JUST ANOTHER AMERICAN OXYMORON

I WONDER IF SOMEONE CAN EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THERE ARE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES AND ELSEWHERE WHO ARE SO STRICT WITH THEIR KIDS, WHO BELIEVE IN A STRONGLY HIERARCHICAL FAMILY MODEL, NORMALLY PATRIARCHAL, PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN RULES AND ORDER AND OBEDIENCE AND A DEFINITE TOPDOWN MODEL OF CONTROL OF OTHER PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR AND EVEN THOUGHT, WHO PRIZE LOYALTY TO GROUP IDEALS ABOVE INDIVIDUAL OPENNESS AND HONESTY AND WHO NEVERTHELESS SCREAM BLOODY MURDER WHEN ANYONE IN OR OUT OF GOVERNMENT SUGGESTS THAT SOME CONTROLS ARE NEEDED TO REIGN IN ANTISOCIAL ACTIONS OF CORPORATIONS, ESPECIALLY WALL STREET, LONDON CITY AND THE WHOLE BLOATED AND PATHOLOGICAL FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR OF THE WORLD ECONOMY?  WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?  TELL ME.  I AM EAGER TO LEARN.


FOR MYSELF, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY I THINK THERE IS AN ALMOST PERFECT DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR BELIEVE ABOUT THEIR COUNTRY AND THE FACTS ON THE GROUND  SO EASILY SEEN AND QUANTIFIED BY OTHERS LIVING ELSEWHERE.  AMERICANS FOR THE MOST PART BELIEVE THE OLD STORY, THE GRAND AMERICAN DREAM, THAT IN AMERICA ANYBODY CAN BECOME RICH. PUTTING ASIDE FOR THE MOMENT THE VERY REAL QUESTION OF WHETHER WANTING THIS IS USEFUL OR EVEN ETHICALLY AND PHILOSOPHICALLY CORRECT, THIS DREAM IS SO MANIPULATED BY GENUINELY RICH PEOPLE IN SUCH A PERVASIVE WAY THROUGH THEIR OWNERSHIP OF THE MASS MEDIA AS WELL AS OWNERSHIP IN GENERAL THAT THESE IDEAS ARE NOT EVEN QUESTIONED INSIDE ITS BORDERS.  WHAT OTHER PEOPLE, OBSERVING FROM OUTSIDE THE WALLS, SO EASILY ACQUIRE ARE FACTS THAT CONTRADICT THAT OLD AMERICAN DREAM.  OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED SO-CALLED DEMOCRACIES THE UNITED STATES COMES LAST IN UPWARD MOBILITY, IN THE ABILITY OF SOMEONE NOT BORN OF PRIVILEGE TO ACQUIRE IT.  THEY COME LAST IN DISPARITY OF BOTH INCOME AND  WEALTH.  ANY OF THE COUNTRIES OF EUROPE THAT SO MANY AMERICANS BRAND AS SOCIALIST WOULD BE BETTER COUNTRIES TO GROW UP IN IF ONE WANTED TO MOVE UP IN TERMS OF ANY MEASURE OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL SUCCESS.  THIS POSSIBILITY IS EXACERBATED IN AMERICA BY THE INCREASING COST OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE AS WELL AS THE DECLINE OF REAL WAGES AMONG THE MIDDLE CLASS, TO THE POINT THAT MORE THAN FIFTY PERCENT OF AMERICANS NOW FALL BELOW THAT DEFINITION IN TERMS OF BOTH INCOME AND WEALTH.  AND YET SO MANY AMERICANS STILL HARBOR THE DREAM.  THEY ARE LOATHE TO VOTE INCREASES IN TAXATION OR DIMINUTION OF ECONOMIC PRIVILEGE TO THE WEALTHY BECAUSE THEY STILL THINK THAT SOMEDAY, MAYBE SOMEDAY SOON, THE WEALTHY WILL INCLUDE THEM.


SUCH A CRUEL JOKE.  IT WOULD BE FUNNY IN A BLACK SORT OF WAY IF IT WERENT SO DEADLY FOR AMERICA AND INDEED, THE WORLD.

INHERENTLY INTENTIONAL?

IF I HAD TO TAKE A CASUAL GUESS I WOULD SAY THAT THE UNIVERSE, THOUGH BOTH DETERMINISTIC AND UNPREDICTABLE, IS LIKELY INHERENT AND UNINTENTIONAL.   BUT THEN THE QUESTION ARISES FROM THAT DEFINITION  — WHERE DO INTENTIONAL STATES COME FROM?  BECAUSE I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO LIFE AND THE BEHAVIOR OF LIVING ORGANISMS THERE ARE POTENTIALLY STATES WE WOULD CATEGORIZE AS INTENTIONAL AND IF SO, IM NOT CLEAR HOW THOSE STATES CAN BE CONTAINED IN AN INHERENT UNIVERSE.

