by Max Sirak
And, in honor of his passing, but more in remembrance of his life, I want to dedicate my little sliver of cyberspace, a realm he was passionate about, to highlight three pieces of his writing and thought. First, a political document; second, a code of conduct; and lastly some lyrics.
A Child Of Boundless (Digital) Seas
JPB was a pioneer of an open, free-range internet. He, along with others, founded The Electric Frontier Foundation (EFF) (here), a "nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation" in 1990. He literally wrote the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (here) in 1996.
For those who don't want to read it, it is what it says it is. It begins with, "Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of the Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone."
The Declaration goes on to lay out the foundational premise of what the internet should be. A "global social space" independent of past tyrannies and a natural emergence of human creativity to serve as a self-regulating web of communication free from commercial enterprise and regulation.
Idealistic? Sure. Naive? Quite possibly. But don't those two usually walk, arm-in-arm, like sunshine and daydreams?
An Estimated Prophet of Adulthood
While EFF and the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace are quite possibly his most notable technological accomplishments, JPB was polymath. At the ripe age of 30, while working on some artistic pursuits (more later…), he penned a list of 25 Principles of Adult Behavior (here).
Some of my favorites are…
2) Don't badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn't say to him.
It's as if he foresaw the anonymous hate culture of internet trolls…
8) Laugh at yourself frequently.
If you can't laugh at yourself, I'm not sure you should be allowed to laugh at anyone else.
10) Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.
Like Leonard Mlodinow says in his book The Drunkards Walk, "… no finite number of partial proofs will ever add up to a certainty…" Given the multiverse and our limited vantage of it, have we anything other than "partial proofs?" And, if that is in fact the best we can ever do, how wise is our certainty?
15) Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that.
Sage advice. "Happiness," much like "success," isn't a target to aim at, but more a wonderful traveling companion you meet on the way to getting where you need to go.
25) Endure.
Life isn't always full of fireworks, calliopes, and clowns. Sometimes it sucks. A lot. And in those dark hallows of life, it's important to carry on and keep moving even when it hurts.
As easy as it would be to effuse the virtue and wisdom of all 25 Principles – it would be doing JPB, and his impact on my life a disservice. Not because they aren't worthy and wise or because the world would likely be a better place if everyone adopted them, but because there's a better gift John Perry Barlow left us.
The music he helped create.
The Grateful Dead
Talk to any Dead fan and most of what you hear is, "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, Jerry. Hunter. Jerry, Jerry, Jerry."
For the uninitiated, this translates into Jerry Garcia, the bands enigmatic, paternal frontman with the sweet, off-key voice and soul-walloping guitar licks, being lauded as the darkstar at the center of the Grateful-verse. "Hunter" is a quick nod to Jerry's song-writing buddy, Robert Hunter, who wrote the words Jerry sang.
Lost in this all too common (and reductionist) refrain, are the contributions of Bob Weir and his song-writing partner, John Perry Barlow, to the compendium of Grateful Dead songs.
(The best way for a non-Dead fan to get a sense of what I'm talking about is to watch the Family Guy clip below. It's about the Beatles.The patronizing tone Paul takes with Ringo? Yeah. That's about what you can expect when you talk to a Dead fan about the merits of "Bobby" songs.)
But guess what, I'm going to stand here, free and unfettered, on my cyberspace soapbox and tell you this – Lost Sailer>Saint of Circumstance – is my favorite Grateful Dead suite. (By "suite" I mean two songs which flow into one another without a break in between).
It's better than China>Rider. Or Scarlett>Fire.
Lost>Saint
Like listening to any recorded music, headphones are the best. It's near impossible to beat the emersion earbuds or the like affords. Bonus points if you can find yourself a comfy chair and time to close your eyes while you listen.
For those who don't get down on music, but would like to follow along at home, the lyrics are in italics. My own inner dialogue, inspired by the mood of the music, appears in quotations marks.
(Lost Sailor begins mournfully in despair and confusion. Slowly the atmosphere lightens and gives way to a whimsy before finally settling into the optimism and possibility of Saint of Circumstance.)
"Lost Sailor"
Compass card is spinning
Helm is swinging to and fro
Ooh, where's the dog star?
Ooh, where's the moon?
You're a lost sailor
You've been too long at sea
"Wanna know what sucks? This. I don't know where I am. I don't know where I'm going or how I got here. All I do know is I'm lost. I'm so over this…"
Some days the gales are howling
Some days the sea is still as glass
Ooh, reef the mainsail
Ooh, lash the mast
You're a lost sailor
You've been too long at sea
"And here I am. Stuck. At the mercy of the elements, floating along. Yeah, sure. I respond and survive, but is that really living?"
Now the shore lights beckon
Yeah there's a price for being free
"I see everyone around me, all their choices, all their comfortable lives, and I'm jealous. I want that. Why did I think I could Fleetwood Mac this and Go My Own Way?"
