Flash Stories & Poetry Day 43: Villanelle "Put Up or Shut Up"

 

Hey, everyone.

Ugh... Again, I'm doing a daily writing exercise a day late. Well, a few hours.

Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!





Today's style is... Villanelle.

So, like I said, I prepare these in advance, and I did have a topic in mind for today, and I think it would've made a great poem. I was going to talk about the tortures of my soul, but I hate looking like a poser, and some days, even I don't put up with my sh*t. Speaking of, I just spent about an hour on Pinterest, and there's a problem with Pinterest: see, if you click on a pin under a subject such as politics, regardless of whether you agree with the pin or not, you're likely to get more those same kind of political pins. And I, tried being a wise ass and defend my political beliefs, but Pinterest's recommendation programming has backfired on me and now half of what I see if crap from the other side.

As distressing as that is, the main problem is that I'm so, so, so tired of hearing people complain. I finally commented on one pin, "You're going to blame one man for all of America's problems? If these causes are so important to you, you be the change you think it needs." And since I'm still hopped up on all these assh*les complaints, guess what I'm going to write about? Don't worry; it won't be (directly) political. So, let's see if I can write a villanelle telling people to either put up or shut up.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go.

If thou want to work thy will, work it now.
Worldly problems shall come, and shan't avaunt.
The world shan't worsen less thou allow.

To what powers and men doth thou endow
That causeth thee to become weak and gaunt?
If thou want to work thy will, work it now.

Thine own dire problems thou can't disavow,
Will thee permit others' problems to haunt?
The world shan't worsen less thou allow.

Do not forswear exacting work, and plow
The fields of change with everything you want.
If thou want to work thy will, work it now.

Do not surrender to others and bow,
Giving unto those who excel at vaunts.
The world shan't worsen less thou allow.

To thine own mind and wonders shalt thou vow,
In thy beliefs, don't let naysayers daunt.
If thou want to work thy will, work it now.
The world shan't worsen less thou allow.

***

 

Stop the clock. Little more than three minutes. Unfortunately, this poem kind of sucks. I gave myself some really hard rhymes though, and I don't think I like villanelles. I can't get their timing and rhythm down. It's so weird to me. I always want to do things either as a heroic couplet or a sonnet. If I ever get that book of poetry out, I don't think there will be a lot of villanelles in there.

 

But anyway, that's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

INTJs and Politics II: An Insight into Lenin's Mind

Hi, everyone.

I'm sorry about writing about INTJs and politics again rather than doing something developmental like I said I would, but I only just started writing such a post yesterday and I was pretty groggy as I did so, so it wasn't very good, plus I can make the scope of it much bigger. This post however, my ass was on fire when I wrote it, so I think it's better. So what is this post?

Well, on Thanksgiving we had my uncle over and he's always talking politics. Always has some idea on how to make the current situation better; don't we all? Anyway, one of the systems of government he disparaged was theocracy which led to an argument between my Old Man and I because don't disparage theocracies and I don't think they're such a bad idea so long as the right religion is in power. In fact, as I see it, religion already is in power. Let me explain.

See, I don't believe in separation of church and state. Now, when I say that, what I mean is I don't believe in the existence of separation of church and state. Why not? Because if a person votes along the lines of their conscience, and their conscience is based off a particular morality, then the church, by proxy of the power of the people, is involved in the affairs of the state, and ergo, they are not separate. And ergo, we have a theocracy. The church doesn't need to be in "official" control for a theocracy to exist; they only need to "possess" power over the hearts and minds of the people.

This is one of the reasons why I never want to hold public office, and not because of the power of the church, but because all the power of the state is actually in the hands of the people and not in elected office. Some may say that the power of the people, by a majority, put me in office, but that same power can take me out. Presidents, senators, representatives, etc. are a reflection of the attitudes, beliefs, and will of the people; not the power itself. Trump is president because we allow him to be. But no one has to acknowledge him as president. He's only president so long as we say he is.

This reminds me of an argument I had with a friend of mine before the 2008 election. He wanted me to vote for Obama, and I wasn't going to. Nothing could make me. He felt so strongly that voting for Obama was the right thing to do, he pestered and pestered and pestered. And I begged him to stop, to which he said, "No, I beg you to vote for Obama!" That straw broke the camel's back and I unfriended (< autocorrect had nothing to say about that) him from Facebook. He just couldn't get it through his head that I wasn't going to vote along political lines that are contrary to my core beliefs. Thus, so long as theology, of any sort, is the guiding philosophy behind people's voting and political stances, I'll never believe in the existence of separation of church and state. And to ask people to do so is asinine to the highest extent because you're asking people to act contrarily to their consciences, and that's not something people just do.

