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Separate

Merriam-Webster says:

Main Entry: 1. sep·a·rate
Pronunciation: 'se-p(&-)"rAt
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): -rat·ed; -rat·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin separatus, past participle of separare, from se- apart + parare to prepare, procure -- more at SECEDE, PARE
Date: 15th century
transitive senses
1 a : to set or keep apart : DISCONNECT, SEVER b : to make a distinction between : DISCRIMINATE, DISTINGUISH <separate religion from magic> c : SORT <separate mail> d : to disperse in space or time : SCATTER separated homesteads>
2 archaic : to set aside for a special purpose : CHOOSE, DEDICATE
3 : to part by a legal separation : a : to sever conjugal ties with b : to sever contractual relations with : DISCHARGE
4 : to block off : SEGREGATE
5 a : to isolate from a mixture : EXTRACT <separate cream from milk> b : to divide into constituent parts
6 : to dislocate (as a shoulder) especially in sports
intransitive senses
1 : to become divided or detached
2 a : to sever an association : WITHDRAW b : to cease to live together as a married couple
3 : to go in different directions
4 : to become isolated from a mixture
synonyms SEPARATE, PART, DIVIDE, SEVER, SUNDER, DIVORCE mean to become or cause to become disunited or disjointed. SEPARATE may imply any of several causes such as dispersion, removal of one from others, or presence of an intervening thing <separated her personal life from her career>. PART implies the separating of things or persons in close union or association part>. DIVIDE implies separating into pieces or sections by cutting or breaking divided the nation>. SEVER implies violence especially in the removal of a part or member severed limb>. SUNDER suggests violent rending or wrenching apart sundered by racial conflict>. DIVORCE implies separating two things that commonly interact and belong together divorce scientific research from moral responsibility>.

Main Entry: 2. sep·a·rate
Pronunciation: 'se-p(&-)r&t
Function: adjective
Date: 15th century
1 a : set or kept apart : DETACHED b archaic : SOLITARY, SECLUDED c : IMMATERIAL, DISEMBODIED
2 a : not shared with another : INDIVIDUAL <separate rooms> b often capitalized : estranged from a parent body <separate churches>
3 a : existing by itself : AUTONOMOUS b : dissimilar in nature or identity
synonym see DISTINCT
- sep·a·rate·ly /-p(&-)r&t-lE, 'se-p&rt-lE/ adverb
- sep·a·rate·ness /-n&s/ noun

How do you interpret it? When you say "separate," does it come out naturally as a verb, or as an adjective?

sorted, scattered
lives separate (v), lives separate (adj)
separate (v) lives, but love
how it exists separately, separate (v) from
life, my own, ours, what's yours is/was/shall be/shall never be
mine, ours
isolated from a mixture
driving to work, your scent in my blood
a flock of geese flies to somewhere
if they're smart, they'll keep flying
never touch down, never stop
bridges, bridges to cross
the other side, we must
go, but hate it, knowing/not knowing
what we want to be, what we think we see
on the other side
transitive senses
the other side
how can the other side not be connected to this one?
there is a bridge, there was a bridge
it has not fallen
like my heart
it has not fallen apart
it has not separated
does life separate?
don't be like me, a stupid goose
never touch down, stupid geese
keep flying
fly over the bridge
and beneath you i will cross
beneath you, my love,
the wood of my bridges, of my cross

Endless Tape Loop

I'm not sure what anyone else is thinking, nor if I have any true sense of what's going on, what's happened, what's happening now, what will happen soon. I do know that people are uncertain, unsure and nagged by a steady low current of chronic anxiety. It's like a steady undercurrent, a buzz, and not the kind any of us with any sense seek.

How it looks to me: The only sensible spin, for me, is this -- The Administration has gotten philosophical. A scary thought, given the general consensus that if you give the Government anything, it'll find a way to mess it up in royal fashion. Philosophy is no exception, and this is a case of taking the long view, as they say. The long view, at present, seems to me to take this form: The Middle East is a political mine field, no pun intended, and has been for thousands of years. The Administration believes, or would like to believe, or has of late embraced the belief that there is no hope for any real peaceful resolution to the so-called Mid-East conflict, no hope for any semblance of political stability, no hope of anything ever approaching comprehensive democracy. This being said, it remains a major source of good old black gold, oil, that is, economic fuel. So, while one side of the Adminstration's mouth pays lip service to such quaint notions as environmentally friendly fuel cells, the other side of the mouth is screwed up into an expression of determination, and that determination is to take over the area, topple the evil dictator(s) and run the show. The sense that this humble citizen gets is that -- regardless of the protests of the hundreds of thousands of citizens of America and other nations against the aggressive policies currently in play -- The Administration has made a decision. That decision appears to be that America is going to the Middle East with a goal of taking control, which it believes will be best for everyone in the long run. Best for America, of course -- American economic interests, to be exact -- because it will clear the way for the US to control a major source of oil, thereby stabilizing the economy, somewhat, and appeasing, somewhat, the populace, which is burdened by unemployment, failed school levies, crumbling city infrastructures, increasingly high costs of basic needs (housing, education, healthcare), in short, the continued demise of whatever may be left of that 1940's fantasy known as "The American Dream." Not to mention that microwave ovens and VCRs and, now, cell phones are *still* not interchangeable. But I digress.

Looks to me like a decision has been made to take control of "the problem" by force. To dip back into the days of manifest destiny.

"Let's have a war / we need the space." - Fear

Deal with the hell of the short term (read: War on Iraq) to get to the relative economic and political stability of the long-term (read: US control of foreign resources).

That's what I see happening. That's what it feels like to me. You don't move tons of equipment and thousands of troops just to make a point.

My fiancee asked me the other day if I thought we were going to war, and I said yes. "Doesn't that piss you off?" she asked.

Yes, I said. Yes, it does. It really does. Equally, it saddens me.

But it does seem to be happening, regardless.

I hope I'm wrong.