The not so United States was engaged in a great Civil War.
The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) , one the bloodiest battles--over 50,000 casualties--marked a turning point for the Union. But victory came at a heavy cost of blood and treasure.
This offbeat musical presents rock 'n roll style, precursor to punk rock, and even spiritual-like songs throughout its parody of the horror and 1930s-1960s SciFi B movie plots. And its music became popular--part of Pop Culture (the title of this thread.)
Richard O'Brien composed, in my opinion, this beautiful spiritual-like song:
I love this songas it speaks to my soul and spirit.
In times of trouble and dark and scary times, like Brad and Janet getting lost and stranded with a flat tire on a cold and rainy night, there is hope...
There's a light, light in the darkness of everybody's life.
Sound like a call to prayer. It is. And it was almost 250 years ago as well as one of the motto on one of the earliest American flags.
In 1968, the US post office issued its series of historic American flags (then 6 cents). Among them, Washington's cruisers flag 1775 - AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN.
For the history of the Pine Tree Flag, the description in the video explains it best:
The Tree Flag was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, featuring a pine tree with the motto "An Appeal to God" or, more usually, "An Appeal to Heaven", was used originally by a squadron of six cruisers commissioned under George Washington's authority as commander in chief of the Continental Army in October 1775.
And General Washington (with his cruisers and this flag) has been considered the Father of our country, as so aptly described in this description and video below:
There would have never been a United States of America without George Washington. John Rhodehamel, author of "George Washington: The Wonder of the Age," details how Washington successfully guided the budding nation through war and nurtured her in peace.
The space shuttle Challenger is up in orbit. The Reagan administration is beefing up defense to fight the Evil Empire of Communism. And the Satellite Tracking Center, known as the S*T*C, is staffing up to meet those challenges.
...
This was the spirit of the times in my latest book---S*T*C.
Below is a recording of then-Governor Reagan's speech given at the 1964 Republican Convention that nominated Barry Goldwater. The visuals are updated to reflect the continuing struggle since then.
Yet in 1984, the Cold War was at an inflection point as the former USSR would soon fall apart and the Iron Curtain would be coming down.
Likewise more paradigm shifts rocked society, especially the S*T*C as...
The old boy network finds itself turned upside down when young professional women, such as Samantha Clark and Rosalind Hart, breach the male-dominated mission control teams inside the S*T*C. In the secrecy demanded in the classified world, how do Sam and Roz cope with men behaving badly? Will the women or the old boys break first?
This fictional historical novel gives a personal feel of the struggles many women faced with a touch of humor in the mix. It's not all black and white. Not all women were angels. Neither all men Neanderthals.
S*T*C is available as a paperback, kindle, kindle unlimited. (Links below)
We may have a sense of what politics is as we see it everyday, so it seems. But for grins, here's a definition: merriam-webster
Our elected government servants are politicians, hence they politick. Politics prevails in business, in the office, in commerce, in various organization, in personal relationships,....everywhere.
Often politics has a negative connotation. What comes with the territory is in the struggle for power. One way to get power and and stay in power is to manipulate the masses.
A proven tactic for that...
Fear
That's obvious to the casual observer watching the political ads during election season. The opponent and their cohorts are likened to the antichrist and their policies will surely usher in the Apocalypse.
Fables contain that ugly truth of human nature wrapped in a children's story for easy digestion. One such as
Chicken Little
Who hasn't heard the end of the world cry--
The sky is falling!
Here's a darker version of Chicken Little (1943), as shown below in this animation, as told by Disney, during World War II.
Foxy Loxy, through fear, discredits the wise with character assassinations and manipulates Chicken Little, certainly not the brightest bulb in the box. This useful idiot leads his barnyard denizens into the jaws of Foxy Loxy, who not only got Chicken Little, but all the fowls in the barnyard as well.
Yet, the fear tactic is timeless.
Other examples abound, such as in advertising -- hygiene, health, safety, etc... Bad things will happen as we obliviously go about our business. But we'll sell you the product to solve all your problems and assuage all your fears.
A more innocent version of this type of manipulation is found in the musical, The Music Man (1962), about a con man during the early 20th century.
Ya Got Trouble
After scoping our the sleepy town of River City, Iowa, Professor Harold Hill searches for an angle to exploit the denizens...using fear. Finding none, he creates one and demonizes the coming pool table.
That's Trouble in River City, with a capital T that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool.
Inciting the fear of moral degradation creeping into the town and its youth, the Professor offers the solution: A boy's band to channel the youth's energies and keep them from the immoral influence of the pool hall.
Then he sells the instruments and uniforms for this band. Yet he has plans all along to bilk these suckers of their money and skip town before delivering on his promises. (But the love of Marian the Librarian complicates his latest con. The Professor lingers, gets caught, and faces the music.)
Creating a problem, inciting fear, profiting from it. Nothing new for foxes to get their dinner or con artists to separate the naïve from their money.
Fear?
In the words of a politician's inaugural address in the dark days of the Great Depression:
In 1916, Lajos Tihanyi (29 October 1885 – 11 June 1938), a Hungarian painter and lithographer, painted the above portrait of Andor Halasi, a literary critic.
What is a critic?
It may be a simple question with an obvious answer.
1a: one who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances
a literary critic a film critic a theater critic
b: one who expresses a reasoned opinion on any matter especially involving a judgment of its value, truth, righteousness, beauty, or technique
Critics of the new law say that it will not reduce crime.
2: one given to harsh or captious judgment
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Opinions on writing fall in the category of literary critic, such as Andor Halasi in the portrait. And as writers, we face many critics--the harshest of all from ourselves.
Let's look at definiton 2 of critic: one given to harsh or captious judgment
In general, criticism is the easiest thing in the world to dish out. The critic may not be qualified in the field. He/she can be a drive-by snipe, whose motives are far from professional, never the less construction.
Yet, an unkind word, true or not, can break a spirit...derail a career. Resilience, though, allows the artist to keep on going, keeping in this mind:
“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”
I remember in college, when stung by a roommate's criticism of my choice of studies. I shared my hurt with one of my professors. He gave me a copy of a newspaper clip, which he kept in his wallet. Clearly, the advice was precious to him.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
I received the Teddy Roosevelt quote over 45 years ago. Since then, my professor who gave it to me has passed away. But his encouragement during that low time gave me the courage not to give up during many challenges in my life.
So, my friend, whatever you tackle, such as writing, consider the carping of the critic for what it is. Mine it for any truth that may be constructive. And most of all, get up and keep on going.
