Zodiac sign Virgo (August 23 to September 22) has a bad rap."Persnickety," to put it kindly.
This is a misunderstanding, or a negative interpretation.
Virgo is the goddess of integrity and order.
Not the police-state order that bursts with guns drawn into meetings of anarchists.
The kind of order that keeps our cells--and our sentences--from flying apart;
order that is the goal of art.
As David Mamet says of drama, in On Directing Film:
"[Drama] is a logical progression toward the simplest, most ordered state. Things have been disordered, and they must come back to rest.
"We don't have to worry about creating a problem. We make a better movie if we worry about restoring order."
Perhaps we don't think of art that way, because it looks like a messy process. But art is like science: it seeks the underlying order of things.
That order may be incredibly complex, so the process must be free (!), but freedom is not the same as disorder.
[This, my new profile photo, shows me at the Pacific Ocean, two years ago.]
How do Anarchists form committees and have meetings? Surely Anarchy is about the abscence of any authority, even an Anarchist authority...and what is the difference between Anarchists and Libertarians?? Libertarians seem to have flashier cars, but... apart from that?
ReplyDeleteAnd your elections dont half look like a beauty contest from over here...we elect a party, not a Prime Minister, which brings issues more to the fore (well...a bit)...whereas there seems to be an awful lot of name calling going on with your chaps...
Sorry, random observation there.
The new picture is good...and there is a touch of the King Canutes about it...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete[I deleted the above comment by me because it had even more spelling mistakes than usual. I swear one of these days I'm going to learn to proofread my own comments.]
ReplyDeleteI love these random observations from across the ocean (not the ocean I am facing in the picture, but still a very nice ocean).
Political activism is all in my distant past, but I expect it is still true that anarchists have v-e-r-y l-o-n-g meetings because there is no one in charge, so everyone talks and talks.
A group I was in (not actual anarchists, but along those lines) had to decide everything by consensus. I suspect that one meeting is still going on now, twenty years later.
Of course, a hierarchy always emerges--usually some guy who talks more and more forcefully than anyone else ends up in charge. You know, like Lenin.
Libertarians are like Anarchists, but on the right-wing. (Hence the flashier cars, while anarchists ride bikes.) Kinda turns out to be the same thing, but they won't talk to each other.
[Heaven help me, I'm just making this up. But I think I'm not entirely wrong. Maybe Stefalala who remains closer to these issues will give a more informed account. How 'bout it Stef?]
You got it!
Beauty contest!
Did you know Sarah Palin competed in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant? And one of the comments I immediately heard from a lefty was that Palin is unattractive.
Sigh.
I don't know why anyone wonders why we're off bombing other people, when we can't even talk to each other without descending to the level of, "You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny."
We are the young children of a young species.
I had to look up King Canute.
Great!
From Canute The Great
"Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey".
"So spoke King Canute the Great, the legend says, seated on his throne on the seashore, waves lapping round his feet.
"Canute had learned that his flattering courtiers claimed he was "So great, he could command the tides of the sea to go back".
"Now, Canute was not only a religious man, but also a clever politician.
He knew his limitations - even if his courtiers did not - so he had his throne carried to the seashore and sat on it as the tide came in, commanding the waves to advance no further.
When they didn't, he had made his point that, though the deeds of kings might appear 'great' in the minds of men, they were as nothing in the face of God's power."
Ah, thank you, all is clear...so if I need a lift to the airport, its a Libertarian I should look for...
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I need to read more about the Republicans, they seem to be tipped to win over here...
Canute was great wasnt he? He was quite technological for his time, his Grandfather was Harald Bluetooth...
Clear as mud, eh?
ReplyDeleteShudder. I hope the Republicans don't win.
Anarchists would be happy to give you a ride to the airport on their very technologically advanced bicycles, taking full advantage of the laws of physics. Or to accompany you on local mass transit, explaining all the while the benefits of such.
P.S. "Tipped to win"? Is that a betting term?
ReplyDelete(This is a genuine question, not irony.)
Yes indeed, tipped to win..a betting term over here...
ReplyDeleteAh, two countries divided by a common language, etc etc etc !!!
I think it's too close to call, and Obama has more endurance!
ReplyDeleteI love your picture!
I tend to think of Liberterians as people who worship at the altar of the individual property owner and want government to leave them alone. Anarchists come in many flavors but "without rulers" is a starting point. The anarchists I know in Spain are fundamentally suspcious of any state, not necessarily in favor of chaos.
