Woody Allen once said, ‘rather than live on in the hearts of my countrymen, given the choice, I’d prefer to live on in my apartment.’
Viewing Earth from the perspective of a tiny fragile globe hurling through space humbles and inspires all at once - but makes flag waving and joining in difficult. And so from age 10 on things got difficult. I mean if you're paying attention, even just a little, how can you not be angry? But how also can you not be inspired and awed. And so I write. By Charlie Phillips
Friday, July 30, 2021
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Evolve or Perish
'There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, Reichsmarks, Rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels.' - Network. 1976.
Nation is human invention. It is not real, it does not exist. Can't see borders from space. If they were real, where did the Soviet Union go? People just stopped believing in it and it was gone. Now if only that were to happen worldwide. It is one very small, very fragile, globe, after all.
And yet we still do not understand this. Not even close. We cling to the concept of nation, waving our flags, bullying and murdering - our own, and others - all in its name. Our flags in reality, veils to wrap oneself in to block out a confusing, threatening, ever changing, world, and to be used by cynical people in positions of authority to manipulate and consolidate wealth and imagined 'power.' Then again, I suppose that has always been the case. As with religion, money, 'success', prestige, patriotism, race - as most of human construct - human invention - fantasy - uniquely out of phase with our inherent goodness and our ability to stop from destroying ourselves.
It is time to evolve past these constructs in order realize our great potential and for our very survival.
Long since time.
Monday, July 5, 2021
Perspective
I live in an enormous, ancient, universe of tremendous beauty that I've barely experienced. Shallow human construct and people nonsense seem sort of unimportant in comparison. Moments, life, love, and awe - all I really have.