Bob Schwartz

“No one today can afford to be innocent, or indulge himself in ignorance of the nature of contemporary governments, politics and social orders. The national polities of the modern world maintain their existence by deliberately fostered craving and fear: monstrous protection rackets.”

Celebrated poet Gary Snyder has been a master swimmer in the cultural and spiritual currents of our times. His biography from the Poetry Foundation notes:

Gary Snyder began his career in the 1950s as a noted member of the “Beat Generation,” though he has since explored a wide range of social and spiritual matters in both poetry and prose. Snyder’s work blends physical reality and precise observations of nature with inner insight received primarily through the practice of Zen Buddhism. While Snyder has gained attention as a spokesman for the preservation of the natural world and its earth-conscious cultures, he is not simply a “back-to-nature” poet with a facile message….

Snyder’s emphasis on metaphysics and his celebration of the natural order remove his work from the general tenor of Beat writing—and in fact Snyder is also identified as a poet of the San Francisco Renaissance along with Jack Spicer, Robert Duncan and Robin Blaser. Snyder has looked to the Orient and to the beliefs of American Indians for positive responses to the world, and he has tempered his studies with stints of hard physical labor as a logger and trail builder. Altieri believed that Snyder’s “articulation of a possible religious faith” independent of Western culture has greatly enhanced his popularity. In his study of the poet, Bob Steuding described how Snyder’s accessible style, drawn from the examples of Japanese haiku and Chinese verse, “has created a new kind of poetry that is direct, concrete, non-Romantic, and ecological. . . . Snyder’s work will be remembered in its own right as the example of a new direction taken in American literature.” Nation contributor Richard Tillinghast wrote: “In Snyder the stuff of the world ‘content’—has always shone with a wonderful sense of earthiness and health. He has always had things to tell us, experiences to relate, a set of values to expound. . . . He has influenced a generation.”

In 1961, Snyder published an essay entitled Buddhist Anarchism. Anarchism is a slippery term, though a call to turn things upside down, or an observation of our heading there, probably qualifies. The Buddhist part is definite here. Yes, it is radical, and pragmatic history may seem to demonstrate that the vision is idealistic, impractical and impossible. Even quaint in the face of the 21st century real world and real life. But without the idealistic, impractical and impossible, where is the fun and the future?

BUDDHIST ANARCHISM

Buddhism holds that the universe and all creatures in it are intrinsically in a state of complete wisdom, love and compassion; acting in natural response and mutual interdependence. The personal realization of this from-the-beginning state cannot be had for and by one-“self” — because it is not fully realized unless one has given the self up; and away.

In the Buddhist view, that which obstructs the effortless manifestation of this is Ignorance, which projects into fear and needless craving. Historically, Buddhist philosophers have failed to analyze out the degree to which ignorance and suffering are caused or encouraged by social factors, considering fear-and-desire to be given facts of the human condition. Consequently the major concern of Buddhist philosophy is epistemology and “psychology” with no attention paid to historical or sociological problems. Although Mahayana Buddhism has a grand vision of universal salvation, the actual achievement of Buddhism has been the development of practical systems of meditation toward the end of liberating a few dedicated individuals from psychological hangups and cultural conditionings. Institutional Buddhism has been conspicuously ready to accept or ignore the inequalities and tyrannies of whatever political system it found itself under. This can be death to Buddhism, because it is death to any meaningful function of compassion. Wisdom without compassion feels no pain.

No one today can afford to be innocent, or indulge himself in ignorance of the nature of contemporary governments, politics and social orders. The national polities of the modern world maintain their existence by deliberately fostered craving and fear: monstrous protection rackets. The “free world” has become economically dependent on a fantastic system of stimulation of greed which cannot be fulfilled, sexual desire which cannot be satiated and hatred which has no outlet except against oneself, the persons one is supposed to love, or the revolutionary aspirations of pitiful, poverty-stricken marginal societies like Cuba or Vietnam. The conditions of the Cold War have turned all modern societies — Communist included — into vicious distorters of man’s true potential. They create populations of “preta” — hungry ghosts, with giant appetites and throats no bigger than needles. The soil, the forests and all animal life are being consumed by these cancerous collectivities; the air and water of the planet is being fouled by them.

