As I sit here and type this post I’m dumbstruck, once again, by how our world leaders seem to forever hold humanity hostage. They perpetually thwart lasting peace and true human evolution with war, conflict, and savagery of all kinds and varieties. Leaders’ actions rarely reflect the will of the people who they’re leading.
Roxanne Luxemburg's quote, “Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” is true. I didn’t fully realize the extent of this until I started traveling the world and became involved in the crypto/blockchain community.
As I’ve interacted with people across various cultures I’ve realized we’re infinitely more alike than we are different. Most of us just want to have our basic needs met, the chance to build a life unhindered, and the freedom to pursue our own definitions of happiness.
Technological evolution is shrinking our world a little more each day. People across the globe can now communicate directly with each other, circumventing the distorting lens of mainstream media propaganda. The days when the general public will be able to be fooled into supporting such atrocities as this Ukrainian invasion are rapidly coming to a close.
Even though I am a student of history I don’t begin to admit I know or even understand all the nuances of our current geopolitical situation. What I do know a few things about is human nature.
The truth is positions of great power attract sociopaths like a porch light attracts moths in the depths of darkness. For us all to truly progress beyond the point of being merely simians with a thermonuclear weapons a few things need to change. First we need to, somehow, build safeguards against people with sociopathic tendencies being elected into positions of power. Until we can find a way to figure this out humanity itself is, and will continue to be, at great risk.
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein
Military aggression such as this seems archaic in today’s world. It's an irresponsible roll of the dice that could end extremely badly for everyone. We should be beyond this yet we see it being played out again and again, all across the globe. The news headlines these past few days remind me of a classic Sting song from the 1980’s:
This song seems particularly fitting today but just isn't reserved for the Russians. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.
Today, and in the days to follow, I offer my prayers to the people of Ukraine and for us all. We can do so much better than this. I hope our civilization survives until a more enlightened generation can take the reins.
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-Eric
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com.)
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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