I don't believe I've ever written about this before, but if I'm wrong, I apologize. Something that I hear about a lot, everywhere I go, in every state, even now in Spain, is hard work. I believe in hard work. I think hard work leads to a lot of very beneficial things in life and intrinsically feels good. However, I do not believe it leads one towards happiness, nor do I think it necessarily accomplishes anything more than a large exertion of effort. Anyone who knows me well would likely not describe me as "a hard worker." Although anyone who has every worked with me would probably tell you that I am most often one of the best workers they've ever had. It baffles even me sometimes and I'm the one living by this philosophy that I believe works better than the "hard work" dogma that the rest of the Puritan world is teaching. Right intention (as in correct intention) is a Buddhist principle that essentially says that one can work all they want in life, but if one is working with the wrong intentions they should not be surprised when the work rarely leads anywhere or accomplishes any greater cause. What I take this to mean is that one can define work in any number of ways. Work when one is a student is to listen, become soft and teachable, read and memorize and learn new vocabularies, theories, and methods. Work when one is a runner means practicing regularly, learning more efficient techniques, and acquiring useful gear to aid in the task of running. When one is building a house, work can be defined as lifting heavy objects, making proper cuts and measurements, keeping things flush and level and put together in an appropriate manner. So "work" can mean a lot of things. Essentially it boils down to exerting effort toward a goal. However, in many walks of life this word takes on a very narrow meaning. It means making the end goal of all your effort be the acquiring of wealth and things. This, by Buddhist principles, would likely be considered, wrong intention.
In my experience the individuals who make up the larger groups who consider this the "correct" if not the "only" way that a person can spend his or her time on the planet are largely of lower education and suffering from extremely low expectations from life. They confuse "work" with "stress." They believe that work is an obligation from birth and that it must not be enjoyable or stimulating. It is what one does to make money. Of course this is ridiculous as anyone who has achieved a career in medicine, research, architecture, the arts and sciences, teaching or any other field where one gets to use his or her skills and intellect to solve problems or create things of enormous beauty can tell you that their job is at least moderately fulfilling and that the money is better in these arenas as well. A philosopher of right intention would suggest that this is because these individuals are not only working hard but are working with the correct intention for their work. It is focused toward happiness and toward ending or alleviating suffering, bot in themselves and others. Perhaps a good example of "wrong intention" would be someone who believes work must be hard, stressful, and joyless and that he or she is supposed to suffer. This may cause an individual to focus his or her efforts on the mundane and uninteresting. He might create nobility in his work where there is none and defend his efforts even despite his own suffering and the suffering he is bringing to other's lives. This individual will likely suggest that his work is holding together the fabric of society and that without these truly "hard" workers we would live in disarray. This person may be absolutely sure of this stance and back it to the point of violence, bringing even greater suffering on himself and on others. Right intention does not imply that one's work will never be frustrating or challenging or even frightening at times, but does suggest that the greater goal of reducing suffering and bringing more peace and happiness to the world outweighs the day to day effort exerted and brings greater fulfillment and deeper sense of joy. Anyone can swing a hammer at a nail. This in and of itself is not right or wrong. What is right or wrong is what one attaches to this action. If it becomes the work of an uneducated or poor or untalented person, it will likely destroy this individual. He will act like the person he has defined himself as through his work. If one can remove that judgment and continue to learn and grow and make wise choices in other areas; swinging a hammer can be a rewarding and highly skilled job; even an artform. This is right intention. Mind control. Stress managment. Reduction of suffering. Continual growth and progress. And intrinsically...joy.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Broader Picture of Economic Crisis
For all those unfamiliar, a fantastic site for reading a variety of political news and forming your own opinions is Realclearpolitics.com. I was reading several articles this morning and what most caught my attention is how there seems to be this opinion among conservatives that regardless of how badly a ship is wrecked or how quickly it is sinking, the thing to do in all situations is to hang tight and wait out the storm--even go down with the ship if necessary. This opinion is not without its merit. A lot of fine men and women have been the type of people who are able to stand firm through the bumpier parts of life and come out on top over the long run. The problem with these conservative values (beside the fact that they are only viable for a portion of very stubborn ingenuous individuals) is that often times if these same individuals would resort creativity and resourcefulness over their hard and fast dogmas and traditions, the ship could be repaired in the midst of the storm and continue sailing to a more pleasant climate. No one has to die for us to remain strong and enjoy life. Although we may have to swallow our pride once in awhile and go with brains over brawn.
What provoked this thought this morning was an article by Joseph Calhoun who had the hubris to suggest that our current economic crisis was actually the fault of previous government intervention, which screwed up the free market system and now by trying to fix it again we are going to screw it up even further (perhaps so much so that we'll be unrecognizable as a capitalistic nation in the near future). This is one way of seeing it. Another is that free market capitalism has never worked in the history of the United States. The great depression happened as a result of President Coolidge, a laizze-faire president, like Bush, who thought the market would fix all our problems. During his presidency, which began with great economic success and continued to be successful through his eight years, it appearred that this system worked. However, the first year of Hoover's presidency directly following all of Coolidge's deregulation, the great depression happened. The great depression was ended by FDR, who created many of the socialized systems and civilian action organizations we have today that put people back to work and pulled us back into a time of great economic success (not to mention made life easier and more enjoyable for everyone). The same happened with Reagan and Bush Sr. They deregulated government and cut funding to our socialized and civilian organizations and the economy faultered. Clinton reinstated government organizations and we prospered again. Bush Jr. has undone all of Clinton's work to allow corporations to prosper instead of everyday people and again, here we are facing another depression. Free market capitalism doesn't work and never has. It is a fallacy of the American Dream (that we're all going to be the next Bill Gates) that working and middle-class conservatives seem to want to believe in against all evidence to the contrary.
What Mr. Calhoun is actually saying in his article is that we are waving, "Hasta luego" to capitalism as we have always known it. Conservatives of course hate this because it means they believe in something that doesn't work and will no doubt fight to reinstate this dysfunctional system even after Obama takes over and socializes a great deal of our nation's programs and gets our economy rolling again. Socialism is not a bad word. It has been made into a bad word by very loud and uninformed conservatives thoughout the last three decades comparing a hybrid of democracy and socialism (which is what FDR America looked like and likely what an Obama America would look like) with the Lenin style of socialism, which occurred under a hostile dictator in the early 20th century. Lenin's socialism was used to oppress his people by taking complete control of the government and allowing it to prevade every aspect of life in Russia without giving the people any means of voting him out or regaining control. Democratic socialism, which is working beautifully in most European nations, Canada and Japan is not this. The main reason being that even though there will be greater governmental control, we the people still elect the government officials. Which means with more socialized systems in place, we the people actually have more control over our country by paying attention to and participating in our nation's politics. With a laizze-faire style of capitalism (what John McCain and Bush and Reagan and conservatives in general purpose), the corporations are in control and they will claim that their wealth will "trickle down" to the struggling people or the people who just don't care to spend their entire existence chasing their own avarice and greedy intentions just to stay alive.
This brings me to the final point of this broader picture that life is short and that a great deal of stress in our citizen's lives is created by an imbalance of money and power. A wise supreme court justice once said that he didn't mind paying taxes, it was the price he paid for living in a civilization. This is what a democratic/ socialist hybrid of government would create--a civilization. A place where good people don't need to own guns to feel safe because the poor and impoverished have no reason to rob another person if their needs are being met by the whole of society. A place where we can send our kids to public schools with some confidence that they won't be disrupted by the children of those people not capable or not trying to take care of their own kids. We can raise our kids as a village and not keep allowing the rich to get richer (and more bitter) and create their own privitized world away from the real problems of society. We have to all grow as one unit or we're doomed to a future of class warfare by the poorer classes who have no way of rising up to care for themselves. It happened throughout Europe, it will happen here if we let it.
What provoked this thought this morning was an article by Joseph Calhoun who had the hubris to suggest that our current economic crisis was actually the fault of previous government intervention, which screwed up the free market system and now by trying to fix it again we are going to screw it up even further (perhaps so much so that we'll be unrecognizable as a capitalistic nation in the near future). This is one way of seeing it. Another is that free market capitalism has never worked in the history of the United States. The great depression happened as a result of President Coolidge, a laizze-faire president, like Bush, who thought the market would fix all our problems. During his presidency, which began with great economic success and continued to be successful through his eight years, it appearred that this system worked. However, the first year of Hoover's presidency directly following all of Coolidge's deregulation, the great depression happened. The great depression was ended by FDR, who created many of the socialized systems and civilian action organizations we have today that put people back to work and pulled us back into a time of great economic success (not to mention made life easier and more enjoyable for everyone). The same happened with Reagan and Bush Sr. They deregulated government and cut funding to our socialized and civilian organizations and the economy faultered. Clinton reinstated government organizations and we prospered again. Bush Jr. has undone all of Clinton's work to allow corporations to prosper instead of everyday people and again, here we are facing another depression. Free market capitalism doesn't work and never has. It is a fallacy of the American Dream (that we're all going to be the next Bill Gates) that working and middle-class conservatives seem to want to believe in against all evidence to the contrary.
What Mr. Calhoun is actually saying in his article is that we are waving, "Hasta luego" to capitalism as we have always known it. Conservatives of course hate this because it means they believe in something that doesn't work and will no doubt fight to reinstate this dysfunctional system even after Obama takes over and socializes a great deal of our nation's programs and gets our economy rolling again. Socialism is not a bad word. It has been made into a bad word by very loud and uninformed conservatives thoughout the last three decades comparing a hybrid of democracy and socialism (which is what FDR America looked like and likely what an Obama America would look like) with the Lenin style of socialism, which occurred under a hostile dictator in the early 20th century. Lenin's socialism was used to oppress his people by taking complete control of the government and allowing it to prevade every aspect of life in Russia without giving the people any means of voting him out or regaining control. Democratic socialism, which is working beautifully in most European nations, Canada and Japan is not this. The main reason being that even though there will be greater governmental control, we the people still elect the government officials. Which means with more socialized systems in place, we the people actually have more control over our country by paying attention to and participating in our nation's politics. With a laizze-faire style of capitalism (what John McCain and Bush and Reagan and conservatives in general purpose), the corporations are in control and they will claim that their wealth will "trickle down" to the struggling people or the people who just don't care to spend their entire existence chasing their own avarice and greedy intentions just to stay alive.