There is nothing in human nature or the requirements of human social organization which intrinsically requires that a culture be contradictory, repressive and productive of violent and frustrated personalities. Recent findings in anthropology and psychology make this more and more evident. One can prove it for himself by taking a good look at his own nature through meditation. Once a person has this much faith and insight, he must be led to a deep concern with the need for radical social change through a variety of hopefully non-violent means.

The joyous and voluntary poverty of Buddhism becomes a positive force. The traditional harmlessness and refusal to take life in any form has nation-shaking implications. The practice of meditation, for which one needs only “the ground beneath one’s feet,” wipes out mountains of junk being pumped into the mind by the mass media and supermarket universities. The belief in a serene and generous fulfillment of natural loving desires destroys ideologies which blind, maim and repress — and points the way to a kind of community which would amaze “moralists” and transform armies of men who are fighters because they cannot be lovers.

Avatamsaka (Kegon) Buddhist philosophy sees the world as a vast interrelated network in which all objects and creatures are necessary and illuminated. From one standpoint, governments, wars, or all that we consider “evil” are uncompromisingly contained in this totalistic realm. The hawk, the swoop and the hare are one. From the “human” standpoint we cannot live in those terms unless all beings see with the same enlightened eye. The Bodhisattva lives by the sufferer’s standard, and he must be effective in aiding those who suffer.

The mercy of the West has been social revolution; the mercy of the East has been individual insight into the basic self/void. We need both. They are both contained in the traditional three aspects of the Dharma path: wisdom (prajna), meditation (dhyana), and morality (sila). Wisdom is intuitive knowledge of the mind of love and clarity that lies beneath one’s ego-driven anxieties and aggressions. Meditation is going into the mind to see this for yourself — over and over again, until it becomes the mind you live in. Morality is bringing it back out in the way you live, through personal example and responsible action, ultimately toward the true community (sangha) of “all beings.”

This last aspect means, for me, supporting any cultural and economic revolution that moves clearly toward a free, international, classless world. It means using such means as civil disobedience, outspoken criticism, protest, pacifism, voluntary poverty and even gentle violence if it comes to a matter of restraining some impetuous redneck. It means affirming the widest possible spectrum of non-harmful individual behavior — defending the right of individuals to smoke hemp, eat peyote, be polygynous, polyandrous or homosexual. Worlds of behavior and custom long banned by the Judaeo-Capitalist-Christian-Marxist West. It means respecting intelligence and learning, but not as greed or means to personal power. Working on one’s own responsibility, but willing to work with a group. “Forming the new society within the shell of the old” — the IWW slogan of fifty years ago.

The traditional cultures are in any case doomed, and rather than cling to their good aspects hopelessly it should be remembered that whatever is or ever was in any other culture can be reconstructed from the unconscious, through meditation. In fact, it is my own view that the coming revolution will close the circle and link us in many ways with the most creative aspects of our archaic past. If we are lucky we may eventually arrive at a totally integrated world culture with matrilineal descent, free-form marriage, natural-credit communist economy, less industry, far less population and lots more national parks.

GARY SNYDER
1961

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February 2, 2026

Unreliable narrators in Trump’s America

An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose credibility is compromised, leading readers to question or doubt the accuracy of their account. This narrative technique creates a gap between what the narrator tells us and what actually happened.

Common types include:

Mentally unstable narrators who may be delusional or mentally ill (e.g., the narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart”)
Naïve narrators who lack the experience or knowledge to fully understand events (e.g., a child narrator)
Biased narrators who deliberately manipulate the truth for self-serving reasons
Narrators with impaired perception due to intoxication, trauma, or memory issues

The unreliability often becomes apparent through inconsistencies in their story, contradictions between their words and actions, or clues that reveal their misperceptions. This technique engages readers more actively, as they must piece together the truth themselves.

