Four New Tunes by Ben Bussewitz

Early Recordings

Tennessee Hustlers' Records

"Im’a Write a Song" by Ben Bussewitz

"On The Other Side Of The Rainbow" by Ben Bussewitz

"The Bay" by Ben Bussewitz

"Everybody's Name" by Ben Bussewitz

Artistic Essay by Ben Bussewitz

Click this link and you will download a .pdf of an artistic essay entitled A Way of Writing in Sand by Ben Bussewitz

“the way to discover”… a poem by Ben Bussewitz

“the way to discover"

  by Ben Bussewitz

well, now i am seated.

this is when i figure out what i need to do.

when do i discover the new way to uncover

the parallels of the mysteries

laid out in space over history?

when do i figure out what chains of theories

connected to the platform of love,

interceded from above, into the heart of a dove?

around me, mortal eyes,

staring with complexion,

into my profound introspection

of which they all oblige.

at my desk, seated for aquatics

life for journey, plant something spawning

memories and trips to the field,

away to the harvest oak, mellow, full of hope,

in the creek that simmers on,

rushes and rattles along, just like that Terrell song,

on the seat where my dreams belong and come on strong,

compassion and patience for all, to detach from my longings,

breathing in the hula hoop peace of her, with my heart made from clay,

running all the time, for all of time, created for all days,

with peace of mind, and her by my side on the beach,

writing our names in the sand,

never to fade away,

made from clay,

never to fade away.

Socrates, Defender of Democracy

Socrates, Defender of Democracy

by Ben Bussewitz

Socrates lived through the golden age of Athens, the deterioration of the city-state into a 25 year war with Sparta, the rise of an oligarchic regime, and the ultimate restoration of the Athenian democracy. At the age of 70 he was executed by the state for supposedly corrupting the youth and insulting the Hellenistic pantheon of gods. The reason for the latter could be that Socrates subtlety purported to be a monotheist. He sometimes could be heard referring to the one true God who rules over heaven and earth. For instance, in Plato’s depiction of Socrates is the dialogue entitled Euthyphro, Socrates, while discussing holiness, states, “I mean to say that the holy has been acknowledged by us to be loved by God because it is holy, not to be holy because it is loved.” This passage illustrates that Socrates looked at the world as though there was only one true God reigning over, which conflicted with the Greek polytheistic vision. And simply by bringing the youth to ask basic, essential questions about their station in life, questions that led people to think for themselves and reconsider the overall structure of society, he roused authorities into alleging he corrupted the youth. It can be expected by a democracy to find offense to the thoughtfulness of questioning basic truths, as democracies function according to group dynamics, and the more individuals question themselves and others, social structures, social norms, widely entrenched principles-- the less likely they are to immediately get along with authority unless they respectfully cooperate, like Socrates always did, as he patiently doled out his time and kindness to people of Athens from all different walks of life. When citizens differ in their attitudes and stances from authority in a way that is at odds with each other, even in democracies, where the government is ruled by the people (in Athens, citizens were chosen for the city counsel from a lottery to contribute to a direct democracy), the peoples' will can create havoc with the powers that be, as the state apparatus yields tremendous authority. Socrates lived most of his life in Athens, besides a brief stint fighting alongside the Athenian military in the Peloponnesian War. In Athens, the people of the city could find him strolling about the streets, engaging in conversations with those who took interest where he probed underlying Truths about the world and inquired into the heart of various Truths such as, "What is virtue? What is beauty? What is piety?" It defends democracy to question, as it is by questioning, individuals expose Truths about the world and uncover and discover universal Truths. The Greek people followed two central traditions of a democracy: paeidia and parresia, the former indicating an upstanding, morally-grounded, informed, politically constructive citizenry, and the latter representing bold, courageous speech that gets to the heart of political matters and burrows beneath them, even when unjust power dynamics embedded in society have to be confronted. Socrates, by asking thought-provoking, truth-pervading questions, and searching for answers to those questions with the individuals he met on the city streets--even when the inquirer and the interlocutor were left simply facing for themselves a confrontation with the fact that they are in ignorance with regard to the matter at hand, and the individual whom Socrates talked to comes to understand that he is not as wise as he had previously thought, as was so often the case when Socrates' conversed in Athens--by asking those questions, Socrates furthered Athens tradition of both paeidia and parresia. Individuals he spoke with became more accustomed to truth, more enlightened, and more virtuous as they came to understand just how little they knew. This improved the broad structure of the citizenry, as it made the citizens more knowledgeable, and brought them to be more equipped to be effective Athenian citizens. In terms of parresia, Socrates' conversations cut right to the heart of important contingent Truths and universal Truths. By educating the youth and all the people with whom he spoke, Socrates contributed to a stronger democracy and a more fully functioning government where citizens could contribute more meaningfully to the power apparatuses. 

