Tag Archives: Liberty

BOOKS: “John Brown” by W.E.B. Du Bois

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John BrownJohn Brown by W.E.B. Du Bois
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available free online at Project Gutenberg

“John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry” is one of those historic events like the “Teapot Dome Scandal” that American kids have to memorize a rote fact about to regurgitate on an American History test a couple times during their scholastic lives, never to be thought of much again, forever a familiar name lacking all depth of understanding. (At least that’s how it was in my day.) Unlike the Teapot Dome Scandal, which I suspect is not learned about in detail because it was somewhat complex and boring, I think the minimalist coverage of John Brown might reflect a bit of national embarrassment. For Brown’s tale is not complicated, and it’s certainly not boring. Brown thought slavery was an abomination, and he devoted his life to freeing slaves by whatever means he could, which culminated in a raid on an arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, West Virgina, at the convergence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, a raid intended to liberate weapons to the cause of arming freed slaves and other abolitionist fighters.

It’s a shame that more is not learned about John Brown because he was such a fascinating and principled individual, and in a sense his story isn’t just an embarrassing tale of a sparse few virtuous people against a mainstream that was — at best — indifferent to slavery. But there is a potential for pride in the fact that Brown and those who fought with him were able to see slavery for what it was and to stand strong against that mainstream, to make the fight of the oppressed their fight and — in the case of Brown and others — to pay the ultimate price in the conduct of that fight.

W.E.B. Du Bois’ biography of John Brown came out in 1909 and may not be written in the novel-esque style that a writer today would write it, but it is well-written and readable. Du Bois’ book is a full biography of Brown, if focused on his abolitionist aspect. Du Bois tells a little of Brown’s backstory and of his work life and then explores his experiences fighting in Kansas. However, this book does really shine in its account of the Harpers Ferry Raid and its aftermath.

Readers interested in American History or the biographies of virtuous individuals are urged to read this account of the life of John Brown.

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PROMPT: Freedom

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Daily writing prompt
What does freedom mean to you?
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Of the universe of all possible actions, one can choose to attempt any (or refrain from any) but those curtailed by a small number of laws intended to keep one from impinging upon the freedoms of others or imposing costs / burdens on them to which they did not consent, or by self-imposed limitations (e.g. one’s own ethical belief system or one’s physical / mental limitations.)

Often it is wrongly confused with comfort. A maximally free society is not maximally comfortable for anyone, because one has to accept that others will make all sorts of choices that one would not make oneself (and that it’s none of your business.)

“Drinking at Night in Dongpo” by Su Shi [w/ Audio]

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Drunk at night in Dongpo.
   I sober, then drink once more;
 I return at three A.M.
   To hear boy's thunderous snores.
 I knock but there's no answer --
   Lean on my staff and listen
   To water, and feel my regrets
   As ripples in river glisten.
 I could vanish in this boat,
   And see out my life afloat.

Note: The Song Dynasty poet Su Shi [苏轼] was also known as Dongpo [東坡] or Zizhan [子瞻.]

PROMPT: Character

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Daily writing prompt
If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?
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Wu Song (武松) from Water Margin (水浒传.)

Because he’s a traveler with zero f#&ks to give. There is no more freedom to be had than that.

Freedom [Free Verse]

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Everyone loves an impassioned dance --
   Not merely for its grace & athleticism --

But, also, because it's emblematic
   Of being free -- truly free.

If features the two essential levels
   Of freedom:

 Freedom from without -- one's body
    Being unrestricted and untethered.
          &
 Freedom from within -- one's mind
     Being unfettered by self-consciousness.

Unbound and not weighed down by thought...
   That is Freedom.

Five Wise Lines [June 2024]

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The man who says to me, “Believe as I do, or God will damn thee,” will presently say, “Believe as I do, or I shall assassinate thee.”

Voltaire, in On superstition

The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

Marcel proust

The translation of a poem having any depth ends by being one of two things: Either it is the expression of the translator, virtually a new poem, or it is as it were a photograph, as exact as possible, of one side of the statue.

Ezra pound

The people are of supreme importance to the ruler,
food is of supreme importance to the people.

Chinese adage

All translators face two choices: leave the reader in peace and drag the author closer, or leave the author in peace and drag the reader closer.

Friedrich schleiermacher (1768-1834)
[Referenced in Twenty-Nine GOODBYES, ed. by timothy billings]

BOOKS: “The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic” by Jean-Manuel Roubineau

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The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the CynicThe Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic by Jean-Manuel Roubineau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This is a translation of a French book about the life and philosophy of Diogenes the Cynic. It’s a thin volume, as there is much that’s unknown about the life of Diogenes, and the dearth of surviving texts means that some of what is believed about Diogenes and Cynic philosophy maybe corrupted by the reports of detractors. I learned a great deal from reading this book, but not because I learned much new about Diogenes, himself. The colorful anecdotes from his life have been extensively discussed.

With respect to what I did learn, it largely fell into three categories. First, I gained insight into the context and environment in which Diogenes lived. Second, I discovered that many of the stories of Diogenes’ life are far less certain than we have been led to believe through the presentations of them in so many books. For example, we know Diogenes was exiled from his native Sinope in relation to a scheme involving currency debasement. This is often straightforwardly stated as “Diogenes was a counterfeiter,” but Roubineau shows that we don’t know much (if anything) about the degree to which Diogenes was involved (i.e. whether he was mastermind, accomplice, or an unwitting pawn.) Third, I benefited from the comparing and contrasting of Cynic philosophy with that of predecessors (e.g. Socratics) and successors (e.g. Stoics,) and – in a few cases – comparisons between Diogenes and other Cynics.

The book consists of four chapters. The first is a discussion of what is known about Diogenes as a historical figure. The second focuses on the Cynics views on economy, wealth, and related ideas. The third explores the Cynic view of the human body and related topics like sex, pleasure, and pursuit of health and well-being. The last chapter considers Diogenes as a teacher and the Cynic approach to practicing philosophy.

I’d highly recommend this book for readers interested in philosophy.


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PROMPT: Successful

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Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
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Diogenes [of Sinope] and – also – Drukpa Kunley. Each of them spoke his mind, lived by his own rules, never wore a mask, and could not be controlled. They were truly free.

In Captivity [Free Verse]

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bars at your back,

and their stripes
 permanently etched 
  into one's field of vision.

so much so, 
 that you feel they're 
  a ubiquitous feature
   of the world beyond. 

the cage should be a hated place,
 but one can grow to love the cage.

the cage is shelter.

the cage is delivery address
 for food & water disbursements.

the cage forms rollbars --
  like on a dune buggy --
   protection in the event 
    of a sudden & unexpected crash.

the cage offers one a range --
 narrow as it might be --
  of distances at which one's captor
   may be kept,

and, as long as the cage is shut,
 that gives one a delightful 
  illusion of control. 

what a hated place a cage should be,
 and yet how conflicted are the captives?

Freedom [Free Verse]

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He who would know freedom
 must be ready for the fall,
  ready to be untethered.

Freedom is not 
 floating on a cloud;

  it's riding the rapids down, 
   trying to get one's feet first, 
    so that one breaks a leg --
     and not a skull --
      on the rocks.