To digress from the political... Ah, Virgos. The bane of my existence, somehow. Although I know some Virgos who are absolutely wonderful, I have run across some who are among my least favorite people. And, I must say, I can spot them right away. If I find myself feeling bossed around I can always step back and say: This must be a Virgo. It generally is. You are of a kind and generous nature.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that a Anarchist meeting seems like an oxymoron. Or it should be, but is not. Sadly, most Anarchists I've met seem to want to rule the world, but lack the guts to just admit it. There is ALWAYS that one guy that is louder than the others. And he is usually a Virgo, to boot. {snort}
I'm coming across as negative today, although my mood is fine... Will be more optimistic later.
Rudy: ASCOMK = "Almost Sprayed Coffee On My Keyboard"
ReplyDeleteI had a moutful of coffee and when I read your comment that the loudest anarchist is probably a Virgo, well... good thing I didn't choke to death as I tried not to harm my computer.
Negative? I just thought you were funny--and right!
Virgos can be dictatorial!
Each sign has its best and worst, or high and low, sides, so it depends how the individual manifests those.
Astrologers (I am not one) tell us that certain signs work well with others.
One supposedly good match is the sign opposite (6 month from) your own--Earth sign Virgo with its order is opposite my wandering Water sign Pisces, and I often like that type of person--they are kind of restful to me.
But I hate when order turns into Order.
My experience with anarchists is yours. The ideology sounds loving but I've never found the practice to be.
P.S. As for the State and the Individual, I think the key is CHECKS AND BALANCES.
ReplyDeleteWithout well-designed checks and balances on it, power turns people--of any political or religious or what-have-you stripe-- into bullies.
And that's my political philosophy in a nutshell.
First, I have to say that libertarians would be the last people to give you a ride to the airport. Because it's basically "every man for himself" and it's your responsibility to make your own way to the airport and not be expecting them to do things for you. Basically, I think libertarians are just greedier anarchists.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I think very few Virgos would become anarchists. I think their clarity of thought (not necessarily action) would make them too impatient with the muddled meetings. My experience with the guy who talks the loudest and longest is that he's usually a fire sign. Virgos rarely go on and on--or usually only go on and on--when trying to explain simple things to dim people who don't have Virgos' superior logic. :) Sort of like Spock explaining things to Captain Kirk. Spock is definitely a Virgo... as in the interest of full disclosure, am I.
No offense to rudyinparis but you always struck me as someone who seemed like a typical Virgo... (obviously I don't have the same anti-Virgo lens you do). Maybe in your moon or rising sign...?
Interessante, Capitano!
ReplyDeleteI had guessed Spock as a Gemini (Rudy), but he has Virgo (Bink) qualities too. It is a kind of order, in the postive sense, I see in both of you.
Yes, a Libertarian might say, "Work hard and get your own car," where an Anarchist might say, "We are in this together, so you can ride on my two-seater bike if you can tolerate listening to me preach."
I can see Gemini qualities in Spock...but the depth that is there (and doesn't always come through) is Virgo.
ReplyDeleteI really don't think this is anything to joke about. Most of the supposed "Anarchists" were anything but. . .and the articles in the paper were deliberately mis-leading in order to instill fear in the minds of the peace marchers and the local public. Many journalists were in these houses interviewing groups like "Food Not Bombs" when the police, drawn guns in hand, broke in, ransacked the house, people's belongings were confiscated, and innocent journalists were handcuffed and manhandled. One of the groups there was I-Witness_Video of New York, instrumental in video-taping the brutality of the police in 2004 that ultimately led to convictions. If you want to talk about lawlessness, look to the police departments of St. Paul and Minneapolis, along with Homeland Security and the FBI. The well-known and highly respected journalist Amy Goodman and her two producers were arrested--even though they had highly obvious documents allowing them access to the floor of the convention, etc. If you want to see brutality, go to You Tube or go to Democracy Now.org. for video's of her arrest. I am highly upset about what is happening. If journalists are going to be arrested when they are doing the job of reporting events, then we all better worry about learning to live in a Police State.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's appalling and distressing what is happening.
ReplyDeleteBut, Barrett, who was it who said,
"Humor is a way of apprehending truth"?
I'd further say humor even serves human dignity and decency, oddly enough.
Not very familiar with Star Trek, but based on this quote: "Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material."
ReplyDelete--Spock, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", I'd have to guess he's an Aquarin- which combines the intellectual interests of Gemini & Virgo, but without their willingness to explore myriad possibilities, even frivolously so. Aquarius has a single-minded focu revealed in this quote, and Spco's distant, even aloof, hard-for-others to relate to demeanor,which can appear very selfish, combined with self-lessness of service and purpose, is an Aquarian trademakr.
Hi, Shy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insights!
Aquarius, eh? Hmmm... Spock isn't frivolous, he has high marks on selfless service and purpose, and his aloofness is hard for humans to relate to, that's for sure!
But he does explore possibilities--scientific ones, at least. One of his famous quotes, besides the one I listed is,
"There are always possibilities."
I don't know--he's complex. I think we need his whole chart--figured for the planet Vulcan of course.