"Somehow this Madness must Cease"

[H2O Man]

"And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond to compassion my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak now not for the soldiers of each side, but simply of the people who have been living under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them too because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution there until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries. …

“Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world is aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours.”
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.; A Time to Break Silence, April 4, 1967.


The above quote is from my favorite of King's speeches. He was viciously attacked by a wide range of people in the media afterwards for supposedly “straying” from Civil Rights. Yet King was intent upon telling the truth to a sick and divided nation. A year to the day later, he was murdered.

I posted it on facebook this evening. So far, only positive responses. Two days earlier, I had posted a verse from Jimi Hendrix “1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be” about the horrors of war. The lyrics are not “political.” Still, while most people liked it, I was attacked by two of the least intelligent human beings that I have encountered. And I have met some extremely ignorant fools in life.

"Oh, say can you see, it's really such a mess
Every inch of Earth is a fighting nest
Giant pencil and lipstick tube-shaped things
Continue to rain and cause screaming pain
And the Arctic stains from silver blue to bloody red
As our feet find the sand and the sea"
-- Jimi Hendrix, 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)


As one can see, Jimi's lyrics were about the human condition, not “politics.” Yet one fool commented, “I guess it was okay when Obama...” I simply said, “You guessed wrong.” The other was a cousin who lives about a half an hour away, who I have seen twice since 1969, both times at funerals. The two are the type of sick individuals who support the attack on Iran, and view the destruction with glee.

It is a sign of ethical illness to be happy when an American president willing becomes a lap dog for a war criminal like Netanyahu, in a desperate attempt to save his administration. It is a moral failure to approve of what the felon is doing. We need to be sure this virus does not spread, and instead that the Democratic Party holds to Dr. King's righteousness.

[livetohike]

1. "Hooray I awake from yesterday. Alive, but the war is

here to stay.” 1983 seemed far, far away in 1967.

Why don’t we ever learn anything? Here we go again and the potential for disaster, which always exists, seems likely now. I just read that Lavrov made a statement about stopping Israel and the US. When we have diplomatic amateurs like Kushner and Witkoff negotiating things I guess we can expect disaster.

I was worried in 1967, but I was only 15 years old. What did I know?

[H2O Man]

2. It is as if

the machine that we built will never save us today. Instead, we must move from the self-destructive mechanical behaviors that define maga and more, and move up that mountain that Martin spoke of.

[malaise]

3. K & R

For visibility -Jimi was right

[H2O Man]

4. Thank you!

Crazy times we are in.

[Easterncedar]

5. Right on

Kick

[H2O Man]

6. Thank you!

On the bright side, my cousin called today. Three of his friends who were maga now regret their votes.

[Easterncedar]

8. I wonder what turned them?

[H2O Man]

9. He said that

there were two things mentioned: first, the promise to release the Epstein files, and second, the promise not to start wars.

[Saoirse9]

7. As an artist Jimi expressed himself artistically

But he was also a human and hated to see other humans suffering. He was compassionate.

My Dad was in Vietnam and was the only person I ever heard speak on behalf of the Vietnamese people. He said, “Someone has to help these people.” He could be a real pain in the ass my father but had a compassionate streak a mile wide. While in Vietnam he volunteered ar a Catholic orphanage. He showed us slides of children no bigger than toddlers who were the same age we were — 7 or 8 years old. He continued to support the orphanage after he came home, and the nuns visited us in PA where were were living then.

His job in Vietnam was military intelligence and he sent men into battle. He once cried and slammed his hand on the table out to dinner with one of his military colleagues about a battle plan that wasn’t followed to the letter, resulting in great loss of life.

My Dad was idealistic and what he experienced in Vietnam wrecked him for life. The military destroyed his sense of self.

What we’re doing in Iran is no worse than what we did in Vietnam. I am hoping there are men like my father who are compassionate and idealistic and will ameliorate some of the suffering.

We need the orange menace to get gone and take his cabinet with him. However that needs to happen I don’t care.

Rant over! That was FUN.

When we’re falling asleep tonight we need to meditate on the suffering of the people in Iran as well as the service men and women on our side.

[H2O Man]

10. Thank you very much!

Beautifully said!

And thank you for responding to my ignorant cousin on that thread. I told you about his tough life. It would seem he would recognize that a lot of Jimi's music involves his pain in life, which my cousin might find he could relate to. Both he and the other fellow were raised in homes with no electricity or running water ..... the other guy in a house with dirt floors. Both have large chips on their shoulders, are bitter, and resent "others." We should take comfort in not being them.

I was friends with a Vietnam vet years ago. He had joined the military and just before heading to Vietnam, he and two friends went to Woodstock to "beat up hippies." However, being in a partying mood, and unaware of what awaited him, he accepted a hit of acid that a darned hippie offered him. Not the infamous brown acid, but some of the very strong type.

Before long, it was morning, and Jimi took the stage. When he played the Star-Spangled Banner, it took root in my friend's mind. Once in the war, he connected Jimi's version and his position as being the same as that of U.S. soldiers sent to slaughter Native Americans. He developed a problem with other substances there, which stuck in his being in the years I knew him.