This brings me to the final point of this broader picture that life is short and that a great deal of stress in our citizen's lives is created by an imbalance of money and power. A wise supreme court justice once said that he didn't mind paying taxes, it was the price he paid for living in a civilization. This is what a democratic/ socialist hybrid of government would create--a civilization. A place where good people don't need to own guns to feel safe because the poor and impoverished have no reason to rob another person if their needs are being met by the whole of society. A place where we can send our kids to public schools with some confidence that they won't be disrupted by the children of those people not capable or not trying to take care of their own kids. We can raise our kids as a village and not keep allowing the rich to get richer (and more bitter) and create their own privitized world away from the real problems of society. We have to all grow as one unit or we're doomed to a future of class warfare by the poorer classes who have no way of rising up to care for themselves. It happened throughout Europe, it will happen here if we let it.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The American Dream
I have had an interesting phenomenon happening to me lately that I am feeling the need to address: older people talking to me about the American Dream. Sometimes it is not as direct as an individual coming right out and asking, "What are your thoughts on the American dream?" Most times it is more subtle and presumptuous, such as a person saying, "That's what's so great about America," or "Aren't we so lucky that we live in a place like this?" or "See what can happen in America if you have a little guts?" I'm always fascinated with comments like this because they are rich with layers of misconceptions, assumptions, and shameless arrogance. When I was a kid growing up in Kentucky where the culture was some hybrid of Southern and Midwestern traditions, I bought into the idea of America hook, line, and sinker (as they say). As an adult now having lived in seven different states from the southeast to the southwest, the west coast to the Midwest, and now in the unique culture of the Northwest I don't have the slightest idea what people mean when they make comments like the aforementioned. Perhaps it is I who should be considered judgmental, but I have to assume that people still throwing out their chests and boasting of American patriotism either live in a cave of money insulating them from the entire world population, or they just don't give a shit about what we've given up for financial success.
Let's rewind (because these same people also love to talk about the beginning days of America and the wise forefather's intentions). America in its beginning was a lush untapped (by western culture) nation full of indigenous people. Europeans fleeing from oppression and persecution of religious intolerance and tyrannical rule showed up here and immediately split. There were the people who found the natives to be wise and knowledgeable and thought perhaps Europeans could find a way to live side-by-side with these people (on their land mind you), and there were the people who, pardon my French again, didn't give a shit. The intellectuals did their best to reason with the natives and share cultural elements and talk through disagreements and forge treaties, and the conservatives (as they do) said, "Enough of this compassionate chitchat, let's kill these weirdos and get to building our country. Manifest Destiny! This is what God wants." And so from the very beginning we had religious zealots who thought it was a higher power's will to commit genocide and use slavery to reap this land of its resources and create a nation of wealth and power and compassionate intellectuals trying to use reason and tact to create a more peaceful and enjoyable situation. The previous, I can only assume is the American Dream that conservatives still boast of today as being so great--the dream of accumulating wealth and using "inferior cultures" (not excluding overly exploiting plants, animals, third world nations, children, etc.) to further maximize our income. However, at the same time these conservative skull crushers were raping and pillaging their way to economic success, we had intellectuals finding easier ways of doing everything and infusing our culture with those things that last: art, writing, architecture, progressive politics, technology, etc. What is interesting is that the parts of America that conservatives are so proud of were created and conjured by progressive, liberal minds. It was conservatives that started slavery. It was progressives that ended it. It was conservatives who kept women from voting. It was progressives who pushed through women's suffrage. It was conservatives who kept African-Americans from being considered full human beings. It was progressives who debunked this myth and created affirmative action in an attempt to help balance the playing field. And now it is conservatives who don't understand homosexuality and are trying hard to push them out of our mainstream while progressives are succeeding slowly at making their lives more comfortable here. In fact throughout our history it has been straight, white, conservative men who have been working hard at creating fear and hate toward those who aren't straight, white, conservative men so that they don't have to work hard at getting an education, learning of other cultures, exhibiting the least bit of talent or problem solving skills, or doing anything that requires them to speak in full sentences with what I like to call, "Grown-up words." They are also the ones who seem to think that making money, without regard for humanity, environment, cultural sensitivity, or respect for spirituality, is all that matters in life. They don't seem to know what they would do with the money besides buy shiny, fast-moving crap once they have it, but they know that's what the American Dream is about and that's what they plan to spend their life working toward in hopes that they can spend the last fifteen years of life not making money. Fascinating.
On the other hand, intellectuals, scientists, artists, inventors, writers, and other progressive minds attempting to bring beauty, truth, and solutions into the world seem to get relegated to a small corner of our society to be poked fun at and alienated and ignored until something serious happens that needs their input. For the most part these creative and brilliant minds seem to be okay with working behind the scenes and allowing their life's work to be what is carried on and not their toys and dollars that will later be squandered by ungrateful offspring. However, once in awhile, as we have seen in the last eight years, conservatives screw things up so royally with their mythological belief systems and hot-headed misconceptions about "scary bad people" that we find introverts churning out volumes of works and flying from the woodwork to push things forward. In a way I guess it can be viewed as positive. Perhaps without the freedom to elect ignorant rich puppets our progressive minds would just get lazy or leave the country entirely. This way, the thought of things getting so bad in their absence seems to be superb motivation to work harder at educating the masses and passing laws that prevent conservatives from killing themselves and everyone else in their blind pursuit of wealth and shiny fast things that make girls like them. Thus, both progressives and conservatives get to be happy. Progressives can feel important by keeping conservatives safe, educated, healthy, and making the country look good historically with their contributions to the arts and sciences and conservatives can yell their brains out about how scared and threatened they feel while building suburbanite super fortresses and turning their God into another way to make money and buy more stuff. Which is what the American Dream is all about, right? What a great country this truly is. USA! USA! Go team go!
Let's rewind (because these same people also love to talk about the beginning days of America and the wise forefather's intentions). America in its beginning was a lush untapped (by western culture) nation full of indigenous people. Europeans fleeing from oppression and persecution of religious intolerance and tyrannical rule showed up here and immediately split. There were the people who found the natives to be wise and knowledgeable and thought perhaps Europeans could find a way to live side-by-side with these people (on their land mind you), and there were the people who, pardon my French again, didn't give a shit. The intellectuals did their best to reason with the natives and share cultural elements and talk through disagreements and forge treaties, and the conservatives (as they do) said, "Enough of this compassionate chitchat, let's kill these weirdos and get to building our country. Manifest Destiny! This is what God wants." And so from the very beginning we had religious zealots who thought it was a higher power's will to commit genocide and use slavery to reap this land of its resources and create a nation of wealth and power and compassionate intellectuals trying to use reason and tact to create a more peaceful and enjoyable situation. The previous, I can only assume is the American Dream that conservatives still boast of today as being so great--the dream of accumulating wealth and using "inferior cultures" (not excluding overly exploiting plants, animals, third world nations, children, etc.) to further maximize our income. However, at the same time these conservative skull crushers were raping and pillaging their way to economic success, we had intellectuals finding easier ways of doing everything and infusing our culture with those things that last: art, writing, architecture, progressive politics, technology, etc. What is interesting is that the parts of America that conservatives are so proud of were created and conjured by progressive, liberal minds. It was conservatives that started slavery. It was progressives that ended it. It was conservatives who kept women from voting. It was progressives who pushed through women's suffrage. It was conservatives who kept African-Americans from being considered full human beings. It was progressives who debunked this myth and created affirmative action in an attempt to help balance the playing field. And now it is conservatives who don't understand homosexuality and are trying hard to push them out of our mainstream while progressives are succeeding slowly at making their lives more comfortable here. In fact throughout our history it has been straight, white, conservative men who have been working hard at creating fear and hate toward those who aren't straight, white, conservative men so that they don't have to work hard at getting an education, learning of other cultures, exhibiting the least bit of talent or problem solving skills, or doing anything that requires them to speak in full sentences with what I like to call, "Grown-up words." They are also the ones who seem to think that making money, without regard for humanity, environment, cultural sensitivity, or respect for spirituality, is all that matters in life. They don't seem to know what they would do with the money besides buy shiny, fast-moving crap once they have it, but they know that's what the American Dream is about and that's what they plan to spend their life working toward in hopes that they can spend the last fifteen years of life not making money. Fascinating.
On the other hand, intellectuals, scientists, artists, inventors, writers, and other progressive minds attempting to bring beauty, truth, and solutions into the world seem to get relegated to a small corner of our society to be poked fun at and alienated and ignored until something serious happens that needs their input. For the most part these creative and brilliant minds seem to be okay with working behind the scenes and allowing their life's work to be what is carried on and not their toys and dollars that will later be squandered by ungrateful offspring. However, once in awhile, as we have seen in the last eight years, conservatives screw things up so royally with their mythological belief systems and hot-headed misconceptions about "scary bad people" that we find introverts churning out volumes of works and flying from the woodwork to push things forward. In a way I guess it can be viewed as positive. Perhaps without the freedom to elect ignorant rich puppets our progressive minds would just get lazy or leave the country entirely. This way, the thought of things getting so bad in their absence seems to be superb motivation to work harder at educating the masses and passing laws that prevent conservatives from killing themselves and everyone else in their blind pursuit of wealth and shiny fast things that make girls like them. Thus, both progressives and conservatives get to be happy. Progressives can feel important by keeping conservatives safe, educated, healthy, and making the country look good historically with their contributions to the arts and sciences and conservatives can yell their brains out about how scared and threatened they feel while building suburbanite super fortresses and turning their God into another way to make money and buy more stuff. Which is what the American Dream is all about, right? What a great country this truly is. USA! USA! Go team go!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
If We Just Act Like It Isn't There, Maybe God Will Fix It
I love this. It's from Jay Leno now. It was from Ben Stein last year. Either way, not exactly the scholars we should be taking political advice from in an election year.
