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Welcome to the “Georgia Wasp…”

This blog is modeled on the Carolina Israelite. That was an old-time newspaper – more like a personal newsletter – written and published by Harry Golden. Back in the 1950s, people called Harry a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.” (For his work on the Israelite.)

That’s now my goal as well. To be a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.”

For more on the blog-name connection, see the notes below.

In the meantime:

May 5, 2025 – Next Wednesday I’ll fly to London. After a day recovering from jet lag I’ll visit Liverpool and Stratford-on-Avon, then come back to London for some sightseeing. (And hope I don’t get bored?) Meaning this will be my last post until I get home near the end of May.

Part of this trip is an Escape From Reality, an escape from the ongoing polarized politics we’re going through in America. For example, in October 2024 a source noted – starting ten years earlier – that nearly half of those polled said “people in the opposing political party weren’t simply wrong but evil.” And now we have a president who also thinks those who disagree with him aren’t just wrong, but evil. (And has the power – for now – to do something about it.)

But are we living in a true apocalypse? As often helps, “first define your terms.”

An apocalypse can be an event of “destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.” Or the “complete final destruction of the world, as described in the biblical book of Revelation.” But technically it’s a literary genre started in Judaism where “a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary.” (The Judaic term means disclosure or “revelation.”) Then too, “apocalyptic eschatology is the application of the apocalyptic world-view to the end of the world, when God will bring judgment to the world and save his followers.” Which might be a relief, “but I have too many blog-posts to write and beers to enjoy!”

We could turn to Wikipedia on Durer’s Four Horsemen woodcut, shown above. One note: “During the 1490s, there was a wide belief spread throughout Europe, popularized by Christian eschatological ideas, that the world was going to end by the year 1500.” And that when the first edition of Four Horsemen was published in 1498, “this doomsday ideology was at its peak.” And these days there’s been a lot of doomsday ideology in this country as well.

As to whether Dürer was on to something when he did the woodcut, apparently he was. As bad as things were in 1498, the “stuff” didn’t really hit the fan until the European wars of religion, 19 years later in 1517. That’s when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses, which “took only two months to spread throughout Europe with the help of the printing press.” (Back then “the press” was an all-new technology.) There followed a series of wars in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, between Roman Catholics and Protestants. (Those who thought “the Roman church” had become too corrupt.) Which brings up Kenneth Clark and his book, Civilization.

Clark said whatever the long-term effects of Protestantism, “the immediate results were very bad.” Northern Europe was “full of bully boys” – seen in the image below – “who rampaged about the country and took any excuse to beat people up.” They appeared frequently in sixteenth-century German art, “very pleased with themselves and apparently much admired. All the elements of destruction were let loose.” (Sound familiar?) Which raises the question:

What could an intelligent, open-minded man do in mid-sixteenth century Europe? Keep quiet, work in solitude, outwardly conform, inwardly remain free. The wars of religion evoked a figure new to European civili[z]ation… the intellectual recluse.

And – Clark added – no one personified this recluse-figure more than Michel de Montaigne. “Only one thing engaged his mind – to tell the truth.” His concept of truth involved “always looking at the other side of every question,” however shocking that other side might be. But he had no illusions. “In trying to make themselves angels … men transform themselves into beasts.”

[Montaigne] is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight. Montaigne had a direct influence on numerous Western writers; his massive volume Essais contains some of the most influential essays ever written.

An update: These days I’d say Montaigne would be doing blog posts, but he’s not here. Therefore it may fall to someone else to popularize the Blog itself as a literary genre. (Maybe by merging “casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight?”) I myself like the recluse part, defined as “a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude.”

Also the parts about keeping quiet and outwardly conforming but inwardly remaining free, mostly as a way of not getting caught in the crossfire, as Montaigne was able to do. As mentioned in the Notes, his was a moderating force, respected by Catholics and Protestants alike. Kind of like Johnny Cash? Cash’s music in the 1960s “was popular with the counterculture as well as with traditional country fans. His albums and his prison reform activism rejected the law-and-order policies of conservative politicians who sought to enlist country music in their cause.” (Also, “self-defined liberals and conservatives claim[ed] him in equal measure.”)

But we’re digressing here. One topic I brought up was whether we’re currently living through a true apocalypse. Another question, “If we are, how can we live through it, while maintaining our sanity and standing up for the right?” On the first question, I’d say no. American history – like all history – moves in cycles, meaning at some time in the foreseeable future there will be a change from the current state of chaos. For one thing there’s the 22d Amendment, plus our inherent tendency to Build Up Only to Tear Down. Another answer I like is thinking long-term:

Long-term thinking involves considering the future consequences of our actions and making decisions that will benefit us in the long run. It requires patience, strategic planning, and a willingness to delay gratification. On the other hand, short-term thinking focuses on immediate results and instant gratification, often leading to impulsive decisions that may not be in our best interest in the long term. While short-term thinking can provide quick fixes and temporary satisfaction, long-term thinking is essential for achieving sustainable success and fulfillment in the future.

In other words, it helps to think about what it will be like in February 2029 when the current administration changes. (A topic I hope to explore in my next post.) But reviewing all this current chaos led me back an earlier meditation, from 2020, on what I called “the new plague.”

