TIME TO MAN UP

from Freeacre

First, some photos of our simulated post collapse gustatory chemistry.

Homemade pizza with spinach and artichokes.


One of our garden salads


Some garden produce. Two kinds of carrots, a fennel root, white onion, and wax beans


Time to Man Up

As many of you know, Murph and I disconnected from the satellite TV a couple of years ago and now we just watch PBS and the local news with an antenna and order a bunch of movies from Netflix to watch in the evenings. We read and we blog in our time off from gardening, going to meetings, and preparing food, but we do watch a lot of movies. And, since we can, we often will get on some sort of tear and decide to watch All of the Quinton Tarantino Movies, for instance. Then, we’ll learn that his “Kill Bill” movies were based on his watching “The Lonewolf” series of Shogun Assassin movies and also the “Lady Snowblood” series of vengeance. So, we have watched all of those as well.

Not all the movies we watch are violent. We recently watched “Princess Bride” again. We love to watch “Secondhand Lion” over and over. We watch documentaries and quirky movies like “Lars and the Real Girl” or “Special.” But, many of the movies we watch depict characters who make a stand and fight for it or fight for their family or friends, like Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino” or Bruce Willis in “Live Free or Die Hard.”

Last night we watched the third in a series of movies all based on the historic battle fought between the Spartans and Persians in the formative days of the Greek nation. The heroic King of Sparta, Leonidis, held off a force estimated to be between 300,000 and a million Persians with only 300 men at the pass of Thermopylae to protect his homeland. The 300 did die, but Greece was inspired by their heroism to unite as one country, and the Persians were demoralized and did not return to Europe. And, the battle was never forgotten. Tom Cruise refers to it in “The Last Samarai,” in fact, when he leads the fight against the evil arms dealers of the West and fights with the Samurai to the last man.

So, what is my point here? Is this a post on the history of film or something? No. It’s about gearing up for the struggle against those forces that have been kicking our collective ass. I understand that we need to balance our feminine and masculine sides of our natures. I think this forum, in fact, encourages the powerful love and nurturing that the feminine provides. I am devoted to Our Mother, the Earth. I turn toward the feminine face of God.

But, Buddies, it’s time to “Man Up.” Get a grip. Get balanced. And, this is coming from me, freeacre – the feminine part of the partnership of murph and freeacre. These movies help me to access my inner Klingon – the masculine side. Because we need it against the goon squads and shitstorm that is in front of us. Without it, we are going to get rolled and smoked like a Cuban cigar.

I’ll be watching with interest the speech that Pres. Obama gives this evening to the despicable congressional sell-outs regarding health care. I imagine that he is going to sound reasonable and in touch with people’s needs. He will be articulate and sympathetic and knowledgeable. And, afterward, the Republican goons like Limbaugh and Beck will stomp in and tear him to shreds. They’ll try to burn him like they did Jimmy Carter after his speech on oil depletion. They’ll say it’s not the “American Way” to think in terms of oil depletion – or real health care for all either. I’m not 100% in favor of the Democratic plan for health care. But, it is a good start, considering what factions Obama has to contend with. If we can get something going, it can be evaluated and tweaked later on as we see what works and what doesn’t. Any system can work if the people involved are truly motivated by an honest intention to help the citizenry. And, any system can and will be sabotaged if those in power are greedy bastards with no consequences for their misdeeds.

But, right now, It doesn’t matter whether the plan is good or not. They don’t care. They’d kick in his head or drag him behind a pick-up truck or lynch him if they could. Just because they are mean, spiteful, racist sons-of-bitches, who happen to also be bought off by Big Money. And, as George Carlin (God Rest His Soul) so aptly observed: “They don’t give a fuck about you!”. Even if Obama does, most of them (including the democrats) don’t. And, the bad side seems to have a lock in the balls department.

