Confessions of a Starving Artist

Intercourse with a woman is sometimes a satisfactory substitution for masturbation.  But it takes a lot of imagination to make it work.  ~ Karl Klaus

Somewhat amusing, amongst a rousing bout of sexual innuendos and possible harassment between myself, the personal training bubbas, and smoothie staff at my local gym the conversational topic of sexual addiction was broached yesterday evening.  Whoever the latest celebrity to admit themselves into rehabilitation toward what I can only sarcastically say must be an addiction with only the most dire consequences, I must concede that I had to stop and take stock of a disease which most certainly could not be.  After all, let us look at what someone who says as much is actually saying about them self.  A supposed sex addict is claiming that he is addicted to sex, yes?  If so, how is that different than every other red-blooded male that you or I know?  We are all rather addicted to it, if you’ll pardon a rather low-brow pun.  Most of us look for the proverbial nookie from our earliest memories and will continue to stalk that elusive perfect piece of ass until our crippled, hobbling, senile, shitting-the-bed final days.  In that context, how does a ‘sex addict’ differ from the rest of us?  I offered, as an answer to the group, that maybe he just has the natural ability to have sex multiple times every day and as well has the, ahem, ‘outlet’ for his addiction.  Then it would become a matter of nutrition and health, and I could see the need for some form of intervention, but still… that’s a boon of a burden to my way of thinking.

 The chief of the smoothie staff offered up another solid observation.  Perhaps this addiction was more tailored towards something more mental than physical.  Certainly, the idea of a man in his mid-forties being able to have that much sex every day, all day without the aid of chemical augmentation (and perhaps an addiction to male enhancement drugs as well) did seem a bit of a stretch, but what if the gentleman was simply addicted to the idea of sex, the inability to think of anything else because it was surrounding him at all times.  For example some symptoms of this could be the constant watching of pornography or aggressive flirting with many random women, both strangers and known acquaintances, whether welcomed or not?  Perhaps even a loss of the emotion that is inherent within sex itself, leading to a mental state toward sex that could be unsafe; something akin to a murder’s lack or even reversal of the  natural emotional connection to inflicting pain on another human being. 

I thought about that aspect of it, and agreed that would indeed be tragic… and further, wholly possible.  Generation Xers have been bombarded with sexuality in nearly everything we do since our ability to turn the television station from PBS and watch something other than The Electric Company.  Ironically, even Keisha Knight Pulliam who played Rudy Huckstable on The Cosby Show has actually become extremely sexual, posing for several adult magazines within the past few years (and looking amazing, I might add) as well as taking more mature acting roles within her career.  As for Generation Y?  Well, I have been disturbed to discover that it has become extremely vogue for young high school girls across the nation to start taking nude and seductive photo shoots of themselves and their female friends only to then post or circulating them in public forums.  I would like to say that one can only take this as fall-out from the magnificent role-models that have been  placed in the forefront of media and entertainment, but it’s worse than that, I think; it is the corporate greed and leadership of the very magazines themselves we have to blame, not the 19 year old, clueless and often talentless bimbos who pose on the cover of Maxim or FHM after a single season of whatever prime time reality show is crushing down the ratings this week.  And if we want to get even more self-critical, we could also fault ourselves for buying the needless trash.  After all, isn’t there enough porn on the internet to satisfy our collective lust… or maybe we are all on the path to sexual addiction.

Ironically, it would seem that the porn industry is the least able to be diagnosed as the root cause at this addiction’s source.   At worst, it might be seen as a gateway drug of sorts, but when it comes right down to it, porn is more like the cigarettes of sex.  The warnings are clear and distinct, and for the most part, everybody knows what they are buying when they buy it, which in both cases you have to be 18 or older to do.  Moreover, there is no misappropriations of desire and misunderstanding of those people whom you so vividly voyeuring: they are a porn star, cut and dry…  and the funny thing is that if you, as an average joe, were to see a porn star on the street and speak to them, I’d be willing to bet you’d would be more courteous that flirtatious simply due to the fact that sexuality is the woman’s very profession and therefore courtesy itself then becomes a manner of flirtation, which is how it once was with all respectful interactions with all women in our society.  And nonetheless, while nearly every man in America would love to sleep with a porn star, if only to check the block, most would not be so presumptuous as to hit on her… okay maybe they would, but the idea would be shot down mentally for most of us when we’d have to consider the thought of trying to please a porn star with our amateur sex resumes and an average-sized weenie.

