THE CULTURAL QUESTIONS
By Alex Ness
February 19, 2023
THE LIFE WE LIVE
I
apologize for those who come here for ideas and reviews, interviews and
commentary about pop culture. This is going to be about our modern
culture, but less the products of it. There are plenty of great things
out there to enjoy. In 2023 a secret project will birth, it is
something wonderful that fulfilled my greatest desires. However, I can't
share it yet.
A REVIEW: ULTRAMAN NETFLIX SEASON 2
The first season was twice as long as season two, but it was reintroducing and modernizing the entire plot of the original series. And, they did so with great quality, told a wonderful story, and the new Ultraman was among my all time favorite tv shows. When I was alone, dealing with back spasms and couldn't sleep, I checked netflix, and saw that season 2 was out and complete. I binged it, and by the end, I thought, 2 seasons in a row of perfection.
Season one was connecting to the past, while introducing new threats to the world. But season two introduced a violent new threat that has the ability to crush any of the many Ultramen. Season two was not an equal to the first season, but that isn't because it was less good, or that it was less intense, less violent, less meaningful. The first season was meant to create a world that linked to the original series, while season two was a work that said, now that we are here, this is a new mystery and event that must be addressed.
The voice work was damn good, the animation was perfect, and there was nothing about the show that I thought was anything but amazing. I cannot wait for season 3.
WAR & PEACE
Someone I care for deeply is of the opinion that Russia should be bombed with Nuclear weapons for their invasion of Ukraine. Other people I know seem to think Ukraine started the war. Which boggles my mind. In my work I often write about wars and who fight them. I don't have a hatred of war in the sense of all war is wrong, whether courageous people die, or innocents die, war does mean people dying, and often, tragically. Disputes lead to violence, doing nothing would allow the aggressor to take and hold you land, property and people. In addition, doing nothing might be Gandhi or Christlike, but it endangers the side practicing non violence. I'm not arguing people should be quick to resort to war, or self defense, but I guarantee that those who practice violence are very pleased to use war as a means of resolution of problems.
Is Russia evil and Ukraine innocent and good? I think Americans helped cause the war, by enabling the coup in 2014 in Ukraine. American foreign policy was aggressively anti Russia. It is a rarely mentioned fact, that when Russia broke up the Warsaw pact, Nato essentially gave its word to not expand into former Warsaw pact member nations. As a Political Scientist/Historian my view's a helluvalot more nuanced than saying Russia Evil, Ukraine Good.
CAPITALISM?
I just had a discussion with a person who said it
was unimportant who you vote for, the true winner in the US political
system is Capitalism. Because more taxes or less taxes, pay for services
or government pays for the services, the winner are those who profit
from the system, so America is the winner. Please forgive me, but,
capitalism might be better than some systems but the system mostly
enhances the wealth of the rich, allows enough earnings for the middle
to survive, and utilizes the poor and poorly educated to serve in that
system as laborers. To me that is a system with no winners only
exploiters. I don't actually have a better solution. But this idea (told
to me by a wealthy person who votes Democrat) that capitalism is fair
and makes everyone better is just crap that people say so that their
exploitation of others seems justified.
Now, you will see this
and think, that bastard Ness is a commie. Well no, I am not. I just
don't think we have a system that allows freedom and creates equality,
allows financial prosperity without despoiling the earth, or creates
social systems where some form of favoritism and inequality grow, subtly
or in full view, but is seen as part of reason for the society
functioning. And no, I am not suggesting something is wrong and I know
best. I don't have an answer for the question at hand.
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
I
was asked to work on an academic paper a relatively short while ago due
to having participated on two published papers with a very bright
fellow who might be close to passing away due to advanced age. I've been out of academia for so long, I just don't fit into the form. I
went through a couple days of research to decide, and worried that not
only was I lost, and not well informed any longer. The original papers
were truly good, and I was proud of them. This world has
greatly changed since I participated 30 years ago.
Over on Twitter I was
asked, in an insulting tone, if I was still a skeptic regarding climate
change. I never was, I did question a variety of aspects related, but to
argue now, all I'd say is that I believe there are many aspects of
climate that no one knows enough about it to debate. Climate changes.
The cause is debated (some believe solar cycles are responsible, some
argue human CO2 creation alters climate, but that isn't the point, if you
ask me.) Hyperbole made some moderates turn against the Academics, and
tried to make into enemies those who earn their living via industries
that use the products of their mining, gathering, burning, I don't know enough to say anything informed. My answer of I don't know, however
made those asking the questions even more angry and even more cynical.
CHOICE, ABORTION
As a
Christian and as a person who was created as a result of rape, you might
not wonder if I oppose abortion. I believe in consistent life
theory in my ethical and moral beliefs. I believe the government already
has the "right" to allow killing. We send men and women to war,
ostensibly they will or might kill. We give the police the right to
kill, under certain conditions, and with penalties for violating those
conditions. We have capital punishment in certain states. We also allow
the government to make choices, perhaps in a difficult fashion to give
aid to various people and not to others. Flint, Michigan had dangerous
drinking water, and for years nothing was done. Various neighborhoods
suffer blight and crime, to the disinterest of many. But we respond to
disasters, to save lives. So, ultimately I accept that abortion is
legal, if not necessarily moral in my eyes, and think choice in that
matter is a legal right.
