the great experiment

 

 

Winston Churchill once said that democracy was the worst form of government – except for all other types of government that have been tried from time to time.

247 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, most of us still do not appreciate what a remarkable document it was.

 I was reminded of that fact this week when I monitored a high school English class,

 The class compared the differing philosophies of two English philosophers, both of whom died long before 1776.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) published Leviathan in 1651.

Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly referred to as Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), it argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could be avoided only by a strong, undivided government.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan_(Hobbes_book)

In essence, Hobbes was arguing in favor of totalitarian rule. In times past, that included rulers like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler. Today, the list would include Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Viktor Orban – and Donald Trump.

For some reason, Hungary’s Victor Orban is looked upon favorably by today’s right-wing extremists. Tucker Carlson did some of this shows there, and the country has been the host of the Conservative Political Action Conference at least once, and Victor Orban attended the 2022 meeting in Orlando

John Locke (1632-1704) had a much different philosophy than Thomas Hobbes, and he had a significant influence on our Founding Fathers.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke

 John Locke FRS (/lɒk/; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, Locke is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American Revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. Internationally, Locke's political-legal principles continue to have a profound influence on the theory and practice of limited representative government and the protection of basic rights and freedoms under the rule of law.

 Locke’s most influential publication was “Two Treatises”, which was published in 1689.

Two Treatises is divided into the First Treatise and the Second Treatise. The original title of the Second Treatise appears to have been simply "Book II," corresponding to the title of the First Treatise, "Book I." Before publication, however, Locke gave it greater prominence by (hastily) inserting a separate title page: "An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Government." The First Treatise is focused on the refutation of Sir Robert Filmer, in particular his Patriarcha, which argued that civil society was founded on a divinely sanctioned patriarchalism. Locke proceeds through Filmer's arguments, contesting his proofs from Scripture and ridiculing them as senseless, until concluding that no government can be justified by an appeal to the divine right of kings.

The Second Treatise outlines a theory of civil society. Locke begins by describing the state of nature, a picture much more stable than Thomas Hobbes' state of "war of every man against every man," and argues that all men are created equal in the state of nature by God. From this, he goes on to explain the hypothetical rise of property and civilization, in the process explaining that the only legitimate governments are those that have the consent of the people. Therefore, any government that rules without the consent of the people can, in theory, be overthrown

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Treatises_of_Government

There is no question that a democracy is always going to be messy, which we are reminded of just about every time we turn on the news.

 What Locke proposed is a delicate balancing act between individual rights and limited government and the need for laws to protect society as a whole. The list of conflicting priorities is extensive, and ranges from the need for taxes versus low taxes, the need for SOME censorship, religiously liberty versus respect for religion, free speech versus prohibition against hate speech, reproductive freedom versus forced morality, and many others.

The topic that is the hardest to resolve though, is guns.

We now have more guns than people in this country – and that makes no sense at all. In 2021, the number of guns produced for the U.S. market was 474 million, and the vast majority of those were not reported to the ATF – even though it is required by law.

https://www.thetrace.org/2023/03/guns-america-data-atf-total/

According to the most recent census, the population of America is 326 million people.

The need to have more and better controls can best be explained by looking at some statistics.

The map below shows firearm mortality by state:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm

The worst state is Mississippi, which has a rate of 33,9 per 100,000 of population. By clicking on the middle column, you can list the death rates in either ascending or descending order. You’ll notice that the worst states are all “red states”. They also happen to be the most religious, which is why you will see billboards that read “God, Guns, and Trump” in those states.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2022/06/

The article below contrasts gun law strength score against the gun death rate.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/us/everytown-weak-gun-laws-high-gun-deaths-study/index.html

California has the strongest gun laws in the nation, and Mississippi has the weakest. (You may remember that Mississippi has the highest death rate from guns – and that is no coincidence.)

California does not have the lowest death rate from guns, but is on the low end of the scale. The lowest death rates in the country are in Massachusetts – which also happens to be the best educated state in the country.

Governor Newsome of California has proposed a 28^th amendment to the constitution.

The Democratic governor’s proposal would raise the federal minimum age to buy a firearm to 21 from 18; mandate universal background checks; institute a “reasonable” waiting period for all gun purchases and ban assault rifles nationally.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/08/newsom-gun-control-amendment-00100954

 Given today’s political climate, it is unlikely to pass, but it is a step in the right direction - and that is precisely why it’s important to vote in every election that you can.

