#stop projecting your beliefs onto history and get the facts straight

[opje]

For the love of all that is holy, please stop saying that Robert was a Communist. You are completely misunderstanding who he was as a person if you honestly believe that that was the only political ideology that he subscribed to. He believed in aspects of Communism, and he realized after two of his friends returned from Russia that true Communism could never be achieved. He believed in giving to the people who were going to get shit done, but he himself was a New Deal Democrat (aka a Socialist). I am so heartbroken that people to this day continue to call the man a Communist when he made it clear to Chevalier that he had never been one. This was long after his security clearance was removed that he said this after Chevalier wrote a shit book that was so clearly based off of Robert. No doubt to sell more copies, but thankfully most of the scientific community and historians knew that that was bullshit.

[rennyji]

July 22nd Morning Tweets...

July 22nd Morning Tweets...

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America is the nation that took everything from me. It wasted my physical and mental health, brought chaos to my home life, coerced my parents into following the directives of abuse towards their son, restricted job ability and opportunity, separated me from time with my sibling and filled their mind with cr*p, put humanity as a whole on one team in belief/practice vs. me…

To the nations misled by America, who take part in this endeavor allegedly”for” me, but which was actually “towards/against me.” :

The Americans are all about pleases and thank yous on the surface, but they lack a culture. Ask what their values/principles are? Ask them specific questions, ask them to elaborate…it’s in their nature to take advantage of lack of interest in detail. The ones that have principle, probably can trace it back to their Greek or Irish or whatever origins. Hitler is blunt and obvious with gas chambers towards the Jews. But the American? They play a long convoluted game, placating the masses for their agenda, so that those in power can continue to exert god like authority at a high salary. I’m supposed to collapse or be mentally ill for their purposes. You have no idea all the angles to this "situation", that the Americans put together, to make this phenomena happen…it is an incomprehensible evil...words cannot express my mind's stomach upset/indigestion with processing the details of evil men like these - not even Satan himself is this clever...where is this coming from, you'll ask? That is because you don't know what is going on, in its entirety.

In Luke 13:31-32

Jesus says,

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’

So American government, law enforcement, and military:

you, in not stopping for a decade, imply you want me to collapse? You want to make me a martyr for a God-less nation? Need a modern day Christ example people can relate to? You blasphemers. If Herod was the fox, you are the swine you eat, as it is you who projected, “you are what you eat.”

In Luke 16:19-31,

It is said:

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.(A) 20 At his gate was laid a beggar(B) named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.(C) Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham,(D) have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’(E)

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things,(F) but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.(G) 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them,(H) so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses(I) and the Prophets;(J) let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’(K) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Weak minded swine of orchestrators…if a respected 2000+ year old lineage and history can’t be a role model to your nation, and my explanations/elaborations/correlations don’t suffice, then your nation is hopeless, cannot he woken up or guided. The swine want to create a cool martyr that suffered mind reading/mind control? First you fix yourselves, before misleading ur children of a nation and piling on their sins onto yourselves for misleading them. As the last verse of the Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus goes:

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’(K) he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them,

(Like maybe if they’re depicted as cool and suffered something futuristic like mind reading/mind control, …)

they will repent.’

(I.e. under the thinking that The nation will wake up, live a better life through a role model.)

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

(Not convinced if someone rises from the dead is equivalent to me dying from/overcoming mind reading/mind control, for your “at the surface” public P.R. Image of the “soon-to-become” thought police from “1984.”)

In order protect their grimy a*ses, the orchestrators want to make the entire “situation” about a nice guy or some cr*p…what about in the Old Testament? I have no desire to be the golden calf for the metaphorical Israelites, who were seeking “to create something to 'follow/idealize.' ” Moses wasn’t happy, and Americans, based on what is at the root/heart of this present “situation” - (the destruction of an individual and sanctity of mind, ruining of a family) - I don’t think God wants to be your bandage or coverup, for what is towards the end of your government project and it’s resulting bleeding from the leprosy of sin.

Orchestrators, waste someone else’s time.

To finish my earlier point:

So why stay in America, some may ask? I LEFT this horrid, “drunkedness-in-thinking”country for a year, and the orchestrators brought me back to this unclean place to inflict their sadistic behavior, for, 8+ years?! more…

I’m the guy you work for, orchestrators. Using ur p*ssy psychology as a weapon against me, to enslave me, in action: by denying me my rights as a citizen, is quite something.

Years ago, while upstate by “that” University, I said remember this:

Psalm 3, not words of solace, but a promise. A promise.

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It is believed those who share in the lineage, those who are a branch of the vine, are priests, prophets, and kings as the Christ figure. While divinity of this figure is questioned amongst different people, it is a fact that this was a man, who served God, tried to get people of the time to “”wake up and was a descendant in the line of King David - priest, prophet,  king. It is also said, Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life. Many believers unfortunately restrict this to meaning salvation - whatever that word may embody - and those of their respective faiths think salvation is meant only for those under the label of Christian, if they be Christian, Muslim, if they be Muslim, and so forth. Which is better, the mere LABEL of Christian/Muslim/Jew, or those who live in the footsteps of the Christ figure? Words/labels are human constructs. What’s more important is the meaning behind them. Someone, merely because, they don’t fall under your label, is not bad, and that judgement is not a right reserved to any human being, with respect to another, his/her equal... For those looking to walk in a straight line, find peace, and achieve salvation, you must be priest prophet & king in nature. As a priest you serve something much greater - not out of an enslaved mentality in thinking of the word "serve" - but as a loving father to son or a loving son to a The Father, you should serve with love. From that, can be derived, you serve each other, because that is part of serving something greater. By the priest mentality, you are humble in attitude, understand there is something greater, that the world isn’t about what you want. You understand there are rules, but their purpose is not to restrict, but to give structure. Growing up/living life is like making jello. To make jello, it needs some kind of container to take shape, as it is flavored water in the beginning. Without a container, its just a mess that spills everywhere. Rules to abide by are our container. That's where the guidelines of religions were supposed to help, but those lacking in insight, turned what was for structure/a path to success to something geared toward restrictions for a life. We are the flavored water in jello to take shape under the structure of "good words/good advice/good principles/good values." There are many containers, as there many religions, giving us jello, merely the illusion of a different shape. What matters is that we have a shape and aren’t messes that spill everywhere…then we’d just be wasted flavored water. Don’t see rules as restrictions. They are there for us to maintain form. Rules at times need to be bent, but that should be out of understanding its purpose and following it with your heart vs. your mind. Nothing is absolute. A container holding jello can be molded to different shapes. But be careful. Mold it for selfish gain and you risk bending the container to such an extent, flavored water and even firm jello can fall out. What prevents this is, following rules with you heart, out of love, for something greater - in which case you’d just changing the angles of the edges or something small like, that with respect to the container, so that nothing loses form or is wasted, with respect to working with rules or adapting them to do what is appropriate for your life. Don’t restrict the concept of priest to celibate people, shaving their heads and/or living in a monastery all the time. Christians believe they are priest, prophet, and king in one being, as we share in the spiritual lineage of Christ, who traces His lineage to King David, and Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As a prophet it is your job to awaken &  teach each other truths. You are to stand up for what you believe in, with respect to the free will of another. Don’t bother with the whole "the end is near speeches.” When you start reading a book or watching a movie, the end begins to be near. Sometimes there are sequels depending on the Author’s favor. But no one knows when the ending is, because we don’t know what the Author is thinking. Since the stories of our existence started, the end has been near. It is just the nature of things. There may be a sequel or there may have been sequels. The characters in books and movies don’t bother with such details. They just fulfill their roles in the story and so should it be with you. And finally, as a king, you should live with honor respect and integrity. Kings don’t waste their lives 'in its entirety,' throwing ping pong balls into cups while inebriated. You are a leader. You should make decisions and act in ways that are just and right, for your are a king. Be the best version of yourself. Priests, prophets, and kings, are what we are, and should be.

