W.E.B. DuBois on Booker T. Washington

In "The Soul of Black Folks" Chapter 3, paragraph 15, we see the logical fallacy of DuBois' argument against Booker T. Washington's "solidarity and hard work to mutual racial respect" paradigm. DuBois posits that Washington "represents in Negro thought the old attitude of adjustment and submission" such that it would be counter to self-respect. Additionally, that Washington's programme of material prosperity precluded and was a surrender from the "higher ideals of life."

Firstly, self-respect is existential and internal and can never be gained from any external acknowledgement. Second, the plight of social acceptance and assimilation is purely ego-driven, therefore can not constitute "higher ideals of life." I therefore submit that Booker T. Washington's view of self-actualizing work and the material sublimation inherent in it, allow for an existential journey toward self-respect. This process cannot be accomplished outside-in as W.E.B. DuBois asserts by his "political agitation" philosophy.

Whats with the business world's fascination with EXCITEMENT? Isn't "excitement" what get's us into financial trouble, i.e. Dot-com and Real-Estate bubbles? I prefer pragmatic actionable intelligence over "excitement" any day. The "Efficient Market Hypothesis" would work if "excitement" were replaced with fundamental analysis. Just a thought. Excitement vs pragmatism is a thought exercise to be had before engaging in any endeavor. Excitement is fleeting, sober-minded action leads to long-term viability. Excitement, is buying the newest gadget every month, pragmatism is upgrading only when necessary. Excitement is consumerism, pragmatism is thriftiness. Excitement is UNSUSTAINABLE because it leads to ever accelerating production and continuous growth on a finite planet. Excitement is fuckin' suicide!!! Still want excitement?

Pleading love (2010)

i'm pleading love with you.

I'm pleading certain eternity,

against assumed entropy.

if it be a rose,

let it not be long stemmed,

but a bush.

allowing multiple glories,

and chances for redemption,

seventy times seven.

i'm pleading love with you

i'm pleading love with you.

not possesive.

for it is not ours to give.

shared and given back,

like the lives we live.

stewards of a conception that is never given birth.

it's vain to even think we could raise it's children.

i'm pleading love with you.

i'm pleading love with you.

more than a thought.

equal to a belief.

but less than tangible.

as delicate as it is precious.

as real as it is unrealistic.

if we touch it...

we probably missed it.

unapprehendable...

i'm pleading love with you

i'm pleading love with you.

trying to amplify the voice within.

the spirit bearing witness to the truth,

that I am not mine.

neither you, yours.

bought at ransom,

with the chore of chores

i'm pleading love with you.

i'm pleading love with you.

a commandment twice said;

love beloved

and

beloved love.

for life's sake,

not mine,

to be returned in-kind.

i'm pleading love with you.

i'm pleading love with you.

soul, mind, body.

latter incident to the former.

relegated to a lesser love;

eros!

former incident to the essence

source of a supreme love;

agape.

i'm pleading love with you.

i'm pleading love with you.

not with shadows;

me as god,

sex as intimacy

or knowledge as truth.

but,

me as you,

thus intimacy with the essence,

because that's the truth.

i'm pleading love with you.

i'm pleading love with you.

as,

co-counsel, disciple.

co-heir, ecclesiastical.

volitively compelled,

choiceless evangelical.

i'm not speaking to the masses!

this is your personal "road to Damascus"...

i'm pleading love with you.

The cellular makeup of a highly adaptive system, potentially strategy-based ad-hoc communication links, creating organic, purpose-based subsystems.

Life As An Oxymoron (Revised 2009)

We have a
Love, hate,
disconnected relationship,
with eachother's selves.
A cause resulting in
a singular duality,
that vigorously stagnates
our seemingly extinct existence.

Probably because
the practicing preachers
have dead lives.
While, religious politicians
tell believable lies.
Raising our lowered,
expectant agnosticism.

We learn to act natural
when we're alone together.
Clearly misunderstood
because our minds constantly change.