Yeah the sea birds cry
There's a ghost wind blowing
It's calling you to that misty swirling sea
Till the chains of your dreams are broken
No place in this world you can be
"All those romantic notions I had about adventure? Yeah. They were fantasies. Because the reality of my choices ain't what it's cracked up to be. Everything I thought was wrong. I miss ‘home.'''
You're a lost sailor
You've been too long at sea
Now the shore lights beckon
Yeah there's a price for being free
"Hello my old friend, Regret. Oh, and who's that with you? Crippling doubt? Welcome aboard."
Drifting yeah drifting
Yeah drifting and dreaming
"Sigh."
‘Cause there's a place you've never been
Maybe a face you've never seen now
You can hear her calling on the wind
Drifting and dreaming
Go on and drift your life away
Drifting and dreaming
Drifting and dreaming
‘Cause there's a place you've never been
Maybe a place you've never seen now
Drifting and dreaming
Yes I'm going on a dream
Maybe going on a dream
Maybe going on a feeling
"But…but…wait. What was that? I thought I heard something. What if this is a test? What if everything I've ever wanted is ahead and waiting for me? I mean, I think if I listen hard enough, if I squint my ears, I can hear a voice…"
"Saint of Circumstance"
This must be heaven—
Tonight I crossed the line
You must be the angel
I thought I might never find
Was it you I heard singin'
While I was chasin' dreams?
Driven by the wind
Like the dust that blows around
And the rain fallin' down…
"Oh my God. YES! This. Here. The voice. The whispers. It was you."
But I never know,
(Sure don't know)
Never know
Never know
(Sure don't know)
"Right? I'm not making this all up, am I? This is what I wanted, wasn't it? Shut up, Max. Go to sleep. Stop trying to ruin a good thing."
This must be heaven—
‘Cause here's where the rainbow ends
At last it's the real thing…
Or close enough to pretend
When the wind blows
When the night's about to fall
I can hear the siren's call
It's a certain sort of sound
In the rain fallin' down
Rain fallin down…
Rain fallin' down…
Rain fallin' down
"Being here with you is what I was searching for. Yeah. Totally. 100%. But then – why am I laying awake with a head full of questions while you sleep so soundly and breathe so easy? Is this right?"
Holes in what's left of my reason
Holes in the knees of my blues,
Odd against me been increasin'
But I'll pull through
"I….I don't know. I thought this was exactly what I wanted. But, now…I don't know. It's just like what happened last time. And the time before that. Is the deck is stacked against me? Seems so. Oh, well. Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile…"
Never could read no road map
And I don't know what the weather might do
But hear that witch wind whinin'
See that dog star shinin'
I'e got a feeling there's no time to lose
No time to lose!
"Yes. This bed is cozy and warm. But what am I waiting for? I know I won't be able to shake the feeling inside, growing. It's time to go. Embrace the possibilities. Get back to Mystery."
Maybe goin' on a feelin' maybe goin' on a dream
Maybe goin' on a feelin'
"Yes. This is crazy. I am crazy. I am willfully leaving behind all I was sure I wanted in the name of feelings and fantasies."
Well I never know
(Sure don't know)
Never know
Never know
(Sure don't know)
"Yep."
Well its been heaven
But even rainbows end
Now my sails are fillin'
And the wind's so willin'
That I'm good as gone again
"It's been fun. This. You. Everything. It was all I wanted. But, now I want different things. Things that aren't here. Things that are out there."
I'm still walkin', so I'm sure I can dance
Just a saint of circumstance
Just a tiger in a trance
In the rain falling down
"I'm healthy. I'm on this side of the dirt. That's all I really need, I guess. Time to see what's next and make the best of it."
Rain fallin' down…
Rain fallin' down…
Rain fallin' down…
"Oh, right. This again. Feels good, don't it?"
Well I never know just don't know, just don't know
"Nope. I don't. But it's that not-knowing and it's inherent potential which pulls me."
Sure don't know
What I'm going for
But I'm gonna go for it
For sure
Maybe goin' on a feelin'
Maybe goin' of a dream
Maybe goin' on a feelin'
"You know what? I feel good about this…"
***
As a man who's heard the call of adventure, wrestled doubt, laid many a lonely night awake, chased dreams, followed hunches and hopes in the fantasy of finding, fought against feelings and tried to wish them away, all the while remaining somehow hopeful in the brighter days and calmer seas ahead…there have been moments when JPB spoke to my soul.
John Perry Barlow – thank you – for letting the words be yours and sharing them with us.
May your music never stops.
Rest in peace.
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Max helps other people write their books. You can learn more here
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Photo Credits
JPB – By Joi – https://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/835394449/sizes/o/in/photostream/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24313087