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A person's societal or life role, or lifestyle, adopts the illusion of better/worse class or no class…behind the labels/that role/that position/that lifestyle, behind or through all these things, everyone is living... These things are simply under the illusion of a different form, in a setting/a world/a time, that has the potential of bringing out the best of them. To further elaborate, lifestyle roles/positions in life are quadrilaterals. Quadrilaterals are 4 sided figures. These include, but are not limited to, squares rectangles trapezoids rhombuses rhomboids…all a bunch of shapes that look different to our eyes…they’re illusions…but the truth behind them is that they all have four sides. Such is the nature of a person’s role and different lifestyles…As we are all quadrilaterals, no one shape or person is better or worse. These are just tricks for the mind from our reality. Take pride in who you are, what you do. Things look really different, and maybe seem better, in the life of another, but it’s just a look. Everyone is still doing the same thing: still living. People by default see only the different shapes or differences amongst each other, so that they may never be happy. Such is part of our default nature. We need to willfully rise above it. Systems like the caste system were put into place to preserve order, to force people to carry out their respective roles in society. There were the Brahmins i.e. the priestly class, the Ksatriyas: the warrior class, the Vaishyas, who were the farmers, then there were the Shudras(the laborers/craftsman). It was believed that the societal roles were inherited from merits or lack of them, in past lives. So that eliminates the "why am I this/doing that" thinking. In getting past that, you can now focus on moving forward, on bigger/better things. These systems like the caste system of old seem rigid and they are. But they closed people’s minds to what wasn't their concern or closed off jealousy/envy into other people's lives i.e. closed off to what was outside the realms of their concern. In a sense, by restricting a mind's passion for everything, they brought in focus into what could be changed or what the individual potential left the individual with. These old systems like the caste system are like a parent disciplining a child when they’re young. To get the ball rolling, to get the discipline established, you need to be a stern with it, or perhaps, practice rigidity. On a different note, in Islam, there are harsh punishments for crimes, harsh regulations for women...I mean as Islam in Islamic countries is not just a religion, but a system of law giving structure to society (as all religions aimed to do, going back ages, in uniting a primitive/animalistic/disorganized people, scattered across the world), you have people getting their hands chopped off for theft or some crime. It severely discourages the action. To avoid temptation for men, people of a millennia or two, ago, decided to hide women in long gowns and face/head coverings, where their faces are only visible to their families. Now that the ball is rolling, "we have time to think". Now that people are not as primitive/animalistic/disorganized, you really need to second guess these practices of old...understand why they were put in place, and ask yourselves if somethings just boils down to a weak mind that needs better guidance/training...Religion came into the world so that people would stop eating each other, killing each other, by realizing it as sin...(today, the immature ones amongst humans, have taken it from eating/killing each other, to mind reading/mind controlling others...imagine if these idiots used their intellects for the Golden Rule, to help their fellow man, to help just one of "the least of" His "brothers and sisters"...but I digress...)Religion told people, ultimately aim for a man and woman becoming one in marriage, promoting family structures and support systems for men and women and their offspring, in times where you have people screwing everyone all day/everyday and having kids that weren't taken care of, and a bunch of other chaos like diseases, etc. So, before my tangent, I said: "People by default see only the different shapes or differences amongst each other, so that they may never be happy. Such is part of our default nature. We need to willfully rise above it. Systems like the caste system were put into place to preserve order, to force people to carry out their respective roles in society." It’s expected that people think about, and hopefully understand: why things were done the way they were done. Even a child in passing years, in his/her older years, understands why the parent was hard in the beginning. As years have gone by, since what was implemented ages ago, you need to look at the meaning behind the roles. They close what’s irrelevant in minds, so that there isn’t chaos, and you don’t get distracted, in place of focusing on what lies ahead. Indeed how lucky we are today. The people to whom such systems originated, had it much harder. With respect to such big things affecting everyone, time isn’t measured as it is with the lifetime of a child. It’s measured across generations. Those people the systems and practices originated around, were the children. We are those children as they’re getting older. Despite this, we still have some severe versions of immaturity... With the passage of time, there are evolved teachings. You hear Christ say that each man(yes women too. saying man and woman or human, in place of man, as a term combining everyone, just doesn’t flow…i  know in Spanish,  when referring to men and women, they usually stick with the masculine form of the words…but I digress...anyway…) … you hear Christ say each man is priest(priestess) King(Queen) and prophet(prophetess) (—see what I mean…takes the flow out of writing and speaking). With respect to the older teaching of Brahmins Ksatriyas Vaishyas  & Shudra - those were the four main divisions. There was another role that was outside the system of favored roles, and that was the role of the Untouchable. They handled all the dirty jobs in life. But the truth is, each man is a priest, warrior, farmer, laborer, 'and above all' untouchable ( i.e. untouchable for the sake of a label, because of the nature of their role, by the "perceived as" higher castes in society). Each human being has the responsibility of all those roles, in this day and age, where humanity is older. People are like analog signals. They don’t have fixed states like digital 1’s and 0’s or electrical charges. Roles are like ladders. You can go up and down. But doing the equivalent of jumping up, rushing out of place, risks the ladder falling down on you...or you breaking some of the steps on the ladder with your abrupt move, leading to you wounding yourself. The roles of old are themselves, nothing.

What I'm getting at is, do what all these Hindu and Christian roles represent. Follow the duties of "all those roles." Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, like a Hindu Untouchable. At the same time, remember you are a king (going back to the Christian notion of priests/prophets/kings) who loves his neighbor to the extent that you are willing to be his servant in concept. By King, you have integrity and should act with it. Don’t let labels go to your head and don’t let them hurt/inflate your ego. Regarding societal roles or jobs, Everyone has to do something. It’s what keeps the world going. Why squares are squares or trapezoids are trapezoids, is a waste of energy. We’re like seeds in a field. Why it rains in some areas, why the sun shines more in others, who knows…they just do… say there’s a seed growing in an extremely hot area…maybe the surrounding plants that were already growing around it or that it found to be planted amongst, gave it shade and allowed it to prosper in an area where seeds usually get scorched by too much sun…maybe the seed kept rolling in the dirt and strayed from nourishment… to think of such "why’s" can only prevent you from "focusing on what’s ahead" as well as hinder your growth. Wherever & whatever your role is, there is no small, there is no big. Focus on your duty to God, self, others, in life. Focus on carrying out your duty. Be all that you are, to the best of your ability in life, while treating everyone else the way you would like to be treated, in each day, each situation, life throws at you.

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so another thought...

Life is like a field and we are all seeds in that field, trying to sprout, grow, and become something. Why it rains in some areas, more than others, who knows. Why it doesn't rain in some areas at all, who knows. Why the earth under some seeds is more fertile.. who knows. Everyone has something and nothing going for them. As a friend once said, “I’m thankful for the things that I have, but also the things I don’t have. It’s what makes me, me.” Don’t waste time hating someone for what you perceive as them having and not having, because whatever it is you have/don’t have, are the tools you need to sprout, grow, and become something. After all, seeds do not waste time wondering what other seeds are doing.

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[andrewuttaro]

30 Years on: What is America?

I am not of the belief patriotism is a disappearing attribute in this country. I think those who say such a thing tend to struggle with the difference between patriotism and nationalism. I digress, I already wrote that article. I’ll let you do your own research on that. To the degree patriotism is in flux at the moment regardless of anyone’s relative love for America I think it’s because we are at something of a national crossroads.

We’re collectively looking critically at our own history again for the first time in a long time. In the aftermath of a global pandemic the craving for normalcy belies an unsettling question about what that normalcy actually is and if its worth going back to: What is America? No really, what is the lived vision of America in 2021 CE? To the extent you read overzealous nuts on social media drooling over the prospect of Civil War or national partition there is in fact some hard soul searching about the what of America that has potential to lead to real political sectarianism.

I’ll check my privilege at the door and say yes: I, as a straight, white male, has never had a lot to lose in any past incarnation of the American identity. Part of the struggle here is a truly inclusive answer to Who is America? I write this under the assumption literally anyone can be American, and we should build systems that reflect that. Nonetheless, we do have to look to the past for fear of repeating it.

