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ADAM ONE AND TWO

David Brooks (Author, Political and social commentator) Of course, Brooks means both men and women in his singular reference to Adam. In David Brook’s “The Road to Character”, the forces of nature are classified as Adam one and Adam two. Adam one is characterized by logic, and rationality. Adam two is characterized by sex-drive, instinct, … Continue reading “ADAM ONE AND TWO”

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough
(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Road to Character
Written by: David Brooks
Narration by: Arthur Morey, David Brooks

DAVID BROOKS (AUTHOR, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL COMMENTATOR-WRITES FOR THE NYT AND OTHER DAILY PAPERS)

David Brooks (Author, Political and social commentator)

In “The Road to Character”, David Brooks refers to Adam one and two (a nod to biblical creation) as two forces of nature embodied in all human beings.

Of course, Brooks means both men and women in his singular reference to Adam.

In David Brook’s “The Road to Character”, the forces of nature are classified as Adam one and Adam two. Adam one is characterized by logic, and rationality. Adam two is characterized by sex-drive, instinct, and emotion. Brooks suggests these characterizations apply to both sexes.

Of course, categorization of logic and instincts in human beings is not a revelation. But, Brooks notes these categorizations are the foundation for character. Brooks does a masterful job of recalling several historical figures that are the gravel base and pavement for his “…Road to Character” argument.

Because Brooks turns to the past, there is an inference, and some suggestion, that the present and future are threatened by an imbalance between logic and instinct; with a result that implies diminished character in modern times.

The seemingly erratic behavior of the past President of the United States offers evidence to support Brooks’ observation.

FRANCES PERKINS (1880-1945, SERVED AS U.S. SECY. OF LABOR 1933-1945)

Brooks recalls the first woman Cabinet Member, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Francis Perkins. Perkins is raised in a wealthy family in Maine, educated at Mount Holyoke College, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia. Perkins becomes the woman behind the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In spite of her wealthy upbringing, Perkins is incensed by poverty and its causes. Her “Adam one” tells her that poverty is not caused by lethargy or want of ambition but by social circumstance.

Perkins is drawn to this conclusion by the struggles of her own life and those around her. Perkins becomes engaged with humanity while struggling with a mentally deranged husband and a financially and emotionally dependent daughter. Perkins lives a life that shows she is not in control of “Adam two” but that “Adam one” can ameliorate through hard work and service to others. Perkins is a consummate organizer; i.e. an essential manager needed to make Roosevelt’s New Deal effective. She supports her husband and daughter throughout the struggles of her life.

Brooks goes on to give thumb nail histories of Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, Bayard Rustin, Mary Ann Eliot (aka George Eliot), Samuel Johnson, and others. In each vignette, Brooks outlines a struggle between “Adam and Eve one” and “Adam and Eve two” views of the world.

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1890-1969)

Brooks notes Eisenhower’s caddish dismissal of his long-term mistress as evidence of a character formed by an “Adam one” view of the world. The importance of Eisenhower’s duty to family, to position as President, and as example to country outweigh “Adam two” emotions of an illicit affair; i.e. he summarily dismisses his mistress with a memo.

Brooks suggests the importance of Eisenhower’s duty to family, to position as President reflect “Adam one” behavior that outweighs “Adam two” emotions of an illicit affair.

Brooks stories reflect on the agony felt by human beings struggling with logic and rationality, and its conflicts with spirit, sex drive, instinct, and emotion.

Jean Edward Smith’s “Eisenhower in War and Peace” reinforces Brook’s assessment.

Eisenhower engages Civil Rights conflicts during his presidency. However, his engagement is principally based on upholding “rule of law” when the Supreme Court settles Brown v. Board of Education.

One presumes Eisenhower’s political decisiveness is based on an “Adam one” belief in Constitutional enforcement of the law of the land. Eisenhower’s road to character is paved with “Adam one” duty. Jean Edward Smith’s “Eisenhower in War and Peace” reinforces Brook’s assessment.

The same case is made for General George Marshall. Duty-to-country is at the base of Marshall’s public “…Road to Character.”

GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL,
(1880-1959)

Like George Washington, Marshall serves his country without desire for fame or fortune but with a reasoned need to do what they perceive is right.

Like Washington, Marshall is a hard task master. He expects much from his army and from himself. He is confident, without being arrogant. He suppresses “Adam two” emotions to do his duty. He confronts obstacles directly. Outwardly, Marshall neither fears any man or position.

The folly of hubris is never evident in either Washington’s or Marshall’s actions but each is willing to do what their country asks of them. Brooks tells the story of Marshall wanting to lead the D-Day invasion but agreeing with Roosevelt’s decision to appoint Eisenhower, Marshall’s subordinate.

Harry Truman (1884-1972. 33rd President of the United States.)

Marshall intends to retire after the war but is called to duty by Truman to form the Marshall Plan for the recovery of Europe.

Ironically, the Marshall Plan cements Marshall’s name in history. The point being made by Brooks is that seeking fame is a fool’s road to character. Marshall did his duty. He did not seek fame. Fame found him through good works based on character.

Brooks notes how Marshall confronts General Pershing when he criticizes Marshall’s lesser command; and later, confronts Roosevelt when the suggestion is made that WWII will be a war of machines rather than men.

A surprising thumb nail history is given of Bayard Rustin, a black activist that happens to be gay. Rustin is compelled by “Adam two” emotions that drive him to serial relationships with men. Rustin is shut out of King’s march on Washington because of a threat from Adam Clayton Powell Jr. to expose an intimate King-Rustin relationship. Rustin remains in the movement but is forced to reduce his profile.

BAYARD RUSTIN (1912-1987, Social Movements leader for civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights.)

Brooks notes that Rustin is a primary influence in Martin Luther King’s non-violence, pacifist movement, founded on Gandhi’s philosophy of resistance.

