Coincidentally, I've just finished reading two books from BARD. The
nonfiction book is called The Inconvenient Indian and it is written with
humor, irony, and some anger, by an American Indian Professor about how
Americans and Canadians have dealt with and perceived our native populations
from the moment white people stepped onto our shores until the present
moment. And I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember which tribe the writer
is a member of because one of the things that I learned from the book is
that it matters which tribe. They're different from each other. The other
book is a novel, The Son, and it's all about several generations of a family
in Texas. It beautifully explains the history and culture of Texas, and
provides insight into the contemporary political stances of citizens of that
state. Additionally, it provides a very real picture of what life with the
Commanchies was like in the mid 1800's and of how the cultures of Indians,
soldiers, and colonists influenced each other. What it doesn't do is to
glorify any of this. It's amazing. There's reality, and then there's all the
mythology that people construct out of it which has little to do with real
situations. On the same note, there's a long article floating around the web
by William Astor to the effect that our country glorifies our military
academies which have done noething positive for the military for a very long
time. He provides examples of several esteemed graduates who've been, to say
the least, very disappointing, and he adds that the US hasn't won a war
since 1945.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 10:57 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] old farts revisited
First, my thoughts are directed toward the posted piece, not the old fart
who posted it.
On first reading, posts such as this seem innocent enough. They speak to
that Never-Never-Land, the Once Upon A time America, where all of our finest
values are the Law of the Land, and badness does not exist.
It is the Norman Rockwell World, the one that we all dream of, but it never
existed. Well, all of us White, Working Class Americans dream.
If you look around Norman's world, it is the Land of the White Man.
This composite of the perfect American Elder sets forth our most cherished
image of who we believe we Old Farts are.
Yet it was the old fart generation that brought us to where we are today.
That old fart and the old fart who went before him. All the way back to
those old farts who, as young farts cleansed the Land that God had promised,
and built this great, White, Christian Land, where old farts can saunter
down clean, prosperous sidewalks tipping their hats to the ladies. And on
Sunday mornings we can hear them singing, "Onward Christian Soldiers,
marching as to War"...
No, we old farts have dirt and blood on our hands. But so long as we deny
it, we do nothing to resolve our growing crisis. The end of civilization.
And if this be civilization, perhaps it is better that the world...or what
will be left of it, be given over to some new life form.
Our great experiment, our so called civilization is like a deep wound that
has scabbed over. We look at the scab and say, "It is good", but the
infection and pus continue festering and growing beneath that protective
cover. Until we deal with that deep infection within our civilization we
will continue on this death march. Since the first Europeans set foot on
the "New World", our progress has moved us further and further away from a
civilization where we live within our world, to one that must expand at the
expense of the Planet's limited resources. So we go along playing this game
of denial, absolving ourselves and our Forefathers of any blame, ignoring
the growing rot within our misconceived Land of Plenty, and pretending that
there really is a Santa Claus and an Easter Bunny.
And all the while we pretend that we are Blessed because God is on Our Side.
If I were God, I'd be rethinking that one.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/18/15, R. E. Driscoll Sr <llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
All:------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I comment to the effect that my contribution is not to be modified
in any manner, shape or form!
R. E. (Dick) Driscoll, Sr.
On 8/18/2015 7:59 PM, Carl Jarvis wrote:
Actually, Dick's message got it's heading mixed with the one that
goes: Definition of a confused gentleman.
While us Old Pharts do many of the same gentlemanly things described
in Dick's post, we honest and true old Pharts are not the
soppy-brained, slack-jawed, mindless Casper Milktoast's portrayed in
the tribute.
Real Old Pharts are crusty, out spoken fellows who have been awake
enough years to know when the Bullshit is being fed to them.
These sentimental bits of prose are fine for Mother's Day cards, or
for grandpa's 100th birthday, but they do no real justice to their
topic by glossing over, "The Rest of the Story".
Carl Jarvis
On 8/17/15, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I thought I was an old fart until I read this. Looks like I would be
excluded.
On 8/17/2015 10:49 AM, R. E. Driscoll Sr wrote:
Good Morning Monday! Hope this helps start the day with a smile.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
*Subject:* Old Farts
I never really liked the terminology "Old Farts"but this makes me
feel better about it.
And if you ain't one, I bet ya you know one!
I got this from an "Old Fart" friend of mine!
*_OLD FART PRIDE_*
I'm passing this on as I did not want to be the only old fart
receiving it. Actually, it's not a bad thing to be called, as you
will see.
* Old Farts are easy to spot at sporting events; during the playing
of the National Anthem. Old Farts remove their caps and stand at
attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and
believe in them.
* Old Farts remember World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal ,
Normandy and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War,
The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing. They remember the
50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, not to mention
Vietnam .
* If you bump into an Old Fart on the sidewalk he will apologize. If
you pass an Old Fart on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to
a lady. Old Farts trust strangers and are courtly to women.
* Old Farts hold the door for the next person and always, when
walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection.
* Old Farts get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and
children and they don't like any filth or dirty language on TV or
in movies.
* Old Farts have moral courage and personal integrity. They seldom
brag unless it's about their children or grandchildren.
* It's the Old Farts who know our great country is protected, not by
politicians, but by the young men and women in the military
serving their country.
This country needs Old Farts with their work ethic, sense of
responsibility, pride in their country and decent values.
We need them now more than ever.
*Thank God for Old Farts!
*
Pass this on to all the "Old Farts" you know.
I was taught to respect my elders. It's just getting harder to find
them.
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