Why is 67% of America unhappy with our direction?
A.. Is it that we have
electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a
week? --Very nice sentiment. In a world full of iPods, PCs, nuclear weapons and space shuttles , yes, I suppose we should still not forget our archaic utility systems. God bless.
B.. Is our unhappiness
the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the
winter? --Maybe that our current air conditioning systems are huge contributors to global warming, killing thousands of species of living organisms, melting glaciers, drowning polar bears, and potentially leading to our extinction; all so we don't have to feel discomfort for a few months? Seems rational.
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? --I'll give him this one. This is nice. I think it will change very soon as companies have to lay off people to make up for the cost of fuel, but for the time, this is good.
D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in
moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? --Unless you expend any level of thought considering where your food came from: i.e. what third-world country's community was ripped off and made to work for slave wages in the growing of your food, how much energy was wasted on shipping your food around the world (possibly several times) to be processed, packaged, and marketed, what is actually in your food such as pesticides, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup (all of which are doing extreme harm to your body), how many animals were pumped full of hormones, crammed into tight spaces and made to live in their own defecation on a concrete slab for their entire life before being slaughtered and brought to a friendly neighborhood store near you.
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move
through each state? --Again, nice sentiment I suppose. It's a big country. That's nice. Most citizens ARE able to cross their entire country without showing ID.
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can
provide temporary shelter? --Again, these exist in pretty much all industrialized nations. How about the $15 a night hostels all over Europe. Perfectly safe and clean with breakfast included! Yea! Great places to meet people too.
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world
is just not good enough either.--Again, exists everywhere. Side note though: we have mainly Americanized versions of ethnic cuisine because most Americans won't eat genuinely ethnic foods without being "grossed out." This is how grown up and sophisticated we are as the world's superpower.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.--Again, happens in all industrialized nations. In many of these nations they don't actually make you pay for this trip to the hospital for the rest of your life when you get out. In some, it's free because they believe in taking care of their entire citizenry, not just their rich.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. --Is this a good number? This means 195 million Americans don't own homes. Hmm?
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained
firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.--Happens everywhere where people aren't living in thatch huts. Side note: These are the wonderful socialized systems that take care of our basic needs so that we can live a higher quality of life. Keep this in mind when Republicans start demonizing the socialization of medicine and higher education this year.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler
intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. --Or we could take care of the poor and struggling who feel the need to rob homes and develop gun laws that don't allow disgruntled citizens to carry guns so we can live in a nation like the UK where cops carry nightsticks (no guns) and have a significantly lower crime rate (ridiculously lower violent murder rate). We have the highest murder rates anywhere in the world because of our lack of gun control. Even higher than most of the Middle East.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging
the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.--This is happening in most neighborhoods in technologically advanced nations worldwide where there isn't a war going on...a war we started mind you.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the
envy of everyone in the world? --Unless you're a minority, gay, or believe something that strays very far from the American mainstream. You can have rights, just don't live anywhere close to us or participate in our communities. Right? We're no where close to the only free and democratic country in the world. If "Jay" ever left, he would know this.
Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. That's why I'm unhappy. Is Jay in the 33% still thinking things are peachy?
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen (That's a fact huh? Bet that study has some interesting data behind it). No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens (Maybe because we bomb nations without logical grounds and take whatever we want economically from countries that can't stand up to us?) They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the
world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. No, I'm pretty sure they hate us for constantly pushing our Christian BS on them while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge that we rose to power by hijacking a nation of indigenous people, committing genocide on the native men and women, kidnapping natives of Africa and making them work for free to utilize the untapped resources of what is now the United States, then set them free with no rights; raped, beat, and lynched them for almost another hundred years and still treat them like second-class citizens even though they pretty much built our economy for free and against their will. I think they also hate our values; i.e. that we are, again, the wealthiest nation in history and don't take care of our citizen's health needs, provide a pathetic amount of assistance to get our citizenry to a higher level of education, and accept much lower standards for living than most industrialized countries. Essentially they hate us because we could be living in the most idealistic country that has ever existed, comfortably peaceful and minding our own business and dolling out charity from our huge surplus of revenue and instead we have accepted a second-rate country where people send emails like this one comparing us to nations where people still hunt with bows and arrows.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out?
Yes Jay, what about that? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? or the 11% rating of the Democrat House of Representatives, Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11 (told us to keep shopping?)? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? (Recession is still kicking Jay) Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding (Hahahahahahahahaha! Succeeding. Hilarious) in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? (Correlation does not equal causality Jay. Lack of terrorist attacks doesn't mean he did anything to prevent them). The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Yes, yes, yes...he will likely be remembered as the worst president in U.S. history. Where are we going with this? We still have nice hotels, is that the point?
Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so
much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President YES! because he actually caused you personal pain No, just embarrassment, but just because I'm privileged doesn't mean I'm not feeling bad for the pain he caused everyone else worldwide OR is it because the 'Media' [Did their job and] told you he was failing to kiss your sorry
ungrateful behind every day (Wow, Jay's a little self-righteous, huh?). Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom . There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days
in the brig. --Would they joined in the first place if they had another way out of their small towns without joining the military? Isn't this more of an economic problem we need to solve inside our own borders? Maybe if we had mandatory service we would think twice before killing off our poor in wars for oil. Side note: we are experiencing the highest level of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and military suicides in history. They may have volunteered but they don't want to be there.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent (It just went up 2% before he finished writing this. Yea for rational minds!) of Americans?
Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize
in bad news (Ignoring problems isn't solving problems, but I agree they could point out some positive from time to time). Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? (Awe, this is like a sappy John Couger Mellencamp song) The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations (Except NPR and Associated Press). They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like OJ. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his
wife, but if he did he would have done it this way (What the hell does this have to do with media? First, news media and publishing houses are two completely separate industries. Second, publishers can't "allow" or disallow people to write anything, we all enjoy first amendment privileges . And they didn't publish it anyway! Who is this guy?)......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times (Interesting that these are two of the better sources for news in the country, but I would still recommend NPR, and The Associated Press, which from the rest of this email I'm guessing Jay doesn't listen to or read) for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth (interesting that we think this about ourselves more than anyone else thinks this about us. Self-centered much?) and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornado's, fires out of
control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' --Probably a good time to take God out of everything if he's causing all this trouble. ;) Side note: we're actually living in the most peaceful period in human history. Also, countries that are predominantly secular (run their countries based on logical studies over religious superstition) have overall higher education rates, higher public health, lower unwanted pregnancies, stronger socialized systems, lower poverty rates, less crime and violence and stronger economies.
Sorry to rain on your parade Jay, but simple-minded conservatism just isn't cutting it anymore. It's not that we aren't grateful, it's that we can do better, and should. Also interesting that most of what is pointed out in this email relates to materialistic comfort and fear of very preventable natural and societal problems that many other nations have already solved. If everyone would stop praying to and thanking something that may or may not even exist and actually used their own intelligence and human talents to solve our nation's problems we might actually be able to sit back and appreciate how functional America is. Interesting also, that he points out in the end that he thinks things are so overwhelmingly bad that we should throw up our hands and pray versus organizing our communities, electing better leaders, and establishing better systems to avoid similar problems in the future. It is comforting that 67-69% of people disagree with this email.
How the other 31-33% keep passing it to my Inbox and crediting different celebrities as sources is beyond me.
Happy election year! Stay informed!
Jeff
Why is 67% of America unhappy with our direction?
A.. Is it that we have
electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a
week? --Very nice sentiment. In a world full of iPods, PCs, nuclear weapons and space shuttles , yes, I suppose we should still not forget our archaic utility systems. God bless.
B.. Is our unhappiness
the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the
winter? --Maybe that our current air conditioning systems are huge contributors to global warming, killing thousands of species of living organisms, melting glaciers, drowning polar bears, and potentially leading to our extinction; all so we don't have to feel discomfort for a few months? Seems rational.
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? --I'll give him this one. This is nice. I think it will change very soon as companies have to lay off people to make up for the cost of fuel, but for the time, this is good.
D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in
moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? --Unless you expend any level of thought considering where your food came from: i.e. what third-world country's community was ripped off and made to work for slave wages in the growing of your food, how much energy was wasted on shipping your food around the world (possibly several times) to be processed, packaged, and marketed, what is actually in your food such as pesticides, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup (all of which are doing extreme harm to your body), how many animals were pumped full of hormones, crammed into tight spaces and made to live in their own defecation on a concrete slab for their entire life before being slaughtered and brought to a friendly neighborhood store near you.
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic
Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move
through each state? --Again, nice sentiment I suppose. It's a big country. That's nice. Most citizens ARE able to cross their entire country without showing ID.
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can
provide temporary shelter? --Again, these exist in pretty much all industrialized nations. How about the $15 a night hostels all over Europe. Perfectly safe and clean with breakfast included! Yea! Great places to meet people too.
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world
is just not good enough either.--Again, exists everywhere. Side note though: we have mainly Americanized versions of ethnic cuisine because most Americans won't eat genuinely ethnic foods without being "grossed out." This is how grown up and sophisticated we are as the world's superpower.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.--Again, happens in all industrialized nations. In many of these nations they don't actually make you pay for this trip to the hospital for the rest of your life when you get out. In some, it's free because they believe in taking care of their entire citizenry, not just their rich.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. --Is this a good number? This means 195 million Americans don't own homes. Hmm?
