This week’s Presidential election has reminded me of Marshall McLuhan’s trademark, “The Medium In the Message.” From it, I recall his belief that we go through life looking through the rear-view mirror, and becoming aware of our environment only after we have left it and that what is communicated doesn’t count as much as how it is delivered.
Of course, the medium that exists today is much different than that of the sixties, they still alter our sensory life, therefore what we know. As a result, our society is like the driver who sees neither ahead to the future nor outside the side window to the present but looks only to the past in the rear-view mirror — “Make America great again.”
McLuhan believed that education must serve as a defense to the media fallout. He likened our society to the mariner in Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “A Descent Into the Maelstrom.” The mariner is caught in a whirlpool, but he figures out the relative velocities of currents and saves himself. The question remains whether, as a society, we are educated enough to save ourselves.
“TIME FOR MORE ACTION”
January 17, 2003, Peace Demonstration In Houston, Texas — Photo by Joy
In some ways, I feel as if I may have been in a trance these past eight years, kind of a passive free feeling. It’s now time to stand. Social justice, like art, requires an effort. It’s time for those who have half a heart for poetry, half for life to stand for truth. Those who have continued learning and have been sharpening our weapons by night to clear their throats and stand, becoming the voices of truth.
Until my brother, Tom, stop sending emails in 2010, many of the titles would read “The ‘blank’ is in the well,” and the message would include this cat image. We never talked about the image or the use of the phase, but he used them often as a preface to the message and a reflection of his condition.
In an October 16, 2009 email titled, “Cat’s In The Well” he wrote:
Your blog was splendidly poetic….(Visually and Verbally)!!!! Such a graceful turning inward and reflecting on two brothers and kindred spirits….. I love yah Talk to you very soon t.
Again, I would think about the phase and the why he would use it, e.g., “Photography is in the Well with the Cat.”
One can gather all kinds of meaning from the image and the phase, but it wasn’t till one day while running and listening to Bob Dylan on my iPad and I heard, “The cat’s in the well, the wolf is looking down.”
“That’s it!” I thought, maybe this was the connection, Dylan’s “Cat In The Well.”
The cat’s in the well, the wolf is looking down The cat’s in the well, the wolf is looking down He got his big bushy tail dragging all over the ground
The cat’s in the well, the gentle lady is asleep Cat’s in the well, the gentle lady is asleep She ain’t hearing a thing, the silence is a-stickin’ her deep
The cat’s in the well and grief is showing its face The world’s being slaughtered and it’s such a bloody disgrace
The cat’s in the well, the horse is going bumpety bump The cat’s in the well, and the horse is going bumpety bump Back alley Sally is doing the American jump
The cat’s in the well, and Papa is reading the news His hair’s falling out and all of his daughters need shoes
The cat’s in the well and the barn is full of bull The cat’s in the well and the barn is full of bull The night is so long and the table is oh, so full
The cat’s in the well and the servant is at the door The drinks are ready and the dogs are going to war
The cat’s in the well, the leaves are starting to fall The cat’s in the well, leaves are starting to fall Goodnight, my love, may the Lord have mercy on us all
The theme of the song is apocalyptic — very mythological. The cat’s in the well and there’s just no escape.
Goodnight, Tom, may the Lord have mercy on you. Although broken and mangled, you were one “cool cat.”
The laws of God, the laws of man, He may keep that will and can; Not I: let God and man decree Laws
for themselves and not for me; And if my ways are not as theirs Let them mind their own affairs. Their deeds I judge and much condemn, Yet when did I make laws for them? Please yourselves, say I , and they Need only look the other way. But no, they will not; they must still Wrest their neighbour to their will, And make me dance as they desire With jail and gallows and hell-fire. And how am I to face the odds Of man’s bedevilment and God’s? I, a stranger and afraid In a world I never made. They will be master, right or wrong; Though both are foolish, both are strong. And since, my soul, we cannot fly To Saturn nor to Mercury, Keep we must, if keep we can, These foreign laws of God and man.
View of Tucson from the Box Camp Trail on Mt. Lemmon (Click here to see more hiking the Box Camp Trail photos.) — Images by kenne
The ground we walk on,
the plants and creatures,
the clouds above
constantly dissolving
into new formations –
each gift of nature
possessing its own
radiant energy,
bound together by
cosmic harmony.
The invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003. On this Memorial Day, I share a piece I wrote in January of 2003.)
Freedom doesn’t come without a price,
an individual’s price
can vary greatly
depending on his/her
color, wealth, and power.
I served during the Viet Nam era.
On the day I was drafted,
so too were two other young men.
They are not alive today.
There are others I knew
that paid the greatest price,
which is how many of us
put a face on Viet Nam War.
For many Americans
going to war in Iraq
needs to have a face,
a face of those who have already died
from this war between bullies.*
During my duty in the Army
I had a top secret-crypto clearance.
I began to become aware
of the difference between
what citizens are told as fact
and what was the truth.
The Army told me we live and die
by international law and standards,
by the Rules of the Geneva Convention,
but we lie.
We expect others to live
by international laws,
not us.
Just because a bully in Iraq
doesn’t believe in international laws
shouldn’t mean that we lower
ourselves to the bully’s level.
We are better than that!
The lesson I have learned is that
it’s always a mistake
to believe your own lies.
Yes, Sadam is a tyrant.
However, he should be
treated as such through
the international justice system.
He should be replaced
by elected leaders,
not a regime that is ours.
Remember,
it wasn’t that long ago
that Sadam was our bully.
As the most powerful country
in the history of the world,
we have an obligation
to use our power with
constraint and with justice,
to lead by example
so that other countries
will not take unilateral action
against another country
simply for preëmptive reasons.
We are better than that!
Let’s show respect to our position
of power and greatest
by leading and supporting diplomacy
and the rule of law,
not the rule of vigilantism.
Peace.
kenne
*(note — we have been at war, with Iraq since we have
been bombing them daily for years now, which we justified by our own unilateral action, not International law,
or the UN.)
Ev’ryone can see we’re together As we walk on by and we fly just like birds of a feather I won’t tell no lie all of the people around us they say Can they be that close Just let me state for the record We’re giving love in a family dose
Sometimes life is unpredictable. It dictates things that you do not want to pursue, nor do you wish to listen to. But no matter how we resist life, it won’t allow itself to lay unappreciated and devaluedfor a long time.
For each day we live on this planet, each breath we took when were awake and each silent breath when we are asleep, life is already in its existence.
For life is within us, it envelops us in everything that we do. It is there, silent and yet overbearing, when we took our own paths, when we mold our own destiny, and when we choose wise and unwise decisions.
Decisions that might or might not affect the way our life will be. For no matter what path we choose, life is always there.
Life is the essence of life. Life is a God-given gift bestowed upon humankind. Life is our life. Without life, humanity would not have existed, I would not have existed.
Life gives us the freedom to choose, to see things in its pure goodness, but above all, life gives us the ability to live on this planet. For it is life that we found each other. For it is in life that we are one.
We are not only citizens in our own countries but we are citizens of the world. We are here because of life, and we are here because we have life. Live life to its fullest form. Thank God for bestowing upon us life. Life is life.
Music is the language of the world, by which we are all connected, and the self is formed. The series, “Playing for Change,” is a modern example of how peoples of different languages and cultures are all moved by music. One of my favorite songs is Bob Marley’s“Redemption Song,” and is one of the “Playing for Change” series.
At this time of reflection and resolution, I share so we may all resolve to seek freedom through peace.
kenne
Redemption Song — Bob Marley
Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs.
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
‘Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfill the Book.
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs,
Redemption songs.
—
/Guitar break/
—
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! Have no fear for atomic energy,
‘Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it’s just a part of it:
We’ve got to fulfill the book.
Won’t you have to sing
These songs of freedom? –
‘Cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs –
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom, Songs of freedom.
Although times are rare when I’m not listening to music, or when it’s not the sound in my space, 2005 has afforded little opportunity to review and buy new music.
I could blame it on my iPod, now containing my complete collection of CDs making for easy listening. Whatever the reason, I still feel qualified to share my pick for album of the year, Tom Russell’s “Hotwalker.”
Tom has written and produced a Ken Burns-style audio journey in an America where misfits, the other side of Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wraft,” troubadours, lost heroes, street people and poets, bemused by corporate America, provide a scene of what remains of our soul.
