2022.02.27 Heretical Thoughts On The New Normal
review of
Dick Turner and Fellow Heretics' "Heretical Thoughts On The New Normal"
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 6-7, 2022
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4654172178
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60766212-heretical-thoughts-on-the-new-normal
As one of the coauthors of this, it won't be any surprise that I like it very much. I founded a group 2 yrs ago, roughly in March, 2020, called the HERETICS, the purpose of wch was to enable those of us who didn't believe in the mainstream narrative about the purported COVID-19 'pandemic' to trade research & personal experiences with each other & to otherwise provide each other emotional & philosophical support. Our 1st bk, "Unconscious Suffocation - A Personal Journey through the PANDEMIC PANIC" ( http://idioideo.pleintekst.nl/Book2020.09PANDEMIC.html ), wch I compiled under the name of "Amir-ul Kafirs", represented our efforts during the 1st 5 months.
This pamphlet is Dick's attempt to provide a clear philosophical way out of the conundrum that the QUARANTYRANNY has created these last 2 yrs. When we were discussing what the cover shd be I wrote:
"It's my understanding that the birth of the political pamphlet fluorished during the time immediately before the French Revolution. If you've made a bilingual edition it would be historically nice if you picked a cover from an appropriately titled pamphlet from that time that you cd put your own information over. Since you're in Paris I imagine there are some fantastic resources available."
& then suggested picking from:
"The Newberry French Pamphlet Collection, 38,455 titles, is on the Internet Archive here:
https://archive.org/details/newberryfrenchpamphlets"
Dick chose the cover from Thomas Paine's "Common Sense":
"Common Sense is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 17751776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense
At 1st, I was more in favor of other pamphlets & thought that the choice of Paine's pamphlet was too obvious. Now, however, I find it to be an excellent choice, exactly fulfilling Dick's purpose. It's a clarion call for rebellion against the non-egalitarian Managerial Totalitarianism that the pamphlet succinctly identifies & addresses. Dick begins thusly:
"From the very first I was struck by how the concept of The New Normal suddenly came fully formed into the public consciousness. I had the feeling that the script had been written beforehand and it was simply being read. For, from the very first of the pandemic I kept hearing that "everything we know is going to change", that "we were entering a new era". It was like a mantra in the mainstrem new media. But hiw could anyone know? It seemed awfully odd to me to make such a definitive pronouncement considering that the situation hadn't had the time to become fully established. Normally events develop within the human sphere bit by bit, taking shape over time, forming in the public mind, but now we hear constant announcements of what was to be, it was our job simply to accept whatever came our way."
Dick was inspired by an email from fellow HERETIC Naia Nisnam wch concluded w/:
"my knee-jerk reaction is to distrust any group that wants to put forward a plan for the future of the entire planet."
Soon after reading this, Dick sent out an email to the HERETICS group wch he concluded w/:
"Maybe it gets down to the slogan "Just Say No" on a metaphysical scale. We need to visualize what a progressive society could be which is not driven by greed, authority and dissatisfaction."
I replied to this email, partially saying:
"Another important facet of cultures that live in cyclical time is non-ownership of the planet. The forced 'progress' of capitalism & its notion that the world's resources can be owned by some & sold to others (not to mention polluted) is very destructive. Wars are often fought over which nation 'owns; which land, etc."
Dick pursued his ideas further. He interpolated a text of mine that I'd just published on Medium ( "Putting Chomsky in his Place" - https://medium.com/@idioideo/putting-chomsky-in-his-place-da6a6f90202f ) & then developed his thoughts to a conclusion.
"In a word, the answer to everything in a free society is freedom. Anything else, no matter how attractive, seductive or seemingly expedient is a lie."
&, indeed, freedom is something in very short supply - & that's no accident. If you're a person as bothered by the current state of Managerial Totalitarianism, as Dick so elegantly describes it, as the Heretics are, please check out this pamphlet. It's a quick read but it has very much to say.
- available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Heretical-Thoughts-Normal-Dick-Turner/dp/B09TDSWXQN/ref=sr_1_16?qid=1647899120&refinements=p_27%3ADick+Turner&s=books&sr=1-16
- available on the Internet Archive here: https://archive.org/details/heretical-thoughts-on-the-new-normal
- on YouTube as an audiobook here: https://youtu.be/IIiaUYsfs4Q
idioideo at gmail dot com
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