Being alive always was and will always remain an emergency; it is truly an inescapable “underlying condition…” This is what Camus meant when he talked about the “absurdity” of life. Recognizing this absurdity should lead us not to despair but to a tragicomic redemption, a softening of the heart, a turning away from judgment and moralizing to joy and gratitude.

Some life lessons? Back in 2020 I’d hoped the Coronavirus pestilence might lead to a change in national life, and especially our national political life. (As in a general and sweeping “softening of the heart.”) And that these changes might include a “turning away from judgment and moralizing to joy and gratitude,” or even a realization that there are more things to admire in all people than to despise. That hasn’t happened yet, but consider this: It took Europeans 250 years or so to escape from their wars of religion, and we’re not anywhere near that. (Plus they didn’t have the 22d Amendment.) In the meantime I’ll indulge in my own escape from reality with two weeks in London, Liverpool and Stratford. (Where “hurricanes hardly happen?”)

There is one bit of good news: I don’t think I’ll see too many bully-boys over there, acting “very pleased with themselves and looking for any excuse to beat people up…”

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The upper image is courtesy of Apocalypse (Dürer) – Wikipedia. The caption: “The fourth woodcut of the ‘Apocalypse’ series, ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ (1498).

The full polarization link is to Political Polarization is Not Unique to the U.S., but its Causes Are.

The full escape link is to Quotes About Escaping From Reality To Inspire Your Mind. I especially like the one attributed to Lewis Carroll, “Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.” And that escaping from reality can be “a form of self-care. It gives us the opportunity to take a break from the stress and demands of everyday life, allowing us to recharge and refocus.” Indeed.

Re: “Define your terms.” The quote is attributed to various people, including Aristotle and Voltaire.

See European wars of religion – Wikipedia.

Re: Montaigne. See Montaigne and the Art of the Personal Essay. And speaking of Montaigne – and his “unequalled detachment” – Kenneth Clark wrote that by 1571 he had retired from public life completely to the tower of the château – his so-called “citadel” – where he almost totally isolated himself from every social and family affair. (These days he may have flown to London for an escape from reality.) Wikipedia added that during “this time of the Wars of Religion in France, Montaigne, a Roman Catholic, acted as a moderating force, respected both by the Catholic King Henry III and the Protestant Henry of Navarre, who later converted to Catholicism.” (Something to shoot for?)

Re: Johnny Cash. See Johnny Cash & the Politics of Country Music, also The Politics of Empathy: On the Life and Music of Johnny Cash (“How could we explain such a wide range of political identification with Cash, with self-defined liberals and conservatives claiming him in equal measure”), and Citizen Cash : The Political Life and Times of Johnny Cash.

On long-term thinking, Long-Term Thinking vs. Short-Term Thinking. Or Google “think long term.”

See The Paradox of Leadership: Why We Build Up Only to Tear Down.

Blog posts. The link is to BLOG POST | English meaning – Cambridge Dictionary. I’ll be referring to it and especially What is a Blog Post? – The Perfect Structure – FirstSiteGuide, for future reference.

Another note: My March 2020 post, Meditations on “the new plague,” talked about how – even before Covid – “I was pretty much a hermit, living in a rambling four-bedroom house on an isolated acre of woodland. (It’s so isolated that I don’t have any curtains or Venetian blinds on any windows. Who the heck is going to look in?)“

Re: “Hurricanes hardly?” People of a certain age – like me; 74 in June – will recognize the allusion to 1964’s My Fair Lady. It struck me that “London, Liverpool and Stratford” has the same rhythm as “Hartford, Hereford and Hampton,” where Eliza used three syllables for “Hereford.” (In the song The Rain in Spain, “a turning point in the plotline of the musical. Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering have been drilling Eliza Doolittle incessantly with speech exercises, trying to break her Cockney accent speech pattern.” Wikipedia.) See two live versions at Hartford, Hereford, Hampshire… – YouTube. (Thus endeth a Montaigne-like anecdote, to wit: a pleasant trip down memory lane.)

I got the lower image from Kenneth Clark’s book, Civilization (Civilisation; A Personal View), at page 160. (My photo, cut-and-pasted.) The quotes from Clark are at pages 160-163. A separate “Four Horsemen – Apocalypse” image is on page 162. Clark also wrote about the art of the time of these ongoing wars, which had come back into fashion “under the catch-penny title of Mannerism.” Such art abandoned all belief “in the decency and high destiny of man” achieved during the Renaissance. (Does that sound familiar?) As Clark added, “Play it for kicks: that is the mannerist motto, and like all forms of indecency, it’s irresistible.” See also Mannerism – National Gallery of Art, “sometimes defined as the ‘stylish style’ for its emphasis on self-conscious artifice over realistic depiction.”

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Re:  The Israelite.  Harry Golden grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.  Thus the “Carolina Israelite.”  I on the other hand am a “classic 73-year-old “WASP” – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – and live in north Georgia.  Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”    

Anyway, in North Carolina Harry wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s.  He was a “cigar-smoking, bourbon-loving raconteur.”  (He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the “Israelite would be done as a blog.”  But what made Harry special was his positive outlook on life.  As he got older but didn’t turn sour, like many do today.  He still got a kick out of life.  For more on the blog-name connection, see “Wasp” and/or The blog.

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