Though Rustin’s “Adam two” sex-drive besmirched his character, “Adam one” logic placed him on the right side of history.

Another fine vignette is the story of Mary Ann Eliot; better known as George Eliot. Mary Ann is raised in a strict catholic environment. She rebels by denying the myths of Christ’s story of resurrection and healing. She firmly believes in God but not the truth of biblical apocryphal stories.

After Eliot’s father’s death, Mary Ann is driven by her emotions and sex-drive to become serially involved with men for gratification, attention, and recognition. This insatiable desire continues until she meets the love of her life, George Lewes.

It is Mary Ann Eliot’s courage to flaunt convention that paves her “…Road to Character.” Like Rustin, Eliot struggles with her personal life but through hard work and insight to human nature, she becomes a woman of substance and a writer of great human understanding.

George Lewes becomes Eliot’s muse, constructive critic, and eternal admirer. Eliot becomes the famous writer of “Middle March” and “The Mill on the Floss”. Lewes is characterized as a lesser light but exactly what Eliot needs to realize her literary gift.

George Henry Lewes (1817-1878, Philosopher, literary, theatre critic.)

Lewes is married but has a reputation for philandering. Eliot chooses to become Lewes companion in Europe in spite of the harm it would do her reputation.

Brooks profiles Samuel Adams and Montaigne in the last chapters of his book. They are equally well-formed men of character; forged in the face of human struggle.

In the end, Brooks suggests “The Road to Character” is defined by the base upon which the pavement is laid. What is troubling about Brooks’ conclusion is the inference that the way children were raised in the past is better than they are raised today. The inference is that children are not punished enough or are too coddled with praise to be motivated to achieve great and good things. Further, that today’s environment fails to build character because there is less understanding or appreciation of hard work and its rewards.

Brooks may be misreading today’s youth. Today’s youth are children longer than in the past. They also have more years to live. Human hardship will always be with us and even the coddled learn from mistakes made in their youth.

The substance of character has not changed but it may take more years to reveal it.

WORLD CITIZEN

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Sympathizer

Written by: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Narration by: Francois Chau

“The Sympathizer” defines the idea of a world citizen. It is the first novel of Viet Thanh Nguyen. In the beginning, “The Sympathizer”, Nguyen’s fictional hero, seems like another version of a war Americans would like to forget. Chugging through the story a listener nearly derails but the denouement spectacularly realigns one’s senses.

As widely acknowledged, America’s abandonment of Vietnam in 1973 left thousands of South Vietnamese soldiers in peril. (A scenario that may repeat itself in 2021 with America’s departure from Afghanistan, but that is another story).

In 1975, the last American marine leaves the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon. Nguyen’s novel begins with hard decisions made by South Vietnamese commanders to identify native supporters, and their families, who would or would not be saved by American military transport. Nguyen’s main fictional character is chosen to be one of the lucky evacuees. The irony of that selection is that he is a communist sympathizer, a spy.

LEAVING SAIGON — In 1975, the last American marine leaves the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon.

Nguyen’s spy is a Vietnamese outcast. He is one of the “children of the dust” noted in the musical “Miss Saigon”. He is a bastard son of a white American priest who seduces his teenage mother. As a sympathizer, he becomes an undercover agent working for a committed South Vietnamese general. It appears this communist sympathizer has gained the trust of the General by being the go-between for the murder of North Vietnam collaborators.

WHO SHOULD STAY-WHO SHOULD LEAVE — When evacuation from Saigon is imminent, the General asks the sympathizer to choose who should join them on their flight to America.

When evacuation from Saigon is imminent, the General asks the sympathizer to choose who should join them on their flight to America. The sympathizer has two close friends. One friend is a communist; the other is not. The three are “blood-oath” brothers, characterized as “The Three Musketeers”. The two friends are chosen by the sympathizer to go on the journey to America. The communist friend declines and stays in Vietnam to be the sympathizer’s handler; the other friend agrees to leave when his wife and son become collateral damage in the war. His communist friend tells the sympathizer to never come back to Vietnam. The significance of that statement becomes clear at the end of the story.

Most of the novel is about the sympathizer’s experience in America. He experiences a degree of freedom and independence never felt before. But he still reports to the General. His close non-communist friend is an assassin for actions demanded by the General. The sympathizer is the go-between when orders are given.

The obvious irony is that this communist sympathizer carries out orders to kill suspected communist sympathizers in America when he is the penultimate sympathizer.

The General is planning an insurgent action to be organized in Thailand to attack communists in Vietnam. The sympathizer’s best friend is selected as one of the people to go to participate in the insurgency. The sympathizer asks the General to let him go. However, his primary reason for going is to protect his friend. The General initially says no but recants when another suspected spy is targeted.

The General advises the go-between sympathizer that he does not feel he is qualified for the Thailand mission because he has never killed anyone himself. If he can murder the newly suspected spy, the General will let him go on the Thailand mission.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION TORTURE — The sympathizer, upon returning to Vietnam, is protected by his friend by using sleep deprivation to make him understand something he knows but cannot remember; the other is left to be physically tortured by camp rules, but not killed because of the camp commander’s orders.

The sympathizer haphazardly murders a suspected spy and goes to Thailand. The valued meaning of the story becomes clearer.

The sympathizer and his friend are caught by a communist cadre. The cadre is led by the communist friend (the third musketeer) that told the sympathizer to never come back to Vietnam.

Both the sympathizer and the non-communist friend are imprisoned, under the command of their communist friend. Under the guise of communist re-education, the communist friend protects his two blood-brothers. The sympathizer is protected by his friend by using sleep deprivation to make him understand something he knows but cannot remember; the other is left to be physically tortured by camp rules, but not killed because of the camp commander’s orders.

While many escaped death from America’s abandonment of the South Vietnamese, the communist friend who stayed is severely wounded from an American napalm attack. His experience from the severe wounds and life under communist rule appears to have taught him an indelible lesson.

