THE ATOMIC QUESTION

                       "Ah professor! You're just the man I wanted tom see." the young man managed to declare in slightly slurred words. He was seated on a plastic Pepsi crate, with his eyes out of focus and half closed with rum.
                     Nevertheless he made an effort to appear perfectly sober. At least that was what he thought, while the professor doubted its validity. The man had been a former English student before he went to the States as a wetback; almost died in the Arizona desert, was saved by a cousin who took him to D.C., where he made his misfortune. That is to say he managed to pay back the coyote who had brought him there, after mortgaging everything he had and was almost solvent again...but...It took him five years where he began to work construction during the day and wash dishes at a pizza parlor at night. That was only the b beginning, for later he took on two more jobs and never slept and somehow he survived. Then he returned to find his wife with another man, his children grown and dispersed. In short, nothing was the same as before and there was nothing he could do about it. He said he thought the States had chewed him up and spit him out again. He had nothing left, so he took to drink.
                    Now he was seated on a broken, plastic Pepsi case, which was red in color, matching his eyes and puffy cheeks. If there was life there it was stagnant and yet he persisted to inquire:
                      "Professor I have the most respect for you because you were my teacher. Could you please answer me one question?"
                    These words were clearly enunciated which surprised everyone there, for he seemed determined to regain his composure, in order to formulate this all important inquiry. There were two other people, seated in plastic chairs, who were not quite as drunk as he was, but remained intent at listening to him with with almost mystic awe. After all he had gone to the States and survived, where that was just a dream for them. One was an older man and the other a young Maya, who had a face carved out of stone.
                    The professor remained quiet as he stood in front of the wooden counter and ordered his portion of rum for the day. He was familiar with drunks and their reasons for being so, but was interested in finding out what this question might be.
                     "My question professor, after all I have gone through in the States, is simply...what would happen if they dropped an atomic bomb there?" he blurted out, in defiance of insipid stupidity, with spittle emanating from his mouth.
                      "That would be the end of the world." the young Maya volunteered, without hesitation.
                      "That's obvious," the old man agreed.
                      "I don't want to hear your talk! Did I ask you that question? I asked the professor who was my English teacher, before I went to los United! So; what do you say professor?" he demanded, divorced from his former life and swaying on the Pepsi case, first forward and then backward, as though retracing the misfortune that had brought him there. That was the last conscious moment before he went crashing to the floor, achieving oblivion.
                   The professor left, after he finished his drink, without uttering a word. Apparently it was not necessary, for even speculation was banal, considering such an atomic question.

                                  DEATH BY DEATH

                      It is obvious there are many ways to die, just as there are many ways to be born. The former exceeds the latter, if only by minutes or perhaps a century.
                      There was the Pharaoh who did not outlive his infancy and still was buried with all the honors as though he had transcended time.
                       In the modern theater, they did not embalm Hitler, although Lenin still lives, somehow, in the Kremlin square.  It's almost Egyptian!
                       Monuments of death have been enshrined in statues, memorials and high towers. The bronze and marble proclaim their existence and their deaths were, at best, superficial.
                      That was all recorded on the planet earth, a mere blip in the universe; but there remained the definition of life and death.
                      It was disregarded in atrocious wars, which killed countless numbers, over wide planes, from Persia to Greece. Therein lied the death; but what was life all about?
                      Life? Well, that was progress and change. It was all scientific and this allowed the human element to live in relative leisure. Nonetheless, there was a price to pay.
                     It allowed for new weapons of mass destruction to be made as science progressed, without the need of the human element. In other words it was all computerized.
                    So far so good. What seemed to slip through the minds of the existing souls, who unknowingly remained captive to a robot, was a haunting reply: What if death is caused by death?
                     That was the refrain and of course the Raven by Poe came into play. Some actually explained that Poe was actually predicting the Third World War, while others had said that Whitman had done it before him.
                     They were all in tweeds while they remained on their knees, for there was something else out there, which their knowledge could not explain.
                     All the scientists agreed that there could b nothing done against an attack from outer space. We were only meek peddlers of primitive armaments; without garments of protection. Still, the armament business was excellent. Life seemed to disintegrate before it began.
                    There was an intervening light, which was like no other. The other planets did not come to the assistance of the blip in the universe.
                     It was later explained by the conquering planets, that the planet earth died: Death by Death.

