Alex Gratzek

Reformation 2.0

America has traditionally been a very religious country. In recent time however, the religiosity of Americans has been declining. The last twenty years has seen a drop in Church attendance and only 50% of Americans now belong to a Mosque, Temple or Church according to a 2018 Gallup poll. Despite this decrease in regular attendance, 77% of American still identify with some religion but are not affiliated with or attending specific houses of worship.

On the other end, Clergymen are graying as the calling to serve religious orders has not been heeded by the younger generations in American society when compared to those who came before. Being a Priest or Pastor is simply becoming less and less attractive as a career option. This is especially true of Catholics. This article will initially deal with an issue facing The Catholic Church before turning towards an issue which affect all religions across the board.

These two issues, declining attendance and a graying of religious figures pose a threat to Religious institutions within America. As American’s attend religious services more sparingly, the risk becomes that Shepherds will not have a flock to tend or there will be a flock but not enough shepherds to cater to their spiritual needs.

Americans are increasingly having no religious preference and this is reflected in the declining rate of Americans who regularly attend religious services. This points to the declining importance and influence of religious institutions in America.

In short, Americans are becoming less religious, attending religious services less regularly, increasingly less affiliated with Houses of Worship and all this translates into an decreasing relevance in modern society. In order to stay pertinent in society, there is a need for a reformation of religious institutions to make them more relevant to today’s society. The two are not completely incompatible but they can be at odds.

Before I delve into some of the issues confronting Churches today, I think it’s necessary to look at issues through a historical lens. Christianity is one of the defining features upon which Western Civilization was built. However, as Western Society advanced and the importance of science increased, there was a corresponding decline in the relevance of the Church.

The Catholic Church forbids its priests and other clergy from marrying. This is a Church tradition, not actual Dogma, which precludes priests from having a spouse. The First Pope, Peter, was married while it remains disputed what the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus was.

Historically, there was no issue with Priests marrying. The Eastern Orthodox Church allows its clergy members to marry while the Roman Catholic Church denies its clergy this opportunity. The split between the two occurred in 1054. It is time for this to change in order for the Catholic Church to stay relevant in society.

One of the historical reasons for the forced abstinence of Priests was the poverty of The Church. Europe was a very poor area, it’s priests were not supported by the Pope in Rome but rather by the tithings of local villagers. The poverty meant that there was a push against Priests having wives and the accompanying kids as this would simply increase the burden placed on locals. It was also feared that a Priest might be inclined to leave property to his children.

This ban on marriage only arose around the 1000’s so it’s quite evident that this was not a teaching of Jesus but something which arose much later. Recently, the Catholic Church allowed for Priests to marry in remote areas of the Amazon because of the dearth of priests in the area.

The celibacy of Priests meet it often attracted gay men. Gay men, confused about their sexuality, were drawn to the Church as many believed that they would find guidance from God. One survey amongst priests found “While there’s a glut of homoerotic writings from priests going back to the Middle Ages, obtaining an accurate count is tough. But most surveys (which, due to the sensitivity of the subject, admiittedly suffer from limited samples and other design issues) find between 15 percent and 50 percent of U.S. priests are gay, which is much greater than the 3.8 percent of people who identify as LGBTQ in the general population.”

Likewise, the Catholic Church also attracted its fair share of pedophiles as the Priests were in a position of authority and had a great opportunity to groom altar boys for their own devious desires. It goes without saying that this is not a blanket assessment of all priests but to dismiss it out of hand is an attempt to squelch a needed conversation.

With the legalization of Gay Marriage, the stigma which has long plagued them is coming to an end. Society is moving towards the acceptance of gays and The Church needs to move along with the mainstream of society. If Gay men want to serve as priests with their husbands or men in traditional unions want to serve, The Catholic Church should welcome them or enjoy it’s continual slide into irrelevance.

By allowing for Priests to marry, it will open the doors to a number of people who might otherwise consider joining the priesthood but decline because of their sexual desires. Afterall, celibacy does not come naturally to the human species nor is it reflected in the original teachings of Jesus nor in the sexual conduct of celibate priests. The Roman Catholic Church is slowly dying; either it will continue to do so or change and evolve. This need to evolve to stay in touch with the times is applicable to all religious institutions

In today’s society, the younger generation is increasingly focused on social justice issues and the development of more equitable societies. This harkens back to the earliest teachings of Jesus which churches of all denominations need to adapt to this new focus. This is especially important because older Americans are the ones who are more likely to regularly attend Church. As they die off, younger Americans are not replacing them in the Pews because they find that the Church is not relevant to their lives.

Churches should not measure their success by the contributions collected, how packed services are or other traditional parameters but instead return to their root work, helping the disadvantaged, poor, sick and those at the margins of society. This should be the yardstick by which Churches are judged.

As the world changes, Churches need to change with it in order to stay relevant. The Catholic Church has survived since the Fall of the Roman Empire by constantly evolving. As society evolves at an ever quickening pace, it becomes paramount for The Church to adapt itself to new realities.

Although young people are increasingly secular and atheist in outlook, their values are coming to promote social justice and equality which are the underlying teachings of Jesus. Churches should work in tandem with like minded young people, even if they aren’t religiously inclined because of the good which can arise from servicing marginalized communities. Doing good might just be enough to put fresh butts in the pews.

Soured:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/04/how-the-catholic-priesthood-became-a-haven-for-many-gay-men.html

The Impossible Task

Alex Gratzek June 3, 2020

Looking around America today, you see a nation in disarray. You see an inept governmental response to Covid. When I was in jail, all my Chinese cellmates were to a degree nationalistic and would proclaim China numba 1. When it came to Covid, they were happy to see America as number 1 in regards to Covid.

You got Covid spreading across America leading to a quarantine, a loss of work accompanied by hard economic times, then you throw on the continual killing of black men by Police and you have the recipe for the protests we see. I see the catalyst as the killing of George Floyd but the underlying kindling had been accumulating for decades.