Socrates is considered the founder of Western philosophy and the greatest philosopher of all time. The impact of his thought is still resounding in town halls, the halls of academia, and city streets until this day.

(Prompt written by Ben Bussewitz)

Mullsay Dialogue

Here on Mullsay the Zine, we bring individuals to ask questions and provide answers. In the comments section below, please constructively mull over other peoples’ thoughts and say your own.

Democracy: The Dialectical Exchange of a Citizenry in Action

“American Democracy: The Dialectical Exchange of the Citizenry in Action”

Written by Ben Bussewitz

The dialectical exchange of the citizenry in action involves all the citizens, the representatives (who are also classed as equal citizens) and all the people, the many who the people in office represent as they channel their will amongst one another and throughout the socio-symbolic public sphere and in phone calls directly, through petitions, town-hall gatherings, etc. (the tools of democracy) to their representatives who carry forth their will.

Democracy entails the cultivation of a critical citizenry, what the ancient Greeks referred to as paideia—a body politic characterized by citizens who are inquisitive, who reach their own independent judgements on issues and ideas through thoughtful, evaluative reflection and processing of information, who do not conform to the stances or opinions of others, but rather, reach their own conclusions through autonomous analysis of variegated considerations, who think for themselves, trust themselves, and rely on themselves; moreover, the noble tradition of paideia incorporates the vital importance for the citizenry to exhibit upstanding moral character and virtue. This involves that fundamental concept of justice—valuing the dignity of all people, being open to cross-cultural perspectives, behaving with a cosmopolitan mentality, heeding and taking into consideration voices of difference, and most importantly, upholding the two greatest commandments. Democracy furthermore entails the utilization of courageous speech, what the ancient Greeks referred to as parrhesia, which can be characterized by standing up and boldly speaking the truth, even if it goes against the grain, mustering up the confidence to speak truth to power while staring in the face of corrupt, mendacious, and powerful political institutions, utilizing speech to burrow down to the heart of issues in order to expose truth, to disseminate knowledge and wisdom.

With an informed and critical citizenry (paideia) engaged in robust and meaningful democratic exchange (parrhesia), the totality of the polity (demos) can collectively carry out governance (kratos) in the mode of civic genius. Democracy comes from the Greek roots demos, the people, and kratos, govern.

Civic genius is the collaborative, collective democratic undertaking of forging the identity of who we are as a nation, as we the people—establishing with clarity the roots of our ideological creeds, outlining our long and complex shared history, celebrating our melting pot of ethnic and cultural heritages, conscientiously giving testimony to, working through, and mourning our nation’s traumas, determining our nation’s place in the international order, sharing pride in our nation’s virtues and accomplishments while also taking stock of the litany of our nation’s ills and woes... together as a people, engaging in constructive, respectful democratic discourse in which we flesh out and come to a mutual understanding in regards to our nation’s collective consciousness, in which, through inquiry, dialogue, reflection, and debate and compromise where debate and compromise are needed, we shed light on this communal phenomenon of what it means to be a U.S. citizen. The act of civic genius goes even farther than that venture. Through robust, respectful, constructive democratic exchange, we the people, come to identify our predominate values, our top priorities, our most paramount initiatives and endeavors. And we the people determine how we ought to function as a nation, as a cohesive unit, as a living machine of living parts—what kinds of policies we ought to endorse, what type of legislation is appropriate, how we can manage and overcome our nation's problems to ultimately develop into a more safe, prosperous, conscientious, and domestically and internationally responsible nation, how we can blossom in harmony and interconnectedness while learning from and empathizing with our fellow citizens, transforming into more fulfilled, ethical, and well-rounded citizens due to our democratic interactions, and how we can create a more peaceful, peace-oriented, and peace-centered human family, by opening our arms as a peoples to greater global cooperation, collaboration, and community, along with a greater global mentality and ethos, while cultivating more faithful peace of mind. All in all, in partaking in the act of civic genius, we, as a peoples, envision and create what U.S. life and U.S. society ought to entail.

In a nutshell, how democracy theoretically can straightforwardly be understood in the U.S. is a paideia utilizing parrhesia to collectively carry out civic genius. 

Mullsay Dialogue

Below share your thoughts according to the wisdom and insights of participatory democracy.