We give to what takes
and vise versa.
Always never saying;
wouldn't it be nice,
to be nothing?
To go nowhere...

But alas,
we are the pushed driven,
children parents,
of a once found, lost generation.
Caught and released
into an anarchic civilization.

Which ends up, leading to,
our paranoid rejection of rational assimilation
and/or
a logically absurd
form of vicarious existentialism.
A fantastic reality.....
maybe, maybe not?

But a society of individuals,
seems mutually exclusive.
But because of our false hope
in our legal freedoms,
our eyes are wide shut
to this minor crisis.
And although it's old news,
its still pretty ugly.

We are politically-correct,
Pro-life, woman's rights and
death penalty-supporting,
God-fearing, capitalistic,
SUV-driving, environmentalists.
Wanting to go to heaven, but trying to live forever.
This cognitive dissonance knows no demographic.
From listeners of Biggie Smalls
to Fatboy Slim.
But this is just my unbiased opinion.

A Single Mom's Pain

I have been thinking of somethings said and unsaid. First it blows my mind that you have the nerve to say how dependent and self sufficient I need to be when you have no "concept" of the word, and what I mean by that is from what I know about you you have always been taking care and picked up which has enabled you to half step in everything you do you have always been with a woman who feels that she has to keep you she has to take care of you which leads to a dead end parasitic relationship and when both people feel they are sucked dry that resentment kicks in. Being the held of a household consists of more than your presence and throwing around a few demands. Secondly for you to feel that your presence is less needed in my child's life infuriates me for a number a reasons. Last night I cried like a baby and as crazy as it sounds I said to myself "Daddy where are you I need you to help me understand somethings" . I feel so alone you have no Idea. I have no one to talk to. Everyone around me says the same thing, your so strong which makes me feel that no one should see me weak. I have so much built anger, emptiness and emotions that I don't know what to do. I can't go to mom because of fear that I would be looked at as some stupid weak little girl that she did not "raise like that". I can't go to [name redacted to protect the innocent] because she has always "had it" so she could not even comprehend my "mess" and [name redacted to protect the innocent] has always been able to look to me for strength and a shoulder that she would not even know how to respond. I'm so sick of wearing this face of "togetherness" 24/7 . Yes I want to be allowed to be weak sometime, emotional, confused, an uncertain and not be frowned upon. A lot of this has a lot to do with not having a Father around and having to take on roles I was not yet ready for so, I am saying please do not downplay your role in our Daughter's life. I will eventually get over the fact that that's where you chose to spend your life but don't rush me. I know my time will come when i will meet a man who will love me whole heartily, unconditionally with no strings attached and for that I must be patient.

-sister

Her: Part II

aesthetic truth, she was
mathematical proof.
semiotic woman, she was.
aurally, optically and olfactorily.... seemingly aloof,
she was a gravitational force,
creating galaxies of adoration, she was
a pause in space-time
and a muse for my rhyme.
although speechless at the time.
she was all of these and nothing simultaneously.

what was it?
my circumspection precluding the erection
which would impel me to act?
or my circumcision, spiritual dissonance,
confirming my pact?
or was it my expectant disappointment,
my crystal 8-ball making me reticent?
could i not see the future?
no house, no little ones?
i could start it,
but could i get the middle done?
was it my lack of confidence,
fear of rejection?
or my common sense,
walls built for protection?
and for what defense?
regret, pain
unavoidable truths of life.
success, ecstasy,
unattainable, within this plight.

so i guess i'll file her under;
unprepared for opportunities (reserved hope)
filling a landfill of lost dreams (fires stoked)
burned into clouds
that rain down melancholy,
adding not to Love's growth.
washing out vibrant colors of reds and purples,
leaving muted pastel emotions.

so what's left of this life?
some settled-for, quasi reality
of easy victories,
and absurd truths,
hastily erected to scaffold the temple of pain and fear
adjacent to Love's cemetery?
which we regularly visit,
adorning the sepulchre with our tears.

