HISTORY, CIVICS, AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY PART 1

HISTORY, CIVICS, AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY PART 2

HISTORY, CIVICS, AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY PART 3

HISTORY, CIVICS, AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY PENSACOLA’S FIVE-FLAGS DISPLAYS

WHAT GOD MIGHT SAY

I am the Lord thy God–thou shalt have no other gods before me.

That includes Jesus–thou shalt not have Jesus before me.

That includes yourself–thou shalt not have yourself before me.

That includes your spouse–thou shalt not have your spouse before me.

That includes your significant other–thou shalt not have your significant other before me.

That includes your friends–thou shalt not have your friends before me.

That includes your parents–thou shalt not have your parents before me.

That includes your children–thou shalt not have your children before me.

That includes your siblings–thou shalt not have your siblings before me.

That includes your career–thou shalt not have your career before me.

That includes your money–thou shalt not have your money before me.

That includes your possessions–thou shalt not have your possessions before me.

That includes your cellphone–thou shalt not have your cellphone before me.

That includes your smartphone–thou shalt not have your smartphone before me.

That includes Facebook–thou shalt not have Facebook before me.

That includes Twitter–thou shalt not have Twitter before me.

That includes all cellular technology–thou shalt not have any cellular technology before me.

That includes all social media–thou shalt not have any social media before me.

That includes all Digital-Age technology–thou shalt not have any Digital-Age technology before me.

That includes everyone–thou shalt not have anyone before me.

That includes everything–thou shalt not have anything before me.

WHAT FLAGS SHOW

This is the Flag of the modern state of Israel–the Zionist State.

Notice the Star of David–the primary symbol of the Jewish religion (Judaism). The modern state of Israel is a Jewish nationalist state–Judaism is its state religion. It was established only for Jews–and is maintained only for Jews.  It was established in terrorism–and is maintained in terrorism.  The Zionist State is a terrorist state–and always has been.  Many Jews consider the Israeli Flag’s use of the Star of David to be a travesty of Judaism–a sacrilege.  These Jews maintain that the new homeland promised the Jewish people in the Torah is to be established by God–not by man.  The modern state of Israel was established by man–and is maintained by man.  This is why many Jews consider it an affront to their faith–and to God.

 

This is the Flag of Palestine–the land that has been occupied by the Zionist State, the Jewish Nationalist State of Israel, since 1948.  The Palestinians are the indigenous people of Palestine.  Most of them are Arabs who have inhabited Palestine for over 1300 years.  Though most of these Palestinian Arabs are Muslim, a large minority of them is Christian.  The Jewish State of Israel makes no distinction between Muslim Arabs and Christian Arabs–it maintains that all Arabs are pests, to be exterminated if not removed.

The Israel of today is not the Israel of Biblical times.  Most of the Jews who live in the modern state of Israel are barely Jewish.  The original Jews of Palestine left that land almost two thousand years ago, in the wake of three failed Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire.  The Romans destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jewish Temple built by King Herod (whom Jews call Herod the Great).  This began what the Jews call the Diaspora (dispersion) –when the vast majority of Jews left Palestine, and moved into other regions of Asia, and into Europe.  Most of the Jews who inhabit the modern state of Israel are Ashkenazim (a.k.a. Ashkenazi Jews).  These are Jews who have interbred with Eastern Europeans for so many centuries that their ancestry is primarily Gentile–not Jewish.  And many of the Jews who inhabit the modern state of Israel are Khazarian Jews.  These are Jews who have interbred with Turks for so many centuries that their ancestry is primarily Gentile–not Jewish.

Notice how different the Palestinian Flag is from the Israeli Flag.  Indeed the only color it has in common with the Israeli Flag is white.  This is intentional–and understandable.  The Zionist Jews have invaded and occupied the homeland of the Palestinians covertly since 1918–and overtly since 1947.  The modern state of Israel was established in 1948 by foreign invaders–and is maintained by foreign invaders.  The Israeli military, at the direction of the Israeli government, has been subjugating, slaughtering, and displacing the indigenous people of Palestine for almost seventy years.