What is America? Well it’s a country for one: more than two hundred years old with a congressional democratic republic form of government. It’s had 46 Presidents and counting. It is composed of 50 States for now. America was founded on a couple core principles it defined around “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Anyone who seriously studies American History will tell you the promises of America’s founding documents were not all fulfilled in the beginning. America’s domestic history is defined by Civil Rights movements, reactions against said movements and a Civil War largely about who would receive the full promise of what America is. Indeed Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President who led America through that Civil conflict, spoke of this nation as the “American Experiment” that would not perish from the earth as long as the Union won. The Gettysburg Address Lincoln delivered about this vision of America was delivered on a battlefield where that nation was invaded by what can properly be called a different imagining of what the U.S. should be. Those invaders were former countryman, looking to make a different formulation of the experiment. America is an experiment, a work in progress, a project.

Nation-States as projects is not a new concept. Even before the United States of America’s War of Independence new nation-states were being founded across the world out of the milieu of Enlightenment Philosophy meeting political realities. In many places the nation-state was a more democratic, self-determining incarnation of what kingdoms and empires had been for millennia prior: the collective force of a like-minded ethnic, tribal, or familial group or otherwise aligned interested parties. The innovation of the American experiment, among other things, was perhaps that it was a nation-state for everyone seeking liberty and personal autonomy. Even though the founders envisioned the enfranchisement of a very specific kind of citizen, this American nation-state had potential from the beginning to be something that had never been attempted before.

Fast forward 128 years on from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The U.S. has not only survived its Civil War, but it has also exploded onto the global stage after two world wars catapulted it to an international superpower. Still believing itself to be the project of liberty and self-determination America had stood opposed to a distinctly oppressive superpower in the Soviet Union and won. In the process the American experiment had been exported anywhere the Soviets couldn’t stop it and now the whole world was familiar with its tenets if not copying its institutions. A Cold War that held all of humanity in suspense at the precipice of nuclear annihilation has yielded to a new reality where America found itself the dominant political force in the world unopposed. 1991, thirty years ago now, was a rare inflection point in history where suddenly massive forces of power were upended at once and there was no clear guiding philosophy for the global political order going forward… except the United States of America. What would America be now? The Post-Cold War reality was ours to lose.

Canada, America’s most intimate international partner and closest neighbor, similarly finds itself at a philosophical turning point. The Canadian author and commentator Will Ferguson points to three core guiding themes, however misled they were, for the Canadian project upon its modern founding in 1867: 1. Keep the Americans out, 2. Keep the French in, 3. Somehow make the indigenous disappear. In Canada’s 150-year history these three ideas color its every decision and define its character. All of these founding directives are now either reversed because they were outright morally wrong (See number 3) or have been killed by a thousand cuts. The nation-state to America’s north is also set to reexamine what it’s all about. In that reexamination of national identity there is great opportunity and great danger. As if an international support group, Canada’s stereotypical niceness reaches out to tell us, we’re not alone in this self-discovery process.

The answer to the Post-Cold War world for the American Experiment in 1991 was doubling down on Americana and exporting our cultural and economic mores around the world. Though this process had already begun in earnest after World War Two, now the whole world was its oyster. From aggressive, no-prisoners capitalism to unapologetic, imperial democracy, you can now find few places on the planet that are not familiar with some facet of the United States’ self-perception. America globalized who it was and not everyone liked it. Indeed many Americans began to increasingly look in the mirror this cultural hegemony provided with a critical eye. Then September 11th happened.

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11 the United States cast its enemies in an axis of evil dualism in the War on Terror that provided an endless horizon of conflict for a military apparatus unseen in human history. The polar opposite, the truly evil enemy the Fall of the Soviet Union deprived America of, would now be replaced with a complex networks of dictators and non-state entities who recorded death threats in caves. While America doesn’t exist today like a traditional empire, its reach is unparalleled, and it can strike almost anywhere on earth in a matter of minutes. With no sufficient counterbalance it would seem its military industrial complex doesn’t know what to do with itself. That menacing, widespread inhuman enemy doesn’t actually exist much in the real world if it even did during the many proxy conflicts of the Cold War decades.

Domestically the thirty years of the Post-Cold War American Experiment has seen the two branches of our government that were supposed to be lesser to the legislative, balloon in importance. In a nation where every philosophical difference is magnified into a culture war the ultimate arbiter of those borderline violent disputes is a Court system that is supposed to be an afterthought and a Presidency that has become outright imperial in spite of the founders explicit anti-monarchical sentiments. When Supreme Court justices die or retire it really seems to be on par with a Pope’s death for political partisans stateside. All good and evil in the land of liberty seems to run through a council of black-robed appointees. All 5 Presidents of Post-Cold War America were cast as lightning rods for their bases and chastised by their opposition with every scandal that would stick (to varying degrees of success). The fourth of such Presidents, Donald Trump, openly rejected the idea of America as a pluralistic nation-state with any international responsibility at all to the contrary of the image that defines Post-Cold War America, in favor of a Pre-World War II image of an isolationist, explicitly white Christian nation. Yes, the current identity crisis played out in sharp contrast in the 2016 election cycle. Many Americans consider that election the perfect storm of two intractably terrible major party choices.

Perhaps we need to face the fact we did it to ourselves. We elect no-compromise fighters whenever we vote only to be shocked when Congress turns into a toxic mess that gets nothing done. It’s always easy to criticize a one-term President but the re-evaluation of what the American experiment will be is not limited to those of a more right-wing conservative bent. The left wing in this country increasingly discusses myriad reforms to everything from our election and representation systems to our healthcare and welfare systems. No matter what your future vision of America is you probably agree, perhaps for vastly different reasons than your neighbor, that America is not the somehow uniquely exceptional nation-state it’s insisted it is, not anymore at least. The Post-Cold War era saw the concept of “American Exceptionalism” become a punchline for Americans of both and every political affiliation. For numerous reasons America’s international and domestic vitality has diminished.

The current President, historically more of a traditionally moderate, establishment democrat, has even engaged in this revisionism aggressively seeking to revive Americans faith in their very form of government with stimulus, infrastructure and voting reform in the most evenly split congress in decades. More progressive types of the left-wing beckon in every election cycle now just as the former President refuses to go away, trying to weaponize the grievance of his increasingly right-wing base in the reimagining of the American experiment he set forth as a more authoritarian leader. We have to make an honest, good faith accounting of this effort toward a new definition of ourselves if any shared consensus as a nation will ever be possible again. There is of course great danger in redefining the purpose of a national project.

However America redefines herself going forward, finding these new definitions is not an optional project. With the U.S. shaken down from its international pedestal by trade war, an ascendant China, and a stubbornly plutocratic Russia, even America’s closest allies are reconsidering how they will persist with an unstable American self-image still able to exert its hard power anywhere on earth. As some Americans pursue a more equitable society at home for historical outgroups still struggling with society’s aged mores, those efforts have been met with open racism and a kind of selfish nationalism that has not been seen this ferociously in three generations. Unless a new lasting, inclusive, American self-image is agreed upon we may be at only the beginning of a long period of internal strife and discord. Increasing numbers of ideologs of both left wing and right-wing persuasions fantasize about cutting off whole sections of the nation whom they rarely agree with. American Statehouses are dominated by right-wing majorities more often than not who have actually initiated voter suppression efforts which positions America in a dangerous place for the next close enough national election. This is not to mention the way gerrymandering steals the power of congressional representation from the very people it was supposed to empower. This whole discussion doesn’t even touch on the increasing threat of environmental catastrophe rarely addressed in the halls of power.

The current American Identity Crisis leaves many issues unaddressed as a matter of fact. An opioid epidemic that is erasing broad swaths of the population, a wealth gap unseen since the gilded age, a skyrocketing suicide rate, a gun violence epidemic, natural resource exhaustion unrelated to climate change, police violence, the fourth rebirth of white supremacist organizations, DC and Puerto Rico Statehood, the Student Debt Crisis, an increasingly intractable housing market putting home ownership out of reach for many young Americans, and numerous other problems sit on the backburner without any signs of meaningful progress. On some level it seems we’ve all given up the project of governing for earning the most points in culture wars that now express themselves on as big a scale as a national election and all the way down to dinner tables and date nights.

