Category: Journal

The wise will start each day with the thought…

Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own.

Nothing, whether public or private, is stable; the destines of men, no less than those of cities, are in a whirl.

Whatever structure has been reared by a long sequence of years, at the cost of great toil and through the great kindness of the gods, is scattered and dispersed in a single day. No, he who has said ‘a day’ has granted too long a postponement to swift misfortune; an hour, an instant of time, suffices for the overthrow of empires.

How often have cities in Asia, how often in Achaia, been laid low by a single shock of earthquake? How many towns in Syria, how many in Macedonia, have been swallowed up? How often has this kind of devastation laid Cyprus in ruins?

We live in the middle of things which have all been destined to die.

Mortal have you been born, to mortals have you given birth.

Reckon on everything, expect everything.

Epicurus says: Make no mistake, a key component of attacking an argument is to undermine the credibility of the source of said argument. That, however, is not what I am doing here. I am actually trying to understand where Cato is coming from.

Epicurus says: I would not argue against the fact that, in many area’s of this country, public education is a mess. I wouldn’t argue that our Social Welfare system is, in many respects, broken. I would even argue that our current government is a disaster and that if we don’t force them to start dealing with some very serious problems, we are going to have our hands full during the next 3 decades. What I am arguing is that this is nothing new. Crisis come and

Epicurus says: So, instead of sitting around talking about how “Social Collapse” makes one “want to leave this country” then I say, do something or STFU or GTFO. Want to talk solutions and action – I am all for that, but don’t waste my time with idiotic rehashed commentary about the state of the world.

Epicurus says: Especially when you are barely out of your fucking teens and haven’t seen or experienced jack, fucking, shit.

Amafinius says: I agree on that last point

Cato says: you can’t accomplish much by yourself; an important patriotic duty is to rise the spirits of the people

Epicurus says: Cato – that is not what you were doing.

Epicurus says: You were making the standard gloom and doom proclamations.

Cato says: i just think its always important to look to higher ideals in a republic, which is why i said if you take the character of the founders and compare it to the “men” in office now, its clear to see how much progress we have made

Cato says: the government has taken away freedoms rather than expanded the freedoms of the people

Epicurus says: My friend, our founding fathers were people who were grossly flawed.

Cato says: all humans can be weak, most people have vices, some of the founders had flaws, but the quality of their character was far greater

Cato says: and how can anyone say they are proud to be Americans under these latter day fools?

Cato says: it is critical for the people in a republic to realize corruption and destroy it

Cato says: or… hand over the government to monarchs who will do much better

Epicurus says: Every generation has a few great leaders. That our country was founded by them was the only way that our republic would have come to be. But, lost in time are the numerous lousy politico’s of the 19th and 20th century. Sure, we remember the great ones, like FDR or Lincoln, but those come along fairly infrequently. The good news, is they often rise to the occasion and, were in fact, fairly poorly thought-of prior to tackling a big problem.

Epicurus says: I think the problem is you are looking at 8 years (a big part of your fairly short life) under one of the WORST presidents in history.

Cato says: anyway, this is all related to the original point of underage girls being a common sight in bars – the problem here is a lack of a “public body”

Epicurus says: No, the problem is parents not fucking taking responsibility for their kids.

Cato says: Yes, they don’t have public accountability; there is this notion that the family is not the business of the public

Epicurus says: It is NOT my job or the Governments job to look after these kids. It IS however my job, when the time comes, to look after MY kids.

Cato says: “its not your business” “Raise your own kids” common lines

Cato says: it is not the government’s job to raise children, perhaps, but it should be responsible in creating public accountability for actions

Cato says: the problem is that there is a disconnect between public life and private life – this cannot be in a republic or the country collapses

Cato says: there are other government structures where the people can send their children to underage bars, in which case, a tyrant will organize their lives for them, it is much more effective that way

Cato says: but in a culture where the people must steer the government, if the people are without willpower or virtue, then the government collapses – i.e. post-“crisis of the 3rd century” rome

Epicurus says: Cato – Not only is it a REQUIREMENT that there be a disconnect between private and personal life, any attempt to break down such barriers is the VERY source of these problem. Parents who have been raised in an era of government intervention.