After the 1967/1968 riots, a government report recommended pursuing socio-economic reforms, basically to give everyone a larger stake in society but these recommendations were half heartedly pursued before being left bereft of funding. One initiative which remains is the Head Start Program. This was covered in the New York Times on June 2, 2020.

The current protests are just the continuation of realizing the impossible task as laid out by The Founding Fathers, the creation of a more perfect union. When the constitution was created, it was evident that the underlying issue would be slavery and in order to create the Union, slavery was infamously compromised over in order to bridge the chasm between the free Northern States and the slave owning Southern States.

The contradiction between The Constitution proclaiming we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and the 3/5 ‘s compromise were stark and unbridgeable. Maybe it was their genius, or maybe it was simply all they could do, but the founding fathers seemingly left a loophole with the pursuit of a more perfect union.

The original sin of America will stain our nation’s history forever like Stalins Gulags, the rape of Nanking by the Japanese, the Holocaust in Germany but the difference is those were seemingly one time events while ours is a continuing presence. The issue of America’s creation has always been how to achieve the ideal which in practical terms remains so elusive. The creation of a free equal society where justice and opportunity are blind while racism and bigotry is exiled.

Looking around the world, many of our allies are just disappointed as evidenced by the struggling of Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau to articulate his thoughts on what’s going on in the United States. Allied leaders of the G-7 are reluctant to attend Trump’s meeting in DC while the Chinese are having a field day mocking the USA for its treatment of protesters. They flipped the tables on the US which had been criticizing China for the same actions aimed at protesters in Hong Kong who are seeking increased democracy.

The wounds stemming from slavery, lingering institutional racism, lack of economic opportunities and other woes plaguing our country are eagerly being exploited by Russia, China and used by less dictatorships and authoritarian leaders around the world to justify their actions. China and Russia know that sitting dominating the Western Hemisphere, America is in an unassailable position rendering it invulnerable to conventional invasion. Knowing this, they seek to attack the one place they can, the soft underbelly of American society, its societal cohesion, by exploiting its internal divisions in order to weaken us in order to have a free hand to pursue their own devious machinations, see Hong Kong.

After all, Russian influence in the 2016 election was disproportionately aimed at African-Americans in order to dampen enthusiasm for voting and create a lower turn out. It’s a card they have been playing since the Cold War but this time the resources Russia devoted to interfering in America’s 2016 election are paying off handsomely.

America has a whole series of underlying issues it needs to address. The creation of a more perfect union is an impossible task but that doesn’t mean we should give up in despair. Ever so slowly things are changing in America and after seeing the ugliness emanating from the White House, most American’s agree Trump’s vision of a more perfect union is a dystopian future of hell on Earth.

I hope American can hold on until November to get this bloated babbling bastard out of the White House. Only then will America begin to repair the damage done by President Trump and continue on it’s Sisyphean task of creating a more perfect Union. I hope one day America will achieve it’s elusive dream but for now, I just hope American can hold it together.

Death knell of Trump’s Re-election

In late May, America surpassed the 100,000 mark of confirmed Corona cases. Over 30 million Americans have found themselves out of work as a result of the pandemic and the stock market has remained relatively buoyant all things considered. This is of paramount importance to President Trump as the economy and the stock market were to serve as the winning issue for his re-election campaign.

Despite all the issues confronting the nation, President Trump has remained extremely popular with his base and with the fanataical support of his base, the possibility of squeaking out an electoral college victory remains.

However, whatever chances he has for re-election will be going to the wind in the near future as the reality of Corona sets in. His base has decried the threat posed by Corona as being overly hyped up or even dismissed it as a democratic hoax to undermine the President’s re-election campaign. Simply put, the full effects of it have yet to be felt in rural America.

In Medieval Times, The Bubonic Plague spread from the steppes of Asia westwards. The plague was carried by fleas on rats which spread to countries along the Mediterranean Seaboard via merchant vessels. After reaching port cities, the plague was spread inland by the rats.

In modern times, viruses and plagues aren’t spread by merchant vessels anymore but instead by international travelers. The virus naturally entered America through large cities such as New York and Los Angeles. From there, the Corona Virus is spreading outwards.

The nature of America’s citizens will help spread the virus. America is a very individualistic country, distrust of the government is a quintessential American trait and cars are ubiquitous. All of these components, when coupled with the low rate of testing in America, likely means the virus will incubate and explode again in hot spots around the country.

Social distancing guidelines, mask wearing and quarantining were all encouraged and as a result Corona cases in New York have been falling. However, the lifting of restrictions before the virus was fully contained means it will spread throughout the rest of the country leading to Corona breakouts hitting parts of the nation that are more inclined to support President Trump.

Trump country is characterized by being rural areas. This should provide a natural defense against the transmission of the Corona virus due to the low population densities but the disregard of basic precautions will help to undermine this benefit.

Trump country, as I noted, have been dismissive of the CoronaVirus. Social distancing is frowned upon, wearing masks has been met with ridicule, and other basic precautions have been dismissed as the response to Corona has turned into a flashpoint in the cultural wars.

When further outbreaks occur, the rural areas which support Trump will be among the hardest hit. Their disregard for basic precautions means it will spread fast and when the reality sets in, it will be too late. Rural hospitals have been shutting down in recent years due to budgetary concerns and those hospitals which remain do not have the specialization and resources of their brethren located in population dense areas.

The thing with Corona is that it is an open ended crises which will dominate the news and our reality for the indefinite future. The Mueller investigation and Trump’s Impeachment were both affairs which ultimately had an ending. This is not the case with Corona. The ‘hoax’ that is Corona will be exposed as a reality, the economy will take further hits as the country opens up per-maturely and the inept government response will be put on full display. It is not something which can be outlasted, ignored or simply blustered over as has been Trump’s modus operandi.

