Thursday, 20 May 2010
Moaning Less, Doing More
One of the less helpful features of the radical Right is its propensity to spend a great deal of time and effort analysing and complaining abou is wrong with modern culture, and a lot less time actually producing an alternative to this culture. For the most part, the nearest it ever gets to producing said alternative is generating endless suggestions of what needs to be done, without actually doing any of it. Worse still, most of the suggestions are not even actionable in the short to medium term because they involve the creation of vast operations, necessitating large and sustained investment, abundant personnel, established networks, and extensive infrastructure - all this within a community that struggles to raise even measly sums of a few tens of thousands of dollars. Sometimes I wonder if the people making these suggestions are serious about achieving change and do not just seek emotional relief.
Perhaps the tendency to make impractical suggestions stems from the tendency among elitists to think on a macro scale, a trait which I believe results from an inborn desire for order. This would explain the abundance of conspiracy theory buffs within the radical Right: what is a conspiracy theory if not a narrative, an ordered exposition, that efficiently explains a mass of otherwise confusing data and events?
Be that as it may, the fact is that the creation of an alternative culture does not have necessarily to start with a multi-billion-dollar operation, such as a television network; a Hollywood-style film studio; or a film, book, and magazine distribution service, complete with a centillion workers, a googolplex forklifts, and galaxy-sized warehouses. The enemy's control of billions of dollars in assets does not mean that it can only be defeated with billions of dollars. It must be remembered that the enemy did not always control those billions; that it took time for them to get to where they are now, and that their beginnings were small, even penurious. Contrast the awesome and seemingly unassailable dominance of cultural Marxism today with Karl Marx's situation in the 1850s: he had his family surviving on bread and potatoes, pawning clothing and shoes, and begging Engels for handouts. Laura Marx Paul Lafargue
The creation of an alternative culture is, in fact, simpler than it seems. All it takes is for a painter to paint, a writer to write, a composer to compose - in short, for a creative person to start creating, following his or her own inspiration and using the tools, the time, and the talent he or she already has in his or her possession. Granted, a dissident creator will not win the Turner Prize, be published by Random House, or see his music played on BBC Radio this year, but that is because there is not enough cultural production coming from the radical traditionalist camp yet to support an alternative system of prizes, publishers, and radio stations. Yet, production tends to beget resources, and resources more production, so, with increased cultural production, the aforementioned alternative system would likely in time develop. This is because the general public is mostly apolitical, so they will consume quality art, literature, and music, irrespective of whether its creator's cognitive structures are approved by the system. Similarly, an artist might be political, but, at the end of the day, art is art, and the ordinary consumer of art, unless highly political himself, seeks it for its enjoyment value, not for its politics.
I have already written about music (see here, here, here, and here), so readers of my articles are aware that there is already an abundance of it out there that springs from elitist, hierarchical, traditionalist, ethnically-conscious, European sensibilities, and that pays no tribute whatsoever to the false gods of egalitarianism. This music had small, DIY beginnings, and was initially disseminated by, and among, geographically dispersed fans who corresponded and traded tapes with one another during the 1980s. Eventually, specialised record labels and mail order services sprung up all over the planet, constituting a parallel system of production and distribution that bypassed mainstream channels altogether. It has been possible for many years now for numerous label owners operating in the fringe niches of the music industry to exist economically independent of the politically correct system.
In the age of the internet, when information is much more readily available and can be disseminated and exchanged at the speed of light, there is no good reason why the process that took place in the realm of underground music cannot take place in other realms of creative endeavour.
Consider literature. There is an abundance of writers in the White advocacy movement, and the number is growing every year. Therefore, an obvious and fairly easy place to start in the creation and expansion of an alternative culture is literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Unless one is dealing with a major research project, writing books, for instruction and / or entertainment, demands very little in the way of resources besides a creative brain, writing equipment, and the willingness to invest a bit of time and effort in the pursuit of literary creation. There are already a substantial and growing number of non-fiction monographs dealing with the matters that concern readers of this and similar websites. But why not also write pro-White, elitist, radical traditionalist fiction? Or poetry? Or plays? After all, full-on instruction can lead to burnout, so regular relaxation in the form of quality and stimulating entertainment is part of keeping the synapses healthy and the imagination active.
Even more importantly, fiction and poetry (and in loose, broad ways we could include advertising in this category) are often the catalysts of inspiration. Inspiration, daydreaming and fantasising, are what keep humans motivated a lot of the time, especially in times of adversity.
Some will no doubt want to point out at this juncture that we already have a vast literary canon fitting the abovegiven description. This is true. Yet, a culture cannot rely solely on past glories - otherwise, it is a moribund culture. For a culture to be vital, it must be actively engaged in cultural production, in producing new art, new literature, new music, both popular and refined, that reflects and is relevant to its epoch and those producing it and consuming it - that is innovative and does not limit itself to simply reproducing the obsolete styles of an era that cannot and will never return. Louis Ferdinand Celine, Wyndham Lewis, Jean Raspail are all well and good, but the latter is elderly and the former two are no longer of this world. The same applies to the poets, Ezra Pound and Miguel Serrano.
