I didn't' need to watch the video to tear up. Your commentary was enough to do it.
Could you imagine what the world would be like, how many less deaths there would have been, how many more people could have known their true potential if the precepts of this writing had been adhered to? I suspect we may have been to the stars by now if it had been so. REF: https://www.courageouslion.us/p/the-law-2024
And I am not a big fan of rap because most of the time I have to read the lyrics to understand what the rapper is saying. But this one has a woman singing in it too that isn't doing the "rap" thing and the words are fantastic... God We Need You Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYJBxlpfgxo We've been dancing with the Devil WAY TO LONG!!!
Bastiat’s The Law is one of the best. I think he was one of the upgrades from the earlier natural lawyers, and then Spooner was a huge jump in the evolution of our journey to greater liberty.
Funny, my wife and I were just talking about rap not 15 minutes ago.
Maybe you should make that song into your own #FreedomMusicFriday post!
I have said many times that the people do not cause wars, the rulers do for their own purposes. But I always get a lot of flack for that. Regardless, one of my hopes for the future is the vision that if a country adopted a Collaborative Democracy that the people of other countries would see the advantages and it would spread. Unless attacked, Collaborative Democracies would not go to war because the people wouldn't be interested. Eventually that would bring real peace to the planet. It's my opinion that this is the only realistic hope for a peaceful humanity.
Geeez, this is one of those synchronicity moments. Last night Hamburger Hill was on TV. I watched maybe 5 minutes of the end of it and thought to myself - I can't believe that I used to be pro war. What did these men die for? Some politician's greed and the never-ending war machine of the Industrial Military complex.
We can't know what we don't know. Before convid, I had no idea how powerful the machine is, but I honestly believe that our awareness of it - and every post that each of us shares that either informs or helps people achieve empowerment - will eventually take that machine down.
I’ve loved Jellyfish for 25+ years and never put together the meaning of this song. Thank you for this. And I wouldn’t say the song is anti-war any more than the film The Best Years of Our Lives was anti-war. It’s acknowledging that while some wars are worthwhile, there’s still a cost to be paid. Considering those affected by loss makes us human, and is one reason why art exists.
Your essay reminded me of the 1970s anti-war TV public service announcement, which I believe was sponsored by some libertarian organization. In the video, a group of old men walk up a hill. Two men, who turn out to be political leaders, remove their coats while the rest watch. Then the two start weakly pummeling each other. A message accompanied the scene to the effect that it would be better if all wars were fought by those who start them.
This was an almost eerily synchronous (synchronicitous???) post for me Chris. Was just writing a story and when I looked at my emails (bell) here was this song, slightly bearing resemblence anyway to the subject matter i was trying to deal with...kinda...maybe...feck...anyway, Cheers for this. Tis a beauty.
I was a naive teenager who saw the end of the draft which happened just one year before I turned 18. It was something to really celebrate because I’d been to several funerals of soldiers including my big sister’s fiancé who was killed in Vietnam. 😢 I was a little girl when was engaged to him and he gave me a stuffed bear on one of his return trips biome. I still have it; it’s one of my prized possessions. When I look at it I remember my sister wailing away for days. I tried to comfort her, and I couldn’t. Tears are welling up in my eyes thinking about the sadness caused by the destruction of war. 😭
Mine is just one million and more Vietnam war stories told only from my perspective. That boy was from a family of seven kids. So every sibling, parents, grandparents, extended family, friends, his fiancé - my sister, and everyone around her including myself, and more. Perhaps 50 or more stories told about the same person and how his death from the war affected them each personally.
What a vulnerable post to accompany this tender song. I've been thinking a lot about the destructive masculine vs. the constructive masculine. Women give birth and care for children but men build and tend the places that shelter and comfort them. We've been tricked, I think, into believing it's a competition between men and women. A woman wrote on my recent episode that it's up to women to end wars but you've just proven her wrong, it's up to all of us. And it's a wise thing you're saying, that the place to start isn't by opposing the wars as the end result--it's reorganizing our affairs, aka economy, to end the master-slave dynamic that makes war inevitable.
Here's my controversial post on male-female relationships, which you might see for its intent: to goad men and women to change the underlying economics that put us at odds with one another, rather than criticizing the choices women make: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/the-anti-matri-male.
I hate the "war between the sexes" garbage. And I hate what just about every aspect of this modern era we're in has done to boys and girls, men and women. It's all perverse incentives at this point, and it takes work for them to make the right choices.
As far as war goes, the Lysistrata approach cannot work long term.