Initially, when it was affecting Blue States, it was ‘the other’ who was being affected but red states will increasingly be affected. Over Memorial Day weekend, there was video of a massive pool party in Arkansas with nobody wearing masks. That is the exact behavior which will spread the virus among the innards of America, AKA Trump Country. As Trump’s election campaign begins in earnest, his and his supporters’ denial of Corona will cause it to spread like wildfire once he starts holding his massive re-election rallies in which basic prevention behaviors are ignored.

As the virus spreads, deaths will increase and the reality of CoronaVirus will hit home. Older voters, traditionally a strong bastion of support for Trump, will die at higher rates. The ineptness of the government response will be shown and I suspect this will lead to a lack of enthusiasm amongst Trump’s base at a minimum or an outright defection to the democrats.

Trump’s low approval rating, the inept government response along with the realization that the CoronaVirus is no hoax is going to lead to a walloping come November 2020. As a betting man, I am actually putting my money where my mouth is.

Missing the Current Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is a German word meaning the spirit of the age. As Corona continues to ravage America, I can’t help but look around and see a huge disconnect between the Zeitgeist of our time and the leadership as being shown by President Trump which in no way reflect each other.

Over 30 million American’s have lost their jobs as a result of closures across the country designed to halt the spread of Corona. Despite efforts to stem the spread of the virus, as of May 22nd, new cases are around 20,000 a day.

It has been estimated that nearly 42% of these aforementioned jobs will never be coming back. These lost jobs will stem from failing retail stores and the overall lessening in demand for services as consumers become more hesitant to travel, go out to eat and other activities.

This is a pivotal point in time as the job creation in the aftermath of the Great Recession was sluggish and that was 10 years ago. Now, certain segments of the economy will not be coming back making the eventual restoration of low unemployment a more difficult task. During this transition time, as as old industries die, new industries will eventually emerge to employ the surplus labor sack but until that time, times will be tough for those who lost their jobs.

This is a time when foundation on which our society was built is changing, the challenge is to ensure that we are aware of these changes and adapting to meet the new reality.

It should be the government’s role to provide a bridge to overcome these hard times. The 4th Industrial Revolution is coming closer and closer but under President Trump’s leadership, there doesn’t look like much preparation for its eventual arrival let alone for dealing with corona.

Many in Congress would hem and haw that the government can’t afford such lavish measures as $2,400 dollars a month to citizens indefinitely. However, if there is a will, there is a way. We willed ourselves into two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan which we managed to pay for but we can’t find a way to invest in our citizens?

One idea would be to raise the corporate income tax from 21%, the current rate which was down from 35% under President Obama while also forcing corporations like Amazon to pay taxes. After all, the company’s success was built on the infrastructure of America which was paid for by taxpayer money. If they draw benefits, they should pay accordingly.

The point is the government should be paying more attention to the needs of its citizens rather than the wants of its corporate citizens. Citizens are struggling to get by while corporate citizens are scheming on that money mission to increase their paper supply.

Instead of using the Pandemic as a means to draw Americans together in order to overcome the obstacle and build a better future as his predecessors have done, President Trump has continued to play politics, laying blame on President Obama and stoking divisiveness.

Instead of offering up his vision of a more perfect union and striving to realize the actualization of his dream, President Trump continues to deny responsibility and play the blame game. When former President Bush spoke in generic terms on the need for America unity, President Trump lashed out at him as if it were a personal attack instead of a call for unity.

In previous times of national crises, America’s Presidents stopped playing politics and instead stepped up to lead the nation in order to bring about their vision of a more perfect Union.

After 9/11, President Bush took the time to unify Americans against the threat posed by Islamic extremists and to combat its ideology, he was determined to spread democracy in The Middle East. During the Great Recession, he took efforts to minimize ripple effects via the bailout.

FDR dealt with the double whammy of the Great Depression and The Second World War- from these crises came the modern American social safety net along with American economic and military preeminence following the conclusion of The Second World War.

President Truman picked up when FDR died and found America and The Soviet Union eyeing each other warily. President Truman used the threat of Soviet domination of Turkey and Greece as a rallying cry to wring more funds from Congress in order to finance America’s efforts to contain the Soviet Union around the world.

Furtherback, Abraham Lincoln used the secession of the South to abolish slavery, create a stronger and more unified Union, oversaw the economic expansion of the United States and generally leave America stronger than when he took over.

Instead of encouraging people to continue quarantining and wearing masks and taking other basic steps to battle Corona, President Trump has been fanning the cultural wars by encouraging people to demand that their states be reopened, to hell with Corona and the dangers it poses.

Large swathes of America have shown support for quarantine efforts and to delay the opening up of the economy. The thought of putting a monetary cost on human lives has proven to be an anathema to many Americans but that is President Trumpss overriding concern, seeing the economy recover in order to boost his chances for re-election.

America stands at a pivot point now. In former times, America had exceptional leaders in times of national crises. Leaders who could rise to the challenge in order to leave America in a better position than which it was found or leaders who were passable and could at least maintain the status quo.

In lieu of those great leaders, we have President Trump. A man who has shown no ability to lead, learn or take the advice of those more knowledgeable than himself and the result is that average American’s are paying the cost in the form of lost wages and increased chances of dying.

Today, the world and America stand on the cusp of a new reality. America has traditionally been a leader in world affairs and trends but currently it is not. While many of other developed and developing countries have tackled and contained the Corona Virus within their societies, it continues to run rampant in America. Hopefully this dearth in leadership on the national and international stage proves to be a temporary aberration.

The continual bungling response to Corona makes America, and by extension democracy, look less appealing to countries around the world. Instead of harnessing the zeitgeist of the times and using Corona as a catalyst to achieve a new vision of America and institute needed social reforms, the crisis is going to waste while the wounds which divide America continue to fester and gnaw at America’s innards.