Please note, however, that by 'new' I do not necessarily mean 'modern'. Despite what the Left would like its victims to believe; the two words are not synonymous.
Probably, future literary classics will emerge from within popular fiction (as modern and old literary classics have), so this is an area that needs as much attention, from both writers and readers, as academic non-fiction. For now, however, examples are scarce. A well-known one is the classic The Camp of the Saints, by Jean Raspail. Another is The Turner Diaries and Hunter, both written pseudonymously by Dr. William Pierce (and strictly no Nobel Prize material, despite the former having sold hundreds of thousands of copies). Less well known are Serpernt's Walk, by Randolph D. Calverhall (the pen-name of a science fiction author, according to rumour); and Utopia X by Scott Wilson. I read them both in 2007. Then there is Hold Back This Day, by Ward Kendall, and Das Reich Artam, by Volkmar Weiss, a German psychologist specialising in human intelligence. The first one seems long out of print (it was reviewed in American Renaissance), while the latter is in German. Perhaps most obscure of all, and also in German, are the novels of Wilhelm Landig, who wrote Götzen gegen Thule: Ein Roman voller Wirklichkeiten, Rebellen für Thule: Das Erbe von Atlantis, and Wolfszeit um Thule; and the more recent, and apparently rather pulpy, Stahlfront series. Landig reputedly coined the idea of the Black Sun, and his group, the volkisch mystic Landig Group, revived the ariosophical mythology of Thule, said to be the polar homeland of the ancient Aryans. And of course (in case someone thinks that I do not practice what I preach) there is my own assault on political correctness and the spineless eunuchs of 'respectable' conservatism, Mister.
Surely, there are more novelists out there.
Surely, there are folk out there willing to publish them.
And surely, there are also painters, commercial illustrators, graphic novelists, filmmakers, designers, and computer games programmers out there willing and able to give full expression to their non-conforming sensibilities, urges, dreams, and aspirations, either pseudonymously or under their own names, as much as there are folk willing to start up businesses that tap on that wealth of talent.
And I have not even touched on outdoor culture: battle re-enactment, Mediaeval festivals, pagan festivals, history- or nature-oriented excursions. Even if these already exist, there can always be more.
I am not advocating that the alternative Right cease applying their scalpels to the corpse of modern Western culture: its dissection and analysis must continue, their fora must remain open dissection wards, and, certainly, the dissecting must continue with unabated ferocity. Furthermore, the murderers of Western culture must be identified and removed from their positions of power, which they seized through cunning and hold without legitimacy or good purpose. But I am saying that the dissecting must be a means to an end, and not an ends in itself; and that the alternative Right must have as clear an idea of what its world will look like if it is successful in its endeavours, of how it will improve people's daily lives, as it has of why the present order must be overthrown. It is imperative that the alternative Right be able to present ordinary folk with attractive glimpses of what it has to offer, of what could be, in a manner that is instant, powerful, emotional, stylish, and aesthetically appealing. Arid scientific texts and masses of facts, while important, will not convince anyone, except scientists who are already open to an alternative set of results - many ordinary folk, even well educated ones, choose the facts that confirm them in their prejudices. A breath-taking film, an absorbing novel, a rousing song, a powerful painting or illustration, even a powerful logo, created today for the White folk of today, can reach and transform much more deeply, and can be much more difficult to argue against, than all the data in the world.
The creation of an alternative culture is, in fact, simpler than it seems. All it takes is for a painter to paint, a writer to write, a composer to compose - in short, for a creative person to start creating, following his or her own inspiration and using the tools, the time, and the talent he or she already has in his or her possession. Granted, a dissident creator will not win the Turner Prize, be published by Random House, or see his music played on BBC Radio this year, but that is because there is not enough cultural production coming from the radical traditionalist camp yet to support an alternative system of prizes, publishers, and radio stations. Yet, production tends to beget resources, and resources more production, so, with increased cultural production, the aforementioned alternative system would likely in time develop. This is because the general public is mostly apolitical, so they will consume quality art, literature, and music, irrespective of whether its creator's cognitive structures are approved by the system. Similarly, an artist might be political, but, at the end of the day, art is art, and the ordinary consumer of art, unless highly political himself, seeks it for its enjoyment value, not for its politics.
I have already written about music (see here, here, here, and here), so readers of my articles are aware that there is already an abundance of it out there that springs from elitist, hierarchical, traditionalist, ethnically-conscious, European sensibilities, and that pays no tribute whatsoever to the false gods of egalitarianism. This music had small, DIY beginnings, and was initially disseminated by, and among, geographically dispersed fans who corresponded and traded tapes with one another during the 1980s. Eventually, specialised record labels and mail order services sprung up all over the planet, constituting a parallel system of production and distribution that bypassed mainstream channels altogether. It has been possible for many years now for numerous label owners operating in the fringe niches of the music industry to exist economically independent of the politically correct system.