Meanwhile, same average joe meets the woman who was posing all sexy-like on the cover of the latest issue of Maxim on the same street.  He is far more likely to be flirtatious than courteous to this woman, which while the first few times this may be flattering to the woman, it will eventually become not only an annoyance to the woman, but also a mystery as to why all men are ‘just trying to get in my pants’ when she is obviously a talented actress, singer, politician, what have you.  The reason for this juxtaposition is that men see this latter example is a woman who is so in need of sex that she is screaming and begging for it in a public forum, something the average joe is only too happy to help her cope with, while in the former case of the porn star, while we understand them to be cock-gobbling, sex daemons, men also perceive them to be quiet satisfied women.

The point is too many people are trying to be ‘sexy’ without really having an understanding of what it is, and it is this misunderstanding that is confusing to us, the males at large.  Know this ladies: we as men are already somewhat sex addicts.  The vast majority of us thinks about sex several times a day and must keep our pipes clean and serviced right around once every day or two at a minimum… personally speaking, some even moreso.  Therefore ladies, understand what the porn stars already do – if you publically become a sex symbol then when people see you then you will be considered nothing more than the sex you put forth publically.  Also lesson learned, men will fuck anything as long you say that we can.  So young ladies, don’t throw away your dignity and self-respect because you think that photos of your in a compromising position makes you more a woman or more desirable to a man.  Simply being a woman makes you desirable to us.  And while some scandalous photos may get you more attention, you’re actually becoming less of a person and more of an objective.  And while I would agree that you can’t be addicted to sex or porn or even your favorite flavor of lube, I could be pushed to agree that a person can become consumed with an object.    

The King is dead!  Long live the King!  ~ Anon

Aside from nearly four inches of freshly fallen snow covering my sleepy military hamlet, it would seem that nearly nothing has changed.  The immediate concern for me and my colleagues would be getting to work without getting rear-ended by some Carolinian who does not know how to drive in winter conditions, not the current economic recession that we as a nation find ourselves in or some far off war in Gaza… after all, we have our own wartime troubles to contend with.  Therefore, it is not surprising that while we all regrouped together after a long and hearty MLK weekend the talk was of Sports Center highlights, recent movie reviews, and the general consistency of some of my home-made banana bread which I brought into work for the guys; not the Inauguration of President Barrack Obama.    

Unfortunately, when I woke up on Tuesday to find that I was more-or-less snowed into my tiny home, I set about to do some light paperwork and play video games for the majority of the day.  It wasn’t until I poked my head out from my cave sometime around four in the afternoon that I realized that grand and historical event in
Washington DC was nearly at a conclusion.  I was a bit remiss, to be quiet fair, because while I really don’t think that I would have been glued to the TV set as if I was watching the latest Jerry Bruckheimer film, I do think that I would have been conscious enough to realize that the scene that was unfolding in front of my eyes was history in the making. 

The constant barrage of media sound bites and video clips has shown me what I have missed as well as 48 straight hours of NPR focusing on the topic to the exclusion of the rest of the civilized world.  And while I believe that I understood the historical context of what was being played out before me, I do not think that I have yet fully grasped what this means in a more contemporary stand point.  True, we have elected our first African American President, which is somewhat of a culmination of the civil rights movement in this country, but what despite this, and as cliché as it may sound, there is such a manifestation of hope that it is hard to ignore. 

As I inferred above, military personnel live a world that is very different than the majority of Americans, a standpoint that many of us can misplace from time to time.  The way of life under the Bush Administration was one of status quo; there was a job to do, and the morality and ethics of the situation was more within the mission rather than the mission itself.  Healthcare, a recessive economy, these issues do not effect our world.  Our world is life or death, security and survival, more so now as ever in the past eight years.  The hope of the world does not rest within my installation, only anticipation and marked concern of the upcoming strategies of the new administration who finds themselves in command of War on Terror and thus Iraq and Afghan theaters.

This is the immediate impressions for us.  And while certainly the hope of a nation is the more prevailing emotion overall, I still feel as though we as a country are shy and short from the overall scheme of what is happening.  Granted, Americans are back en vogue with the Europeans as we take on more of that NATO-friendly team player appearance.  The effect is even more pronounced in the Third World as once again America immerges as a symbol of ‘look what we can do to change ourselves – so can you!’.  Peoples’ of small hopeless countries have faith in Democracy again, even if it is just in principal.  That alone in these strange times is worth its weight in social currency. 