DREAMING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK IF I TOLD YOU THERE WERE REPORTS COMING IN FROM HEAVEN, WHERE IT HAD JUST BEEN DISCOVERED THAT HEAVEN WAS UNSUSTAINABLE AND THAT IT WAS GOING TO HAVE TO BE SHRUNK AND THERE WERE GOING TO BE REMOVALS AND THERE WOULD HENCEFORTH BE NO ROOM FOR NEW PEOPLE?   
WHY DO PEOPLE GO ON HAVING UNSUSTAINABLE DREAMS AND GOALS?  IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY IN THIS LIFE YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE YOURSELF BELIEVE SOMEHOW THAT YOU ARE IN HARMONY WITH YOUR WORLD.   AND THE ONLY WAY TO BE IN HARMONY AS AN ANIMAL ON THE PLANET EARTH IS TO LIVE IN A SUSTAINABLE WAY AND DREAM ONLY SUSTAINABLE DREAMS.
JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE MAY NOT EVEN HAVE TO MANUALLY LOAD OR UNLOAD THEIR DISHWASHERS, NEVER MIND DOING THEIR DISHES, JUST BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS AUTOMATED AND NO ONE HAS TO DO ANY PHYSICAL WORK, DOES NOT MEAN FOR AN INSTANT THAT ANYBODY IS GOING TO BE ANY HAPPIER.  IT IS A MINDLESS GOAL — INCREASING AUTOMATION, INCREASING ASSISTANCE FOR MUNDANITIES — IT IS LIKE WHEN PEOPLE DREAM ABOUT GOING TO HEAVEN, THEY HAVE REALLY NO CLUE WHAT THEY WOULD DO THERE.  NO ONE IS GEARED TO ENJOY ENDLESS PEACE IN HEAVEN.  WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH THINGS FOR OURSELVES IN A DAY.  WE ARE ANIMALS AND LIFE IS ESSENTIALLY A MANUAL TRIP.  WHEN YOU HAVE ACQUIRED A MACHINE TO BRUSH YOUR TEETH FOR YOU DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO BE ANY HAPPIER?  
THIS HASNT BEEN THOUGHT ABOUT BY MOST OF US.  WE PURSUE THESE GOALS WITHOUT EVER ACTUALLY EXAMINING THE LIFE THAT WOULD OBTAIN AT THE OTHER END.  IT IS NOT SO MUCH A GOAL — IT IS JUST A MINDLESS CASCADING OF EVENTS.
WE COULD DO BETTER.

MR OBAMA AND HISTORY

PERHAPS WE HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF THIS PRESIDENCY OR THIS TIME IN AMERICAN AFFAIRS.  IN YEARS TO COME WE MAY LOOK BACK ON THE  COMING PERIOD OF FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATION OF THE WHOLE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE IN SOMEWHAT THE SAME WAY RUSSIANS LOOK BACK ON THE LAST YEARS OF MR GORBACHEV.  LIKE HIM, MR OBAMA MAY BE PRESIDING SHORTLY OVER A FLOOD HE WILL BE IN THE END POWERLESS TO PREVENT, AND IN FACT HE MAY ULTIMATELY BE IDENTIFIED AND CREDITED (AND BLAMED) BY DIVERSE OTHERS FOR WHAT IS JUST NOW BEGINNING TO EMERGE.  MORE I THINK THE BLAME WILL TRULY RESIDE IN THE SELFISH OLIGARCHY AND THE CREDIT IN THE PEOPLE, MOSTLY YOUNG, WHO WERE JUST A LITTLE TOO WELL EDUCATED AND HAD JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH EXPECTATION OF CHANGE, WHEN CHANGE WAS SO CLEARLY NECESSARY, TO BE QUIETED.  
JUSTICE NOT PEACE IS THE ONLY GOAL OF A LEGITIMATE SOCIETY, NOW AS ALWAYS, AND JUSTICE HAS BEEN ILL SERVED BY THIS AMERICAN FORM OF CAPITALISM AND CORPORATE RULE.
I AM NOT AT ALL CONVINCED THAT MR OBAMA IS CAPABLE OF SUCH A RADICAL SHIFT IN ACTION HIMSELF BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT HE WILL IN THE END BE POWERLESS TO OPPOSE IT AND MAY YET BECOME ITS (RELUCTANT) HERO.