Classic examples include Humbert Humbert in “Lolita,” the narrator in Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” and Nick Carraway in “The Great Gatsby” (to a subtler degree).

Discussing Trump’s latest perfidy, the closing down of the Kennedy Center, I maintain that this may have been on his mind for a while. Someone else suggested that those in the know indicated it was his instant petulant reaction to the Melania movie fiasco there, when few of his sycophants showed up for the premiere. I replied that we couldn’t really know, because what people around him say is presumptively false, just as his own words are.

That leads to the broader issue of the unreliable narrator. It is common in storytelling and sometimes in the real world. But in America today, we have never had so many people with amplified voices say so many things that are manifestly untrue.

Maybe, as the above description says, this unreliability actively engages us to piece together the truth for ourselves. Regarding the shutting down of the Kennedy Center, spontaneous or planned? When we try to piece it together, we might say that it may matter to journalists and historians, but citizens like us might simply conclude that either way, something is terribly, horribly wrong.

Which brings us back to narrators, reliable, and increasingly among the loud, corrupt and powerful who lead us, totally unreliable. Who do you trust in Lolita, for example, a story told by a pedophile?

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February 2, 2026

Believing and acting “as if”

Our religious traditions often ask us to act on faith, believing that which can’t be absolutely demonstrated or proven to our satisfaction. For theistic religions, God is at the top of that list, with many other beliefs following.

In Buddhism there is a belief in rebirth:

rebirth. The belief that one is reborn after death. Belief in rebirth is a corollary of the doctrine of karma, which holds that a person experiences the good or bad fruits of moral action at a later date. Rebirth is one of the ‘givens’ of Buddhist thought and since its truth is universally assumed it is rarely asserted or defended as a dogma. Some contemporary Buddhists have suggested that belief in rebirth is not an essential part of Buddhist teachings, but the notion is deeply ingrained in the tradition and the ancient texts.

Roger Jackson in his masterful study Rebirth: A Guide to Mind, Karma, and Cosmos in the Buddhist World (2022) points to modern Buddhist masters and followers who suggest that rebirth is theory, not fact. Nevertheless, it remains a core belief.

In closing, Jackson points to a familiar Western resolution. The argument of 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal—sometimes called Pascal’s wager—is that by believing in God you risk nothing significant but could gain everything.

This leads Jackson to this:

I myself would argue without ambivalence for what I call “As-If Agnosticism.” My stance is agnostic because, like Hayes and Batchelor (and many others), I do not find traditional descriptions of karma and rebirth literally credible, nor am I fully persuaded by arguments in their favor, whether rational, empirical, or faith-based; on the other hand, I cannot rule out the possibility that such descriptions (or something akin to them) may in fact be true. The universe, after all, is surpassingly strange. In the spirit of Wallace Stevens’s famous statement that “we believe without belief, beyond belief,” I propose that we live as if such descriptions were true. I am not suggesting we simply take up wishful thinking: if only there were past and future lives, if only karma works the ways tradition says it does, if only glorious and perfect buddhahood awaited us all at the end of the rainbow. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. But as Buddhists have argued for millennia, Western humanists have claimed for centuries, and scientists have recently begun to recognize, the world is actually built far more on our ideas, aspirations, and speculations—the As-If—than we suppose, and the solid foundations we presume to lie beneath us—the “As-Is”—are much more difficult to find than we assume. It’s not, therefore, that by living as if certain doctrines were true we really are in flight from some bedrock, objective reality, because that reality—though it certainly imposes limitations on us, most notably at the time of death—turns out to be far more a matter of convention and far less “just the way things are” than we had thought. Freed from the illusion of perfect objectivity, therefore, why not think and live as if Buddhism were true? In doing so, we empower ourselves to enter, as fully as is possible in a skeptical age, into the ongoing, ever-changing life of the Dharma, adopting Buddhist ideals, telling Buddhist stories, articulating Buddhist doctrines, performing Buddhist rituals, and embodying Buddhist ethics in ways that make meaning for ourselves, provide a measure of comfort to others, and perhaps contribute in some small way to the betterment of the imperfect and imperiled world in which we all live.