Epicurus says: Infact, such separations are clearly spelled out in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Cato says: what im saying is, parents dont feel that they should be held accountable to the community for raising their children, but they should

Cato says: their personal conduct, in their eyes, is their own business

Cato says: very well, if a tyrant rules, not well if you vote

Cato says: a culture of idiots and degenerates cannot vote wisely, and a country that cannot vote wisely cannot be healthy

Cato says: options are to: restore republican culture, abandon republican culture and adopt an aristocracy

Epicurus says: You are charged, by the state, for being responsible for your child’s welfare until the age of 18. It’s already LAW. CLEARLY THE PROBLEM is with parents lack of responsibility – something that GOVERNMENT and the PUBLIC at large is NOT going to directly fix.

Cato says: I’m not talking about buying them food and clothes

Cato says: I’m talking about raising them to be good people

Cato says: because if the people are not good, in a republic, then the republic as a whole is rotten

Epicurus says: Cato – IT IS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS JOB or the PUBLIC’s JOB to raise kids. This whole liberal bullshit “Takes a Village to Raise a Child” is absolute nonsense. This is a matter of YOU and ME making a decision to be responsible adults and raise our children accordingly.

Cato says: well… historically it did take a community to raise a child, only in contemporary times have people decided that the education of children is a private matter

Cato says: and the result is clear to see, a culture which is dysfunctional

Cato says: education should be a process including public mentors, parents, moral leaders, peer role models and government ideals

Cato says: if the parents are the only ones with input, and if they have discretion to neglect their children, the children become dysfunctional, and they will elect dysfunctional representatives

Epicurus says: Oh my god

Cato says: this is the heart of why it is necessary to have virtuous individuals in a republic, because over time the representatives degenerate

Epicurus says: You would cede control of your kids’ core-education to the government. That to me is just disgraceful.

Cato says: not exactly

Cato says: you have this notion of government as being this isolated body of people which is not related to the community

Epicurus says: No, I don’t.

Cato says: but what if the “government” were just people who you thought were wise?

Epicurus says: Oh my god.

Cato says: i don’t think it’s a matter of control either, or ownership…

Epicurus says: Listen, government, by in large, throughout history, exists to propogate itself under the guise of serving the population. It is one of the core ideals, that the founders of this nation largely shared, that government at best is a necessary evil and at worst intolerable (and that it was usually only tolerable at the most local levels).

Epicurus says: The notion that “wise” people become leaders is absolutely rediculous.

Cato says: they dont, which is the problem

Epicurus says: Only RARELY does that occur.

Cato says: exactly

Epicurus says: Yes, and you want to cede control or even a portion of control of your childs destiny to this body?

Epicurus says: Come on!

Cato says: no, I want to dismiss them and replace them with wise, indifferent guardians

Cato says: like the ones who originally were in their seats

Amafinius says: Haha!

Epicurus says: Raise your kids. Don’t expect the government to do it. Don’t expect anyone else to make it right. JUST BE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT.

Amafinius says: “wise, indifferent guardians”

Cato says: Epicurus – that makes the most sense, but in reality most contemporary Americans do not

Cato says: so what is your response to that – let the community suffer?

Epicurus says: Actually, most do. It’s only a minority that doesn’t.

Cato says: would you object to children joining the boy scouts?

Epicurus says: Unfortunately, being a spastic, sound bite obsessed culture; we only focus on those who don’t.