IT'S A PONZI

GROWTH IS A PONZI SCHEME. THERE IS AN ULTIMATE DAY WHICH IS LIKE JUDGEMENT DAY WHEN RELIANCE ON FUTURE GROWTH TO FUEL RETURNS TO INVESTORS TODAY MUST COLLAPSE. AND THAT DAY MAY HAVE ALREADY COME. THE EARTH ISNT GETTING ANY LARGER. THE POPULATION CANNOT CONTINUE TO GROW WITHOUT DEGRADATION OF LIFE. ALOT OF OUR SOCALLED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IS WORSE THAN USELESS — IT IS ACTUALLY KILLING OUR HOST. 
IT CANNOT CONTINUE. THE WORD UNSUSTAINABLE HAS BEEN THROWN ABOUT FOR MOST OF MY LIFETIME, BUT STILL THE MEANING REMAINS ALMOST COMPLETELY UNABSORBED BY THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN MUCH OF THE WORLD. THIS IGNORANCE CANNOT INSULATE HUMANITY FROM ITS TRUTH. IF WE DONT UNDERSTAND QUICKLY WHAT HAS HAPPENED, IS HAPPENING, AND NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN ORDER FOR HUMAN LIFE TO BE SUSTAINABLE ON EARTH, WE WILL DISAPPEAR LIKE ONE LITTLE INSIGNIFICANT NUCLEAR PICNIC IN THE COSMOS.

THEY DONT GET IT

I DONT THINK THE GENERAL PUBLIC — CERTAINLY NOT THE RIGHTWING REPUBLICAN PARTY IN THE UNITED STATES — GETS IT. I DONT THNK THEY REALIZE THAT, AS WE SAW IN 1989 WITH THE MORE OR LESS DISSOLUTION OF COMMUNIST STATES, WE ARE SEEING THE END OF A PERIOD IN HUMAN HISTORY WHEN FREEMARKET CAPITALISM, WHICH DEVOLVED INTO CORPORATE RULE, IS ENDING.  


SOMETHING ELSE IS GOING TO HAVE TO COME ALONG TO REPLACE IT. THE OBVIOUS CANDIDATE IS NOT A RETURN TO COMMUNISM. I THINK COMMUNISM DIED FOR REASONS, JUST AS CAPITALISM AS A CENTRAL TENET OF SOCALLED DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES IS DYING FOR REASONS. BUT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, WHERE GOVERNMENTS DO NOT TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDS OF BUSINESS, WHERE GOVERNMENTS ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING CARE OF CITIZENS — INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE — IS THE LIKELY OUTCOME. IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A BETTER SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF FOSTERING A JUST AND EQUITABLE HUMAN SOCIETY ON EARTH THAN WHAT WE HAVE HAD FOR THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS — AND ESPECIALLY THE LAST THIRTY YEARS.


DONT EXPECT THIS PERIOD OF FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CRISIS TO EASE ANYTIME SOON — AT LEAST NOT UNTIL THE COMBAT HAS MOVED AWAY FROM PROTECTING PRIVILEGE TOWARD A GENUINE RESTRUCTURING OF EXPECTATIONS THAT FOSTERS A MORE EQUITABLE AND BENEVOLENT SOCIAL ORDER. THE ONLY FORCE AVAILABLE IN THE WORLD TODAY THAT CAN MOVE TO EASE HUMAN POPULATION EXPANSION AND THE CORRUPTION OF THE PHYSICAL PLANET IN TIME TO SAVE HUMANITY IS A STRONGER AND MORE CENTRALIZED GOVERNMENT. AS DANGEROUS AS THAT MAY PROVE TO BE, WE ARE JUST COLLECTIVELY NOT YET KIND ENOUGH AND EMPATHETIC ENOUGH TO VOLUNTARILY SAVE OUR SPECIES AND OUR HOST WITHOUT AN ELEMENT OF COMPULSION. SO SORRY.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

THE AMERICAN DREAM AT ITS CORE IS A DREAM OF PRIVILEGE AND YOU CANNOT PURSUE PRIVILEGE WITHOUT ABANDONING JUSTICE — NEITHER CAN YOU PURSUE JUSTICE WITHOUT ABANDONING PRIVILEGE. AND JUSTICE IS THE ONLY GOAL OF A WORTHY SOCIETY. 
FURTHER, THE NOTION GLOBALLY OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM IS AN AFFRONT TO EVERY OTHER NON-AMERICAN HUMAN, THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF HUMANS ON THE PLANET, AND TO EVERY OTHER SPECIES. IT IS PROFOUNDLY ANTIDEMOCRATIC.

ERRORS AND CRIMES

CONTINUING TO WANT SOMETHING THAT CAUSES INJURY TO OTHER PEOPLE OR OTHER SPECIES OR THE ABILITY OF OUR HOST PLANET TO SUSTAIN ITSELF AND THE LIFE SUPPORTED BY IT IS A PHILOSOPHICAL ERROR. CONTINUING TO DO IT IS A CRIME.

