On Mesopotamia and the Bible

{}The First Dynasty of Ur was a part of a global civilization. The Second is mythological, because the Flood happened, and we don’t have much records from that time anywhere—literally, every continent sees a drastic gap in all their civilizations around the 24th century. And the Third is generally the Sumer of Akkad, and begins with the empire of Sargon—Nimrod. In fact, the Mesopotamian Basin was the first instance in history of a clash of empires. You had Sumer, the Akkadians, the Amorites, the Elamites, and they were all fighting amongst one another. The first battle was the Battle of Sidim, under Sulgi’s 45th year, and that’s recorded in the Bible. As well as the politics of the time period.

[T]he First Dynasty of Ur precedes the Third—we don’t know about the Second, because it seems to be where the Flood gaps civilizations—and the First was part of a Global civilization, that spanned from Asia, into Africa, into Europe and then into the Americas. You can tell that by certain artefacts they find.

The Unachievable

They say only a true master can write
A Petrarchan sonnet, Dear Beloved---
And they say syllabic meter is dulled.
I, a stupid, homely, and unschooled wight
Not schooled in the modern nonsense, will fight
To free pretentions of pedagogues, called
Weighty, and heady, and awesome, which led
To our modern art, where all verse is light.
I pause at every line; I see the pause
They say which interrupts the lay reader
When verse should be read like prose, naturally
Aspirated in our thoughts, for just cause
Have I to say they know not what tender
They deal in---all dealt artificially.

The Issue with Higher Learning

The issue is postmodernism. If there's no truth, and only power, then you teach kids that instead of how to come to conclusions, or find truth in what other people are saying. It's basically antagonistic to reason, and kids are being taught that everything, from history, to math to science is part of a Western Patriarchy, that is oppressive and needs to be pulled down brick by brick. They also elevate things like the French Revolution and Mao's rise to power, and believe that people ought to live a minimal existence. They're kind of dull, actually. And pretentious. But generally, Gen Z was taught that there is no persuasive force to reason, and that all there is is power and exerting one's own force of authority on other people.

It is about Wokeness though. Avoiding it, is avoiding the whole factor that's causing the decline of our education system. Like, you have entire departments in the University that police speech and professor's conduct, searching for the least bit of offense in what they might have to say. I know, because I had a confrontation with one of those people, from the aspect of a student. It is entirely DEI and CRT and Queer Theory that's causing the academic system to fall apart. Because if you can't institute and pass down the tradition that has built our country and made it strong, you have another tradition, which is weak, but also top down authoritarian. And that's what the kids are being taught. How to obey power structures, not question it, and go with the mob of other students.

But it is an actual issue. That's like someone having pneumonia, and you say, "Well, the pneumococcal bacteria is not the issue, but rather the fever is, so we'll give them pain killers and Tylenol." Talking about structural issues in university and underpaid adjuncts it not the issue. It's the issue for underpaid adjuncts, but not the students. The students are being taught all the wrong things, and this problem goes way back to the 80s and sometimes even to the 60s, and there's enough of these kinds of professors now, that they're starting to catalyze the West's decline. And they're in Primary and Secondary schools, too, teaching kids this garbage. It is the complete issue. It is the whole entire thing. It is the pneumonia killing the person. And trying to avoid it, by doing the x-rays and saying, "Well it's the dead tumor causing the cough," will kill the patient.

An education is not about making money. It's about pursuing truth, and learning the tradition. Which, the colleges have done an abysmal job at doing, and turned Colleges into these paycheck factories. Basically, you go eyeball in debt, to get a degree and go work at an HR department, or in mid level management. Which, the Confucian angle, names need to be ordered, and those names are not being ordered. That's the first principle of anything, is to have your names ordered, and make sure Genius is being fulfilled in your population. Neither of those conditions are being met.

[People] need to study the humanities [too]. Having better language processing skills enables you to do all your work better. It helps root out myopias, and helps you understand the larger picture. Like, people are not getting that humanities education, so they're not understanding the point of Liberalism or Western Freedom. They're not being instilled that tradition--mostly because the professors think it's pretentious, and would rather result back to a thousand rabbit holes none of which gets you to a good destination--but you need to have the Humanities in order to make a balanced student. Like I said, it's about passing down the tradition. You need to have everyone on the same page, and not have everyone fractured and fighting against one another. And generally, that tradition has to be rooted in the truth, otherwise it just gets fractured anyway, or policed by the governing bodies.

I Am a Plain Man Like Jacob

I am a plain man like Jacob---
So said the scripture, now,
Time has wended and bended
And brought us this story---

My performance is plain
My words austere and full
Like an Amish Maid
More beautiful than any other.

Yet, I am a plain man like Jacob.
And the audience looks, and sees
My butter churning upon the oak barrel.
It goes upon life, like bread, which though plain

Nourishes the soul with a slight hint of grain
And that flavor is best among all others.
For, it is not tainted with spice
But rather is a deep, satisfying wheat.

The Meaning of Life

So much ecstasy in meaning
So much… but it is now all gone.
Silently, I muse upon nothing;
My mind is a quiet well.
All roads lead back to melancholy.

It shows there is an end to wisdom
And a beginning to folly;
Beginning to folly...
Let us just live and experience,
Yet not do so foolishly.

There is meaning in life
And it is to dance,
And rear children with one you love,
And it is to pluck the wildberry
From the stem in June.

Yet, no one can attain this joy
For all alike go the same
Working tirelessly like I have
And putting their meaning into it.
There I have found little.

©2024 B. K. Neifert
All Rights Reserved

On Literature

The place our good letters play
In the country--Mr. Lewis,
I am not expressing self
But trying to save many souls--
Is to be a beacon for a better world.
It is not expression of self
But expression of what's true.
It transcends our bodies
And our minds, and communicates
The eternal Providence which guides
Nations, which Indians call Dharma
Greeks Logos, Chinese Tao.
It is so mystical, but it shouldn't be.
It is the eternal truth beneath our language
And the substance of our thoughts
Of which, if there were no substance
There could be nothing of which to say.
Thus, my substance is to save the soul
To save the country, and to save myself.