Even as these new days dawn, the Devil’s Advocate in me has to remind people, despite their collective moments of sunshine, that hope is a four letter word.  Perhaps that is a bit too much to just leap out with, so I’ll refine that statement; hope is a vessel for potential… and you know what Charles Bukowski said about potential?  “…it don’t mean shit, you’ve got to do it.”  Of itself, therein is the crux of the next six months.  I have no doubt that the new President is going to hit the ground running so fast that he’s going to make the previous Administration’s work load looking like kindergarten half-days.  But now, the real Barrack Obama will begin to take shape, not simply a nebulas form of hope.  What shape will form?  Who can truly say just yet?  For example, we all understood that President Obama would do something drastic with the prisoner situation at Guantanamo Bay.  Now that he’s begun, some of his supporters don’t necessarily agree with how he’s handling the clean up… or his choices for cabinet seats… or who gave the Inaugural Prayer… etc, etc, etc. 

This is the name of the game, kids; and it’s Politics.  While he held his hand close during an epic nearly two year campaign, the new President now has more crap to deal with on his plate than any in recent history.  I never bought into the whole hope thing, but rather understood it to be only potential some six or seven months ago and took it as such considering that he likely had a plan for much of this, but didn’t need to tell us the details just yet.  I decided that the potential for change was better than the alternative, which seemed like no potential for change.  I therefore understand that we also have the potential to set some iconic standards as a nation that may echo on for the next fifty years, decision our children may have to live with.  All we can do now… is hope that they are the good ones. 

If the enemy is to be coerced, you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice that you would call on him to make.  The hardships of the situation must not be merely transient – at least not in appearance.  Otherwise, the enemy would not give in, but would wait for things to improve.  ~ Karl von Clausewitz

Well finally, there is a war in the Middle East that we aren’t directly a part of.  Now there’s a historical American narrative that makes you long for the days of Scooby-Doo and Dan Rather on the Evening News, if you ask me.  People of one ethnic creed start pounding away at another ethnic creed for some nonsensical reason that has roots that date back to The Old Testament for a little while, then stop, presumably for no other reason that too keep older wounds fresh.  And we, the ever vigilant champions of the oppressed and wronged, stand at the microphone upon the world’s stage and demand a stop to the violence in the name of humanity and democracy.  Ah well, at least we’re getting close to the old days…

The current conflict in the Gaza Strip may not seem like anything out of the ordinary to the average American given that the average American likely could no more easily tell you the source of the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis than they could point out to you the location of capital city of Canada on a map… or be able to name it for that matter, (It’s Ottawa, by the way…) but so it goes.  The point is that regardless of what is going on within the framework of the Israeli’s Defense Forces, the majority of Americans simply look at it as another day Tel Aviv (that’s that in Israel guys…)

The actions of Israel really are a study in scarlet, if you take the time to think of them outside of their context and consider their implications if applied in other parts of what might be called The Free World.  If you haven’t noticed, this is a bit of a pastime for me, as this is the fourth blog of its name in the last two and a half years.  Foremost, what I find somewhat  ironic is the mere lip service Israel pays to The United Nations considering that the birth of Israel was, in all fairness, possibly the most iconic thing that non-governing body ever did.  Israel has since rather become the uncontrollable bastard child of the UN, who seemingly loves to push boundaries, try the patience, and even break the laws laid down by its parent body. 

So far, Israel’s 37 Day War with Lebanon was my favorite talking point about the hypocrisy / justice of the Israeli people, where a war was started over a simple case of kidnapping.  In an older world, this might seem justified, possibly even normal; but in our time, a time spawned from post-Cold War paranoia of the fallout military might; shelling country for near six weeks over something as micro-feasible as capturing a Soldier in a ‘time of peace’ may seem a bit excessive if not down-right illegitimate.  Important to note that these are perceptions that we hold as a somewhat global society, and are certainly fair to be considered a bit ‘new wave’ within the historical parameters of things.  Nonetheless, the recent ground assault and occupation of Gaza raises an entirely new series of observations of near duplicity that, as always, I will attempt to relate to an American world at large. 

The first level of irony, and perhaps the most fundamental, is the actions of the Israelis at this current time are not too terribly different that those that were visited upon the Jewish people some 70 years ago.  Before I go on, I’ll dispense a quick history lesson for those you who don’t know that much about Israel, Palestine, and the general malaise of that region for the past century or so.  Originally (and I use that term loosely) the area that is now Israel was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and while the Ottoman Empire did not recognize exact boarders in a  manner that you or I would today, the general region upon which we are discussing was called Palestine and thus  controlled by the Palestinian people.  Then, after World War I, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled by the British and carved into exact colonies as spoils of war (Fun Fact: this is where Iraq came from as well, kiddies!).  While still occupying the majority of Palestine with troops and governing bodies, the British began populating the area with Jewish settlers and further began making political waves about establishing the region as homeland for the Jewish people, that is, Israel.  With the Palestinians in direct and often violent protest, this continued until World War II, whereas at its completion and the following formation of The League of Nations (later the United Nations), the State of Israel was formed in actuality with the full backing and support, most notably militarily, of The League.  Their original violent protests during the British occupation were now met with violent reprisals from the newly formed Israeli government, marking the brutal treatment of Palestinian civilians by Israel’s military.  The Palestinians were all but ignored politically and eventually marginalized into small areas of land, such as The Gaza Strip and The West Bank. 