Love: A Definition (Revised 2009)

it establishes the orbits,
betwixt atoms, friends
and trees in a forest.
planets align along its axis.

trajectories bend to its will,
life the result.
both attracted and repulsed.
with respected boundaries,
and admired inner spaces,
burning sweetly within view

it sets order in chaos,
with unknowable plans.
an intellectual paradise,
of balance and symbiosis.

it sets time and rhythm,
on scales intractable.
and unmeasurable bars;
a symphony estoile

it is ethereal,
wholly foreseeable.
when inducted and instructed.
unconsciously constructed;
love is its name

- the thelosopher

Education As A Commercial Transaction

Education As Commerce

Arguing about college affordability is oxymoronic and paradoxical. The motivations of an educated society should be altruistic. Education in the specter of commerce creates a cast society that was all but abolished with the Magna Carta. In order to pull America out of its greed-induced coma (thus awakening to the new world's knowledge economy), commerce needs to be extracted from all super-structure institutions, education being one of them.

How is America to compete with the world on equal footing when a large majority of the education (and Health-Care) systems of competing nations are funded by respective Govt.'s. American High School students are competing with Baccalaureates and our Baccalaureates are competing with Master degree holders, and so on. Not to mention the post-graduate debt that casts entry-level work force into instant and lasting poverty. The indentured servitude paradigm of the American educational system does not serve it's citizens or the nation as a whole.

The paradigm makes no logical sense unless you look at it from a economical standpoint. If this were a trial, I (being prosecutor) would be trying to establish motive. The question would then be; Who benefits from a less educated society? At this epoch in American history, where businesses are getting larger and more consolidated, there is lessening need for a highly-skilled workforce. The systems and processes are so tuned and established, that a monkey could be plugged into it and efficient functionality would be preserved. And monkeys are what our educational system is churning out.

Now, having established those premises, we have to ask; If education is not required for the job market on a need basis, then on what basis is it (education) required for the discussion of affordability to be anything other than moot? The education system as we know it has shifted from a purposeful activity toward the advancement of humankind, to a commerce-based free-market exchange. A bachelors degree is worth X amount of $, a Masters X amount and so on. In this paradigm college affordability is a proper argument to have.

The value of education has been calculated by actuaries, planned into bottom-lines by CFO's, and invested in by students with the hope of high returns. The market-based super-structure has usurped the "Good" of education, for self-improvement as benefit paradigm. Hence, you have less and less students pursuing the Liberal Arts. Sociologist's are not as marketable as MBA's! (Retraction: Sociologist's are recruited by major retail firms to figure out ways to market to you). Education for the sake of knowledge is a dying ethic.

Now that we know what the purpose and value of education is in our brave new world, we can haggle about cost vs. return. I propose the Federal Government, via the Department of Education subsidize ALL loans, mitigating the high interest rates for all loans. To do this all grant money would be shifted to subsidization efforts. This would allow for higher payouts (covering 100% of college costs for all students). This accomplishes three key goals of education finance; Availability, Coverage and Fairness. Because as we know, this is a market, therefore we all must pay to play. When we have our "Big Brother" haggling with banks for best prices, I'm betting he'll make offers they can't refuse.

Torture as Business (Revised 2011)

torture works, man
the vice gets tighter er'ry day
torture works, man,
you gotta pay to play

phlebotomy, or
secrets, for
security.
more....!?
fraudulent loans,
for homes,
now government owned.
how degrading,
when you gotta cheat to eat.
pulling out fingernails, dollars and souls.
torture works, man!
the vice gets tighter er'ry day.
torture works, man,
you gotta pay to play.

no one's immune.
interest rates impugned,
placed on heads of avariced goons
how does it feel?
when cracking whips get louder still.
so now we're all stretched thinner.
what's for dinner?
milk will cost a leg,
vegetables an arm.
we might as well eat each other.
torture works, man!
the vice gets tighter er'ry day.
torture works, man,
you gotta pay to play.