A soul trying to exist in “ . . . a system
where our guts and heart and creativity
are wrenched from us and we become
a nation of domesticated animals.”
kenne
Post Script — December 19, 2008
The Hotwalker release was the second part of a planned “Americana trilogy”. The first part was “The Man From
God Knows Where” released in 1999. Recently, Russell released, The Tom Russell Anthology – Veteran’s Day, and as it did with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, one song again rang true to my ear – “Man from God Knows Where.”
“I’ve always said the real poets in this country are the folk
singers like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Johnny Cash,
Bob Dylan, John Denver, Tom Russell– not the poets of
the written word. I’ve just listened again to your
“Man from God Knows Where,” and it’s a true American classic.
It’s the real voice of the American experience, down on
the ground, sounding through old time America.” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Oh, they hung me in Downpatrick,
Up near St. Patrick’s tomb,
But my ghost rose up in the peat fire smoke
Toward the rising of the moon.
Now as I drift through your villages,
All the maidens stop and stare,
‘There goes old Tom, the vagabond,
The Man From God Knows Where.’
To learn more about Russell’s first “folk opera” read Bill Nevins’s 1999 interview with Tom Russell. then listen to Phil Coulter – The Man from God Knows Where –
Tom Russell, 1798 Rebellion.
Tom Russell still remains one of my favorite folk musicians and even more during these times of challenge for so many.
One of the blogs I link to is SO FAR FROM HEAVEN: OLD JULES. I enjoy Old Jules’s take on life. In one of today’s post, “My Original Veteran’s Day Post,” Old Jules writes about his old running buddy, Phil:
“I hadn’t thought about my old running buddy, Phil, for a while. That last blog entry got me chewing on thoughts of him. I’ll tell you a bit more about him.
Phil went to the Marine Corps as the result of being a 17 year old driving from Temple, Texas, to Austin with a case of beer in the car. A Williamson County Sheriff Deputy stopped him on a tail light violation, asked for his driver’s license and saw the case of beer. Old Phil, being a clever youth, gave the officer a Texas Drivers License with an altered date of birth, so’s to keep from being arrested as a minor in possession of alcoholic beverages.”Read more . . .
“Self-Portrait” — Image by kenne
“TIME FOR MORE ACTION”
Until my brother, Tom, stop sending emails in 2010, many of the titles would read “The ‘blank’ is in the well,” and the message would include this cat image. We never talked about the image or the use of the phase, but he used them often as a preface to the message and a reflection of his condition.
…..
The cat’s in the well, the gentle lady is asleep
In Remembrance — 
“A World I Never Made” — Image by kenne
View of Tucson from the Box Camp Trail on Mt. Lemmon (
Becoming is Superior to Being 
The invasion of Iraq began on March 19, 2003. On this Memorial Day, I share a piece I wrote in January of 2003.)
Freedom doesn’t come without a price,
an individual’s price
can vary greatly
depending on his/her
color, wealth, and power.
I served during the Viet Nam era.
On the day I was drafted,
so too were two other young men.
They are not alive today.
There are others I knew
that paid the greatest price,
which is how many of us
put a face on Viet Nam War.
For many Americans
going to war in Iraq
needs to have a face,
a face of those who have already died
from this war between bullies.*
During my duty in the Army
I had a top secret-crypto clearance.
I began to become aware
of the difference between
what citizens are told as fact
and what was the truth.
The Army told me we live and die
by international law and standards,
by the Rules of the Geneva Convention,
but we lie.
We expect others to live
by international laws,
not us.
Just because a bully in Iraq
doesn’t believe in international laws
shouldn’t mean that we lower
ourselves to the bully’s level.
We are better than that!
The lesson I have learned is that
it’s always a mistake
to believe your own lies.
Yes, Sadam is a tyrant.
However, he should be
treated as such through
the international justice system.
He should be replaced
by elected leaders,
not a regime that is ours.
Remember,
it wasn’t that long ago
that Sadam was our bully.
As the most powerful country
in the history of the world,
we have an obligation
to use our power with
constraint and with justice,
to lead by example
so that other countries
will not take unilateral action
against another country
simply for preëmptive reasons.
We are better than that!
Let’s show respect to our position
of power and greatest
by leading and supporting diplomacy
and the rule of law,
not the rule of vigilantism.
Peace.
kenne
*(note — we have been at war,
with Iraq since we have
been bombing them
daily for years now,
which we justified
by our own
unilateral action,
not International law,
or the UN.)
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