they are people

 "They" are people.

Some slave owners in the early years of this country considered their African slaves to be animals.  It probably made it easier for them to justify slavery.  After all, if slaves are animals, how are they any different from livestock?

But those slaves were people.

Today, protesters are camped out on Wall Street in New York speaking out against corporate greed.  I can empathize and I think the protesters are on to something.  I also believe this could be the beginning of a change in the way we do things in this society.  But I hope we don't forget that the folks who run our corporations are still people.  In fact, many of them are a lot like us.

We tend to "objectify" people we don't agree with.  It's human nature and it makes it easier to mistreat them or to point judgmental fingers.  A martial arts black belt once told me that if someone were to assault him, they would cease to be a "person" in his mind and would instead become a "target".

The problem with objectifying others is that we open the doors to treating them as something less than human, to mistreating them in the same way we may have been mistreated.  No matter what abuse we have endured, it is wrong to stoop to that level in return.  We must always remember that "they" are people like us.  The way we treat "them" says something very profound about who we really are.

Walt Kelly, the Pogo cartoonist wrote, "There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand.  Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."  The last line later was reduced to, "We have met the enemy and he is us".

The Technological Singularity

I was surfing the 'net the other day when I found myself overwhelmed by sheer multitude of interesting/practical websites out there!  I just can't keep up...

Once more I was reminded of the concept of the "technological singularity" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity for a summary).

We Americans seem to be consumed by the idea that if we can have it, we should have it.  We have access to the latest gadgets, fashions, fads, etc., and they are all very tempting, but I would suggest a more constructive paradigm: we could ask ourselves, "What would a new thing (computer, car, pair of shoes, relationship) in my life say about who I really am?"  Are we to be defined more by what we have or by who we are?

Let's really bring this home: have you ever looked at the obituary page in your newspaper?  The descriptions of the recently deceased are all about who the person was, how generous they were, the organizations they belonged to, and who their surviving family members are.  Obituaries never mention how many cars they had, how much money they left to their heirs, or how fashionable they were. 

And the reason for this is very simple.  People will remember who you were a lot longer than they will remember what you had.

We can never keep up with the latest technology (or fashions or other material goods) anyway so why waste the time trying?  The answer to the issue of the Singularity is "Why is it so important to keep up?"  We don't have to, we don't really need to, and we should be focusing more on who we really are and less on what we have. 

That is where our true significance as human beings really lies.

President Obama

In 2008, right before the Presidential election, I told my wife that my biggest concern was not who won, but how we would treat the new President afterward.

I did not vote for Mr. Obama and I do not agree with all of his ideas, but I respect him as my President and I realize he has an extremely difficult job, and honestly there are some things I do like about him. The biggest issue he has to deal with, in my opinion, is constant criticism. In our technological age, we are not only able to access information very quickly (just look at the latest news stories), but we can make our opinions known on the "World Wide Web" just as quickly.

For elected officials, world leaders, public servants, etc., this can be a nightmare. The slightest misstep opens you up to waves of negativity. I know because I have experienced this firsthand as a public school teacher.

Technology has changed our culture, and not necessarily for the better. We seem to be less grateful, more selfish, less forgiving, and more critical. I wish I could say with any confidence that I believe this will change for the better, but the pessimist in me has gained the upper hand: I think it will only get worse. We are slowly descending into a culture of hatred, and that may seem overstated, but based on the news we read each day, I believe that is where we are going.

If there is any hope for our culture, it will be in the form of some unanticipated miracle. It would be nice if we, as a people, simply became tired of the constant backbiting, mudslinging, name calling, and undermining. Realistically, I don't see that happening. More likely it will take a major catastrophe of some sort to bring us to our senses and cause us to look for a better way, but I certainly hope and pray that I am wrong.

Here's a Health Insurance fix...

Okay, I am not entirely serious here and yes, I am a public school teacher, but imagine what would happen to health care costs if health care professionals (doctors, dentists, nurses, etc.) were paid on the same scale as teachers? Are doctors that much more important than teachers that they demand a much higher salary?