Urban Justice

Today, I want to share a movie which had a very powerful impact on my life, Urban Justice starring The Big Man himself, Steven Seagal. I know I say all Seagal flicks are good, well except for that piece of shit Flight of Fury from 2007. I digress, Flight of Fury will get its own review one day but today is not that day. Anyway, Urban Justice was a phenomenal movie.

Non-Seagal fiends are probably not familiar with this movie, being more content with Seagal’s work which was released into theaters but at this point, most of Seagal’s career has involved direct to DVD films and this direct to DVD movie is simply put, one of his best. Don’t just take this Seagal fiends word for it, but keep in mind that this movie was seriously considered for theatrical release which would have been his first since Half Past Dead co-starring Ja Rule which was released in 2002. Urban Justice was that good. In fact, it had such an impact on me that I had to take Seagal’s character, Simon Ballister and use it as my own alias.

Urban Justice co-stars one of Seagal’s most frequent collaborators, Danny Trejo albeit in more of an extended cameo type of appearance and Eddie Griffin. The whole movie, Eddie Griffin, AKA Armand Tucker muses on the question of “what’s gangster?” He toys with possible answers ranging from Al Pacino’s portrayal of Scarface to having relations with a gang of women who utilize toys to get it poppin’ off without him because he is busy handling his bid-ness. None of these possible answers really hit the mark of what’s gangster, and that’s when the big man himself, Steven fucking Seagal enters the picture. I think you can all determine where the answer to the question leads.

Seagal makes his first appearance at his son’s funeral. Simon Ballister, as portrayed by Seagal just lurks in the background, a mysterious presence at a solemn occasion. His ex-wife approaches him with the 411, but she must have been a horrid ex-wife because Seagal doesn’t even utter a word or acknowledge her. That was some cold hearted gangster power move by Seagal!

That’s the catalyst for the movie and in case you forget Seagal’s motive for whooping ass in this movie, fear not as there are 3-4 flashbacks of the aforementioned funeral of Max Ballister. It must have been quite the emotional toll on Seagal if it’s constantly playing in the background of his mind like that.

Now the whole movie is driven by one thing, Simon Ballister’s thirst for vengeance and it must be quenched before he can rest. He states his aim early and clearly, he wants the triggerman. He dont give a damn about the politics which was behind his sons murder, he only cared about the man behind the trigger. If only the bad guys had heeded his words, they’d of saved themselves a world of hurt. And again, this is just building to the essence of what is gangster. Seagal states his aim, and he sets out to deliver. Nothing more but nothing less than the triggerman is all he desires, truly Gangster.

Of course, in his quest for the triggerman, Seagal has to chase down some false leads. How else would we be able to get a full movie out of such a simple premise if the triggerman was simply served up as a sacrificial lamb? That wouldn’t be too gangster at all and there wouldn’t be enough ass kicking to quench Seagal fiends thirst for violence.

One of these false tips claims that Danny Trejo and his hispanic gang were behind Max Ballister’s death. Seagal quickly realizes that Trejo is a good man, much like himself, out to help his people although on the opposite side of the law. Real recognizes real and they have a toast to Seagal’s dead son. Despite the personal warmth between the two men, Seagal of course has to whoop some of the gang members on the lower part of the totem poles ass. And as he exits the club, Seagal shows his inner beauty by giving a homeless man some food and drinks because that’s the kind of guy Seagal is. Heartwarming.

Later, Seagal watches an unholy alliance of the East Side Gangsters and the LAPD double cross some drug dealers! Seagal always does his intel because Seagal has learned, you gotta do your research and intelligence gathering before you set up on these bad guys so that they can’t set up on him! At the 2nd drug deal, he knows their modus operandi, allowing him to set up on them while they are setting up on their marks. Seagal is that good! Gangster.

At the end of the film, Seagal finally brutally beats the triggerman to death nad is walking away from the destruction he has wrought when Armand pulls a gun on him and says “I know you not dumb enough to bring a knife to a gun fight.” Seagal uses his hand speed, which is frankly a blur because he moves so quickly for such a big man, disarms Armand Tucker and walks away. Armand ponders the actions of his bad ass white boy and declares in astonishment “Now that’s gangster!”

Great movie, 7 out of 5 stars. Seagal is an equal opportunity ass kicker, destroying blacks, whites and hispanics as he tries to quench his thirst for vengeance. Exceptional gun play, a hot babe, martial arts scenes, a well developed and straight forward plot for a direct to DVD flick. Lastly, Seagal appears marginally in shape although not in enough shape to not have to wear thick dark clothes. Eddie Griffin also delivers some funny dialogue

A Wasted Crises

A common refrain in politics is so never let a good crisis go to waste. As a Political neophyte, President Trump can be excused from being aware of this saying and attempting to ensure some good emerges from the aftermath of the Corona Debacle.

The problem with Trump and the Republicans is that they have nothing to offer as far as new ideas for America. It has become the party of NO and the only thing they push for is increased tax cuts and deregulation- neither of which is in the interest of the majority of Americans let alone at this point in time.

On Health care, the Republican idea is to destroy Obamacare. On the environment, deregulation to allow polluters to poison America’s land, water and air. For social security, cuts. Taxes? Cuts for the wealthy.

Instead of using the Pandemic as a means to draw Americans together in order to overcome the obstacle, President Trump has continued to play politics laying blame on President Obama and stoking divisiveness. When former President Bush spoke in generic terms on the need for America unity, President Trump lashed out at him as if it were a personal attack instead of a call for unity.

After 9/11, President Bush took the time to unify Americans against the threat posed by Islamic extremists. During the Great Recession, he took efforts to minimize effects stemming from its ripple effects via the bailout.

President Truman picked up when FDR died and found America and The Soviet Union eyeing each other warily. President Truman used the threat of Soviet domination as a rallying cry to wring more funds from Congress in order to finance America’s efforts to contain the Soviet Union.