Let the final word belong not to me, however, but to the Buddha, who in the Rohitassa Sutta (Discourse about Rohitassa) recounts a previous life as a seer named Rohatissa, “possessing magical potency, able to travel through the sky…[with] speed like that of a light arrow easily shot by a firm-bowed archer.” Conceiving the wish to find the ends of the earth, he traveled for a hundred years as fast as the wind, yet “died along the way without having reached the end of the world.” There is no “end” to the geographic world, explains the Buddha, but that is not, in any case, the end-of-the-world we should be seeking. Rather, we must seek the place “where one is not born, does not grow old and die, does not pass away and get reborn.” And where is the end of the world in this deeper sense—nirvāṇa—to be found? “It is,” he says, “in this fathom-long body endowed with perception and mind that I proclaim (1) the world, (2) the origin of the world, (3) the cessation of the world, and (4) the way leading to the cessation of the world.” As a result, “…the wise one, the world-knower, who has reached the world’s end and lived the spiritual life, having known the world’s end, at peace, does not desire this world or another.”

“As if” is powerful. There is also a powerful caveat. If you believe “as if” something is true, though you may still doubt it, it is essential that the belief do good for others—not just for yoursel. While Pascal says believing in the unprovable you “could gain everything”, it is others who should ultimately gain everything from your belief, not just you. If the belief brings other harm, better to not believe and act “as if.”

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January 31, 2026

The Year America Gets Politically Sober (from February 2016)

Note: When I reread this post ten years later, I am trying to remember precisely what “mess” and “political chaos” it refers to. We were still a long way from the political conventions of summer and the election in November. Thinking about it now, Trump was already in the mix (his rivals seemed to hate him, though that changed), Hillary was promised the nomination (Bernie had something to say about that, and thankfully he’s still talking), along with a whole lot of other bad signs. It closes with a thought of hope, probably left over from an Obama poster. But as the post said, “maybe as we near bottom, or hit bottom, we will change our ways.”

There are endless stories about people whose wild and self-destructive behaviors, addictions and obsessions careen out of control. Some of those stories are in books and movies. A lot more of them, millions of them, are in real life.

The stories sometimes end very badly. But sometimes, after a lost weekend, or a lost year, or a lost decade, something happens. Nearing bottom, or hitting bottom, people wake up. They realize that the path they are on—or the lack of a path—can only lead to bad times getting worse. And so they ask for help. Or they find the help within themselves. They recover. They get sober.

All the talking heads have explanations of how “we” got into this political chaos, with many people not particularly pleased with the choices they have, many people appalled at the choices other people are making, and a government—which is after all the point of politics—basically frozen and irrational.

“We” are not the victims. “We” created this mess ourselves. The forms of behaviors, addictions and obsessions are too many to list here. Let’s just say that if we choose not to be broadly informed, choose not to vote, choose to leave it up to other people, choose to be more interested in style than in substance, choose to be selfish, choose to divide by identity, choose to overlook serious problems, and make many other questionable choices, what do you expect?

All hope is not lost.

Just as with addicts and others who find themselves out of control, maybe this is our lost election, and maybe we are going to have to suffer its consequences, but maybe as we near bottom, or hit bottom, we will change our ways.

That’s a happy thought.

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January 30, 2026

Cult of Personality by Living Colour (1988)

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies

In 1988 the band Living Colour released their first album Vivid and the hit single Cult of Personality, which went on to win a Grammy.

It isn’t often that a track remains so relevant so many years later. But cults of personality have been around as long as leaders have been around, which is forever. Like now. Besides being a great song and performance (incendiary guitar by Vernon Reid), it is eerily notable that it specifically includes reference to “Neon lights, a Nobel prize”.

Living Colour is still playing, and was featured on Jimmy Kimmel last October.