Cato says: I am not advocating government control; I am advocating a re-envisioning of education to involve a heavy emphasis on community involvement and the appreciation of civic virtue

Cato says: because I believe that a proper education is the farthest thing away from ill-tempered knowledge

Cato says: it is rather wisdom, and virtue guiding knowledge

Cato says: knowledge is a tool, wisdom is the vehicle, virtue is the blood of life

Cato says: basically… practically speaking…

Cato says: it would mean much more programs like the boy scouts

Cato says: and teachers who are involved with the education of the character rather than simply the mind, teaching children how to become heroic individuals

Epicurus says: Look, the Boy Scouts (who again, I don’t support) is something you sign your kids up for. You made a decision as a parent. That shit is not advertised or promoted in publicly funded schools (and where it is, it shouldn’t be).

Arrian says: Epicurus

Epicurus says: School is about education. Morals, ethics, education regarding virtues, etc., that starts at home.

Arrian says: were you in the boy scouts?

Epicurus says: no

Arrian says: why do you not like the boy scouts

Epicurus says: I was a cub scout when I was like 7 or something… does that count?

Epicurus says: Arrian – no, I don’t like them because of the politics of their organization. But, hey, if my kids said they really wanted to go for the scouts, I would probably let them.

Cato says: you send your children to school to learn the science of physics, but there is also a science of virtue

Cato says: it’s a sublime science, but learning how to live well is not arbitrary, it is a quest, and requires serious thought, parents are not qualified to teach a love of wisdom just as they are not qualified to teach physics

Epicurus says: No Cato – you are crossing a line when you start using public schools to fund notions of virtue, ethics and morals.

Epicurus says: Not fund, I mean teach

Cato says: Some beliefs are examined, others are not, the goal of a proper education would be to examine beliefs, and to inspire children to quest for goodness

Lucretius says: “goodness”

Lucretius says: what kind of bullshit is going on here?

Cato says: a teacher of philosophy, for example, is just as important as a teacher of physics

Epicurus says: What do you define as goodness?

Epicurus says: Whose philosophy?

Cato says: All ideas and thoughts are to be considered, goodness must be judged by the individual soul, firmly grounded in civic values

Epicurus says: Oh my god, dude, you are not living in the real world.

Amafinius says: heh….book lernin’

Lucretius says: his last statement speaks to something else too

Cato says: I think to a certain degree, that children should be challenged to think about their underlying assumptions and come to their own conclusions, but that the teacher should not be far removed from the debate, as is the case now, the teacher should advocate their own maxims

Epicurus says: You have now brought religion into the classroom in broad strokes. Good going.

Epicurus says: Remind me to NOT vote for you.

Set sail, against the wind,

under the misguiding light of faulty beacons

We live in a time in which those vested authority are not those who must properly wield it.

Credentials bestowed by self-honored institutions amount to nothing but certificates of pretension which do not qualify the entitled but rather label the entitled as qualified.

Those who are charged with cultivating the minds of the children…

What is required: a degree, formal wear

What should be required: heroic virtue which inspires

Result: A mediocre education producing mediocre citizens, wracked with fears, superstitions and indecisions, who practice the vices and lack a sober frame of reference on the world, and as a result do not have the inclination nor the ability to judge wisely. Fools elect charming pimps.

Those who are charged with guarding the citizens from harm…

What is required: A strong body, token training

What should be required: A lifelong of training in prudence, magnanimity, temperance, justice and fortitude

Result: Guardians who systematically abuse their power and betray the people by covering their own intrigues and corruptions, who serve themselves rather than a greater ideal of justice, who exercise bias in their judgments and cruelty in force. Men who serve the highest bidder rather than the lawful authority; men whose allegiance and duty is owed to plunder.

