Guiseppe Scolari: Saint George and the Dragon (1570/1600)

How You Decided To Treat Me
Cruelty might be the most unnecessary weapon. It sits like a turd atop an already desecrated dessert, an always absolutely unnecessary embellishment. Whatever might have been intended, its footprints point toward the perpetrator as the guiltiest party because he chose to mete excessive punishment rather than justice. Cruelty might be the victimizer of choice, exclusively employed by those most skilled at victimizing themselves. It remains the bully's favorite response and properly frames the bully's character. Cruelty is always beneath its deployer, effortlessly degrading whatever their standing. The more lofty one's position, the greater the perversion cruelty produces. Our President seems to revel in his power to inflict cruelty on the most innocent among us. This renders him cheaper than most imagined he was, and most already imagined him as cheaper than a two-dollar whore. He'll try to see you by betting a buck-fifty. So far, His administration has suffered greatly from its focus on retribution, not to even scores but to humiliate those not even charged with crimes. This renders them petty rather than powerful, impotent instead of strong. When they assert extra-judicial powers, they disclose how little they know or understand about the land they insist they are dedicated to improving. If humiliating themselves will make America greater, their tactics might prove successful, but in the curious calculus of cruelty, the outcome always mirrors how you decided to treat me.

——

Weekly Writing Summary

This NextWorld Story, Cowardice, wonders why the Ancient Greeks considered their God of War a coward and how our MAGA movement seems to try to declare war on every issue. Did you notice how the moment after our new/old Incumbent took office, we were suddenly under innumerable threats? Accident or deeper intention?

Kiyochika Kobayashi: The god of cowardice (1895)
"Only cowards engage in endless wars."
—
This NextWorld Story finds me Dreadfulled, an almost familiar sensation from my past. I sleep poorly and do awake poorly, too. I know what I need to do. You probably know, too.

Corita Kent (Sister Mary Corita): (tame) hummed hopefully to others (1966)
"They are terrorists …"
—
This NextWorld Story recounts my shifting relationship with the news. I've become more of a NoNews proponent than I ever before imagined I might become. I'd rather be dancing ...

Christoffel van Sichem II: David receives the news of the death of Absalom. Alternate Title: A ruler on a throne rends his clothes upon receipt of a message (1646)
"I can't be bothered now!"
—
This NextWorld Story considers The First Stage of Cruelty, a period aspiring despots have always treasured, for it's when they can still get away with virtually anything. If they manage to anesthetize their opposition, they will amplify the cruelty, for that's their nature. Consider The First Stage a wake-up call, announcing the time to stand and deliver.

William Hogarth: The First Stage of Cruelty (1751) Series/Book Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty; Alternate Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty, Plate 1.
"I'm asking for a dear friend of mine and yours."
—
This NextWorld Story considers The Second Stage of Cruelty, where cruelty becomes institutionalized. This proves extremely dangerous because it starts defending itself with cruelty, which corrupts benevolent founding purposes. We were supposed to be pursuing happiness here, not any of its supposed replacements.

William Hogarth: The Second Stage of Cruelty Alternate Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty, Plate 2. Series/Book Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty 1751
" … no business even attempting to lead others."
—
This NextWorld Story, The Third Stage of Cruelty: Perfection, continues the excursion through the Four Stages of Cruelty; this one lingers in Stage Three, curiously labeled Perfection. In Stage Three Cruelty, the protagonist goes off the rails.

William Hogarth: Cruelty in Perfection. Series/Book Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty (1751
"May we finally rest in peace without him."
—
Entering the second actual NextWorld writing week, I already felt exhausted with the shenanigans. They seemed terribly familiar and also awfully odd. I wondered how such aberrance could have come into such common practice. Could it be that many don't see what I cannot not see? How fortunate as well as unfortunate for me. I would rather see, even though seeing takes a definite toll on me. There might already be enough blindness trying to pass for wisdom or acceptance without me contributing to that mass. I rededicated myself to identifying and naming the demon among us, even if others have already described its demeaning habits more eloquently. These behaviors do seem terribly familiar even though I'd not bothered to describe and label them earlier. This writing week described first-class Cowardice in practice, which was evident from the first moments of this administration that doesn’t seem interested in or capable of administering anything. I admitted to feeling Dreadfulled and confessed to more frequently choosing to avoid updating, opting for NoNews when I'd rather be dancing. I'd almost always rather be dancing. I managed to squeeze out three of my most important essays to emerge out of this series so far. Cruelty had been there, staring straight into my face, and I felt the chill without clearly assigning the label to it before. I will contribute at least one more installment to The Stages of Cruelty Series before moving on and deeper into describing the NextWorld coming. Thank you for following along!

©2025 by David A. Schmaltz - all rights reserved

Tags: #NextWorld