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained
firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.--Happens everywhere where people aren't living in thatch huts. Side note: These are the wonderful socialized systems that take care of our basic needs so that we can live a higher quality of life. Keep this in mind when Republicans start demonizing the socialization of medicine and higher education this year.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler
intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. --Or we could take care of the poor and struggling who feel the need to rob homes and develop gun laws that don't allow disgruntled citizens to carry guns so we can live in a nation like the UK where cops carry nightsticks (no guns) and have a significantly lower crime rate (ridiculously lower violent murder rate). We have the highest murder rates anywhere in the world because of our lack of gun control. Even higher than most of the Middle East.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging
the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.--This is happening in most neighborhoods in technologically advanced nations worldwide where there isn't a war going on...a war we started mind you.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the
envy of everyone in the world? --Unless you're a minority, gay, or believe something that strays very far from the American mainstream. You can have rights, just don't live anywhere close to us or participate in our communities. Right? We're no where close to the only free and democratic country in the world. If "Jay" ever left, he would know this.
Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. That's why I'm unhappy. Is Jay in the 33% still thinking things are peachy?
Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen (That's a fact huh? Bet that study has some interesting data behind it). No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens (Maybe because we bomb nations without logical grounds and take whatever we want economically from countries that can't stand up to us?) They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the
world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. No, I'm pretty sure they hate us for constantly pushing our Christian BS on them while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge that we rose to power by hijacking a nation of indigenous people, committing genocide on the native men and women, kidnapping natives of Africa and making them work for free to utilize the untapped resources of what is now the United States, then set them free with no rights; raped, beat, and lynched them for almost another hundred years and still treat them like second-class citizens even though they pretty much built our economy for free and against their will. I think they also hate our values; i.e. that we are, again, the wealthiest nation in history and don't take care of our citizen's health needs, provide a pathetic amount of assistance to get our citizenry to a higher level of education, and accept much lower standards for living than most industrialized countries. Essentially they hate us because we could be living in the most idealistic country that has ever existed, comfortably peaceful and minding our own business and dolling out charity from our huge surplus of revenue and instead we have accepted a second-rate country where people send emails like this one comparing us to nations where people still hunt with bows and arrows.
I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out?
Yes Jay, what about that? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? or the 11% rating of the Democrat House of Representatives, Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11 (told us to keep shopping?)? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? (Recession is still kicking Jay) Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding (Hahahahahahahahaha! Succeeding. Hilarious) in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? (Correlation does not equal causality Jay. Lack of terrorist attacks doesn't mean he did anything to prevent them). The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Yes, yes, yes...he will likely be remembered as the worst president in U.S. history. Where are we going with this? We still have nice hotels, is that the point?
Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so
much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President YES! because he actually caused you personal pain No, just embarrassment, but just because I'm privileged doesn't mean I'm not feeling bad for the pain he caused everyone else worldwide OR is it because the 'Media' [Did their job and] told you he was failing to kiss your sorry
ungrateful behind every day (Wow, Jay's a little self-righteous, huh?). Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom . There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days
in the brig. --Would they joined in the first place if they had another way out of their small towns without joining the military? Isn't this more of an economic problem we need to solve inside our own borders? Maybe if we had mandatory service we would think twice before killing off our poor in wars for oil. Side note: we are experiencing the highest level of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and military suicides in history. They may have volunteered but they don't want to be there.
So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent (It just went up 2% before he finished writing this. Yea for rational minds!) of Americans?
Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize
in bad news (Ignoring problems isn't solving problems, but I agree they could point out some positive from time to time). Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? (Awe, this is like a sappy John Couger Mellencamp song) The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations (Except NPR and Associated Press). They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like OJ. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his
wife, but if he did he would have done it this way (What the hell does this have to do with media? First, news media and publishing houses are two completely separate industries. Second, publishers can't "allow" or disallow people to write anything, we all enjoy first amendment privileges . And they didn't publish it anyway! Who is this guy?)......Insane!
Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times (Interesting that these are two of the better sources for news in the country, but I would still recommend NPR, and The Associated Press, which from the rest of this email I'm guessing Jay doesn't listen to or read) for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth (interesting that we think this about ourselves more than anyone else thinks this about us. Self-centered much?) and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornado's, fires out of
control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' --Probably a good time to take God out of everything if he's causing all this trouble. ;) Side note: we're actually living in the most peaceful period in human history. Also, countries that are predominantly secular (run their countries based on logical studies over religious superstition) have overall higher education rates, higher public health, lower unwanted pregnancies, stronger socialized systems, lower poverty rates, less crime and violence and stronger economies.
Sorry to rain on your parade Jay, but simple-minded conservatism just isn't cutting it anymore. It's not that we aren't grateful, it's that we can do better, and should. Also interesting that most of what is pointed out in this email relates to materialistic comfort and fear of very preventable natural and societal problems that many other nations have already solved. If everyone would stop praying to and thanking something that may or may not even exist and actually used their own intelligence and human talents to solve our nation's problems we might actually be able to sit back and appreciate how functional America is. Interesting also, that he points out in the end that he thinks things are so overwhelmingly bad that we should throw up our hands and pray versus organizing our communities, electing better leaders, and establishing better systems to avoid similar problems in the future. It is comforting that 67-69% of people disagree with this email.
How the other 31-33% keep passing it to my Inbox and crediting different celebrities as sources is beyond me.
Happy election year! Stay informed!
Jeff
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Competition Is Dumb
"Your idea of a conversation is the third degree, because I don't really know you and I don't really want to talk about me." --Ani DiFranco
Can I tell you how obnoxious it is to exist in an entire world of adults who are still content on competing with each other like a bunch of teenage boys playing street-ball? I don't mean competing for fun, as in, "Let's go play a game of chess or scrabble and try to one-up each other." This competition is fairly healthy; at the very least, fun. I mean shamelessly competing at life. Like walking, talking raw-nerve endings ready to rattle off five sources to back up every phrase that exits their mouth they anxiously dodge the 98% of human beings sharing the planet with them in hopes that they are not engaged in comfortable, polite conversation for more than thirty seconds. This is what it is like to be an outsider around a group of graduate students in America. It's sometimes laughable the lack of experience and worldly interaction some of these people have had--sometimes humbling. I have met two kinds of graduate student: the one who has walked into this academic world as his or her birthright, never having expected to end up anywhere else, and those that have fought and scrapped and saved and worked twenty hours a day since adolescence to get here. And in the end I still have to ask, "What's the prize?"
Some may answer, "One gets to be an interesting, intelligent person with plenty of cash and free time to continue growing and spreading one's influence to help those less-fortunate in the world." But these people would likely be lying. I think the majority, if they could untie their brains long enough to muster the English language and speak in coherent sentences would say something about the flat-screen television they can't wait to buy when they finally graduate, or (and I shit you not) the video game station they want to own to unwind with after work. And as I sit lazily by--yawning from the good night's rest I received, thinking of the hike I would like to go on this weekend, and waiting for a pause in the enthralling conversation about the, "hideous clothes that that bitch in my psych class was wearing" to talk about the enlightening novel I just finished--I have to wonder who's really getting ahead? Sure, they seem to have nice toys now, but it hasn't truly seemed to sink in yet that they are tens of thousands of dollars in debt and will likely only make the equivalent of a high school graduate in a clerical position when they do finally get into the work place. And lest you say I am essentially making a very wordy argument that measures up to, "Ah kids today!" I will elaborate.
There are people dying all over the world from the flu because they can't get the basic health care they need. There are multiple wars that America is fighting in several different countries based mostly on ignorant people electing ignorant leaders. We are in the middle of a historical election year in presidential politics and the largest shift in national values our generation is likely to see in our lifetime. We have access as United States citizens to travel anywhere in the world that we can afford without so much as a second bag check. There are warehouses full of books that people have spent years torturing themselves to write to better our minds and hearts. There are thousands of musical instruments one can learn how to play. There are millions of recipes that one can learn how to cook. If you are really going to sit there with your microwavable meal and your giant SUV in the driveway and talk to me about the last episode of, "Lost" as a graduate student--a future professional leader of our country--and expect that I'm not going to think less of you because of how hard you worked for all of this, we're probably not as good of friends as you think. Working hard blindly is for idiots chasing materialistic dreams. Working smart and learning lessons along the way takes some patience and brains. Achieving peace with yourself and the world you live in takes enlightenment and wisdom; foresight and deep breathing. Where are you on your path? Are you getting what you really want out of your time here? Are you leaving anything better for future generations? Or are you spreading the stress and anxiety and competitiveness that has us all wondering, "What's the point?"
If we're winning, who is losing? The poor, the disabled, the abused, the truly challenged that need our help? Is that really something to be so proud of yourself for? Think fast. It's later than you think.
Can I tell you how obnoxious it is to exist in an entire world of adults who are still content on competing with each other like a bunch of teenage boys playing street-ball? I don't mean competing for fun, as in, "Let's go play a game of chess or scrabble and try to one-up each other." This competition is fairly healthy; at the very least, fun. I mean shamelessly competing at life. Like walking, talking raw-nerve endings ready to rattle off five sources to back up every phrase that exits their mouth they anxiously dodge the 98% of human beings sharing the planet with them in hopes that they are not engaged in comfortable, polite conversation for more than thirty seconds. This is what it is like to be an outsider around a group of graduate students in America. It's sometimes laughable the lack of experience and worldly interaction some of these people have had--sometimes humbling. I have met two kinds of graduate student: the one who has walked into this academic world as his or her birthright, never having expected to end up anywhere else, and those that have fought and scrapped and saved and worked twenty hours a day since adolescence to get here. And in the end I still have to ask, "What's the prize?"
Some may answer, "One gets to be an interesting, intelligent person with plenty of cash and free time to continue growing and spreading one's influence to help those less-fortunate in the world." But these people would likely be lying. I think the majority, if they could untie their brains long enough to muster the English language and speak in coherent sentences would say something about the flat-screen television they can't wait to buy when they finally graduate, or (and I shit you not) the video game station they want to own to unwind with after work. And as I sit lazily by--yawning from the good night's rest I received, thinking of the hike I would like to go on this weekend, and waiting for a pause in the enthralling conversation about the, "hideous clothes that that bitch in my psych class was wearing" to talk about the enlightening novel I just finished--I have to wonder who's really getting ahead? Sure, they seem to have nice toys now, but it hasn't truly seemed to sink in yet that they are tens of thousands of dollars in debt and will likely only make the equivalent of a high school graduate in a clerical position when they do finally get into the work place. And lest you say I am essentially making a very wordy argument that measures up to, "Ah kids today!" I will elaborate.
