Michael Boylan
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July 10th, 2022

10/7/2022

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Guest Blog Post:
Per Bauhn on The Long Fall of the Ball from the Wall, by M. Boylan
 
In reading The Long Fall of the Ball from the Wall. Several themes caught my attention: father figures, betrayal, and incest.

 Rico is betrayed of a sense of belonging and of opportunities for building a confidence in himself by his father’s untimely death, followed by his being rejected by his mother and her brother, who not only expel him from their family but also prevent him from accessing his college fund, leaving him constantly uncertain about future means of supporting himself. Rico is also betrayed by Virginia and Lita, who both use him as an instrument to get what they want in life. Contrary to his father’s assurance that he can be whatever he wants if he only makes the necessary effort, Rico, when left without his father’s support, finds himself more or less a constant loser, in terms of love relationships as well as in terms of opportunities for earning an income. Moreover, he is aware that he is also perceived as a loser by those he wants to impress, which further adds to his sense of failure.
 
In Sophocle’s Oedipus Rex, the incestuous relationship between Oedipus and his mother Jocasta takes place against a background of them being unaware of their kinship, while here no such excuse exists in the case of Rico’s mother Jocasta and her brother Adam; moreover, in Sophocles’ play, Oedipus and Jocasta punish themselves when they find out the truth about themselves, while here Jocasta and Uncle Adam come out on top of things, taking possession of Rex’ fortune and banishing Rico.
 
(In addition to Sophocle’s Oedipus Rex, I thought of another drama when reading your story: Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in which Hamlet’s father is murdered by his brother Claudius who then marries his brother’s widow, Hamlet’s mother. Here too we have a story of displacement – the rightful king is replaced by an impostor (who is described as “that incestuous, that adulterate beast”), and the impostor marries the wife of the rightful king, occupying the role of father to Hamlet. And here too, Hamlet is haunted by the memory (and even the ghost) of his father. And as in the story of Rico and his father’s watch, there is some pondering going on about time: “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, that ever I was born to set it right!”)
 
There is an early hint of incest also in the playful interaction between Rico and his sister Dianne (cestin = incest). Rico’s mother seems to encourage Rico to develop a closer relationship to Dianne, perhaps having in mind the relationship she has to her own brother: “Well, it seems to me that you could do something with your sister ... why not play with your sister?” (98) The same encouragement comes from Uncle Adam: “[T]here is nothing wrong about kissing your sister. It’s the most natural thing in the world” (112). And from Dianne herself: “Kiss me, silly” (185), after which Rico also seems to have sex with his sister; at least they are naked together. Here he betrays his father’s rule that “[b]ig boys don’t let women see them with their pants down” (130).
 
Compare this to Rico’s hesitancy to commit himself to Cindy, with whom it seems he could have had a loving relationship. Perhaps his experience of his own sexual interaction with his sister in combination with the humiliation he suffered when dating Virginia (“I was simply a prop” (221)) makes him feel undeserving of love? On the other hand, his love for Cindy seems to have something to do with her taking the initiative: “She had me under her complete control, and I loved it” (215). His lack of confidence in himself makes him unwilling to take any initiatives himself, and this makes him eventually lose also Cindy. With Lita it seems to be her low social standing, as a prostitute, that makes Rico think she would be the right one for him: “[B]oth of us are treated like shit in the society ... Why not put it together and try it out?” (244). Interestingly enough, Rico also calls Lita “mother” (266). Does he think of her as a substitute mother, providing the love and care his biological mother did not give him? Or is this a continuation of an incestuous way of thinking, in which a mother can also be a lover? (As in Oedipus Rex.)
 
There are many important father figures in the story. Rex, of course, the only one that seems to really care for Rico, encouraging him to overcome obstacles, making him hope for a great future – but thereby also making Rico vulnerable to a future sense of unfulfilment, when he finds himself unable to live up to his father’s expectations. In this sense, Rico is betrayed also by his caring father. In addition to Rex (the king), there is the impostor father figure of Uncle Adam, who “wanted to act as my father” (94), but who is abusive and violent. At some point, Rico must feel frustration as well as guilt about not being able to live up to his father’s high hopes and expectations; looking for mu, the state of emptiness might be seen as a way of giving up on the exaggerated hopes of his father and also as a way of breaking the spell of his father. (His last name, Patricini, also reminds of “patricide”, the killing of a father.) His dreams of a watch with no hands can be seen as an unconscious comment about his loss of trust in his father, as the only object that still ties him to his father is a watch that the father gave him. Other, more distant, father figures are the Pope (the Holy Father), the President of the US (the Father of the Nation), and God who “can seem as a father of a family” and who “judges all men” (63–64).
 
