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UPDATED December 4, 2021
Actual praise from early readers (as distinguished from the "fake praise" at front of the book!):
“Gregory, I have now finished your book. The main part to the end of your service. I started by reading some of the appendix for some reason. I am now going through the stuff after the end of the main body. I found the format of letters and your memories to be very exciting. Congratulations. It gives a very nice insight into the era and how the military ran and still runs.”
—‘Country Joe’ McDonald in Berkeley, CA (US Navy veteran of Vietnam War)
“In two words: very enjoyable! I always felt like I missed out on something momentous coming of age after all these major events of the Vietnam Era had happened. The pacing of the story telling is very good. The breakout into appendices of the more detailed documents is a very clever way of appealing to various levels of interest. The writing is clear, descriptive and concise. Super high marks to you for being brave enough to put yourself out there, both then and now. I’m wowed by your memory as well as the depth of your musical appreciation and knowledge. I offer up thanks to you as an American, and a human, for making the effort to improve both our country and our species.”
—Gretchen in Boston, MA
“I haven't finished the book as yet (about 3/4 through), but wanted to drop you a line to say I am thoroughly enjoying it. The methodology of using letters to your folks to tie in the narrative of your experiences is brilliant. Your writing comes off as honest, sincere and just putting it all out there. You have quite a compelling story to tell. It's also a great timepiece of an era that was so influential to our generation.
“Although I don't share the military experiences, I do share the turmoil of those times that had such a profound effect on the person I am today. The book brought me back to my own discovery of progressive rock, psychedelics, protest rallies, music festivals. I really enjoy that aspect of your book. What you did was extraordinary, and you finished your enlistment doing what you set out to do, refusing deployment to an unjust war, making an anti-war statement, and serving your time state-side as a medic.”
—Ken in San Diego, CA
“I did get to read through Chapter 6 of your book thus far. Some thoughts...God damn boy! There were some great Hunter S. Thompson type anecdotes. You also got to experience some of the great bands in some historic venues. The Youngbloods opening for Chicago AND Zappa at the Fillmore! Anyway, I for one do not think that all the musical sidesteps detract from the narrative. Music was central to the lives of many young people in those days….UPDATE: Just finished Chapter 7 this morning. Of course wearing a uniform to a protest or political rally is/was always a no-no. Waving the Viet Cong flag at one of these rallies is ‘Out There and Beyond’! Truthfully, I wouldn't have had the balls to do it. Anyway, the pictures in this chapter were helpful to understanding said event.”
—Francis in Windsor, CT (US Army veteran post-Vietnam War)
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UPDATED December 4, 2021
Actual praise from early readers (as distinguished from the "fake praise" at front of the book!):
“Gregory, I have now finished your book. The main part to the end of your service. I started by reading some of the appendix for some reason. I am now going through the stuff after the end of the main body. I found the format of letters and your memories to be very exciting. Congratulations. It gives a very nice insight into the era and how the military ran and still runs.”
—‘Country Joe’ McDonald in Berkeley, CA (US Navy veteran of Vietnam War)
“In two words: very enjoyable! I always felt like I missed out on something momentous coming of age after all these major events of the Vietnam Era had happened. The pacing of the story telling is very good. The breakout into appendices of the more detailed documents is a very clever way of appealing to various levels of interest. The writing is clear, descriptive and concise. Super high marks to you for being brave enough to put yourself out there, both then and now. I’m wowed by your memory as well as the depth of your musical appreciation and knowledge. I offer up thanks to you as an American, and a human, for making the effort to improve both our country and our species.”
—Gretchen in Boston, MA
“I haven't finished the book as yet (about 3/4 through), but wanted to drop you a line to say I am thoroughly enjoying it. The methodology of using letters to your folks to tie in the narrative of your experiences is brilliant. Your writing comes off as honest, sincere and just putting it all out there. You have quite a compelling story to tell. It's also a great timepiece of an era that was so influential to our generation.
“Although I don't share the military experiences, I do share the turmoil of those times that had such a profound effect on the person I am today. The book brought me back to my own discovery of progressive rock, psychedelics, protest rallies, music festivals. I really enjoy that aspect of your book. What you did was extraordinary, and you finished your enlistment doing what you set out to do, refusing deployment to an unjust war, making an anti-war statement, and serving your time state-side as a medic.”