There are people dying all over the world from the flu because they can't get the basic health care they need. There are multiple wars that America is fighting in several different countries based mostly on ignorant people electing ignorant leaders. We are in the middle of a historical election year in presidential politics and the largest shift in national values our generation is likely to see in our lifetime. We have access as United States citizens to travel anywhere in the world that we can afford without so much as a second bag check. There are warehouses full of books that people have spent years torturing themselves to write to better our minds and hearts. There are thousands of musical instruments one can learn how to play. There are millions of recipes that one can learn how to cook. If you are really going to sit there with your microwavable meal and your giant SUV in the driveway and talk to me about the last episode of, "Lost" as a graduate student--a future professional leader of our country--and expect that I'm not going to think less of you because of how hard you worked for all of this, we're probably not as good of friends as you think. Working hard blindly is for idiots chasing materialistic dreams. Working smart and learning lessons along the way takes some patience and brains. Achieving peace with yourself and the world you live in takes enlightenment and wisdom; foresight and deep breathing. Where are you on your path? Are you getting what you really want out of your time here? Are you leaving anything better for future generations? Or are you spreading the stress and anxiety and competitiveness that has us all wondering, "What's the point?"
If we're winning, who is losing? The poor, the disabled, the abused, the truly challenged that need our help? Is that really something to be so proud of yourself for? Think fast. It's later than you think.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Notes on a Marthon
First off, thank you so much to everyone who donated to Doctors Without Borders on behalf of our Marathon. We raised nearly $900, which we were pretty excited about. The run itself as you can see below went well and although we finished well behind the front runners, we did finish and that felt damn good. As you will also see my shirt that started around my waist in the first pictures (those were around mile 17) made its way to my knee somewhere toward the 21st mile marker. I had injured my hamstring while training for this beast and wasn't even sure if I was going to make it more than half way, but as any of you know who have tried a marathon, the adrenaline pushes you through somehow. I tied the shirt around my knee to take some pressure off and it seemed to be enough to get through the remainder of the race (although very slowly). Allison is a machine and had little trouble besides the obvious peaks and trenches that come up in running twenty-six miles. The rest of the day after the race was a waste, as was most of the following day being barely able to walk. My body still, two days after, feels extremely out of whack. My legs are starting to feel better, but I can't seem to drink enough water to stay hydrated and there is this strange body buzz sensation still lingering from the endorphins as my brain probably thinks I just experienced a car wreck. That being said, I highly recommend it to anyone who has been thinking about it. Five months ago I had never run more than seven miles in my life and now I think I will definitely try this again (although probably not for a year or so). I think the thrill of the event isn't your time or the supportive crowds or seeing mile after mile pass by as you mindlessly sling your limbs in a forwardly direction, but experiencing the endless well of energy and will power that keeps coming despite the pain and the tears and the logical mind telling you to stop this (did I mention the pain...good, cause it f-ing hurts).
Yes, marathons are an adrenaline junkie's dream and an intellectual person's nightmare, but whomever you are I recommend trying it at least once just to know what you're capable of. I met a guy named Daniel at Outward Bound and when I asked him about his spiritual affiliation, he said, "I don't know if there is a God and I don't put much stock the idea that there is, but I'll never understand how people can have perfectly functional bodies and minds and never push themselves hard enough to know what those gifts are capable of. That's why I get up and run every morning. It's a celebration of my working limbs." That was the best rationale I had ever heard for physical activity and I've been running ever since. I agree that it is a sad state of affairs when people have everything within their power to achieve great things and don't even realize it because they put their stock in higher powers. If you want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket. If you want to achieve your highest good, you have to leave your comfort zone.
Be well. Think big. Use your gifts for good.
Cheers,
Jeff
Yes, marathons are an adrenaline junkie's dream and an intellectual person's nightmare, but whomever you are I recommend trying it at least once just to know what you're capable of. I met a guy named Daniel at Outward Bound and when I asked him about his spiritual affiliation, he said, "I don't know if there is a God and I don't put much stock the idea that there is, but I'll never understand how people can have perfectly functional bodies and minds and never push themselves hard enough to know what those gifts are capable of. That's why I get up and run every morning. It's a celebration of my working limbs." That was the best rationale I had ever heard for physical activity and I've been running ever since. I agree that it is a sad state of affairs when people have everything within their power to achieve great things and don't even realize it because they put their stock in higher powers. If you want to win the lottery, you have to buy a ticket. If you want to achieve your highest good, you have to leave your comfort zone.
Be well. Think big. Use your gifts for good.
Cheers,
Jeff
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Guitar Hero
I haven't actually witnessed one of these yet, but everywhere I go I hear adults talking about playing the game Guitar Hero on Nintendo Wii. Now, from what I gather there's a joystick with buttons and you can actually move your hands around like you're playing a real guitar and on the screen it tells you how close you got to rockin' an actual solo. Sounds like it might be a good time...when I was thirteen and amused more by bright lights flashing on a screen and wracking up points than acquiring actual life skills and having real experiences. Here's what baffles me about this; for someone to get good at this game I would assume that they have to play it for hours on end, probably everyday. Like with most video games I played as a kid there are probably levels and you get to reach higher scores the better you get. But it's a guitar on a TV. So, why not spend half as much money, buy an ACTUAL guitar and practice that for hours on end everyday. Then, when friends come over to hang out you could have them bring their ACTUAL guitar and you could play ACTUAL music that everyone could enjoy and be gaining greater levels of talent and skill rather than VIRTUAL talent and skill on a goddamn TV screen!! Aah! Am I insane? Honestly, if a teenager just learning an instrument spent the same amount of time playing a guitar as they do playing Guitar Hero, he or she might actually be capable of becoming a REAL musician and getting paid to play Actual instruments in front of ACTUAL people and be an ACTUAL rock star. Is this what our dreaming has come to? We think our kids, nay, even our adults, have such little ability as human beings that they would rather gain talent at useless, expensive games in their living rooms instead of learning to exist in the real world and share their ACTUAL talent (I cannot emphasize enough this distinction between reality and virtual reality--huge difference). Anyway, there it is. Playing a real guitar is pretty fun by and by. There's always a more challenging level and something new to learn, it engages the brain on a creative level we often lack in adulthood and often serves as a great stress reliever. Try it or any other instrument for your health's sake and the sake of our society. Create art. Kill your video games!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Automatic Negative Thoughts
These are from a list Allison received in one of her counseling classes. They are common negative thoughts that all of us experience at different times that keep us from accomplishing what we are truly capable of. This list ultimately comes from Dr. David Burns, M.D. in his book "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy." Apparently this book is considered kind of a pop-psychology book in the field, but also has some good points such as the ones he makes below.
1) All-Or-Nothing Thinking: You see things in black-and-white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
2) Overgeneralization: You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
3) Mental Filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolors the entire beaker of water.
4) Disqualifying the Positive: You reject positive experiences by insisting that they "don't count" for some reason or another. In this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your everyday experiences.
5) Jumping to Conclusions: You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion.
6) Magnification (catastrophizing) or Minimization: You exaggerate the importance of things (such as you goof-up or someone else's achievement), or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny (your own desirable qualities or the other person's imperfections). This is also called the "binocular trick."
7) Emotional Reasoning: You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: "I feel it, therefore it must be true."
8) Should Statements: You try to motivate yourself with shoulds and shouldn'ts, as if you had to be punished before you could be expected to do anything. "Musts" and "oughts" are also offenders. The emotional consequence is guilt. When you direct should statements toward others, you feel anger, frustration, and resentment.
9) Labeling and Mislabeling: This is an extreme form of overgeneralization. Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself: I'm a loser." When someone else's behavior rubs you the wrong way, you attach a negative label to him or her: "He's a louse." Mislabeling involves describing an event with language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.
10) Personalization: You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event which in fact you were not primarily responsible for.
Any of these sound familiar? I know they do for me. Hope these can offer some insight into thinking about your thinking and how your thinking might be keeping you from doing what you really want to be doing with your life. Take care, Jeff
1) All-Or-Nothing Thinking: You see things in black-and-white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
2) Overgeneralization: You see a single negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat.
3) Mental Filter: You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively so that your vision of all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolors the entire beaker of water.
4) Disqualifying the Positive: You reject positive experiences by insisting that they "don't count" for some reason or another. In this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your everyday experiences.
5) Jumping to Conclusions: You make a negative interpretation even though there are no definite facts that convincingly support your conclusion.
6) Magnification (catastrophizing) or Minimization: You exaggerate the importance of things (such as you goof-up or someone else's achievement), or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny (your own desirable qualities or the other person's imperfections). This is also called the "binocular trick."
7) Emotional Reasoning: You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: "I feel it, therefore it must be true."
8) Should Statements: You try to motivate yourself with shoulds and shouldn'ts, as if you had to be punished before you could be expected to do anything. "Musts" and "oughts" are also offenders. The emotional consequence is guilt. When you direct should statements toward others, you feel anger, frustration, and resentment.
9) Labeling and Mislabeling: This is an extreme form of overgeneralization. Instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yourself: I'm a loser." When someone else's behavior rubs you the wrong way, you attach a negative label to him or her: "He's a louse." Mislabeling involves describing an event with language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded.
10) Personalization: You see yourself as the cause of some negative external event which in fact you were not primarily responsible for.
Any of these sound familiar? I know they do for me. Hope these can offer some insight into thinking about your thinking and how your thinking might be keeping you from doing what you really want to be doing with your life. Take care, Jeff
Friday, February 08, 2008
Why Republicans are Insecure Children and Liberals Need to Be Stronger Leaders (and Canadians are laughing at our arrogance)
Since the political season is in full swing I'm sure my nonstop checking of polls and AP updates will do nothing for my grades in school or my blood pressure/ anxiety level but should certainly give me endless fodder for commentary on my blog. The ridiculous stereotypical emails of what a liberal believes and what a conservative believes have already started (although I only seem to get them from conservatives. Be forewarned that I like to "reply all" with my personal beliefs on your political emails, so if you don't want your aunt Sally to know that your friend Jeff is a gay loving, pro-choice, environmentalist, latte drinking academic living in Bellingham, WA, I'd suggest you leave me off the list). I'm hoping (but not counting on by any stretch of the imagination) that since John McCain is a fairly reasonable Republican and, with any luck, Barack Obama is running on a message of uniting the country that maybe some of the incredibly lame stereotypes (such as the one I frequently fall under above) can cease and we can remember that all these "beliefs" are supposedly based in something. After all, I don't know anyone who isn't proud of their relative who went on to be a PhD or a professional in one field or another, but somehow when election time rolls around these individuals cease to represent hard work, dreaming big and disciplined follow-through and become the lazy liberal cynics who want to ruin America with their hifalutin college talk and their godless four-dollar mochas. On the flip side of the coin, your good ol' uncle Ralph who's worked a soybean farm his entire life in Nebraska and spends his weekends hunting quail stops being the lovable old work horse who wears flannel to Christmas dinner and becomes the gun-toting, Bible-thumping war-monger from the heartland that hasn't read a book since nineteen fifty-four.
Here's my point. People are people, not political caricatures. Here's a bigger point; politics misses the big picture of life by an f-ing landslide. I personally didn't just wake up one day and turn on the news and say, "You know, I really don't like conservative views. I think I'll be a liberal." There has actually been a fair amount of psychological data (see Psychology Today article: http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20061222-000001.xml) on how our psychological profiles tend to push us toward a more liberal or more conservative perspective. Here's the unfortunate thing; people who tend to be easily threatened or feel vulnerable in their views lean more to the right. These are the people who want to demonize academia as being useless and pretentious, and think that a country of people working at corporate chain stores and restaurants is a great way to go.
Here's the thing. I personally believe that conservatives generally become conservative for one of a few reasons; either A) They haven't explored any aspect whatsoever of what it means to be human--have never studied psychology or humanities, don't read, don't interact with people different from themselves, never been through any form of counseling, never been pushed so hard that they had to learn something significant about the human condition, will never sit still long enough to consider, for instance, what's going on in Jakarta today (unless they have an investment there), that is to say, not worldly-minded, B) They were raised to be very religious and never had the courage or educational leadership to question the assertions made by their religious leaders, C) They f-ed up somewhere along the line and got themselves in so deep that the idea of hope and love and progressiveness seems ridiculously idealistic, D) They've made so much money that the drive to save what they make out-weighs their concern for society at large, or, more respectably, they don't think government organizations are getting the job done and would rather donate to charities of their choice, and E) They are threatened by people smarter than they are (which usually just means, went to more school than they did, and since most of our academic failures come from lack of patience in figuring out how we learn best this isn't really an excuse for anyone who doesn't have some type of serious brain trauma) and rather than humbly coming to these people for mentoring they make a culture of people who would rather believe in mystical things that are based in nothing and fight the people who actually know what's going on. This may sound harsh, but I don't know any other reasons for being conservative. I guess some people think conservative politicians have some kind of say over religious ways of life, which they don't, or can pass laws based on Biblical teachings, which they can't. I suppose some are so scared of other human beings that they feel they need a gun around in case someone randomly pegs them as a person they'd like to kill (not that random crimes don't happen, but generally people who live simply and sanely don't often attract the attention of poor scavenger-types looking for some easy loot. So, don't live like a materialistic asshole and you won't have to worry about people stealing your stuff and you won't need to carry a gun).
I honestly don't know what makes conservatives hate liberals the way they do (insecurity maybe?). On the flip side, I know I tend to dislike people who constantly scowl at me for giving a shit while they sit around getting richer and fatter and lazier and praying that someone else figures out how to solve all the problems in their life. As far as I can tell liberalism is based in wanting to engage in mindful, conscientious and compassionate living, the arts, academics and healthy lifestyles that respect living things as living things. It's about finding creative, intelligent and innovative ways of making money and running businesses that don't cross ethical boundaries or prevent other people from living healthy, productive lives. I suppose if taken too far it could mean acting aggressively towards businesses or development, but honestly if businesses and developers are respecting living things as living things and considering how to do business and develop conscientiously, there wouldn't be a problem. It's when they engage in selfish, money-minded consumption that liberals tend to get a little peeved. After all it's the nature of cancer to grow just for the sake of growth. To me liberal values seem to look for what is causing problems and working to alleviate these problems so society can function smoothly. Conservatives tend to want to believe in abstract ideas like good and evil and that mystical forces are making bad people come after our land and hate our freedom (a freedom that is completely hypothetical by and by. Go try to do whatever you really want to be doing sometime and tell me how that works out for you). They also have this annoying thing about being really comfortable with violence and really uncomfortable with sex--what the hell is that all about?
Anyway, I roll these thoughts around all day trying to figure out why people wouldn't want to work as smartly and as little as possible to pay for what they need in life, learn as much as possible, travel as far and as often as possible and live a reasonable lifestyle to make this a possibility. All I can come up with is that ignorant greed, conservative BS based in absolutely nothing and paranoid fear that the whole world wants to hijack us and take our shit seems more rational and rewarding than a life of learning and travel and pleasantly interacting with people of other cultures. All of which I blame on Republicans. So as far as I'm concerned, until we can get the right to look more like the Clintons and the left to look more like Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich we're not making any progress. Living an hour from Canada has certainly opened my eyes to the good life--free healthcare for life, free education all the way through to professional degrees, great government benefits and plenty of calm, intelligent people. If John McCain wins we may just pack our car and take a little road trip north...
Here's my point. People are people, not political caricatures. Here's a bigger point; politics misses the big picture of life by an f-ing landslide. I personally didn't just wake up one day and turn on the news and say, "You know, I really don't like conservative views. I think I'll be a liberal." There has actually been a fair amount of psychological data (see Psychology Today article: http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20061222-000001.xml) on how our psychological profiles tend to push us toward a more liberal or more conservative perspective. Here's the unfortunate thing; people who tend to be easily threatened or feel vulnerable in their views lean more to the right. These are the people who want to demonize academia as being useless and pretentious, and think that a country of people working at corporate chain stores and restaurants is a great way to go.
Here's the thing. I personally believe that conservatives generally become conservative for one of a few reasons; either A) They haven't explored any aspect whatsoever of what it means to be human--have never studied psychology or humanities, don't read, don't interact with people different from themselves, never been through any form of counseling, never been pushed so hard that they had to learn something significant about the human condition, will never sit still long enough to consider, for instance, what's going on in Jakarta today (unless they have an investment there), that is to say, not worldly-minded, B) They were raised to be very religious and never had the courage or educational leadership to question the assertions made by their religious leaders, C) They f-ed up somewhere along the line and got themselves in so deep that the idea of hope and love and progressiveness seems ridiculously idealistic, D) They've made so much money that the drive to save what they make out-weighs their concern for society at large, or, more respectably, they don't think government organizations are getting the job done and would rather donate to charities of their choice, and E) They are threatened by people smarter than they are (which usually just means, went to more school than they did, and since most of our academic failures come from lack of patience in figuring out how we learn best this isn't really an excuse for anyone who doesn't have some type of serious brain trauma) and rather than humbly coming to these people for mentoring they make a culture of people who would rather believe in mystical things that are based in nothing and fight the people who actually know what's going on. This may sound harsh, but I don't know any other reasons for being conservative. I guess some people think conservative politicians have some kind of say over religious ways of life, which they don't, or can pass laws based on Biblical teachings, which they can't. I suppose some are so scared of other human beings that they feel they need a gun around in case someone randomly pegs them as a person they'd like to kill (not that random crimes don't happen, but generally people who live simply and sanely don't often attract the attention of poor scavenger-types looking for some easy loot. So, don't live like a materialistic asshole and you won't have to worry about people stealing your stuff and you won't need to carry a gun).
I honestly don't know what makes conservatives hate liberals the way they do (insecurity maybe?). On the flip side, I know I tend to dislike people who constantly scowl at me for giving a shit while they sit around getting richer and fatter and lazier and praying that someone else figures out how to solve all the problems in their life. As far as I can tell liberalism is based in wanting to engage in mindful, conscientious and compassionate living, the arts, academics and healthy lifestyles that respect living things as living things. It's about finding creative, intelligent and innovative ways of making money and running businesses that don't cross ethical boundaries or prevent other people from living healthy, productive lives. I suppose if taken too far it could mean acting aggressively towards businesses or development, but honestly if businesses and developers are respecting living things as living things and considering how to do business and develop conscientiously, there wouldn't be a problem. It's when they engage in selfish, money-minded consumption that liberals tend to get a little peeved. After all it's the nature of cancer to grow just for the sake of growth. To me liberal values seem to look for what is causing problems and working to alleviate these problems so society can function smoothly. Conservatives tend to want to believe in abstract ideas like good and evil and that mystical forces are making bad people come after our land and hate our freedom (a freedom that is completely hypothetical by and by. Go try to do whatever you really want to be doing sometime and tell me how that works out for you). They also have this annoying thing about being really comfortable with violence and really uncomfortable with sex--what the hell is that all about?
Anyway, I roll these thoughts around all day trying to figure out why people wouldn't want to work as smartly and as little as possible to pay for what they need in life, learn as much as possible, travel as far and as often as possible and live a reasonable lifestyle to make this a possibility. All I can come up with is that ignorant greed, conservative BS based in absolutely nothing and paranoid fear that the whole world wants to hijack us and take our shit seems more rational and rewarding than a life of learning and travel and pleasantly interacting with people of other cultures. All of which I blame on Republicans. So as far as I'm concerned, until we can get the right to look more like the Clintons and the left to look more like Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich we're not making any progress. Living an hour from Canada has certainly opened my eyes to the good life--free healthcare for life, free education all the way through to professional degrees, great government benefits and plenty of calm, intelligent people. If John McCain wins we may just pack our car and take a little road trip north...
