Taking-up the devil's mantle again, the universe is experienced in a physical way when time and silence have meaning (staring at the stars). Movement is appreciated by the eye - rhythm, force - as Daredevil leaps along rooftops.
The wash of news, and now social media, dulls the metaphysical with the scourge of 'facts'.
Learn to see before you learn to read
goes one of the lines in Film Socialisme, the 2010 collage or collision of scenes by J-L Godard (then about 80.)
With the American Way battered, and the Russian way even more battered, seeing through a battered European perspective may be a wise alternative.
Battered, meaning shabby ambiance, soiled beauty, sultry decline and divine swine. The latter are the animals that peer through the screen at odd times. The purrs of cats from a YouTube meme, seen on-board a cruise-ship (also harbouring Patti Smith in cameo); the cloven-hooved creatures at a Core d'azur gas station..
At about 3 plus minutes is a shot of the gas station's waterpump windmill (in shadow), reminding me of the Old West's iconic windmills. The film may not have much narrative flow, but Godard is a master of creating a sense of the casual and natural, people pawing like animals (the off-beats of off-screen music..)
What that could say is, the life lived casually and naturally comes first; the story comes second. For a start, why does the French gas station have a windmill? Presumably to pump water from a well, meaning either they have less plumbing or more water - as in the Old West.
If this is a French and French West African way, it is anti the Anglo world which is ruled by capital. By the 'cleanness' of smart plumbing and increasingly by algorithms (text or story.) Numerical efficiency rules (Ed Sheeran writes algorithmic pop songs for dollars?)
Outside the Anglo world is the shabby-chic European twilight. 'Facts', unfortunately, are no longer sufficient to run an order that is governed by algorithms.
Pam Geller, as noted previously, blatantly lied about Trudeau for the sake of her principles; the Russians are blatantly sidestepping truth in Ukraine for the sake of their principles.
"Putin plans to rebuild the USSR and have Russia back as a superpower. He genuinely doesn't see Ukrainians as their own people. He sees them as inferior Russians. (guy called Ingram.)
But, for Ukraine to be part of a new Russian Empire would clearly be superior to being just another capitalist country like, say, Denmark.
Principles have to have priority over 'facts' because only principles have the force and rhythm of movement, of purpose. Facts are always there to be argued over endlessly.
For example, American forces in Afghanistan committed similar acts to the Russians in killing innocent parties. It was either 'mistaken' or 'unavoidable', the result was the same.
The more primitive way of looking at reality is through force and purpose and movement. These supply principles which modernity lacks.
Putin's principles are confused, as was noted before, because the modern paradigm is confused. The same goes for America in Afghanistan.
The legitimacy of communes and free trade ports - see historical prev. - is a case of disorder and rebellion first. This enables legitimate physical action that establishes order.
These types of opposite statements and quotes litter Godard's film (a classic is, 'Islam is the occident of the East' by Rudyard Kipling.) The primitive sense of disorder and beauty and natural rhythmic force is necessary to create a renewed sense of purpose that is not purely the Anglo credo (text) of dollar, algorithm, number.
