Writers refer to certain groups as "people of faith". Here they are referring, of course, to those who openly profess their religious belief. The contrary, logically, atheists, agnostics, etc., would be, I suppose, "people of no faith" (o ye of no faith!). Those of us who "believe" in what we see, hear, feel, taste, smell...in information that we read or are told which conforms to certain criteria of "believability" - acceptable (reasonably believable) empirical evidence presented in a reasonable manner so as to hang together (long live Mr. Rorty) in a reasonable way... are the "faithless"...No need for faith here, apart from a certain notion of "faith" in the workings of our brains in relation to the outside world, and in the apparent congruity between how my brain relates to that outside world, and how others' do.

People of faith appear to accept certain propositions (existence of God, in certain manifestations, with a certain cosmological, ethical, etc. system) with little to no evidence. Indeed, it seems that precisely the lack of clear empirical evidence and logical presentation/argument is what makes this particular acceptance something called "faith".

We are living within a macro-system (speaking especially in terms of economics) that would seem to be "reality", not "faith" based. Yet, upon an even cursory overview of the current situation, one can easily wonder...what the fuck are these people in suits all over the world thinking? Great gushes of wealth are spreading throughout the world (while still filling the bank accounts of those crafty slithering amoral freaks on top), enough to create ever-new markets of masses ravenous for the latest manifestations of "wealth"...based almost entirely on financial structures without a solid material base. The international financial system reaches a point of deep crisis, thanks to the need to fill the market with a glut of baseless credit...and the central banks simply shrug it all off, saying no problem, here's another 30 billion here, another 35 billion there. Huh? Do they have secret warehouses of this shit?

"A faith based economy". God help us.

an old letter to a friend

Just going through some old emails I found by accident, and this one struck my fancy. I wrote it to a friend just before flying back to Spain from the States back in November, 04, just after those wonderful elections...in fact, the last time I was in the "homeland"...

Here goes:

As I read over your last musings, I wonder if Viagra, or rather one of those anti-depressants might be the drug of the zeitgeist. (And not just for horrified progressives). I think what we have here is a case of confusion fatigue. Contemporary American life just does not leave most people the time to ingest all that is going on - the complexities of a buzzing and rapid-fire plurality in a sped-up digital world. Not while they have to work 60 plus hours a week to pay for those snazzy cars, health care, and other modern amenities. Most people want things just "simpled down" to coin a phrase. Bizarre re-workings of ancient metaphysical fairy tales, boiled down to appeal to fear/hate/need for belonging to something bigger/self-worth, etc, are just the trick. Rationality is naught but a nagging stimulous to anxiety. Who wants that? That's what fascists of every stripe have always known. That's what cynical power players have always known. That's what Dostoyevsky was writing about when the Grand Inquisitor tells a silent JC that what most people need is Miracle, Mystery and Authority.

Well, that's what so many millions of Americans voted for the other day. And they'll vote for it again.

It makes me wonder how, at certain times, certain leaders are able to gain popular support by appealing to people's sense of decency, hope, compassion, fairness, justice, sincerity, humility...and even their own self-interest. I think that such a thing can only be done with Reason, rationality, neatly and cleanly separated from metaphysical magic. Clearly, Christianity and other religions like to claim the above mentioned elements for their own. Indeed, there are many Christians whose behaviour reflects such "values" (what a dangerous and meaningless word that has suddenly become!). But until the great majority of citizens can connect with these elements through simple experience and common sense (ie., these guys are totally fucking up the economy, and that is going to fuck me, and/or, these guys are clearly leading us into a more violent and unsafe world, or, I cannot afford health care and must think twice before bringing my child to the doctor, etc.)... until people can face up to simple reality without comforting fairy tales inviting them to abandon any form of critical thinking, then religion in general will only serve for what it has generally served for up until now - to cause millions to confuse their own interests with those of their cynical rulers...

Hmmm...three years have passed. I see that things are getting more interesting in the country of my birth. That bizarre right wing coalition of wealthy creeps and deluded fundamentalists just might be breaking apart...ah, hope springs eternal from the human breast...

Festoons! I've figured out a way to get back into this blog, which has been closed for the past 5 months. Not that I have anything even remotely interested to share today, apart from the fact that it is an abnormally beautiful fall day in southern Spain, that my upper right molar is throbbing in pain, and that I am off to the studio to continue mixing the next El Doghouse album. I also found a host of old email from a previously unavailable old address, and remembered a good friend, Buddy Burniske, who died this past spring. Buddy was a ball of energy and firmly attached to this world. He was also a great teacher and a good writer, who often shared his work with me (as I did with him). Hopefully I will use his memory to get back going with these entries. Hugs to anyone who may run across these musings. Hasta pronto.