Rockstar and Philosopher: What's In A Name?

A person called a philosopher was many years ago a high honor. Well now if a person is called a rockstar that is the ultimate. A word or a few words to the wise would be enough. I.E. philosopher being replaced by rockstar would speak volumes about the evolution or the devolution of the human.

The last time I saw a rockstar, he was emaciated,raging ,couldn't speak clearly or quietly and looked like he needed a shower with strong cleaning solvents. On the other hand my last experience with a philosopher was reading Plato's accounts of Socratic conversations. Something entirely different. They did share one common thread. Both philosopher Socrates and rockstar indulged in a kind of rage. Both commented on society. But the rockstar's rage was brutal, blurred and hard to follow. The philosopher's rage was thoughtful, thought provoking and pleasant.

Socrates & Rock Stars

The trial of Socrates in 399 B.C. began with this posted indictment:

" Socrates is guilty of refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state and introducing other new divinities. He is also guilty of corrupting the youth. The penalty demanded is death".

The "new divinties" that were the alledged corrupter of youth was his philosophy of questions. This included the questioning of authority which made the powers-that- be in Athens nervous. And so the indictment, the trial and the death of Socrates by drinking the poison hemlock. Now some 2500 years later, the present questioners of all authority take the form of members of all branches of our government, Wall Street manipulators and "rock stars".

No they are not going to drink hemlock as their punishment. But instead they will be bribed, well bonused or sell out stadiums. Somewhere in between the fates of noble Socrates and our present day trash should be the proper reward for questioning authority.

Afghanistan: "Graveyard Of Empires"

Rudyard Kipling's early 20th century poem "The Young British Soldier" includes:

"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains
and the women come out to cut up what remains
jest roll to your rifle an' blow out your brains
and go to your gawd like a soldier."

Afghanistan has received and became a "graveyard of empires" from Alexander The Great through Genghis Khan including the British then the Russians and now the United States. Barack Obama declared today, " Afghanistan is a war we have to win." And so the only comfort that can come for those words is philosophical. No matter when you lived or died you have experienced the one reality.

Philosophy Of Military-Industrial Complex: In Growth We Trust

The military-industrial complex philosophy is, In Growth We Trust. This is self-evident. But because of the limits imposed by a smallish planet, the MIC necessarily needs to be proactive. Therefore they will be seen to first blow-up something then rebuild it.

The appetite of the MIC will grow larger. But correspondingly the reasons to blow-up something will become smaller.

What Was The "Forbidden Fruit"?

Was it an apple like the bible says or was it meat?

Charles Dickens had one of his characters, I believe, in Oliver Twist, say, " Don't give meat to children, it makes them aggressive and mean." In the animal world meat-eaters are cunning and aggressive. Sometimes too aggressive for their own good. They end up dead because they exceeded their limitations. In the animal world plant-eaters use memory as their best defense. They are less likely to exceed their limitations. So there are more of them.

Homo Sapiens Or Frivolous Primate ?

Recent discoveries at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany show the Neanderthal to be 99.5 % our equal in DNA. Excavated evidence leads to the theory that homo sapiens encountered the Neanderthal about 40,000 ago . About that same time the Neanderthal started on a road of extinction. Notably the Neanderthal had existed for 450,000 prior to their demise. In comparison Homo Sapiens has only existed for about 50,000 years. The reason that is speculated for the waxing of Homo Sapiens and the waning of Neanderthal was the advanced tool-making ability of Homo Sapiens. These tools were not only helpful for hunting and farming but also for war-making. I.E. Homo Sapiens killed Neanderthals.

Well here we are in the 21st century with scant hope that Homo Sapiens with his nuclear bombs , biological weapons, high-tech war machine and general degrading of the planet will last as long as the Neaderthals experience of 450,000 years. What's to be done? I suspect that the longevity of our species would be enhanced by looking to the low-tech model of the Neanderthal and adapting their more more basic and conservative approach to survival versus the high-tech arrogant approach of Homo Sapiens a.k.a. the frivolous primate.