Average people saying to their leaders, "We will not fight your battles any more. In fact, you have no authority to tell us to do anything anymore"—that is what will work long-term.
I have a hard time understanding the lyrics with the music. So for those who are having the same issue, here they are to follow along with:
"The Man I Used To Be" "Jellyfish"
I hope you remember me, I was your daddy once
Wearing the sailor cap, dirty nails
To you I'm just a picture on your mother's mantelpiece
Who chose to fight the good fight in time to fail
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes I do
I never thought it'd be so hard to see you grow so fast
And turn into the man I used to be
But I hope you have more sense than I in matters such as these
Medals don't mean shit when a family is lost at sea, yeah
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yes he does
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yeah, yes he does
I save every moment I've reached out and almost touched you
But they all fade away, must be a bad memory
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yes he does
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yeah, yes he does
Yes he does
I am so FORTUNATE to have seen through the shit back when I was a young man and so I did everything I could to dissuade my four sons from joining or being involved in the military. I grew to be a young man during the Vietnam "conflict". I had a neighbor who was killed because he was drafted and ended up there. I remember his father talking to me and telling me his son's story. I came to the conclusion back THEN that we were being ruled and controlled by evil people with evil motives. And after reading GENERAL Smedly Butlers short explanation that he made in 1935, that did it for me!
That courage always seem to be required of men who did not start the war, though. Everything other than the smallest-scale conflicts is the result of some leader's agenda.
I didn't' need to watch the video to tear up. Your commentary was enough to do it.
Could you imagine what the world would be like, how many less deaths there would have been, how many more people could have known their true potential if the precepts of this writing had been adhered to? I suspect we may have been to the stars by now if it had been so. REF: https://www.courageouslion.us/p/the-law-2024
And I am not a big fan of rap because most of the time I have to read the lyrics to understand what the rapper is saying. But this one has a woman singing in it too that isn't doing the "rap" thing and the words are fantastic... God We Need You Now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYJBxlpfgxo We've been dancing with the Devil WAY TO LONG!!!
Bastiat’s The Law is one of the best. I think he was one of the upgrades from the earlier natural lawyers, and then Spooner was a huge jump in the evolution of our journey to greater liberty.
Funny, my wife and I were just talking about rap not 15 minutes ago.
Maybe you should make that song into your own #FreedomMusicFriday post!
I have said many times that the people do not cause wars, the rulers do for their own purposes. But I always get a lot of flack for that. Regardless, one of my hopes for the future is the vision that if a country adopted a Collaborative Democracy that the people of other countries would see the advantages and it would spread. Unless attacked, Collaborative Democracies would not go to war because the people wouldn't be interested. Eventually that would bring real peace to the planet. It's my opinion that this is the only realistic hope for a peaceful humanity.
"I have said many times that the people do not cause wars, the rulers do for their own purposes. But I always get a lot of flack for that"
—There might have been a point at which I would have given you that flack. But no longer. Indeed, it just seems self-evidently true!
Geeez, this is one of those synchronicity moments. Last night Hamburger Hill was on TV. I watched maybe 5 minutes of the end of it and thought to myself - I can't believe that I used to be pro war. What did these men die for? Some politician's greed and the never-ending war machine of the Industrial Military complex.
We can't know what we don't know. Before convid, I had no idea how powerful the machine is, but I honestly believe that our awareness of it - and every post that each of us shares that either informs or helps people achieve empowerment - will eventually take that machine down.
Great song and great post Christopher!
Right there with you on all of that, Penny. Thanks!
I’ve loved Jellyfish for 25+ years and never put together the meaning of this song. Thank you for this. And I wouldn’t say the song is anti-war any more than the film The Best Years of Our Lives was anti-war. It’s acknowledging that while some wars are worthwhile, there’s still a cost to be paid. Considering those affected by loss makes us human, and is one reason why art exists.
Weirdly, I am the opposite. I think this is the only Jellyfish song I know! And I know it intimately 🙂
We all have other focuses and it is very likely that you had one that mimics this circumstance.
Once we begin to recognize the interconnections, it's all quite amazing!
We all 'know'... recognizing these connections and our true selves is a step in discovering our true nature and what is really important.
Thanks for sharing.
Your essay reminded me of the 1970s anti-war TV public service announcement, which I believe was sponsored by some libertarian organization. In the video, a group of old men walk up a hill. Two men, who turn out to be political leaders, remove their coats while the rest watch. Then the two start weakly pummeling each other. A message accompanied the scene to the effect that it would be better if all wars were fought by those who start them.
I do not remember that ad, but it sounds pretty good. (I was a child through the 70s, so I missed a lot.)