This last statement is important not only for what it says about God, but also for what it says about Rico’s idea of the role of the father. If God is a father, then a (particular kind of) father is also God, and Rico’s father, Rex (the king) is retrospectively idealized as a God-like figure, as the upholder of what is morally good and right. But Rex is dead, and “if God is dead, then everything is permitted”, as Dostoevsky famously noted. Uncle Adam is a false kind of father, “[h]e was the Devil” (94). So the role of the father contains the best as well as the worst of supernatural powers.
 
If God (the good father) is dead, then incest, betrayal, ruthlessness, manipulation and other forms of evil, orchestrated by the Devil (the evil father), will rule the world. Rico looks to God for meaning – “I have a calling. ... I must serve God” (109), but he is unable to find out what God wants him to do. He eventually comes to believe that “I am the son, and I must sacrifice my father” (167) – a reversal of the Bible in which Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac and Jesus is sacrificed by his heavenly father. If trying to live up to his father’s high expectations only brings frustration and humiliation to him, he might find it necessary to break the spell of his father. But Rico is frustrated not only by the image of his father, but also by his family and by people he would like to relate to: “I try to seek community, but it is denied me” (241). I found it significant that his uncle is called Adam – the first man, perhaps symbolizing mankind itself? In the Biblical story, Adam and Eve are ejected from Paradise by God. (Were Adam and Eve to be considered siblings in any sense? Was incest the foundation of the original human community?) Here Adam and Jocasta eject Rico after his father (the “king”) has died. Rico is left to build a new kingdom for himself, but fails. Social frustrations make him desire a state of nothingness – mu. If life is mostly miserable, then perhaps nothingness can be preferable to the continuation of life as it is? (0 is more than -1.)
 
Being denied community also makes Rico antagonistic to that father figure that more than any other represents community – the President of the US. If “the King .. isn’t doing his job”, then he should be killed, according to Rico (71, 219, 233, 272). Killing President Kennedy could also be a substitute for killing another father figure – the impostor father, Uncle Adam (239). (Interestingly enough, Rico’s mother Jocasta also goes by the name of Jackie, as did President Kennedy’s wife.) Rico reads the Japanese author Yukio Mishima, famous not only for his novels, but also for committing seppuku in 1970 after a failed attempt to rouse the Japanese military forces to overthrow the constitution and restore the emperor to his pre-WW II power. Trying to kill the President is also for Rico one final attempt at giving his life significance after many frustrations and failures. But the presence of Lee Harvey Oswald seems to rob him of his moment: “Was this, also, to be denied him?” (107)
 
So these are my thoughts on your novel. I had a good read and I enjoyed philosophizing about the characters in the story and the values and ideals they reflect. Many thanks for offering me this opportunity to combine free association with philosophical thinking.


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March 06th, 2022

6/3/2022

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War in Ukraine
Russia has invaded Ukraine, thus breaking a post-World War II protocol that had been formed to counter the Nazis whose blitzkrieg invasions of neighboring countries began a World War.  Many around the world are fearful that we are in dangerous territory.  We are.  What is different from the Nazi invasions is that we now have nuclear weapons that can kill millions (perhaps billions) of people.
The economic sanctions gambit seems to be the safest route, but if it bites too hard, Russia will take this as an act of war and may decide to use tactical nuclear weapons against a target not in a defense treaty with the United States, like Mongolia.  This would be meant as a warning. 

Others are pressing for a cyber-attack.  I have argued against such approaches in “Can there be a Just Cyber-War?” Journal of Applied Ethics and Philosophy 5 (2013): 10-18. 
The most logical agency to be spearheading peace efforts is the United Nation’s Security Council.  But because Russia is a permanent member, no real action can happen under this umbrella.  This needs to change.  The veto of Security Council members should be subject to an “override” by two-thirds of the General Assembly.  The time for such a change in procedures is now. Situations like this may become more and more prevalent—especially as China views Taiwan and countries receiving “belts and roads” aid. 
The time when the United States and NATO were the world’s policemen should end.  Our future should belong to the United Nations—and the time is now.

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March 14th, 2021

14/3/2021

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THE DEATH PENALTY
Virginia’s plan to kill the death penalty sets a moral example
 
The Virginia legislature has just passed a bill to abolish the death penalty, which the governor has vowed to sign. This would mark the first time a Southern state has abolished the death penalty – welcome news for many of us. To others, let me set out the reasons why the death penalty is bad public policy, and why every state should follow Virginia’s lead.
 
There are two general arguments that are given against the death penalty – the “mistakes” argument and the “concurrence with the purpose of punishment” argument.
 
