Introduction

I have had several people to tell me that I should start a blog. I don’t necessarily think that my opinions are any more important than those of anyone else. As such, I put it off for years. I finally got to the point where I needed an outlet to express myself and to make some comments on life as I see it.

Finally, I wised up and started this blog because I felt that it was time for me to be heard. I have a few things to say that I think haven’t been said or have not been said loudly enough. Some of those things may be on the mark or way out in left field. I really don’t care whether anyone agrees with me, as long as my opinions cause people to think and consider the possibilities of whatever is being discussed.

I decided to call this expression “New Man Rising.” This phrase presents several things that I think are relevant to me and to the people who are around me. The phrase has to do with a large part of this American paradigm that I live in. America, since its inception, has represented opportunity in economic, social, and spiritual terms. We here have the chance to redefine ourselves and truly become what we want to be. Without sounding corny, people of all backgrounds have been able to redefine themselves and create realities for themselves based on their own design and belief, both for positive and negative.

I think that as residents of the Western Hemisphere, we are all new men and women. The people that come over in various waves from Europe, Africa, and Asia were able to build something new and “seek their fortunes” in ways that were not available before the advent of this time or age or whatever. There are entirely new racial, social, and identity paradigms that are wholly original and new to our history and existence on this planet. All of this newness has given people the opportunity to synthesize and create whole new cultural expressions like jazz and Caribbean music which take elements from old forms but really cannot be expressed in old terms.

We can definitely look at this experiment that is America and at the Western Hemisphere in its basest historical terms and pull out the negativity inherent in events of the past. We can look at all of the wars, disease, slavery, and slaughter brought by European conquerors and say how evil and inhumane these people’s actions were. And indeed, they were pretty inhumane and heinous. We can also realize that these people were products of their own hardscrabble environment and upbringing. Most of the time, we don’t recognize that the average American living in poverty has a better lifestyle than many of the European monarchs that lived prior to the 20th century. I choose to put that history in the past without reliving it and without forgetting it. I instead choose to look at the possibilities.

On a more personal level, I use the phrase “New Man Rising” to represent myself. I use it to acknowledge the personal and deeply spiritual (not religious, there is a difference) transformation that I have been experiencing over the past few years. My goal has been to redefine myself on my own terms. I realized that I did not need to embrace others definitions of success or happiness. My ideas are the only ones that really matter to me; they are the only ones that I truly care about. I don’t mean that I will disrespect people’s opinions or advice. It means that I prefer to keep my own counsel and listen to my own instincts and experience where it is appropriate.

“New Man Rising” also refers to a book by Robert Anton Wilson called Prometheus Rising. This book has had a profound effect on me and my thinking. Reflecting on what Wilson has written reminds me that we are all products and victims of our upbringing. We all develop defense mechanisms and world views based on what we were taught as children. Wilson stresses that we all have the capacity to consciously change our outlook and thus change our world. I choose to adopt this philosophy myself and apply it to my life to improve myself.

Now to conclude this overly long introduction, I will tell you what I want to accomplish with this blog. I hope to foster discussion and thought about the things that I write. I intend to discuss things from everyday life that I think are important and that I think need to be more closely examined. I think that we are so engrossed in the common us vs. them mentality that we miss some of the finer and more salient points of the real issues that face us everyday. There are enough people engaged in base and least common denominator discussions. One more is not needed. I have no intention of embracing either party line or giving opinions that could be gotten from popular media’s talking heads. I also do not intend to regurgitate others opinions when I don’t have one of my own. That’s a waste of my time and that of anyone who cares to read my work. Finally, and most importantly, I intend to expose and share some of my transformation, for good or ill. Maybe my triumphs or mistakes will help somebody out there in the “Internets” to realize successes similar to mine more quickly or to not repeat my mistakes.

We live in very interesting times. As such there is plenty around me to discuss and comment on. So, away we go.