                                THE ADVENTAGEOUS ASPECTS OF WAR

                   Well, in the first place, it makes everyone occupied about something. War requires a united effort and thus some are busy making weapons, while others test them out. As such, war makes ants of us all; but busy ants, with a purpose.
                   Now if a war is far away, it evolves as more of a distraction, rather than an active participation. If, however, it is close at hand, it brings the people closer together; both  the citizen and the foe. This sudden comradeship might even fuse together former neighborhood feuds with amazing alacrity and deliberation. It would seem that war makes strange bedfellows 
                   War creates capital that was not there before. Giant mountains of gold spring from the likes of even more sophisticated arsenals. It is true that most of the riches remain in a few hands, but like crumbs from the king's plate, a lot falls down to the plebeians.
                   War shapes character or changes it to fit its image. As Thomas Hardy wrote..."you shoot a fellow down/ where in any pub would/ help to half a crown." That is to say, if you have to stand sword to sword or bayonet to bayonet. Nevertheless, modern war pretends to keep its distance; as with satellites and missals. Therefore it might be considered more humane.
                  In short, there are certain advantageous to war, even though the cost of destruction could outweigh the consequences. Still, history tells us that war is inevitable. There are those who try to explain it. On the other hand, there are those who accept it, almost willingly; for after all, it does have its advantages.
                 

                                   THE FUNCTIONAL ENVIRONMENT


                       "I think the computer was a worthy invention" a student remarked. in the Abraham Lincoln type school house. which i had built in wood on top of the first floor adobe dwelling. The place is Latin America. The highland city of Guatemala and the class is English.
                       "I suppose just like the telephone.the automobile and the airplane."I conceded. My object was to provoke a conversation so i allowed them to chose their subject.
                       "Of course there are bad things about it too. like when adolescents abuse it, in watching pornography.
                        "There's that of course,"I agreed
                        "But in don't think i could function without a computer." another student, who worked in real estate, volunteered.
                        "It's the same thing with me," a lawyer, who was a public defender, said. I can do in seconds what i once had to write down in a huge ledger, dating back to the nineteenth century..."
                         'So we make progress, the real estate student agreed, as a jazz beat told him to answer his cell phone. "Excuse me teacher," he said and retreated to the back porch.
                     There the view was an ancient backdrop of timeless mountains which circumscribed the town, where everyone lived. There was always war here. The k'iche nation displaced the Mam nation by means of spears. The Spanish the displaced the K'iche by means of gunpowder. Then many years later, there was a civil war that displaced each other with the help of modern weapons. Could it have been because they lacked a functional environment, I considered that the present day armaments were the most sophisticated in recorded history. We were now able to devastate the planet in a twenty minute war. Was this functional?
                     Now, of course, all was quiet here and those who did not know history felt safe. All was very quiet until the next cell phone, with a Latin beat, went off and the lawyer excused himself to join the real estate man on the back porch. I was left with a couple of NGO professionals, based in the States, so they had to learn English or perish. One of them had a Blackberry and another an I pod. These things were indispensable for their existence in their functional environment.
                        "All my colleagues in Boston act like they're all movie stars. They don't just

 talk but say...wow..look at me!"
                        "Yes, that's all part of the internet, where everyone is famous," I agreed before she replied to a technological summons.
                     When they finally returned, one by one, each one said they had to cut the class short, for different reasons. I was left in my one room school house while they went off to meet the maelstrom of the modern age. I left the lesson on the white board and waited for the next class in this functional environment.