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sponsor Our Marathon, Doctors Without Borders
Hi Friends and Family,
As some of you already know Allison and I are training to run in our first marathon on Whidbey Island on April 13. Many people have been asking us why we want to do this to ourselves and thus far our only real answer has been for health (although our knees may argue with this logic) and a physical challenge we've both wanted to attempt for some time now. Then I came across a friend of mine who turned me onto a good idea that I'm going to steal in hopes that we might do more than stroke our physical egos this April.
What we're asking of you is to help us use this run to benefit some people in desperate situations by pledging to donate a certain chunk of change for each mile we run in April (Note: marathons are 26.2 miles). All of the money will go directly to the organization Doctors Without Borders. This is an organization of committed doctors worldwide providing vaccinations, check-ups, medical care and community support in war-torn areas and poverty-ridden parts of the world where people are dying of very curable illnesses that we haven't experienced in western society for a long time. Many of these places don't get reported about in the news and don't get the yearly runs cross-country to fund research. What they are dying from is not something waiting on a medical breakthrough, they just need willing people, money, and resources--all of which we have plenty of in our culture. If you'd like to read more on what this organization is doing you can go to www.doctorswithoutborders.org
If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of please click on the link below and contribute directly to DWB to help us reach our goal before April 13. A big thanks to all of those who have already contributed! It has been overwhelming how fast and how generously our friends and family have responded to this cause. Please pass the word.
Love,
Jeff and Allison
As some of you already know Allison and I are training to run in our first marathon on Whidbey Island on April 13. Many people have been asking us why we want to do this to ourselves and thus far our only real answer has been for health (although our knees may argue with this logic) and a physical challenge we've both wanted to attempt for some time now. Then I came across a friend of mine who turned me onto a good idea that I'm going to steal in hopes that we might do more than stroke our physical egos this April.
What we're asking of you is to help us use this run to benefit some people in desperate situations by pledging to donate a certain chunk of change for each mile we run in April (Note: marathons are 26.2 miles). All of the money will go directly to the organization Doctors Without Borders. This is an organization of committed doctors worldwide providing vaccinations, check-ups, medical care and community support in war-torn areas and poverty-ridden parts of the world where people are dying of very curable illnesses that we haven't experienced in western society for a long time. Many of these places don't get reported about in the news and don't get the yearly runs cross-country to fund research. What they are dying from is not something waiting on a medical breakthrough, they just need willing people, money, and resources--all of which we have plenty of in our culture. If you'd like to read more on what this organization is doing you can go to www.doctorswithoutborders.org
If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of please click on the link below and contribute directly to DWB to help us reach our goal before April 13. A big thanks to all of those who have already contributed! It has been overwhelming how fast and how generously our friends and family have responded to this cause. Please pass the word.
Love,
Jeff and Allison
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Is Religion Causing More Harm Than Good?
I'd like to tread lightly here so that you will keep reading and not skip to the next blog thinking this is the ranting of a crazy left-wing nut job who hates religious people. However, I do want to raise a legitimate question about what the pros and cons are of modern day religion in America. Barack Obama brought up a great point, I thought, last night in the South Carolina debate when he suggested that Americans who have stopped going to church and stopped participating in religious culture because their churches don't accept their gay friends and push conservative views on their families, are conceding this cultural ground to the Republicans who think they have a monopoly on Christian values. These are the same people, mind you, who want to build a giant wall across our southern boarder to keep out Mexicans rather than coming up with a rational modern approach to helping these people who are fleeing to our country to make a little money to send back home. These are the same people who fully supported and re-elected George W. Bush even after he started an unfounded war that we will never get out of in an efficient manner and that will certainly come back to haunt our children. The same people who haven't uttered a word in their debates concerning the still present racial tensions and gender boundaries that keep brown and black people of our country and women making less for doing the same jobs as white men. The same people who constantly fight for personal freedoms and state rights to uphold some of the most unhealthy behaviors and attitudes imaginable instead of letting the government step in and do what governments should do, in my opinion, which is educate (and if necessary regulate) its citizen's actions that are causing societal dissonance.
Obama's point was that the things taught in Christian faiths and by Jesus Christ (supposedly) are very much in-sync with democratic values--social justice, health care for everyone, affordable housing and education, environmental values, etc. are all things that liberals can uphold as being every bit as valid Christian values as the Republican's lip-service on family values and pro-life (Funny how they think every baby should have a chance, but once they're out of the womb they couldn't care less about the issues that provide these babies a life worth living). But this still isn't the question I want to raise.
All of the politics of religion aside, I'd like to know if I'm the only person who isn't constantly thinking, "What the hell is going on with religion in the world?" There is absolutely NO empirical evidence that has ever been shown or proven in any way that a God exists. Science consistently throughout history has come up with very logical, rational and often times proven data that explains so-called religious happenings. I have read studies that Jesus most likely existed and had some historical relevance during his time period, but no where close to that of other people who were alive at the same time and whose names show up in various types of literature from that same time. Jesus was the historical equivalent of Dennis Kucinich, just some bleeding heart carpenter's son rebelling against the harshness of society. And he died at thirty-three and really only did anything of significance from age thirty until he was arrested and put to death. I'm twenty-eight, so basically it would be like me deciding to become a social revolutionary and gathering together my cult of followers and riling up trouble with the government in between doing some social work for the poor and homeless and hanging out with my prostitute friend, than getting arrested three years later and killed after all my flaky followers bail on me and pawn me off as a crazy person.
Okay, this is not to say that I don't agree with a lot of what Jesus had to say (after all I am myself a bleeding heart liberal committed to helping the less fortunate), but the fact that our entire world will still put more faith in this old folk tale over the scientists and great thinkers of a modern day society is absolutely beyond me. Jesus, by and by, was NOT the first person to say these things. A lot of his message came from people such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle (among others) who were around long before anyone knew what the hell "Away in a Manger" meant. So, why can't we put this behind us? Why can't we keep the message (it's not all that sophisticated or hard to understand--don't be an asshole, make what you need, help out the people who can't help themselves, etc. etc.) and lose this mystical sob story that's causing such a rift between people in the world. If anything, why don't we all go to continuing education classes on Sunday morning and have people with PhDs in science and business and humanities talk to us about how to fix worldly problems in a real and tangible way, instead of being led through some watered-down pagan ritual in an expensive church where we can show off our B.S. happy families and newest wears from Old Navy.
I guess this is stemming from Allison studying psychology and counseling families right now and my studying science and helping with patients in the physical rehab clinic at the hospital. Both of us constantly get to learn about and see the reality of what's happening with people in the world. She gets to hear what people really think and feel and want out of life and what causes human suffering emotionally and psychologically. I get to see what people do and don't do that brings them to the hospital with missing limbs and broken bones and cancer of every imaginable part of the body. Between science and psychology we've (western culture) pretty much narrowed down the problems that make the average person suffer in life, yet when people are suffering they don't come to the people with answers. Instead they turn to religion and put faith in people and ideas that have not been proven or studied to have any basis in reality. It's an interesting study in itself why people seem to enjoy their suffering and focus on the pain and "poor me" story instead of the preventions or solutions for overcoming pain so they can enjoy life. So this is what troubles me. I think religion brings fuzzy, simple-minded, based-in-nothing, feel good answers to hard and fast, preventable, fixable problems that a good education and a life of learning and exploration could remedy. So is the little bit of comfort people receive for an hour a week better than letting those people have an all out break down that they could learn from and build a new, sustainable life based in reality? I really have to wonder. Would we be able to solve our worldly problems if people put as much effort into supporting academics, science and social science as they do faith-based initiatives and people whose hearts are in the right place but don't have a clue as to what's really causing problems in the world and how to best fix them? I have to wonder. I'm starting to think that maybe the answer is to educate the religious leaders and have them teach the people. They seem to get a better response than the doctors and scientists.
Obama's point was that the things taught in Christian faiths and by Jesus Christ (supposedly) are very much in-sync with democratic values--social justice, health care for everyone, affordable housing and education, environmental values, etc. are all things that liberals can uphold as being every bit as valid Christian values as the Republican's lip-service on family values and pro-life (Funny how they think every baby should have a chance, but once they're out of the womb they couldn't care less about the issues that provide these babies a life worth living). But this still isn't the question I want to raise.
All of the politics of religion aside, I'd like to know if I'm the only person who isn't constantly thinking, "What the hell is going on with religion in the world?" There is absolutely NO empirical evidence that has ever been shown or proven in any way that a God exists. Science consistently throughout history has come up with very logical, rational and often times proven data that explains so-called religious happenings. I have read studies that Jesus most likely existed and had some historical relevance during his time period, but no where close to that of other people who were alive at the same time and whose names show up in various types of literature from that same time. Jesus was the historical equivalent of Dennis Kucinich, just some bleeding heart carpenter's son rebelling against the harshness of society. And he died at thirty-three and really only did anything of significance from age thirty until he was arrested and put to death. I'm twenty-eight, so basically it would be like me deciding to become a social revolutionary and gathering together my cult of followers and riling up trouble with the government in between doing some social work for the poor and homeless and hanging out with my prostitute friend, than getting arrested three years later and killed after all my flaky followers bail on me and pawn me off as a crazy person.