Instead of learning from his predecessors, President Trump has so far only sought to use Corona as a means to divide America by stoking the culture wars which have plagued America for the last few decades. Instead of encouraging people to continue quarantining and wearing masks and taking other basic steps to battle Corona, President Trump has been fanning the cultural wars by encouraging people to demand that their states be reopened, to hell with Corona and the dangers it poses.

Former Presidents had a vision of the more perfect Union they wanted and worked towards it. Trump only has the thought of the economy and his own re-election on his mind rather than Americans struggling now and the future well being of Americsa.

Despite surrounding himself with ‘the best people’ it looks like Trump will let this crisis pass with nothing to show for the many thousands of lives lost except for more American carnage and internal turmoil.

At this point, Corona has killed more people than the VietCong in Vietnam. However, the domestic social upheaval caused by the Vietnam War did result in badly needed social reforms.

I would like to see some good come out of Corna such as a respect for labor and a strengthened working class, a green new deal, an expanded social safety net, or frankly anything which seeks to turn this tragedy into a positive.

A great leader would rise up to the challenge posed by Corona and leave America in a stronger position. A passable leader would combat corona and maintain America’s status quo. Instead we have Trump whose inept policies are threatening the foundation on which America’s greatness is built; namely its economic superiority, global leadership, moral high ground and social cohesion.

Why the caged bird sings

I always wondered why the caged bird sings.

In Songpa, I had time to ponder this. The caged bird don’t get to hear chirps from his friends for the random cup of coffee or beer session.

The caged bird don’t get to see the world or the sun cept through the bars of it’s cage and through the distant window.

All day nothing to do but sleep. At night, a blanket thrown over the cage means lights out. More sleep.

The caged bird don’t get to pick the seeds it eats, it don’t get to exercise it’s wings or strut its stuff. All it can do is sing. The two things nobody can take from it, it’s mind and by extension it’s voice.

It’s feathers may be plucked, it’s wings clipped, its talons cut, much like me: my hair shaved, my hands gaffled, my freedom to move curtailed.

Instead of losing my mind, I used my mind for it remains free, my voice may be unheard but my written words booming.

Now I know why the caged bird sings, it’s the same reason Simon B writes, putting that pen to paper. It’s all he can do.

Beyond the Law Review

A very important man in my life has always been, Steven Seagal. He always plays such a powerful man who overcomes so many obstacles in his quest for justice. I have found myself watching nearly all of the movies he has starred in or even had basically glorified cameos such as in Gutshot Straight. Today, I want to do a movie review of “Beyond the Law.”

At my first open mic reading I did my Seagal Poem and at the end I told you to check out “Beyond the Law” co-starring DMX. I can not recommend this movie enough, simply put its a phenomenal movie perfect score of 5 out of 7 stars. Probably his strongest showing since 2012’s Maxium Conviction with Stone Cold Steven Austin. Even if you aren’t a Seagal fiend like me, you can enjoy this movie. Ask Mark, Douglas, Ronald Reagan, Duri, Aruna, Simon Hoppe, Ashley or Ray. Sadly, my good friend Calem took the opposite view on me concerning this movie but I will delve into that later.

One of the overriding themes was city vs country life and how the city will destroy you alive, it reminds me of a quote I read as a child at Athens Y Camp in Tulossa Falls Georgia “Away from the flea-bitten, sin-filled, God-forsaken cities of man, into the valley of the Paradise of Youth.” The city is evil and will eat you alive, but them country folk, as Swilly so succinctly put it ‘take care of their own.’ No loyalty in those city folk.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, let me give you a quick plot summary Ray came up with “He killed his son, so he killed his son, but he wasn’t fixing to kill him because of his dead son, but because of who he was. In the end, Minerva won.”

Now what happened was the kid of Frank Wilson, gets got by Seagals son. But that was the wrong move to make! Chance had two powerful patrons in the form of Seagal and his co-lead, Frank Wilson. These two powerful men have a bone to pick with Desmond Packerd before they come to blows, there can only be one man left standing!

These two powerful men, coming from different sides of the law. Frank Wilson is the dirtiest of cops in a city of full of dirty cops and Seagal, a philsopsizing criminal mastermind of a drug empire. It’s like two master samurai who must put down a rogue ronin who has no moral code before they battle. Despite coming from opposite sides of the law, both Seagal and Frank Wilson have highly developed moral codes. These are men with integrity but different moral codes.

All in all, there were powerful scenes, powerful dialogue, powerful story arcs and starring the most powerful of men, Steven Seagal albeit in a more limited capacity than in his previous films.

In this movie, you gotta give props to Seagal. After nearly 30 years in the game playing the same character type, a special forces/CIA/army veteran, a mysterious man with a mysterious past, he plays a bad guy. As far as I know, this is the first time he has played a bad guy since 2010’s Machete with Danny Trejo.

Now in this movie, he plays the head of a family like Don Corleone of the Godfather except Seagal’s family is deep into the dope game! However, despite playing a dope peddler, it is vintage Seagal. He is still a man with a strong personal moral code even if he is on the wrong side of the law. What struck me about this movie was the moral ambiguity involved, seemingly every character had some dilemmas they were facing that could never be clear cut black and white like in traditional Seagal flicks. Nuance is a new addition to Seagal’s repertoire.

One of the first scenes was emotionally gut wrenching. Frank Wilson’s son gets killed by someone who is truly a Paul Bunyan mother fucker. This guy is so big, that if I didn’t know any better, I’d place a wager on him rather than Seagal but that’s blasphemy. No one ever gets over on The Great One, or as his detractors call him, The Greatly Bloated One. It was a brutal scene. Duri from Just BLT had to cover her eyes when she saw it, it was that overwhelming.

Godfather Seagal realizes real quick that someone is making a move against him so in preparation, he shows exceptional gunplay at the shooting range; sharpening up his skills. Magnificent grouping of his shots and you gots to drink when he shows this gun play. Sly Seagal quickly puts it together, starts making his power moves and covers his bases before he makes a move. Truly a methodical strategic genius.