1  A time there was when disorder ruled
Human lives, which were then, like lives of beasts,
Enslaved to force; nor was there then reward
For the good, nor for the wicked punishment.
5  Next, it seems to me, humans established laws
For punishment, that justice might rule
Over the tribe of mortals, and wanton injury be subdued;
And whosoever did wrong was penalized.
Next, as the laws held [mortals] back from deeds
10 Of open violence. but still such deeds
Were done in secret,–then, I think,
Some shrewd man first, a man in judgment wise,
Found for mortals the fear of gods,
Thereby to frighten the wicked should they
15 Even act or speak or scheme in secret.
Hence it was that he introduced the divine
Telling how the divinity enjoys endless life,
Hears and sees, and takes thought
And attends to things, and his nature is divine,
20 So that everything which mortals say is heard
And everything done is visible.
Even if you plan in silence some evil deed
It will not be hidden from the gods: for discernment
Lies in them. So, speaking words like these,
25 The sweetest teaching did he introduce,
Concealing truth under untrue speech.
The place he spoke of as the gods’ abode
Was that by which he might awe humans most,–
The place from which, he knew, terrors came to mortals
30 And things advantageous in their wearisome life–
The revolving heaven above, in which dwell
The lightnings, and awesome claps
Of thunder, and the starry face of heaven,
Beautiful and intricate by that wise craftsman Time,–
35 From which, too, the meteor’s glowing mass speeds
And wet thunderstorm pours forth upon the earth.
Such were the fears with which he surrounded mortals,
And to the divinity he gave a fitting home,
By this his speech, and in a fitting place,
40 And [thus] extinguished lawlessness by laws.

Max Payne

The past is a gaping hole. You try to run from it, but the more you run, the deeper, more terrible it grows behind you, its edges yawning at your heels. Your only chance is to turn around and face it. But it’s like looking down into the grave of your love, or kissing the mouth of a gun, a bullet trembling in its dark nest, ready to blow your head off.

There are no choices. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes afterwards, when you ask ‘Why me?’ and ‘What if?’. When you look back and see the branches, like a pruned bonsai tree, or forked lightning. If you had done something differently, it wouldn’t be you. It would be someone else looking back, asking a different set of questions.

Your past has a way of sneaking up on you. You’ll hear broken echoes of it everywhere, like a bad replay. You’ll get mad at everyone for reminding you about it, even if it’s all in your head.

Saetia

I am the horizon.
I have dreamed of tracing rings around this world.
My arms are stretched to forever.
My fingers shake with the fear of control.
The fear I know you all know so well.
We all lay claim to our destinies.
Yet we all rise and fall with the current.

Someone who dedicates mental energy to looking pretty reveals something not about his appearance but about his inner mind, his inclinations, his social priorities and his duties (or lack thereof). I’m sure the decadent, makeup plastered and pretty have meaning, but it can never transcend the ultimate truth that nothing material matters; it vanishes in an instant, it is smoke, nothing. The “celebrities” of today will be nothing but smoke tomorrow, to be replaced by others who will turn to dust in turn. A better man does not concern himself with the way things are but how they should be, and realizes that his individual survival (or that of his clothes) means nothing in the scheme of things; it is only great projects and ideas which survive us.

• Auctoritas — “Spiritual Authority” — The sense of one’s social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.
• Comitas — “Humour” — Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.
• Clementia — “Mercy” — Mildness and gentleness.
• Dignitas — “Dignity” — A sense of self-worth, personal pride.
• Firmitas — “Tenacity” — Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one’s purpose.
• Frugalitas — “Frugalness” — Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.
• Gravitas — “Gravity” — A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.
• Honestas — “Respectability” — The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.
• Humanitas — “Humanity” — Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.
• Industria — “Industriousness” — Hard work.
• Pietas — “Dutifulness” — More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.
• Prudentia — “Prudence” — Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.
• Salubritas — “Wholesomeness” — Health and cleanliness.
• Severitas — “Sternness” — Gravity, self-control.
• Veritas — “Truthfulness” — Honesty in dealing with others.

Seven modern day sins according to the Vatican:

Environmental pollution
Genetic manipulation
Accumulating excessive wealth
Inflicting poverty
Drug trafficking and consumption
Morally debatable experiments
Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

Seems pretty progressive to me, the church is surely going in the right direction. All of those things are actually despicable – although I wouldn’t agree with “morally debatable experiments” if it is referring to stem cell research.