Getting back to my father and what this has to do with Lenin, my father kept making the argument that all theocracies have failed because corruption eventually seeps in, to which I argued that it wouldn't if you put the right zealots in power and had huge punishments for those who were corrupt. Makes sense to me. To which my Old Man said to me, "Well, in theory, yes. But in theory, communism works." And then I had my ah-ha moment.

Some of you may remember that I wrote a post about INTJs and politics, about how INTJs identify: conservative, liberal, or independent. And for the life of me, I could not fathom how any INTJ can identify as liberal. I still can't. But by looking at the ideals of theocracy and communism, and seeing that in a perfect world, they would both work, I was able to get an insight into Lenin's mind. See, he commented on politics from a perfectionistic ideology, and I've said somewhere, if not on this blog then in my head, that the reason why communism doesn't work is because it doesn't take into account the human element, that is to say that humans are imperfect; they are weak, lazy, tempted, greedy, etc. But the reason why Lenin continued on with his philosophy, and the reason why I maintain mine, is because we're both looking at both forms of government from a perfectionistic angle, which is a very INTJ thing to do--we're obsessed with perfection! If you're not perfect, or you're not striving to be perfect, you're trash! (You may remove yourself from my sight.)

The other force at play here is "what's good for the goose, is good for the gander." If it works for me, there's no reason why it shouldn't work for you. And that's the philosophy that hilariously and sadly drives all sides of the political spectrum: "If you stubborn assh*les just did things our way, there'd be no problems whatsoever!" That's basically the philosophy that my Obama thumping friend believed in. And this is one of the reasons why subjectivity is such a dangerous concept. The idea that you can't judge someone because they're doing what's right by them. No! Of course you can! I don't know if it's because I'm an INTJ or a Catholic, probably both, but I believe in objectivity; I believe in a single, absolute, all-encompassing (catholic) truth that everyone can live by. The scary thing is that someone's right. And we better hope it's someone who is merciful and understanding, otherwise most of us are f*cked.

Anyway, I still maintain that so long as we allow our consciences to guide our voting, we live in a theocracy, regardless of where, how, or by what your conscience was formed. And I still believe that a theocracy, if done right with the right religion in power, is the best form of government. But I will admit that the "done right" condition is a perfect condition and doesn't exist in our world because a lot of people are, unfortunately, inherently flawed and content to be so. "Perfectly imperfect," as the smartasses say. So, there will never be a Catholic theocracy, but we did come close back in Medieval Europe when all the ruling monarchs yielded to the authority of the Pope which, I admit, wasn't always a good thing. (Fun fact: There's a good chance I'm related to Rodrigo Borgia who was pope during the Renaissance and the antagonist of Assassin's Creed II.)

Anyway, that's it for this week. Good news though, I am planning on writing more INTJ posts in the future, probably some time in the new year. I need a break from some of my content, (the RWBY content) which means I'll be able to focus more on other stuff that I think would behoove this blog to focus on (INTJ stuff). And that stuff will help me write more books which puts more of your green in my blue.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

INTJ's and Politics

Hey, everyone.

I know I was supposed to write something this week about the INTJ mystique, but I had a weird week that threw my mystique off. As a result, I'm not feeling it, and INTJ's don't like feeling things. Maybe I'll save it for next week, but I think I may have just given myself a great book idea instead. We'll see.

So, instead of the INTJ mystique, this week I'll be covering...

That's right; INTJ's and politics, specifically political alignments and why INTJ's have the political alignments they do. This post was inspired by our country's current turbulent political atmosphere and this image I found on Pinterest:

As you can tell from the image, INTJ's tend to align themselves with either Republicans or independently. To be honest, I'm shocked there are any INTJ's out there who affiliate themselves with the Democratic party, but I can think of a couple of reasons why. For now though, let's start at the top and work our way down.

INTJ's As Independents

If you know anything about INTJ's, you're probably well aware of their very individualistic and independent nature. INTJ's don't like being someone else and they don't like being told to be like someone else because most people kind of suck and INTJ's think themselves the best people in the world. They also don't like to rely on others because it isn't unusual for people to let them down. Not to mention, the more people there are in a situation, the more things there are that can go wrong. As a result, INTJ's prefer not to get involved in politics. The only reason they do is because if they didn't, someone else would try to tell them what they need and what they don't need, and INTJ's don't like that at all.

So, an INTJ is loyal first and foremost to himself. No one knows his business better than him, and no one is as interested in his business as him. As a result, INTJ's aren't likely to align themselves with a political party because they can easily be let down by the people in the party, and the political ideals that make up the party may be too limiting for some INTJ's. INTJ's have an overwhelming desire for freedom from just about everything, so they don't like being nailed down so long as they can avoid it. And, because their loyalty is to themselves, they do have a knack for acting unilaterally or going "rogue" when they think their freedoms, sensibilities, or ideals are being violated. Hence, it makes the most sense for INTJ's to belong to a one-man party of themselves.

