Humanism

Let Them Eat Cough Cake

Jay Leonard Schwartz Dadaism, Occupy Karma, Poetry & Prose , , , , , , , , ,

At times, it seems as if the whole world has become one giant furry-esque Disneyland. Denial is rampant and “turn the other cheek” often means looking the other way. The Internet is crawling with the failed, offering their poor experience as “life coaches” and hawking clichés they have gotten out of a one-dollar book of quotes. Why? Because the Internet is also filled with desperate dreamers—and all the snake-oil-selling sharks can smell blood in the water.

Today, professionalism, experience, initiative, productivity, and creativity mean very little in a dehumanized business climate that more so values the bottom line, politics, or follow-me aesthetics.

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To Each His Own

Jay Leonard Schwartz Poetry & Prose , , , , , , ,

To Each His Dada | by Jay L. Schwartz @jschwartz63

To Each His Own

Why do we cast our eyes from one to another …
but only to those who nod in kind …
with eyes averted …
from what is common among us?

To each his own …
Oh, what a world …
Oh, what a world …

Hate finds objectivity …
an equal opportunity pervades all.
Tears are subjective …
seeking comfort in the cognate.

To each his own …
Oh, what a world …
Oh, what a world …

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Personal Pinpoints of Merry Lights

Jay Leonard Schwartz Dadaism, Poetry & Prose , , , , , ,

Merry Very Dada - @jschwartz63 - Jay Schwartz

This post is very personal because life is ultimately about the collection of personal moments we hold so dear. These treasured memorable instances of self-connection and self-awareness are all we have, and all we will ever to take the grave. If we were Christmas trees, such memories would be our twinkling lights that give us color and character.

Step into my background for context. I’m an American; I live in Greece. I’m originally from Miami (Florida), or more specifically Westchester and some temporally conglomerated junction of Bird Road (near the old trains tracks), Coral Way, Galloway Road, South Dixie Highway, Dadeland, Coral Gables and all the old haunts I still visit in my mind from time to time. If you don’t know Miami, these places have nothing to do with Miami Vice, South Beach, Art-Deco or Calle Ocho. I’m from a period time when neon signs flashed brilliantly in the looming darkness along a two-lane corridor of rushing four-wheeled headlights causing horizontal blurring streaks across falling dusky skies of electric blues and burnt oranges.

But this post isn’t about Miami; it’s about Christmas, self-actualization, self-awareness, self-worth and all those personal selfies we hold so dear. It’s not just about the blues and oranges, but also the punctuated reds and greens that grew out of early images of black and white. Continue reading →

PSA: Differentiating murdering extremist terrorists from mindless slaves to hatred

Jay Leonard Schwartz Occupy Karma, Writing , , , , ,

Bleeding FingerPublic Service Announcement: How to tell if you are a murdering extremist terrorist or just a mindless slave to your hatred …

If you thoughtlessly and ignorantly allow your politics, religion or nationalism to categorize and define all ‘people’ you know by their nationality and respective governments or by their supposed political or religious affiliation, then you ARE a bigot, a slave to hatred and just as useless to a peace-loving and compassionate society as an extremist terrorist.

If you would rather post politically motivated rhetoric that promotes hate speech and bigotry THAN talk of love, compassion and tolerance, then you are a slave to hatred and just as useless to a peace-loving and compassionate society as an extremist terrorist.

If you REALLY think INTELLIGENT, EMPATHETIC and COMPASSIONATE people with a MIND OF THEIR OWN don’t recognize BIGOTRY and HATE SPEECH when they see it, then you are not only NAIVE, but also a slave to hatred and just as useless to a peace-loving and compassionate society as an extremist terrorist.

If you think it’s ‘educational’ to re-post politically produced media that spreads hatred, bigotry and intolerance for others with alternative points of views, then you are a slave to BOTH hatred and the ‘media’ … and just as useless to a peace-loving and compassionate society as an extremist terrorist.

IF YOU DO ALL OF THE ABOVE AND KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE, you are an extremist terrorist.

Note: Extremist terrorists are NOTHING without their hate, bigotry and the mindless idiots who follow them. Extremist terrorists WANT YOU TO BE SCARED AND ANGRY so that YOU spread their hatred and bigotry FOR THEM. AND, they will kill you anyway, just as easily and willfully as they sacrifice their own followers and blow up innocent by-standing children.

STOP helping terrorists sow the seeds of hate, prejudice and intolerance in the world. STOP being manipulated into being a slave to hate-filled political media. There is NO conspiracy. There is only BIGOTRY, HATRED and PARANOIA. You don’t need to kill innocent people to be an accomplice to extremism; you just have to be a slave to hatred, ignorance and political media.

A humble request: Following an international tragedy such as the attacks in Brussels If you REALLY can’t tell the difference between spreading hate-speech and truly educating people to make a positive difference in the world, then please SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU HATE-FILLED BIGOTED ASSHOLE.

Love & Peace xoxo

Good Mourning, Dada: Nurturing The Contrived Nature Of Concrete Art

Jay Leonard Schwartz Dadaism , , , , , , ,
'Dada Saves' by Jay SchwartzEat your chocolate
wash your brain
dada
dada
gulp some rain.
– Tristan Tzara
 
 
I’m constantly amazed at the capacity some people have to fail as human beings, or more specifically as products of nature. We have such great inherent artistic talent, and yet we are so often contrived in our behavior. Nurturing, for some, is done selectively and with ulterior motives. Efforts to save the planet come only after we’ve all but destroyed it. The art of being fully human remains lost to many who are kept afloat by a flotilla of prefabricated and standardized ‘paint by the numbers’ ideologies and conventions.
 