 John Locke would understand. 

It's enough to make you puke!

One of the books on the New York Times best seller list is “I’m Glad My Mom Died”, written by Jennette McCurdy. Although it is classified as a non-fiction novel, the more accurate descriptions would be “auto-biography”.

This week, it is #3 on the list, so I picked it up on a recent trip to the library.

 

Since I am not a big television viewer, I was not familiar with the author, who has been a variety of shows for close to 20 years. Initially, she spent a lot of time on a Nickelodeon show titled iCarly, as well as its sequel, Sam & Cat.

 

Jennette’s mother was a very domineering woman. Although she wanted to be an actress, she was not successful in that career, so she decided that her daughter was the one who was going to be the star.

Jennette started acting when she was 6 years old, and finally quit when she was in her 20’s. Since her mom wanted her to stay looking young as long as possible, she put her on a very restrictive died. Although she was never diagnosed as being anorexic, that is precisely what she was.

I’ve known a couple of ladies who were anorexic, but they eventually were able to escape the scourge, and lead normal lives. Carried to its extreme, it can be fatal, as evidenced by Karen Carpenter’s death in 1983. Karen was 5’4”, and weighed 108 pounds at the time of her death.

Jeannette eventually broke free from anorexia, but progressed to something just as bad.

Bulimia.

Here's a description from the Mayo Clinic:

Bulimia (boo-LEE-me-uh) nervosa, commonly called bulimia, is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People with bulimia may secretly binge — eating large amounts of food with a loss of control over the eating — and then purge, trying to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way.

To get rid of calories and prevent weight gain, people with bulimia may use different methods. For example, you may regularly self-induce vomiting or misuse laxatives, weight-loss supplements, diuretics or enemas after bingeing. Or you may use other ways to rid yourself of calories and prevent weight gain, such as fasting, strict dieting or excessive exercise.

If you have bulimia, you're probably preoccupied with your weight and body shape. You may judge yourself severely and harshly for your self-perceived flaws. Because it's related to self-image — and not just about food — bulimia can be hard to overcome. But effective treatment can help you feel better about yourself, adopt healthier eating patterns and reverse serious complications

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bulimia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353615

 

When she was still dealing with bulimia, Jennette was binging and vomiting as much as 5 times a day, and was start to experience one of the symptoms, which is rotting teeth. Like anorexia, bulimia can also be fatal.

 

Jeantte went through counseling a couple of times, and finally brought it under control when she was in her mid-twenties.

The binging of food also led to the consumption of an excess amount of alcohol, which eventually led to treatment for that ailment.

Her relationship with the mother is a complicated one. On one hand, she misses some aspects of her mother, but when she left her mom’s gravesite for the last time, she realized that she would have had a complete mental breakdown if her mom was still alive.

Most of us feel a sense of remorse when our parents die, but it’s clear that Jennette is much better off now that her mother is dead.

 

Jeanette performed her one woman show (same title as her book) to two sold out performance in Los Angeles. She currently hosts a podcast titled “Empty Inside”, which features guests talking about uncomfortable topics.

I’m not sure if participating in the podcast would make you physically ill – but it might.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

send in the clown(s)

 

I’ve run into a few people who do not feel that there is any value to reading fiction novels – but I disagree.

As I mentioned about 5 years ago, there are MANY reasons to read fiction novels. I would consider historical novels to be the best in the category, since they wrap compelling stories around historical facts. James Berry, Clive Cussler, James Patterson, and John Grisham do the best job of producing compelling books, but sometimes you can find good stories by artists who are not well known. “The Auschwitz Escape” was written by Joel Rosenberg, who I had never heard of, but the title sounded interesting – and the story was very compelling.

I recently picked up “The Lincoln Highway”, by Amor Towles, because it sounded interesting. Truth be told, it’s not an easy read, since it runs to 576 pages. Very little of the book relates to The Lincoln Highway, but it touches on a topic that we can all appreciate.

Clowns.

One of the characters in the book is a clown named Marceline Maupassant, who was a very successful mime in France, but he had the misfortune to move to America in 1929, just before the market crashed. Although he was able to work occasionally, his diminished status led to depression, which lead to suicide.