NAPALM USED IN THE VIETNAM WAR — While many escaped death from America’s abandonment of the South Vietnamese, the communist friend who stayed is severely wounded from an American napalm attack.

The communist friend asks the sympathizer what is most important about being either a citizen of America or of Vietnam. After many days of sleep deprivation, the sympathizer says it is freedom and independence. Wrong says the friend. After more sleepless days, the sympathizer says death. Wrong again. Finally, after more wakeful nights, the sympathizer answers the question correctly.

CITIZEN OF THE WORLD — All people are citizens of the world.

The answer is a seven letter word–nothing. The answer cuts through political ideology. All people are human beings; subject to the sins of being human. All people are citizens of the world.

GLOBAL WARMING

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Written by: Elizabeth Kolbert

Narration by: Anne Twomey

ELIZABETH KOLBERT (AUTHOR,AMERICAN JOURNALIST,PROFESSOR AT WILLIAMS COLLEGE)

Homo sapiens are the only species that has the capacity to change events to conform to plan.

Elizabeth Kolbert argues that the fate of life on earth is subject to the randomness of nature’s cataclysmic events and the will of society.

“The Sixth Extinction” recounts the history of five worldwide extinctions. In recounting that history, Kolbert and most scientists suggest there is a pending sixth extinction. The difference between the first five and a presumed sixth is the birth and maturity of humankind.

To some listeners, this story is tiresome. It is tiresome because the future seems so far away. It is tiresome because some think it a hoax. It is tiresome because humans are an adaptive species. It is tiresome because some believe it is God’s plan. It is tiresome because science says extinction is a part of evolutionary science.

TRUMP’S VIEW ON CLIMATE CHANGE: trump and climate change

A fatalist might read Kobert’s book and think it implies a “…Sixth Extinction” is inevitable, regardless of one’s belief. President Trump and other “do-nothings” sing “Be Happy, Don’t Worry”. There is nothing that can be done; so why try?

The truth is– much can be done to abate the consequence of wild fires, hurricanes, and other cataclysmic events.

Cities can be hardened against flooding.
Forests can be better managed.
At risk populations can be permanently relocated. It’s a matter of recognition of threat and political will to mitigate environmental consequence.

hurricane

global warming evidence In spite of, earth’s rising average temperatures, melting icebergs, and seashore flooding, the story of extinction offers no sense of urgency.

Some believe wildlife extinction is a part of the natural order of existence; others, a cataclysm of human-caused events, while coreligionists believe it is a part of “God’s” plan. And finally Kolbert and others believe science will provide a solution for humans to escape extinction.

Kolbert’s book is popular, and is awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction because she writes well and has a point of view that offers hope for the future of humanity. She infers science will provide a plan for humans to escape extinction. On the one hand, Kolbert decries the death of bat species, the acidification of earth’s oceans, and the loss of coral reefs. On the other, she suggests human life prevails because it has shown capacity to change.

TRUMP AND CLIMATE CHANGE — The real fear that Kolbert, and many other journalists, scientists, and politicians talk about, is that society will not respond to manmade degradations of earth’s environment soon enough to delay an inevitable “…Sixth Extinction”.

Kolbert infers artificial preservation of endangered species is a fool’s errand in the face of habitat destruction. After all, what is the point of preserving a species in a zoo or in a frozen state of animation if natural habitats are destroyed?

SPECIES EXTINCTIONS — Another way of interpreting Kolbert’s theme is to argue that loss of life’s diversity is a consequence of earth becoming an island of sameness. She calls loss of diversity is an island of sameness because environmental degradation introduces the same bacteria, the same pollutants, and the same adaptive needs to survive.

Biodiversity becomes less possible because of the interconnectedness of continents, consequent to international travel and species introduction to all continents of the world.

One may argue this is the fault of human civilization. That seems wasted intellectualization. The advance of civilization naturally induces loss of biodiversity. But, Kolbert’s theme suggests interconnectedness is only a proximate cause of loss of biodiversity. She argues it does not have to be a cause for a “…Sixth Extinction”.

Kolbert’s argument reminds one of the Serenity Prayer:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.”

CHANGING EVENTS TO CONFORM TO PLAN

“The Sixth Extinction” notes that human beings are the only species that shows the capacity to change events to conform to plan.

What humanity needs is the political will to mitigate the causes of human environmental pollution. It is not that a “…Sixth Extinction” will not occur, but human beings need not be the proximate cause.

GOD IS NOT THERE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Written by: James Baldwin

Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White

JAMES BALDWIN (1924-1987 AMERICAN NOVELIST & SOCIAL CRITIC) — JAMES BALDWIN (1924-1987 AMERICAN NOVELIST, SOCIAL CRITIC)

Go Tell It on the Mountain because God is not there. Go Tell It on the Mountain because no one listens. Go Tell It on the Mountain because no one cares. James Baldwin rages against culture that makes one, what one is not. Baldwin wins fame from a book that defines the chains of discrimination. He explains why and how culture is a curse. Baldwin tells a story that explains why being different denies equal opportunity.

Go Tell It on the Mountain is partly auto biographical. It tells of the author’s remembrance of his childhood and formative years. In broad perspective, Go Tell It on the Mountain shows how Americans are born as equals but deprived of potential by culture. Though published in 1953, the truth of Baldwin’s observations about culture is institutionalized in America.

Baldwin writes a story about three economic opportunities for early 20^th century black Americans. They are announced by Baldwin as robber, pimp, or preacher. Today, some believe blacks are still not suited for more.

STEREOTYPING — Only when human beings are treated as equal will stereotypes disappear.

Baldwin’s story is about two fathers of the same boy. One is the natural father; the other is a stepfather. The birth father is characterized as naturally smart. He moves from the rural south to the urban north with a woman he does not marry. The father is arrested for being at a store when two black men rob it. Because the father is in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is sent to jail for trial. The father is accused but not convicted. He is so shaken by the experience; he slits his wrists and dies. What would this father have become if he had not been arrested and jailed? The innate skill of a human being may be a combination of genetics and environment but if one’s color says you can only be a robber, a pimp, a preacher, a sports star, or an entertainer; being smart is not enough. Only when human beings are treated as equal will stereotypes disappear.

