Studio8 - Uniting the Arts

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Call Me A Commie
for release 05-15-08
Dallas, Texas
by Lightning Rod

I know that communism has fallen out of fashion. Scratch a cynic and you will find a bruised idealist. I'm a hopeless idealist. I still believe in the pure ideals of communism.

Of course we've never seen the pure ideals of communism carried out in the real world except in local cases. Soviet Communism was not communism, it was an oligarchy much the same as capitalism is not democratic, it is also oligarchical. Communism is much like Christianity. It sounds good in theory but it is hard to accomplish in practice. This is because both communism and Christianity require that we go against human nature. Human nature is greed and selfishness. The ideals of communism and Christianity are sharing and altruism.

We admire generous and selfless people like Mother Theresa and Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer and the Dali Lama and Nelson Mandela simply because they seem to have overcome human nature. They represent people who put the needs of the commonweal before their own. It's the eternal story of charity and sacrifice triumphing over adversity and need.

Christian and communist ideals are similar.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." is as high an ideal as, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The book of Acts tells us, "And all that believed were together and had all things common and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."

Monasteries are communes. The Franciscans and the Benedictines and the Dominicans are communists. During the Dark Ages they were largely responsible for maintaining human civilization and learning and culture.

This is where I am spiritually and politically torn. I believe in communism. I think it's a great idea. I think 'love your brother' is a great idea too. But I'm not in favor of State communism in the same way I am not too thrilled about organized religion. Institutions tend to destroy the purity of an idea.

Give-and-take is not a capitalist idea. Give-and-take is not a commercial transaction, not an exchange, it is a communistic idea. It means that you give what you can and take what you need from the common wealth. Take and take is a capitalist idea. Capitalism is about Me Me Me. Communism is about Us Us Us. That's why I am still a commie.

The Poet's Eye looks fondly on many things which are out of fashion. BeBop music, smoking, argyle socks and communism.

No saviour from on high delivers
No faith have we in prince or peer
Our own right hand the chains must shiver
Chains of hatred, greed and fear
---The International, Eugène Pottier - Paris, June 1871

We used to watch this show every week

http://www.tv.com/i-led-three-lives/sho ... mmary.html

Hard to describe the zeitgeist of the fifties, there was a commie in every pot, they were taking over the country while we slept. If not for J Edgar Hoover we would all be red or dead by now.

best wishes from
comarade joker

Succinct and pithy as usual LR, can't disagree with you here. No poke in the eye today Thanks.

hola, commie!!!!!!

Human nature is greed and selfishness mmm...is it? can we describe human nature in singular and forever? no idea...

thanks for the eye!!!!!!!

You always make me think. Nice one.

~westie

thank you comrade jack

sooz, I'm a little hard of hearing. Did you say 'pithy' or 'pissy'?

arcadia, what's the feminine of comrade? comradita? comrada?

westie, If I can make you think, then I have done my job

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need

Who said that, John Galt?

Careful you'll get old Joe McCarthy from my home state to rise up and come after you.
_________________
Health forum

ya coulda had a commune in that cardboard dome shack ya had
but instead ya became a vagabond fugitive poet.
what gives, mon.?

i flew into loc ninh after it was deserted. th viet cong was playing a wooden flute on th classified fox mike. a voice said, "lot luck"

how did i know to tune it in?

it was th synchronicity of th hour

i like entrepreneurial in·ge·nu·i·ty
like
why mccain's campaign finance co-chair got th pentagon to approve tankers for our nuke stealth bombers from a euroopean company after mccain squashed th deal via boing boing boeng

but then there's th good an plenty farm in summertown tennessee

and th liberation be-boppers
\
sorta like doing boot camp in th belly of a whale

"all ism's should be wasim's" be boppin abby hoffmon, mon

for a fugitive poet
ya gotta lotta constructive creative compositinal craftiness, man

stay well
remember th alamo an th yellow rose


from each according to his ability
to each according to his greed
is what it is, man
it's a dog eat dog world

at least with capitalism ya can tell the ceo he sucks hind teat

I wonder how many people that criticize communism have ever read Marx or even Nietzsche?

i got my argyle socks and footjoys waiting Lrod....just got a new titanium driver.....the technology these days is amazing....if i had these clubs 40 years ago i'd be a golf analyst right about now and tearing up the senior tour...