Mullsay the Zine: November 2022

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Some Christian Music

Here are three songs by Ryan Ventriloquist.

I Will Follow You, Christ

Love God on High

A Psalm of Love I

Thursday, November 3, 2022

A Path for Peace

Written by Ryan Ventriloquist

Russia, China, and the United States are presently undergoing a vying for power to be distinguished as the primary super-power, a position the United States has historically maintained since the end of the Second World War. There are struggles between nation-states over power dynamics regularly played out in the realm of capital, access to resources, prestige, territorial disputes, and military strength, which fundamentally affect the mental and emotional disposition of the global politic. By a rule, the human family has more peace of mind when there is more peace in the atmosphere. Rather than clenching our fists at one another, all too eager to fight in pursuit of nationalistic gain, why don't we come together, sit at the same table, and be grateful for what we have as we embrace our given existential circumstances where we can share Mother Earth?

There is growing tension between European nations and the United States with Russia, especially since that fateful day on February 24, 2022. It is too bad, because peace is, as always, at hand if we just lay down our arms and collectively ask ourselves: "What happened?" and proceed to form and foster friendships between nations, participate in ongoing dialogue regarding our respective cultures and values, work through historical traumas in peace and reconciliation committees, and forge a path toward a prosperous future.

With Russia positioned on the nexus of both Europe and Asia, it brings one to inquire: "Ought the East and West alike recognise Russia as a indisputable international partner, and as this recognition carries forth, ought both the United States and Chinese citizens look to points of political, cultural, and societal intersection, to fashion common ground, and with this common ground, find common values and perspectives, and, moreover, subsequently, use this exchange as a bridge for unfurling a similar exchange between the United States and Russia, and China and Russia, eventually carrying on this democratic dialogue to other nation-states such as Brazil, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and ultimately, ideally, all throughout the world?

Mullsay dialogue—

Thank you for reading what I have shared with you here in this publication. I am sincerely grateful for your engagement in this democratic exchange of which I am presiding over. I ask you to take some concerted time to mull over this piece of writing and then to say your thoughts by responding to the following prompts (hence, Mullsay the Zine). And with as much earnestness and yearning, I ask you to read through carefully and consider the thoughts, ideas, affect, desires, concerns, and considerations of the various people who also put forth comments. If you have input you wish to offer that is not related to what I guide you through in prompts, I invite you to share it in the comments section that is located below the prompts. Please keep in mind, in democratic dialogue, it is of essential importance to be respectful and kind, thoughtful and peace-oriented.

America is considered an enemy of China, and China is considered an enemy of America, but are the peoples of America and the peoples of China enemies?

If the peoples of America and China aren't enemies, why are China and America enemies? And for that matter, why shouldn't they be?

by Ryan Ventriloquist

And I invite you to mull over additional thoughts related to this essay and offer your input in the comments section below.

What is a philosopher?

Written by Ryan Ventriloquist

It has become commonplace in the field of philosophy to focus on an area of specialization, honing in on one specific element of the vast philosophical terrain, and accounting for that as the philosophical enterprise. In what way do we understand philosophy upon reaching learned knowledge of epistemology and ontology when we lack a high level of understanding in ethics? How could we assert to be philosophically acute when we know ethics and science of mind, but lack in depth of understanding of ontology and epistemology? To know philosophy, one needs to have a profound grasp on how the whole hangs together. Alfred North Whitehead maintains, “Philosophy is the endeavor to frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted.” This is essential to do, because all of our moments in experience fundamentally hinge on our self-constructed philosophical viewpoints on life. Philosophy is a pressing matter indeed. As Lewis Vaughn writes at the beginning of his book, Philosophy Here and Now: Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life, “philosophy is, well, here and now—that is, relevant and current.” Just imagine all the ways our interpretive meanings of moments, events, relationships, religion, morality—the broad spectrum of experience—affect every moment we are transacting with the lifeworld—that is, always. In order to harness experience, to understand the nuanced, integral, and in depth realm of human nature, one needs to see her way around the broad spectrum of existence in a philosophical manner.