I am guessing they would have to live on half to three fourths of what they are currently paid. Allowances could be made for education: the more university credits a person earned, the more they were paid, just like teachers. Imagine "merit pay" for doctors!

Health care costs would drop by at least one fourth and without significant government intervention.

Oh, and teachers would also find it a little easier to survive on their salaries.

Man files lawsuit against God

So here's the story:

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=110875&provider=top&catid=188

What do you think? Is this rational or completely out-of-bounds? What if the judge had accepted the suit and found God guilty?

Is It Time To Develop A Cashless Society?

In the midst of the current economic crisis, which some experts predict could last for several years, I am wondering if it isn't time to move toward a "cashless" society. Is that even possible?

Consider that many transactions today do not involve cash, but credit (e.g.- credit cards, online transactions, electronic funds transfers). We use bills and coins less and less. Why not do away with them as we are doing away with newspapers and other relics of the past?

There was a time in the distant past when there was no money. People bartered instead. It's been done before. With our technological advances, shouldn't we be able to return to some updated version of the barter system? Online barter systems are already in place; they are just not very widespread.

Even credit may be an unnecessary intermediate step between needing something and actually procuring it.

Finally, technology has begun to move beyond putting a cost on things and instead offering goods for free. My Linux OS did not cost me a dime, and all the software updates and add-ons are also free unlike Windows OS, which costs several hundred dollars. Wikis and blogs offer free information from around the globe. Can we look for areas where we could practically expand on this concept?

If we shared goods and services freely, I can envision almost doing away with the greed that has become evident in the contemporary marketplace. And I say "almost" deliberately. I don't think we can eliminate greed, but if everyone had enough, we could possibly control the effects of greed better than we do now.

Burn Out

I used to think "burn out" was caused by fatigue. Then years ago, I heard a speaker say something interesting: burn out happens when we lose sight of our goals. If fatigue caused burn out, marathoners and other endurance athletes would suffer from it more than anyone!

Since that time, I have experimented. When I have started to feel burnt out, I have taken time to step back and re-evaluate what I am trying to accomplish. Re-establishing my goals has worked every time! I have felt a sense of purpose again and even when I am tired, I have been able to push ahead with renewed enthusiasm.

The idea of taking regular breaks is not new. Numerous philosophies and religions advocate spending time in meditation/introspection. Athletes experience the effects of "overtraining" if they do not allow for times of rest.

It is the mindset of our culture which results in burnout and discourages healthy rest and relaxation. The key is to decide to actually take a break from work and from the routines of daily life. Try it. It works and it's worth it!

Greed and Selfishness

Who has not heard of the economic crisis? And what caused it? The bottom line is greed. Greed and selfishness have torn our economy apart. It will also tear our society apart.

In order for a society to be healthy, there needs to be a degree of selflessness. People are united when they are looking out for each other. When people reach a certain degree of selfishness, society loses its cohesiveness.

Ayn Rand said altruism was foolishness, but she was wrong. When it's "every man for himself", when we no longer care for others more than we care for ourselves, when all we strive for is what we can get, we are in big trouble and it looks to me like that is where we are headed. The problems we are currently having with our economy are only the tip of the iceberg. Unless the rampant greed in our society is reined in, our country will be fractured beyond repair.

Kids (2)

One of my students' moms stopped me this morning and asked what I had taught in her son's class yesterday. I couldn't quite remember. She then told me she had asked her son last night what he had learned in school.

"Well, in math we learned about proctology or proctologists or something." *

Then I remembered: I had taught them how to use a protractor.

* http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/proctology

"Tyranny of the Urgent"

I thought technology was supposed to save us time and effort. I'm not sure it's working...

I remember when I was a kid and we got our first dishwasher. Supposedly you just stuck the dirty dishes in, turned it on, and voila, out came the clean dishes! But in reality, if you don't clean off the dishes first, they don't always come out clean. I suppose the dishes are more sanitary than if I washed them by hand, but what happened to saving time?