The mistakes argument works on the principle that no system of justice is perfect. Mistakes will be made, and the consequence of making a mistake in a capital crime is the loss of a human life. No consequence can be worse, and public policy should never take such risks when the stakes are so high. At this moment in the state of Tennessee, relatives of Sedley Alley (with the help of The Innocence Project) are trying to test the DNA from the crime scene to determine the possible innocence of Mr. Alley in a 1985 murder. This was not procedure at the time, and Mr. Alley was executed in 2006. If this evidence is tested and found not to be Mr. Alley’s DNA, then his innocence of the murder will be demonstrated.
 
The innocence of those convicted of capital crimes has been the focus of The Innocence Project, a nonprofit founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld that has overturned the convictions of those wrongfully convicted. To date, more than 300 people have been exonerated through DNA testing. These prisoners averaged 13 years of wrongful imprisonment before their release, which shows the system can make mistakes. It is one thing to wrongfully imprison someone for 13 or more years – it’s another to take their life. When mistakes are made in non-death-penalty cases, there is the option to release the inmate from prison with a stipend from the state. This is not possible after prisoner execution – that precious life is no more.  This would constitute a grievous moral crime by the state.
 
The second argument concerns the concurrence with the purpose of punishment. In retributive justice, the ideal is to “give back” what was taken away. In the case of a $50 theft, the miscreant could (in the second stage) give back the $50, plus some additional penalty for committing the act. This is the model. 
 
For murder, there can be no giving back. Thus, some people call for the taking of a second life as recompense for the first – but this goes against the purpose of punishment. Going back to Plato, the purpose of punishment is to purge the soul of the miscreant so that they might reform and become improved. This is what repentance is all about. Our prisons should be structured to help change the lives of those who are incarcerated. This “rehabilitation” used to be a primary goal of our prisons (at least by lip service).
 
Some may say that rehabilitation of those in prisons is a dream and not realistic. Some characterize criminals as non-human animals who are beyond redemption. This was not my experience when I engaged in volunteer work in prisons years ago. It is also not the experience of Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J. So long as the prisoner is alive, they may turn their life around. 
 
Our prison system should be structured so that might happen. It may be a long shot, but our purpose of punishment should not be “inflicting pain” as the second stage of retribution. This sort of revenge motive grounded in schadenfreude is unworthy of us as humans. In its place, we should work for redemption – even for those incarcerated for life without the possibility of parole. Only then would we fulfill the proper purpose of punishment.
 
Thus, the death penalty fails on both points – it sets a punishment that cannot be undone in the case of mistakes, causing an unacceptable tragedy, and it veers away from the proper purpose of punishment, per se. This is why many in recent years have called for the end of the death penalty – including Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers)—2018. Let us applaud the state of Virginia for its actions and hope that others soon follow suit. Life is too precious to wait another minute.
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Cancer as a Metaphor

28/1/2021

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Cancer as a Metaphor
 
One way to parse life is via unicellular systems (such as bacteria) and multicellular systems (such as animals).  Animal cellular system consist of many cells working together providing specialization of function for the good of the whole.  In one sense (from the cellular vantage point), they are all equal.  They all provide specific, important functions.  Often, they are part of sub-systems, which in turn, may be part of other larger, organized systems within the organism.  For example, heart muscles have several layers of simpler systems that allow them to operate the way they do.  They, themselves, are a part of a functioning organ that is also essential to the animal that requires circulation of blood.
This model will be called the cooperative, telescoping systems model.  When it properly functions, it is a positive sign of life.
Another model works against the cooperative, telescoping systems model; it is built upon selfish behavior to the aggrandizement of an alternate, foreign system.  In this event, cells take more than they are due and they aggregate disproportionately according to a non-cooperative strategy.  These are the cancer cells.  They disrupt cooperative systems. They seek more and more to the ultimate destruction of the host and their own existence. Their potentiality exists within normal, functioning cells, but when they turn on, they disrupt everything.  They bring down the cooperative, telescoping systems model within the organism which brings about total destruction of the organism.
The interaction between cancer and the telescoping systems model can also be applied to other nested systems—such as human society.  Sometimes it is the case that a society might be structured so that it is stable and exhibits some features of fairness—such as differentiation of social functions that are valued by all as equally important for the existence of the whole.  It is rare that this goes very far as so many humans view social relations as a competitive, zero-sum game.  However, things become cancerous when some element within the society starts becoming selfish relative to the good of the whole.  Such behavior can lead to sickness of the social structure before possibly killing it (the society).  Entities such as big business, power-hungry politicians, and egoistic social figures can be stand-ins for social cancer.  Like biological cancer, they must be removed and remedial actions taken so that the cancer doesn’t grow back.
This is applicable to many societies in many historical times.  I ask you to think: what are the cancers that affect the United States today. What should we do about it?
Michael Boylan
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The Damaged Roof

27/1/2021

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The Damaged Roof
 
It wasn’t such a windy day that brought down
Twelve asphalt shingles from my roof.
But at twilight, I saw them there in a moment.
I saw them there as I took out my garbage.
 
