Thursday, November 26, 2015
Last Brain Cells Dying Off - Wiping Out The Founding Fathers
Now there is a movement on college campuses to remove anything related to America's founding fathers - because, according to them, they are racists - and now rapists to boot. This movement will naturally move from the campus into other areas of our lives. And removing the rememberences of the founders is only a step away from removing their positive values and ideas.
"What, people should be free? We should not meddle in other countries' business? We should be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor? Those are the crazy ideas of racists and rapists!"
The article below argues that Thomas Jefferson was not a rapist. As for being a racist, there is some evidence to support the charge. As a Christian and as a voluntaryist, I truly believe that all people are created equal and that all people own themselves. I believe that racism is morally wrong. (I also believe that all people should be personally responsible for themselves.) But can't we reject the flaws in people while acknowledging their strengths? Must we throw the baby out with the bath water?
Who among us is perfect? Who among us is worthy of casting the first stone? Not me. How about you? We all have our skeletons. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every person needs a redeemer if he or she is to be redeemed. Every person - Thomas Jefferson, you, and me, must stand at the Judgement Seat of Christ and make account for our lives.
There should be no monuments to any man, because no man is good enough. But I don't see any problem with portraits or statues for context. The imperfect Jefferson gave us the Declaration of Independence and much of our ideas of human liberty. He helped launch the world forward, chipping away at tyranny and despotism. We should thank and remember him for that, even if he was flawed otherwise.
http://libertygoneviral.com/2015/11/26/college-of-william-mary-students-want-statue-of-incestuous-rapist-and-racist-thomas-jefferson-removed/
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Bob Dylan and me
I always connected with Bob Dylan at some level - of course I heard and appreciated his songs since the early '60's, but the first Dylan album I bought was "Blood On The Tracks" in 1975 at the ripe old age of 18. This is where I really began to appreciate his genius. I bought albums on and off through the next 25 years, but it was about 1999 when I really became "attached" to Dylan. I saw him for the first time in concert that year, along with Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell. He totally rocked, way more than I expected.
Everything up to that point made me feel more and more like a kindred spirit with him. Me at 42, and at 38 years into his career, I finally felt that I was on a path that Dylan understood, and wrote about. I've bought every album and read every interview since. Bob is my brother. He just doesn't know me.
Today I read an old Rolling Stone interview of Dylan by Kurt Loder in 1984. You can find the whole interview here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-recovering-christian-19840621
I'd like to share an excerpt - I could relate to everything he said. The interesting thing for me, is I think that in these past 31 years, even though Things Have Changed, and I have changed I don't think Bob Dylan has changed:
People have put various labels on you over the past several years: "He's a born-again Christian"; "he's an ultra-Orthodox Jew." Are any of those labels accurate?
Not really. People call you this or they call you that. But I can't respond to that, because then it seems like I'm defensive, and, you know, what does it matter, really?
But weren't three of your albums — Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love — inspired by some sort of born-again religious experience?
I would never call it that, I've never said I'm born again. That's just a media term. I don't think I've ever been an agnostic. I've always thought there's a superior power, that this is not the real world and that there's a world to come. That no soul has died, every soul is alive, either in holiness or in flames. And there's probably a lot of middle ground.
What is your spiritual stance, then?
Well, I don't think that this is it, you know — this life ain't nothin'. There's no way you're gonna convince me this is all there is to it. I never, ever believed that. I believe in the Book of Revelation. The leaders of this world are eventually going to play God, if they're not already playing God, and eventually a man will come that everybody will think is God. He'll do things, and they'll say, "Well, only God can do those things. It must be him."
You're a literal believer of the Bible?
Yeah. Sure, yeah. I am.
Are the Old and New Testaments equally valid?
To me.
Do you belong to any church or synagogue?
Not really. Uh, the Church of the Poison Mind [laughs].
Do you actually believe the end is at hand?
I don't think it's at hand. I think we'll have at least 200 years. And the new kingdom that comes in, I mean, people can't even imagine what it's gonna be like. There's a lot of people walkin' around who think the new kingdom's comin' next year and that they're gonna be right in there among the top guard. And they're wrong. I think when it comes in, there are people who'll be prepared for it, but if the new kingdom happened tomorrow and you were sitting there and I was sitting here, you wouldn't even remember me.
Can you converse and find agreement with Orthodox Jews?
Yeah, yeah.
And with Christians?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, with anybody.
Sounds like a new synthesis.
Well, no. If I thought the world needed a new religion, I would start one. But there are a lot of other religions, too. There's those Indian religions, Eastern religions, Buddhism, you know. They're happening, too.
