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Looper's Delight
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I agree wholeheartedly with Frank Zappa, especially when seeing those funny scenes Jay Leno is so expert at squeezing out of the common folk on Los Angeles streets. It's a sad fact that this country has been going on inertia for some time. More than this country, I think our whole "Western Tradition." The fact that I have the freedom to sit down and loop with my Echoplex and my synths and my guitar gives me great pleasure, and would have been unheard of only three hundred years ago. In many ways, my life is better than many a king from the medieval ages— make that many of our lives. They should be turning in their graves at the joy I get when I stop playing at times and just sit quietly to listen to the loops I've been able to make. I don't think they were ever so happy, perhaps only when they were torturing somebody. But there is more to what Frank was talking about. I think many of you don't get it, so here's something to illustrate which I got on an e-mail and have now the pleasure of sharing with you: Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent United States. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your Fourth of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: freedom is never free! Next time you stop playing at your looper, stop and think of the great freedoms you enjoy in your life in this year 2000. And may Frank be playing to his heart's content up in heaven, wherever that may be. Hey, maybe he's looping! | -----Original Message----- | From: Gregor Zavcer [mailto:gregor.zavcer@kiss.uni-lj.si] | Sent: Friday 23 June 2000 8:23 PM | To: Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com | Subject: Re: Frank & stupidity | | | | | | >You *don't* see an incredible amount of stupidity around you in your | everyday life? | >Not seeing rampant stupidity in our modern society is like not | seeing the | forest for the trees. | > | >steve | > | | hey, | | a friend of mine said: "if stupidy hurt, people would be | screaming all the | time" | | just had to say that. | | greetz | | gregor | |