The Book of Ecclesiastes - Chapter 12

Whilst doing QT today...read this scriptural passage which suddenly reminded me of the laments that Eliot had been talking about the whole time.

THE WINTER evening settles down
With smell of steaks in passageways.
Six o’clock.
The burnt-out ends of smoky days.
And now a gusty shower wraps
The grimy scraps
Of withered leaves about your feet
And newspapers from vacant lots;
The showers beat
On broken blinds and chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.
And then the lighting of the lamps.

Coming from the first stanza of "Preludes", we see the urban scene creep into our view, the dreariness of the street reflecting the Modern inner human psyche, which lacks human emotions and well-established relationships. "Everything is meaningless!" says the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 12:8 (NIV). HOW APT.

I saw many parallels in the above stanza with that of Eccl 12:1-8. Ah...wretched existence.

1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

8 "Vanity of vanities", saith the preacher; "all is vanity!"

Make the best out of our situation...however vain the outcome may settle. As is said in 12:13-14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
judgement"
As I've been telling some of my friends...today's surcease will be tomorrow's success (Paraphrasing loosely from Macbeth).

The Battle of Little Big Horn, June 25th 1876

George Armstrong Custer, the young Civil War hero turned Indian fighter, was trapped on a desolate ridge overlooking the Little Bighorn River in the territory of Montana. Swarms of well-armed Indians surrounded him. According to legend–and many historians–Custer rallied his vastly outnumbered troops. The desperate 7th Cavalry soldiers shot their horses to make barricades and fought ferociously as hundreds of Indians, led by famed Sioux war chief Crazy Horse, overran the ridge.

But because Custer's men were wiped out before reinforcements arrived, a definitive account of the Little Bighorn battle has eluded historians. The only eye­witnesses were the Indians, who had conflicting recollections.
One thing's for sure: Custer did not survive. None of his Seventh Cavalry Regiment who fought the Battle of Little Big Horn did.

New York, Bali, London..."We deliver. On time. EVERYTIME"

The US, and other coalition troops, have seen the worst problems yet, in the quest to remedy a failing situation in Iraq. Having been sent there for the purposes of 'peace-keeping' and 'restoration' of the stability in Iraq, the latest spate of atrocities committed by US troops against the Iraqis certainly does not score well on their report cards.
With floundering citizen support for the military involvement in the Middle East, the Bush administration should seriously rethink, and retake, its stand about providing more troop insertions into a land which is troubled enough as it is. Controversy of mosque shootings last Sunday, are an indication that the disturbance and unsettlement has reached beyond the physical, into the psychological realm of both soldiers and locals alike.
In desperation to hold a fort which is barely surviving from within, Army recruiters have turned to those who left the army - on medical grounds. And Korea, Vietnam, and most recently, Afghanistan are just some huge black marks on the US's record of how military intervention for an economic agenda just DOES NOT pay (pun fully intended).

Lets see just how LONG this is going to keep up.

Let's see if the US Mountain Brigade (if we're going to start on names here) survives their "Last stand". Custer's Seventh Cavalry didn't survive theirs.

Life...is but a dream. Desperate, fleeting butterflies of dreams.

Uncle Sam's Desperation -- and a Recruit's
By Brian Ford
The Washington Post
Saturday, March 25, 2006; Page A19

"Can you give a psychological clearance for someone who wants to go into the military?" asked the caller, in a crisp, authoritative voice.

Having heard so much about the military's recent recruiting difficulties, I was intrigued. "Sure, assuming the person's okay."

"Now, I'm only authorized to pay for one session, but we don't want you to do psychoanalysis. You just need to say that this kid is okay to rejoin the Army."

"Rejoin?"

"He signed up three years ago, but then he got homesick and depressed, didn't feel comfortable handling weapons or with all the violence. He was generally discharged."

To my knowledge, a general discharge was both negative and not that easy to get. The kid must have been in pretty bad shape. "Why would he be any different now?"

"Says he sees the opportunity he gave up and now he wants to make the Army his career. We'd like to help him do that." "Help him" seemed to hang in the air, like a hawk above some oblivious fledgling.

"Honestly," the recruiter said, "we didn't used to consider someone like this, but we're under lots of pressure these days."

I thought back to my hospital emergency room days and the many patients I'd seen whose first psychiatric problems had emerged while they were in the military. They might have arisen anyway, but the stress of military service had always seemed a contributing factor.

"Maybe you'd like to see his discharge report?"

A grainy fax soon arrived. "Serious symptoms of anxiety and depression," the evaluator had written, "likely to get worse if subject remains in military." Also attached was the kid's own handwritten statement. "I hate this 'kill, kill, kill' all the time. Maybe the army is great, but it's not for me."

The plaintive tone was even more compelling than the evaluator's. Could the kid's attitude possibly have changed that much? Still, I tried to be open-minded when Juan arrived next morning in a worn gray sweatshirt and jeans. He was so short, maybe 5-3, that I wondered if the Army had any sort of height requirement.

I ran through the standard questions about hallucinations, delusions, substance abuse, suicidal or violent thoughts, suppressing an ironic smile at this last query. Juan said nothing remarkable.

"I've got your discharge evaluation," I told him finally, plucking the document from my desk, "but maybe it would be better if you just tell me what happened back then."