When you meet up with Orthodox people, can you sit down with them and say, "Well, you should really check out Christianity"?
Well, yeah, if somebody asks me, I'll tell 'em. But, you know, I'm not gonna just offer my opinion. I'm more about playing music, you know?
Your views apparently seemed clear to many record buyers. Were you frustrated by the commercial resistance — both on record and on the road — to your fundamentalist-influenced music?
Well, after the '78 gospel tour, I wanted to keep touring in '79. But I knew that we'd gone everywhere in '78, so how you gonna play in '79? Go back to the same places? So, at that point, I figured, "Well, I don't care if I draw no crowds no more." And a lotta places we played on the last tour, we filled maybe half the hall.
And you don't think that was because of the material you were doing?
I don't think so. I don't think it had to do with anything. I think when your time is your time, it don't matter what you're doin'. It's either your time, or its not your time. And I didn't feel the last few years was really my time. But that's no reason for me to make any kinda judgment call on what it is I'm gonna be. The people who reacted to the gospel stuff would've reacted that way if I hadn't done, you know, "Song to Woody."
You think so?
Yeah, I know it. I can usually anticipate that stuff — what's going on, what's the mood. There's a lotta young performers around. And they look good and they move good, and they're sayin' stuff that is, uh, excitable, you know? Face it, a lotta that stuff is just made and geared for twelve-year-old kids. It's like baby food.
Your latest album, Infidels, is hardly subteen fodder. Some critics have even detected a new note of conservatism in some of the songs — even outright jingoism in "Neighborhood Bully," in which the metaphorical subject is said to be "just one man" whose "enemies say he's on their land." That's clearly a strong Zionist political statement, is it not?
You'd have to point that out to me, you know, what line is in it that spells that out. I'm not a political songwriter. Joe Hill was a political songwriter; uh, Merle Travis wrote some political songs. "Which Side Are You On?" is a political song. And "Neighborhood Bully," to me, is not a political song, because if it were, it would fall into a certain political party. If you're talkin' about it as an Israeli political song — even if it is an Israeli political song — in Israel alone, there's maybe twenty political parties. I don't know where that would fall, what party.
Well, would it be fair to call that song a heartfelt statement of belief?
Maybe it is, yeah. But just because somebody feels a certain way, you can't come around and stick some political-party slogan on it. If you listen closely, it really could be about other things. It's simple and easy to define it, so you got it pegged, and you can deal with it in that certain kinda way. However, I wouldn't do that, 'cause I don't know what the politics of Israel is. I just don't know.
So you haven't resolved for yourself, for instance, the Palestinian question?
Not really, because I live here.
Would you ever live in Israel?
I don't know. It's hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring. I kinda live where I find myself.
At another point in the song, you say, "He got no allies to really speak of," and while "he buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied . . . no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side." Do you feel that America should send troops over there?
No. The song doesn't say that. Who should, who shouldn't — who am I to say?
Well, do you think Israel should get more help from the American Jewish community? I don't want to push this too far, but it just seems so . . .
Well, you're not pushing it too far, you're just making it specific. And you're making it specific to what's going on today. But what's going on today isn't gonna last, you know? The battle of Armageddon is specifically spelled out: where it will be fought and, if you wanna get technical, when it will be fought. And the battle of Armageddon definitely will be fought in the Middle East.
Do you follow the political scene or have any sort of fix on what the politicians are talking about this election year?
I think politics is an instrument of the Devil. Just that clear. I think politics is what kills; it doesn't bring anything alive. Politics is corrupt; I mean, anybody knows that.
So you don't care who's president? It doesn't make any difference?
I don't think so. I mean, how long is Reagan gonna be president? I've seen like four or five of 'em myself, you know? And I've seen two of 'em die in office. How can you deal with Reagan and get so serious about that, when the man isn't even gonna be there when you get your thing together?
So you don't think there's any difference between, say, a Kennedy and a Nixon? It doesn't matter at all?
I don't know. It's very popular nowadays to think of yourself as a "liberal humanist." That's such a bullshit term. It means less than nothing. Who was a better president? Well, you got me. I don't know what people's errors are; nobody's perfect, for sure. But I thought Kennedy — both Kennedys — I just liked them. And I liked Martin . . . Martin Luther King. I thought those were people who were blessed and touched, you know? The fact that they all went out with bullets doesn't change nothin'. Because the good they do gets planted. And those seeds live on longer than that.
Do you still hope for peace?
There is not going to be any peace.
You don't think it's worth working for?
