While the internet is saturated with information, much of it is pure, unadulterated shit! I've been a student of history four decades, a writer as well, and if there's one piece of "wisdom" I've developed over that time frame, extracted from all those many experiences, from all knowledge gained, it's this:
If you think you know America, its history, its legacy, odds are you're 180 degrees from the truth
This Blog will bring you a radical perspective on politics, philosophy, religion, science, psychology, music and art as they pertain to the American point of view. What you read may make you uncomfortable. It's called "cognitive dissonance" which means, when current "facts" don't mesh with established "facts" the mind/body duality that is you feels distress; sometimes just mild irritation, at other times, deeply disturbed. Like the addict that cannot give up his/her craving, s/he operates in order to maintain the status quo of anything goes for another fix even as that fix diminishes her and her life.
So, how must we begin this dialogue? By agreeing what constitutes "fact." I tend towards a scientific/mathematic systematic analysis. Using anecdotal data doesn't prove anything at all. Proclamation means nothing without the smoking gun of irreducible facts; those hard nuggets of "truth" (another word used by so many as a synonym for belief and nothing more). Truth as used here will adhere to the Hussurlian Phenomenological model which requires attention to the intent of each and every word used. For ease of meaning here: Sarah Palin is the polar opposite of a Hussurlian language-as-fuel-for-thoughtful-discourse approach.
In other words, WORDS MATTER! Dictionaries spell out word meanings. No one has the right to simply decide a word means whatever they want it to mean. Again, comparing to the 2008 Presidential election campaign, John McCain's claim to be the candidate of "change" is the polar opposite of using words as they are defined.
Just two simple "rules," if you will, to abide by so that we may embark upon a new, broader understanding of who we are, what we are doing, and the whys and wherefores behind both.
For your enjoyment and edification, from time to time when pertinent, you'll find links to fiction pieces from my books Vulgarian Goulash and Vulgarian Goulash: Second Serving dealing with all the above issues. Why Vulgarian Goulash? Vulgarian for the bare-knuckled, unvarnished presentation of reality found repugnant by a vast majority of Americans (even as they engage in such perversity daily); Goulash for the many varied ingredients that are included to simmer and pique your interest, like aromas wafting through your brain, a ghost smoke of haunting apprehension.
