A MESSAGE FROM LONG VIEW BAY

by Ray Jason

 

When The Darkness shrouds my spirit, I sail off to Long View Bay. I anchor behind a massive reef that hides itself below the surface and silently tames the waves. Because there is a vast expanse of shimmering water surrounding me, it feels like I am floating in the open sea. And yet it is completely calm. This tranquility soothes my soul. This long view sharpens my perception.

There is also powerful symbolism in this place. The dominant feature of our planet is its … wetness. This is what distinguishes us from the innumerable dry and lifeless stars gliding above us. Our Wide Waters are elemental. And so I have come here to ponder things that are … fundamental.

My belief is that the incessant Cacophony of Lunacy that the media bombards us with, is minor compared to the deeper issues that allow this societal dysfunction to occur. Stolen elections, fake pandemics and phony wars to “save democracy,” cannot be solved by elections or laws. That’s because most of the human actions that are evil, are actually caused by the deliberate, incremental destruction of humanity’s moral character.

Core values such as Honesty, Diligence, Fortitude, Kindness and Integrity, that used to define a person’s true worth, have been jettisoned in favor of expedient traits that might provide tawdry fame and tarnished fortune. It is all about “likes” and “clicks” and “re-tweets.” But here at Long View Bay, it is all about the need to restore long-abandoned virtues.

WE DON'T HAVE AMNESIA - SO YOU WON'T HAVE YOUR AMNESTY!

by Ray Jason

 

This is my response to the recent article in THE ATLANTIC magazine entitled “Let’s Declare a Pandemic Amnesty.” I have a superior idea. Let’s arrest, try and prosecute those who committed Crimes against Decency, Common Sense and Humanity.

The essay is written by Emily Oster, who most definitely was not an innocent bystander during the WuFlu Paranoia Op. In fact, she might easily qualify for the Obnoxious Karen Hall of Fame. In her Twitter comments she sounds like a kindergarten teacher scolding us for breaking our crayons. Here are some examples:

“I think governors should consider a short term lock-down over Thanksgiving week”

“If you’re pregnant and un-vaccinated, get vaccinated.”

“Maybe vaccine requirements for things you want to do – domestic air/train travel, work, sports events. Yes.”

But she would prefer that these tweets disappear down the Memory Hole. That’s because her motivation in writing this essay is not to make a heart-felt confession that could lead to societal healing. Her actual desire is to … cover her ass!

JAMES HOWARD KUNSTLER INTERVIEWS RAY JASON ON HIS PODCAST

 

James Howard Kunstler featured me on his podcast this week. It was a very enjoyable and hopefully informative conversation. Since we both expend much of our ink discussing serious and culture-changing events, it was a welcome relief to leave such topics astern for an hour.

Jim and I have become cyber-pen-pals over the last couple of years, but this was literally the first time that we had communicated by voice. Fortunately, it was seamless from the very outset, almost as though we had been chattering across the back fence for decades.

I admire his work immensely because he is such a superb wordsmith, who sometimes even attains a lyrical and poetic dimension in his work. As you, my regular readers know, I always strive for what I call The Three Ps – Powerful, Provocative and Poetic. There are plenty of great commentators in the Blogosphere, but not many can make the words sing like Jim.

Also, we share a philosophical attitude towards the unraveling of Western Civilization. We try to alert people to it, but we retain enough optimism to encourage everyone to seek ways to live with Joy and Meaning amid the chaos and corruption.

Here is the link to the interview at Jim’s website.

Enjoy!

 

THE CIRCUS - A CHICKEN - AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT

 

by Ray Jason

 

For several years I have been haunted by a simple photograph that I saw only one time. The image itself is not complicated, and yet its deeper meaning has eluded me and taunted me - like a riddle inside a dream.

In the photo we see a few children waiting in line at the ticket booth of a traveling circus. But instead of paying with money, each of the youngsters is offering something of real value. One has a basket of eggs, another a loaf of bread, and the third child is holding a live chicken.