No. It's just gonna be a false peace. You can reload your rifle, and that moment you're reloading it, that's peace. It may last for a few years.
Isn't it worth fighting for that?
Nah, none of that matters. I heard somebody on the radio talkin' about what's happenin' in Haiti, you know? "We must be concerned about what's happening in Haiti. We're global people now." And they're gettin' everybody in that frame of mind — like, we're not just the United States anymore, we're global. We're thinkin' in terms of the whole world because communications come right into your house. Well, that's what the Book of Revelation is all about. And you can just about know that anybody who comes out for peace is not for peace.
But what if someone genuinely is for peace?
Well, you can't be for peace and be global, It's just like that song "Man of Peace." But none of this matters, if you believe in another world. If you believe in this world, you're stuck; you really don't have a chance. You'll go mad, 'cause you won't see the end of it. You may wanna stick around, but you won't be able to. On another level, though, you will be able to see this world. You'll look back and say, "Ah, that's what it was all about all the time. Wow, why didn't I get that?"
Everything up to that point made me feel more and more like a kindred spirit with him. Me at 42, and at 38 years into his career, I finally felt that I was on a path that Dylan understood, and wrote about. I've bought every album and read every interview since. Bob is my brother. He just doesn't know me.
Today I read an old Rolling Stone interview of Dylan by Kurt Loder in 1984. You can find the whole interview here:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bob-dylan-recovering-christian-19840621
I'd like to share an excerpt - I could relate to everything he said. The interesting thing for me, is I think that in these past 31 years, even though Things Have Changed, and I have changed I don't think Bob Dylan has changed:
People have put various labels on you over the past several years: "He's a born-again Christian"; "he's an ultra-Orthodox Jew." Are any of those labels accurate?
Not really. People call you this or they call you that. But I can't respond to that, because then it seems like I'm defensive, and, you know, what does it matter, really?
But weren't three of your albums — Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love — inspired by some sort of born-again religious experience?
I would never call it that, I've never said I'm born again. That's just a media term. I don't think I've ever been an agnostic. I've always thought there's a superior power, that this is not the real world and that there's a world to come. That no soul has died, every soul is alive, either in holiness or in flames. And there's probably a lot of middle ground.
What is your spiritual stance, then?
Well, I don't think that this is it, you know — this life ain't nothin'. There's no way you're gonna convince me this is all there is to it. I never, ever believed that. I believe in the Book of Revelation. The leaders of this world are eventually going to play God, if they're not already playing God, and eventually a man will come that everybody will think is God. He'll do things, and they'll say, "Well, only God can do those things. It must be him."
You're a literal believer of the Bible?
Yeah. Sure, yeah. I am.
Are the Old and New Testaments equally valid?
To me.
Do you belong to any church or synagogue?
Not really. Uh, the Church of the Poison Mind [laughs].
Do you actually believe the end is at hand?
I don't think it's at hand. I think we'll have at least 200 years. And the new kingdom that comes in, I mean, people can't even imagine what it's gonna be like. There's a lot of people walkin' around who think the new kingdom's comin' next year and that they're gonna be right in there among the top guard. And they're wrong. I think when it comes in, there are people who'll be prepared for it, but if the new kingdom happened tomorrow and you were sitting there and I was sitting here, you wouldn't even remember me.
Can you converse and find agreement with Orthodox Jews?
Yeah, yeah.
And with Christians?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, with anybody.
Sounds like a new synthesis.
Well, no. If I thought the world needed a new religion, I would start one. But there are a lot of other religions, too. There's those Indian religions, Eastern religions, Buddhism, you know. They're happening, too.
When you meet up with Orthodox people, can you sit down with them and say, "Well, you should really check out Christianity"?
Well, yeah, if somebody asks me, I'll tell 'em. But, you know, I'm not gonna just offer my opinion. I'm more about playing music, you know?
Your views apparently seemed clear to many record buyers. Were you frustrated by the commercial resistance — both on record and on the road — to your fundamentalist-influenced music?
Well, after the '78 gospel tour, I wanted to keep touring in '79. But I knew that we'd gone everywhere in '78, so how you gonna play in '79? Go back to the same places? So, at that point, I figured, "Well, I don't care if I draw no crowds no more." And a lotta places we played on the last tour, we filled maybe half the hall.
And you don't think that was because of the material you were doing?
I don't think so. I don't think it had to do with anything. I think when your time is your time, it don't matter what you're doin'. It's either your time, or its not your time. And I didn't feel the last few years was really my time. But that's no reason for me to make any kinda judgment call on what it is I'm gonna be. The people who reacted to the gospel stuff would've reacted that way if I hadn't done, you know, "Song to Woody."