What about computers? I remember the first desktop computer we got at work. It was great! Suddenly I could print off lists and keep track of inventory without writing everything out by hand. Twenty years later, my computers still help me get work done faster and easier, but they have also increased my workload because now I am blogging, checking e-mail, and surfing the 'net, all of which I never did before. My life is not more relaxed and at times, it threatens to spin out of my control.

This has all forced me to reconsider my priorities. With less free time, I have to really think about what is important. While I really like to read e-mail, paying bills takes precedence. Surfing the internet is very relaxing after work, but when it's my night to make dinner, I have to choose between the surfing and dealing with a frustrated wife. Thanks, but I can leave the surfing for later...

In 1976, Charles Hummel wrote a classic essay called, "Tyranny of the Urgent". (see http://www.assistnews.net/STORIES/2004/s04120111.htm) At that time, Hummel wrote that the telephone was one of the biggest distractions, and that was before cell phones! The shrill ring (or ring tone) of a phone captures our attention and demands an immediate response.

We need to distinguish between what is "urgent" and what is "important". Many urgent things demand our attention, but just because something seems urgent does not mean it is important. If we are willing to take a few minutes each day to sift through all we have to do and sort our list(s) into what is important and what is merely urgent, we can experience a sense of accomplishment and peace. On the other hand, if we give in to the demands of the "urgent", we will feel harried, tired, burnt out, and exhausted.

Kids

Art Linkletter used to host a show called, "Kids Say The Darndest Things" on TV.

I teach school and the other day I gave my students a survey. One question was, "What does it take to be a good friend?"

The answers were great: "You have to support your friends", "Be nice", "Tell the truth", "Have fun!", etc. I was so impressed I put all their comments together in a Power Point presentation and showed it to them. We talked for a while about friends and what it takes to have a good relationship before it was time for them to go home.

Afterward, the cynical side of me began to speak up: "That's only how they want to be treated by the other kids. They're not going to really treat other people that way." I have been teaching for a long time, long enough to know they are still pretty egocentric at their age. I love them anyway.

So now I'm playing the waiting game: will they actually be good friends to each other or will they just demand that others be nice to them?

Time will tell.

Love & War

Sometimes I just don't understand what people are thinking...

I was driving home the other day when I saw a car with a big grenade logo on the back window so I started thinking, "Is this person really trying to promote violence? A hand grenade is a pretty violent symbol." When I glanced back at the car, I saw a small sticker on a side window that said, "Peace".

What is up with that?!?

Politics & Religion

So...two topics that are almost guaranteed to cause pandemonium, the two things you don't talk about if you want to get along with others. Why is that?

People have strong opinions/feelings about a lot of things: the environment, sports teams, civil rights, gay marriage, etc. What's the big deal about politics and religion?

Re: politics. I think the media distorts a lot about politicians on both sides of the fence so I am skeptical when I read anything about any candidate. I try to get as much information as I can from all types of sources (the media, the candidate's website, blogs, personal contact) to try to put together a more accurate picture of who they are. I have discovered that most politicians are regular people!

Re: religion. I understand that some of us have been hurt by people who claim to be "religious". That makes sense, but apart from that, people believe so many different things, even within the same religious organizations, it seems like we should be more open/tolerant.

And apart from political/religious affliation, what do these two things have in common that they should both provoke people so much?

I just don't quite get it...

So what's this blog about?

It's becoming common to allow people to post comments on websites. The site I often check for the latest news now allows readers to express their opinions. I can only read that stuff for a short while before I get tired of the tirades back and forth:

"Hey, littleman, you are a real idiot! Everyone knows McCain is in the pocket of big oil...",

"At least I'm a 'real' idiot, lostinthought. You are a ***** moron! Obama is going to ruin this county...", etc.

I've heard all back-and-forth namecalling rants I care to so I thought I'd like to see a site where opinions are expressed and considered and respected whether folks agree with them or not. A "market place" of ideas offered, traded, and accepted or rejected.

Why not?