I write this on the heels of my mother’s recent passing, so as I let the tides of emotion wash over my head, I’m a bit vulnerable to the often groaned about process of grieving. Whatever comes comes; whatever goes goes – the good, the bad and the inane. Good mourning to all, I say, especially to me.
 
Therefore, I have resolved to refuse any attempt to self-repress my emotions or self-censor my thoughts during this period of bereavement. Mind you, this doesn’t say much, since on almost any given day this notion is ‘par for the course’ for me anyway.

The March Of The Immoral Compass

Jay Leonard Schwartz Occupy Karma, Poetry & Prose , , , ,

'Color War Rally' by Jay SchwartzThe March Of The Immoral Compass

Onward to the march she came to share solidarity,

eventually to be burned by another’s insincerity.

She fled, her brain inflamed;

the scene, it was insane.

Twas better for her to defy her moral compass, I confess,

than choke on the evening’s immoral and errant excess.

 

Oh, but what she saw and sensed …

Oh, what she beheld that made no sense:

Loons, full moons and fire …

… a city lead to mire:

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Walking On Eggshells, Sticks And Stones

Jay Leonard Schwartz Occupy Karma , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.
– George Bernard Shaw
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.
– George Orwell

Let’s pretend it’s kindergarten again and time for ‘show and tell’. Today, I’ve brought ‘my opinion’ to share.

Now, if that makes you nervous, so be it. However, know that I say that because only you can decide for yourself what offends you or incites you to violence. Hopefully, this post will do neither, but obviously it’s really up to you. Trust me, I understand.

These days, there is a rash of global protests, some violent, over a pretty lame anti-Islam film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims‘ produced in the United States. The zealous condemnation of the film by Muslims have triggered a rioting frenzy, including attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions and consulates, and resulting in at least 14 deaths and the murder of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya. This morning I awoke to a steady stream of ‘Twitter tweets’ suggesting that the protests were spreading like wildfire … and so was discussion of another form of righteous indignation: censorship.

Oh, how some have forgotten their kindergarten lessons: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

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The High Art And Crime Of Limb Jerking: Free Pussy Riot

Jay Leonard Schwartz Occupy Karma , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
“Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.”
– Albert Camus
“I thought the church loved its children … It turns out the church only loves those children who believe in Putin.”
– Maria Alekhina

 

Running within my veins is an international blend of blood cells owing their existence to a somewhat mixed and muddied heritage that is one part American, one part European and one part Russian. These days, my blood – and not just the Russian part –  is boiling, especially after witnessing the conviction of 3 young women, members of ‘Pussy Riot’, an anonymous Russian feminist performance art group/punk rock band.

A few days ago, Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, both young mothers, as well as Ekaterina Samucevich, were sentenced by a Russian court to two years each after being found guilty of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”.

If you haven’t heard the story, here are the basics: In February of this year, the artists performed a ‘flash performance’ of their song titled, ‘Punk-Prayer: Virgin Mary, Put Putin Away’, at the altar of Moscow’s main cathedral. The stunt lasted approximately 30 seconds or so before the group were forced from the church.

Yes, the impromptu politically charged exhibition obviously rubbed many folks the wrong way – especially those it was aimed at, namely Russian President Vladimir Putin and church leader Patriarch Kirill, a staunch supporter of Putin’s re-election campaign; strange bedfellows given the supposedly formal separation of church and state.

Incredibly, the Russian court chose to dismiss the obvious political and personal aim of the song, as well as the artists’ actual testimony, and instead categorized their actions as essentially a ‘religious hate crime’ and act of ‘social disorder’. In this last categorization, the court referred to “devilish dances” and ‘limb jerking” (insert long pregnant pause here to collect your dropped jaws).

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Standing Up To Shutting Down

Jay Leonard Schwartz Defying Expectations, Occupy Karma , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
“I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
– Thomas Jefferson
“I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.”
– Isaac Newton

You know what I hate? Going to the beach on a hot day and baking in the sun. You see the Sun has a funny way of defying every maneuver I make with my flimsy umbrella to shield myself from its searing heat that creeps ever closer towards me. As sweat pours through my blistered pores, each and every solar radiated fibre in my body screams ‘Help! I’m burning up!’ The grievous cacophony of cellular shrieking overwhelms me so … that I just lay there and allow sunstroke to set in.

So that’s what I hate. Unfortunately, it’s only a metaphor for what really has been bothering me lately: life overload. And trust me, I’m completely and utterly fried!

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In Light Of A Bohemian Smile

Jay Leonard Schwartz Defying Expectations, Occupy Karma , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
– Voltaire
Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
– Henry Miller

 

How easy is it for you to smile? Can you manage a fake one? Do you need someone’s help? Go on and give it a shot.

A few mornings ago, I looked in the mirror; it was my birthday. I’m 49 – a little older and a lot wiser with still lots to learn. Ok, maybe ‘learn’ is not the right sentiment; maybe ‘make sense of’ is. In any event, I think the older I get, the more I scratch my head over life, which no doubt might be the reason for my thinning hair! Still, compared with other male members of my family, past and present, I still have plenty of hair on my head, so I really shouldn’t complain.

Indeed, I have a lot to smile about and day by day I try really really hard to remind myself of that. If you blink though, you might miss it.

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