BLACK PREACHER — The irony of a stepfather/ preacher’s abuse is that he is biblically as sinful as most human beings. (In retrospect, knowing that Baldwin is gay, one surmises how abusive a religious stepfather might be.)

The second father of the same boy, a stepfather, also gravitates from the rural south to the north but he is older and knows success as a preacher. He is not characterized as particularly smart but he believes in God and talks the talk of a good man who will rescue an unwed mother and her child from a life of despair. However, the stepfather is a martinet. He severely punishes his wife and children for what he considers sin or disrespect. The irony of the preacher’s abuse is that he is biblically as sinful as most human beings. (In retrospect, knowing that Baldwin is gay, one surmises how abusive a religious stepfather might be.)

What makes Baldwin’s book important is its reflection on a part of American culture that denies equal opportunity for all. A smart man kills himself because he is black and has experienced the hate and inequality of discrimination. A preacher beats his wife and sons because he believes he has a right, given by God, to assay sin and punish those who violate his limited understanding.

Being smart or being religious is not enough; particularly if you are a minority or a woman because cultures stultify individuality and restrict opportunity. Individuality and opportunity are hindered by poor education and biases that are eternally engendered (institutionalized) by discrimination. Blacks have shown they are more than criminals, preachers, sports stars, and entertainers. And women have shown they are more than child bearers and housewives but America continues to struggle with equal opportunity for all. Baldwin exemplifies America’s struggle in Go Tell It on the Mountain.

RUSSIAN REALPOLITIK

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Red Notice

Written by: Bill Browder

Narration by: Adam Grupper

WILLIAM FELIX BROWDER (AKA BILL BROWDER-CEP AND CO-FOUNDER OF HERMITAGE CAPTIAL MANAGEMENT, NOTED CRITIC OF PUTIN)

If only a few of Bill Browder’s facts and accusations are true, the realpolitik of Vladimir Putin shocks the senses. “Red Notice” reflects on the diplomacy of Russian power.

In his book, “Red Notice”, Browder tells a story that implies Putin is a thug. Browder infers that Putin will lie, steal, and murder with the brutality of Joseph Stalin, the cunning of Machiavelli, and the tenacity of Genghis Kahn. Browder believes Putin uses his position as President to acquire wealth as second only to his desire for power.

Acquiring wealth is something Browder knows quite a lot about. William Browder is an investment fund manager/partner who ventures into Russia at the beginning of glasnost. Russian businesses and industries became private rather than state-owned enterprises at the end of the 20th century.

Beginning in 1996, Browder and his investors assemble a capital investment fund worth billions of dollars in 2005. Browder began the fund with other people’s money. The fund becomes known as Hermitage Capital Management. As a result of his analysis, Browder’s investment group buys Russian assets at steeply undervalued prices. He earns over two hundred million dollars per year for himself in 2006 and 2007.

BROWDER’S STORY OF HERMITAGE CAPITAL:

In 2005, Browder is deported by the Russian government. In 2006, Browder is black listed by the Russian government as a “threat to national security”. In March of 2013, the bank that serves as trustee and manager of Hermitage Capital Management announces it will cease funding operations in Russia. Browder gleefully points out in “Red Notice” that all of Hermitage Capital Management assets had been surreptitiously withdrawn in 2007. Browder is presently being sued in absentia by the Russian Government for tax evasion. Therein lays a tale of suspicious deaths, human greed, and conspiracy.

Browder assembles a great deal of evidence that suggests two people are murdered; that murder’ accomplices are paid a great deal of money, and that President Putin either sets the example for thuggish behavior or is complicit in a scheme that defrauds the Russian people.

DUTCH JOURNALISM’S INVESTIGATION OF THE RISE OF PUTIN:

SERGEI MAGNITSKY (1972-2009, RUSSIAN ACCOUNTANT AND AUDITOR VITIMIZED IN RUSSIA--WORKED FOR BILL BROWDER) — SERGEI MAGNITSKY (1972-2009, RUSSIAN ACCOUNTANT AND AUDITOR VITIMIZED IN RUSSIA–WORKED FOR BILL BROWDER)

The two alleged murders are Sergie Magnitsky and Alexander Perepilichnyy. Magnitsky dies in the custody of the Russian government. He is identified as an attorney in Browder’s book but research suggests he is not licensed as an attorney in Russia. Magnitsky discovers a scheme by Russian government employees to recover taxes paid by Browder’s companies in Russia. The scheme is based on charges that the companies that paid the taxes were illegally pilfered by Browder’s investment company. The companies were transferred, without Browder’s knowledge or authorization, to shell company Russian owners. These owners are found to be two officers in the Russian secret police. The new owners suggest the companies they own have been pilfered and that they should be reimbursed for taxes that were paid to the government because of Browder’s fraudulent transfer of worthless assets.

Magnitsky and two Russian lawyers present evidence to the Russian government about the fraud being perpetrated by the two Russian officers. The two Russian lawyers decide to flee their country when they believe they are going to be arrested. Magnitsky believes facts speak for themselves; that he is safe, and the government will recognize and arrest the real criminals. Magnitsky is arrested, beaten, and dies in prison. The two officers, Artem Kuznetxov, and Pavel Karpov remain free.

MAJOR KARPOV EXPOSE:

ALEXANDER PEREPILICHNY (OLIGARCH THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MURDERED AT AGE 44 FOR EXPOSING RUSSIAN TAX FRAUD CASE ASSOCIATED WITH BROWDER INVESTIGATION)

Alexander Perepilichny was a Russian business man who defected from Russia in 2009. Perepilichny dies at the front door of his residence in the UK. Magnitsky was a forensic accountant in Russia. Living in England in 2012, he contacts Browder to say he has evidence of how the Moscow tax office rebated taxes to the two government officials. Browder contacts the chief constable of Surrey in England to tell them of Perepilichny’s evidence. Browder accuses Russian officers of fraud, costing the Russian state $230 million dollars.

