Vortex
The Widening Gyre
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I’m taking a break from Twitter until November 2 (except to announce these posts).
I’ve had it. Chewing over the same thing day after day isn’t my style.
Well, OK, one further comment: I really pay little attention to Israeli politics, but I saw a few tweets featuring Bibi and began thinking… I have a gut feeling that he will win, the past is past, no one cares about the corruption charges with what’s going on, and that all this has something to do with Ukraine. Also that when Bibi wins, the Ukraine narrative will shift. It already is shifting, but his election will nudge it further. I’m not looking anything up about it, I’m just going with my gut. What’s the worst that can happen? I’m wrong? So what?
Guys, that online thesaurus is great. I was trying to think of synonyms for “vortex” and they supplied me with “gyre,” which I would never have thought of.
Of course, the great Yeats poem, The Second Coming sprang immediately to mind.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Does anything explain the current situation better than this poem? I can’t think of it.
But, sorry, one little nitpick here:
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
What’s with this “surely” Mr. Yeats?
There’s no revelation at hand, no Second Coming. No one’s going to save us.
I don’t even believe in the First, much less a Second Coming. Unlike my fellow tribesmen and women, I do believe that Jesus came, that he was a savior—and he changed nothing. The world is what it is—a coalition of powerful men, cunning about one thing and not much else: getting and keeping power, and we’ve got to live in and with that.
Nor do I lack conviction, although my passionate intensity has burned out. But lacking conviction is submission and I won’t submit. I did that from the 1990s to August 20211 at which point I told myself, “never again.” I will never again shrug my shoulders and let the powerful get away with their mischief without at least saying something. What I said in the previous paragraph about power is not resignation. It’s a frank acknowledgement of the facts. You cannot resist without first acknowledging the facts.
I’m taking a break from Twitter, but not Substack. However, I’m going to try to stick to my original reasons for starting this damn thing: to spout off about Ukraine and market my book. They are probably mutually exclusive, but that’s my game…alas.
Here are the Amazon links.
But DON’T BUY THEM if you are interested. Please. I would rather give away review copies than sell a few books, which earns me chump change and requires me to file a tax form.
If you’re interested in reading the whole thing, email me at TECHNIUMBOOK AT GMAIL DOT COM.
I can provide the manuscript in any format you prefer: EPub or Kindle. (Sorry, no PDFs as they are too large and I’m leery of sending drive links, and no paperbacks, that’s a bit pricey.)
The only thing I ask for is an honest and thoughtful review, and I do mean honest. I have enough confidence in my writing—and my readers—to think that they will produce a thoughtful review. I would rather have a three-star thoughtful review than a five-star “OMG this is awesome!”
which I’ve written about in Afghanistan-related posts.
I feel PRECISELY the same way. All that needed to be said has been said. Now let's pray the courts take over
Btw I thing that Yeats poem rates with anything by the Bard and is surely the pinnacle of English poesy
Back into the gyre