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Steve Martin's avatar

Hi Tessa,

Watching the Rumble video (at 1.5 speed) now before heading to work as the token foreigner for Japanese public schools. I am writing this as much to myself as to you.

For some time now, the criminally corrupt and insane behavior of our institutions appears to have been exposed, and those who do not see it, are those who choose to be willfully ignorant ... probably to protect the illusion of what remaining autonomy they have. Data and rationality appear to be no longer viable as tools for protection, much less flourishing or personal growth.

I have no answer to the immediate threat other than that nature eventually wins, and as their narratives are built on a warped denial of how nature works, the ruling class's plans will eventually fail. The only question is at what cost to the best of humanity?

At 1:04:00, I like Alexandra's suggestions about what to do. But Japan is such a collective-authoritarian society, there is no fighting the corporate nation-state at any governmental level ... national, prefectural, or city. I can only see hastening the fall of empire through other means of subversion.

1 — As much as possible, forming empathy-driven communities that are as independent of institutions and those infrastructures they control as possible.

2 — Continue putting out the data for the young and/or naive. Now having passed my expiry date as a useful-idiot/former Professor, I am ousted from any former positions of authority (social currency) and now seen as no more than a disposable, token-foreigner, Assistant Language Teacher ... and despite being able to speak Japanese (been here 40 years), am restricted to 'teaching' how to pronounce 'How are you today?' or 'May I have another slice of pizza?' to about 3,000 Japanese public school students. I am frustrated in not being able to talk about much of importance with even sympathetic Japanese handlers (oops ... I mean 'colleagues') ... much less students.

3 — Continue subverting corruption through another underground, the subconscious to unconscious underground, shuttling and sharing values and information through art. At about 1:10:00, after you complemented Alexandra for her painting skills, she said she'd like to return to painting 'after the war'. Just a modest suggestion ... along with her insights into the corrupt belly of the beast, perhaps she could follow the enemy's mind-set in that 'what can be weaponized, will be weaponized'.

For example, that's a nice painting of cattle. Cattle? Aren't they being weaponized against us? I can think of at least two ways ...

1) The Davos crowd presumes we will save the earth by eating crickets ... while they reserve the right to dine on filet mignon.

2) Interesting 'Fact Check', probably funded by Phizer ... https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32KQ68B Yep. If former African leaders could detect the Corona-virus on mangoes, goats, and motor oil ... you can be sure beef cattle are a source of pathogens. Even if the planned inject cattle to treat them for other diseases, why in the name of all that's holy would they be using such 'effective' mRNA gene therapies?

I realize there are only 24 hours in a day, and we have limited time and resources, but another option ... rather than thinking of painting cows for pleasure — separate from and after the war — Alexandra might think of weaponizing her skills and talents, and attract more flies with the honey of humor (e.g. Gary Larson) AND information. A brief net search for 'Gary Larson Cows' will be time well spent. At least one 'sacred cow' should be drugged and dragged to the slaughter house ... the corporate nation-state herding us to 'follow the science'. Maybe combine that with a new song from you?

JMHO ... but there will be no 'after the war'. Just take a deeper dive into history. This has always been a forever-war of mankind against its own worst nature. We may be approaching the end game and answer to the Fermi Paradox ... 'human intelligence' by definition, contains the seeds of its own self-destruction.

Despite it all, cheers Tessa and Alexandra.

steve

ps. Now taking a break between classes, and reflecting on how the English language classroom is a microcosmic fractal of Hayek's critique of top-down, centralized control ... the controller has little to no knowledge of on-the-ground information. My 'boss' for 2nd year Jr. High classes is a housewife and mother who barely has time to get to school and enter the classroom a minute before class starts. She takes her lesson from the textbook and has no idea of what the students already know from after-hours cram-school, or what I know from graduate school or published research. They are students, I am the token foreigner, and we all await her orders to open the text book, repeat after her, etc. Though the students and myself are all masked, I really had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing when the teacher 'explained' that past tense in English is more polite than present tense. Why? Because 'Could you please show me the way?' is more polite than 'Can you show me the way?'. I was only permitted to stand in silence and wait to be called on to read a sentence for students' pronunciation practice. I guess it could be worse. I am glad I am not a former physician.

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James Hill, MD's avatar

Excellent. Thank you.

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