LIFE'S CHEMISTRY

CHEMICAL LOVE. CHEMICAL HAPPINESS. CHEMICAL FEAR. CHEMICAL HUNGER. CHEMICAL DISTRESS. LIFE IS A CHEMISTRY SET. WE ARE ALL CHEMISTS, ALL US CREATURES, AND WE ALL INHERIT THE SAME APPARATUS.

ITS A TAX

ITS A TAX. INSIDERS HAVE FIGURED OUT WITH THE HELP OF COMPUTER-GENERATED ALGORITHMS HOW TO CHURN THE STOCK MARKET AND GENERATE INCOME TO THEMSELVES ON A DAILY BASIS AND THAT IS A TAX ON WORKING PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES. IF THE PEOPLE WHO RAIL ABOUT TAXES AND PIMP FOR NO NEW TAXES WERE BEING HONEST THEY WOULD HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THE GREATEST TAX FOR LEAST RETURN ON THE ORDINARY PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES IS THE TAX THAT WALL STREET LEVIES.
ITS TIME TO CHANGE SOME RULES. ITS TIME TO CHANGE A LOT OF RULES.

PURPOSE

I WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND SOMETHING I VALUE. WHETHER OTHERS VALUE IT ALSO I HAVE NO IDEA. IF THEY DO I AM CONTENT. IF THEY DO NOT I AM CONTENT. MY OBJECTIVE IS TO DO AN HONEST THING.

WHAT BANKRUPTED AMERICA

There are two factors which combined represent probably ninety percent of it. The first was seven or eight years of aggressive militarism in Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere around the world where there is an oilfield or pipeline route or proposed field or route, but I think an even greater source of the bankruptcy was Wall Street. They've been figuring out new and creative ways to suck more money out of the economy just by moving paper around and not really contributing anything in terms of productivity and the Bush-Cheney years represent the pinnacle of that insanity. So we started out in 2000 with a surplus and we wound up in 2008 absolutely bankrupt. There you have it: get rid of the greedy Wall Street parasites and damp the military down to what is truly defensive. It's got nothing to do with the so-called size of government or health, education or social programs, which would all in the long run be beneficial not only to people but to the economy as well.

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD IS THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES.


WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS IS CLARITY.  LIES PURPORTING TO BE KNOWN TRUTHS CONFUSE AND BEWILDER PEOPLE AND MAKE THEIR LIVES AND THEIR THOUGHTS LESS CLEAR AND LESS EASILY DELINEATED AND ACTED UPON.  RELIGIONS IN GENERAL, HOWEVER WELL-INTENTIONED, HAVE BEEN PROFESSING IDEAS THAT ARE CLEARLY NOTHING IF NOT HIGHLY SPECULATIVE AS ABSOLUTE TRUTHS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. THE PRIESTS OF EVERY SOCIETY HAVE SOUGHT TO EXERT CONTROL OVER THEIR POPULATIONS TO ATTAIN PERSONAL POWER AND INFLUENCE AND YES, WEALTH.  THESE ARE NOT LOFTY GOALS.


IT IS A FINE THING TO TELL STORIES.  THERE ARE SOME WONDERFUL USEFUL CREATIVE IDEAS EMBODIED IN MUCH OF OUR STORYTELLING.  BUT TO FORGET WE MADE THEM UP AND START BELIEVING THEY COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE IS AT BEST AN ERROR BOTH IN FACT AND PHILOSOPHY AND AT WORST A WILFUL FRAUD.


EVEN IF ALOT FOR A LAY PERSON HAS TO BE TAKEN ON FAITH, SCIENCE HAS FAR AND AWAY THE MOST INTERESTING STORIES, INCLUSIVE AND SEEKING NEW INPUT, ALWAYS LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, UNLIKE RELIGION THAT IS EXCLUSIVE AND DOESN'T WANT NEW STORIES AND CONSIDERS THEM HERESY AND IS ALWAYS LOOKING TO THE PAST.

WHAT I LIKE

WHAT I LIKE IS A QUIET PEACE THAT ALLOWS A MORE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE WITHIN ME TO BLOOM. THOUGH I LOVE TO WATCH THEM AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEM, THE FACT THAT I AM SURROUNDED BY ANIMALS AND BIRDS AND INSECTS DOES NOT INTRUDE ON WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A SOLITARY EXISTENCE. I DO LOVE PEOPLE AND FIND MYSELF OFTEN AMONG THEM ALSO BUT UNLIKE THE OTHER ANIMALS HUMANS ENGAGE ME ENERGETICALLY AND DEMAND ATTENTION BE SHIFTED FROM A QUIET INSPECTION OF ALL THERE IS TO THE CREATION OF A RAPPORT WITH THEM. 