Consider: I could be reflecting on the way a child laughs while I see him flying a kite along the beach and he sees seagulls flying above the kite. In order to grasp this experience, I have an understanding of what a human being is, comprehend human development to make sense of the phase of development the child is in, am aware of the emotion of humor to see what constitutes the laughter, reflect insightfully on how the East impacts the West in order to base my understanding of the kite, go through a profound background in Biblical knowledge to order my experience of the beach, grasp fine biological categories and distinction to make sense of the seagull—and with all this integrate it into an entire philosophical framework for understanding existence which generally functions pre-cognitively in ordering and refining experience. The background of my culture affects this experience, the way I was raised, the religion I subscribe to, my social network, etc., and—first and foremost—how I make sense of these things—all of this goes into that integration toward ordering and refining experience. In order to truly be called a philosopher, I must know my way around all these considerations.

This goes with all experience. The philosopher carries in her handbag a holistic approach to understanding and making sense of experience. Literally, each moment we are living, we have an entire history of ideas, thoughts, experiences, relationships, and each of these contributes to what it is with what we are confronted. The philosopher pins these all down and brackets them to a well-constructed, nuanced whole in order to properly make sense of what comes their way. To understand epistemology without understanding ethics is not to be a philosopher. It is to be an epistemologists. To understand metaphysics without understanding logic is not to be a philosopher, it is to be a metaphysician. So on. A philosopher understands all these things, puts them together, arranges experience, and dwells in enlightenment.

Mullsay dialogue—

What does philosophy mean?

What does it mean to be a philosopher?

What are some ways one can open up the world of philosophy?

How has philosophy impacted your day-to-day affairs?

by Ryan Ventriloquist

And I invite you to mull over additional thoughts related to this essay and offer your input in the comments section below.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

2 songs, rock on.

Here are two more demos.

- Ryan Ventriloquist

Dancin' Dolphin Nymph by Ryan Ventriloquist

On Your Way Downstream by Ryan Ventriloquist

About Ryan Ventriloquist

Ben Bussewitz came to the name Ryan Ventriloquist on his path with God. Ryan Ventriloquist is a Ph.D. student concurrently on track to receive seven doctorates in 2048. He is enrolled in Ph.D. programs at Harvard University--Theology, Chinese History, U.S. Government, and World Literature--, Yale University--Political Science--, Princeton University--Global Governance--, and University of California, Berkeley--Creative Writing. In 2023, he received honorary B.A.s in Philosophy and English from Allegheny College. Ryan has earned a honorary Associate's Degree from DePaul University. He has been published in Mediterranean Poetry, The New Yorker, Granta, The Iowa Review, The Allegheny Review, among others. He is a musician as well. Ventriloquist has been engaged in independent research related to the merging of the disciplines in an ethical framework based on the dharma. He has written two poetry manuscripts that he aims to publish not too long from now. Mullsay the Zine is a platform where people can engage democratically with pieces that Ventriloquist has written and contemplate music and poetry that he has posted. He hopes you enjoy it.

The Philosophy of Now

The Autumn breeze gives way to falling leafs, floating colors through the air that make all at peace. And in the Winter snow shines from the sun, bringing more light to the day, a snow angel canvas that keeps our souls warm. In the Spring, the sunlight fills up our hearts and the animals come out to live as one with us. And in the Summer we drink water beneath the shade of a willow tree, in an immersion of Love and summertime heat. She is always with me, breathing in life, in full light rays of colors she is totally embedded in my mind and by my side.

essentials of democracy

a democratic government functions to uphold the will of the people. in this regard, the people ought to be informed about the issues everyone deals with in order to be better support to their fellow citizens as the government accounts for their collective will. it's good for the citizenry to be well-educated in order that it may see multiple perspectives to current topics with nuance and clarity. and it is absolutely of central importance that the citizens engage in thoughtful empathy with one another to see the broad issues on the table.