Cult of Personality

And during the few moments that we have left
We want to talk right down to earth
In a language that everybody here can easily understand

Look in my eyes
What do you see?
The cult of personality

I know your anger, I know your dreams
I’ve been everything you want to be
Oh, I’m the cult of personality

Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I’m the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You won’t have to follow me
Only you can set me free

I sell the things you need to be
I’m the smiling face on your TV
Oh, I’m the cult of personality

I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you, one and one makes three
Oh, I’m the cult of personality

Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I’m the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won’t have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You gave me power in your god’s name
I’m every person you need to be
Oh, I’m the cult of personality

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January 30, 2026

If you buy the premise, you’ll buy the bit

“If you buy the premise, you’ll buy the bit” is a maxim of humor and joke telling. “A guy goes to a psychiatrist and says…” or “A priest, a minister, and a rabbi are sitting at a bar…” are setups for a joke. Someone who doesn’t buy that premise (someone of limited imagination, because it’s just a joke) will never get the joke.

This extends to logical argument in general. Without believing in a premise, the rest of the argument, like the rest of the joke, goes nowhere.

Sometimes the premise is hidden, incidentally or intentionally, and sometimes it is assumed without analysis and investigation. This is a reminder to find the premise, consider it carefully, and decide whether to buy it.

To close less seriously, with a ridiculous premise, one of my favorite jokes.

A guy goes to a psychiatrist.

Guy says, “Doc, my brother thinks he’s a chicken.”

Psychiatrist says, “Bring him in and I’ll examine him.”

Guy says, “I would, but we need the eggs.”

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January 28, 2026

“ICE thwarted from entering Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis by employee”

ICE thwarted from entering Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis by employee

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent attempted to enter Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis, but was turned back by an employee, prompting an official complaint to the US embassy in Quito, the country’s foreign ministry said….

Video of the incident verified by Reuters showed an employee at the consulate telling the agent: “This is the consulate of Ecuador, you are not allowed to enter.”

“Relax, relax, I didn’t enter,” the agent replies, before telling the staffer: “If you touch me, I will grab you.” The agent leaves shortly after.

The Guardian

Consulates, like embassies, are inviolable. They are literally extensions of their respective nations on foreign soil. On a small scale, entering without permission is an invasion.

This current crop of ICE agents appears to be either poorly trained, or incompetent, or overzealous, or violent, or unstable, or ignorant, or believe they are invulnerable and unaccountable, or some combination. Their bosses appear to be either poorly trained, or incompetent, or overzealous, or violent, or unstable, or ignorant, or believe they are invulnerable and unaccountable, or some combination.

The recent murders by ICE in Minneapolis are explosive high-profile examples of where things are and where they are going. So the attempted forced entry into a foreign nation’s consulate may seem less significant. It is not.

None other than the capo di tutti capi, the big chief, the head man, told the world that the only guardrail and restriction on his actions and orders was his own morality. That tells us all we have to know about the next three years—or more.

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January 28, 2026

American Triple Play: A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke), Willin’ (Little Feat), This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
Woody Guthrie, This Land Is Your Land

Each morning is an opportunity to string together a brief soundtrack before the news takes over.

Understanding and responding to this American moment is a challenge. What does it all mean?

A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke is regarded as the most lyrical theme song of the Civil Rights movement.

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees.

There been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will.

Willin’ by Little Feat is an irresistible song of perseverance.

Well, I’ve been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in, but I’m still on my feet
And I’m still willin’

This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie is the actual national anthem of the United States of America.

As I went walking I saw a sign there,
And on the sign it said “No Trespassing.”
But on the other side it didn’t say nothing.
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

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January 27, 2026

Under Trump federal judicial contempt is hollow punishment

“Minnesota’s top federal judge has summoned the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to appear before him on Friday, warning he may be held in contempt for allegedly defying court orders.”

Many in the Trump administration, including phony U.S. Attorneys like Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan, have defied federal judicial orders and been threatened with contempt of court.

There is an overwhelming problem with enforcing such contempt, which is issued at the discretion of a federal judge.

