Lindsay Perigo
Lindsay Perigo

The Politically Incorrect Show - 26/01/2001

[Music - Die Fledermaus]

Good afternoon, Kaya Oraaa & welcome to the Politically Incorrect Show on the free speech network, Radio Pacific, for Friday January 26, proudly sponsored by Neanderton Nicotine Ltd., the show that says bugger the politicians & bureaucrats & all the other bossyboot busybodies who try to run our lives with our money; that stands tall for free enterprise, achievement, profit, & excellence, against the state-worshippers in our midst; that stands above all for the most sacred thing in the universe, the liberty of the human individual.

[Music up, music down!]

Fridays I often try to end the week on an inspirational note. Today I have just the thing - an ode to friendship written by an American friend & contributor to my magazine, James J. Campbell. People often mistake individualists for aspiring hermits - misanthropes who despise the world, see no value in it & want no part of it. Individualists celebrate much that the world has to offer, & in particular, value their friendships highly. It is true that they bestow their friendship selectively, since indiscriminate friendship is no friendship at all. James' poem captures this beautifully. I should add that he did not write this for me personally, but offered it to me to publish as I saw fit. It's called: For Life.

I would be your friend
Not to bide our time, nor just to dream;
But to live
And grasp all that earth & our lives challenge us with;
To embrace all of our lives, honestly & deeply -
The sorrows, the injuries, the disappointments -
But especially the joys, the triumphs, the hard-won achievements;
Because I love all of this in you:
The passion to live
And prevail over all that is negative, to set it aside as trivial
And finally as meaningless & irrelevant.
To find & to hold on to all that is truly valuable in our lives,
That makes our lives richer & secure
And full of joy & happiness;
That elevates our spirits for life
And for each other.

I would protect you
Not from life but from untruth;
To condemn whatever perversion & injustice
Those who hate life & passion would impose on yours
By distortion & evasion & dishonesty;
To identify & cast away all that hurts your soul
And mine.

I would embrace you
And when I do
I hold every bit of your body & soul,
Not as a possession
But as a treasure, as a value in my life;
Not only your life as it is,
But as it should be & can be.
I hold you & your hopes & fears, all
To admire your determination
And your achievement.
To have the pleasure & exaltation
Of being your friend
For Life.


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