Jump ahead to today and returning to our first level of irony: isn’t it funny that a country that was born as a result of the near holocaust and subsequent genocide of its ethnic people by a country that perceived them as interlopers should see similar actions as just and correct way to deal with its historical enemies whom they also consider unwanted?

Secondly, consider The Free World’s reworking of current military doctrine and dogma based on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other smaller conflicts in the Global War on Terror.  True, the ol’ US of A leads the way in most of these ‘reforms’, but it’s safe to say that other members of the NATO triage team are seeing the ‘apparent’ usefulness of it.  Now consider Israel’s utter apathy toward it.  While the rest of the world is looking to write the next page in COL John Nagl’s Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam, Israel is brushing up on a little von Clausewitz theory.  …and what we as a world should ask ourselves is this:  Is there anything wrong with that?

Apparently not.  The UN loses more and more creditability in the world community daily.  Following a harrowing finger wagging at Russia after the invasion of Georgia, the United Nations continues its inspiring display by issuing more demands with no ability or intention to follow them up whatsoever towards Israel.  Unfortunately, so is America.  As yester-year’s lap-dog to the United Nations, America has yet to unchain itself from unfettered Israeli backing as they are still one of our only Allies in the region… for now, anyway.  Still, at least we have tempered ourselves and our yammering to half-hearted speeches from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who calls for peace in the region, harking points and emotions more akin to the Miss America Pageant then global conflict resolution.  So why does Israel get to have all the fun, trooping around its respective geographical area when the rest of us have to play by the rules?

Great question and I don’t have a good answer for you.  One thing is for sure, it’s a new page out of the old play book.  Again and again, Israel is holding the host country / people accountable for the policing of its citizens when those citizens threaten the security of their people, and Israel does so in a manner than rather transcends words and cultures, I think.  Truly, it’s hard to not take some form of action as a people when bombs and bullets are perpetually raining about your head.  The Israeli government hopes that such action will manifest in the people’s will to stop the rather pointless and annoying habit of blowing up things in Israeli neighborhoods, and while there is always a chance that such an occupation would galvanize the Palestinians more towards Hamas, I would think that this is an outcome that is also acceptable toward the Israelis.  After all, so far, this conflict has only cost them the lives of 14 Soldiers.  Not bad, considering the damage they’ve wrought.  That being said, even through occupation, how does this pacify the Palestinians?  Again, I dunno.  But options really do open up for a country when they don’t have to listen to the rest of the world nagging at them.

Also, let’s examine the double standard.  America rolls into Iraq, and as we stick around to help rebuild the country, we get slammed with the term “occupying force”, and suddenly we are the bad guys.  Granted, some criticism was warranted; however, Israel is quickly looking to do the same thing.  Maybe it will work and maybe it won’t, but the point is that the fuss is minimal, especially considering Israel has no intentions of doing anything nice and constructive with the Palestinians at the end of this mess.  Moreso, the actions of the Israeli’s could be interpreted as indiscriminate, possibly even genocidal… which would certainly be an easy, although somewhat ironic and unethical solution to their problems.

Lastly, it is important to point out that while the Palestinians do ‘control’ Gaza, it is not an official country nor does it belong to Palestine (The West Bank).  Technically, it belonged to Egypt until the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 when Israel took possession of it.  However, remember that is that this whole fiasco was started when members of Hamas fired a small cascade of rockets into Israel a few weeks ago.  While a dumb move at first glance, the action becomes increasingly dim-witted when one remembers that this is the same country that unleashed a massive bombardment against neighboring country not too long ago because of a group that was working from within it.  The actions of Hamas become even more ludicrous when you consider their leaders within Gaza, who are in hiding for fear of death by air strike, have begun to state that they would be willing to enter into talks (that’s called surrender, folks, for those of you who’ve forgotten about warfare); only to be counter-voiced by their superiors in Syria who are still saber-rattling that Hamas will fight to the last man.  Does Damascus not realize who they are fucking with?  We’ll see…