Another of the first scenes was vintage Seagal but it was carried out by Johnny Messner, AKA Frank Wilson who meets an ex-con he planted evidence on who did three years! It’s a 4 on 1 fight but classic B action movie scene. The bad guys dance around in a threatening manner but Frank delivers some brutal bone breaks and manages to so badly demolish three of the 4 that the 4th flees in sheer terror because of Frank’s intimidation abilities. Seagal would’ve gotten the 4th though.

Later Frank Wilson meets the ex con again, he had told him after the ass whooping he delivered when i call, I want information. So they meet again, and Frank Wilson makes up a straight power move and treats the ex con like a straight bitch!

Ex con “I remember what you said the other day after you whipped my ass.” He gives him the information, and says “Hey, are we square man?” The ex con was trying to pay Frank Wilson respect but Frank treated him like garbage. Once his bitch, always his bitch. The whole scene he didn’t say a word and walked away like a savage.

I initially thought this movie might be a sequel to 2001’s Exit Wounds which also starred DMX but in this movie, DMX plays a cop but again, there is so much more ambiguity you can’t tell if he is acting out of greed, malice, corruption or what his motivations are. I will say I greatly enjoy it when he taxes Seagal’s son not once, but twice for information. Does he survive or does he perish the dangerous life he has chosen? You gotta watch to find out!

When Frank Wilson finds out his son got killed, he heads for the city with a duffel bag full of ‘negotiation tactics,’ care to take a guess at what this bag of negotiation tactics are? Later, Frank Wilson shows not only strategic but tactical brilliance. Realizing that he is being hunted, he goes back to his home in the country where if anything happens, it’s ‘self defense’!!!!!!!

Never seen such a play before in all the years I have been watching these straight to DVD movies. On top of that, when he is back on his country home, he knows they are coming. He doesn’t defend his abode but posts up in the bushes before taking out the first creep, and immediately upgrading to a shotgun. Of course he takes out 2 more guys by hiding under the floorboards before……

Now what I loved about Frank Wilson’s story arc, was this is a man whose death is already promised to him. Cancer. Not ass cancer a la The Asstronaut but cancer in the lungs. You can never win against such a man who’s desire for vengeance drives him to slay his enemies and crucify his opponents before his hourglass of life empties.

Now I just want to deliver a few of Segal’s most powerful lines in this movie. Seagal has a sit down with his son; keep in mind that despite being nearly 70, he has a perfectly manicured beard and goatee without a hint of gray which was evident in 1990’s “Hard to Kill”; he is truly a genetically superior individual. Regardless, dialogue is as follows:

“I was thinking about the family, hoping you could kind of open up to me. Talk to meh. I don’t really like to talk too much about myself but it seems like I’ve done as much as I possibly can. You know I love you son, and I would step in front of a mother fucking bullet if I had too. But, I can’t really teach you if you don’t want to listen.”

“Rather than being stupid, and arrogant and thinking you smarter then everybody else, I wanted to try to beg you one last time, to act right.”

“Well, we just have a sort of different way of looking at life. So I’m gonna say this one more time, I’d really highly consider getting rid of your criminal friends, treat people the way you want to be treated. Bring something good into this life cuz we at the crossroads now, and if you make the wrong decisions you gonna fuck up the rest of your family and end your own life.”

A few scenes later;

“I’m tired of telling you over and over and over again, the same mother fucking thing. And it break my heart, to have to talk to you like this, you a grown man. What happened to ya boy? You treat us all like this, put us all in harm’s way and you crossed the line, if you had a soul, I feel like it’s unretrievable. You lost that the day you killed that boy. I don’t mind if you had to kill somebody, buy not like that. “

“At least I do my own killing, and I like it”

You can’t talk to Seagal like that unless you’re willing to put your life on the line.

“You no longer my son”

“You were never a real father, just posed like one”

*this is actually a good description of Seagal’s personal life with his numerous children by numerous women”

In this movie, Seagal took a cerebral, deliberative and contemplative approach to things a la Captain Picard instead of his usual fist first a la Captain Kirk before he makes his power moves.

Last scene between Seagal and his son “What happened to your face? You killed that poor fucking young man Chance. It’s not like I’m dumb enough to not fucking know, I gave you one chance to come clean”

“Thats just some junky kid, just a nobody”

“Who the fuck you think you are, making judgements on who should live and who should die. I know Chance’s father, Frank Wilson. I know him real well. He’s the dirtiest fucking copy I ever fucking knew and he’s coming for us. Now, I gotta figure out how to deal with this cuz he the kind guy, where, either he gonna have to die or we gonna have to die. And i’m not fixing to die for this!!!”

“We’ll take care of it, We know where he’s staying. Put a bullet in his fucking head!”

“You gonna take care of it for me?”

“Yea”

“I feel like im talking to a retarded child. Don’t do nothing”

“He took my gun, did this to my face, what do you want me to do?”

“I need time to think about this. You, dont do nothing. Don’t do fucking nothing”

Of course his son does something, trying to hunt Frank fucking Wilson in his own rural settings? Like Omar from The Wire said, “you come at the King, you best not miss.” Like they didn’t learn when they were trying to hunt Frank in the city, Frank turned the hunters into the hunted.

Desmond Packard exclaims in expaseration “He’s hunting me in my own fucking city!” Of course he is! If you can’t hunt Frank fucking Wilson in the city, let alone in the country. He is simply too good at what he does.

Swilly, the old man who is the moral conscious of the movie delivers one of the most hard hitting lines I ever heard to Seagals Piece of shit son “I don’t need to listen to a little boy, trying to sound like a man, when he’s just a piece of shit wrapped up in human skin!” He paid the price for his insolence but he went to heaven where he had loved ones waiting for him. Rip Swilly!