Three videos of the alleged fraudsters are created as evidence of the Russian officers’ fraud. The evidence relies on their life style versus the income they receive from the Russian government. In Browder’s book, this evidence is overlaid with the prosecution of Russian oligarchs by Putin with the inference that those oligarchs that do not offer money to Putin are at risk of being jailed.

SYNOPSIS OF THE MAGNITSKY CASE:

“Red Notice” is a powerful statement about one man’s view of Vladimir Putin. As noted at the beginning of this review, “if only a few of Bill Browder’s facts and accusations are true…” Putin’s reputation, if not his power and wealth, are diminished. At the same time, Browder’s ludicrously large capitalist windfall at the expense of the Russian economy, and two Russian’ deaths, does little for his reputation.

THE NATURE OF CORRUPTION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security

Written by: Sarah Chayes

Narration by: Sarah Chayes

SARAH CHAYES (AUTHOR, SENIOR ASSOCIATE IN THE DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW PROGRAM AT CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE)

Unquestionably, Hamid Karzai and his administration were corrupt during his ten years as President of Afghanistan. There is ample proof of corruption. “Thieves of State” is a tiresome revelation by an author one admires for confronting state sanctioned corruption. However, Sarah Chayes etiology for corruption is askew.

As Sarah Chayes notes, Mubarak’s government in Egypt was comparably corrupt. Chayes ten years in Afghanistan and her ability to speak Arabic offer tremendous credibility to her observations. However, her suggestion that corruption threatens global security is tiresome because “Thieves of State” exist in all forms of government, including the United States.

HOSNI MUBARAK (FOURTH PRESIDENT OF EGYPT 1981-2011)

Most, if not all, governments have some level of corruption because their leaders are human. In Afghanistan, Karzai protects his family’s interest by allowing his brother to sell land at high prices when it is virtually given to him by the government.

President Trump chooses to stay involved in the management of his corporate interests around the world. His justification is day-to-day management is in the hands of his sons. How credible is that argument?

HAMID KARZAI (PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN 2004-2014) Karzai protects government functionaries that require bribes for favors because they are loyal to him.

Trump has tweeted that loyalty, above all, is expected from the people who report to him. Trump chooses to use government functionaries that are closely tied to industries that the government intends to regulate. When does loyalty become more important than fair-dealing?

Greed is a part of human nature. It is disingenuous to think Vice President Cheney did not have an interest in seeing his former employer become the military supplier in the Iraq war.

Money, power, and prestige motivate all human beings. Societies only defense is government regulation but even that is subject to human nature and motivational force.

Rod Blagojevich (Former Governor of Illinois)

Desire for money, power, and prestige has no political party. It is in the nature of all humankind. Ironically, President Trump sets Rod Blagojevich free at the end of his presidency.

The irony is multifold. Trump is elected as a Republican, Blagojevich is elected as a Democrat. Trump is alleged to have tried to bribe a foreign head of state. Blagojevich is alleged to have tried to bribe a former President. Both choose use their elective offices to advance their ambition for more money, power, and prestige.

Chayes is absolutely right when writing about how important it is to listen to the general population about their government and its affect on their lives. Only then can one gain some understanding of a nation’s corruption. The consequence of human nature’s truths are dire. Human nature’s truth, when added to an outsider’s cultural misunderstandings, can be catastrophic.

Chayes suggests that an Afghani citizen will refuse to warn Afghani policemen of an IED “…because policemen require bribes to do their job”. Chayes concludes “…corruption is a threat to global security”.

This is a reasonable conclusion but what can an outsider do about it? Correction of corrupt practices can only come from the people who are governed. America can only lead by example; not by force of arms. America fails itself and the countries it forcefully tries to change. Yesterday it was Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq– today it is Afghanistan.

KARL MARX (BORN TRIER, GERMANY 1818-DIED LONDON, ENGLAND 1883) History shows that cultural outsiders destroy national comity and identity. Marx was an outsider in the Russian revolution but he formed the basis for communism’s takeover of Russia.

Lenin, Stalin, and to a lesser extent, Trotsky (all indigenous Russians) changed the government based on an outsider’s machinations. The same can be said of Mao’s China and Castro’s Cuba. Change comes from an outsider’s interference; while revolution only comes from within. The only consequential role an outsider like Chayes can play is publicizing indigenous public discontent. That is the true value of her observations in “Thieves of State”.

Chayes points to a Nigerian oil CEO who makes $1,000,000 per year. Chayes exposure of kleptocracy in Nigeria is only legally different from that which exists in the United States. The difference is that kleptocracy in America is legalized by a stable government. Robert Walker of Andarko Petroleum makes over $15,000,000 per year. American tax subsidies and American tax policy subsidize the oil industry. THIS TYPE OF CORRUPTION IS LEGAL IN AMERICA.

The American government protects CEO incomes that reinforce a widening gap between rich and poor. At least two of President Trump’s cabinet are billionaires and most are multi-millionaires. Few of the super-rich have much interest in, or concern for, the poor.

Chayes’ book would be more interesting if she had contrasted America’s corruption with Afghanistan’s. She limits her comparisons to medieval Eastern, African, and European cultures. Listening to “Thieves of State” is off-putting because America, like all nation-states, have some level of corruption; i.e. legalized corruption is still corruption.

Invading Afghanistan is understandable because of its role in harboring terrorists. However, it is a waste of American lives to believe an outsider’s intervention will change the hearts and minds of an indigenous population.