I think the Vatican is really redefining what a sin is: it has gone from his strange metaphysical crime to a rejection of modern practices, the list is basically a list of “vices” (character flaws) rather than sins.

These new sins have very little to do with scripture and more to do with the Catholic Church’s idea that in order to have a “spiritual rhythm, ” a Catholic must go to confession and repent. As confession rates have declined, the Church needed to think of a way to get people to attend Church, so more sins have been created. Now that Catholics have more sins to confess, it is believed they will attend Church more often. It’s the Catholic Church’s way to get more…

$$$$$$

The Catholic Church is so pathetic. It is really upsetting.

I think you guys are being way too harsh on the church. This list represents great progress for them – they are no longer talking about Satan publicly and burning Muslims for idolatry. This is a much more moderate and progressive outlook on the world. I am the most critical person you will ever meet over organized religion, but when radicals begin to show a more progressive side, you must encourage them , not spit in their face. Reactionary Christianity is a horrible thing, i’m just glad that the Vatican has had the wisdom to begin to tackle real-world injustices instead of metaphysical abstractions.

That’s a good point.

These are things that should be deadly sins to everyone but there are now second nature to most people

Sinning is a ridiculous concept. Especially catholic style where you are forgiven if you repent.

No forgiveness is something many people don’t use any more. If people would learn to forgive on things instead of holding grudges if the person was truly sorry (and repent means being truly sorry and NEVER doing it again or to achieve not doing it again with help) then the world would be a much posi place. Repenting and Forgiveness are not just Catholic concepts either. I’m not saying I could forgive someone for you know killing my mom or something but you get the picture. Besides sinning is not a ridiculous concet unless you think it’s ridiculous to consider murdering/stealing/lying as bad things.

Sure it is. Making people live out of punishment of a furious god instead of being good for the sake of goodness and virtue does not sustain a society, as can be clearly observed in the modern era. One should not be ethical due to the law, or because a deity will punish us if we are not, in fact, people that behave in this way are just as bad as those who are unethical, it betrays their true mindset as being pernicious but cowardly to act upon it.

As far as Issa’s criticism of Christian forgiveness, I agree, although for probably different reasons. When one commits an unjust or malicious act they should not rely on this saving grace, they should accept the responsibilities of their actions and vow never to act upon it again. Christian forgiveness enfeebles people from taking responsibility for their own actions and makes ethical infractions a possible option. The classical example is the person who says “I’ll just do X and Y sins but it is no problem because i’ll get forgiveness.”

Within the psychology of a person “sinning” should not be an option , it should be an unacceptable choice, death should be preferred. The idea that the human will is weak and suspect to sinning is not productive and not healthy: human beings can develop and cultivate a cast-iron will and a fortified character that does not need the grace of a god because ethical infractions are no longer possible. When the will rarely fails and something mediocre occurs, great self-scrutiny occurs with a vow never to do it again.

Christian forgiveness is based on true repentence which is accepting the resposibilities, being sorry, and vowing never to act upon it again. Most people think it’s just saying “Oh I’m sorry” or I know this is a sin but I’ll ask forgiveness later. That’s not how it works, it’s even said in the Bible that if you know you’re sinning and do it anyway that’s a sin in itself which isn’t forgiven unless you truly repent.

What good is there in repenting? It makes you weak-willed and destroys your self-esteem. Scold yourself, curse yourself, and move on, vowing never to act in a mediocre way again, not out of fear of some god, but out of fear of betraying your own trust.

Cursing yourself and talking down to yourself can have serious side affects, repenting doesn’t just mean to a god Krause it means to the people you acted against also which is the big problem is behaving horrible towards someone and not repenting to that person for what you’ve done.

It has no serious side effects. Saying mentally “What the fuck are you doing? You are better than this, this isn’t the type of person you wanted to be, never do this again” is the way to properly changing your behavior. The idea is always to look toward a higher ideal, not to settle for a reality in which you CAN sin. Christians follow a law but a better way is to set for yourself a model of how to live properly, and select certain characteristics as touchstones of goodness, and then to avoid ALL actions which hinder the pursuit of that standard and to adopt all actions which would cultivate the pursuit of that standard.