What is American? How might we be optimistic about such a rapidly changing country on this Independence Day thirty years on from the end of the Cold War? Among people my age it would seem pessimism if not an outright nihilism about these sorts of things is the common response where activism seems to only make minor gains. Among the general population still rebounding from the COVID19 pandemic it would seem a certain empathy fatigue has set in. Where meaningful answers to these big, generational national identity questions are being formulated it is yet to be seen if a new American consensus can be found.

Perhaps our friend Canada would tell us: these days the most patriotic thing you can do is push for your country to do better. Reckoning with the past and present treatment of minorities and atrocities abroad is not optional if we are to have an honest, effective, united future. For now, if nothing else can move us to truly feel proud of our nation, then maybe this independence day we can recognize our internal interdependence on each other, however different we maybe. If anything the most patriotic way we can be this holiday and every day going forward as Americans is honest and patient about who we were, what we are and what we could possibly be if we commit ourselves to progress once again.

[jaded-ghoster]

Video Fic Pt. 1 Or Something I’m Bored

UA was number 1 for a reason. It was the school that All Might attended, its other alumni donate so much money that its able to afford the best training facilities, the teachers take their teaching seriously, and it offers a wide array of courses that aren’t limited to heroics yet still produce the best results.

But it’d be foolish of anyone to assume that other schools have never come close to UA’s prestige. Shiketsu’s teachers are just as experienced in their abilities to train their students and the training grounds at Ketsubutsu are one of the few that aren’t limited to only pure destruction lessons but stealth and undercover as well.

So with all of this in mind there are of course going to be some people who catch onto this, who question the rankings of these hero schools in order to get to the bottom of who really deserves to be at the top. It’s not that they think UA isn’t worthy, because they most definitely are, but rather that they want to play their cards right for themselves or their future children.

They’ll pull up statistics, interview some alumni of all courses, and they’ll piece it together to get some semblance of a conspiracy theory and an answer.

They’ll celebrate their findings and genius, do a little dance, go to a bar to drink the night away... and then they’ll randomly get an email invite to one of UA’s countless social events that are famous for the five star food and entertainment.

If you thought UA was above silent bribery and manipulation for their enemies in the form of social gatherings, you would be wrong. So very wrong. UA isn’t above anything, not it Nezu has anything to say about it, and especially not if the Hero Commission had anything to say about it. UA represented the golden ones, the elite percentage of society that everyone in Japan and perhaps internationally believed to be the future of this world. And thanks to the school’s boundless financial (and social, as we have just clarified) support, that belief is still justified.

And just in case you thought a specific, grumpy, dark-haired hero hated everything about this, you would also be justified.

The social events usually took place either right before or right after a scandal, always perfectly timed to avoid any backlash or suspicion. The attendees ranged from famous and underground heroes alike, important political figures in Japan, teachers from fellow hero schools, and people who needed to be silenced. The themes were random but mostly remained light-hearted, elegant, or downright humorous.

On one occasion the theme was a 19th century ball with old-fashioned gowns and suits, on another it was Under the Sea where people dressed according to their assigned sea creature and ate sushi while Jaws played on the projector screen, and one time it was just karaoke. Yes, karaoke, a simple arcade game that still managed to dazzle everyone who attended with the hired dancers, professional singers, and flashing lights.

If you think that same dark-haired hero hated all of those themes, with the exception of the karaoke because he didn’t want to trash talk singing in front of his DJ-themed best friend, you would once again be right. In fact, he hated it so much that he dedicated the week before the event to perfectly planning out his schedule, that way Nezu could never logically force him to come.

The first excuse he used was that Recovery Girl said he was dangerously sleep deprived and couldn’t waste any more energy; the second excuse was that his father was back and therefore he had to abandon the country for a couple days; the third was that he had a drug raid that night; and the fourth was when he got so desperate for an escape that he rammed himself into a brick wall seconds before Nemuri could force him into a Dracula costume. In the end he got a concussion, several alarmed stares from his students, a slap from Recovery Girl’s handbag, and a free pass from the Halloween themed dance party.

This year would be no different from last year in his case, as he had once again gotten desperate when he saw Ms. Joke crashing through the door heading straight for him and proceeded to launch himself out the window, landing face-first on the concrete outside. Hurt like a bitch, and he once again got a ‘PLEASE STOP SCARING US’ from Midoriya as he limped his way to Recovery Girl, but now he’s ‘forced’ to spend the next seven hours in the medical room’s bed with an endless supply of chocolate pudding. So he’d say it was worth it.

Midoriya, who’s eyes looked similar to a soldier that had seen one too many horrors in the heat of war, would disagree.

But for everyone besides Aizawa, this social gathering would be quite special. For the first time in UA history, the students here and the ones at several other schools would receive an invite as well. Of course some of the adults were disappointed that alcohol would no longer be provided, but they guessed the virgin pina coladas were more than enough to make up for it, as well as the newfound ability to subtly recruit some of the heroes in training for their own agencies.

And because teenagers would now make up quite a big portion of the party, Present Mic the ‘trendy’ hero- compared to others, at least- was put in charge of the theme. This was also one of the reasons Aizawa slightly regretted incapacitating himself, even though he’d never say it out loud. But he decided the chocolate pudding could erase the depression for a little while.

Present Mic dutifully chose the theme of 1980s throwback, with movies ranging from Japanese-subbed American classics like The Breakfast Club and Heathers, all the way to Akita and My Neighbor Totoro. Random, they know, but what else could you expect from Hizashi the cinephile? With an endless supply of popcorn and slushies, none of the students, adults, or even Midoriya the perpetually anxious over-thinker, thought anything could go wrong.

Unless, of course, you’re Hizashi, and you clumsily mistake the flash drive full of select movies with the flash drive of video clips that should never see the light of day ever again.

“Shit,” the blonde man muttered in English as he frantically shut pressed buttons on his computer to pause the recording before it played, “S-sorry listeners! Just a little malfunction haha!” Nemuri sighed.

“Did you bring the wrong flash drive?” She asked, earning a sheepish nod from Hizashi and several groans from those listening in. The loudest one from Bakugo Katsuki, who was forced to skip his bedtime for this by Kirishima.

“Yeah, but it’s fine! I’m pretty sure I can find a website with the movies we need anyway, just gotta ignore the VPN pop ups and porn ads.” Nemuri took a step closer to stare at the flash drive with curiosity.

“Hey… what’s on that thing anyway? I always see it around your house but I’ve never seen the contents.”

“Oh… Uh, nothing much, really. Just spreadsheets, and assignments, and paperwork, and stu- AHH!” Hizashi yelped as he was shoved aside.

Nemuri leaned closer to the screen to read the information of the flashdrive. It contained 30 videos, lasted about 3 hours in total, and was divided into three sections. First month, second month, and third month. The R-rated hero was just about to ask what years this was referring to when her eyes caught the title of the flash drive: UA Documentary Project.

[marvelandponder]

Look How Far We’ve Come

Welcome to Year of the Pony’s second regular series (aside from the editorials), The Elements of MLP! Every month, we’ll be looking at one aspect of Friendship is Magic in some degree of depth to explore all the different parts that go together to make MLP what it is.

Part of the reason I started this year-long event was to get to the bottom of why I love this show so much, so maybe looking it piece by piece will help me appreciate the whole better.

This month, we’ve got the Element of Design and Animation, one of my personal favourites.

And, I’m not alone! So let’s go through the whole gosh darn process (or at least as many stages as I’ve got something to say on)!

Design

In the beginning, there was Lauren Faust.

If you only know one name from behind-the-scenes, it’s Lauren Faust. As MLP:FIM’s creator, she lead a lot of the development that made the show what it is visually (and in other areas, too, of course).

So, yes, Faust had an immeasurable influence on the design choices. And, because of her genuine love for My Little Pony as a kid, so did previous generations of MLP.

Figures that AJ would be the one to change the least during development (never change, AJ), but here they are: The old school Mane 6! As you probably know, all based on characters from the franchise’s history!

You’ll notice that even though the colours themselves varied, the pastel colour-scheme overall was there from the start, and it’s largely because of the franchise's roots in the 80s. 

