Thank you, Seven, for bringing into perspective what this country is going through today, viewed through the lens of struggles caused by the same kind of destructive force Milan Kundera writes about.
When I came to this country in the mid-80s, this was my question: How long will it take before the perfidious mentality of the Russian mafia seeps in and attempts to ruin the system that has been bringing opportunity and freedom to everyone?
The effects of this treacherous influence are now more visible than ever—finally out in the open, without doubt.
Thank you for pointing it out in such a clear and unambiguous way.
The history of ruthless greed trying to eradicate wisdom in order to advance its criminal agenda goes back at least to ancient China. What have we learned, other than that it is a recurring and continuous attempt to block the true light—that “intellectual light” you noticed in Finland?
I do have some answers, and they relate to the nature of human consciousness and our ability to cognize beyond the logical, linear mind. But in this note, I simply wanted to express my appreciation for your relentless, courageous, and beautiful work.
One of my closest friends is a young Ukrainian half my age who I love as the son I never had. By all measure, he is a genius. Not in the intellectual sense, but in the ability to almost immediately see how things are meant to ‘fit”, to be put together; assembled. Before watching the movie “Bitter Harvest” a couple years ago, I was unaware if Stalin’s forced famine upon the Ukrainians in the 1930s. Called the Holodomor, it was responsible for a genocide of nineteen million Ukrainian.
Russian cruelty and barbarism appear to be in [the Russians'] DNA. That same cruelty and barbaric dismissal of human life appear to have taken up residence in one Donald Trump. He is reputed to love cruelty, especially when directed at people he hates.
One must ask why the many must suffer at the hand of a monstrous few. One must ask why so many seem passive in the midst of such anti-human tyranny. It is a challenge to accept that a president of my country would boast about annihilating an entire nation of people. He must fantasize himself as a ruthless John Wayne. All tough and nowhere to go. Frankly, I sick and tired of and fully disgusted with these paper tiger men all full of buster and bombast. They represent not only the worst and least of America. They represent the worst and least of humanity.
NOTEE: Edit 2nd para, inserted [the Russians'] to clarify
You have stated these truths fiercely and extremely well. Painful, demoralizing, traumatizing, scary beyond belief. Relentlessly brutal, cruel, horrifying, outrageous, egregious. THIS is our land now. And our nutless & gutless reps (Congress, Senate, SCOTUS) who are supposed to serve the people, to have OUR backs, and not the fascist overlords, have let it happen on their watch. I too am appalled and disgusted and just damn angry.
Thank you for the info re the Holodomor - I'd not known about this before, but now I'm going to research into it. More horrors. What the fuck is wrong with these power mad shitheads? I'm sickened that a vast majority of people just let these things go on. Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot... The Holocaust, the Holodomor, Indigenous Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Rwanda...
C'mon, humanity!!! Nut up, gut up and buck up and STOP THIS SHIT!!!
My grandma had this awful dog named Buster - horrid schnauzer that tried to hump or bite anything that moved. Can this be what you mean by "paper tiger men all full of buster and bombast"?
Sorry - I know you meant "bluster" - couldn't resist... *mea culpa*
Thank You Steven ...that is exactly what may happent to us. The Supreme Court is doing it's best to make sure we lose this beautiful republic. One of my hopes is that no matter how far down the scale we go we might be able to bring it back. Unlike so many countries we have had a democracy for 250 years . That in and of iself is a strength we need to hold onto. We are being held hostage by a minority . Lets see what happens as things get worse. Maybe the minority will join us and help us put a stop to this speeding train. As an aside I saw Marco speaking from the WH. I don't know what he said because I had it on mute. I am thinking maybe Trump put him out there to reassure us. If he did he, will probably make a complete fool out of Marco by tomorrow.
This hits me where I live…wow. Thank you for the recommendation of Milan Kundera. I seem to be burying my head in books these days more than ever. I guess it’s just a reaction to how horrific not only are our present times, but, as Kundera says, the ever-present possibility that our country might disappear. I wonder these days if we will simply dissolve or implode. I can’t see my way clearly now, and that scares me, too…so I bury my head in a book when survival mode takes over. It’s becoming increasingly evident that the enablers; Congress, the Supreme Court, the Justice Department…CIA, FBI, etc…as well as various and sundry billionaire-benefiting businesses, and people vying for positions of power want this injustice to continue. We are in the grips of authoritarian power that demands that we all dance to its tune in a never-ending do-si-do, with Trump playing the tune.