Look closely at the seal above. Federal contempt is enforced by the U.S. Marshals Service. The U.S. Marshals Service is a division of the Department of Justice. Marshals work for Pam Bondi at the Department of Justice, who works slavishly for Trump.

Meaning: From Trump down to the lowest official in the federal government, anyone who defies a court order and is found in contempt has no worries, since the U.S. Marshals Service can be ordered to stand down by Pam Bondi and not enforce those orders.

I would include this as a footnote to any coverage that includes possible contempt of an administration official or worker for defying a federal court order.

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January 26, 2026

Fascists begin with thugs: Mussolini’s Blackshirts and Hitler’s Brownshirts

“Hitler’s SA beat up Jews, vandalized Jewish businesses, and intimidated voters and political opponents. This violence helped suppress opposition while the Nazis maintained a veneer of legality.”

Both Mussolini (the inventor of modern fascism) and Hitler began their rise to power with the help of organized thugs. Mussolini had his Blackshirts and Hitler had his Brownshirts (officially the SA, Sturmabteilung, “Storm Detachment).

These are not the only authoritarians, dictators and fascists to enlist thugs to help them. Above is a picture of Hitler’s thugs beating up German citizens in the streets.

Overview:

The Blackshirts (or Squadristi) were paramilitary fascist groups that emerged in Italy after World War I and became essential to Mussolini’s rise to power.

Origins and composition:
The Blackshirts formed around 1919-1920, initially as loosely organized squads of war veterans, unemployed workers, and disaffected young men. They wore black shirts as their uniform, which became their identifying symbol. Many members were ex-soldiers who felt betrayed by Italy’s treatment after WWI despite being on the winning side.

Their role in Mussolini’s rise:
The Blackshirts served as Mussolini’s instrument of violent intimidation and political control:

Strike-breaking and anti-socialist violence: They attacked socialist organizations, labor unions, and leftist politicians, beating opponents and burning down socialist newspapers, meeting halls, and cooperatives. This earned them support from landowners and industrialists who feared socialist revolution.
Creating chaos and positioning fascism as the solution: By generating political violence and instability, they helped create conditions where Mussolini could present himself and his fascist movement as the force that could restore order.
The March on Rome (1922): Tens of thousands of Blackshirts marched on Rome in October 1922 in a show of force. Though it was more political theater than military coup, the threat of violence pressured King Victor Emmanuel III to appoint Mussolini as Prime Minister rather than risk civil war.

The Blackshirts essentially functioned as Mussolini’s private army, using systematic violence to eliminate opposition and intimidate the political establishment into accepting fascist rule.

The Brownshirts, officially called the Sturmabteilung (SA, meaning “Storm Detachment”), were the Nazi Party’s paramilitary organization that played a crucial role in Hitler’s rise to power through street violence and intimidation.

Origins and composition:
Founded in 1921, the SA initially served as security for Nazi rallies. They wore brown uniforms (hence “Brownshirts”) and attracted war veterans, unemployed young men, and working-class Germans during the economic turmoil of the Weimar Republic. Led by Ernst Röhm, the SA grew rapidly during the late 1920s and early 1930s, eventually numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Their role in Hitler’s rise:

Street violence and intimidation**: The SA engaged in brutal street fights with communists and socialists, attacked political opponents, and disrupted rival parties’ meetings. They created an atmosphere of chaos and civil conflict that undermined confidence in the Weimar government.
Projecting strength and inevitability: Through massive rallies, marches, and their visible presence in brown uniforms, the SA made the Nazi movement appear powerful and unstoppable, attracting supporters who wanted to be on the “winning side.”
Terror tactics: They beat up Jews, vandalized Jewish businesses, and intimidated voters and political opponents. This violence helped suppress opposition while the Nazis maintained a veneer of legality.
Electoral intimidation: During elections in the early 1930s, the SA’s presence at polling places and their attacks on opponents helped create conditions favorable to Nazi electoral success.

After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the SA helped eliminate remaining opposition. However, Hitler later purged the SA leadership in the “Night of the Long Knives” (1934) when they became a political liability.

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