Paratge.  Respect.  The Nod of Tribute.
Absence of paratge: like having no head.  Not worth following.

Men of Paratge. Warriors with honor, courtesy, respect.  Return to the Middle Ages for, perhaps, Western civilization's last great ParatgeMan of his culture and religion-- Richard the Lionheart.  When giving quarter is noble not weakness.

And his antagonist?  A Paratgeman of his culture and religion, Saladin. In 1192, when the Popes ill-fated Crusades for riches had failed, a truce was arranged.  See http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1192peace.asp.  Free passage for pilgrims, many other accommodations from Saladin, the victor.

Add to Richard the name of the noble English William Marshal.

And see how two cultures, western Christian of sorts; and more eastern Islamic, produced heroes with morality.  Even with all the time passing, Saladin's stature remains high:  see http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Saladin.htm

What has happened since, so that dogma and creeds, taught by those profiting from them, supersede the greatest human attribute, right from wrong. Warfare may be inevitable when clashes and defenses of rights and property arise to the level of extremes, but its conduct is still voluntary.  See England's Richard against the Muslim Saladin at  http://worldwar1worldwar2.blogspot.com/2009/12/paratge-in-warfare-two-jerusalem.html.  Even the BBC nods in Saladin's direction, as the more noble, in that Richard the Lionheart could be more easily swayed against the moral code, See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00nddb5ble. There are more stories of Saladin's extra-curricular equities, than for Richard, is that so?


In current, not old Crusader terms (where the east usually out-moraled the west in terms of slaughter) paratge emerges again, as it should.

No genocide works completely.  Some vestige remains, to be nurtured, flower again in some way.  See http://joyofequivocating.blogspot.com/2009/12/duty-to-paratge-maaht-natural-order.html.  It shows itself any time profits challenge sustainable ecosystems, or varying cultures.  And, these days, loses because the money and corporations have no interest in balance or "curtesie," is that so.  With the devastation of Cathar culture, for example, in the southwest of France, the Languedoc, so complete in the 13th Century, what can really be known of it.  See http://www.dhaxem.com/data/handt/Cathar_Honour.pdf

Saladin:  seeing Richard unhorsed, stopped the presses until Richard was provided another horse.  Saladin: a Christian woman in Palestine complaining that her babe had been stolen by Muslims.  Saladin stops the presses, until the baby is found and returned.  Paratge.  Saladin, offering Christians in Jerusalem, when the city had been taken back by the Muslims, passage out.  But the Christians, so-called, in taking Jerusalem in an earlier Crusade, slaughtering all within.  No paratge. Later Crusades, hyped up Crusaders attacking even Christian cities.  No paratge.

Still, the concept remains.

Presidential debates.  Can paratge matter.  Is paratge true statesmanship. Richard the Lionheart had it.  Saladin had it.  They were on opposite sides.  Their followers lost their best opportunity to forge a lasting co-existence by abandoning medieval Paratge.  Thank you dogma on both sides. Those you say you save, you destroy, is that so? See http://www.midi-france.info/190403_paratge.htm

Who else in history has paratge?  Jesus, of course.  But who pays attention to him. Martin Luther King?  Go to other cultures.  They are recognizable.  Obama?  Yes.  Restraint. Respect. That is not weakness. That is wisdom in the setting.  Rethink it?  Sure.  But as a first response, admirable.




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We can never know, when in the midst, if we may finish our chosen work. We can never know, while at the task, what dragons lurk. Routine as that is, here meet Marina Salye of St. Petersburg, Russia, who died in 2012.  Sometimes the dragon, the cause, eludes.

When death leaves a life's work unfinished. How to sort the natural from the unnatural. Here, a play at Bojnice Castle, Slovakia.

1. Marina Salye chose risky work that, had she completed it, might have made a substantial difference in important affairs. 

Marina aolye of St. Petersburg, Russia was geologist, from a respected family, and an established participant in government.

Jane Jackson was a woman who died in Connecticut in 1818, at age 54. Her original marker is gone, here at the Glastonbury Green Cemetery, with a replacement:  The identification, the family connection, the status in life, is replaced with the generic, "Woman of Color" that certainly was not in use in 1818.  What does it add, and what subtract.  Other gravestones, old and illegible, are still standing with a remade one showing the same information.

Passings. Not all are "as planned." Selah.  There is sadness in the unexpected turns. There is also  gratitude for recollections:  "He brought kindness, a witty conversation and sometime aid to all he encountered from the stories I hear."   Donald H. Scharfe. Faren wel.