a description of a small movement for democracy

written by Ryan Ventriloquist

shelby waits by the joseph ave bus stop near where she has been living so long and where she has immersed herself into an impoverished part of town that she is looking to uplift as she gets along with all the local people, asking them the kinds of issues they would like to work towards improving, and reporting their thoughts, ideas, affect, desires, and overall will to a local school board along with the town counsel meeting in that town and the town counsel meeting where her family lives, in the adjacent neighbourhood. she is calm and composed this morning. calm and collected. her colleague elda has told her that the time of the next-door redhaired blue-eyed woman’s pregnancy is scheduled for the time they had hoped and shelby is just rejoiced with the good news that her gestation has continued to be just on par. shelby enjoys the morning air and looks forward to the bus ride where she’ll read the news on her smartphone and also looks forward to the day of work at Highland Hospital.

after waiting seven minutes for the bus (she left ten minutes early to ensure she didn't miss it), she steps on, carries out the transaction of $1 for a bus ride and sits down in the second aisle. she reads an article on chatham house about a get together of chief officials of nearly all national governments, a summit scheduled in egypt, where they will discuss the imperatives of cutting greenhouse emissions and of reducing fossil fuels to a net-zero level in order to ensure that the rise in temperature caused by global warming does not pass the 1.5° above pre-industrial level peaking point; meanwhile there are civil rights groups all over the world setting up a global protest halfway through that meeting, even in the hosting country of egypt, in which the de facto leader is known for brutally suppressing dissenting movements. a man named thomas sits down next to shelby and says hi, and they introduce one another. they fall in love and quickly marry.

shelby was quiet in her private life, while carrying a large public presence. she had only two close friends they lived in different cities and talked on the telephone about current events, literature, and thoughtful other matters that were more personal. on twelfth night those two friends came to shelby and thomas’ house to meet thomas for the first time and to visit with shelby and as the night wore on, thomas invited ten of his friends to make it into a party. they all talked about currents events and literature throughout the night and now thomas and his friends, who did not talk about current events and literature regularly, do on a regular basis

the peace of civil and respectful decorum in democratic proceedings

written by Ryan Ventriloquist

in a time that is sensitive to the townspeople's schedules, the lectern is open to input from across the polity; the affair is presided over by the candidates that received the most support from the various individuals who attend and the people put in charge hand the microphone over for five-minute intervals to names chosen from a raffle; the selected people share their thoughts on trade, civil rights, governmental procedure, the elections, a citizen's sense of duty, etc. and meanwhile the electorate that is observing this phenomenon responds by putting their hands in the air in a thumbs-up or thumbs-down gesture; so it goes for several hours and the routine is repeated daily, spreading a sense of communal knowledge of the information that is of concern to a wide range of parties; the information thus disseminated informs the governing institutions in their policy decisions

on the clerical state of thought production

written by Ryan Ventriloquist

To Our Venerable Brethren and Beloved Children, the Archbishops, Bishops, other Local Ordinaries, and Clergy

the knowing involved in our cognitive process can be based on both rationality and intuition. that is why we are doing this. we have shut off rationality. the button went click, now it's gone. yes, we are political animals in that we have shared ends we're working toward and we live in common. and we have language and complex emotions. but we are severely missing one portion of the human condition. rationality. that is why we're doing this, discussing thought production

thought production is strange and eerie. she going to the cylindrical microphone and yelps out 'how did i know' and looks at me in a queer sort of way

that is ryan ventriloquist's place in thought production. and our reasonable intuition has brought us to share that with you

A Comment on the News

written by Ryan Ventriloquist

in recent U.S. history, it has become commonplace to talk about news in a disheartened tone due to the emergence of "fake news." that does not need to put us off from the reality that most news we find in the sociosymbolic public sphere is, in fact, real news. this is very good, very, very good, as the u.s. tradition of democracy relies on information related to public life—politics, society, literature—to be disseminated in an open way to the people for its very foundation. a democracy relies on informed citizens, as they are the voters. contrary to notions of the u.s. doing a poor job at upholding its national creeds, its national zeal, the u.s. has been doing an upstanding job. there are so many news sources doing fine work. below, i name just a few completely reliable news sources we have access to in the u.s. that report the u.s. news and world news:

Mullsay the Zine

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