*Correction: Silver Rain on EQD pointed out to me that the cartoon commonly thought of as G2, My Little Pony Tales, is actually still G1. There is no G2 cartoon (generations are defined by new sets of the toys, not the cartoons or feature films, so even though Pony Tales is very distinct from the first two movies, it’s still G1)

The closest thing to a G2 anything besides the toys is a video game, but for this analysis I decided to keep it strictly to television and movies. So, enjoy knowing G2 is a lie!

See how the first two generations looked a bit washed out? And the next two are sort of over-saturated? In addition to looking cleaner because digital animation v.s. traditional (neither is better), G4 strikes a balance between the different colour-palettes of the franchise in a really comforting, visually satisfying way.

Soothing is probably the best word, which expertly matches the breezy, light-hearted, and loving tone of the show.

So, anyway, even after development went on, as changes were made, notes were taken, and the world we’ve come to know took shape, the show’s roots still have a surprisingly big influence on its visuals.

And my god, can we all take a second to appreciate these designs?

Every element---from characters, to creatures, to backgrounds, to that storybook thing they keep doing---make this show a visual treat. For several reasons:

Cute - the ponies are round; there are very few sharp points in their designs and that combined with the classic big eyes + cute tum + small nose and mouth = cute, makes them even freaking cuter 

Instantly Recognizable - there’s a rule popularized by Simpsons creator Matt Groening that if you can recognize a character in silhouette, that’s a good design; even besides the fact that they’re ponies and you could tell them apart from human characters, there’s absolutely no doubt who’s who---I could even name the side characters if you tested me

Conveying Personality - You can tell most character’s personalities from the minute they walk on screen---take Starlight Glimmer, for instance; the first shot we see of her, she’s got kind of a 60s hairstyle, so before she even opens her mouth, you can guess she’s either got some old-fashioned ideas, or more accurately, she’s in charge of this weirdly cheery village (ever watch, well, pretty much anything from the 60s? Those fake smiles in Starlight’s village would fit right at home); her false-belief of what will make ponies truly happy is reflected in her design, and not only that, she used to have straight bangs to instantly cue to the viewer that this is a character who’s going to parallel Twilight (especially when she’s screaming about ‘creating Harmony’...)

Simplistic - Most of these designs use thick outlines and soft colours to emphasize just how cute the horses are; in relation to the backgrounds and other creatures, they easily draw the eye because the other elements are more detailed but very rarely have outlines.

Asymmetry - You’d think it would be more satisfying to an audience to see characters with symmetrical designs, but not so, and this is reflected in every single character design in the show (as well as most building designs: the Golden Oaks Library, Canterlot Castle, Cloudsdale, etc.); even Twilight, who’s bangs are cut straight across (according to the EQG universe), has a curve to her mane, highlights to the left, and a small part on one side

All of these aspects and probably more give all the designs a strong visual impact, while also making them cute as heck.

I don’t think I can say it better than this: these designs are so sweet, distinctive, and inviting that the fandom latched onto and created entire backstories and personas out of background characters. It’s like Bobba-Fett from the Star Wars franchise---in reality, he’s barely in the films, but because he managed to grab so many people’s attention with his surprisingly memorable design, he’s one of the most popular characters!

And, you know, I’m not going to lie to you. Part of the reason this show is so comforting to watch is just the soft colours and incredibly cute characters. It really is just soothing to look at. But there’s more to the visuals than just cute, pretty ponies.

Movement

One of the things I remember hearing back when I first came into the fandom in early season 2 was that some fans were downright shocked that MLP was animated in Flash--- a program so cheap and hard to animate in fluidly that most shows and projects that come out of it tend to look ... shoddy.

Which isn’t always the case, of course, good shows have been animated there, but I would say that, on the whole, shows animated in Flash seem to have great designs but less focus on fluid movement. 

Like, even if you’re not an animation nerd, if I list a bunch of shows you animated with Flash, you might notice a kind of a pattern in how they move (of the ones you know):

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

Johnny Test

Total Drama Island

Hi! Hi! Puffy Ami Yumi

Yin Yang Yo!

Kappa Mickey

Dan V.s.

Archer

The Gravity Falls pilot (the rest of the show was animated in ToonBoom Harmony, the same animation program My Little Pony: The Movie is being animated in!)

It’s a hard quality to describe for me, but the absolute best example probably is the Gravity Falls pilot:

See how everything looks exceedingly flat (even for 2D animation)? And how each movement tends to have this weird, unnecessary (for lack of a better word) pop to it?

That’s what Flash is known for. 

I’d like to take a second to say it of course doesn’t make all of those shows bad at all; and in fact, there are a number of shows besides MLP that actually use Flash well (to the point that you wouldn’t know it’s animated in Flash).

Bob’s Burgers, Archer, Sym-Bionic Titan, The Amazing World of Gumball, even Fairly Odd Parents as of the 10th season.

I think it’s mostly just the fact that at the time we didn’t know many shows that could look this good and still use Flash. 

The exciting thing is that MLP doesn’t move like that. Season 1 had its moments of animation flubs, sure, but I’ve re-watched it recently and it is animated pretty well.

A lot of moments will have a snap for emphasis (like, the manes will move how they’re supposed to), but it’s handled in a natural way that doesn’t distract from the movements we’re actually supposed to focus on.

And, no, it’s not the most sophisticated, beautiful animation out there, but it can run the gambit from snappy comedic timing to slower, dramatic scenes.

I think the only problem I’ve really noticed with G4 animation is whenever characters run in Equestria Girls.

I know, that’s really specific. I don’t even have a problem when they walk, it’s just when they’re running that it looks the most like the cheap Flash animation. It’s a hard quality for me to describe, but rewatch a scene where they have to run at all, I’m serious. It’s almost a pet peeve at this point.

It’s a hazard of the genre, I suppose. Like most Western animation, MLP focuses most of its time and energy on expression and the smaller movements as opposed to big, involved battle sequences or choreographed action (the only big battle sequence is the Dragon Ball Z Tirek fight, which was done super well, but is still a rarity in this show).

Meaning, some of the most unique bits of animation come in the form of expressions and reactions. 

I always love these. Not for the meme potential (although... ), but because I know every time I see a face like that the animators went out of their way to make something distinct and insanely expressive. 

And that’s not the only way they bring the visuals together. I could probably go on and on about things like the shading and lighting, the staging, the intelligent use of background to hide gags or references or just add that much more depth to a scene...

But, seriously, I’ve already eaten up so much of your dash.

I will say this, though. Friendship is Magic’s style is more gorgeous, fitting, and creative than you might think at first. It’s why the artistic side of the community exploded, and still hasn’t stopped growing. And the continual improvement in this element alone is enough to get me excited for the next season. I’ll admit it, it’s one of the biggest reasons I always look forward to seeing more. 

Woo! That’s a wrap for this Elements of MLP, but I’ll have a new one for you every month this year! In the meantime, you can always check out the editorials, or, you know, whatever. I’m not gonna tell you how to live.

Year of the Pony

Header Image Only Possible Thanks to...

Elements by SpiritoftheWolf Elements by TechRainbow

Two really talented vector artists that were awesome enough to make this stuff! You’ll be seeing their names at least 12 times this year, so might as well check ‘em out now!

Pretty Pastel Ponies Practically Prancing ... Politely? Parallel? Perfectly?

[floraexplorer]

The Witches of El Alto, Bolivia: Traditions & Superstitions at the World’s Highest Market

Up in the mountains above La Paz, Bolivia, there’s a market called El Alto.

On a Sunday morning under a crisp blue sky, I stepped out of a minibus beside the ‘Mi Teleferico’ station and felt the air stop in my throat.

Before me lay Bolivia’s El Alto market: a chaotic sight of stalls, products, people and activity, sprawling everywhere and overtaking every block in sight with seemingly no end.

Everywhere I looked there was movement. Huge sheets of corrugated metal were lifted onto men’s backs; long planks of wood were manoeuvred through the crowds; cages filled with the blurry shapes of moving animals; babies passed between women’s arms and deftly tucked into bright aguayo cloth slings.