Juan took a deep breath. "Bad timing," he said. "I signed up between my junior and senior years in high school, but by the time I had to go I was married and had a son. My wife kept writing saying how much she missed me, how I wasn't seeing my baby grow up. That really got me. She's all for it now," he quickly added. "She's thinking of joining herself once she gets her GED."

"You had a hard time with all the violence."

Juan ducked his head sheepishly. "I made that up. It wasn't like I loved the Army or anything, but back then I didn't know what life was about. As soon as I left I wanted to go back, but you have to wait two years to reapply after a general discharge."

"What have you done since then?"

"Worked at a warehouse till it closed, McDonald's, Wal-Mart. I'm temping now since my family's been in the shelter."

"The shelter."

"Couldn't pay the rent. It's kind of funny, the building is right across the street from the recruiting center." Juan smiled at this evident transparency. "But that's why I want to enlist -- put a roof over my family's head."

Maybe with more sessions we could have explored whether this was what he really wanted. But that wasn't our task. "If you get in, I guess you could wind up in Iraq."

"They tell us 70 percent."

"How do you feel about possibly getting wounded or even killed?"

"I just keep my mind on the paycheck, health insurance, even the uniform. I think of my son looking at me and saying, 'Wow! A soldier.' "

I looked at him. Was it a facade or had he accurately calculated that this truly was the most promising of his potential life paths? I didn't know which was worse.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"You seem fine now. I'm concerned how you'll manage if you get back in."

"No one knows that."

"We have to consider past history."

"Even though I'm saying I made it all up?"

"Yes."

He looked crushed, as though seeing life's opportunities lost to one youthful indiscretion. "But really, I'm all right now."

The recruiter called after he left. "Do you have to write that you're not sure how he'll manage?"

"Yes."

"The kid really wants this." He sounded like a realtor or a car salesman making one last pitch to a prospect.

"I know."

Juan came by next morning to pick up his evaluation. "If this doesn't work out, what will you do?" I asked.

"Just keep trying," He tucked the letter in his pocket. "This is my dream."

The writer is a psychotherapist who practices in Metuchen, N.J., and New York City.

My "Perfect Major"

Was looking thru Daniel's Blog...and came across this quiz on the "Perfect Major". And strangely...it says that I'm best suited for...

Psychology 83% Journalism 83% Sociology 83% Mathematics 75% Philosophy 75% Linguistics 75% Anthropology 75% Engineering 67% English 67% Dance 58% Art 58% Biology 58% Theater 50% Chemistry 50% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

Well....what do you know? SOCIOLOGY!
Haha...I'd take it with a pinch of salt. Literature was always 'up there' for me. And as much as I profess I love anthropology rather than Sociology...the 'quantitative data' sits there...staring at me, proclaiming that "i'll be a perfect Sociology major". Haha.
Well....well....WELL. I still LOVE anthro more than Soci. And STRANGELY enough...Maths seems to be one of my 'top' strengths. Seems that theory is far from practice here. How far? We'll have to see. =P

The American World Map - And where we fit in...

To illustrate my point...let's see how the world figures in the Yankees' plans for Global domination. 

A letter to Bush

Hi ppl. Yes, its been a long time since I last blogged an entry. Why? What with the past few weeks-turned-months of whirlwind-like activities such as Sino-Singapore exchange and catching up with schoolwork, to that of simply training up physically and spiritually during my own time...the moments of one's life just zips past in that proverbial flash. Thought I'd write a letter to Dear Ol' George, after reading a report. Here goes...

Dear President Bush,
Was looking at an article on Yahoo, in a site called "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone", which gives a journalistic ethnography into the life he leads/led in these war-torn areas in the world. This story truly sickened me, and reminded me of scenes from "Full Metal Jacket", where US Marines were trained to be 'lean-mean killing machines' for the 'noble effort' of "the 'Nam".
To shoot at a CLEARLY injured POW, when he has been TOTALLY disarmed, and is ALREADY lying in a bloody mess, is ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL. Given the circumstances, that soldier in question would have been sent on a one-way ticket to JAG, and hopefully (with justice prevailing), the detention barracks for a long time.
That's in my world.
Now, let's look at what is happening in the REAL WORLD:
Soldiers storm mosques, and fire bullets all over, saying the insurgents are "lurking in one of those spiralled minarets". (Yes, those ones which have the intricate designs and architecture which SOMEHOW, US troops SEEM to have forgotten about). Its not about preserving the culture and lifestyle here. Its blatant US "in-we-go-bargin-in" Imperialism at play. Just read the reactions to the report. Instead of feeling remorse to the report for the atrocities done, the majority of the respondents ACTUALLY condone the acts done by "their boys".
What HAS the US media done to the minds of their citizens? Surely...surely, 'a little' TV did no one harm? BUT WHAT ABOUT CASTING "I-RAK-EES" and all the other "Rag-heads" as bad guys out to blow you up with a 'dirty bomb' anytime,on the streets, in the subway, even in the public toilet?? And what about what I call the "demonization of Islam"? WHAT GIVES??
Hey Bush. Its YOUR call. You screw this one up, You're gonna be sorry for having sparked the next Vietnam off, and making the mess just bigger.

P.S. And IF you're thinking of going into aid Taiwan against China, by playing around with the words "ceasing support" of the National Reunification Council and not "Terminating it" altogether, STOP your English word games. Leave that for the Scrabble game you should be playing. Concentrate on bringing the dead-bodies of your fallen soldiers back, and answering their waiting parents.