So the Flag of Palestine is in direct contrast to the Flag of the modern state of Israel–because the modern state of Israel is, in reality, Occupied Palestine.

 

 

 

This is the Flag of Britain (a.k.a. the Union Flag, the Union Jack).  The British Empire was the largest in history.  There was even a saying among the people of all the lands occupied by Britain–that the sun never set on the British Empire. England invaded and occupied Wales, Scotland, and Ireland to create Britain. And Britain (a.k.a. the United Kingdom) is comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland today.

 

This is the Flag of Ireland.

Britain’s King James began the invasion and occupation of Ireland in the early seventeenth century–with the Plantation of Ulster.

The Protestant King James began the British occupation of Catholic Ireland by allowing Scottish and English Protestants to settle in the Northern region of Ireland.  Just as Jewish Zionist settlers have been allowed to forcibly displace the indigenous people of Palestine, with the full military support of the Zionist State (supported, in turn, with money and weaponry provided by foreign governments–primarily that of the United States), Protestant Scottish and English settlers were allowed to forcibly displace the indigenous people of Ireland, in what was called the Plantation of Ulster, with the full military support of Britain.

In time, Protestant Britain occupied all of Catholic Ireland.  And this British Occupation of Ireland didn’t end until the early twentieth century–when the Irish overthrew their British overlords, and established the Republic of Ireland.

Yet Northern Ireland–the old Plantation of Ulster–remains occupied by the Protestant descendants of the Protestant Scottish and English settlers who were allowed to forcibly displace the indigenous people of the Northern region of Ireland, with the full military support of Britain.

So the British state of Northern Ireland is, in reality, Occupied Northern Ireland.

Notice how different the Irish Flag is from the British Flag.  Indeed the only color it has in common with the British Flag is white.  This is intentional–and understandable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the First Flag of the United States of America (a.k.a. the Stars and Stripes, the Star-Spangled Banner, Old Glory).

Notice how similar the United American Flag is to the British Flag.  Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

Unlike Palestine or Ireland, the United States was not occupied by a foreign power.  In fact, the land of the Native Americans was–and still is–occupied by the United States.

The thirteen British American colonies did not want war with Britain–they wanted Britain to reclaim certain standards of justice and equality that it had forsaken under King George III and the Whig Party.

And in establishing the United States of America, under the uncertainty of an unwanted war, these thirteen colonies considered their new nation to be a reclamation of those standards of justice and equality that Britain had forsaken.

In other words, the United States–from its point of view–was Britain reformed.

 

 

 

 

This is the First Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Stars and Bars).

Notice how similar the Confederate American Flag is to the United American Flag. Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

The seven United American states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas did not want war with the United States–they wanted the United States to reclaim certain standards of justice and equality that it had forsaken under Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party.

And war was not necessary.

Because, in 1860, there was nothing written in the United States Constitution regarding secession, President James Buchanan granted these seven states the right to peacefully secede from the United States of America, and form their own nation–the Confederate States of America.

And in establishing the Confederate States of America, the seven states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas considered their new nation to be a reclamation of those standards of justice and equality that the United States had forsaken.

In other words, the Confederate States–from its point of view–was the United States reformed.

 

 

 

 

This is the First Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Stars and Bars).

Notice how similar the Confederate American Flag is to the United American Flag. Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

Notice that a star has been added to the United American Flag.  This star represents Kansas.

Because of the question of the expansion of slavery into Western territories–specifically Kansas and Nebraska–it is popularly believed that the states that seceded from the United States, and formed the Confederate States, did so for the preservation of the institution of slavery.

This popular assumption is incorrect–and there are several reasons why.

None of the slave states that initially seceded from the United States, and formed the Confederate States, bordered the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.  And the only one of these states that bordered the territory of Oklahoma was Texas.

The only slave state that bordered Kansas or Nebraska was Missouri–and it never seceded.

And when the seven states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas seceded from the United States, they forfeited all rights to the Western territories–including Kansas and Nebraska.

In other words, the seven slave states that initially seceded from the United States, and formed the Confederate States, had nothing to gain–in the interest of slavery–by seceding.

Notice that six stars have been added to the Confederate American Flag.  These stars represent Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Abraham Lincoln took office, as the first Republican president of the United States, on March 4, 1861.