            I was sitting in my car waiting
            The radio was on describing
            How domestic terrorists had overtaken the capitol.
 
It was a nice roof when they installed it
Twenty-years-ago.  Neighbors pointed and smiled.
And I was pleased to have one of the new
“Thirty-year-roofs.” It was guaranteed!
 
            They had been aroused by
            An orange-topped pretender
            Who lived for promoting destruction.
 
Now there were twelve shingles down.
A roof has hundreds of shingles.  Can this be so bad?
The man I called said they’d have to re-do the whole thing.
Apparently, even a few shingles down can lead to rot.
 
            We’d learned to live with it:
            The permission to use hateful speech openly;
            The cozying up to Nazis; the glorification of slavery
           
Do I now have to strip the whole thing down?
Must I start over from scratch? 
What about the guarantee?  That company is dead and gone.
Can’t we just patch it up?  Won’t that do to stop the rot?
 
            The putrefaction of truth, and the general debasement of us all.
            These aren’t easy to fix
            These don’t just appear in a moment.
 
My roof had been solid, and now it has to be fixed.
           
            Maybe there’s been rot there all along?
 
A good contractor can fix my roof, but it will be expensive.
 
            Is there any way to fix this?
 
 
Lines written in the days following January 6, 2021
Michael Boylan
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Donald Trump and The Joker  Michael Boylan                         As I sit in the waning days of Donald J. Trump’s presidency, I recall a conversation I had with my son soon after the movie, “The Joker” (2019) was released

15/1/2021

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The character of the Joker is part of the Batman saga from D.C. Comics (just before WWII).  The Joker is originally introduced in the story as a psychopath (which is also how Mary Trump characterized her uncle, Donald (she is a Ph.D. clinical psychologist)). She sets out her case in her book (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/01/mary-trump-book-the-reckoning-presidents-niece).  The Joker felt he was a loser when compared to the Wayne family where his mother worked. The head of that family was Thomas Wayne (Bruce Wayne’s (Batman’s) father). The Joker, Arthur Fleck, also believed that Thomas was his unacknowledged, illegitimate father.  For this reason (and perhaps others), the Joker (in one version) killed Thomas Wayne and his wife in the presence of their son, young Bruce (who later becomes Batman).  The Joker does not like to be thought of as a “loser,” so he takes action so that others “fear” him.
 
After that, Arthur Fleck (the Joker) tried various jobs that he despised and continued in a love-hate relationship with his mother, who he eventually kills. The Joker lives for himself.  He is the ultimate narcissist.  Anyone who stands in his way has to be destroyed.  The society in which he lives, does not adequately appreciate the brilliant worldview of the Joker so it must go down, as well. 
 
One of the signature scenes of the movie has The Joker dancing down a long outside, concrete stairway while two policemen watch at the top of the stairs trying to make sense of it all.  Finally, the police call him out. At that moment, the Joker and his vision of narcissism and his contradictory worldview “pops” like a soap bubble. The Joker runs away.
 
Q: What is The Joker’s goal in life?  A: To create chaos and destruction. To facilitate nihilism whenever he can.  And at the end he revels in the automobile accident that sets him free to confront his followers who also believe in him—like a mythical cult figure who stands against the established way things are done. This “established way” has proved to be a source of failure for the followers of Joker. They are “losers” just like he is. THIS ISN’T FAIR, or so they say.  It’s time to make things right and tear down the society that has not recognized their true worth. The Joker, and the “want-to-be jokers” (all in their joker masks), wreck chaos on the streets of Gotham City. The murder of Thomas Wayne and his wife is replayed in The Joker’s mind.  Everything the Joker has stood for comes together in a destructive, nihilistic composite during this final destructive mob scene.
 
This is similar to the endgame of Donald Trump.  He dreamed of his many dirty deeds in his life that sought to take everyone down: normal business practice, his alleged alliance with the Mafia, and his pact with Putin (enemy of the United States).  All that was left was his violent, nihilistic vision that he directed against Black people, Brown people, and the Congress of the United States as they were about to certify his election defeat.  His “Trump want-to-be” followers  stormed the Capitol in a riot that was inspired by their cult leader—the nihilist, narcissist, anarchist, loser: with one goal in life: to bring down the society that never gave him adequate due:  Donald J. Trump, The Joker.     
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Book Review #15

21/4/2019

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1 Comment

Book Review #14

17/3/2019

2 Comments

 
2 Comments

Book Review #13

16/3/2019

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February 19th, 2019

19/2/2019

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Attached are five new book reviews. Comment if you like.​
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