we're in stocks,
for stocks.
in bonds,
for bonds.
men under keys and locks.
hedged bets,
versus stacked decks.
mortgaging futures,
for futures,
when none exists
its gettin' hot in this convection oven!


overstuffed slave ships,
turns into
overtaxed wages and tips.
cold war defense systems,
now a different war
supported by new -isms.
Dow Jones got you disheveled?
or maybe just terror threat levels?
all of it increasing bottom-lines.
torture works, man!
the vice gets tighter er'ry day
torture works, man,
you gotta pay to play.

we're not averse to torture,
ends justify means.
its part of our culture,
blood stains the fabric of our jeans.
choose to comply,
or be an example.
our steeds pull men apart,
the others are trampled.
torture works, man!
the vice gets tighter er'ry day
torture works, man,
you gotta play or pay!

-the thelosopher

Complexity is a boon to Terrorists, Multinationals & News/Market Makers

we are falling head long into an era of defacto-communism. security and financial threats are causing us to infuse the federal govt. with more and more power. the federalization of airline, border and market security, as well as gov't. bailouts of failing companies, will have us waking up a communist country. case in point; because the financial markets have become so diffused by derivatives (implemented by middlemen to usurp wealth) so as to be almost completely detached from the individual consumer/investor. therefore, miscalculated valuations of securities cause (supposed) severe central bank collapses* , enter the "Fed". secondly, physical security is also in question. with bureau (Homeland Security) stacked on top of bureau (FBI, CIA, NSA, State/Local Police ect.), the efficiency needed in prevention and reaction is hampered (another example of a derivative/complexity problem)*. every business/reasonable-minded person can understand the diminishing returns of added complexity*. the problem is that large, slow and wealthy institutions are unwilling (or unable; due to stockholder pressures and/or gov't. regulations) to scratch the current trends and simplify*....enter private equity, exit Dow Jones! Dow Jones is the equivalent of the daily "Terror Threat Level"; an agent of fear mongering/economic terrorism! (so is the daily local/national news for that matter). we are living in a time where "news" is the impetus for economic volatility (instead of the other way around). therefore news-makers have the power to create/destroy the wealth of "nations". John Kerry once said, "we need to treat terrorism like a mere nuisance." to do otherwise gives terrorists (economic or islamofacist/CIA assets) the power to actually end our democracy.

*this is conventional logic made null by the superstructure known as "multinational corporations"

The love affair with the lie of individualism

modern western philosophers such as Locke, professed individualism and personal sovereignty, while oxymoronically espousing God's sovereignty. it is this paradoxical idealism that created the United States and sealed it's fate simultaneously. all rationalizations of avarice, disguised as manifest destiny extend from these precepts. a nation of individuals is no nation at all. the "American Dream" propaganda deeply veils the establishment of a new creation in the earth; a corporate superstructure, that usurps all previously known powers and establishments. two men can no longer barter for sustainability, because this new power provides all reference and value. the freedom myth of America extends far into our psyche, making it hard to reconcile that the very establishment of a society marks the beginning of the end of freedom. by definition, a society has norms, boundaries and customs, these are all forms of control; the antithesis of freedom.

Why do we form societies? One word; fear. We (humans) believe that we must control variables, establish knowns therefore create for ourselves a rational reality, however absurd. We fear unknowns and are predisposed to avoid the pain of confronting random events. war is the confluence of avarice and fear, with the stated purpose of ensuring security and sustainability (another paradoxical paradigm. war begets more war decreasing both security and sustainability).

as we look through the looking glass we see this corporate superstructure in all its unconscious mechanics. the rise and fall of civilizations are synchronous to market ebbs and flows. all humans are chattel and human endeavors are inconsequential. the dynamo powering this mechanism is human fear. fear is the devourer of freedom. in the history of man and cosmopolitan metropolises, there are very few things that can be agreed upon. unfortunately these things are fear and greed. these are the building blocks of societies, societies that ultimately crush humanity, and we did it to ourselves.

See this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jufT3v1roaU

The Wool Being Pulled Over Your Eyes!