Julian: Of Empires and Inflection Points

The novelized biography of Julian by Gore Vidal provides a sobering snapshot of human civilization in the 4th Century CE. The book chronicles the cathartic transition of an empire and of a man. The story which albeit nearly two millennia old holds surprising context for our global civilization today.

Julian's journey takes him from blue-blood orphan to reluctant leader and then from Caesar Augustus to military KIA.  Often labeled Julian the Apostate, this impassioned man sought to take the Roman Empire back to its historic roots of Hellenism. Ironically, his uncle Constantine famously converted Rome spiritually to rally the troops and citizenry under a the then rising populist religion of Christianity.

Julian's apostasy refers to one who has rejected a religion to which they were devoted. Indeed Julian, schooled in Christian myth, rejects Christianity as a misguided death cult and embraces Hellenism in what he sees as a more poetic and philosophical world view. As Augustus he implements policies that are tolerant to worshipers of all religion while more strongly backing the gods that he finds most worthy, Helios in particular.

More than religion, the Roman Empire seems to thrive on the power struggle of militaristic expansionism and with more overt fervor than even our modern world. Julian was no different in that he secured his power as Caesar by shoring up Gaul with military might and then as Augustus he attempted to conquer Persia. Military strength appears to be as worshiped as much then as it is today in the American Empire.

The modern American Empire built its foundation on secular government for The People, by The People at the direction of The People, rather than at the direction of some illusory god. At its heart, our modern democratic system encourages peaceful, meaningful living with religious freedom for all beneath secular oversight. However, it seems to me that today a mix of Christian myth and militaristic industrialism are driving a movement to recast secular rule in favor of an archaic, power-hungry cabal.

Julian's vision seems to me to be of similar conservative form; it sought solace in the perceived stability of past beliefs, rather than truly moving forward. Our future civilization holds its greatest potential in the implementation of science-informed policy where its people "worship" reality and upkeep the "heaven" here on Earth.

The time of gods and prophets (by any name, Helios, Ares, Jehovah, Jesus, or Mohammed, et al) is over. Secular governing policies divorced from religious hawks and based on evidence-based ethics are the logical next iteration in a better, global civilization.

Unfortunately, the conservative belief that wants to retain its power by selling the past seems to mimic Julian's historic lesson: fight to the death.

Caribbean Cruisin'

Ocean resort prime, 

Floating mall playhem. Consume! 

Fish ancestry calls;

Wonder Woman and Waging War

I'm taking a break from the serial story this week as I am inspired by the latest superhero movie on offer, Wonder Woman. With your leave I shall wax pontifical.

Beyond here there be Spoilers!

Wonder Woman is an action and drama packed Hollywood parable extraordinaire. This is the latest DC entry its more noirish interpretation of human versus superhuman travails and serving as both prequel and sequel to the underrated Batman vs. Superman.

In short, my assessment of the film: Gal Gadot's strong presence as Diana dominates this movie like a veritable goddess. The romantic energy between said goddess and her mortal Romeo of a soldier suffers in awkward disparity. The combat action is seismic in its stop flow cinematographic execution, however, those same frenetic and bloodless battles underscore how detached we are from the reality of true violence. Modest nods are made to the wounded combatants of war, the desire for peace among foot soldiers, and social justice. The soundtrack in particular is amazing, drumming up an anxiety and primal call to arms during battle scenes. A valiant attempt is made to incorporate deeper themes including social justice, the endless cycle of violence, and the worship of battle heroes as gods. Overall, it's an engaging yarn with many levels at work.

It is not my real intent here to untangle the good from the bad or to further dissect the perhaps over-complex whole of this movie. Sometimes a movie should be just an escape, alas we live in a complex world and we are both blessed and damned to hear the opinions of those who want to pontificate.

Pontification #1: We worship our soldiers as if they were gods.

Wonder Woman is both warrior and goddess, embodying an almost Christ-like figure, in her attempt to wield force to attain peace. For we mere mortals, it is embedded in our evolutionary programming to kill other creatures, to seek revenge, and to align in tribes to do both more effectively. And for thousands of years the honed assembly of (mostly) controlled violence has been a dominant energy in asserting and maintaining power. To this ends we celebrate our tribe's soldiers and their "sacrifice" against the other tribe's celebrated soldiers. Evil and belief and bravery and country are thrown out as motive time and time again as to why each side is always more in the right.

Might we not celebrate more those who strive to overcome our violent origins fighting peacefully for the long and hard journey to forge a unified world tribe, one which continually reduces the for-profit, power mongering, industrial military complex culture we now live in?