Though Lincoln clearly stated, in his inaugural address, that he did not intend to abolish slavery where it already existed, he also refused to acknowledge the Confederate States of America.

President Lincoln refused to uphold the decision made by President James Buchanan, his Democratic predecessor.

Lincoln considered South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas to be rebellious states–though there was nothing against which they had rebelled.

He considered all citizens of the Confederate States of America to be rebels–though there was nothing against which they had rebelled.

And President Abraham Lincoln considered the war he waged–to force the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas back into the United States–to be a rebellion.

It was not until Lincoln waged this war, less than two months after he took office, that the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas seceded from the United States, and joined the Confederate States of America.

Though these four states were also slave states, they didn’t secede for the preservation of the institution of slavery either.  They seceded because they considered the United States of America’s invasion of the Confederate States of America to be unconstitutional, unnecessary–and completely unjustified.

And though Kentucky and Missouri were two of the four slave states that never seceded from the United States (the other two were Maryland and Delaware), many citizens of these two states also considered the United States of America’s invasion of the Confederate States of America to be unconstitutional, unnecessary, and completely unjustified–so much that they joined the Confederate forces to fight their own countrymen.

It was for this reason that–in addition to the four stars added to the Confederate American Flag to represent Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas–two stars were added to represent Kentucky and Missouri.

 

 

 

 

The Confederate American Flag was very similar to the United American Flag. Indeed its colors were the same–only their arrangement was different.  This was intentional.

Yet on a field of battle, it proved impractical.

During the Battle of First Manassas, General P.G.T. Beauregard observed that the Confederate American Flag’s similarity to the United American Flag caused confusion in the midst of battle.

After the battle, General Beauregard commissioned the design of a Confederate American flag for battlefield use only.

Thus was the Confederate American Battle Flag born–and introduced on November 28, 1861.

Though other flags were used by Confederate American troops in battle, this was the official battle flag.

Yet it was never adopted by the Confederate States Congress as the official flag of the Confederate States of America.  As General Beauregard had intended, the Confederate American Battle Flag was only for battlefield use.

 

 

 

 

This is the Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Southern Cross, the Cross of St. Andrew).

Notice how similar the Confederate American Battle Flag is to the United American Flag.  Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

 

 

 

 

This is the Second Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Stainless Banner).

Notice how similar the Confederate American Flag is to the United American Flag. Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

Though the Confederate American Battle Flag was only for battlefield use, its design became increasingly popular among Confederate American troops.  This is understandable.

And because the tide had begun to turn against the Confederate States of America, by the spring of 1863, the Confederate States desired a flag less similar to that of the United States.  This is understandable too.

Thus was the Second Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Stainless Banner) born.

 

 

 

 

This is the Third Flag of the Confederate States of America (a.k.a. the Blood-Stained Banner).

Notice how similar the Confederate American Flag is to the United American Flag. Indeed its colors are the same–only their arrangement is different.  This is intentional.

In time, it was observed that the Second Confederate Flag, when furled, too often resembled a flag of truce.

Thus was the Third Confederate Flag (a.k.a. the Blood-Stained Banner) born.

A flag is a piece of cloth that says something.  It is a piece of cloth that speaks.

Yet a flag is a piece of cloth that shows something too.

Since June 22, 2015–when a self-serving politician blamed a mass murder on a flag, and called for the censorship of that flag–self-serving state and local politicians all over the American South have been likewise censoring all flags representing the historical Confederate States of America.

And these same self-serving politicians have begun destroying monuments representing the historical Confederate States of America.

They have been doing this without the consent of their Southern American constituents–of any race or ethnicity.

These self-serving politicians–the overwhelming majority of whom are White Republicans–justify their government-imposed censorship by claiming that the Confederate States of America was diametrically opposed to the United States of America.  They claim that the Confederate States of America wanted nothing to do with the United States of America, in any way–that it considered the United States of America to be nothing but an enemy, from the very beginning, nothing to be admired or imitated in any manner.

These politicians know they are lying–as politicians always do.

They can lie about what flags say.

But they cannot lie about what flags show.

Look closely at this flag–and tell me what it shows.

“THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF MY DEATH”

A MORALITY PLAY FOR CELLPHONE USERS

 

 

NO IT ISN’T, IT’S JUST FUNNY

A LETTER TO EVERY EDITOR

What’s strange about the blind system by which submissions are approved or rejected is that it often does exactly the opposite of what it’s intended to do.

In the last edition of the Emerald Coast Review I had the smallest amount of my submitted work published–since before I joined the West Florida Literary Federation in 2007–because I hadn’t been attending the monthly open mics in the two years before its publication.  I hadn’t been keeping in touch with the regular attendees of the open mics–and I especially hadn’t been reading my work.

Attendees of the open mics remember what’s read at the open mics–and who reads it.  So when they’re appointed to read submissions to the Emerald Coast Review, they know who wrote the submissions–they remember who read them at open mics.

Also, every writer–as you know–has a unique style.  So even if what one submits hasn’t been shared at an open mic, those who are familiar with his or her style still recognize it.

Then there’s prejudice by readers toward any submission.  Because we’re all prejudiced–and we always will be.

Your readers–who approve or disapprove every submission for the Emerald Coast Review–are extremely prejudiced.  Because they’re human beings–and all human beings are extremely prejudiced, and always have been.

This validly criticized politically-correct culture–which is a direct consequence of unrestrained Digital-Age technology–is arguably the best display of human prejudice in human history.

In the third part of a video presentation I gave on Pensacola’s Five-Flags Displays, I compare the censorship by religious conservatives in the past to the censorship by secular liberals in the present.

I cite the censorship of the two funniest novels I’ve ever read–The Catcher in the Rye and Huckleberry Finn.

As I explain, The Catcher in the Rye was censored by religious conservatives, in the past, because it is laced with profanity–particularly the word, goddam.

And Huckleberry Finn is censored by secular liberals, in the present, because it is laced with the word, nigger.

But I also explain how–just as the religious conservatives who censored The Catcher in the Rye had never read The Catcher in the Rye–the secular liberals who censor Huckleberry Finn have never read Huckleberry Finn.

And censorship is born of prejudice.

Religious conservatives censored The Catcher in the Rye because they were extremely prejudiced of The Catcher in the Rye.

And secular liberals censor Huckleberry Finn because they are extremely prejudiced of Huckleberry Finn.

The majority of your readers were extremely prejudiced of my submission because it had the word, Goddamned, in its title.  And the majority of Southern Americans–of any age–have a strong aversion toward that word.

In fact, there was a study done, years ago, on what television content most offended viewers in different regions of the United States.

West Coast viewers were most offended by gratuitous violence.

Midwestern viewers were most offended by gratuitous sex.

And Southern viewers were most offended by profane language.

Then of course I strongly criticize this Digital Age in my submission.

I choose not to have a cellphone–but none of your readers likely make that choice.

I choose not to have a Facebook or Twitter account–but none of your readers likely make that choice.

So how do you think they felt, reading my submission?

Here was some high-and-mighty, old bastard who had the audacity to criticize their Digital-Age lifestyle–and unashamedly declare it, in the very title of his submission, to be damned by God!

Of course your readers rejected my submission–I would have expected that.

That’s why I would expect you to override their decision.

You’re the editor-in-chief of the Emerald Coast Review.  You have your prejudices, of course–but you’re almost certainly more intelligently discerning than your readers are.  And you’re obviously far more experienced with evaluating writing, based on its literary merit–as well as its historical, anecdotal, psychological, sociological, and philosophical merit–than your readers are.

Then there’s the anonymity of your readers.  They have an idea who we are–but we have no idea who they are, until the Emerald Coast Review is published.

So there’s no skin off their noses–they don’t have to answer to us, as to why they’ve rejected our submissions.

This is like a jury trial in which the accused never even sees or hears the anonymous jury until the judge has already sentenced the accused.

So as the judge in the trial of my submission, Parts 1 and 2 of DEALING WITH THE GODDAMNED DIGITAL AGE, I respectfully ask you to overrule the decision made by the anonymous jury.

I respectfully ask you to include it in this upcoming edition of the Emerald Coast Review.