Monday, November 4, 2019

Napoleon the Cat from UNCLE

As Napoleon lie on my lap, perfectly dressed in his tuxedo, I was reminded I named him not for the Emperor but for Napoleon Solo of the Man for UNCLE. This was a fictional TV series of my youth and the inspiration for my studies in psychology both into the Russian vs American mind set and brain washing. As in all good series, they had an enemy called THRUSH, Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity . UNCLE stood for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement and had a simple plot, an innocent person finds themselves involved in the plot between these two super agencies they had no idea even existed in a war they didn't know existed.
Does that sound like today's conspiracy theories? Yes, it does because practically every one had its origins right on that tiny screen with the original year in black and white before switching to color. It introduced an enemy so dangerous (the Deep State, Rothschild's, aliens, etc.) that a super organization comprised of both sides of the cold war, USA and USSR, would have to cooperate under the guidance of Great Britain to combat this menace. That is starting to sound even more familiar. The entrance to this super secret organization was through a dry cleaner.
The US was represented by Napoleon Solo, after which my cat is named, always impeccably dressed, a professional rule follower by choice, well educated and there because it was the right thing to do even if he had to cooperate with the enemy, a Russian agent named Illya Kuryakin, always dressed in black. Illya is a misspelling of Ilya which is actually an Arabic name meaning one of a respected class and an alliteration of the name of God. Kuryakin means thanks or creating a warm feeling in others. Obviously, the creators had no idea how to speak Russian. They did understand the Russian mind set. Illya was always in black, seldom smiled and was there on orders not out of choice. His mind set was one of it would go wrong but he would survive which is the Russian mindset. Rather than explore the possibilities for success, the Russian assumes failure and how to survive it. This is probably because of the harsh climate and the history. Russian beat Napoleon Bonaparte, and yes, that is the play between the two characters, but not because of superior military strength or intelligence, but because he got caught in the Russian winter which only Russians survive. Yes, Russian has won all challenges to her territory by just waiting for winter to finish the enemy off. The US has never actually had a challenge to her territory unless you count Mexico and we bought our way out of that one like the impeccably dressed Mr. Solo. Mr Solo always has the latest toy but Illya has whatever was left from the last battle which he carefully cleans, categorizes and stores.
Mr. Solo learns what he needs for the mission, Illya draws on all the past battles. Mr. Solo is well educated for the job but Illya is well trained for the job. One is there by choice, the other by order. Mr. Solo fights because his conclusion is THRUSH is evil but to Illya, it is his job and THRUSH could be anyone. He will not be making a decision on who the enemy is, he will accept someone else's decision.
So what happens when two people enter a battle, one certain of success because they are right and the other certain of failure though they are well trained? If the result is success, the first becomes convinced of their invincibility because they are “right”. The second assumes it is because of their training and intensifies the training. If the result is failure, the first is devastated because it questions the premise of their entire existence, its rightness. The second simply picks up the pieces, trains harder and awaits the next opportunity for battle.

And that dear ones, is why this country will never recover from this administration and the Evangelicals will destroy Christianity once and for all. We and they are the former, convinced of our rightness. The rest have come to accept there are no absolutes, no black and white, no completely right. Whether they win or lose an encounter, they simply gather what is left and rebuild for the next battle, as Russia has for her entire existence, as the rest of the world has learned. You do not win by converting people, you win by assimilating them. Converting implies dominance. Assimilation gives their ideas and culture a new expression as part of your world. It implies cooperation. That which you dominate eventually rises against you. That which you assimilate becomes part of you.
Although Napoleon rules the Cat Clan, he seldom if ever has a challenge to his authority.

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