“Shut the fuck up! Don’t say a mother fucking word to me! These the same gangsters you pulled off the heist with? Where the money disappeared? And then y’all killed chance? You wanna be a gangster?” 3 shots in rapids succession boom boom boom, “that’s part of the life, bitch!” Seagal in fact, does do his own killing. Cleared his family of the corruption which was spreading throughout the family because of his delinquent son, Desmond Packard.

Desmond Packerd, the bastard son of Seagal reminds me of Ramsay Bolton, bastard child of Roose Bolton from Game of Thrones. It’s like a bastard thing, the tainted blood corrupts the child.

Last scene, all the henchmen are dead and there are only two Paul Bunyan mother fuckers standing, two grizzled veterans of the game, Frank Wilson and Seagal. “You being here, my son, he dead because of you. So, now here we are. Here we are. The way I look at it, you killed your son, you abandoned him. He was on the street, I gave him a house, I gave him a job, I gave him food. When he passed, I’m the one who told all my people , I’m gonna do anything and everything I can to find out who did it, and bring them to justice. But I’m not fitting to kill you becuz of my son. Im gonna kill you because of who you are, and what you are. The world would be a lot better place without you”

At this point, Seagal delivers an exceptional performance. Gun drawn on him but he moves amazingly quickly for such a girthy man and delivers an ass whooping like I have never seen.

I won’t spoil the ending but it is ambiguous as to what happens.

Now this movie has sadly caused a rift in the Seagal community. Me and Calem have fundamental differences when it comes to this movie. Calem holds that anything less than 100% Seagal is blasphemy, that this is no true Seagal flick. I hold that given his age and girth, he is passing the torch to the next generation of direct to DVD action star flicks; that this is the right move to make. He had less scenes but the scenes he did have were masterful, emotional and hard hitting. They kissed the ring of the King of direct to DVD action flicks, paid appropriate homage to one of the most prolific actors of our era. Honestly I think only my guy Charles Bronson of Death Wish 1-5 and Family of Cops, may he RIP, acted in more action movies

Check it out. I can’t recommend it enough. You ain’t truly living if you aint watching Seagal.

Capitalism: Dueling Legacies

Originally published in The Korea Times on January 19th, 2020.

One of the issues I have been writing about is the issue of capitalism in the modern world. Probably because it is the driving force in society. Whatever the answer, it’s a topic that deserves to be thought of and discussed.

The specific issue I want to address in this article is the excess wealth capitalism has created. Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, received over $65 million in compensation for his work in 2018. This amount is 1,424 times the median pay of a Disney worker. In the 1950s, CEOs made an average of 20 times more than the average worker.

Capitalism, the system which basically runs our society, has done well for society. It has produced great winners and generally lifted the wellbeing of people all around the world. One of its side effects, which is becoming more pronounced, is the concentrated accumulation of wealth in the highest stratum of society.

The way I see it, there are dueling legacies concerning what to do with this wealth. For one, there are those like the Koch Brothers, the Walton family of Walmart, whose desire is to pass money down to their offspring and their vested interests. Their legacy would be limited to ensuring their descendants were comfortable rather than having a legacy which benefits mankind as a whole.

On the other hand are people like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Robert F. Smith, recent benefactor to the 2019 Graduating Class of Morehouse College. The legacy they aim to hand down is the legacy of their gratitude, monuments, donations for the betterment and benefit of society and leaving their name in a positive light as their legacy ― a la the Carnegies or Alfred Nobel.

In Carnegie’s case, his wealth helped the building, creation and financing of a number of institutions, buildings and schools. All bear his name and his contributions to his fellow man. His generosity and foundations continue to bear fruit for the benefit of humanity.

Nobel saw an obituary written for himself after his death was falsely reported. The obituary castigated him for being an agent of death and destruction because of his invention of TNT. This negative legacy prompted him to put the wealth he derived from TNT to finance the Nobel Prizes which continue on to this day.

Today’s capitalist winners face a different problem. Capitalism has produced great wealth but also resulted in the rumblings of discontent. Today’s uber-wealthy face two choices: spread the wealth to limit the excesses of capitalism or try to perpetuate their exalted status to their children.

The way I see it, there are two outcomes. A, we continue along our merry way as is, with average people getting more and more upset as the inequality gap widens, running the risk of social upheaval. Maybe the uber-rich, being secluded from the struggles of average people in their cocoons of wealth, think they can ride out any upheaval due to their privilege.

Or B, use some of the vast wealth created by capitalism to ensure a modicum of living standards for all.

What I find especially appealing is the route Gates and Buffet have taken with their fortunes, the Giving Pledge. In this pledge, uber-rich individuals pledge to give away over half of their money. I love it because it marries capitalism with the wellbeing of society.

These guys didn’t make their fortunes through blind luck or stupidity. They are incredibly intelligent individuals whose main concern is creating a better world. That means, these guys are not going to throw their money away in ineffectual pursuits. Rather, they will use their money wisely, see what works and what doesn’t and continue to use money in a wise manner rather than the government which can spend money in an inefficient manner.

As successful businessmen, they have more wealth than they know what to do with. They can look around the world and see which issues need to be addressed and pledge money to researching and solving or alleviating these issues. They will look at and attempt to solve but in a pragmatic fashion. The problem with governmental approaches is they are too slow to turn the ship around because there are so many vested interests.

On the other hand, you have uber-rich individuals whose main focus is to ensure their offspring retain an exalted status. It seems their idea is to perpetuate a permanent class of idle rich who have absolutely no relation to the struggles of regular people. Maybe they think the ills of society don’t affect their wellbeing because of the sheer amount of wealth.

However, if they think they can escape catastrophes such as plagues, famines, global warming or the increasing rate of species extinction around the world, then they have another thing coming. As the poet John Donne once said, “No man is an island.” The more the uber-rich attempt to escape their responsibility to society, which created the foundation for their wealth, the worse it will eventually be for all members of society.