What will we do when the music stops during this version of musical chairs? Who will find a seat and who will be ‘out’? As Kundera said SO eloquently, it’s anybody’s guess.
Kundera's book is wonderful. I especially love how he invites dialog - throughout, over and over again, it feels like you're in a very earnest but friendly personal conversation with the author, debating whatever the topic is at whatever moment in the story. One of the most actively engaging novels ever and a top favorite of mine. Do read and enjoy.
The film by Phillip Kaufman, starring Daniel Day-Lewis is also very good. Most animals can sense danger, especially wild ones. They are ever in tune with their environment, mindful of predators, trying like all living things to eat, reproduce and survive. Humans are not unlike other animals in that some have a greater sense of danger than others. It can be an educated understanding or an intuitive, biological sense of peril and insecurity. Some are simply oblivious and live their lives quietly and with as much dignity as possible. All of which is to say, the possibility that we are in an end state of civilization (ourselves) is always there. We have made the most destructive weapons of mass destruction in all of history, enough to blow up the planet and end human and other life forever. Maybe what we are feeling/fearing now is more like the end of an epoch, the great American Experiment, the sliding from the divine into the profane. Maybe the Trump phenomenon has forced our danger antennae to be even more acute in sensing and perhaps knowing that he is destroying too much of what we built. Maybe the president's unbearable ballroom is an analogue for the coming construction, then destruction and rebuild of the nation's sense of righting the ship. It may be the last gasp of his Golden Age, and I will watch with happy tears when it is taken down and the East Wing restored to our history.
It is an excellent film, Robyn. It surely feels like the end of an epoch, and I dearly hope that can help usher in change that leads to a healthier, more progressive future rather than something darker than what we’re witnessing now. That optimism requires visionary leaders and an overwhelming defeat of the Republicans. Thx.
Every time that the occupant has one of his talks with Putin, we can know what they talked about by looking at some new US action, in this case removal of US troops from Germany. This post reminds us that it happened before.
An encouraging analogy, with one particularly troubling difference. Czechoslovakia fell to the USSR. Poland, et al. fell to Germany. We are being taken over and destroyed by our own mad leader and a wholly complicit ruling party with the backing and support of our own corrupt business leaders. We are literally the snake devouring itself. Who will we have to blame for this when it’s over, and what will be left?
You share, Milan Kundera, stated, “I don’t know what the future holds for my nation”
And you respond:
…”But I think it helps to know that our predicament is not a new one, but rather a condition that many humans before us have faced—and ultimately overcome.”
💙🇺🇸💙
We don’t know for certain, and must energetically act to protect our Democracy- any way- no matter the - at times - overwhelming uncertainty.
I choose to add some levity in another post, because we need it.
As a formerly complacent American Citizen, who was shaken awake by Hillary's defeat, I am truly amazed almost every day at how much I did NOT know about my country. A country I have always loved and supported but was sleepwalking thru some really huge events (I was born in 1951 so there's been some!) and never dug deeply into our history, let alone Europe or Asia's histories. My appreciation for the many experts who write on Substack and other venues knows no bounds. Thank you for every story, every recommendation, every insight. Even with all of "this" that is grinding on, I have a deep faith that our democracy will survive--beaten up, but transformed into something better. I also know it will take unknown years to achieve healing and transformation so I see my generation (IF I may be so bold) as a bridge from the past to the future. We'll hold the supports so the younger people can build upon the ashes and the strong structures that do survive.
BRAVA, Barbara Andree!!! To all that you have stated here so beautifully and wonderfully: 1000% AGREED, and thank you for your wise words and vision of bright hope for our future.
This is a great post, and a reminder of a great writer.
Thank you, Karen.
Thank you, Seven, for bringing into perspective what this country is going through today, viewed through the lens of struggles caused by the same kind of destructive force Milan Kundera writes about.
When I came to this country in the mid-80s, this was my question: How long will it take before the perfidious mentality of the Russian mafia seeps in and attempts to ruin the system that has been bringing opportunity and freedom to everyone?
The effects of this treacherous influence are now more visible than ever—finally out in the open, without doubt.
Thank you for pointing it out in such a clear and unambiguous way.
The history of ruthless greed trying to eradicate wisdom in order to advance its criminal agenda goes back at least to ancient China. What have we learned, other than that it is a recurring and continuous attempt to block the true light—that “intellectual light” you noticed in Finland?