WHEN IN THE COURSE OF MY LIFE A BALANCE OF THE TWO STATES CAN BE PRESERVED I FIND MYSELF MOST PRODUCTIVE AND MOST CONTENT. THE TWO STATES EACH MAKE THE OTHER RICHER AND PUNCTUATE MY LIFE IN A WAY THAT SUITS ME.

INSULARITY

ITS SO TIRESOME TO LISTEN TO THE AMERICANS DEBATE THINGS WITHOUT EVER LOOKING ABROAD TO SEE HOW OTHER NATIONS, OTHER PEOPLE, HAVE SOLVED THE SAME PROBLEMS.  THE BUDGET DEBATE IS JUST THE LATEST IN A TIRESOME VOLLEY OF ISOLATED AND INSULATED DEBATES.  THE AMERICANS PAY OVERALL MUCH LESS TAX THAN THE EUROPEANS.  THEY GET MUCH LESS IN RETURN FOR THE MONEY THEY DO PAY AND THERE IS A MUCH GREATER DISPARITY OF INCOME AND MUCH POORER EDUCATION AND HEALTH OUTCOMES.  IN GENERAL AMERICANS SUFFER BY THEIR IDEOLOGICAL STANCE.  THEY NEED TO BE MORE OPENMINDED, THEY NEED TO LOOK ABROAD FOR EXAMPLES OF OTHER SOLUTIONS AND THEY NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEIR POLITICIANS ARE DOING FOR (OR TO) THEM.

PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM

TAXES AGAIN, AND THE DEBATE IN THE STATES: THERE ARE TWO THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW FOR STARTERS — WHAT IS NEEDED THAT CAN BEST BE PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND WHO SHOULD PAY FOR IT.  ABOUT THE FORMER, IT SEEMS THAT THE NECESSARY KINDNESSES ARE OFTEN NOT IDENTIFIED BY THE PEOPLE WITHOUT NEED AS NECESSARY AND ONLY GOVERNMENT CAN BE COUNTED ON TO PROVIDE THE COLLECTIVE CARING THAT MAKES A COHERENT SOCIETY COHERE.  ABOUT THE LATTER, THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE TO ME HAS ALWAYS BEEN OBVIOUS — THE ONES WHO BENEFIT THE MOST IN SOCIETY SHOULD PAY THE MOST FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF MEMBERSHIP IN THAT SOCIETY.  AND SINCE ALL THE WORKINGS OF SOCIETY HAVE IN THEIR TOTALITY REWARDED THE RICH UNEQUALLY, THE RICH SHOULD PAY UNEQUALLY.

PERIODICAL ASSUMPTIONS

THE  ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE MADE BY VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS ARE DIFFERENT AT THEIR FUNDAMENTAL CORE.  THE GUARDIAN'S ASSUMPTIONS ARE CLOSER TO MY OWN THAN THE ECONOMIST. THE ECONOMIST'S ASSUMPTIONS ARE THAT MONEY IS REALLY CENTRAL TO THE OPERATION OF SOCIETY AND CENTRAL TO THE CULTURE AND I DISAGREE, AND OF COURSE I AM NOT AN ECONOMIST, BUT TO ME IT SEEMS THAT MONEY IS AN ARTIFACT OF THE SYSTEM THAT HAS COME TO DRIVE THE SYSTEM AND THE ANECDOTAL STRUCTURE AND  PROFILE OF THE ARTIFACT IS THE PROBLEM.  I THINK THE GUARDIAN BELIEVES, OR AT LEAST I MYSELF BELIEVE, THAT THE SYSTEM SHOULD DRIVE THE ARTIFACT AND THEREIN LIES MY GREAT FRUSTRATION WHEN I TRY TO READ THE ECONOMIST.

CONSENSUS

the future of democracy seems to be in consensus.  this adversarial bipolar american two-party system is not efficient and never produces the kind of unanimity that is needed for real change and real concerted action, which is what the world desperately needs at this point in time, considering the advanced degradation of our host planet.

toward this end ive been reading a book lately called honeybee democracy which illustrates in some detail how group decisions are taken by another species and how efficient it is and how very often it produces the right decision and how at the end of the debating process there is a tremendous unanimity, to the degree that ten thousand members of a swarm will all go to the same place at the same time, thereby insuring them a chance at success and continued life through the winter.

the main difference as i see it between the honeybee and the human is that basically all the honeybees in the swarm are workers, with the exception of one queen who doesnt vote, and they all have approximately the same interest in finding a new home.  conditions within the swarm are more or less egalitarian whereas in human society it seems to be fractured into many parts.  the rich tend not to identify with the underprivileged, the underprivileged often resent the wealthy — with cause — and there is a general exploitation between groups within the overall population which simply does not exist in the honeybee population.  so the problem remains that human beings do not seem to think speak or identify with the whole of the human fraternity, the whole of the society, they tend to superidentify with what they consider their group, a group of people in similar situation and likeminded in terms of their belief systems, which are often really capricious and not based in any kind of evidence, but belief systems really based in historical accident, personality types — which are genetically influenced — and anecdotal experience.  what this betrays is a general lack of empathy within humanity for the whole of humanity.

the overarching and singularly important lesson we can beg humbly our fellow man consider in light of our increasing understanding of the natural world around us, this time thanks to the students of the honeybee, is this need to identify with all the humans of the planet, as a first important step on the road to survival.