Okay, this is not to say that I don't agree with a lot of what Jesus had to say (after all I am myself a bleeding heart liberal committed to helping the less fortunate), but the fact that our entire world will still put more faith in this old folk tale over the scientists and great thinkers of a modern day society is absolutely beyond me. Jesus, by and by, was NOT the first person to say these things. A lot of his message came from people such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle (among others) who were around long before anyone knew what the hell "Away in a Manger" meant. So, why can't we put this behind us? Why can't we keep the message (it's not all that sophisticated or hard to understand--don't be an asshole, make what you need, help out the people who can't help themselves, etc. etc.) and lose this mystical sob story that's causing such a rift between people in the world. If anything, why don't we all go to continuing education classes on Sunday morning and have people with PhDs in science and business and humanities talk to us about how to fix worldly problems in a real and tangible way, instead of being led through some watered-down pagan ritual in an expensive church where we can show off our B.S. happy families and newest wears from Old Navy.
I guess this is stemming from Allison studying psychology and counseling families right now and my studying science and helping with patients in the physical rehab clinic at the hospital. Both of us constantly get to learn about and see the reality of what's happening with people in the world. She gets to hear what people really think and feel and want out of life and what causes human suffering emotionally and psychologically. I get to see what people do and don't do that brings them to the hospital with missing limbs and broken bones and cancer of every imaginable part of the body. Between science and psychology we've (western culture) pretty much narrowed down the problems that make the average person suffer in life, yet when people are suffering they don't come to the people with answers. Instead they turn to religion and put faith in people and ideas that have not been proven or studied to have any basis in reality. It's an interesting study in itself why people seem to enjoy their suffering and focus on the pain and "poor me" story instead of the preventions or solutions for overcoming pain so they can enjoy life. So this is what troubles me. I think religion brings fuzzy, simple-minded, based-in-nothing, feel good answers to hard and fast, preventable, fixable problems that a good education and a life of learning and exploration could remedy. So is the little bit of comfort people receive for an hour a week better than letting those people have an all out break down that they could learn from and build a new, sustainable life based in reality? I really have to wonder. Would we be able to solve our worldly problems if people put as much effort into supporting academics, science and social science as they do faith-based initiatives and people whose hearts are in the right place but don't have a clue as to what's really causing problems in the world and how to best fix them? I have to wonder. I'm starting to think that maybe the answer is to educate the religious leaders and have them teach the people. They seem to get a better response than the doctors and scientists.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
'Tis the Season
It's finally here! After eight LONG years of the worst president in the history of the United States the voting is finally underway for a new leader. Obama and Huckabee winners in Iowa, Clinton and McCain took New Hampshire, we're down to three candidates on the Democratic side (and poor Dennis Kucinich who may be forever doomed to have the best ideas in the country and no shot at ever winning because he's short and has big ears. *Reminder to those who've already forgotten four years ago, the policies that the front runners are proposing this time around are the exact same ideas Dennis proposed in 2004 and everyone called him a radical left-wing nut job. More evidence that Americans care more about a pretty face than a substantial message), and the Republican side down to four who actually have a shot at this point. Here's some sites to follow on the stats and polls:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html
http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/latest_results_from_rasmussen_markets
According to these records there's only one combination that looks possible for the Republicans and that's John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton. Any other combination and the election is going to the Dems (Thank GOD! Not that this can't change as it gets closer). There's actually a tie if the general election is between Obama and McCain, which either way it goes could be bad for the country. Another dead heat, wait three days and still have a large enough margin of error that the election could be construed as being "stolen" would not be good for our divided nation. However, with how intensely we are divided over our values I don't see how it could go any other way. Conservatives, from my humble perspective, want to continue scaring the shit out of Americans and then substituting religion and "faith" in unknowns for facts and reality and realistic plans for overcoming worldly problems, while liberals want to live in a more educated, healthy, intelligent and sophisticated society that actually leaves the country once in awhile and explores the planet instead of sitting at home eating junk food and watching their bank accounts grow. The Republican debates sound like/ are a bunch of pissed off white guys who can't stand that they might live in a nation where they actually have to learn a second language to communicate, learn something about science and logic and be forced to partake in healthy, open-minded behaviors that allow all human beings an equal chance to be treated like human beings (save John McCain whom I often disagree with, but genuinely respect because he fiercely sticks to the facts and minimizes his pandering to the right-wing nuts). The Democrats look like the future--a woman, a black man, a Hispanic man, a non-Christian (Kucinich), and an old ranting man all on the same stage and providing viable insights into how we can treat our country as a whole. They sound informed, they sound strong, they actually, for once, sound inspiring like they may actually do something to bring our liberal values to fruition.
I personally won't be happy until I live in a country more like Canada and western Europe where I don't have to expend energy thinking about how I'm going to pay for things should I become suddenly ill, how I'm going to get my kids through school because it's so expensive that life becomes this cycle of borrowing to get through it and then working like a dog to pay it back and never enjoying the profits of your hard work, where I can travel in the world and be just another Joe from a country where people are frequently seen out in the world community (as opposed to some obtrusive fat-ass that comes to their country on a tour bus and demands to be treated like an American), and where I can feel safe sending my kids into the world to travel and learn without worrying that they'll be abducted over the actions of our leaders. I'll be happy when the right looks more like the left does now and the left can actually be progressive enough to make a difference (if you look at western European politics, this is the case. Even the conservatives are more liberal than the most liberal of our democrats) and where religion is minimized to something people openly debate and rail against and figure out what about it is any different than sitting around talking about wizardry and magic that can somehow break all natural laws of science and logic to bring about mystical happenings in the world. Maybe even live in a world where good people can sit in a pub and have a few drinks after a hard day--of something that isn't watered-down piss with a ridiculous alcohol content--and maybe hear some music and throw a game of darts and have an intelligent conversation without it being a depressing place full of grown frat boy children getting hammered and talking about their high score on Halo. Not that I'm trying to crap on what people think is fun, but there's a point at which grown men should stop playing video games and actually participate in society. Guess I'm just strange like that.
Anyway, Super Tuesday is coming up next month and by the end of February we should know who our candidates are. Please, please--I'm begging you--please don't listen to the mud-slinging emails and the vamped up pundits during this election. Try going to www.npr.org and listening to the live stream of your local public radio. They'll give you only the facts, they ask intelligent questions and try to get at the truth of the situation without getting hostile and starting pissing contests. You'll help both your blood-pressure and your intellect. Check your facts (by the way Snopes.com is NOT really a valid way of doing this. I guess they're better than nothing, but it's just two people who own some kind of folk-society organization in southern California running checks on emails and urban legends. They aren't really anymore qualified than the people sending this stuff around), stay informed and vote wisely. And by wisely I mean vote for Barack Obama ;) There's my plug. Take care.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html
http://rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/latest_results_from_rasmussen_markets
According to these records there's only one combination that looks possible for the Republicans and that's John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton. Any other combination and the election is going to the Dems (Thank GOD! Not that this can't change as it gets closer). There's actually a tie if the general election is between Obama and McCain, which either way it goes could be bad for the country. Another dead heat, wait three days and still have a large enough margin of error that the election could be construed as being "stolen" would not be good for our divided nation. However, with how intensely we are divided over our values I don't see how it could go any other way. Conservatives, from my humble perspective, want to continue scaring the shit out of Americans and then substituting religion and "faith" in unknowns for facts and reality and realistic plans for overcoming worldly problems, while liberals want to live in a more educated, healthy, intelligent and sophisticated society that actually leaves the country once in awhile and explores the planet instead of sitting at home eating junk food and watching their bank accounts grow. The Republican debates sound like/ are a bunch of pissed off white guys who can't stand that they might live in a nation where they actually have to learn a second language to communicate, learn something about science and logic and be forced to partake in healthy, open-minded behaviors that allow all human beings an equal chance to be treated like human beings (save John McCain whom I often disagree with, but genuinely respect because he fiercely sticks to the facts and minimizes his pandering to the right-wing nuts). The Democrats look like the future--a woman, a black man, a Hispanic man, a non-Christian (Kucinich), and an old ranting man all on the same stage and providing viable insights into how we can treat our country as a whole. They sound informed, they sound strong, they actually, for once, sound inspiring like they may actually do something to bring our liberal values to fruition.
I personally won't be happy until I live in a country more like Canada and western Europe where I don't have to expend energy thinking about how I'm going to pay for things should I become suddenly ill, how I'm going to get my kids through school because it's so expensive that life becomes this cycle of borrowing to get through it and then working like a dog to pay it back and never enjoying the profits of your hard work, where I can travel in the world and be just another Joe from a country where people are frequently seen out in the world community (as opposed to some obtrusive fat-ass that comes to their country on a tour bus and demands to be treated like an American), and where I can feel safe sending my kids into the world to travel and learn without worrying that they'll be abducted over the actions of our leaders. I'll be happy when the right looks more like the left does now and the left can actually be progressive enough to make a difference (if you look at western European politics, this is the case. Even the conservatives are more liberal than the most liberal of our democrats) and where religion is minimized to something people openly debate and rail against and figure out what about it is any different than sitting around talking about wizardry and magic that can somehow break all natural laws of science and logic to bring about mystical happenings in the world. Maybe even live in a world where good people can sit in a pub and have a few drinks after a hard day--of something that isn't watered-down piss with a ridiculous alcohol content--and maybe hear some music and throw a game of darts and have an intelligent conversation without it being a depressing place full of grown frat boy children getting hammered and talking about their high score on Halo. Not that I'm trying to crap on what people think is fun, but there's a point at which grown men should stop playing video games and actually participate in society. Guess I'm just strange like that.
Anyway, Super Tuesday is coming up next month and by the end of February we should know who our candidates are. Please, please--I'm begging you--please don't listen to the mud-slinging emails and the vamped up pundits during this election. Try going to www.npr.org and listening to the live stream of your local public radio. They'll give you only the facts, they ask intelligent questions and try to get at the truth of the situation without getting hostile and starting pissing contests. You'll help both your blood-pressure and your intellect. Check your facts (by the way Snopes.com is NOT really a valid way of doing this. I guess they're better than nothing, but it's just two people who own some kind of folk-society organization in southern California running checks on emails and urban legends. They aren't really anymore qualified than the people sending this stuff around), stay informed and vote wisely. And by wisely I mean vote for Barack Obama ;) There's my plug. Take care.
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