The Weekly Bullets
6 things I'm thinking about
Write & Lift is an ethos of personal and spiritual development through conscious physical exertion and practice of the writing craft. Through this effort to strengthen our bodies and minds, we become anti-fragile and self-respecting sovereign individuals. Through this effort, we may stand against untruth and evil and create a new culture of vitality, strength, and virtue.
1. Curtis Yarvin and the “Lie of History”
In Curtis Varvin’s Fascicle 1: Disturbance he speaks about the “lie” of history. This is different from the reactionary “globalist” speak of Alex Jones or other dissident conservatives. Yarvin’s contention with our view of history—and any view of history for that matter—is the impossibility of any real Historiography. Primary sources are the best we can do; even then, they can never tell the full story.
In this way, all of history is nothing more than an educated guess, informed by our own biases, preconceptions, and moral tunnel vision. He draws an interesting comparison; North Korea knows that Americans exist, but they don’t have any real or tangible understanding of who we are. Historically, Americans are like North Koreans. We can learn about the Requinquista or Chinese Civil War, but fundamentally, we know very little about the mindset of the people who lived through these times.
Another example Yarvin presents:
Abraham Lincoln, the great emancipator, was more of a white supremacist than the most virulent white supremacist in America today. Lincoln says:
I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races—that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermingling with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which will ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior. I am as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.
In Lincoln’s time, this was a commonly held opinion. How can we draw a political analog between our times? Would George Washington—taking a long look at our current political shitshow—align himself with modern “liberal democracy”, or would he resemble a monarchical perspective that he strove to guard against.
2. From Dust to Dust
“Old America is dying” is not a meme or a sign of jaded cynicism. Pull off the interstate, and you’ll see it—time capsules of an alien era. Banks, stores, bars, and gas stations; crawling with vines and leaking water from their roofs. Analog cash registers, mops still sitting in buckets, crumbling street sprouting with weeds and native grasses.
The internet has opened us up to the reality of this lost America. Divorced from any sense of “realness;” another strip mall, another three-lane “town square” flanked by fast food joints and corporate banks, it makes sense why we mythologize these forgotten towns. I certainly do. Imagine the normal people: dressed well, talking in the streets, Church bells ringing on Sunday, watering their garden in the front yard—turning to look at the steam of the train rising slowly over the horizon. Who were the socialites? Who was the beloved teacher and doctor? Where did the mercurial hobo sleep at night, and who cultivated his legend?
Whoever is left in Cairo, Illinois, who has lived and stayed in this crumbling city, must be interviewed. A new iteration of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA Federal Writers' Project (FWP), wherein he sent writers across the country to capture the stories and lives of everyday people. Hundreds of thousands of stories are waiting for us in this hidden corners places long forgotten.
For those who find romance in decay, the next question is: What’s next? Can these places be saved? Who would want to?
The daydreamer thinks of a commune, hundreds of hands gutting the old facades and building anew. But how tenable is this? When the long winters and winds come through, when the first families leave, when the work is stalled, who will stay?
These towns have no industry, schools, or grocery stores. But they do have a story. Do we have the same grit and resilience to rebuild and preserve this old world? Is it possible with the endless list of codes and fees required to do anything today?
Who knows. I don’t. All I do know is that we risk forgetting the way life was.
3. Millennial Asbestos
Entrepreneur and researcher Nat Friedman tested 300 products in the Bay Area for microplastics. Here is short summary of what he found.
Top 5 findings in our test results:
1. Our tests found plastic chemicals in 86% of all foods, with phthalates in 73% of the tested products and bisphenols in 22%. It's everywhere.
2. We detected phthalates in most baby foods and prenatal vitamins.
3. Hot foods which spend 45 minutes in takeout containers have 34% higher levels of plastic chemicals than the same dishes tested directly from the restaurant.
4. The 1950s Army rations we tested contained surprisingly high levels of plastic chemicals.
5. Almost every single one of the foods we tested are within both US FDA and EU EFSA regulations.
The dark irony of modern society is that no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape poison. I suppose you could move to the Montana wilderness and dedicate every waking hour of your day for years to build a self-sufficient homestead, but you’re probably not going to do that.
This is the toll we have to pay to live in the 21st century. You can take the Paul Saladino approach and become a paranoid orthorexic (bringing raw milk in jars everywhere you go), or you can develop simple habits that minimize the overall risk of environmental toxins. The former turns you into a weird freak whose life revolves around the impossible goal of health and environmental purity. The latter allows you to avoid 90% of the bullshit while still being a normal and healthy person.
Don’t buy processed garbage (shop at the “edge” of the grocery store
Use glass when you can and avoid drinks in cans or plastic
Get a high quality air filter in your house
Where clothing made with natural fibers like cotton or hemp
(another ten bullets of things I’m forgetting)