I do have some answers, and they relate to the nature of human consciousness and our ability to cognize beyond the logical, linear mind. But in this note, I simply wanted to express my appreciation for your relentless, courageous, and beautiful work.
It helps a lot.
That’s nice to hear. Thank you for your kind and knowing words.
One of my closest friends is a young Ukrainian half my age who I love as the son I never had. By all measure, he is a genius. Not in the intellectual sense, but in the ability to almost immediately see how things are meant to ‘fit”, to be put together; assembled. Before watching the movie “Bitter Harvest” a couple years ago, I was unaware if Stalin’s forced famine upon the Ukrainians in the 1930s. Called the Holodomor, it was responsible for a genocide of nineteen million Ukrainian.
Russian cruelty and barbarism appear to be in [the Russians'] DNA. That same cruelty and barbaric dismissal of human life appear to have taken up residence in one Donald Trump. He is reputed to love cruelty, especially when directed at people he hates.
One must ask why the many must suffer at the hand of a monstrous few. One must ask why so many seem passive in the midst of such anti-human tyranny. It is a challenge to accept that a president of my country would boast about annihilating an entire nation of people. He must fantasize himself as a ruthless John Wayne. All tough and nowhere to go. Frankly, I sick and tired of and fully disgusted with these paper tiger men all full of buster and bombast. They represent not only the worst and least of America. They represent the worst and least of humanity.
NOTEE: Edit 2nd para, inserted [the Russians'] to clarify
You have stated these truths fiercely and extremely well. Painful, demoralizing, traumatizing, scary beyond belief. Relentlessly brutal, cruel, horrifying, outrageous, egregious. THIS is our land now. And our nutless & gutless reps (Congress, Senate, SCOTUS) who are supposed to serve the people, to have OUR backs, and not the fascist overlords, have let it happen on their watch. I too am appalled and disgusted and just damn angry.
Thank you for the info re the Holodomor - I'd not known about this before, but now I'm going to research into it. More horrors. What the fuck is wrong with these power mad shitheads? I'm sickened that a vast majority of people just let these things go on. Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot... The Holocaust, the Holodomor, Indigenous Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Rwanda...
C'mon, humanity!!! Nut up, gut up and buck up and STOP THIS SHIT!!!
Sadly, many are in politics or law for their own benefit.
My grandma had this awful dog named Buster - horrid schnauzer that tried to hump or bite anything that moved. Can this be what you mean by "paper tiger men all full of buster and bombast"?
Sorry - I know you meant "bluster" - couldn't resist... *mea culpa*
I describe such men (usually men) as shallow, fallow and hollow. That word should have been bluster. I must proof my material more diligently.
Yep, me too. Some of my screw ups have been monumental. And I used to proofread and edit for a living! Just goes to show something I'm sure.
Thank You Steven ...that is exactly what may happent to us. The Supreme Court is doing it's best to make sure we lose this beautiful republic. One of my hopes is that no matter how far down the scale we go we might be able to bring it back. Unlike so many countries we have had a democracy for 250 years . That in and of iself is a strength we need to hold onto. We are being held hostage by a minority . Lets see what happens as things get worse. Maybe the minority will join us and help us put a stop to this speeding train. As an aside I saw Marco speaking from the WH. I don't know what he said because I had it on mute. I am thinking maybe Trump put him out there to reassure us. If he did he, will probably make a complete fool out of Marco by tomorrow.
lost in america
This hits me where I live…wow. Thank you for the recommendation of Milan Kundera. I seem to be burying my head in books these days more than ever. I guess it’s just a reaction to how horrific not only are our present times, but, as Kundera says, the ever-present possibility that our country might disappear. I wonder these days if we will simply dissolve or implode. I can’t see my way clearly now, and that scares me, too…so I bury my head in a book when survival mode takes over. It’s becoming increasingly evident that the enablers; Congress, the Supreme Court, the Justice Department…CIA, FBI, etc…as well as various and sundry billionaire-benefiting businesses, and people vying for positions of power want this injustice to continue. We are in the grips of authoritarian power that demands that we all dance to its tune in a never-ending do-si-do, with Trump playing the tune.
What will we do when the music stops during this version of musical chairs? Who will find a seat and who will be ‘out’? As Kundera said SO eloquently, it’s anybody’s guess.
Eloquently said. And achingly sad.
Kundera's book is wonderful. I especially love how he invites dialog - throughout, over and over again, it feels like you're in a very earnest but friendly personal conversation with the author, debating whatever the topic is at whatever moment in the story. One of the most actively engaging novels ever and a top favorite of mine. Do read and enjoy.
