People have followed charismatic leaders in the past. These ARE people who's actions are so dynamic in comparison to their peers that they gain the greater trust for the sake of the security they provide by their actions and thinking. The action and thinking of these leaders embodies an ethic and credo that has the resonance of inspiration and congruence with their companions and followers to believe or give credence to representation.
The Dems have abandoned this for the utilization of managerial types who either poorly talk the talk, or are dubious to inept in walking the walk of their own representations. The Dems have chosen people who'd lack credibility with average persons, let alone people whose critiquing of others is based on a battle leader standard. The Dems have only Nancy Pelosi as one whom one could say that in an alternate universe she could be imagined with a knife between her teeth, paint on her face, and a spear in hand leaping to attack an enemy. The other Dems, including Obama, leave one with the impression of those who'd be safe in the rear, even cowering in fear and doubt, as the heat of battle is occurring at the front. They, also, would have no motivation to put themselves at risk, like they exhort others to do.
The Republicans and conservatives use front-men lightning rods to coalesce populist support which is given logistical support for coherence of message and presentation. The message and presentation give the conservative and Republican shock troops the impression that they are in control, as they are being manipulated as willing pawns for abstract homilies and cultural myths. But these shock troops share a tribal solidarity with each other. The Dems, on the other hand are operating less on inspiration and more on pragmatic materialism by committee than for any noble and inspiring vision of conviction by the committee or by one spokeman or icon.
A tribe is more than an economic and geo-political unit. It is a coalescing of individuals around the combination of vision and performance of a leadership with a coherent conviction to a common vision. That vision becomes the narrative and reason-to-be for the tribe, and their motivation going forward. The Republicans and conservatives have been able to forge a tribal consciousness which their political leaders, plus the financial and logistical organization support-but notice how the conservative politicians play the role of facilitators for their populist constituency, as they allow celebrity commentators or random civilian Joes or Janes mouth the rhetoric of the moment.
The Dems using the dialectic excuses of their 'Big Tent' or 'Melting Pot' mantra come up with compromises to whatever idealism was originally advocated as they accommodate themselves to their materialistic pragmatism. In doing so, whatever material 'gains' they proclaim for the statistically tragic few are the hollow rewards for the troops who sacrificed themselves, emotionally, for much more. That 'much more' was the solidarity and consciousness of their tribalism of identity. Without the solidarity and consciousness, which the Dem LEADERSHIP undermines, by their compromises and accommodations there is little intense coalescing or coherence for the populist. And the Dem leadership is lost in their mindset of non-leadership which inspires few but the materialistic and opportunistic minority of the populist bell-curve.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Prophetic Dream
Foreward
This dream turned out to be a metaphor for the next 37 (3+7=10=1 (leadership) years).
The Dream
I was at a party that seemed to be populated by ALL the people that I had known. It was a late afternoon cocktail party. The normal chit-chat, posturing and signifying were occurring. I got bored with it and went to the door to get some fresh air. The view from the door overlooked a view of a lake several miles off below through the woods.
As I took in the view, I observed a transport ship was unloading soldiers and their equipment. The soldiers had on the Nazi Wermacht uniforms. I turned back towards the room in alarm and tried to warn the people in the room. I was ignored because of my status and reputation of being 'beyond the bounds' of 'cool'. When NOONE listened I gave up my efforts and ran off into the surrounding woods to save myself.
I ran and ran. Soon after I began to hear the approach of vehicles coming up to the area of the lodge where I had been with the others. I could hear the engines going into idle, hear the shouting of orders, and the firing of weapons, and the screams that followed. There was silence... They must have killed or captured the people at that lodge. I kept running harder and as fast as I could.
Soon I heard the engines getting back into gear and getting louder as they seemed to be coming in my direction. I could then hear dogs barking. I kept running. My breathing getting more labored. The dogs caught up with me near this clearing. I was cornered on two sides. The dogs attacked. I fought with equal ferocity killing the dogs, and I ambushed their handlers. After my miraculous escape, I ran on deeper, and deeper into the woods.
At onepoint I turned off onto a trail that took me by another side of that aforementioned lake. I ran down close to the show and collapsed up against a tree as I took in the peacefulness of the lake.. As I caught my breath and regathered my wits, a biblical-looking man with a beard approached and told me, "Wait here. Someone will be here to take you across.'