IRRATIONALITY

WE HAVE YET ANOTHER VERSION OF WHY RELIGION IS OFTEN THE PROBLEM AND NOT THE SOLUTION IN THE MODERN WORLD.  A SITUATION HAS DEVELOPED WHERE THERE ARE A GREAT MANY MORE MALE BABIES BORN IN THE WORLD THAN FEMALE BABIES — THE REASON BEING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE WORLD COMBINED WITH THE MODERN TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS THE SEX OF FOETUSES TO BE KNOWN VERY EARLY IN PREGNANCY AND THE ABILITY TO SAFELY (TO THE MOTHER) ABORT THE UNDESIRED ONES.  THIS PROBLEM IS UNBALANCING THE POPULATION OF THE WHOLE PLANET, TO ITS DETRIMENT.  AND WHAT DO THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES DO ABOUT IT?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  THEY SEEM INCAPABLE OF QUESTIONING THEIR OWN LONGHELD BELIEFS IN ORDER TO EXPUNGE THE RIDICULOUS.


PEOPLE ALL CLAIM THEY WISH THE WORLD TO IMPROVE, THAT THE WORLD NEEDS IMPROVING.  BUT HOW CAN ONE IMPROVE ANYTHING IF CHANGING ANYTHING WE DO (EVEN TRIVIALLY) IS SEEN AUTOMATICALLY AS A THREAT?

BOMBS

WHY ARE THERE BOMBS?  WOULD YOU TAKE A JOB MAKING BOMBS?  WOULD YOU SUPPORT YOUR FAMILY AND WATCH YOUR KIDS GROW UP BY MAKING BOMBS?


WHY?

HYPOCRISY

THE PEOPLE WHO TALK ABOUT WANTING TO GET RID OF BIG GOVERNMENT, WHO TALK ABOUT NOT WANTING TO INCREASE TAXES AND WHO TALK ALOT ABOUT ABSTRACT QUALITIES LIKE FREEDOM, ARE THE SAME PEOPLE, WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHAT THEY STAND FOR, WHO WANT TO ENFORCE MORAL LEGISLATION — FOR INSTANCE, THEY WANT TO KEEP DRUGS ILLEGAL AND CRIMINALIZE ABORTION AND GAY MARRIAGE AND ENFORCE, THROUGH THE ACTIONS OF GOVERNMENT, LIMITS ON THE FREEDOM OF THE PEOPLE TO PURSUE THEIR PERSONAL LIVES WITHOUT INTERFERENCE. THEY WANT TO PUT PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS IN JAIL AT EXPENSE TO THE TAXPAYER. THEY WANT THESE ACTIONS, WHICH ARE FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT AND INCREASE THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT, TO BE BASICALLY SUPPORTED AT THE EXPENSE OF PROGRAMS OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH MIGHT AID THE VERY PEOPLE WHO OFTEN WIND UP ADDICTED TO DRUGS AND OTHER MEANS OF ESCAPE FROM THEIR DAMAGED LIVES, WHILE ASKING NOTHING IN THE WAY OF SUPPORT FOR THEIR IDEAS BY THE GREAT BULK OF THE PEOPLE WHOSE IDEAS THEY ARE.
THIS STRIKES ME AS ABSOLUTELY ILLOGICAL. I CANT IMAGINE WHY ANY THINKING PERSON CAN FAIL TO SEE THE HYPOCRISY IMPLICIT IN THESE VIEWS.

THE HAND

fate is the dealer and the cards are genes.  i didnt deal this hand — im just trying to play it.

THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS ON THE MIDDLE EAST

in adopting the rhetoric of peace in the current unfolding events in the middle east, especially as it pertains to the longstanding conflict between palestine and israel, mr obama is continuing a tradition of obfuscation which makes it more difficult to understand the truth of human history.  peace should never be the goal of any movement among the people of the world in any conflict anywhere. the goal now as always can only be justice, though justice — truly egalitarian disinterested reciprocal justice — always and inevitably presages enduring peace and is in fact the only path to it.

UNEXAMINED LIFE

the unexamined life does not imply an unemotional life, in fact quite the contrary, it implies an unreasoned life.  and an unreasoned life turns out to be — as the word would suggest — unreasonable.