The noise, the activity, the chatter, the colours: all densely packed together like this, it made me struggle to catch my breath. My head swam and my fingers began to tingle.

This was not what I’d expected.

Although as it happens, there’s a perfectly good reason for feeling dizzy at El Alto market.

The El Alto market, also known as Feria 16 de Julio, is held twice a week (every Thursday and Sunday) throughout the year. It draws so many visitors from the surrounding valley that it’s hailed as one of the biggest markets in South America – if not the world.

It’s also one of the world’s highest markets, however odd a claim to fame that might be.

Sitting at an altitude of 4,150 metres (almost 1,000 metres higher than nearby La Paz), El Alto – a city in its own right – is the world’s highest major metropolis. Tourists fly into El Alto airport before driving straight down into La Paz so they often don’t think to visit, but El Alto is quickly increasing in foreign popularity thanks to the bi-weekly market, the female cholita wrestling matches, the beautifully strange architecture from indigenous Aymara architect Freddy Mamani Silvestre, and the La Paz cable car which takes passengers clear above the city’s rooftops and up into the mountains.

Still, getting altitude-sick in El Alto is totally understandable. The sun beats down stronger, the air is thinner, and your body can often struggle to adjust. It’s why you’ll see so many bags of coca leaves for sale, and so many people absent-mindedly chewing on a handful of them while they walk.

What exactly can you buy in Bolivia’s El Alto market? (Hint: the easy answer is ‘everything’)

Unlike the street stalls which pop up on every corner in La Paz, there are no tourist-friendly Bolivia souvenirs for sale in El Alto: no alpaca jumpers with geometric patterns; no bumbags or pencil cases or backpacks.

This is a local market – so we’re talking hardware, furniture, car parts and mechanical tools.

Hot tip: don’t go shopping in El Alto market for souvenirs! Hit the streets of La Paz instead.

My first visit to El Alto market was with Ivonne, Jorge and Florencio, three of the Bolivians I volunteered with at the artificial limb clinic. Their plan was to pick up various supplies for the clinic, but they also thought I’d enjoy seeing the market too.

Of course, that was the moment for Ivonne (a Bolivian mum) to start worrying about my safety as a white female foreigner.

In the traveller circuit, El Alto market has a reputation as a somewhat dodgy place, mainly because of potential pickpockets amidst the sheer number of people. Ivonne told me repeatedly not to speak – not in Spanish if I could help it, and definitely not in English – and to wear my sunglasses if possible so I wouldn’t draw too much attention to my evidently non-Bolivian face.

So I wandered through the biggest market in South America with my backpack securely on my front while watching people bartering with wizened old cholita women for the price of fluorescent double strip lights, discussing the advantages of curved back chairs, and sawing pieces of hardwood in the middle of the street.

Huge swathes of products for sale in El Alto are second-hand, from CDs and DVDs to furniture and musical instruments.

Jorge took me to the stalls filled with car parts and happily pointed out the makings of an entire car, if we’d wanted to build one from scratch.

I watched dozens of men dragging carts through the street to carry heavy new purchases, and I wondered how long it would take to erase the traces of this market from the city when Sunday finally finished.

But the more intriguing parts of El Alto were the ones I couldn’t quite see.

Small potholes on the roads we walked along eventually made way for huge gashes in the road, exposed pipework and piles of sand and cement. There, away from the hardware and the second hand goods, hidden around corners and amongst tight bunches of gossiping women were where the unidentifiable things were sold.

Unknown things in crates, balanced in the dirt.

There were tiny glimpses of things I knew I shouldn’t be seeing. The used syringes laid out on a blanket. The flash of bright metal from the inside of a man’s open jacket as he boasted to a friend about the gun he’d just bought.

Ivonne wouldn’t let me walk towards the stalls which were selling animals – illegal and exotic ones; monkeys, parrots, frogs and ocelots; both alive and dead.

These are the places of black magic. The market stalls which sell provisions for rituals, spells, and witchcraft.

In Bolivia, traditions and superstitions make up a huge part of the country’s culture.

Despite a firm adherence to the Spanish Catholic faith, there’s also a wealth of indigenous spiritualism and religion woven into Bolivia’s belief system.

Ever since the Spanish arrived to colonize South America in the 1500s, Bolivians have been happily combining elements of Catholicism with their already-existing indigenous Aymara beliefs and customs.

It’s led to a wonderful mixing of worlds: on any given day you could see a solemn religious procession in one neighbourhood of La Paz, and a joyful celebration of local Bolivian traditions in another.

Read more: Learning my way around the neighbourhoods of La Paz 

It’s not just about processions, either. Adherence to Bolivian traditions can easily shape a person’s life.

In the city of Potosi, ancient legend says the devil lives inside the El Cerro Rico mountain – which also happens to be where many Bolivian men mine for silver each day. El Cerro Rico is known as ‘the mountain that eats men’ because so many have died here over the years; approximately eight million deaths since the colonial era. Even today the average life expectancy of a Potosi miner is about 35 years.

Because it’s seriously dangerous work, the miners leave daily offerings to El Tio (as the devil in the mountain is known) for protection. 

There are statues of El Tio scattered throughout the mine shafts inside the mountain, surrounded by small piles of cigarettes, alcohol, coloured streamers, candles and coca leaves. The miners will often sit with their nearest El Tio: apparently he doesn’t like to be left alone.

[Photo courtesy of Matias Recondo]

Protection is a common theme throughout Bolivia. When any new building is constructed, builders ‘bless’ the project by burying a llama foetus beneath the foundations.

This offering of a pure, innocent creature is regarded as a gift to Pachamama (mother earth) and will hopefully bring good luck and protection to both the builders and the new residents.

Officially, all these foetuses have either been miscarried or were born dead – but it’s difficult to reconcile that fact with the amount of foetuses visible for sale throughout Bolivia. It’s also difficult when you learn that living llamas are often sacrificed as part of a ceremony. Every August in Potosi, the yatiri healers (mentioned later!) will sacrifice a llama at Cerro Rico to appease El Tio.

Daily life in Bolivia means riding a bus filled with Bolivians who cross themselves when we drive past a church. It means scrupulously avoiding the capture of women’s faces on camera, because many believe a photo will steal away a part of their soul.

Somehow I can’t think its a coincidence that seconds after taking this photo (accidentally!), my camera completely stopped working…

But what’s the easiest way for tourists and travellers to get to grips with Bolivia’s superstitious side?

Simple. Just head to the local witches market.

‘El Mercado de las Brujas’: the Witches Market of La Paz

In La Paz, El Mercado de las Brujas is a popular tourist attraction. It sits in the touristic centre of the city close to San Francisco church on Calle Jimenez and Calle Linares, and on first appearance it’s little more than a small cluster of stalls.

But this is where you’ll find talismans and effigies shaped from stone and painted sugar to ward off evil and impotence; spells and potions for falling in love and winning the lottery; huge white sacks of coca leaves, used in all manner of ceremonies – and, of course, the interminable llama foetuses.

Many of these parts will be collected together and assembled to make a cha’lla, a ceremony or offering to Pachamama.

The first day I arrived in La Paz, I went on a free walking tour which explained some of La Paz’s history and Bolivia’s focus on witches and superstition while we explored Mercado de Las Brujas. The place I ended up renting for the next month was close by too, so I often wandered the market as I got to know the area better.

It’s a fascinating area of La Paz, but the market itself always felt much more like a tourist attraction than a genuinely sacred place. You’re more likely to see foreigners buying stone totems as souvenirs or gifts than Bolivians picking up their ceremonial supplies.

There’s still some intense superstition at play here, though.

Pointing to the llama foetuses, my guide said there are rumours about bigger buildings needing a more extreme sacrifice. People say homeless men often go missing in Bolivia: plied with high-strength alcohol until they pass out, they’re then placed in a hole lined with coca leaves in the building’s foundations and buried alive – a necessary element of the ritual to sufficiently appease Pachamama.

As you’d expect from a country steeped in superstition, there’s plenty more magic available in Bolivia.

You just have to know where to look.