                                   
                                 THE LUCK OF THE IRISH

                    His luck almost ran out when he was born. the seventh son of the O'Higgins clan, he was all but ignored. and what was worse named Bernard.which was a dog's name! He was baptized of course,  and grew up in the bogue of county cork. until he was able to stow away on a merchant vessel. whereupon he jumped ship in South America.
                   They called the county Venezuela after Venice, he found out later when he was on intimate terms with Simon Bolivar. This man was an aristocrat who was born in the new world. He spoke Spanish, which was the language of his ancestors and treated the common man as a master would a slave.. Because of his wealth, he traveled extensively in Europe with his tutor and romanticized  about securing liberty of all Latin America from Spain. This was when O'Higgins entered the picture Bolivar told him he was looking for someone to command an army. He was destined, he explained to Bernard, to free South America from despotic Spanish rule and to form separate, independent countries. Bernard O'Higgins immediately offered his services. He proclaimed he was an Irish general, who had made the rank and file of Cromwell quiver. Of course it was a lie, but Simon Bolivar didn't know much about Irish balarny and Bernard O'Higgins has kissed the Blarney Stone. Therefore he was commissioned Commander and Chief of the Bolivar forces and went n to win the war.
                      It was more like a series of skirmishes, with the likes of an Irish brawl withe opposition being not Spanish soldiers rather peasants who were paid to fight for Spain.
                      Thus Bernard O'Higgins , the seventh son of an innocuous clan, presented Simon Bolivar with the cup of victory.
                      The Liberator was so impressed that he gave the triumphant Irishman his own county, bordering the whole Pacific coast.
                      The general wanted to call it O'Higgins but Bolivar thought it was too difficult to pronounce in Spanish, so they called it Chile, since that was what the country was famous for.
                      After that he invited family and friends to join him. A city was built and then another. Most of them missed the emerald isle but after a time became adjusted to their new lush environment.
                      It was all due to the luck of the Irish.
 

                                      ON THEE NATURE OF ANARCY




   
       Aristotle. in his treatise on politics..trests four ways of government in their development. First is monarchy which is followed by oligarchy then Democracy and finally Anarchy.
       It is relatively easy  to observe the logical progressions monarchy indicates the ruler of one..while an oligrgy admits a shared government..by  few. These rulers..who must become corrupt..like the monarch before..should likewise be disposed of..by the rabble..who make up the majority of the people and are then given to form a Democracy.
       When Plato first spoke of a Democracy..he made note that if the community exceded 100 people. The said Democracy would not work. This leads to a breakdown of organization and laws..which introduces an absence of government..which is the definition of Anarchy.
       But what exactly is the nature of Anarchy? Well..at best. Confusion. Since the previous governments did not function, there was hope in a collective vision,,,but
 how can you satisfy all the people? Essentially you can't and this creates a weakness in the central powers. Perhaps there is justice only foe the few. But at least there is justice. The rest may be held in check by a police state. But that an be infiltrated or subdued. Until neither knows which one is  fighting for the just cause. Thus the whole2 fabric which had held them together..unrolls until it is left by only threads  of its former composure. This is the beginngof Anarchy and if the police state doesn't work,..then perhaps a dictator is in order. This brings us back to the quasi state of Monarchy once again. But while no government is available..chaos must rule and this is  most detrimental to mankind.
       Then. What makes mankind? Is it not the kernel of the very Anarchy. Which is the seed of its own destruction?
       What then is the definition of destruction? Is if all mental or physical?
       Of necessity. It's physical. It must be for the five senses are trained for survival. The sixth sense..scientifically not available. Might still exist
       Anarchy then..breeds destruction. For it is amorphous and without law or justice. The laws and justice which formally existed in the other forms of government are refuted for they represent what is now despised..but if you have nothing you entreat destruction.
       Alas that is he nature of Anarchy. But what is the solution to the problem?. I believe justice. In the Pentatarch it is written..."And you shall have judges over you.." In another section it states.."you will have judges over the ten thousand..the thousand and the hundred.." But what are judges..if not people who carry out the laws? And what good are the laws ..if they are not inclusive? The Decalogue remains the basis for all inclusive law..which pretend to represent a jus form of government for mankind. They are divided into two groups. One is for the Creator and the other five pertain to the behavior for any society.
       of course there are those who will say they don't believe in a Creator..so they will scrap the first five laws. Yet it does connect the abstract with the concrete and this latter is man. It seems to me that thus is necessary..for man is a composite. It may be true the greater part of him is material. Although this could be argued. Still..somewhere inside the individual rest a spiritual being. This is necessary to complete the balance. It could also represent a thread which directly or indirectly..creates a timeless tapestry called humanity.
       Perhaps we are condemned to commit ourselves to the cyclical changes of government on this planet..but Aristotle warned that Anarchy was the worst form of government. It follows that the answer must be justice. And if we would only consider those laws previously established in the Decalogue...we would know that it is not far away..rather close at hand