Metaphors to Muse Upon: Pirates (Part 1 - Intro)

No doubt, pirates receive far too noble a wrap from conventional Hollywood media. I mean, c'mon, it's pretty hard to hate Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, no matter how much dirt and grime you smear on them, right? But in reality, old-world pirates were nasty critters, and seeing the hated "Jolly Roger" flapping from a mast like a black streamer on the fin of a shark in your wake was enough to make merchantmen and even heavily armed Spanish warships tremble for good reason. Pirates were robbers, thieves, muggers and murderers, plain and simple. They were adventurers and [usually] desperate men (and sometimes women) who would really rather have just as soon run you through with a rusty cutlass as looked at you... unless they could ransom you, and in which case, you'd better make sure that your family paid up because there was no need for them to exhibit much patience or cordiality otherwise.

But there's something about the swarthy swashbucklers that has always fascinated me. Perhaps it's the fact that they absolutely flew in the face of a dominating aristocracy (i.e. the Spanish Empire) to live lives of relative freedom, equality and adventure. Or maybe i just like things that tend to be bound together in tight, usually small, hyper-effective (and sometimes lethal) bands of men and women wound around a common purpose. But whatever it is, i've long been a fan of pirate lore and history, and recently read Stephan Talty's book (Empire of Blue Water) about one of pirate history's most famous (and notorious) pirate captains: Captain Sir Henry Morgan (yes... the Rum is named after him as well).

So stay tuned for why after reading this particular book, i was moved to consider how Morgan and his men exhibited some particularly 'Smart Zombie" characteristics, and why i think contemplating their history is worthwhile in regard to how we approach our lives today.