—Ken in San Diego, CA
“I did get to read through Chapter 6 of your book thus far. Some thoughts...God damn boy! There were some great Hunter S. Thompson type anecdotes. You also got to experience some of the great bands in some historic venues. The Youngbloods opening for Chicago AND Zappa at the Fillmore! Anyway, I for one do not think that all the musical sidesteps detract from the narrative. Music was central to the lives of many young people in those days….UPDATE: Just finished Chapter 7 this morning. Of course wearing a uniform to a protest or political rally is/was always a no-no. Waving the Viet Cong flag at one of these rallies is ‘Out There and Beyond’! Truthfully, I wouldn't have had the balls to do it. Anyway, the pictures in this chapter were helpful to understanding said event.”
—Francis in Windsor, CT (US Army veteran post-Vietnam War)
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Online Purchase Options at this time: Print version and e-book available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBaby Bookshop. A reader's review appears on Goodreads. (But you may still order print version directly from me; see info below book cover image.)
$18.00 + $4.00 shipping to US address. Use form on Contact page.
NOTE: It wouldn't make sense for me to establish ability to accept credit/debit cards. You may pay by PayPal if you have an account, or mail me a check or money order. I will email you all the info you need to complete purchase if you contact me via the Contact Form.
Excerpts from book remain available on MEMOIR page of this website.
Battleship Potemkin blog
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Commentary on current events, never lacking in fury and possibly even signifying something.
* * * [NOTE: Continuation of current article and previously published ones can be viewed on the Past articles page but you must click on "Details" on that page to view content.] * * * * *
Reflections on The Theory of the Leisure Class Posted December 4, 2021 
The Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. An unfathomable amount of physical material and physical labor went into building this very conspicuous monument to a pharaoh. Photo by Alex Azabache on Unsplash Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929)! Quite a name! Born in Wisconsin, of Norwegian heritage. I had encountered references over the years to his seminal book, The Theory of the Leisure Class (first published 1899), but only tackled it relatively recently. I found this author excessively verbose—not infrequently, his sentences ran to 50 or more words. I ended up reading about half the 400 pages of the book, and believe he could have made all his points in about that many pages (i.e. 200). However, the analysis of socio-economic trends presented in this book were new to me, and triggered some serious thought on my own part.
Veblen is credited with coining the concept and phrase conspicuous consumption, which he linked with conspicuous leisure, and stressed that the underlying fundamental process entailed conspicuous waste. Had he lived in our contemporary age, he would likely have been nauseated by the extent of waste in today’s society. (I’m thinking globally here, on the whole, not just in the USA, though the latter is surely the gravest offender. There are still regions of the planet, after all, where eking out a living is so precarious for humans that they can’t even imagine what a wasted resource is.) The concept of consuming conspicuously relates to a perceived need to demonstrate a superior position in one’s society. To be truly a member of the Leisure Class, one had to demonstrate that one needn’t engage in dirty matters like manual labor. The labor of others will keep you financially afloat. In ancient times, a king or high priest would be clothed in the most luxurious garments the society could produce, adorned with precious stones, etc. In more modern times, observe the garments of archbishops, popes, etc. I have visited the Vatican Museum, and trust me, the riches displayed there, if sold off, could fund the alleviation of much of the poverty and misery in this world. In this vein, I must report my surprise that Veblen made no reference to the great pyramids and other gargantuan structures of Egypt. Perhaps archeologists had not confirmed, at time of publication, that the pyramids contained burial chambers for the pharaohs. But even if the thinking in 1899 was that these structures were some kind of astronomical or astrological devices, why so monumental? Surely a more compact device could have been constructed to track the wanderings of the constellations, the seasons for guidance in agriculture, etc. Today we can’t wrap our minds around the amount of labor that these projects demanded for completion. Likewise, the beautiful Taj Mahal in India, built in memory of an emperor’s favorite wife and a mausoleum to house both their mortal remains, demonstrated conspicuous consumption of building materials and human labor, but is not mentioned in Veblen’s book. (Unless, to be fair, it was in a section of the book I skimmed over.) How much in the way of resources do people really need to consume in order to live a reasonably healthy, reasonably content life? All consumption beyond that level is, to be blunt, wasteful. And look at what our modern habits of consumption have brought the planet to: “merely” the brink of human-induced extinction, including of our own species. This wasteful consumption is egged on every minute of every hour of every day by the vast marketing machinery of the contemporary business world. Has humankind, has the planet as a