Donny, can you hear us. Donny, can you hear. Well done, Don. Every step. Don Scharfe 1939-2020.  Upper West Side.

Edward Lear. Victorian nonsensis brilliansis. applied to Dr. Fauci , medical advisor to President Trump, here. Lear is addictive.

Thee shall read what I say thee shall read. Thank you Lord.

Books: Defend against "the old barbaric forest that is fear."  See Stephen Vincent Benet. Would a habit of inclusion defuse the threat.

Booklover legacy. Books now on other shelves. Safe? How long?

Burnings and censorship yet again. Can we make frequent small changes to language to ease inclusion, to soften the threat of "allowing" others the dignity of humanity. Look back at censorship aimed at preventing inclusion.

What is socialism, that so many fear it so much.

Attention:  CPAC.

With CPAC meeting in Washington DC this week, in 2019, look back at American Christian Socialism as an alternative to the extreme conservatism, faulting others and praising one's own good fortune, of CPAC.

.

The Author of the Pledge of Allegiance was a "Christian Socialist" - What did that mean? 

"Socialism"includes a range of ideas that have become vilified out of fear of change from our knee-jerk capitalism, not merit.

Greece Road Ways

Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet, Egyptian roots, is well sung among those who come to the table with existing love of the classics.  For others, fill in with resources listed below, lifespan 1863-1933.  Here, a sample  talisman for the journey, the common way. Published in 1911.  

Translations:  I prefer the active quiet directive of the "Ask that your way be long", over the "Hope" or "Wish" of other translations, see below.  No wishy-washy for this poet.

Times and manners.  Social distancing (this by way of update 2020) was favored by Emily Post in particular settings.  All this hugging and air kissing and noises of delight at seeing a compatriot -- no way.  For the fun of it, look back.  Social distancing was de rigeur for the classy classes. Is that so? 

The Clintons were criticized for failure to shake hands with the President and family at the Bush funeral, to lean over the Obamas to do it. Critics born in the Old School would agree.

What is in our wallets.

Clues to inspiration, memory, nonsense, trivia, what? 

Roads risky. Life looks. Liechtenstein. Who comes? Who passed? Hairpin? All views matter.

Meter and sometimes rhyme:  Does reflection stabilize experience. If so, can we tune into it from another time.*  Are facts all we can count on? Perhaps, but step above anyway, say the muses.

Palace Square, St. Petersburg; site of Bloody Sunday; Petition of Father Georgy Vapon, Ivan Vasimov 1905

1905

I.   Background

II.  Petition

III. Comment

IV. Resources

I. Background.  Priest Georgy Gapon and worker Ivan Vasimov prepared a petition to present to Tsar Nicholas II, requesting reforms in 1905, a time of political and social unrest.  See  http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/bloody-sunday-1905/.  Without paragraphing, the Petition may be hard to follow.
Bogomil Cemetery, Bosnia
Bogomil Cemetery, Bosnia
A road runs through it, the headstones now on both sides. Bogomils were a thriving Christian group until decimated by papal crusades. Their interpretations and practices did not pass Rome's Dogma Muster. They must be killed. You must conform.
The empty chair. Who once sat?
The empty chair. Who once sat?
The empty chair. Who once sat?
A Place Prepared.
About Me
About Me
1. Travel, improvised road trips. Two on the Loose: EUROPE ROAD WAYS. How we do it; (click) Europe Road Ways, How We Do It; and Europe Road Ways on the Web. Blogs for countries visited: Andorra Road Ways, Austria Road Ways, Belgium Road Ways, Bosnia Road Ways, China Road Ways (Jon's trip), Croatia Road Ways, Czech Republic Road Ways, Denmark Road Ways, England Road Ways, France Road Ways, Germany Road Ways, Greece Road Ways (Carol and Jon), Hebrides Road Ways, Hungary Road Ways, Ireland Road Ways, Italy Road Ways, Liechtenstein Road Ways, Luxembourg Road Ways, Montenegro Road Ways, Netherlands Road Ways, Norway Road Ways, Orkney Road Ways, Poland Road Ways, Romania Road Ways, Russia Road Ways Moscow, Russia Road Ways St.Petersburg, Scotland Road Ways, Sicily Road Ways, Slovakia, Slovenia Road Ways, Spain Road Ways, including Gibraltar, Sweden Road Ways, Switzerland Road Ways, Trieste Road Ways, Wales Road Ways;
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