Beatniks

(Chime)

Once upon a time, three wise men stood in the square arguing.

One contended that the world is the way it is because this is the best way to be, otherwise it would not be this way. And it would be best that people understand and accept this.

The second countered that the world is the way it is because some people used force to gain and keep control of the rest of society for their own selfish benefit. And it would be best for people to recognize and resist such force. 

The third replied that the world is the way it is because, people create mutual understandings about their interactions with and expectations of each other in order to simplify living together. And it would be best for people to recognize this process and understand that these understandings can and do change over time and place. 

A woman stopped to listen for a moment. On her hip, she held a baby. She carried a jug of water in her other hand. On her head was a basket of freshly picked berries. And in her pocket was a dust rag.

She said nothing, for she and her sisters had come to believe that were she to speak, the men would either be incited to violence or would crumble into insecure helplessness.

This is the way her world was. Yet she dreamed that one day she too would have the opportunity to stand in the square to talk social philosophy with men who could then be her equal.

Welcome back to Kevin Alan McGill’s What It Is

(Chime)

Okay so, let’s take this podcast for a cruise.

That first story represents the four foundational paradigms of Sociology. Sociology and other Social Philosophies provide the theoretical basis for what you will discover in these episodes.

Social Philosophy represents a new kind of philosopher. Previous Philosophers had spent a couple thousand years contemplating what God had intended. These new Philosophers left God behind to study people instead, to reveal us to ourselves. 

And that bring us to The Beatniks, another profound influence on me.

Beatniks was the name given to a group Poets and Storytellers, Folk Singers, Musicians and Artists plying their trade in the 1950s and early 60’s. 

They would get together in coffee houses, jazz clubs, around kitchen tables to work out their visions for a better world. 

For this episode, we’re going to steer along that Beatnik path with a couple of Beatnik-type poems. The first is called My Definition.

(Chime)

Unknowing, Unquestioning,

I am being ejected

from indecipherable self-less life. 

Self-less – having no self.

My life has been unity,

an abstraction, 

an inwardly unexplained event, 

a dictionary without words. 

Then, the universal human big bang.

Cut the cord, the capsule separates

Now entering external space. 

Self requires the external.

My lungs now fill with what I will learn is air.

I cry out with the first awakenings of still undefined self, 

yet the beginning of “me” 

through myriad “you” exposures 

I will soon look into your eyes 

and begin my wanderings towards

my self-distilled “dictionary of self”.

You, for better or worse, will continue yours.

(Chime)

Let’s continue with a poem called Unsustainable

Too small too tall; 

Too dark, too light; 

Too soft too hard;

Too thick too thin; 

Too narrow too wide; 

Too be, can’t be!

Mirror, Mirror

Sobs on the wall

Goldilocks grieving 

Just not right at all

We are all Ugly.

How can this be?

Where’s the real in this reality?

On display,

Milk-less Madonnas’ 

Gallery-framed Breasts

No sagging? No squirting?

Condemned in absentia! 

Where’s the renaissance in that?

The Mona Lisa Mystery?

Inadequate Dentistry?

Mother Mary without stretch marks

Holy Jesus with bleached skin.

And a nose job.

Smiling Bhudda, a garden gnome,

needs to lose weight.

The Prophet? 

Apparently, pictures spoil the effect.

The only thing we know for sure about Socrates? 

He was ugly, … uhhh … gleeee.

Cute may have saved his life. 

Acne is worse than baby-killing.

Big ears are for elephants.

No nose is good nose.

And wrinkles? Oh, the shame!

Beauty is skin deep, 

“Fill it with Botox” 

stretched-skin deep.

Beauty unattainable unsustainable 

Evil idol devouring its own.

(Chime)

Okay so, such are the words of a Storyteller Poet who has learned the value of a poem, the worth of a story.

And hey, please like, subscribe, comment respectfully, etc, and if you are looking for more “people in this world” content, head over to my website kevinalanmcgill.com.

Thank you for listening. Please come back to explore more What It Is.

Sour People

Chime:

Welcome back to “What it is”, where, with stories and poetry, we explore being a person in this world. 

And what we might want to do about that together. 

I’m Kevin Alan McGill.

Chime:

Okay so, let’s see what we have for this podcast.

Imagine nobody threatening death

Nor lusting for power nor with ill-will borne

But of gentle words upon our breath 

And noble acts and love well-worn

But then again, there’s Our World.

Chime:

I’ve been wondering what we can do for a Sour Person.

Because the best word to describe this guy in the news and the life he lives, and wants us to live, is sour.

This guy is all about sarcasm and ridicule, humiliating others, intimidation of and disdain for anyone he deems weak or different or creative or, as you can guess, against bullying. Pretty well everybody except more dangerous bullies.

His communication model is limited to shouting others down and, if they refuse to give in, threatening them with violence. 

And, like so many Sour People, he’s managed to get into positions that allow him to make life miserable for others.

So, I’m thinking we need to do something and, as usual, I’m willing to help … but Wow! Where would we start? 

I tried out some of the usual factors that might explain such behaviour – Personality Disorder, incomplete developmental stages, childhood abuse issues, traumatic life experiences, ya da, ya da. 

Nah, none of that worked for me.

Sour, sour worked. I had heard that someone can meet all their psychological emotional relationship needs by a negative just as well as a positive. And with this guy, theory meets real life. He is just a sour person living a sour life and getting all his needs met doing so.

And maybe that is the key. Sour People are still people. This guy has the same feelings of insecurity and inadequacy that all of us self-aware humans experience from time to time. And that creates defense mechanisms. 

Sour may be his safe place.

His rejection of humanity shields him from scary thoughts. 

If that’s true, how do you give someone a sense of humanity who actively rejects the very value of such?

I don’t have three ghosts to send out on a rescue mission Christmas Eve. 

So, what to do, what to do? 

We can’t let him keep running around loose, wreaking havoc on the rest of us. What if he found a partner and created even more people like him? That’s what they do you know. Pretty soon our world would be overrun with Sour People.

Brain surgery? Medication restraints? Jail? Nah, those take away humanity. Anyways those are Sour People solutions.

How about a ‘spoonful of sugar”? If life gives you lemons make lemonade! We’ll kill that sourness with kindness. 

But then again kindness is one of those elements Sour People disdain. Kind people are weak people.

Well, compassion separates the rest of us from the Sour People. So, we need to keep trying. 

Unfortunately, like other emotional disorders, we may have to wait until they burn themselves out or life itself somehow reduces the value of their Sourness.

However, in the meantime, please people, let’s stop putting Sour People in charge, okay?

Chime:

Okay so, such are the words of a Storyteller Poet who has learned the value of a poem, the worth of a story. 

To those who wish to strip us of our humanity, I say “not today”.

And hey, if you are concerned with the state of our democracies, check out my Democracy Page atkevinalanmcgill.com

Thank you for listening. Let’s get together again to explore more “what it is”.

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