In the age of the internet, when information is much more readily available and can be disseminated and exchanged at the speed of light, there is no good reason why the process that took place in the realm of underground music cannot take place in other realms of creative endeavour.
Consider literature. There is an abundance of writers in the White advocacy movement, and the number is growing every year. Therefore, an obvious and fairly easy place to start in the creation and expansion of an alternative culture is literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Unless one is dealing with a major research project, writing books, for instruction and / or entertainment, demands very little in the way of resources besides a creative brain, writing equipment, and the willingness to invest a bit of time and effort in the pursuit of literary creation. There are already a substantial and growing number of non-fiction monographs dealing with the matters that concern readers of this and similar websites. But why not also write pro-White, elitist, radical traditionalist fiction? Or poetry? Or plays? After all, full-on instruction can lead to burnout, so regular relaxation in the form of quality and stimulating entertainment is part of keeping the synapses healthy and the imagination active.
Even more importantly, fiction and poetry (and in loose, broad ways we could include advertising in this category) are often the catalysts of inspiration. Inspiration, daydreaming and fantasising, are what keep humans motivated a lot of the time, especially in times of adversity.
Some will no doubt want to point out at this juncture that we already have a vast literary canon fitting the abovegiven description. This is true. Yet, a culture cannot rely solely on past glories - otherwise, it is a moribund culture. For a culture to be vital, it must be actively engaged in cultural production, in producing new art, new literature, new music, both popular and refined, that reflects and is relevant to its epoch and those producing it and consuming it - that is innovative and does not limit itself to simply reproducing the obsolete styles of an era that cannot and will never return. Louis Ferdinand Celine, Wyndham Lewis, Jean Raspail are all well and good, but the latter is elderly and the former two are no longer of this world. The same applies to the poets, Ezra Pound and Miguel Serrano.
Please note, however, that by 'new' I do not necessarily mean 'modern'. Despite what the Left would like its victims to believe; the two words are not synonymous.
Probably, future literary classics will emerge from within popular fiction (as modern and old literary classics have), so this is an area that needs as much attention, from both writers and readers, as academic non-fiction. For now, however, examples are scarce. A well-known one is the classic The Camp of the Saints, by Jean Raspail. Another is The Turner Diaries and Hunter, both written pseudonymously by Dr. William Pierce (and strictly no Nobel Prize material, despite the former having sold hundreds of thousands of copies). Less well known are Serpernt's Walk, by Randolph D. Calverhall (the pen-name of a science fiction author, according to rumour); and Utopia X by Scott Wilson. I read them both in 2007. Then there is Hold Back This Day, by Ward Kendall, and Das Reich Artam, by Volkmar Weiss, a German psychologist specialising in human intelligence. The first one seems long out of print (it was reviewed in American Renaissance), while the latter is in German. Perhaps most obscure of all, and also in German, are the novels of Wilhelm Landig, who wrote Götzen gegen Thule: Ein Roman voller Wirklichkeiten, Rebellen für Thule: Das Erbe von Atlantis, and Wolfszeit um Thule; and the more recent, and apparently rather pulpy, Stahlfront series. Landig reputedly coined the idea of the Black Sun, and his group, the volkisch mystic Landig Group, revived the ariosophical mythology of Thule, said to be the polar homeland of the ancient Aryans. And of course (in case someone thinks that I do not practice what I preach) there is my own assault on political correctness and the spineless eunuchs of 'respectable' conservatism, Mister.
Surely, there are more novelists out there.
Surely, there are folk out there willing to publish them.
And surely, there are also painters, commercial illustrators, graphic novelists, filmmakers, designers, and computer games programmers out there willing and able to give full expression to their non-conforming sensibilities, urges, dreams, and aspirations, either pseudonymously or under their own names, as much as there are folk willing to start up businesses that tap on that wealth of talent.
And I have not even touched on outdoor culture: battle re-enactment, Mediaeval festivals, pagan festivals, history- or nature-oriented excursions. Even if these already exist, there can always be more.
I am not advocating that the alternative Right cease applying their scalpels to the corpse of modern Western culture: its dissection and analysis must continue, their fora must remain open dissection wards, and, certainly, the dissecting must continue with unabated ferocity. Furthermore, the murderers of Western culture must be identified and removed from their positions of power, which they seized through cunning and hold without legitimacy or good purpose. But I am saying that the dissecting must be a means to an end, and not an ends in itself; and that the alternative Right must have as clear an idea of what its world will look like if it is successful in its endeavours, of how it will improve people's daily lives, as it has of why the present order must be overthrown. It is imperative that the alternative Right be able to present ordinary folk with attractive glimpses of what it has to offer, of what could be, in a manner that is instant, powerful, emotional, stylish, and aesthetically appealing. Arid scientific texts and masses of facts, while important, will not convince anyone, except scientists who are already open to an alternative set of results - many ordinary folk, even well educated ones, choose the facts that confirm them in their prejudices. A breath-taking film, an absorbing novel, a rousing song, a powerful painting or illustration, even a powerful logo, created today for the White folk of today, can reach and transform much more deeply, and can be much more difficult to argue against, than all the data in the world.
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