The American Poet

While sharing with my eldest son Daniel some of my ideas concerning great films, I confessed it really angered me that in the very last scene of Key Largo, Humphrey Bogart turned his eyes to the camera and the editors of the film let it pass. The very abruptness of this in the very last few frames of the film would have necessitated re-shooting the sequence, and budget considerations prevailed over art, as it does in too many instances; and the aura of the heroic character Bogart was portraying was betrayed by a glance at the camera as much as to say: “Don’t take me seriously; this is only a movie and I’m only doing a job.” Fortunately, for the sake of America’s fine heritage of the art of great films, nothing of this nature occurred in Casablanca; otherwise, it would not hold the deserved and honored place in film it eventually achieved and continues to hold in the hearts and minds of so many. “The disease and deformity around us certify the infraction of natural, intellectual and moral laws, and often violation on violation to breed such compound misery… a certain ferocity in nature, which, as it had its inlet by human crime, must have its outlet by human suffering. Unhappily almost no man exists who has not in his own person become to some amount a stockholder in the sin, and so made himself liable to a share in the expiation.” So many like Emerson, Dickens et al. have recognized this human flaw, this disposition to greed and avarice that has caused so much suffering of humankind throughout history. But then to have so many turn to ill-thought “charity” in order to expiate their sins is unforgivable. Jesus pointed out the poor are always with us, and we may do good to them whenever we wish. Philanthropy finds full service among those attempting to expiate their sins. The recent tsunami disaster is certainly a case in point, so many attempting to ease their consciences by ill-conceived “charity” all the while failing to hold the dictators and tyrants accountable who by lining their own pockets refuse to care for their own people. In just this way, a grotesque “philanthropy” bears witness against itself being “a stockholder in the sin,” and so makes itself “liable to a share in the expiation” of human misery and suffering. Bring the guilty to the bar of justice, the leaders of nations who bear the guilt of profiting from the compound misery and suffering of so many millions before attempting to lay the guilt upon those who bear no guilt! Let the UN do this before accusing America of being “miserly.” However, here in America a perverse political structure has evolved that rewards irresponsibility, so much so that the responsible are taxed to support the irresponsible, and thereby encourage more of the very “sin” that promotes so much compound misery and suffering, that promotes increasing numbers of the poor through a corrupt and vice-ridden “leadership.” It is this “slave-breeding” of encouraging the poor in their irresponsibility that makes such an enormous contribution to the compound misery and suffering throughout the world, and encourages the villains and tyrants throughout history to take advantage of the “sheep,” for by their lights if God had not intended them to be sheared he would not have made them sheep. We will not find the “leadership” of Mexico discouraging the indiscriminate breeding among that nation’s poor. Especially when that corrupt and barbarous nation sends millions of its poor to America that in turn sends billions of dollars back to line the pockets of the corrupt wealthy of Mexico. But then to have equally corrupted wealthy in America encouraging this invasion and colonization by millions of barbarians from Mexico and at the same time encouraging the indiscriminate breeding of millions of barbarian illiterate and poor in this nation is equally unconscionable. One cannot help but question whether there be any sentient design and purpose to life on earth by whatever deities when there is such profligate disregard for lives in the untold millions lost to Nature and wars, so much compound misery and suffering throughout the history of humankind. Of one thing we can be certain, as with the difference between Key Largo and Casablanca there is a need for proper “editing,” for art to take precedence over budgets, most especially when such budgets are for no other purpose than to enrich slave-breeders, tyrants and despots. For the sake of civilization, those who appreciate the “art of life” are going to have to make their voices heard. It is no kindness, there is nothing of “art” in encouraging countless of irresponsible unproductive mouths demanding to be fed by the responsible, those who are capable of transforming life into art. The world is fast approaching the point of decision, a decision whether those civilized capable of advancing civilization should not take precedence over barbarians whose only purpose is to destroy civilization, purposely or otherwise. And should humankind fail of wise leadership, of men and women of virtue making the necessary decisions in favor of civilization, be assured the Circumstances of the Immutable will make the decisions. “The disease and deformity around us certify the infraction of natural, intellectual and moral laws, and often violation on violation to breed such compound misery… a certain ferocity in nature, which, as it had its inlet by human crime, must have its outlet by human suffering.” If humankind is to survive, and survive where the best of civilization is to at last progress beyond the “disease and deformity” presently threatening the world, threatening our very survival as a species, progress beyond the human crime promoting such wholesale misery and suffering we now witness and are being demanded to endure by tyrants and despots, human crime must be made to give way to the civilized, “editors,” who are capable of transforming life into art. Many of us have had cause to reflect on whether some lives are more important than others’, of whether there might be divine purpose in sparing some while sacrificing others to such profligate, seeming wanton waste of life throughout history. In every generation, there are only a minuscule number of human beings that make a pronounced impact on history. Could these few be “chosen?” If so, because some of these few have been evil, one might well suppose disagreement, even war on the part of deities resulting in the continued conflict between good and evil. In light of so much being made of the tsunami disaster, to put things in some kind of perspective consider the fact that more people die every day throughout the world because of disease and famine than died in this singular event, that world population in the billions continues to outstrip the ability to properly care for and feed so many unproductive mouths worldwide. It is the sudden disaster with such sudden loss of so many lives that captures the mind. For example, the number of lives lost to just those two atomic bombs dropped on Japan is really quite beyond personal comprehension. The individual tragedies are quite lost in the sheer numbers of the killed. What is your life, what is my life is all that counts in our personal view, for when we die every other consideration of what we believed of importance is lost to that final and personal cataclysm, one in which all other considerations pass away with us. But are some spared a premature death through divine intervention? Of one thing we can be certain, the insanity and greed of our “leadership” hold no hope for us. HOUSTON (AP) “A federal appeals court has delayed the trial of a black man charged in the nation's deadliest human-smuggling attempt so it can rule on allegations of racial bias.” Star Parker in a recent column directed to Negroes and reflecting the comments made by Bill Cosby: “We also need to mobilize our communities to address the single biggest factor that influences a child’s success in school...