If America makes the mistake of invading Iraq or throwing money at the Afghanistan economy, it is only we Americans who are to blame. It is not only the fault of Afghani or Iraqi corruption. It is the innate nature of humanity. Fault lays at the feet of an outside country invading a foreign culture.

Respectfully, Chayes invested her time in understanding Afghanistan which puts her far and away ahead of most Americans but she misses the root cause of corruption which is unregulated human nature. That is why many countries that have poor government regulation turn to religion.

If a secular government cannot regulate human nature, Taliban-like martinets fill the vacuum with public executions or Mullah Dictates. Neither secular nor religious governance is a guarantee of perfect human justice, equality, or equity. Justice, equality, and equity must come from the desire of indigenous populations.

A CHILLING VIEW

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Death of the Adversary: A Novel

Written by: Hans Keilson, Ivo Jarosy

Narration by: James Clamp

“The Death of the Adversary” is a chilling view of the rise of Nazism in Germany. Hans Keilson never mentions the word Jew or Hitler in his novel about the 1930s but notions of history inform the listener of what Keilson is writing about. Names are not named because Keilson writes the story while hiding during WWII. He flees Germany to join the Dutch resistance when denied the opportunity to practice medicine as a Jew.

The main character of Keilson’s novel refuses to believe his father or acquaintances at work and school of the threat of the unnamed adversary in Germany. This anti-hero pursues his life as though the threat of Nazism would pass without affecting his life. However, as events unfold, the anti-hero hears the radio voice of “…the Adversary” and begins to understand the underlying murderous intent of a charismatic political actor who will turn German lives upside down.

words matter — The realized terror is that spoken words by one actor can lead to a genocidal mania on the part of a chosen people.

Keilson writes of a speech given by “…the Adversary” to give the reader/listener some insight to the power of words in the hands of a consummate actor. It is a terrifying realization both to the anti-hero and the reader/listener of Keilson’s book. The realized terror is that spoken words by one actor can lead to a genocidal mania on the part of a chosen people.

There is relevance in Keilson’s story for events today. Pundits and politicians use words to victimize and terrify immigrants, and minorities in the same despicable language of yesterday.

Next, Keilson tells a story of a meeting at a friend’s house where several young men congregate to discuss a local incident participated in by one of the young men. The anti-hero’s friend is a woman who is employed at his place of work. One of the young men is her brother. It appears the young men are relatively close friends that choose to allow the anti-hero into their conversation. One of the youngest tells of his recruitment in an obscure organization. He volunteers to go on a night mission under the organization’s leader.

The recruitment is for a team of hooligans to desecrate the graves of a cemetery which one presumes is a particular ethnic graveyard. The purpose is to defile the memory of a particular graveyard and the common beliefs which it represents. Some of the participants are ambivalent about the mission but go along with the leader’s direction. Head stones are overturned and graves are shat on.

GRAVEYARD DESECRATION — The anti-hero of Kielson’s story volunteers to go on a night mission under the organization’s leader. The recruitment is for a team of hooligans to desecrate the graves of a cemetery which one presumes is a particular ethnic graveyard.

BATTERED SUIT CASE — Keilson recounts the love and guilt of his anti-hero by explaining how his father prepares a suitcase for himself, his wife, and his son.

Keilson recounts the love and guilt of his anti-hero by explaining how his father prepares a suitcase for himself, his wife, and his son. The suitcase for the parents is preparation for the knock on the door in the middle of the night. The parents do not plan to leave their country in spite of the danger which the father knows. The suitcase for the son is for him to escape the country. The son seems resigned to let life happen. He is an anti-hero that is prepared to let events control his life; even though the consequence may be the loss of his parents.

The final chapters offer the anti-hero the opportunity to kill “…the Adversary”. He chooses not to and history shows his decision to be both right and wrong. It is right in light of the ultimate death of “…the Adversary” because of actions of others to stop his reign of terror. It seems wrong because of the death of many (particularly the anti-hero’s parents), and his failure to confront “…the Adversary” before it was too late.

One is compelled to wonder about oneself in listening to Keilson’s story. Who will choose to confront the adversary? Who will “go along to get along”?

REDEPLOYMENT

Commanders say we do not shoot children, but children are killed. Long range artillery and drones mask the consequence of killing.

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Redeployment

Written by: Phil Klay

Narration by: Craig Klein

PHIL KLAY (AMERICAN WRITER, MARINE VETERAN WHO SERVED IN ANBAR IRAQ 1.2007-2.2008)

“Redeployment” is a work of fiction. It is written by Phil Klay, a Marine officer who served in Iraq in 2007/2008. (Klay is the winner of the 2014 National Book Award for fiction for stories written in this book.) “Redeployment” is about military’ enlistment, deployment, redeployment, and combat.

recruiter — There is an unpaid price for a military recruit who goes into combat. The price is unseen and unknown until after it is experienced. Those who first join have no idea what is in store for them when placed in a circumstance of killing or being killed.

Joining the military, particularly when one is in their teens or early twenties, is often an escape.

Enlistment is often a way to escape (or transition) from parental control, poverty, or life’s rudderlessness. For a few, military enlistment is an adventure, a career, an opportunity to get in shape, a chance to see the world. For others, joining may be a family tradition, a romantic notion of defending one’s country, a desire to impress parents, guardians, or friends.

One of Klay’s characters joins because of financial help offered by the service to pay for an education; another character joins because of family tradition, another because it impresses his father. Klay’s stories offer insight by explaining most reasons are too simple, or clearly misunderstood by new recruits.

VIETNAM WAR — Klay’s stories show that training for combat is not being in combat. Military training creates a sense of team entitlement, i.e., of being tougher, more unified, more capable and important than civilians. Training is meant to break-down individualism. Military training masks the humanity of anyone that is not part of the team.

Orders are orders. Hierarchy of command is inviolable. If a commander orders flattening of a town, soldiers are expected to act without thinking and remember without conscience. Soldiers are able to act by dehumanizing those outside of their team. In Vietnam humans become gooks. In Iraq humans become towel heads. These are tricks of propaganda that allow short-term actions but often fail to leave soldiers’ consciences.

