"For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course, that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere. 'Blessed are the merciful' in a courtroom? 'Blessed are the peacemakers' in the Pentagon? Give me a break!" ~Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without Country
adly, for too many in the human race a world of intentional bloodshed and predatory behavior is the pinnacle of virtue. One may not become a criminal in the sense of loss of freedom within a correctional institution, but when a nation's leadership becomes that pinnacle of detestability and finds their sleep comes easy, and the demonic visages looking back at them in the mirror are taken as a confirmation they are God's elect and special messengers, than what more can the world do but speak out? It is not a choice, but a duty to raise ones fist and voice in defiance of the destructive powers which lurk under the cloaks of a righteous and persecuted nation/people, even when those nations and peoples are considered allies. There is no political delicate cake walk in those instances, the message should be loud and clear the friendship and alliances of such are now null and void. There is no "friends with benefits". Brutality should be exposed for what it is loud and clear and with clear consequences. Loss of nationhood, no matter how long established, should revert into the hands of justice and be awarded again (maybe) when the lessons have been learned with the least chance of predation repeating itself as possible and with the understanding once it happens again the loss will become permanent. With or without divine intervention or guidance in the affairs of mankind both on a marco and individual level mankind has shown itself to be insufficient and incapable of maintaining the farce of even surface wise doing anything lasting to keep itself from extinction. In the more traditional religious there is always an element of hate and bloodshed one can latch on to and use as an excuse to unchain their own participation in this condition. To deny their own inner destructiveness and assign it to elsewhere in hopes it will go away and no longer prick their conscience, their soul into the realization they are just as their enemies are. Who wants the gods/goddesses present in the world when mankind can not try emulate divinity in the first place? It's not they are incapable of doing so, but they do not have the desire to try and do so. Independent of any paradise or its opposite waiting for us, we should have the desires to achieve those virtues and live them. I agree we should not have to implement programs such as diversity and critical race theory into school because it should already be there naturally. The fact government has to step in an mandate it is a reflection of ourselves, not government who is simply doing its job. When specific laws have to be made to protect certain populations of society, it means our laws up to that point have failed to do so because we as society have refused to set the wheels in motion so such laws are not needed in the first place.
iving in the above conditions is a perplexing condition for the artists. Those periods in mankind's development, where the arts in any form began to thrive were/are always met with a bloody counter response. There has never been anything peaceful about the oppositions to the artist and their world. Even today artist continue to be imprisoned across the globe for their writing, music, works of art. They are arrested, killed, tortured and the nations which do so are open about it. There is no hesitation from them, no remorse or regret (except for the bad publicity which really didn't stop them in the first place). The government, leadership and even the people themselves do not care enough to stand in opposition which of course is the "divine purpose", to stand in the presence of authority and do not question it. Blind obedience..."have faith", "Karma will work it out", "It is God's will.", "It is the natural way/cycle and therefore we should not interfere (i.e there will always been environmental changes for the worse and we have survived them before), "Don't worry, be happy". It's much more difficult on a individual level when you see the propensity for petty warfare and victimization take place on a community level or even in professions where human services staff turn on one another while being responsible for providing care to others. A society where the word no is equated with a denial of freedom, instead of a rational reason a 'no' answer was given, or that 'no' means instant gratification will have to be delayed. Where the red neck conservative fundamentalist becomes the very snowflake he/she hates or loathes. Their dislike is more of a self reflection and self revelation than a commentary on others. Insane Clown Posse complains about their designation as a gang and yet they continue to promote and encourage criminal behaviors and have done nothing to change that. This is a flagrant abuse of the freedom of expression guaranteed right, as the right assumes a person/organization will refrain from predatory behavior in their freedom of expression. Pro Israel college campus groups demand a voice but give the same consideration to Palestinian of Muslim groups the Pro Israel groups bring out accusations of anti semitic behaviors. Yet recently, an International Court has found Israel guilty or war crimes (i.e. the use of famine as a weapon). Both Hamas and Israel are equally guilty of crimes against humanity, and could careless about ending any conflict. Those innocents caught in between are simply fodder for each side to continue.
hould, or despite all the continued efforts to remain engaged with humanity, when does the Artist call it quits? When, if ever, does the Artist withdraw and no longer become part of a world which constantly relegates them to the margins or at the very least devalues their lives or life's work? Within the artist communities there is of course ongoing recognition of the importance of the arts. But if a world doesn't want it should the artist continue to be part of the community or withdraw from it? One can still be the artist, the creative without the blessing of society. Society doesn't create the artist, the artist creates the artist. We do not need the recognition of governments of authority to be considered human, we are human regardless and even mass extinction can not change that. We will live and die as human beings just as we will live and die as artists, perhaps with a little more flare or nuanced meaning. Disengaging from the world doesn't mean we don't care, it is a matter of self care and self preservation and unlike the moon or sun our lives are short spans of time even after our deaths. A thousand years to the universe is a fleeting second to human chronology. Is the Artist, under the obligation to share and bring forth their work into the world/public? Is the Mage or practitioner of magic obligated to bring their skills to the world and bring healing to it, or are they justified in keeping the magic on a personal/internal level? By our very nature, like therapists, Artists are agents of change. We live in a world which not only changes around us rapidly and chaotically, but internally changes as well. It is a valid question to ask if it is worth giving our gift to an unworthy world, and unappreciative one who puts so little value on human life why should we believe the fruits of our living as human beings should be considered important if their creators are not? Give me a society dominated by Academics (not science) and the arts where military themes and bloody confrontations are not foundational, but rather the aberrations. Where Arts, Medicine and Higher Education are the top allocations for a national and local budget to grow a populace steeped in those values.
ravel between the Human and Sidhe realms was not as uncommon as most people thought. Commerce between the two worlds occurred on a regular basis, at least as far as the village was concerned. The Sidhe gates were not far into the forest which the village was part of, but the gates were not open to everyone. For good reason the Sidhe were not so trusting of humans as a whole. They were a reclusive people by nature but as far as one could remember the ties between the village and the Fey folk were strong and had always remained as such. Because off this, there was the appreciation and realization the two were not so different as one might expect, and those differences present were simply ones which came from being naturally who the two were. Outside of the village, stereotypes were thick and tended to be based more in superstition than actual fact which were easily dismissed and put to rest should one interact with them with an open mind. Just like humanity, there were those who had an affinity for destructiveness but unlike humanity that affinity was not entrenched or considered prized. Such an arrangement made the exchange of knowledge between the two something other communities did not share. The craftsmanship of both realms benefited from this contact, with a deeper depth of learning and artistry to most works, while the Fey benefited from the insatiable drive of the villagers to learn and actually pursue knowledge with the intent to improve themselves and apply that knowledge to their community. The fey had a reawakening to teach and rediscover their own lore which had been taken for granted and with new questions and perspectives, their magic also thrived and their own people enriched their own lives including reviving language and dialects which were all but lost or forgot and in turn rediscovering music and artistic works which had been lost with it.
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