“This book is not about heroes.
English poetry is not yet fit to speak of them.
Nor is it about deeds, or lands, nor anything about glory,
honour, might, majesty, dominion, or power,
except War.
Above all I am not concerned with Poetry.
My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pity.
You shall not hear their mirth:
You shall not come to think them well content
By any jest of mine. These men are worth
Your tears. You are not worth their merriment.
Yet these elegies are not to this generation,
This is in no sense consolatory.
They may be to the next.
All the poet can do to-day is to warn.
That is why the true Poets must be truthful.
If I thought the letter of this book would last,
I might have used proper names;
but if the spirit of it survives Prussia,—
my ambition and those names will be content;
for they will have achieved themselves
fresher fields than Flanders.”
Wilfrid Owen, Poems, 1920
For from the least to the greatest,
they are greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
they all deal falsely.
They treat the wounds of my people carelessly,
saying, Peace, peace,
when there is no peace.
They act shamefully, they commit abominations;
yet they have no shame,
they do not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time of my judgement, they shall be overthrown."
Jeremiah 6:13-15
Stocks managed to pull together a rally, shaking off some geopolitical and corporate concerns.
What, me worry?
VIX fell again.
The Dollar dropped further.
Gold and silver rallied in a flight to safety (or from insanity).
Assuming the stock market shakes off its bubble excess, which can unfold in several ways and several time frames, gold looks poised to run to 4000.
It *could* happen in a significant flight to safety sooner than we expect.
I am not quite as keen about this, given the economic damage from which gold (and silver) will rise.
But certainly the metals are no cause of this, but simply an effect, an indicator, of disastrous mismanagement.
We are so foolish to allow such scoundrels and grifters to set the course of our societies.
Nothing is inevitable. There is always a choice, another way.
Unfortunately most are choosing to look on and say nothing, until trouble comes to their doorsteps.
Have a pleasant evening.