Klay tells the story of a soldier who wants to know how many of an enemy are killed in a bombardment. The soldier asks if there was an investigation. The commander says no and sees no reason. The soldier visits a behind-the-lines’ command post which cares for the dead. He asks if a team will be sent to the site that has been bombarded. The NCO asks if Americans were killed. The soldier says no. The NCO answers the question–“No, there is no investigation because we only concern ourselves with our own”.

BASEBALL IN THE VIETNAM WAR — Klay tells the story of the American financier that donates baseball equipment for Marines to teach Iraqi children how to play baseball. The request goes up and down military channels despite the ludicrous misapprehension of what is really happening in Iraq. A Marine officer is ordered to comply with the request to mollify the uniformed or ignorant financier’s request.

Another story is written about a civilian contractor hired to build a waterpower station in an Iraqi community. The Marine assigned to oversee the utility installation is told by a local Iraqi that the pumping station being built will create too much pressure and blow-up the plumbing in town. The Marine explains the problem to the civilian contractor, but it does not stop the project. It is an assignment that is being paid by the American government whether it works or not. All the contractor is concerned about is completing the job and being paid. Klay offers more stories, i.e., equally appalling–examples of wasted dollars and efforts to rebuild Iraq.

Klay writes of the misunderstandings that compound America’s mistakes in Iraq. There is the story of the Egyptian American recruit that speaks Egyptian Arabic but does not know Iraqi Arabic and must learn the difference on his own because the military believes there is no difference.

The character Klay creates who oversees the water plant construction and an Iraqi baseball assignment is also responsible for producing Iraqi jobs. This Marine’s civilian subcontractors are often ill-equipped to do what needs to be done. One of the opportunities is farming but the civilian subcontractor assigned to help knows nothing about farming.

Another story is of an Iraqi who starts a women’s clinic to help women in Iraq who need medical assistance. However, because her clinic is not creating enough jobs, there is little financial assistance to expand the service. Klay implies Iraq is a “Bizarro World” where no one seems to communicate understandably, and most act without accomplishment.

BIZZARO WORLD OF WAR

Klay implies the experience of becoming a Marine saturates the being of some soldiers. Their experience in combat and the comradeship of belonging compels re-enlistment and/or redeployment. Being a civilian becomes too unstructured. In some cases, Klay suggests civilian life is threatening to a soldier with experience of combat. Some redeployed soldiers become command officers that live in a world of only “us and them” with all of “them” as expendable sub-human beings.

America’s pending departure from Iraq is a betrayal of “you broke it, you fix it”. America tried and failed. In that failure, the realization is–“the fix” can only be made by Iraqi leaders. Iraq’s dilemma is America’s forgotten lesson of Vietnam.

(Baghdad Bombing kills 32 and wounds over 100 on January 21, 2021.) Baghdad Bombin kills 32 and wounds over 100 1.12.21

In a final story, Klay writes of a Marine veteran horribly disfigured by an IED. A Marine that joined and served in the same place and at the same time as the disfigured veteran is a close friend. The uninjured friend stays in touch with his fellow ex-Marine. They recall old times. They are close friends, but the IED has so profoundly changed their relationship that the friendship has devolved into a friendship of un-equals. Intimate civilian relationships, taken for granted by both before disfigurement, are now probabilistically experienced by only one of the friends. Klay’s stories show that combat is a psychological, often physical life changing experience.

Klay is a veteran. He seems to be saying it is important to understand what it means to become a soldier before signing up. “Redeployment” is neither right or wrong, but it can be right and wrong. The best civilians and soldiers can do is “try to do right”.

A MISOGYNIST SEA

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A Room of One’s Own

Written by: Virginia Woolf

Narration by: Juliet Stevenson

VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882-1941, BRITISH AUTHOR, A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME)

Virginia Woolf is a woman outside of time. As Woolf implies in the early twentieth century, women are drowning in a misogynist sea. Woolf is born when female inequality breaches the existential threat with a first wave; i.e. Women’s Suffrage in 1920. The preeminent feminist, Betty Friedan, is just born (actually, 1921). (Friedan later writes “The Feminine Mystique”–published in 1963.)

“A Room of One’s Own” is a contemplation on why women are underrepresented as great poets or fiction writers. With the exception of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Woolf suggests there are no 19^th century women renowned for fiction. Apocryphally, the unlikely story of Lincoln saying “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War” is an apt coda for the insignificance of the public’s view of women writers.

EMILY DICKINSON (1830-1886, AMERICAN POET, PRODUCED 1,800 POEMS IN 40 HANDBOUND VOLUMES)

(As one listens to her complaint, one thinks about Emily Dickinson. However, Dickenson did have a room of her own.)

Woolf wittily skewers male paragons of the pen and their misogynist comments about women. She sets the table for an explanation of why there is no female Shakespeare’, erudite Johnson’, or Longfellow word smiths.

Woolf’s point is that women had no money because they were dependent on men or family inheritance. Often, young ladies are discouraged from college by their families who feel marriage and bearing of children are their primary duties. Without educational support and few opportunities for gainful employment, women only had money if they inherited it or married a wealthy husband. Without money, there is little opportunity for independence; without money, there is little chance of having “A Room of One’s Own”.

There are many examples to support Woolf’s observation about money and the luxury of contemplation, having a room of your own. Michel de Montaigne’s essays are spectacular observations of life and living but the key to his success is in wealth that allows him time for observation and contemplation of life. He had a room of his own. In Woolf’s lifetime there were few women who had such luxury. Have things changed? Maybe, but #MeToo suggests women’s independence and wealth still involves misogyny.

In the last section of her lecture Woolf notes women write fiction with a mixture of public disdain and admiration. Disdain from implied colorlessness in writing but admiration for a twist in a story that suggests a first-time female author has potential.