ELEPHANTS

there are two enormous elephants in the room of the american economic structure which are not being discussed in the current debate over the federal budget.  one of them, which is the largest elephant in the whole american economic system, is not part of the federal budget, its the cost of financial services, which is approaching forty percent of the gdp of the united states.  this is an absurd weight around the neck of the american citizen, whose main purpose is to concentrate wealth in the hands of an inside few.  the second is the cost of the military and military production.  the net cost to the american economy of these two elephants is enormous and its the main stumbling block to the americans being able to take care of their underprivileged, their young, their sick, their mentally challenged people, many of whom wind up as prisoners of the state. there is no humanity in the discussion and thats because the two major items which would allow for a more humane american ethos are not even on the table — but theyre in the room (hiding).

POWER

i dont want power over others, neither do i want others to have power over me.  i prefer to search for a relationship of equanimity with all other persons, of thoughtful respect for all other persons.  and that is quite different than the present world’s fascination with, and love of, power.  

DRY READING

theres something that music and film have in common and that is that they communicate through emotional connection.  they take advantage of mirror neurons and the instinct in animals to harmonize emotionally.  most people, when they read books, want the same connection.  they consider that to be the only connection and if something attacks the reason only and is emotionally cool they call it dry reading and they more or less disdain it.  and yet the thing that is particularly human and almost unique to this species, and is in fact the only key to our survival, is this ability to reason, which is whats called dry and in our time is soundly frowned upon.

that's too bad.

JUSTICE

i believe in justice and justice, though it has a genetic base, should not be fashioned from an emotional process.  it requires reason to ensure it remains reciprocal.  to speak of being passionate about justice is to me a misreading, though one can be extremely grateful when justice occasionally prevails.

MORAL ANIMALS

im looking to uncover timeless truths, truths about humans in nature, about a human nature which has nothing to do with the anecdotal moments when we ourselves happen to exist on the planet, but everything to do with the accumulating knowledge about animal behavior and the chemistry — the mechanics — of life, including human life, that are now known to us for the first time.  so now we can better understand who we actually are and how we actually should conduct ourselves as moral animals on the planet (with a note: we are not the only moral animal, we are just one of all animals, which are all in some ways moral animals).

RELIGION

‘you know — i have no religion.’  ‘how come?  how can you live that way?  how can you be a moral person who knows right from wrong?’  ‘well i dont know.  its just like — some people who live in cities or villages dont need a car.  right?  they find other ways to get around.  well i dont — i dont need a religion.  i find other ways to know right from wrong.  i think inherently i understand reciprocity, so religion has no special utility for me.  i think everyone inherently understands reciprocity — even other animals — and that it is a mistake to believe you have learned that from your religious instruction.  more, you need to put it into practice and in that the entire ethos of your society can aid or hinder you.  but religion is only a subset of that constellation of influences and often it is pulling the wrong way — pulling against your common better nature.’

OBLIGATIONS

i watched the ant dragging her fellow worker, who had died, at some great cost back toward probably the nest, though it was a circuitous route at best.  i thought of my own life, how it was absolutely unnecessary to justify it in any terms whatsoever, that like an eagle on his perch watching what happened below or me in my cabin watching the ant or the ant working on transporting the dead one, all these things were done and reasons had nothing to do with it.  my first obligation, like the obligation of the ant like the obligation of the eagle, was to remain alive and do things necessary for that.

OAKS

here among the oaks i watch them.  they dont watch me back.  they have no nervous system, they have no brain, they have no sense organs.  they dont respond with eyes or ears.  even touch is limited.  animals have a global consciousness.  the whole brain is aware of the whole body and is conscious of its autonomous presence in its surroundings.  trees have atomistic consciousness.  each part responds to the stimuli locally around it.  even though there is a coherent growth and response to the entire plant, its not centered anywhere.  its centered only in the arrangement coded in its dna.  each region of the plant knows only what to do in response to its role in its immediate surrounding. 

because plants have no brain, have no reason, have no emotions, doesnt mean i love them any less.  plants are the great intermediary.  between the sun and me are the plants.

NONALIGNED MIND

i want to leave myself at home while i go out and look around.  i want to know what the world is like without me, what it was like before i got here and what it will be like after im gone.  

YOUR EMOTIONS

your emotions arent your own.  they dont belong to you.  you could say ‘well what about my thumb?  my thumb belongs to me.’  and i could say ‘well yes, your thumb is part of you as are your emotions.  but you didnt design your thumb, youre not proud of the design of your thumb in a personal way and you dont do whatever your thumb tells you to do.’