We have a collection of DVD’s on Peak Oil, financial collapse, and other anarchist or anti-war protest films, for instance. All of them present a very rational, well-thought out argument for organizing to make the changes necessary to survive the collapse of the civilization based on cheap oil. Or, they show the protests held in the Northern California rain forests to protect the Old Growth forests. They depict hand-cuffed college aged girls on their knees before cops. The cops then hold their eyelids open and spray them with mace, torturing them as punishment for their non-compliance to the logging industry.

Has this made anyone want to go out and join the struggle against the Evil Empire? Uh, no. Not that I have seen, anyway. Something is missing.

I remember one time while we still lived in Tahoe. Murph and I went to see “Signs,” the M. Night Shyamalian film about aliens who come down to take over the planet, produce crop circles, and raise havoc for awhile. We thought it was quite exciting. Our housemate, Steve, though, thought it was comical. Steve, a dear friend, is a white ghetto rat from Detroit.

“Boy, it’s a good thing those aliens didn’t land in Detroit, “he chortled after the movie. “My homeboys woulda had their ride stripped five minutes after they went around the corner. And, if they gave us any shit, we’d a put a cap in their ass.” Attitude. Balls – that’s what is missing.

I’ll tell you what, if that were my son or daughter maced while kneeling and handcuffed or my 74 year old mother tased by a highway patrol officer for not getting her license out fast enough – there would be hell to pay. Those motherfuckers should be maced or tased BACK. And their parents should be shunned for raising such a beast. And, their wife should be treated the same way for feeding and sleeping with the pig. (Their kids, however, should be left alone to lead lives that could possibly redeem the family.) I’m fat and I am old. But, if it took my last breath, I’d make those miscreants lives a living hell if that shit was done to my mom or kids. You aren’t going to turn them around by enrolling them in an anger management class. And, you aren’t going to re-direct congressmen with educational seminars on the issues. It’s going to take a dog fight.

I am all for peaceful organizing, cooperation, community, and all that. But, maybe it’s because we haven’t drunk any fluoridated water in five years. Or, maybe it’s because I’ve watched “Braveheart,” “The Postman,” “The Matrix,” “V for Vendetta,” and the “Terminator” series multiple times – but there is a point when we need to “man up”, fight for what we believe in, and protect each others back.. We need to figure out for ourselves where to draw the line on how much we are willing to put up with. Rather than denying our anger, we need to use it to protect ourselves and our communities. Martin Luther King said that unless one finds something he is willing to die for, he has never really lived.

Let’s face it, we are all going to die. But, how is it going to be? Fear-filled and miserable, exhausted, confident, satisfied, grateful or what? And, how do we live? Intimidated, herded like animals, bought and sold, or free, strong, and courageous.

It is looking like the “hard rain” is about to fall. We gotta get tougher if we are going to get through it with a shred of self-respect, honor, or sense of our place in history. I’m not advocating futile gestures of armed resistance that will only end up being an excuse for additional tyranny. We have to fight with our heads, first, as was taught in “Braveheart.” Money is the only vote that counts anymore. And, money can be a powerful determinant in the struggle to be taken seriously. That is why we advocate being very conscious of where every dollar goes. If you don’t like the lamestream media, don’t pay for it. If you are appalled by Frankenfood and the atrocities of Agrabusiness – don’t buy into it. If you don’t like the resource wars – use as little of them as possible. If you despise the financial overlords – cancel your credit cards (or pay them off each month so you pay no fees) and don’t invest in the rancid stock market (that means no 401K). Resist, resist, resist! Be united and coordinated like the Spartan phalanxes – each covering the other with their shields and swords. Our modern equivalent might be offering a spare room and food to someone who will help to defend the perimeter, or helping to ensure that a full-time activist gets enough to eat. Whatever it takes. It’s going to be a monumental task to dismantle the corporate class war machine. Our idealism and hope and empathy for each other is going to need to be balanced and strengthened by our discipline, commitment, and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good of our children and our planet.

On the domestic tranquility front – here is a picture of Brie surrounded by a bunch of young chickens playing and trying to get a rise out of her.