If you Google his name, you’ll pull up a man named Marceline Orbes, who Marceline Maupassant was modeled after.

http://www.darrenreidhistory.co.uk/the-tragic-tale-of-marceline-orbes-the-suicidal-clown-who-influenced-chaplin/

His story is posted below:

The evolution of comedy in early twentieth century America is dominated by names like Chaplin and Keaton but prior to the explosion of those cinematic luminaries, the medium was dominated not by stars of the silver screen but the superstar clowns of the stage.  Foremost among these was Marceline Orbes, the Spanish-born clown who was watched, and adored, by hundreds of thousands -if not millions- in his prime from 1905 to 1915.  Marceline, as he was simply known, was one of New York’s clowning superstars – he influenced Charlie Chaplin and was fondly remembered by Buster Keaton as one of the ‘greatest clowns’.  And yet his name is almost completely forgotten today – unlike those comedians he influenced, Marceline’s work occurred almost entirely on the live stage and, as a result, little is left to remember him by or appreciate.  One of the most important comedic artists of the twentieth century left almost nothing around which a legacy could be formed and, as a result, is all but forgotten today.  That is a situation that needs to change.

Appearing in The Appendix, my latest article –‘Silent Film Killed the Clown’– seeks to rectify that situation by recovering the tragic tale of Marceline’s rise, fall, and suicide – it also aims to recover something of his life’s work in order to create something that pop culture scholars can use as a basis for future appraisal and appreciation.  Included in the digital first article is a reconstruction of Marceline’s lost silent film, Mishaps of Marceline.  This article, then, is a trans-media project and the first in a two-part series that aims to recover the legacies of New York’s superstar cadre of clowns and comedians whose work evaporated into memory and then obscurity.

If the name Marceline sounds vaguely familiar, you may be familiar with another well-known mime whose name is similar.

His name is Marcel Marceau.

His complete story is posted below, but here is a shorter version:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Marceau

In 1947 Marceau created Bip the Clown, whom he first played at the Théâtre de Poche (Pocket Theatre) in Paris. In his appearance, he wore a striped pullover and a battered, be-flowered silk opera hat. The outfit signified life's fragility, and Bip became his alter ego, just as the "Little Tramp" had become Charlie Chaplin's. Bip's misadventures with everything from butterflies to lions, from ships and trains to dancehalls and restaurants, were limitless. As a stylist of pantomime, Marceau was acknowledged without peer. Marceau, during a televised talk with Todd Farley, expresses his respect for the mime techniques that Charlie Chaplin used in his films, noting that Chaplin seemed to be the only silent film actor who used mime.

 His silent mimed exercises, which included The Cage, Walking Against the Wind, The Mask Maker, and In The Park, all became classic displays. Satires on everything from sculptors to matadors were described as works of genius. Of his summation of the ages of man in the famous Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death, one critic said: "He accomplishes in less than two minutes what most novelists cannot do in volumes." During an interview with CBS in 1987, Marceau tried to explain some of his inner feelings while creating mime, calling it the "art of silence:"Marcel Marceau 1958, work by Isaac Frenkel Frenel

 The art of silence speaks to the soul, like music, making comedy, tragedy, and romance, involving you and your life. . . . creating character and space, by making a whole show on stage – showing our lives, our dreams, our expectations.

We actually saw Marceau perform in a live show in Minneapolis decades ago, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Upon his death at the age of 84 in 2007, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (which Marceau long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played, as was the sarabande of Bach's Cello Suite No. 5. Marceau was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

If you like classical music, and have 31 minutes to spart, you can listen to Mozart’s concert below. However, it you are like me, you’ll be more apt to appreciate a song my Dame Judi Dench:

Dame Judi Dench sings "Send in the Clowns" - BBC Proms 2010 - YouTube

Judi Dench, by the way, is 88 years old – and she is still performing.

in January 2023, Dench appeared in the BBC concert, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends where she sang "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music.. In March 2023, it was announced that Dench would be appearing in a one-off show at that year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, discussing her life and career with Gyles Brandreth, and would also sing and perform excerpts from her past works. The show is titled I Remember It Well: Judi Dench in Conversation with Gyles Brandreth. In April 2023, Dench was the subject of a Channel 5 documentary, titled The Divine Judi Dench: Our National Treasure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judi_Dench