whole, benefitted by the invention of such monstrosities as the “stretch” limousine version of the ‘Hummer’?? For that matter, did we really need a ‘Hummer,’ designed to resemble the military vehicle the ‘HumVee,’ in the first place? Did we really need SUVs in general? Do “soccer moms” really need these wasteful fuel-consuming beasts to ferry their kids to practice? Not so many years ago, when crude oil reached its all-time high price of $147 the barrel, I actually observed some SUV drivers respecting speed limits to conserve a bit of fuel. Not so today, with gasoline prices their highest in quite a few years. The owners of these vehicles seem downright eager to spend a hundred bucks at a pop to fuel up and get back on the road, where they drive as fast as they feel they can get away with. When I was a youngish fellow, I would occasionally see a mobile home (they’re now called RVs—Recreational Vehicles) towing a VW “Beetle” as a dinghy. What do we see now? RVs the size of a Greyhound bus, towing an SUV for the dinghy! I just saw an article online announcing a $1 million RV that carries a “pop-up apartment” so you can go “glamping” (“glamorous camping”) in the roughest of terrain. It’s a wonder my head doesn’t explode in rage when I encounter such things. Conspicuous—WASTEFUL—consumption appears to be the National Religion in this country. But this is hardly “news.” If this is what it takes for people to feel like they have some personal worth, is that not an incredibly sad comment on the spiritual level of this society? The amount of unused food dumped into the trash daily in the USA could eliminate hunger in India, to make a rough estimate. Little could Mr. Thorstein Veblen know that 15 years after publication of his tome, Europe would be convulsed in a savage war that consumed millions of lives as well as other resources. The survivors of that conflagration likewise could not imagine the engines of destruction that would be developed for making war in the ensuing decades. George Orwell famously pointed out that the purpose of war in the modern age is precisely to WASTE resources that could otherwise benefit Mankind as a whole. The idea of the wars ‘Big Brother’s regime stirred up continuously was not so much to achieve victory as to keep the wars going. Meanwhile, the civilian population could enjoy their Victory Cigarettes and Victory Gin, consume “prole-feed” entertainment, and vent their rage at the designated Enemy of the day. Does this not sound suspiciously like what transpired during the epic two-decades failure of US policy in Afghanistan? About the only difference I can see is that nowadays we’re discouraged from smoking tobacco products, and reminded by the very producers/marketers of alcoholic beverages to “drink responsibly”! (But drink! above all.) Yes, it all makes sense to this observer. It disgusts me no end, but it does make sense. And the situation cries out for change. We “merely” have the future of our planet, which may soon be knee-deep in plastic waste, hanging in the balance. END * * * Why "Battleship Potemkin"? Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 movie about the mutiny in the Tsar's Black Sea fleet during the failed 1905 Russian revolution is acknowledged as a masterpiece of cinema. The author of this website endorses the film's message: To rise against cruel oppression is not only justified, it is essential for the preservation of human dignity. |
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Previous two blog articles, available on Past articles page:
Previous two blog articles, available on Past articles page:
- Analysis of the U.S. Debacle in Afghanistan
- Life in these United (?) States: Curiouser and Curiouser
*** SPECIAL NOTICE!! ***
Courage to Resist podcast featuring little ol' me! Courage to Resist, in collaboration with the Vietnam Full Disclosure Project of Veterans For Peace, has compiled a collection of oral histories of GI resistance to the American War in Vietnam. My contribution to this was edited down to 28 minutes and, for whatever reason, the stories of my most militant acts were excised. The full story will appear in my written memoir when I'm able to publish it. For now, here is the link to the audio and a transcript via Courage to Resist:
https://couragetoresist.org/podcast-greg-laxer/
Courage to Resist podcast featuring little ol' me! Courage to Resist, in collaboration with the Vietnam Full Disclosure Project of Veterans For Peace, has compiled a collection of oral histories of GI resistance to the American War in Vietnam. My contribution to this was edited down to 28 minutes and, for whatever reason, the stories of my most militant acts were excised. The full story will appear in my written memoir when I'm able to publish it. For now, here is the link to the audio and a transcript via Courage to Resist:
https://couragetoresist.org/podcast-greg-laxer/
My current writing projects
I will be publishing the memoir of my resistance to the American War in Vietnam from within the ranks of the active-duty US military this year, if things go smoothly. TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVE IT! A Most Unwilling Soldier 1967-1971 consists of some 115,000 words of text, including nine (!) appendixes, excerpts from official government documents, and photos.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, GO TO "MEMOIR" PAGE (click HERE)
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In the meantime, I am having fun writing my first novel. It is a savage satire of the Music Industry, with which I have had some personal experience. Its title is classified (Top Secret!) for the time being.
