February 25, 2004
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We’ve got the circuses, so where’s the fucking bread?
My guys were up before I was today, reading the newspaper (Greyfox) and getting news online (Doug). Eager to share (or dump) what he had been reading, as soon as I stirred and indicated any wakefulness my son told me about the televised police shooting in LA. As he brought me my coffee in bed, my other hero Captain Caffeine told me some of the other news of egregious government bullshit.
He returned to the kitchen and I sipped coffee and digested the news. When I spoke, it was to say, “No Eyes was an optimist.” Greyfox responded, “I was just thinking about No Eyes.” The two of us often have similar thoughts in connection with the same external stimuli, and we both do occasionally remember the prophecies that Mary Summer Rain recorded for her mentor No Eyes.
It was at least three or four years ago that I started saying No Eyes was an optimist. She predicted:
“Talons Tensing/Civil Unrest — People’s revolt and resistance movements, draft evasion, public’s discovery of coverups, nuclear exchange.
“Crouching/Massive Revolts & Government Turnaround — Taxation refusals, war resistance, policy disagreements within government body, major upheavals within governments.
“Flying Free/Rise of the Age of Peace — Total equality among people, discontinuance of all meat ingestion, construction reforms, cessation of most severe natural disasters, pollution-free energy innovations by way of the Earth’s magnetic field, rise of the Indian nation through widespread adaptation of its Ways of natural living and deep human philosophy.”
Mary No-Eyes, Medicine Woman, Chippewa Nation (WOVOCA.com – Earth Mother Crying!)
This was to come as the culmination of the sorts of sociopolitical crap and natural disasters we’ve been experiencing. I started wondering years ago why the sociocultural reaction was taking so long. Greyfox had an answer for that: “Bread and circuses.”
I’m peripherally aware of the “circus” part of our modern equivalent of that ancient Roman means for pacifying the proletariat, even though I deliberately avoid TV where most of that infotainment and “reality” are happening. Earlier this winter while shoveling snow off the roof, Doug broke the wire leading to the antenna. I just let it hang. It’s still hanging, despite Greyfox’s disappointed expectation that Doug and I would get up there and fix it. I’m holding out for a satellite dish but that’s another blog, I think
I keep thinking that the Roman emperors could have saved themselves some denarii if they had cut out the bread, but maybe not. What’s the relative cost of feeding a prole, compared to the cost of spearing one or cutting him down with a gladius. It seems to be working for our state and federal Republican administrations. They’re spending less on social programs, more on warfare, “security”, police and prisons… and my fellow Amerikans are still sitting still for it. What we need here is a good rabble rouser.
Comments (5)
In the current milieu, ‘bread and circuses’ translates to ‘fear and loathing,’ at least for Republicans. Feast on fear and blame the liberals.
I never heard about No Eyes before. Thanks for the link.
By the way I haven’t forgotten your quilt. I was hoping I’d be done with it by now but my sewing machine died. I have been hand sewing it slowly, (I have Carpole tunnel syndrome) So it is a slow process that has been slowed down by my having to do some beadwork for WC store that is opening in March. I just want to let you know I haven’t forgotten and if there is anything you would rather have instead just let me know.
Peace
Yup.
I wonder daily about all the natural disaster/weather pattern changes….and cringe because I really don’t want “the end of the world as we know it” to occur while I’m still kickin’………mind you, it could end up as a good thing, no?
Great blog, as always…
we need something, that’s for damned sure. and i’m not seeing it yet.