The reason these kids are not buying their tickets with cash, is because they are trapped in the hyperinflation nightmare of Weimar Germany in the 1930s. We have all seen the black and white pictures of fathers pushing wheelbarrows full of Deutchmarks to the store with the hopes of feeding their families.

I just spent many hours on various search engines trying to locate that circus photo, but I failed. However, is it not the writer’s task to paint a word picture as vividly as real life? So here is what I saw in that sepia-frozen moment in time.

A SEA GYPSY HOWLS AT THE MOON

 by Ray Jason

 

 

Sometimes I just have to sail off by myself and howl at the moon. I anchor in a secluded spot totally removed from human society. Mountains in the background, islands in the foreground and healing water beneath me.

There my only companions live in the sea and the sky. My little sea-going monastery, with its solitude and simplicity, provides me an almost piercing perspective. Every morning I attend sunrise services in the Church of the Natural - saddened by the awareness that most of humanity is hypnotized in the Cult of the Artificial.

For a decade I have been shouting out into cyberspace, warning that demons have high-jacked the Human Voyage. For decades they did this secretly, but now they boldly proclaim their intentions from their Dark Tower of Davos.

THE TALL SHIP AND THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER - Part 3

 

by Ray Jason

 

QUESTIONS FOR THE WIND 

 

In Part 1, I meet the captain of a Tall Ship who runs a Semester-at-Sea program. He has just lost his onboard teacher for a couple of weeks due to Covid quarantine. It turns out that he is a fan of my Blog, and so we agree that I will be his substitute teacher for a while.

In Part 2, I deliver my first full lecture to the 16 year old sailor/students. When it is finished, I let them take a 5 minute break before we do a question and answer session. Part 3 is that Q and A dialogue. Here it is.

Welcome back, shipmates! I am delighted to see that all 15 of you returned. My worldview is pretty radical, so I worry about freaking out my new students. Especially, when I don’t have a full school year to gradually introduce you to this material. But because the societal changes that are being initiated right now are so dangerous to your futures, I feel a duty to alert you to them.

THE TALL SHIP AND THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER - Part 2

  

by Ray Jason

 

 NIGHT ON THE OCEAN

 

In Part 1, I met the Captain of a Tall Ship who had lost his onboard teacher for a couple of weeks due to Covid quarantine. Coincidentally, he was a fan of my unconventional Blog, and we agreed that I would be his substitute teacher for a while. This is my second lecture to the kids, who are about 16 years old.

Good morning students and shipmates. I deliberately used the term “shipmates” because even though I am not an actual crew-member on the HENRY DAVID THOREAU, I am “one of you.”

That’s because we share an extraordinary bond. We have all savored the Big Ocean - or what I like to call the Wide Waters. When you are alone on a night watch, I suspect that you have been dazzled by how vast and gorgeous the Sea is. And perhaps you were also a bit frightened by how uncaring it is.

It is the dominant feature of our planet - taking up around 70% of its surface. And it is so interconnected, that waves that lap the shores of Panama may one day break on the beaches of Polynesia.  

THE TALL SHIP AND THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER

by Ray Jason

 

A FICTIONAL EXPLORATION
 

The bartender gave me his nod that indicated something interesting was headed our way. I turned and watched as an old, but impeccably maintained wooden dory, approached the dock. At her oars were four attractive young people – two women and two men. In her stern was the Captain. I assumed this because he had the calm, confident air of one familiar with the joys and ordeals of command. He cordially said good-bye to his oarsmen and joined us at the bar.

“I’ll go out on a topsail yard and guess that you are from the tall ship anchored out there.”

“Indeed, I am. And I must say that this place looks as pleasant as my scouting party described her to me.”

“Are you saying that “Semester-at-Sea ships are now teaching waterfront bar reconnaissance as part of their curriculum?”

“It’s not a formal course, but it fits nicely into the Life Skills category. But they outdid themselves. Not only did they find a spot with the front on the water, but ALL SIDES are on the water. She is a genuine floating bar.”

“And a relaxed and friendly one as well. Allow me to buy your first round. Might I suggest our excellent local rum with a chaser of one of our fine local beers?”

“You buy ‘em - you pick ‘em”