.

We look to attractive celebrities for advice and listen to politicians trying to placate us in exchange for votes, having no care for actual, objective truth and only interest in the subjective whims of the lowest common denominating voters. They even teach us to tolerate the intolerable in the name of ascertaining trade deals.

The basic essence of humanity has been recast into a mold of polity and decadence. We are to politely accept our bread & circuses from our governments and follow the prescribed rules they have agreed upon (because apparently the tyrannical rule of a stupid, ignorant majority is the new battle cry of the rulers who through long, tireless study have learned the proper messages to be presented so they can lap from the bowl of Pride & Power served by the ignorant masses they have made into their cheering crowds of maidservants and serfs).

I call for something older and bolder for our earthly existence — I would like to see a new movement of people who reject every concept enacted upon us by modern, secular governments and decaying, equivocating religions.

Do not content yourself with the Now and do not have faith in the Future. It’s all a lie wrapped up in a fancy box, presented to you as meaningful, but in reality they are only giving you a cold, dignity-free gift.

I want to see the world economy collapse and every visionless dreamer fall from their pedestal of decency. I want to see society cast into the cleansing fires of annihilation and rebuilt in its ashes.

I just have a few simple things that I would like to see the good people of the world do: (more…)

I wrote in another thread that morality requires the freedom of choice, the choice of sacrifice.

Thus, my conclusion is simple:

A moral individual must be free.

Without choice in their actions they are incapable of a moral act.

And more than this: a person who is moral must be making a decision in any moral act, and the ultimate decisions in morality stem from knowledge of the situation.

Thus: each individual must be an explorer of their own world and their own moral choices to come to realizations on what are proper and moral actions.

Thus: each individual must Live.

Thus: one must not simply just be following a Christian or other ethical system, but must be consciously doing so and doing so not in fear of hell, but rather in knowledge of the truth behind any such choice.

And so:

I spend my life exploring the basis of my own moral choices by understanding the ramifications of my own actions. Towards this end, I have even committed sins… (more…)

Sacrifice is the basis of all morality because the fundamental essence of the human being is one that is self-centered and demanding. The human is wired like all animals: it desires foremost to survive, and anything beyond survival focuses on attaining pleasure. As Freud noted, the human animal in its basic form, its “id,” focuses on attaining pleasure and avoiding pain.

Morality is often measured by how much sacrifice is made.

Saints sacrifice their animal instincts often in acts of martyrdom, or in dedicating their free time to helping the impoverished to such an extent that they choose poverty and celibacy in order to dedicate the whole of themselves to others.

All people within a society must sacrifice — a father and mother must work hard to support the child who is too young to support themselves. A friend who does not sacrifice a portion of themselves for the other person is not truly upholding their friendship.

In marriage and sexual relationships, people often enter agreements that entail sacrifice — in order to not produce feelings of jealousy, people do not engage in sex outside of their relationship or only do so under specific agreements. Any relationship where there are not agreements on boundaries of sexuality is doomed to producing innate feelings of jealousy in any human. The human animal naturally wants a sense of security and consistency and not to be left dependent on the whims of their partner — the notion of not having such agreements is alien to most relationships because without this sense of sacrificing animal urges to be sexually fulfilled in any number of ways it takes away from the human desire for security of their possessions and a sense of elitism, dominance, etc. that plays to the ego.

In fact, in old relationships where women had no say in the sexual activities of their men (and vice versa) they cannot even really be deemed a relationship but rather a slave-like status to the un-empowered member of the union.

All of our ideas of sexual morality hinge around the notion of sacrificing the basic urge to mate with anything. (more…)

Never be too good at what you do; never be too successful.

Success defeats the point of having goals…

Later Romans viewed the destruction of Carthage and the emergence as the superpower a grave mistake for Roman society: it lead them to an era of decadence that lead to their downfall. They became the Carthage that Cato the Elder despised — the fat, opulent power drifting into a world of terribly individualistic values and spineless culture.

When you achieve everything and leave yourself the sole victor, the balance ends.

I look at this socially — a society which is overly individualistic loses all of the benefits of a collective culture, and an overly collective, repressive culture loses the benefits of individuality. Both extremes are unworthy.

Every tale of two enemies is a romantic tale; there is a meaningful, profound relationship between the extremes that make each one worthy. When one takes over, its existence is jeopardized by becoming an extreme manifestation of something that is only good in moderation.

The perfect social existence affords the individual the ability to rebel, but more than that, it affords them the Romance of rebellion. It also gives the ‘culture warrior’ fighting for common sense values over individual excess a meaningful place.

The truth of the matter is that this situation produces an inherent sense of happiness and dignity to [i]both sides.[/i] (more…)

Here are the bold heroes as they emerge from their conflict with Israel:

As Israel’s last troops left the Gaza Strip Wednesday, Hamas officials conceded that they are executing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel during the three-week invasion.

In the West Bank, Fatah officials said at least 19 of its members have been executed and many more brutally tortured. Gaza residents say Hamas is using schools and other public buildings in Gaza City, and the towns of Khan Yunis and Rafah as detention centers to interrogate members of Fatah, their political rivals. They said three men have been blinded during questioning and more than 60 have been shot in the legs as punishment.

“They are committing human rights violations in a very brutal manner,” Mahmoud Habbash, Palestinian Authority minister of social welfare said in Ramallah. “Not only did Israel perpetrate war crimes, but Hamas also has been targeting innocent Palestinians.”

S. F. Gate

Of course, Israel is always attacked for her reaction to rocket attacks against their civilians… However, when Hamas literally begins torturing and attacking their own people the world is generally silent. (more…)

Things are never that bad:

A Pentagon review of conditions at the Guantanamo Bay military prison has concluded that the treatment of detainees meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions but that prisoners in the highest-security camps should be allowed more religious and social interaction, according to a government official who has read the 85-page document. (more…)

Is there justice in Moscow?

A jury in Moscow voted unanimously Thursday to acquit three men in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, dimming hopes for justice in a case that has mocked Russia’s claims to be a modern democratic nation.

The brazen 2006 slaying of the crusading investigative reporter sent a grim signal to other dissenters in Russia, proving that even the most prominent of Kremlin critics could be murdered with impunity.

And it provoked international outrage, raising suspicions that her death was ordered by prominent public officials.

A jury acquitted two Chechen brothers and a morose ex-cop following a trial that defense attorneys and Politkovskaya’s supporters said was marred by prosecution errors and oversights.

All three were suspected of playing minor roles in the killing. A suspected triggerman, a third brother, has not been found.

AP

The biggest issue here is that the prosecution overlooked a lot of things and made many errors — was this purposeful? Were they influenced by the government to botch the case? (more…)