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
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Wow...No Posts Since August!
Well, I guess I should be happy if you are still coming here to read since I've been so neglectful in posting. It was a rough summer for me--unemployment, new home, still getting acquainted here--I'll leave it at that. However, now things are busy again and I'm getting some intellectual stimulation in my classes, so hopefully this will provide something worthy of blogging.
Quick update, I'm taking science classes at the community college here in Bellingham with the intention of applying to Physical Therapy programs in Fall '09 when Allison finishes her counseling program. It's a bit humbling to be back in classes with Freshman taking subjects that I haven't seen since high school, but all in all way more interesting than any job I could think of doing in the "real world." I never thought Math and Science would be something that would appeal to me, but so far I'm pretty fascinated. I don't think I ever had an appreciation for the amount of creativity and genius it took to come up with these ways of taking apart the universe. Something about it always seemed cold and analytical to me coming from the romance of the liberal arts and criticism of social science. I'm not entirely convinced that I won't find a whole new path going this way, put writing on the back burner and see where science and the helping professions take me. I've always held these people in the highest esteem. It's one of the few fields I can think of that combines academic knowledge with a healthy lifestyle and a compassionate world view--and doesn't make you live in poverty in the process (that's always the kicker, right?). There is this nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps saying, "But Jeff, these are the same classes you would need to apply to medical school and if you're going to put three more years in and rack up all that debt anyway..." So, I don't know. I'm not writing anything in stone. Part of me wants to believe med school is something unattainable at my age and juncture in life, but when I really think about it, I can't be so sure. I'm making an agreement to myself though, if I get all As in these prerequisite classes I will take the MCAT just to see how I do. I figure that way I'll at least know I tried and I'll be perfectly happy with PT.
This semester is Human Development and Pre-Calculus. Here's something from our online discussion board in HD that's interesting, I think. We've been talking a lot about what it takes to develop as a psychologically healthy mature human being and I'm discovering that a lot of the issues that come up are very contrary to those I was raised with in a staunchly Catholic family. Things such as trust issues and empowerment, encouraging exploration and intellectual curiosity, etc. These are definitely things I didn't know anything about until I was in college. Most of Catholicism was about teaching me to stay in line, conduct myself conservatively and feel guilty about...well, pretty much everything. So my question to the class, and I'd be interested to hear other's views as well, was why are there not more studies being done on the ill-effects of religion on psychological development? If a certain religious discipline is functioning in such a way as to inhibit healthy development (and I think many people raised with too much religion can attest that it takes some getting over) should it not still be exposed as potentially harmful, even though it's veiled in spirituality? At what point do psychologists step in and say, "Look, this is not helping. At best it's a band-aid during tough times and at worst it's keeping people with loads of potential from ever taking control of their life because they think they're supposed to be so humble and quiet and polite that they never get to offer anything worthwhile to society." Karl Marx called religion the "opiate of the masses," something that keeps the poor majority passively under the thumb of a handful of wealthy rulers. I won't go that far because I do think there are some valuable morals that can come from religion when balanced by an equal (if not weightier) load of scientific thought and logical reasoning. From talking to some people I've met from European nations I often get the same response about this, "You guys are way too up tight and kind of dumb." At age 28, I agree. I think if Americans spent even half as much time studying books other than the Bible as they do studying this 2000 year old cryptic book of nearly inapplicable knowledge in a modern society most of our cultural problems would work themselves out. Our priorities as a country would shift so drastically that there's really no telling the outcome. I'd predict a less fearful, more informed, better traveled and interesting society where people are truly free to be themselves and not get persecuted for it. But who knows. I just think it's interesting and would love to hear if anyone else has thoughts. Enjoy the Fall!
Quick update, I'm taking science classes at the community college here in Bellingham with the intention of applying to Physical Therapy programs in Fall '09 when Allison finishes her counseling program. It's a bit humbling to be back in classes with Freshman taking subjects that I haven't seen since high school, but all in all way more interesting than any job I could think of doing in the "real world." I never thought Math and Science would be something that would appeal to me, but so far I'm pretty fascinated. I don't think I ever had an appreciation for the amount of creativity and genius it took to come up with these ways of taking apart the universe. Something about it always seemed cold and analytical to me coming from the romance of the liberal arts and criticism of social science. I'm not entirely convinced that I won't find a whole new path going this way, put writing on the back burner and see where science and the helping professions take me. I've always held these people in the highest esteem. It's one of the few fields I can think of that combines academic knowledge with a healthy lifestyle and a compassionate world view--and doesn't make you live in poverty in the process (that's always the kicker, right?). There is this nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps saying, "But Jeff, these are the same classes you would need to apply to medical school and if you're going to put three more years in and rack up all that debt anyway..." So, I don't know. I'm not writing anything in stone. Part of me wants to believe med school is something unattainable at my age and juncture in life, but when I really think about it, I can't be so sure. I'm making an agreement to myself though, if I get all As in these prerequisite classes I will take the MCAT just to see how I do. I figure that way I'll at least know I tried and I'll be perfectly happy with PT.
This semester is Human Development and Pre-Calculus. Here's something from our online discussion board in HD that's interesting, I think. We've been talking a lot about what it takes to develop as a psychologically healthy mature human being and I'm discovering that a lot of the issues that come up are very contrary to those I was raised with in a staunchly Catholic family. Things such as trust issues and empowerment, encouraging exploration and intellectual curiosity, etc. These are definitely things I didn't know anything about until I was in college. Most of Catholicism was about teaching me to stay in line, conduct myself conservatively and feel guilty about...well, pretty much everything. So my question to the class, and I'd be interested to hear other's views as well, was why are there not more studies being done on the ill-effects of religion on psychological development? If a certain religious discipline is functioning in such a way as to inhibit healthy development (and I think many people raised with too much religion can attest that it takes some getting over) should it not still be exposed as potentially harmful, even though it's veiled in spirituality? At what point do psychologists step in and say, "Look, this is not helping. At best it's a band-aid during tough times and at worst it's keeping people with loads of potential from ever taking control of their life because they think they're supposed to be so humble and quiet and polite that they never get to offer anything worthwhile to society." Karl Marx called religion the "opiate of the masses," something that keeps the poor majority passively under the thumb of a handful of wealthy rulers. I won't go that far because I do think there are some valuable morals that can come from religion when balanced by an equal (if not weightier) load of scientific thought and logical reasoning. From talking to some people I've met from European nations I often get the same response about this, "You guys are way too up tight and kind of dumb." At age 28, I agree. I think if Americans spent even half as much time studying books other than the Bible as they do studying this 2000 year old cryptic book of nearly inapplicable knowledge in a modern society most of our cultural problems would work themselves out. Our priorities as a country would shift so drastically that there's really no telling the outcome. I'd predict a less fearful, more informed, better traveled and interesting society where people are truly free to be themselves and not get persecuted for it. But who knows. I just think it's interesting and would love to hear if anyone else has thoughts. Enjoy the Fall!
Friday, August 03, 2007
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