Misogyny still roils the sea but more women writers have a room of their own. The second wave is forty years in the future but Friedan steadies the helm-bearing toward equality. At $.79 cents to the dollar in the 21st century, there is still a long way to go.

The frightening prospect of a Taliban government in Afghanistan is more threatening than wage differences in the U.S. The only concession they have recently made is to ban forced marriage of women. This is not to diminish America’s misogynist history but to show how backward and unfair the world can be to women.

However, for realization of potential, Woolf suggests the author needs to have a room of her own to have time to think and reflect. To prove Woolf’s bona fides, she ends “A Room of Her Own” with short stories. They are beautifully written and worthy of the theme of which she writes.

As Aristotle once said, contemplation is the highest form of activity for the soul. Woolf implies great literature; great fiction, and poetry come from authors who have time and a room of their own.

WIRED TO CREATE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

Written by: Scott Barry Kaufman, Carolyn Gregorie

Narration by: Nick Podehl

CAROLYN GREGORIE (SCIENCE WRITER FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST)

SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN (AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR, SCIENCE WRITER)

The book “Wired to Create” is an internet sensation. It began as an article in the Huffington Post; written by Carolyn Gregorie. Based on the article, she co-writes a book with psychologist Scott Kaufman. The book is promoted as a loss leader (no charge) to attract customers to Google e-books and other internet savvy vendors. The book’s popularity is in the argument that intelligence is only one characteristic of a creative mind. With IQ as only one characteristic of creativity, the field of human subjects who fit the definition of creative is broadened.

PICASSO'S BULL'S HEAD — PICASSO’S BULL’S HEAD

Scientists, inventors, artists, sales people, mechanics, technicians, sports stars, and other unnamed categories of people are “Wired to Create”. This is no revelation. It is not unusual to find friends or acquaintances that are able to think in three dimensions, rotate objects in their mind, come up with solutions to complex problems, or create art out of ordinary things. Some of these creative people are great explainers; others are introverted and non-communicative. Some recall events in perfect detail; others only remember broad outlines. Some create art out of nothing; others say nothing about art but build cathedrals.

ST. SERNIN, TOLOUSE, FRANCE — ST. SERNIN, CATHEDRAL IN TOLOUSE, FRANCE

Kaufman and Gregorie identify some characteristics of creative minds. There is the ability to hold opposing concepts in mind while rendering something never thought of before; i.e. like a work of art that shows planes of a human face from every angle in two dimensions. There is a disruptive quality in a person with a creative mind. That disruption is often seen in school students who cannot sit still, are always talking, and are constantly interrupting class activities. It is the creative teacher who handles the disruption to gain participation of all students, including the disrupter.

Kaufman and Gregorie mention famous creative geniuses like Einstein, Edison, Wozniak, and Jobs who exhibit creativity in varied but similar ways. Einstein may rise above the others because of a creative universality but each exhibit a passion and intensity for what they think and do. Edison and Jobs are super salesmen; Wozniak is a tinkerer; Einstein is a conceptualizer. To varying degrees each practices the others’ skills.

“Wired to Create” notes that creativity is not restricted to either introverts or extroverts. Creativity encompasses all sociological categories. Creativity comes from persistence and resilience; driven by passion.

MIND DECONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF EVENTS — (Competing theories of learning suggest human brain interaction with environment is too complex to measure; i.e. the way the brain reacts when stimulated by the environment is, at best, an evolving mystery.)

THOMAS EDISION (1847-1931, AMERICAN INVENTOR, BUSINESSMAN CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE AMERICA'S GREATEST INVENTOR) — THOMAS EDISION (1847-1931, AMERICAN INVENTOR)

The authors note the many failures of creative people; e.g. people like Edison and J. K. Rowling. The authors note that only a handful of Edison’s thousands of patented inventions were successful.

J. K. ROWLING (MOST FAMOUS FOR THE HARRY POTTER SERIES)

Rowling had many publishers turn Harry Potter down until one publisher accepted her work. The tortured personality theory of creativity is addressed by the authors but it is only one of many factors that make people think what they think and do what they do. As noted with Einstein, Edison, Wozniak, Jobs and Rowling not all creative people are aberrantly affected by hyper activity, repeated failure, or intense focus. Kaufman and Gregorie imply some creative people may have tortured personalities but correlation is not causation.

PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903, PAINTER, SCULPTUR) — PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903, PAINTER, SCULPTOR)

Gauguin is financially unsuccessful as an artist in his lifetime because of the public’s rejection of his work. Gauguin’s paintings are sold for millions today. Kaufman and Gregorie imply creativity is no guarantee of money, success, or happiness. Gauguin’s lack of success may have led to use of drugs but it seems as likely that penury and failed acceptance, rather than misunderstood creativity, is the proximate cause of death. Taking drugs is a malady of the uncreative as well as the creative.

Vincent van Gogh, a contemporary of Gauguin, commits himself to an asylum in which he paints one of his most revered works of art, “The Starry Night”. However, like Gauguin, van Gogh is never financially successful. Gauguin and van Gogh succumb to the stresses of life; not because they are creative but because they are poor and unable to cope with their perceived failure.

VINCENT VAN GOGH (ONE OF MANY RENOWNED SELF PORTRAITS BECAUSE VAN GOGH COULD NOT AFFORD MODELS.)

Kaufman and Gregorie broaden the definition of creativity. However, there seems little revelation in their suggestion that creativity comes from intense interest, average or higher IQs, hard work, and persistence in the face of rejection. Talk of left brain, right brain activity, and frontal lobe brain waves are unconvincing physiological origins of creativity. Play theory seems passé. Competing theories of learning suggest human brain interaction with environment is too complex to measure; i.e. the way the brain reacts when stimulated by the environment is, at best, an evolving mystery. Mysteries of the creative mind remain undiscovered.

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