Sort of like a one-man band.

INTJ's As Republicans

Now, wait a second, I just said INTJ's are huge individuals and hugely independent. Why is there only a 1% between INTJ's as Independents and INTJ's as Republicans? Well, there is a very good explanation for this.

While INTJ's are indeed very independent, maverick, and iconoclast, they don't actively seek rebellion. They just want to be left alone. In doing so, INTJ's leave everyone else alone. And with they're high ideals and immutable principles, they're some of the very few people in the world who can act according to righteousness for the sake of righteousness. In theory, this means INTJ's can live in anarchy, but something that INTJ's realize is that not everyone can live in anarchy. They don't possess the maturity, character, or moral fiber to live in a system without rules. INTJ's may always have their heads in the clouds, but they can be very practical when necessary, and in difficult situations, they may even morph into ISTJ's to ensure their survival.

INTJ's soak up all kinds of knowledge like a sponge.
They can amaze you with what they know and about what.
Just don't expect them to drink their own piss.

But, looking specifically at the Republican party, why would INTJ's join them instead of say the Democrats who actually call themselves "liberals" when they get far enough to the left? Well, because the Republican platform tends to follow the ideals that this country were built on: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Plus, Republicans believe in a smaller government that looks after the big issues and doesn't try to get involved in the lives of citizens. Republicans believe in a laissez-faire system where citizens look after their own interests. And this is very appealing to INTJ's because it means as long as Republicans are in control, they'll stay out of the business of INTJ's. And the fact that Republicans believe in money and indisputably beating the rat race also helps because INTJ's despise the rat race and the constant need to have money talk so bullsh*t walks. Not to mention, Republicans don't get tied down with feelings. Something's either right or wrong, works or doesn't. And once it's right and fixed, who gives a crap who it might hurt? If you're being hurt by a system that is right and works well, you were probably doing something wrong or lazy to begin with in which case INTJ's have no sympathy for you.

I don't know why I bothered censoring it.

INTJ's As Democrats

So, why wouldn't INTJ's be Democrats when the political left believes in a liberal society? Well, according to the chart, 19% of INTJ's do consider themselves Democrats, and it may have something to do the liberal perspective of everyone is free to do what they want so long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. It may also go back to what I was talking on how INTJ's recognize that they can take care of themselves, but other people need a system of rules or a structure. Some people need a very firm structure, and some INTJ's see this in the light of that since some people aren't as independent as them, they need someone to take care of them, so INTJ's vote Democrat so these people are looked after. While that does seem noble and caring, but only 19% of INTJ's call themselves Democratic whereas 40%+ call themselves Republican and Independent. Why is that?

Well, while some Democrats may call themselves liberal, which should mean they believe in liberty for all, many liberals' actions are actually quite contradictory or they believe in selective liberty. Take ANTIFA for example, they're all apart of the political left and don't believe in the freedom of speech, and anyone who doesn't agree with them instantly becomes a target for a beatdown. Looking further into the liberal stance, they believe that Muslims shouldn't be judged by the actions of a few, but they're willing to persecute all Christians and prevent them from worshipping in peace. Add to that, Democrats believe in big governments that do get involved in the lives of the people like a parent handling children. None of this is appealing to INTJ's, a group of people who believe in "live and let live," and who don't want people butting into their business. And as if that weren't all bad enough, it's left wing politics that gave rise to socialism and communism, two systems where the root words are "social" and "commune," meaning a system where everyone is dependent on everyone else. And don't even get me started on their objections to unions.

Like I said, knowing what I know about INTJ's and knowing what I know about the Democratic platform, I don't know why any INTJ vote Democrat. At its best, it forces people to be dependent on each other, and at its worst, it's highly contradictory and hypocritical, two things that are sure to immediately burn any INTJ's ass.

What really burns my ass is a fire about 3' tall.

So, that was a brief look at the political views of INTJ's. Hopefully, it gave a little insight into their actions and political beliefs. Next week, I hope to write a small piece of the INTJ mystique. It'll sort of be a freehand essay on why INTJ's are awesome and why everyone needs an INTJ in their life. Or, I could look over a list of people who are considered INTJ's and talk about why they are or are not actually INTJ's based on the perspective of a true INTJ, moi. Basically, I'm just trying to put some room between my next ten ways I'm totally an INTJ and five more ways I buck the INTJ stereotype. Read the originals here and here. Writing those two articles made me think of a few things I forgot to mention.

Anyway, that's it from me this week. If you'd like to know more about INTJ's you can look us up the website 16Personalities.com or you can check out the book The True INTJ on Amazon. See you later.

Keep writing, my friends.

Stalk me everywhere:
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Instagram: Bryan C. Laesch
Tumblr: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar