I fight the demons of cynicism daily....
by Marine Domer (2024-02-14 11:43:17)

In reply to: As old as the Sibylline Books  posted by BeijingIrish

Cannot Reply Return to Political

Watching what my party (and yes, the Democratic Party as well, to a lesser degree) have become, watching the hopeless corruption and incompetence that is the Crook County court system, watching our feckless leaders diminish America's role in the world, watching our feckless leaders diminish Notre Dame's role in the world.

I will continue to rage against the dying of the light, but I grow tired. I'm disgusted by a world and a nation where doing the right thing is no longer rewarded as it should be. I take solace in knowing I'm still blessed beyond anything to which I'll ever be entitled, and my belief in God's infinite forgiveness for us unworthy souls.

P.S. -- Damn, does anyone in the world talk like Winston Churchill any longer? What a master. This weary world could use another like him.

My days of fighting demons are done.
by BeijingIrish  (2024-02-14 12:48:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I rage, but I do it silently. I am alone--there is no audience in the man cave from where I follow the daily pageant of silliness on the PB.

I suppose I could be angry all the time, but then there is Usher in his sparkly pants. What joy! What I do have all the time is shame, and it arises every time I look at my grandsons. It occurs to me that my Boomer counterparts and I are supremely lucky. We will not live to see the end (unless the Great Pacific War begins this year or next).

The shame comes from knowing that we fucked it up. We squandered every advantage, never took the right path, avoided sacrifice. I do not suggest that we are unique--those who follow us are doing a splendid job of fucking it up. And, btw, I don't buy the Greatest Generation bullshit. They gave us Vietnam among other things. They loved their cocktails and their entitlements.

I belong on an island somewhere. St. Helena or Pitcairn. But given a choice, I'd select the Big Island.

If nothing else.....
by Marine Domer  (2024-02-14 12:57:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

you should know your shame should be outwardly directed, not inward. In addition to your courageous service, and your work helping micro-financing all of the world, your posting here (whether I respond or not) brings me joy. We may not always agree, but I love reading your geopolitical analysis, and marvel at your memory of events, names, faces, food, etc. Your travelogues alone are worth the price of admission.
If you haven't read his book
by Charlie Hough  (2024-02-14 12:59:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

You definitely should.
I have it. Read part of it, but not all yet. *
by Marine Domer  (2024-02-14 16:33:10)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

I needed an editor.
by BeijingIrish  (2024-02-14 13:17:48)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Cannot reply

The goddamn thing is full of mistakes. It's sometime too wordy, too cluttered. I was resolved to correct all that with a second edition, but it morphed into a different book, more autobiography than travelogue. It sits on my computer along with a memoir of my Navy days and a collection of essays, letters, and rants (blog posts).