The idea of choice is rather flawed in some
cases. As I was twice vaxxed for Covid, there are many who refused to
do so. They ended up being punished for not wanting to allow something to go
into their body against their wishes. You can and likely will argue all
you like, I'm not debating, I'm saying, they were not given the choice
that women regarding abortion rights are allowed. My body my choice is
not an equal or universal thesis that we practice. Rightly or wrongly? I'm not saying that. I was vaxxed, I understand all the arguments, I
just think humans often pick and choose what they wish their morality
becomes, and that that isn't always fair or universal in application. I
lost numerous friends to Covid, I am not one who is anti-vaccination. There are areas in our existence that seem to me to be flawed in application and interpretation.
GENDER, ORIENTATION, PRONOUNS
This
is not meant as an attack upon any people, persons, places, ideas or
anything meaningful. I recently argued with someone who I've known for
20 years. They asked me if they should have a different law for members
of ethnically/racially minority groups regarding renting apartments
versus members of the LBGTI community, since, they said, people's
ethnicity or race is something you are born with, but LBGTI folks choose
their orientation, gender or anything related. I said, those are not
traits you choose. They said then why do lesbians have children, as they
can turn it off and on. I said, if all of our traits are chosen, why did you choose to be stupid as your choice? I never had to make a
choice, I was 7 years old, I saw the inside of an issue of Playboy,
thought, that's why they don't allow women to go shirtless like ALL of
the men working on their lawn in summer. I never had a choice to make, I
always knew.
I don't declare my pronouns. But if forced to do
so, I choose poet, or Writer of poetry. I really don't identify
anything, but if you were worried, I'm an old male, I'm kind of fat, I've a small goatee and soul patch, colored white and black. I like
women and never had a doubt there. Although, when I was deadly lonely,
suicidal even a bit, from lacking human touch and appreciation from the
opposite sex, I did wonder if I was perceiving my experience differently
than it appeared to woman I'd hope to date and have a relationship
with. But then, genius that I am, I remembered that to be gay would mean
I wanted to be with a man and not a woman. And THAT I know from heart,
women are beautiful, to me the most handsome man is not sexy, he is a
smelly dude, that looks nothing like a woman.
I like men plenty,
in non-romantic ways. And regarding men transitioning to women, I'm on
your side if you are doing this. I know the brain of one with gender
dysphoria is different than someone without it. I believe people are
LGBTI from birth, but only the trans community is proven to have such
identifiable causes of their experience.
ODDITIES
There are
numerous scientific or historical oddities in the world that do not
prove say, a young earth, aliens, or advanced science in the past. But,
science and history are based upon a number of things that are given
power, rather than being evidence. If there was a 100,000 year lost age
of steel, where humans gained knowledge, had technology we couldn't
imagine primitives having, there could easily be a catastrophic global
disaster, that wipes nearly clean all evidence of such. In science we
give weight to evidence and scientific proof via theory and experimental
demonstration. I've been asked many times if my one of my fictional
blogs is based upon personal beliefs. I do not believe that alien races
regularly visit earth. I don't believe, necessarily that ancient
humanity had advanced technology. I do believe the past is far
greater than we know. History can only record and collect what is known.
Science can only find what exists. In time we might well learn that the
past was far more advanced than we know now. Really, I don't believe we are visited by aliens, or at least, certainly not as
often as some make it seem.
TRUTH
Popularity doesn't mean
quality, it means what they like is what they like. Sometimes they like
quality works. Sometimes they like crap. When comic book writer Alan Moore was asked upon the subject of quality versus popularity. He said something like
10 million flies like shit, that doesn't make shit good. I'm not
suggesting anything here, except to say, enjoy what you like, think
whatever you do about the quality of what you like, but when debating
others, never mistake one for the other.
REVIEW POLICY
I
can be found on Facebook, Twitter or through email
Alexanderness63@gmail.com. I do accept hard copies, so when you contact me/inquire at
any of these places, I'll follow through by telling you my street
address. If you send
hard copies for review I will always review them, but if you prefer to
send pdf or ebooks to my email, I will review these at my discretion. I
don't share my pdf/ebooks, so you can avoid worry that I'd dispense them
for free to others.
My Creative Blogs:
My 5000 poem Blog AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com
Cthulhu Alien Horrors CthulhuDarkness.Blogspot.Com
Atlantis & Lost Worlds AlexNessLostWorlds.Blogspot.Com
My Published Work AlexNessPoetry.Blogspot.Com/2007/01/My-Work.html
My Amazon Author Page Amazon.com/author/AlexNess
Support: Poplitiko.Blogspot.Com/2022/06/for-sale.html
Images and quotes are owned by their respective copyright or trademarked owners, no assertion but fair use is asserted by me.
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