You think so?
Yeah, I know it. I can usually anticipate that stuff — what's going on, what's the mood. There's a lotta young performers around. And they look good and they move good, and they're sayin' stuff that is, uh, excitable, you know? Face it, a lotta that stuff is just made and geared for twelve-year-old kids. It's like baby food.
Your latest album, Infidels, is hardly subteen fodder. Some critics have even detected a new note of conservatism in some of the songs — even outright jingoism in "Neighborhood Bully," in which the metaphorical subject is said to be "just one man" whose "enemies say he's on their land." That's clearly a strong Zionist political statement, is it not?
You'd have to point that out to me, you know, what line is in it that spells that out. I'm not a political songwriter. Joe Hill was a political songwriter; uh, Merle Travis wrote some political songs. "Which Side Are You On?" is a political song. And "Neighborhood Bully," to me, is not a political song, because if it were, it would fall into a certain political party. If you're talkin' about it as an Israeli political song — even if it is an Israeli political song — in Israel alone, there's maybe twenty political parties. I don't know where that would fall, what party.
Well, would it be fair to call that song a heartfelt statement of belief?
Maybe it is, yeah. But just because somebody feels a certain way, you can't come around and stick some political-party slogan on it. If you listen closely, it really could be about other things. It's simple and easy to define it, so you got it pegged, and you can deal with it in that certain kinda way. However, I wouldn't do that, 'cause I don't know what the politics of Israel is. I just don't know.
So you haven't resolved for yourself, for instance, the Palestinian question?
Not really, because I live here.
Would you ever live in Israel?
I don't know. It's hard to speculate what tomorrow may bring. I kinda live where I find myself.
At another point in the song, you say, "He got no allies to really speak of," and while "he buys obsolete weapons and he won't be denied . . . no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side." Do you feel that America should send troops over there?
No. The song doesn't say that. Who should, who shouldn't — who am I to say?
Well, do you think Israel should get more help from the American Jewish community? I don't want to push this too far, but it just seems so . . .
Well, you're not pushing it too far, you're just making it specific. And you're making it specific to what's going on today. But what's going on today isn't gonna last, you know? The battle of Armageddon is specifically spelled out: where it will be fought and, if you wanna get technical, when it will be fought. And the battle of Armageddon definitely will be fought in the Middle East.
Do you follow the political scene or have any sort of fix on what the politicians are talking about this election year?
I think politics is an instrument of the Devil. Just that clear. I think politics is what kills; it doesn't bring anything alive. Politics is corrupt; I mean, anybody knows that.
So you don't care who's president? It doesn't make any difference?
I don't think so. I mean, how long is Reagan gonna be president? I've seen like four or five of 'em myself, you know? And I've seen two of 'em die in office. How can you deal with Reagan and get so serious about that, when the man isn't even gonna be there when you get your thing together?
So you don't think there's any difference between, say, a Kennedy and a Nixon? It doesn't matter at all?
I don't know. It's very popular nowadays to think of yourself as a "liberal humanist." That's such a bullshit term. It means less than nothing. Who was a better president? Well, you got me. I don't know what people's errors are; nobody's perfect, for sure. But I thought Kennedy — both Kennedys — I just liked them. And I liked Martin . . . Martin Luther King. I thought those were people who were blessed and touched, you know? The fact that they all went out with bullets doesn't change nothin'. Because the good they do gets planted. And those seeds live on longer than that.
Do you still hope for peace?
There is not going to be any peace.
You don't think it's worth working for?
No. It's just gonna be a false peace. You can reload your rifle, and that moment you're reloading it, that's peace. It may last for a few years.
Isn't it worth fighting for that?
Nah, none of that matters. I heard somebody on the radio talkin' about what's happenin' in Haiti, you know? "We must be concerned about what's happening in Haiti. We're global people now." And they're gettin' everybody in that frame of mind — like, we're not just the United States anymore, we're global. We're thinkin' in terms of the whole world because communications come right into your house. Well, that's what the Book of Revelation is all about. And you can just about know that anybody who comes out for peace is not for peace.
But what if someone genuinely is for peace?
Well, you can't be for peace and be global, It's just like that song "Man of Peace." But none of this matters, if you believe in another world. If you believe in this world, you're stuck; you really don't have a chance. You'll go mad, 'cause you won't see the end of it. You may wanna stick around, but you won't be able to. On another level, though, you will be able to see this world. You'll look back and say, "Ah, that's what it was all about all the time. Wow, why didn't I get that?"
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