Looking for “The Appian Way” and Resisting the Ugliness

The Appian Way or Via Appia Antica in Rome is one of the most famous ancient roads. It was built in 312 B.C. by Appius Claudius Caecus. In it’s entirety it spanned 350 miles(563kms). The Appian Way stretched from the Roman Forum to modern day Brindisi. Large stones made up the bulk of its construction and a softer gravel that was compacted between the rocks cemented it. Roman roads and especially the Appian Way were extremely important to Rome. It allowed trade and access to the east, specifically Greece. – via rome.info

History is rife with anteaters in their appropriate tyrannical garb for the age they wreak havoc upon, cruising down the Appian Way’s of this enchanted land, scamming nations and the common folk with their fairy-tale visions of a better life for them and not much for you and me.

Whether the scammers are governments, corporations, nations, local businesses, religions, media, bosses or even lovers, friends and family – the list is as endless as it is varied.

Consider the scam of the pharmaceutical industry. Nothing could illustrate it better than the following article from Mike Adams of Naturalnews.com, which I came across the other day:

Medical BOMBSHELL: Chemotherapy found to spread cancer

(Natural News) New research conducted at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found that chemotherapy spreads cancer throughout the body, causing a sharp increase in cancer cells circulating throughout the body (including the lungs).

It’s certainly worth the read and viewing of the embedded video from Mr. Adams.

I’ve been a little chastised and laughed at from time to time for my belief in natural healing. It’s okay. I’ve grown accustomed to it in a bemused fashion I guess. But with all the ailments I’ve had throughout my life, 80% of them have been successfully dealt with through natural remedies. Going down such a path requires educating one’s self and dedication to regaining health and sanity. It isn’t always the easiest of paths, but in my opinion, which counts for nothing much, it provides a more sustained reward, without all the side effects.

Maybe there was a time when attacks on our health, common sense, artistic tastes, getting along others and just getting along were not the norm. I could harken back to my childhood in the 60’s but I’m not too certain those were better times either. The thousands of deaths from the Vietnam War, race riots, along with assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy doesn’t make the case. Besides, I don’t want to be “that” old guy, wearing white socks with sandals who pounds on the table bemoaning the current age – though there is much to moan about.

It is indeed sad to watch the media and our government perpetuate continual mistrust, ill-will, death, destruction and war.

“We were, and are, under attack by a hostile foreign power and… we should be debating how many sanctions we should place on Russia or whether we should blow up the KGB, GSU, or GRU [Russia’s foreign intelligence agency]. We should be retaliating massively.” – Paul Bangala, former Clinton groupie – via themediaite.com

Ah yes – such kind and peace-loving sentiments from one of the countless lunatics who has nothing better to do than foment death and destruction – over that which continues to be jive guano.

But such is the norm in the present day madness as we continue to endure lunatic overload in this country that takes on assorted forms of deviousness, such as Google obtaining private genetic data on hundreds of thousands of medical patients… without their consent, to the hysteria du jour from the mainstream media over the Trump, Jr. “scandal”; then to a $1.46 in government subsidy (that’s tax dollars from you and me) to Amazon for every box delivered, and finally to what some would consider common sense – that good health for our children does not come from a needle. The “Appian Way” out of this mess is up to us to tackle individual, as best we see fit – as long as we have the freedom to do so.

And along our journey, we at times, need refuge and respite from the anteaters. Personally, I’ve always found classical music to provide such, for no matter what the composers were personally going through, their “agenda”, for the most part, was only to provide joy, wonder, enchantment, beauty and sometimes, just the sheer sense of history and power.

The following piece of classical piece of music, among many others, provides a magnificent visual of the past.

Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” is one of the most powerful pieces in the symphonic arena – at least it is for this classical music lover. A brief overview of the piece follows:

Respighi recalls the past glories of the Roman republic in a representation of dawn on the great military road leading into Rome. The final movement portrays pine trees along the Appian Way in the misty dawn as a triumphant legion advances along the Via Appia in the brilliance of the newly-rising sun. Respighi wanted the ground to tremble under the footsteps of his army and he instructs the organ to play bottom B♭ on 8′, 16′ and 32′ organ pedal. The score calls for six buccine – ancient circular trumpets that are usually represented by modern flugelhorns, which are sometimes partially played offstage. Trumpets peal and the consular army rises in triumph to the Capitoline Hill. – via wikipedia

This particular section (the Appian Way) from Respighi’s piece, the “The Pines of Rome” lasts only 5 minutes and 41 seconds. It starts out with the faint sounds of a march and concludes…well, one must listen, with volume up, preferably with headphones on, to fully appreciate the sense of history, power and grandeur this piece portrays.

Maybe it will inspire you to find your personal Appian Way, and resist the ugliness of the present day madness. And maybe like Mr. Respighi, your gifts, your talents will provide beauty to the world. If we each, one by one, provide beauty, taste, elegance, love and inspiration to the world around us, maybe the ugliness will end.

Pines Of Rome – The Appian Way (4/4) – Georges Prêtre