This was an almost eerily synchronous (synchronicitous???) post for me Chris. Was just writing a story and when I looked at my emails (bell) here was this song, slightly bearing resemblence anyway to the subject matter i was trying to deal with...kinda...maybe...feck...anyway, Cheers for this. Tis a beauty.
Thank you, Concentric. Interestingly, two other people have mentioned synchronicities with this today…
Wow, well, if you would like to peruse and see for yourself, it's here Chris. Thanks for your work man, you've a very lucid mind.
https://johnnoonan.substack.com/p/mr-mulligans-drainpipe-whilst-small
Cheers!
I was a naive teenager who saw the end of the draft which happened just one year before I turned 18. It was something to really celebrate because I’d been to several funerals of soldiers including my big sister’s fiancé who was killed in Vietnam. 😢 I was a little girl when was engaged to him and he gave me a stuffed bear on one of his return trips biome. I still have it; it’s one of my prized possessions. When I look at it I remember my sister wailing away for days. I tried to comfort her, and I couldn’t. Tears are welling up in my eyes thinking about the sadness caused by the destruction of war. 😭
That is so sad. 🥺
Mine is just one million and more Vietnam war stories told only from my perspective. That boy was from a family of seven kids. So every sibling, parents, grandparents, extended family, friends, his fiancé - my sister, and everyone around her including myself, and more. Perhaps 50 or more stories told about the same person and how his death from the war affected them each personally.
The effects of good and bad actions ripple outward through the universe.
What a vulnerable post to accompany this tender song. I've been thinking a lot about the destructive masculine vs. the constructive masculine. Women give birth and care for children but men build and tend the places that shelter and comfort them. We've been tricked, I think, into believing it's a competition between men and women. A woman wrote on my recent episode that it's up to women to end wars but you've just proven her wrong, it's up to all of us. And it's a wise thing you're saying, that the place to start isn't by opposing the wars as the end result--it's reorganizing our affairs, aka economy, to end the master-slave dynamic that makes war inevitable.
Here's my controversial post on male-female relationships, which you might see for its intent: to goad men and women to change the underlying economics that put us at odds with one another, rather than criticizing the choices women make: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/the-anti-matri-male.
I hate the "war between the sexes" garbage. And I hate what just about every aspect of this modern era we're in has done to boys and girls, men and women. It's all perverse incentives at this point, and it takes work for them to make the right choices.
As far as war goes, the Lysistrata approach cannot work long term.
Average people saying to their leaders, "We will not fight your battles any more. In fact, you have no authority to tell us to do anything anymore"—that is what will work long-term.
I have a hard time understanding the lyrics with the music. So for those who are having the same issue, here they are to follow along with:
"The Man I Used To Be" "Jellyfish"
I hope you remember me, I was your daddy once
Wearing the sailor cap, dirty nails
To you I'm just a picture on your mother's mantelpiece
Who chose to fight the good fight in time to fail
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes I do
I never thought it'd be so hard to see you grow so fast
And turn into the man I used to be
But I hope you have more sense than I in matters such as these
Medals don't mean shit when a family is lost at sea, yeah
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yes he does
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yeah, yes he does
I save every moment I've reached out and almost touched you
But they all fade away, must be a bad memory
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yes he does
Into battle
And in your shadow your daddy loves you still
Yes he does, yeah, yes he does
Yes he does
I am so FORTUNATE to have seen through the shit back when I was a young man and so I did everything I could to dissuade my four sons from joining or being involved in the military. I grew to be a young man during the Vietnam "conflict". I had a neighbor who was killed because he was drafted and ended up there. I remember his father talking to me and telling me his son's story. I came to the conclusion back THEN that we were being ruled and controlled by evil people with evil motives. And after reading GENERAL Smedly Butlers short explanation that he made in 1935, that did it for me!
https://archive.org/details/WarIsARacket
I am glad you learned early!
Right on Target.
Grossman is the one who talked about the inherent human reluctance to kill, right?
From the 36,000-foot level, what I say is fully true.
• Average people do not start wars; rulers do.
• Whatever the reasons for the war, the end result is that they kill and maim.
I stipulated that wars might still be necessary in response to aggression. That does not change either of those two facts.
I don't know how else to say it. I have stipulated that some conflicts are necessary. That does not make conflict less horrible.
Yes.
That courage always seem to be required of men who did not start the war, though. Everything other than the smallest-scale conflicts is the result of some leader's agenda.
I have it on a mix CD that is still in the old CD player in the garage. So I hear it when I am out there cleaning up. A good reminder!