{"id":138870549,"date":"2023-12-06T13:30:45","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T13:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=138870549"},"modified":"2023-12-06T13:30:45","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T13:30:45","slug":"the-writer-who-buried-treasure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=138870549","title":{"rendered":"The Writer Who Buried Treasure"},"content":{"rendered":"

“After sawing myself in half \/ half of me moves to the woods \/\/ and buries itself \/ in a heap of leaves.” – Zachary Schomburg, “The Sawing In Half”<\/h2>

But first, I got a poem published! I am thrilled to be included in the inaugural edition of <\/em>kicking your ass<\/a>, a new literary magazine\/literary complaint department\/literary beatdown<\/a>. Many thanks to my dear friend Adrian Sobol, Editor-In-Chief of <\/em>kicking your ass, for publishing this excerpt from my long poem, \u201cyou will be more safe not in this place.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>

Is there a more difficult discipline to follow casually than history? History is a fascinating subject, one I\u2019ve enjoyed since middle school, and high on the list of \u201cgenre of podcast\/YouTube video I want to check out.\u201d The problem is, a lot of Nazis, War-Humpers, Guys Who Aren\u2019t Racist But The Data Says\u2026, and Guys Who Aren\u2019t Pessimists But Are<\/em> Realists also like history, and make a lot of this pop history content. <\/p>

It is difficult, then, to express interest in an exhibit called \u201cFirst Kings of Europe\u201d without sounding like some buy-gold Boomer Dad with the Band of Brothers <\/em>box set who voted for Bush over Gore because of \u201cbalance.\u201d As a staunch anti-monarchist and avowed democratic socialist, I am<\/em> interested, though, in how exactly Europeans came to build this awful system, and subsequently infect<\/em> the rest of the world with it. How did we get here? Is social stratification as inevitable as some think? <\/p>

The First Kings (Exhibit)<\/strong><\/p>

First, the cool stuff: this exhibit features artifacts never before displayed outside their home country, and was made in partnership with curators from the countries of origin. Like the Death exhibit<\/a>, it\u2019s well-crafted, with attention and care paid to the narrative made by putting those<\/em> artifacts in that<\/em> order.<\/p>

\"four<\/figure>

You might be able to guess how the arc of the narrative from the Neolithic up to the Roman Empire bends in Europe. People start out in small, relatively equal settlements. Technology is developed, trade routes are uncovered, the results of both increase inequality. Eventually, we get a monstrous, avarice-ridden cesspool<\/s> fully developed Europe, ruled by inbred freaks<\/a> and bros named George or Richard or whatever<\/a>. This is not an exhibit where you say no spoilers, this is an exhibit where you follow the journey. <\/p>

\"museum<\/figure>

We, As Humans, Are Bad At Thinking About Things For 10 Seconds<\/strong><\/p>

I understand a flex. I\u2019ve been broke, then I\u2019ve had seemingly-miraculous good things happen. A friend comes through with a line on a good job. A situation you weren\u2019t sure about turns out to be the best thing to happen to you. In these situations, I\u2019ll absolutely believe in that brief moment of elation\u2019s ability to last forever. \u201cI\u2019ll never be broke again,\u201d I think after a single freelance paycheck hits, scheming to treat myself immediately. <\/p>

Ancient people were about as forward-thinking as me, but, like, on a societal level. We have these artifacts because people were perpetually as squirrels preparing for winter, but with half the smarts. <\/p>

\"museum<\/figure>

This bit of information gnawed at Mal and me\u2014parents of a public school child on free and reduced lunch\u2014how do you bury stuff just to show off<\/em>? Let\u2019s not pretend we as 21st century USians are the morally better people, less<\/em> wasteful than those idiot ancients, but still, I\u2019ve been drilling \u201cturn lights off if you\u2019re in the room\u201d into my kid since before he could reach the switch. Food waste makes me itch. Not to mention, even though I\u2019ve already mentioned it a few paragraphs ago, I\u2019ve been broke before. <\/p>

\"carving<\/figure>

You, reading this right now, might be broke. My social media feeds are full of mutual aid requests. If you\u2019re reading this on a day, someone within your six degrees of separation is getting laid off right now. <\/p>

And now you know that kings, for as long as there have been kings, have been lighting money on fire. <\/p>

Are Leftists Denying Our Programming?<\/strong><\/p>

Manosphere streamers and evangelical Christians love to talk about \u201cnatural orders.\u201d The husband is the head of the family, the ruler is the father of the nation\u2014that was an explicit idea in Germany for a while, but is also infused throughout Western civilization. Are monarchs or strongmen rulers inevitable? I don\u2019t think so, but I understand how some people\u2019s imagination fails there. <\/p>

\"a<\/figure>

Not everyone is built to be the boss, I\u2019m certainly not built to be the boss, and while I\u2019m no fan of bosses, I understood and agreed with their utility until very recently. Grantland<\/em> doesn\u2019t happen without Bill Simmons, but Defector<\/em> is humming along just fine, you know? Plus, people at Defector<\/em> still write, instead of bitching about cancel culture on podcasts. <\/p>

\"museum<\/figure>

Natural leaders exist. People wanting different things out of life will ensure some<\/em> societal inequality until the end of time. But I don\u2019t think we need leaders and rulers as much as we think we do. We certainly don\u2019t need as much stuff. At least, we don\u2019t need the wealthy, the status class, the idle rich, the elite\u2014and we don\u2019t need markers of such status, like Teslas, or McMansions<\/a>, or the kind of furniture-that-doubles-as-asset-holdings the St. Louis Gun Couple had<\/a>. I\u2019m a person who believes in Big Government, who believes in regulations and guardrails and Living In A Society\u2014and Living In A Society requires participating, and requires taking care of each other. If I were a Youth Pastor, right about now I\u2019d get a real far-off look in my eye, then turn and make direct eye contact with you, and say something like, \u201cwe don\u2019t need rulers<\/em>, we need leaders<\/em>,\u201d and then I\u2019d lead us in prayer before anything wrong with that sentence had a chance to crowd out what feels right about it. Then I\u2019d repeat \u201cwe don\u2019t need rulers, we need leaders\u201d bunch during the prayer, so it got stuck in your head. Here\u2019s Run The Jewels. <\/p>

\n