Oh, thank you! I WILL!
Who’d have ever thought that the President of the United States would be under the thrall of someone like Vladimir Putin?
The film by Phillip Kaufman, starring Daniel Day-Lewis is also very good. Most animals can sense danger, especially wild ones. They are ever in tune with their environment, mindful of predators, trying like all living things to eat, reproduce and survive. Humans are not unlike other animals in that some have a greater sense of danger than others. It can be an educated understanding or an intuitive, biological sense of peril and insecurity. Some are simply oblivious and live their lives quietly and with as much dignity as possible. All of which is to say, the possibility that we are in an end state of civilization (ourselves) is always there. We have made the most destructive weapons of mass destruction in all of history, enough to blow up the planet and end human and other life forever. Maybe what we are feeling/fearing now is more like the end of an epoch, the great American Experiment, the sliding from the divine into the profane. Maybe the Trump phenomenon has forced our danger antennae to be even more acute in sensing and perhaps knowing that he is destroying too much of what we built. Maybe the president's unbearable ballroom is an analogue for the coming construction, then destruction and rebuild of the nation's sense of righting the ship. It may be the last gasp of his Golden Age, and I will watch with happy tears when it is taken down and the East Wing restored to our history.
It is an excellent film, Robyn. It surely feels like the end of an epoch, and I dearly hope that can help usher in change that leads to a healthier, more progressive future rather than something darker than what we’re witnessing now. That optimism requires visionary leaders and an overwhelming defeat of the Republicans. Thx.
40 Million Ukrainians off the face of the earth. It is heartbreakingly unfathomable
Every time that the occupant has one of his talks with Putin, we can know what they talked about by looking at some new US action, in this case removal of US troops from Germany. This post reminds us that it happened before.
An encouraging analogy, with one particularly troubling difference. Czechoslovakia fell to the USSR. Poland, et al. fell to Germany. We are being taken over and destroyed by our own mad leader and a wholly complicit ruling party with the backing and support of our own corrupt business leaders. We are literally the snake devouring itself. Who will we have to blame for this when it’s over, and what will be left?
True. Political suicide.
Yes
Thank you
You share, Milan Kundera, stated, “I don’t know what the future holds for my nation”
And you respond:
…”But I think it helps to know that our predicament is not a new one, but rather a condition that many humans before us have faced—and ultimately overcome.”
💙🇺🇸💙
We don’t know for certain, and must energetically act to protect our Democracy- any way- no matter the - at times - overwhelming uncertainty.
I choose to add some levity in another post, because we need it.
YES! To all you said here: YES!
In honor of the book you shared from Milan Kundera, “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” l’m trying to give us some humor.
(Todd Blanch in the past?)
Oh the cartoon was deleted?
🤣🤣
As a formerly complacent American Citizen, who was shaken awake by Hillary's defeat, I am truly amazed almost every day at how much I did NOT know about my country. A country I have always loved and supported but was sleepwalking thru some really huge events (I was born in 1951 so there's been some!) and never dug deeply into our history, let alone Europe or Asia's histories. My appreciation for the many experts who write on Substack and other venues knows no bounds. Thank you for every story, every recommendation, every insight. Even with all of "this" that is grinding on, I have a deep faith that our democracy will survive--beaten up, but transformed into something better. I also know it will take unknown years to achieve healing and transformation so I see my generation (IF I may be so bold) as a bridge from the past to the future. We'll hold the supports so the younger people can build upon the ashes and the strong structures that do survive.
BRAVA, Barbara Andree!!! To all that you have stated here so beautifully and wonderfully: 1000% AGREED, and thank you for your wise words and vision of bright hope for our future.
heavy sigh
I re-read this
as I often do with some of the excellent journalists here
because of your comments on the “Unbearable Lightness of Being”
I had so many thoughts and questions …so of course researched them.🤣
I’m not going to share all of my thoughts post that exercise.
Just thanking you for the inspiration to explore;
(Although in many ways related to the psyche of today’s politics) it is a welcome distraction
The Unbearable Lightness of Being…
Where “Lightness” is experienced through lack of being held accountable?
No guilt?
Doesn’t feeling no guilt require Will, if one is intelligent enough to be aware they have caused harm?
Exercising “Will” requires energy… therefore no longer a lightness?
Sorry
I enjoy discussing…
Any way thanks for discussing this book
Horribly depressing. And terrifying.