Finding the darker side of El Alto market

My second visit to El Alto was with a group of people I’d met at Lake Titicaca. They were in the middle of a ceremonial retreat with the San Pedro cactus (which I’d been invited to join), and needed to pick up some supplies at the market.

As a group, we hailed from America, Australia, Chile, Germany and the UK. We were certainly conspicuous – but we were also there with a Bolivian healer-in-training. And he guided us to many of the areas Ivonne had warned me away from.

A German friend of mine tried to buy a piece of something he thought was dried aloe vera and the Bolivian woman told him it was actually for cursing. The fact that she had a whole bag of the stuff for sale meant there was clearly enough demand for it.

The stall beside hers had the skin of a cat in a plastic bag on display. I tried not to look too closely at it.

As we walked, our Bolivian friend told us that stallholders in El Alto and in the witches market in La Paz sell rituals and spells designed to inflict bad luck or curses on other.

It’s also entirely possible to buy quantities of the ayahuasca vine and powdered San Pedro cactus, both used for medicinal healing ceremonies throughout South America.

NB: as someone who’s taken part in ayahuasca and San Pedro ceremonies, I would highly recommend AGAINST purchasing either substance at a street market. You should only drink these medicines when brewed by a knowledgeable shaman in a trusted setting!

A jug of ayahuasca with two glasses

Read more: my experiences with ayahuasca and with San Pedro cactus in Bolivia

El Alto, Bolivia: where the real witches are

We were at the El Alto bus station getting ready to leave the market when I saw a row of little blue huts, with fire burners crackling merrily away beside their open doorways.

This is where the witches sit.

In Bolivia, they’re known as yatiri – traditional Aymara healers who are spiritually called to work with their communities. In the western world, perhaps we’d call them ‘witch doctors’ or refer to them (wrongly) as shamans.

Tradition demands that the Bolivian yatiri have to wait for someone to visit them with their problems, and also that they have to help whoever approaches. So if the fire outside their hut is lit, that means a yatiri is home and available for business.

These healers will tell you your future for a price. They’ll draw tarot cards for you, read your palm, and read coca leaves by throwing them into the air and interpreting meaning from how they land.

I didn’t get my fortune told by the Bolivian healers. Some part of me wishes I had.

But as we walked slowly past their huts on our way to the bus, my Bolivian friend whispered, “Many people say these witches have the ability to not just read your future, but change it.”

Would you visit the yatiri in El Alto market? More importantly, have you ever had your fortune told by a witch?

Info about El Alto market:

– How do I get to El Alto market?

There are a number of ways to reach El Alto from La Paz: via cable car, public bus or hired taxi.

For the La Paz teleferico, take the Red Line up to the final stop and turn left onto Avenida Panoramica. The ride costs 3 Bolivianos each way.

For the bus, take one of the local white colectivos from San Francisco Plaza and get off at the entrance to the market. It takes 30 minutes to get there and the bus ride costs 2 Bolivianos each way.

– When is El Alto market open? 

The market is open all day on Thursdays and Sundays throughout the year.

– Is El Alto market safe?

Although I felt perfectly safe on both visits, pickpockets and bag slashers are known to operate in El Alto. Leave your valuables and original ID documents at your accommodation in La Paz and only take a small amount of cash with you/copy of your passport. If you’re self conscious or scared about visiting El Alto as a foreigner, there are guided tours which show you around the market.

– What else is there to do in El Alto?

El Alto is also the home of the infamous all-Bolivian cholita wrestling matches, which are held every Sunday afternoon at 2pm (cost is 50 Bolivianos / $7 on the door). There are various companies offering tours to the wrestling matches, but you can also make your way independently to the El Alto Multifunctional Centre. Either take the cable car and walk for ten minutes, or catch the bus from San Francisco Church in La Paz and get off at ‘CAJA’ – the ride takes about 30 mins and costs 2 Bolivianos each way.

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[zoe-truong]

P3A

Proofreading, Word Choice, and Conciseness

Society never fails to remind me how counterintuitive it is for me to be studying and writing blog after blog over ethics and compassion when I am pursuing a degree in business. Seeing the competitive atmosphere at career fairs or even in class seems like I am walking straight into a corporate hell where no sentiment of empathy can survive in the river of greed. I say forget that! I’m going to keep learning about ethics anyways, because not only does the university make me, but also because the world needs it.

Ever since I was young, I felt that I had a decent understanding of what it means to be morally right. My goal was to be objective in any situation. Rather than push my agenda I listen to what others have to say, regardless of how polarizing their stances are. I say this as though I’m well versed in all things ethics; however, I was never introduced to such intense levels of truth and suffering until college. Nothing quite prepares you for a large university full of students with very different ideals and beliefs. Sometimes these ideals coexist, but sometimes they explode into arguments, hateful rhetoric, and clearly divisive lines. Every person is guaranteed their freedom of speech —with the right of criticism— so I can only witness when students consistently use their morals to underline their stance. This is what hurts the ideology of ethics around the world. It’s not that people don’t have moral compasses, it’s that they don’t know how to properly use them.

Do I feel that ethics is a fair thing to be taught in schools and universities? Absolutely. The solution isn’t educating the masses of what constitutes ethically right or wrong behavior. There is no proper standard of ethics, because “we experience morality more as a choice that we can always change as circumstances call for it,” [I]. What one person analyzes is a living creature’s basic rights, another person may interpret a completely different way. People are shaped by their environment, and no standard can account for every possible outcome. So this is where it’s important to not try to define ethics but to try to apply ethics.

“Most of us have made choices that serve self-interest without regard to the needs or welfare of others,” (II) because is it so wrong to put yourself first? Definitely not a crime, but to forgo the consequences of your choice without a single thought violates ethical reasoning. In my microeconomics class, we learned a concept called Pareto efficiency. It is a state of allocating resources where “there is no other allocation in which some other individual is better off and no individual is worse off,” [III]. Who would’ve imagined that an economic concept could actually have some philosophically deep applications? The point is that the massive spread of views over what is ethically correct exacerbates this idea of Pareto efficiency. The challenge is understanding the weight of each side of the outcome. A city might see the construction of a new baseball stadium as an investment that pays off with tourism and business revenue, while its opposing citizens may see it as an unnecessary expenditure and hike in tax dollars.

So, am I in over my head to imagine I can bring ethics to an inherently unethical environment like the financial world? People tend to see stock market investors as the pinnacle of evil, since most are in the upper echelon of wealth. How can a person seek financial gain without being unethical? Pareto efficiency inadvertently appears even in stocks. While investors have their own trading haven on Wall Street, they are furthering the divisions of wealth in the country. If you’re a smart investor, you know how to play the market and can earn a lot of money with little work. Risky investors push further up the income ladder at the expense of the working class. It’s clear that “professionals play a key role in sustaining violent ideologies,” (IV). There needs to be a new norm in business, and I believe it can only come about from an education steeped in ethics. While it’s typical of a liberal arts students to be more educated in ethical reasoning, the subject is omnipresent throughout the university. Even in the smallest assignments of some of my business classes, blatant indicators of bad morals are highlighted in case studies. These are the anecdotes that prepare students to tap into that critical thinking. Look at what corruption has done to companies like Enron and Lehman Brothers. Wells Fargo is currently plastered with a mark of shame for its workers’ deceitful practices, facing punishments across the nation by losing contracts with countless of cities. Learning from the past is more than identifying failure. Think of the morally neglectful mind it took to ruin the lives of so many people. As David Foster Wallace says, “You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t,” (V). Wells Fargo has more than just illegal practices hanging over its head. Recently, the company was dropped by multiple cities as their banking partners. Why? Well, their lending practices have shown to be very Pareto efficient, because one of their investment projects happens to be the Dakota Access Pipeline [VI]. This is a prime illustration of how people can utilize their ethical reasoning. On the surface it seems to be just another investment, but anyone who knows the controversy over the pipeline can see this is a statement of their code of ethics. Influential companies have to understand that dipping their toes in the waters of polarizing issues is going to garner backlash. Wells Fargo sees it as an investment, but these cities like Seattle are consciously deciding that their investment is actually support. Every action or non-action is a statement, and the world is watching. This just proves that the university’s requirement for an education in ethics can do more than just improve a person’s understanding of morality, it could also be the deciding factor of a successful company. When you’re cognizant of the outcomes of your decisions, you have the choice to do what’s ethically reasonable or face the consequences. I know I’ve simply listed off countless examples without unfolding ethics in my own life, but there’s a reason. I wasn’t affected by these scandals and troubles directly, but their lessons broaden my perspective of the world. I can’t expect to think critically about the right choices when I haven’t even learned what are the wrong choices.

