milod Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Jesse... I'm kinda into history. Okay, I'm more than kinda into history. I hope this makes it past the censors. Problem as I see it in "Western culture" is that we don't seem to stand for anything any more except for social programs and entertainment. To me, as a history nut, that sounds increasingly like the ancient Romans' "bread and circuses" policies when fewer local folks actually had jobs that produced anything. Instead, those jobs were "overseas" and the Romans themselves were either relatively wealthy or relatively impoverished but well-entertained. Yup, they were "cosmopolitan" and "multicultural" and all that stuff that has some very good potential, but it all became a matter of bread and circuses and orgies among the rich - and games of power fueled by ego and ignorance. Don't believe me, read... then read some more about the economics involved - and even what happened with the arts. I'm not sure I'd recommend Petronius or Procopius, at least not the latter's "secret histories," but try Thucydides and Plato; then perhaps Livy and Tacitus. For theater, try Aristotle's "Poetics" and consider how the shoot-em-ups and chick flicks don't cut it, as much as "we" may enjoy them. Too one-sided. We don't take a view of "stuff" as a whole. As a result, all sorts of unintended consequences hit us in spite of our desire to have a better life for more people in whatever country we live. In fact, I'm increasingly convinced "they" find all sorts of excuses to cut "classical" sources from modern education because "they" don't really want people to see some of the odd parallels one might find in the collapse of the great historic bursts of creativity that led folks to try to build a safe and peaceful world through evading the errors of the past, as Thucydides noted. So we don't read Thucydides. The founders of the U.S. were aware of the weaknesses of "democracy" from reading stuff ranging from Plato to Plutarch and Livy, not to mention Xenophon and the Greek playwrights. The English and the Aussies, the French, the Germans and Czechs and Poles and... most of those trained for leadership were aware of that stuff until around the time of the Vietnam War. Then we stopped. It wasn't "partisan" politics per se, because some of the Greek playwrights were darlings of the left far more than the right. Ostensibly education became more broad and common cultural roots and its mythos disappeared. In fact, even the word "mythos" has been weakened to mean little or nothing. What do we now read in school that reflect and reinforce commonality of culture not just for a given nation, but for "western" civilization regardless of our separate mother tongues? It' ain't Vitruvius or Sophocles. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 Um' date=' I just bought a 12 Pack of Dean Markley's and didn't have show any ID. They were on really good sale, too. I wouldn't put this past California law makers, but I can't find anything about it. Where did you read about it, Cruzn?[/quote'] I get regular publications from the National Guitar Association. They're fighting for our rights and keeping us informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Damn fine magazine too. That alone is worth the cost of membership! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 It sure is nice to know that Oregon doesn't have any really weird laws... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Just one question, and it's the same one I always ask in this conversation. Where was the National Guitar Association when Ca Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger were banning like Lefty Pre-Schoolmarms? I like what they stand for, but I question their motives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruznolfart Posted January 11, 2010 Author Share Posted January 11, 2010 It sure is nice to know that Oregon doesn't have any really weird laws... I don't know where you got that. Here's a weird one for ya. It is against the law in Oregon to transport babies on the running boards of automobiles. Not only that but it's against the law to whisper dirty things in your lover's ear during sex. See' date=' we're just as weird as anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba_leon Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 People openly smoke dope on Haight St. , bums illegaly pose as parking ushers at the civic center, and folks walk around with there buttcheeks hanging out in the Castro. Hey lets go after guitar string counterfeiters! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I was down in Bisbee, Arizona over the First. As I was dragging Mrs. Neo's gigantic suitcase up the hill to the Copper Queen Hotel, a bum hopped out of a car and said "I'll take that for you and have my driver come around." I looked at him and said "Sure, let me get my gun out of it first." He kept walking. Vermin.... Lefty Pre-Schoolmarms? Missed that one... I was a Lefty when I started 1st Grade. Teacher asked if I could write the 'normal' way with my right hand. I told her I could, and she said "Okay, show me." I demonstrated I was equally adept with either hand, she spent the rest of the year on my *** making sure I wrote only right-handed because it was better for me in the long run. This was Oklahoma, so... Maybe I should sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 I'm a lifetime member of the National Guitar Association. That's right, card carrying, dues paying, National Guitar Association member and proud of it. Guitars don't kill musicians. Irresponsible musicians kill musicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstMeasure Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 Lefty Pre-Schoolmarms? Missed that one... I was a Lefty when I started 1st Grade. Teacher asked if I could write the 'normal' way with my right hand. I told her I could' date=' and she said "Okay, show me." I demonstrated I was equally adept with either hand, she spent the rest of the year on my *** making sure I wrote only right-handed because it was better for me in the long run. This was Oklahoma, so... Maybe I should sue.[/quote'] Makes me wonder what she Should have been doing while she was trippin' on your left hand. Probably letting her favorite kids pull hair and steal all the blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65 Casino Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 ... a bum hopped out of a carand said "I'll take that for you and have my driver come around." I looked at him and said "Sure' date=' let me get my gun out of it first." He kept walking. Vermin.... [/quote'] I like how you think Neo. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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