One just needs to look at the development of the British political system compared to France before the French Revolution. The British elite gradually extended the right to vote and other benefits to all stratums of society while the French king and nobles attempted to keep benefits solely for themselves. One monarchy survives while the other lost their heads.

Sure the uber-rich could escape off the sinking boat of society to a life raft. However, they would just be stranded at sea alone with no recourse and no safe harbors. Society functions when all members work together, and depends on all members living and working together in a mutual fashion.

International dereliction of duty

Originally published on November 22nd, 2019 in The Korea Times.

As a student of history, I can’t help but look on in horror as I see President Donald Trump’s conduct of foreign affairs. He has taken his impulsive, rash approach to international relations where it is ill-suited. His actions stand in direct contrast to the wisdom shown by the men who created the postwar order which is beginning to unravel.

Following the end of World War II, America’s foreign policymakers were faced with the issue of how to construct a framework to prevent the recurrence of wars which had plagued Europe since times immemorial. They largely succeeded.

They had the foresight to construct a new inclusive world order from the ashes of WWII. Throughout his presidency, Trump has been irking American allies, shirking America’s leadership in the world and creating trade wars for seemingly no gain.

Trump has steadily withdrawn from engagement with the rest of the world since his inauguration. He has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal which has led to the precipice of war while declining to take a lead in fighting climate change.

By withdrawing from the Iran deal with seemingly no thought of what to do other than apply maximum pressure, he has driven a rift between America and the rest of the signatories of the deal. Somehow, despite pulling out and squeezing Iran, Trump continues to insist that Iran abide by the deal regardless of American provocations. It is truly a feat of inept diplomacy when you cede the moral high ground and reasonableness to the Iranians.

Early on in his presidency, Trump signaled his intent to pull out of the Paris accords; dealing a blow to any American efforts to exert any leadership in the world. He further hampered American influence by raising objections to America joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.

The pact was designed to create a giant free trade zone with the creation of standards and regulations which would help prevent Chinese economic hegemony over East Asia. Instead of pursuing it, Trump pulled out in pursuit of a more isolationist approach to economic relations with the rest of the world.

Maybe breaking up the economic partnership between China and America could be portrayed as a smart move by Trump if he weren’t also threatening tariffs with Mexico and involved in trade disputes with much of the rest of the world.

If America and China’s economies decouple, it’s likely that Mexico would be the natural replacement for increasing trade with America in China’s absence. Instead, Trump throws up the threat of barriers with Mexico in a sad attempt to solve the immigration problem.

Migration from Mexico has dropped as its economy has developed since the formation of NAFTA. Now, the current flood of immigrants are largely coming from Central America. Eliminating the source of Mexican wealth, economic union with America, is yet another horrible idea. Decoupling it from America will only raise the prospect of Mexicans joining people fleeing the Central American states heading for the U.S. It would be harmful to both nations.

I think Trump’s “instincts” are correct concerning China but his approach is so befuddled I see it more of Trump’s blabbering as actually being right for once instead of being completely off the mark.

Ideally, Trump would be preserving alliances and trading relations with partners and mobilize them against China. A free trade agreement between the EU and NAFTA would have been a wise move, creating trade standards and bringing extra economic strength to the democracies of the world.

This democratic-economic behemoth could have then been extended an FTA over to Japan and Korea, economic powerhouses sitting on China’s doorstep. Instead, relations within NAFTA are being strained as are relations between it and the EU while democratic nations of Japan and South Korea find themselves locked in a trade dispute.

Instead of throwing up a unified democratic front, anchored with the EU, NAFTA, and engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Rim with the TPP, Trump has only managed to alienate allies with nothing to show except for China benefiting from the chaos.

Trump is managing to isolate America in the world exactly when its relative position in the world is declining. Instead of working in conjunction with allies, he is seemingly throwing them under the bus.

American soldiers died in WWII, and their deaths served as the foundation of the postwar world which has proven so steady and beneficial around the world. The U.S. directed the construction of this system, and draws innumerable advantages from it.

Instead of using America’s vast economic dominance at the end of WWII to try to bully the rest of the world, American leaders rebuilt the economies of both former allies and enemies.

America’s pre-eminence at the end of WWII was a temporary aberration as the rest of the industrial centers of the world were destroyed. American leaders at the time correctly saw that American interests would be best served by rehabilitating the economies of our allies and enemies instead of trying to keep them permanently weakened.

Now, America continues to have the world’s largest economy but it is no longer unrivalled. At this moment, Trump is attempting to flex America’s economic muscles decades after they were no longer unrivalled. Trump has realized that governing requires concessions and compromises which are abilities he lacks.

His actions concerning foreign affairs clearly don’t come from a particularly sharp or even a seemingly sound mind. Trump’s tariffs and threats of tariffs are the only thing he can do to lash out. Everywhere else he finds himself stymied. In the House, Democrats refuse to bend to him while major foreign economies now have the heft to push back against American economic pressure.

His vaunted deal-making skills further exposed as hollow, as he unsuccessfully claimed he could negotiate an improved version of the Iranian deal he pulled out of. Despite their personal warmth, a breakthrough with North Korea has proved elusive. So, he just uses a sledgehammer in the form of tariffs.

America’s relations with its allies are weakening and the Trump presidency is vacating American leadership in the world. There could not be a more inopportune time as China steps to the forefront of world affairs and Russia chips away at the established norms of the current system.

The system America created from the rubble of WWII still holds today, largely in peace but it is under siege. The system was built up on the death of American soldiers in WWII and Korea. It is being thrown away without a fight, a spit in the face to the many dead who died to build a peaceful prosperous future which has stood since 1945.

One could make the case that the system isn’t worth expending blood over, that ultimately it would die anyway. However, it is certainly worth defending through other means rather than simply disrupting it from the inside and hastening its demise. It is an international dereliction of duty.