There’s a phrase ingrained into the side of the tower at UT that reads, “Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Will Set You Free,” [VII] In this case, the truth is empathy. Whether it is in business, in arguments, or in life, when we finally stop to think about why our opponents are fighting against us or how our decisions affect other people, then we will have achieved this truth. It’s not by establishing the bounds of what is good or bad, it’s by playing the devil’s advocate. If you can stop and think about what the opposition is saying by reasoning out their stance, then you are exercising your ethics. Having this ability will help us break free from the idea of stagnation. Just because humans throughout history have eaten meat, doesn’t mean we can’t change that. Just because the United States has had two political parties for years, doesn’t mean we can���t think outside of our party lines. Just because everyone else in the business sphere is out there to become the richest investor, doesn’t mean I have to forget my ethics. It’s not impossible to bring ethics into business either! A popular brand of shoes, Toms, runs its business by being philanthropic. Altruism is a common indicator of a selfless, morally upright company, and Toms exemplifies this by donating one pair of shoes to a child in Africa for every shoe it sells. The company probably can’t achieve extremely high revenues because of this, but they can show their support for those less fortunate. While I don’t expect to be an entrepreneur and start a business, I can take this idea of altruism with me. Just like there are Wells Fargos of the world, Toms is a shining example of what it means to defy the ideologies of capitalism. Now, the problem is just synthesizing this selfishness into a life on Wall Street. Finance fascinates me, but is it really a passion of mine? Moreover, does it really benefit society?

These are worries that I have all the time. Other students in my accounting class or MIS class spill out technical terms I’ve never heard of, displaying their thorough research in the world of business as though they’re ready to step on to their entry-level jobs at Goldman Sachs. Stock market and finance still interests me, but are my attempts to follow through with business simply contrived? Like I said before, our environment shapes our outlook on life. It’s no mistake that I didn’t start thinking about a job on Wall Street until my parents mentioned how I could be the next Maria Bartiromo. For those of you who don’t know, Maria Bartiromo broke barriers as the first person to report live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then I showed interest into the market to satisfy my parents, but at some point I became intrigued by the delicate workings of the financial sector. However, compared to my peers it’s obvious that my passion does not hold a candle to their knowledge. So I wonder, is it meant for me? I’m not sure yet, but it’s okay. That’s the beauty of college. Most students are just as unsure as I am, walking into their classes in hopes that maybe, just maybe something will click. The only clicks I hear are the ones of the chalk tapping onto the chalkboard, but the words written out are more important than any click in my brain. The truth is that it’s not going to just click. My passion won’t spring forth from nothing. What’s knowledge without learning? I can’t expect for the interesting facts to spill out on my lap, ready to add to my arsenal of information. Passion takes spirit whereas results take work. John Henry Newman discusses this topic excellently, in that “this process of training, by which the intellect, instead of being formed or sacrificed to some particular or accidental purpose…. is disciplined for its own sake, for the perception of its own proper object,” [VIII]. There’s a never ending realm of opportunities to take advantage of, and I intend on exploring and paving my own path.

Plan II has taught me that the only thing more powerful than intellect is the will to stretch the limits of my awareness and discover things that make me uncomfortable. Earthlings made me uncomfortable. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye made me uncomfortable. Brené Brown’s discussion over the indispensable nature of vulnerability made me uncomfortable. For once, I appreciate being uncomfortable (warning: comfort readings may be skewed due to terrible Austin weather). I’m thankful not because I’m a sadist, but because I recognize the value behind the discomfort: emotive ethics. Unlike philosophical ethics, this is the type of ethics that pulls right at the empathetic part of my personality, along with a waterfall of tears. It’s the elephant in the room. After being subjected to the Earthlings, I learned how this elephant would be an abused tool for entertainment in the circus industry were it not metaphorical. The documentary depicts scene after scene of violent, inhumane torture of creatures with a cry that couldn’t pierce even the most deadened factory workers. It seems absurd of me to see the value of something so torturous, but it’s because I know that the videos honor the words on the tower. I know the truth of what hideous actions happen behind slaughterhouse doors, and it’s set me free from thinking that there’s anything justifiable about our carnistic culture. I witnessed that “just as the factory farmers have no problem killing animals to provide for the meat industry, any person’s experience would affect how they see things in life,” [IX]. Without seeing for myself how cruel this industry was, I couldn’t say a single word on the conditions of these animals. Just because my life doesn’t align with the truth of these lessons, doesn’t mean I can’t learn about them. It reminds me that this is just another part of the core purpose of the university: “expanding knowledge and human understanding,” [X]. All I have to do is take this emotive ethics from world literature into my realm of business. I can’t separate these courses; they are technically different but not mutually exclusive. In fact, every moral lesson from every class I take shows that there is a unity within the educational sphere. Jazz Appreciation revealed the long history and culture of African Americans and their contributions to the music world. This same discriminatory history reveals itself in The Bluest Eye. Unweaving this network of connections by reading more, learning more, and challenging myself more is conducive to connecting my ethical reasoning to my future.

Finance is important to me, and I don’t know it all now. However, I refuse to let history repeat itself and fall into the monotonous realm of soulless analysts. I want to lead, to inspire, and to teach that not only is financial literacy indispensable, it’s exciting. I want to use my compassion to help people, not just earn money, but feel empowered. I don’t strive to be the next Carl Icahn, but maybe I can be the next Bill Gates. All it takes is a little compassion and a lot of discomfort and I’ll be stumbling onto the path that’s right for me.

Word Count: 2,310 Word Count without quotes: 2,148

Footnotes: [I] Maureen Dowd, "Moral Dystopia," in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2016), 3:937, previously published in New York Times (New York, NY), June 17, 2012, SR1. [II] Deni Elliott, "What Ethics Is; What Ethics Is Not," in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2016), 1:166, excerpt from Ethical Challenges: Building an Ethics Toolkit, 19. [III] “Pareto Efficiency,” University of Toronto, accessed Feb. 11, 2017, https://www.economics.utoronto.ca/osborne/2x3/tutorial/PE.HTM [IV] Melanie Joy, "The Mythology of Meat: Justifying Carnism," in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2017), 2:396, previously published in Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows (n.p.: Conari Press, n.d.), 98. [V] Bill Chappell. “2 Cities To Pull More Than $3 Billion From Wells Fargo Over Dakota Access Pipeline,” last modified February 8, 2017, http://www.npr.org/ sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/08/514133514/two-cities-vote-to-pull-more- than-3-billion-from-wells-fargo-over-dakota-pipelin. [VI] David Foster Wallace, "Kenyon Commencement Address," speech, May 21, 2005, in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2016), 1:135.   [VII] “Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Set You Free,” in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin,TX: Jenn’s 2016), 1:95. [VIII] John Henry Newman, "Discourse 7. Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Professional Skill," in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2016), 1:143, excerpt from The Idea of a University (London, UK: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1907).

[IX] Zoë, October 26, 2016, comment on “Earthlings,” Zoë’s Corner, Feb. 13, 2017, http://zoe-truong.tumblr.com/post/152352573085/earthlings-part-1.

[X] "The Core Purpose of the University,” in Composition and World Literature, comp. Jerome Bump, (Austin, TX: Jenn's, 2016), 1:90.

Media Citations:

[1] Freedom of Speech: http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-campus-policies-limit-free-speech-58974

[2] Stock Market Investors: http://lerablog.org/business/economy/finance/investing/stock-market-investing-tips-for-beginners/

[3] The Tower: https://photos.brockbatsell.com/keyword/tower

[4] Paths: http://www.dfiles.me/multiple-paths.html