I will be publishing the memoir of my resistance to the American War in Vietnam from within the ranks of the active-duty US military this year, if things go smoothly. TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVE IT! A Most Unwilling Soldier 1967-1971 consists of some 115,000 words of text, including nine (!) appendixes, excerpts from official government documents, and photos.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, GO TO "MEMOIR" PAGE (click HERE)
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In the meantime, I am having fun writing my first novel. It is a savage satire of the Music Industry, with which I have had some personal experience. Its title is classified (Top Secret!) for the time being.
This blog site addresses and comments on these topics (among others!): peace, war, US politics, American politics, political analysis, climate crisis, climate change, climate change deniers, Donald J. Trump, social commentary, social criticism, social satire, current events, racism, anti-war movement, anti-racism, religion, religious extremism, religious fundamentalism, atheism, Buddhism, fascism, anti-fascism, socialism, communism, American war in Vietnam, the Vietnam War, Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, "The Vietnam War" PBS TV series, GIs, GI resistance to war, US Army, US military, militarism, anti-militarism, 'Bowe' Bergdahl, national debt, Pentagon budget, literature, books, authors, writers, cinema, music, movies, environment, ecology, anthropology, evolution, human race, humankind, misogyny, homophobia, philosophy, resistance, "Star Trek," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," United States Constitution, The Federalist Papers, James Madison, "The Simpsons," Bob Dylan, "Tombstone Blues," Commander-in-Chief, al-Baghdadi, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, endless wars, Major Danny Sjursen, Fritz Lang, Peter Bogdanovich, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, Dr. Mabuse the Gambler, M, The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse, Josef Goebbels, Hollywood, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Carl Sagan, Joe Biden, "With God on Our Side," TAKE THIS WAR AND SHOVE IT! A Most Unwilling Soldier 1967-1971, Albert Einstein, Nuremberg Trials
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS NOTICE: Unless otherwise indicated, owner of this site is the sole author and owner of all material posted (with exception of public domain graphics). Permission is granted to share contents of this site elsewhere on the Internet or by other means of reproduction provided original author (Gregory Laxer) is credited. Please include a link to this website as a courtesy. If only excerpts are shared, original context must be accurately conveyed and, again, credited to original author. Please include a link to this website. EXCEPTION: Selections from my as yet unpublished memoir (see Memoir Page of this site) may not be reproduced elsewhere without express permission of the author.
DISCLAIMER: The author/owner of this website is not responsible for or necessarily in agreement with ideas expressed on other websites to which links are provided, nor does he endorse products that may be advertised on this site by the website service provider.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS NOTICE: Unless otherwise indicated, owner of this site is the sole author and owner of all material posted (with exception of public domain graphics). Permission is granted to share contents of this site elsewhere on the Internet or by other means of reproduction provided original author (Gregory Laxer) is credited. Please include a link to this website as a courtesy. If only excerpts are shared, original context must be accurately conveyed and, again, credited to original author. Please include a link to this website. EXCEPTION: Selections from my as yet unpublished memoir (see Memoir Page of this site) may not be reproduced elsewhere without express permission of the author.
DISCLAIMER: The author/owner of this website is not responsible for or necessarily in agreement with ideas expressed on other websites to which links are provided, nor does he endorse products that may be advertised on this site by the website service provider.