Pontification #2: There is no magical solution to ending all war.

Ares, the god of war, is the entity in this movie that incites humanity to war, in an effort to return Earth to paradise. For a fantasy film it makes for a great device to have a menacing boss character whose elimination will restore all the good that there used to be in the world. In the real world, too often we pine for some mythical past where law and order was perfect, whether it be the Garden of Eden or the Leave it to Beaver 1950's. I'm sorry to confirm that the world has always been full of destabilizing mechanisms that we will never fully overcome. Natural disasters, the loss of loved ones, pain, and bad Alien sequels are part of life.

And yet Wonder Woman give us an augur of hope that love can conquer all. Not love for her mortal soldier alone, but a love for the potential that the human race may find its way toward greater stewardship here on Earth.

States of Change: Chapter 12: Tar Heel (North Carolina)

States of Change is an ongoing work of serial fiction.

The speculative story-line seeks to inspire thought on ethics, culture and our planet's future.

The year is 2076, decades after Oosa's defederalization. 

Fifty independent States have forged their societies from revolutionary technology and ideology.

Prominently, The Augment, a real-time, virtual overlay of sensory data 

has become widely available for personal use throughout many of the post-fed nation-states.

"Hey elm Renny! Day two of Summer Week here we are!"

Netti sits heavily on the poolside lounge chair, setting her red, white and blue beach bag alongside. Renny looks over the rims of her green bamboo, fashion VisAR; its LED glints with the steady red of standby mode.

"Another sunny day, Netti, my sound! Where's Hamilton?"

"He's chilling with the kids in the Em Pea Zee today."

"Times two...our lives are in sync!"

"More likely Ham wants to access two way live-stream."

"Click. Well, here's to the Solar Sisters Club, web-free!"

Renee hands Netti a plastic bottle, its exterior churning with fractal inspired art around the Voila! logo.

"Cheers grand! Double Ex to no incoming data!"

"Yum Ee plus nine! Is this pomegranate and sudachi, I flave?"

"Poss hun, and with just a hint of Ell Ess Dee Prime. Quite pitch refreshing!"

Netti lays down on the lounge chair and lets out an extended sigh.

"Okay elm Netti, what's vertical? You and Ham dancing with the Dawkins?"

"Oh, I don't know, Renny. The same old parent work challenges. I've sussed out the latest child management apps and nothing seems to help Fry over his Ess and Ess fits."

"Terrible Twos engaged. With all that's changed in our lifetime, some things are as great a challenge as they've ever been. Gotta admit though, having a family week off every three months at least lets we engineers catch an Eden reboot, don't you think?"

The two tap bottles and their designs morph from fractal spins to firework fusillades.

"Sure, sis grand, sure. Unplugging from the d-stream and the augment minefield is solid state. Still, wouldn't it be Ee plus eleven to have retirement to look forward to."

"Retirement's a word for the wicked, elm. A Tar Heal's gotta work for a living, family and state!"

"Yeah. Click. Family and state." Netti exhales. "Grand elm, root and true."

After a shared snicker, both women close their eyes behind their inactive VisARs, and dream the fuzzy fantasies while their skins shimmer with photon induced sensation.

States of Change Chapter 11: Empire (New York)

States of Change is an ongoing work of serial fiction.

The speculative story-line seeks to inspire thought on ethics, culture and our planet's future.

The year is 2076, decades after Oosa's defederalization. 

Fifty independent States have forged their societies from revolutionary technology and ideology.

Prominently, The Augment, a real-time, virtual overlay of sensory data 

has become widely available for personal use throughout many of the post-fed nation-states.

[GoodnessFirst Blogchain:Volume 61:Issue 24:Journey's End]

Goal Achieved! I made it to the overripe age of 109. An odd, and decidedly prime, milestone.

Of course when I formed that arbitrary life goal back in 1976, I was a rather silly nine year old who thrilled as much at making fun of Jimmy Carter's toothy grin as I did imagining being one of the few people to celebrate both the Bicentennial and Tricentennial of the United States of America--that's Oosa for you youngsters who haven't boned up on your state history wikis.

Well, who would have guessed back then I would outlast the American nation herself.

Independence Day July 4, 2076 is pretty much meaningless to modern New Yorkers. Still, I can't help but reflect on all things revolutionary. The break up of Oosa into nation states isn't even this century's biggest global change. As far as global powers go, the Nordic-African Union easily outshines the embers of the imploded American, Chinese and EU empires. Even bigger, the VisAR revolution helped achieve distributed citizen states where digital geography reigns. And unless, you're in one of the dozen unplugged nations, the dark web's fierce blockchain accountability makes anything before 2040 look like ancient Sumerian bookkeeping.