The two approaches are drastically different. In the first an individual is following the “rules” because he has been told to, he might even want to “sin” but is too much of a coward to act upon it. In the second, a heroic ideal has been established, and the idea is to not settle for just tolerating a law, but always looking higher. The second is a better way to live.

And again you show an ignorance of true New Testament Christianity..I don’t mean what people today live by I mean what the Bible actually says. Jesus is the model that we’re to fall under. He didn’t always follow the Mosianic law. When asked why He worked on a Sunday He said it was better to heal a man when He could and had the chance than to not work at all. We are to follow His example, set Him as our model.

This is my point, you are following what the bible says; you are referencing a lawbook on how to live. The model of Jesus has been defined for you, Jesus is an allegorical characterization of the entirety of the law, and he demands that faithful believers adhere to the letter of the law, he says that he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

An alternative way to live is to reason an ideal model of perfection and then to constantly quest toward it. While you are unlikely to ever reach it, the idea is that you are always striving higher, not simply doing what is expected of you, but acting exemplary.

The second component of this alternative ethical system is virtues – characteristics which you find to be truly admirable, and as such, spend all of your time in pursuit of practicing well. The Christian writers (especially Paul) were influenced by an ethical system which did advocate this sort of way of life (stoicism) and thus passed the Christian virtue. Unfortunately I think that this is sort of a strange and incomplete foreign intrusion into the whole of Judeo-Christianity and really represents a pagan way to live.

Practically speaking, there is no law to reference but your own conscience, you are a law unto yourself, and the most ethical person is extremely strict with themselves and tolerant of others.

In the BBC straight edge doc, they talk about Straight Edge as a movement. They have grandiose images of “clear headed guys (and girls) in the streets fighting for social change.” I know this is hyperbole, but not necessarily too far-fetched. The alcohol and tobacco industries are MASSIVE. I think we can all agree that they are inherently evil. I guess this is what I’m trying to get at:

Do you find there are revolutionary aspects of Straight Edge?
Is (can) Straight Edge (become) a legitimate political/social movement?

Speaking sober words in a time like this is revolutionary.

I don’t really think I can get into depth on that topic on this board – but I have dedicated the past three years of my life, and many more to come, on this topic. I believe that the only way to bring about any real change is by restructuring and redesigning the schools. The current generation cannot be salvaged but they can be replaced by shining examples of the next. In order to bring about this transformation, education must be fundamentally reformed. Unfortunately it seems that the only way to do this is to replace the social architects, and my current dilemma is attempting to figure out how to accomplish this.

It seems impossible to call upon popular support for a revolution, as the American people seem irrevocably locked in torpor, apathy and cowardice. Every method I have tried has failed, save the heroic example. Heroic examples, however, are rarely demonstrable, and only seem to effect individuals. This is important for establishing officers in a movement, but it does not seem to have the widespread social impact one would hope for.

Who are the social architects? media conglomerates? politicians? teachers? The Big 3 (buffet, murdoch, gates)?

Can you give a heroic example?

Government heads. They must be replaced. Once you are in control of the army you can expel the others you speak of, if they do not act justly.

Heroic examples simply means living well in hopes of inspiring people to live the same. Public displays of courage, temperance, prudence, justice. Magnanimity. A lofty spirit. A wellspring of conviction and deathlessness. Incorruptibility. Frugality and austerity. Never asking for yourself but sustaining others. To become more than a man. To dedicate yourself to an ideal, not your own desires. To never compromise your character, in the face of any circumstance. To be like the type of people you hear about who fill your chest with fire, love and awe. Cato (who would come to inspire the American revolution through Addison’s play of the same name) is the best example, but there are modern examples as well. James Stockdale. Richard Winters (yes, the one from Band of Brothers). To be a exemplary man, to be what nature requires.