The dream ended there.
The metaphors were this. The opening scene with me being bored to tears showed my disaffection with the social/cultural status quo , I seemed to be a participant. 'Getting some fresh air' equates to looking for alternative visions and thoughts. Seeing the disembarking of the 'Nazis' is seeing the forms of 'evil' forming and beginning their envelopment of my generation. My futility to get anyone to leave with me is as I stated the estranged, disaffected state with me and my contemporaries. My run into the 'deep woods' is my going off into the rhetorical wilderness of my (and most others) unknown. The capture and deaths by the soldiers at the lodge were the cultural and social degradation and degeneration overtaking those that I had known and the mortal consequences of that degradation, degeneration along with the statistical morbidity. The pursuit of the evil into the woods is the danger, vulnerability, and insecurity for my own efforts to avoid the fate that had occurred to those back in the lodge. My triumph over the dogs and their handlers is the uncanny grace that has spared me-the least likely candidate. the further running is the continuing challenges and need to go from what I had known as my former life. The coming to the lake was the oasis of a prospect in the midst of a hostile circumstance. The person was the affirming wisdom that I was on the right path but would need continuing patience.
This dream was and has been the outline of the relationships and challenges I've had between Jan 1972 and Sept 2009.
This dream turned out to be a metaphor for the next 37 (3+7=10=1 (leadership) years).
The Dream
I was at a party that seemed to be populated by ALL the people that I had known. It was a late afternoon cocktail party. The normal chit-chat, posturing and signifying were occurring. I got bored with it and went to the door to get some fresh air. The view from the door overlooked a view of a lake several miles off below through the woods.
As I took in the view, I observed a transport ship was unloading soldiers and their equipment. The soldiers had on the Nazi Wermacht uniforms. I turned back towards the room in alarm and tried to warn the people in the room. I was ignored because of my status and reputation of being 'beyond the bounds' of 'cool'. When NOONE listened I gave up my efforts and ran off into the surrounding woods to save myself.
I ran and ran. Soon after I began to hear the approach of vehicles coming up to the area of the lodge where I had been with the others. I could hear the engines going into idle, hear the shouting of orders, and the firing of weapons, and the screams that followed. There was silence... They must have killed or captured the people at that lodge. I kept running harder and as fast as I could.
Soon I heard the engines getting back into gear and getting louder as they seemed to be coming in my direction. I could then hear dogs barking. I kept running. My breathing getting more labored. The dogs caught up with me near this clearing. I was cornered on two sides. The dogs attacked. I fought with equal ferocity killing the dogs, and I ambushed their handlers. After my miraculous escape, I ran on deeper, and deeper into the woods.
At onepoint I turned off onto a trail that took me by another side of that aforementioned lake. I ran down close to the show and collapsed up against a tree as I took in the peacefulness of the lake.. As I caught my breath and regathered my wits, a biblical-looking man with a beard approached and told me, "Wait here. Someone will be here to take you across.'
The dream ended there.
The metaphors were this. The opening scene with me being bored to tears showed my disaffection with the social/cultural status quo , I seemed to be a participant. 'Getting some fresh air' equates to looking for alternative visions and thoughts. Seeing the disembarking of the 'Nazis' is seeing the forms of 'evil' forming and beginning their envelopment of my generation. My futility to get anyone to leave with me is as I stated the estranged, disaffected state with me and my contemporaries. My run into the 'deep woods' is my going off into the rhetorical wilderness of my (and most others) unknown. The capture and deaths by the soldiers at the lodge were the cultural and social degradation and degeneration overtaking those that I had known and the mortal consequences of that degradation, degeneration along with the statistical morbidity. The pursuit of the evil into the woods is the danger, vulnerability, and insecurity for my own efforts to avoid the fate that had occurred to those back in the lodge. My triumph over the dogs and their handlers is the uncanny grace that has spared me-the least likely candidate. the further running is the continuing challenges and need to go from what I had known as my former life. The coming to the lake was the oasis of a prospect in the midst of a hostile circumstance. The person was the affirming wisdom that I was on the right path but would need continuing patience.
This dream was and has been the outline of the relationships and challenges I've had between Jan 1972 and Sept 2009.
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