On a personal level, my lifetime exploration of the Oosa fragment states has been quite enlightening, one might even say speculative. The select stories, fiction and non-fiction, that I've published here on GoodnessFirst had the intention  of capturing those abstract angels and demons that permeate our cultures.

In spirit I have always inherently felt more an American than a New Yorker, antiquated as that term may be. Identity is founded in ones upbringing, to be sure. Still, with curiosity and critical thinking engaged, I I have come to think of myself as an Earthling foremost, and, at that, one that spends the currency of his lifetime speaking out for the individuals, species and biomes that can't.

Nevertheless, New York has been a good home for me and my idea forging. Back in the '40's I was one of the eighty million who rushed to New York State after the Fed fell before the states began locking down their borders. This State's dedication to citizen, cyber and commercial IP attracted scientists, businessmen and anyone at all who sought evidence based policy. 

Of course, New York's adoption of the Institute of Information linking the Departments of Justice and Education has been their biggest success story. Integrating third-party and expert system fact checking into State policy finally excised the corruption from government, commerce and culture. Sure, some may call New York a State without a soul since it's religious institutions all folded. I'd say the success of ethical community organizations more than made up for it, delivering education, health and happiness to the masses.

It wasn't my intent to have this Blogchain turn into an obituary, but alas (how I love that word alas) that is exactly what this is. Hear my wizened sigh, as I share my grandfather's last epithet: "my time is over; it is your time now." That was way back in the Twentieth. Well, indeed, it is the next generation's time now to take the world and its challenges into their youthful and impassioned hands.

Let my last bit of advice be for you to consider, as your State permits, to leave all your inheritances and estates to the ethical community organization of your choice, one that truly cares (as validated by the IoI effectiveness standards). The health of the planet and all its constituents will thank you.

Per New York State policy 6.5 I hereby invoke my right to end my life.

Carry on!  

TANSTAFLOL!

GF Blogchain Creator, Editor and Writer

Rhumba Rebellion

States of Change Chapter 10: Mother (Virginia)

States of Change is an ongoing work of serial fiction.

The speculative story-line seeks to inspire thought on ethics, culture and our planet's future.

The year is 2076, decades after Oosa's defederalization. 

Fifty independent States have forged their societies from revolutionary technology and ideology.

Prominently, The Augment, a real-time, virtual overlay of sensory data 

has become widely available for personal use throughout many of the post-fed nation-states.

[2076.05.10.9:33 VisAR Random Intercept Per Virginia Homeland Security Statute 5.734. Narrative appended. Video deleted.]

"...Happy. Good. Parenting. Day???" snorted Andrea brusquely emphasizing each word, "what kind of holiday is that?"

Holly Ann inhaled and responded levelly, "Actually it's Good Parenting Month, Mama. This is a progressive State, you know. Virginia hasn't observed Mother's...or Father's Day...since the federal corporations were dissolved in 2061."

"Well I don't like it!"

"I'll e-vote that to the Governess straight away, ma" quipped Holly Ann.

"No need to get snippy, Little Miss Historian. It's not good for your pregnancy."

"Yes Mama."

"Anyway, I dropped off a box of kale and root veggies for you and my unborn grandchild earlier. I didn't want to wake you as I'm biking up to Mount Vernon this morning. Don't let them sit on your doorstep too long."

"Okay, I'll get them...wait? are you biking now, Mama? You really shouldn't be spinning and vizzing and at the same time."

"Oh-Em-Gee! Who's the mother in this relationship anyway?" Andrea chuckles. "Whatevs. I suppose you can use the practice with a newbie on the way. Ell-Em-Ay-Oh."

"Mama! I hope you have your VisAR traffic alert mode on."

"It is, Honey Bee. So, have you come up with any names for your child-to-be yet."

"Well, I've been thinking maybe Jude...or Judith if it's a girl, heaven forbid; I doubt I could survive another twenty year sentence alongside the matriarchal stubborness gene you infected me with."

"Jude?! Who do you think raised you? Some LSD licking Beatles groupie from the Twentieth Century? Holly Ann, are you involved with one of those retro-hipster cults?"

"Maybe, Mama. May. Be. Lahhhl!"

A short pause was followed by mutual laughter.

[End Intercept. No Subversive Rhetoric Indicated. Sarcastic One-up-manship Nominal. Verbal Exchange Deemed Threat Level 0.8. Voice Data Archived.]

Italia

 crusty mosaic

basilico sculpted hills

al fresco all feed