THIS ISLAND

when i moved to this little island i was already forty and thought it an ideal occasion to approach my new life here as much as possible without assumptions.  toward that end i determined not to do anything until i needed — truly needed and not just expected — whatever it was i was contemplating adding to my life.  i lived with my mate for two years in a plastic a-frame that cost about thirty-six dollars, part of the time with a little orphan fawn named by us ralphie, who used to crave heat so badly that he would stand inches from the airtight and twice burst into flame, which was only fur and quickly extinguished with my hands to no ill effect for either of us.  we planned a cabin and as was my emerging habit i made it as small as possible, which was the cause of some debate. 

this project we began but had to discontinue to spend time in the city gathering up money to pay the mortgage and continue.  when we finally moved back it wasnt long before we became two households.  it was a large property and we both loved it and determined to be neighbors and friends.  after she had finished a small house/studio with some help on a plateau below the top to the south, i moved into the tiny studio we had built for her work as a painter and converted it with a loft bed and tiny wraparound galley in a weekend.  i began making trips with the wheelbarrow to the old plastic a-frame to bring over stuff, kitchen, lighting and such.  after two trips i loaded up the wheelbarrow and moved it all back into the a-frame.  from then on when i needed something i would go over and get it — a frying pan, for instance — and bring it back in my hands.  so little by little i equipped the tiny studio with what i needed, but only what i needed.

this became a way of life.  it was less difficult than one might imagine and it began to weave itself deeper into the fabric of my life as i saw how it pleased me.  my burden remained light.  i had time to consider the things i did, how i spent the time of my days, and ultimately the accumulated time of my life.  i found certain modernities practical, like modern lighting and windpower and solar, and certain unnecessary.  in the end, not to be too inhumanly consistent and logical, i kept on with my love of flying — but not my love of plumbing.  it seemed uncivilized to defecate in my cabin and i retained my simple bucket composting outhouse permanently.  i also found that going out to the water barrel and carrying in the water for the day kept me able to bend and lift and twist and balance — all useful skills.  so though i had worked as a plumber and had got the pipe, i never plumbed the cabin and still to this day go out to fetch my water myself.  i also found that dead and down wood on my acreage more than supplied my heating needs for close to free (the chainsaw cost almost nothing to run for a year) and again kept me strong and flexible and forced to go out during the winter no matter what the weather, for i never got wood ahead for more than a month, lest i become too sedentary in the wet winters.  my cabin occupies a natural grass clearing — the whole south side of the island is largely open grassland — and for mowing i had the deer and feral goats who did a fine job for me and themselves, whether they thought of me or not. 

in the end, fitting in to the island the way i had found it caused rather fundamental changes in the way i approached other situations.  the list of things i needed for my happiness grew shorter as i grew happier and more grateful for any life, however plain, and the time i captured for my thoughts and works was more rewarding than the material things i was apparently lacking when compared to some others.

NONREPEATABLE LIFE

i was housed in this body, but not only this body.  i was housed in this personality, i was housed in this emotional web, i was housed in this identity.  but there is still an i even that stands aside from all my anecdotal identity and that i is rather pure and featureless.  its probably what religious people think of as the soul, but i dont think of it that way because i have no religion.  i think of it as my universal identity and it goes beyond ego — it goes beyond being hank, it goes beyond being male, it goes beyond being human, it goes beyond being animal, it is just life that i am an embodiment of, a universal cosmic quality called life.

but this quality, this featureless simple fact, is not recyclable.  its not as though — and thats my problem with the soul — it will go on beyond me or my time.  it is common, it is everywhere, there are trillions of examples of it as i speak and it never needs repeating, in the particular personal sense, theres no justification for the view that i will live my life or a life again, that i have multiple lives.  but multiple life is an obvious fact and this simple featureless force which is life repeats itself endlessly without needing to repeat me.

ARIZONA

this young man who shot the congresswoman in arizona and some other people, he didnt pick to be the way he is.  i think thats ludicrous.  i think that he probably in fact, influenced genetically, has a certain perception of life which is in error and what he is trying to do, every day of his life, is to make sense of the world as he perceives it.  but since he didnt design his receptors, then hes not responsible for the map that he develops, the map that allows him to navigate in a world that he thinks is the world — its not the world, its his world — but its not his world in the sense that he has intentionallly designed it.  it is unintentional.  it is inherent in his personality, probably from birth.  that is the world that he has grown to perceive.  there may have been influences on him in his family, in his early years with friends in school and in the ethos of his nation, but all those influences would be acting on him, particularly him, a person with a unique perception of what the external world is and how he relates to it and in it, and those perceptions are genetic.  so to blame this guy is not useful.  what one has to do is try to find mechanisms by which to identify people whose perception of reality is so far removed from whats useful that they will do in the end very great harm to themselves and perhaps to others.  if we could observe these people, observe the clues in these people's actual behaviors — in their symptoms and assumptions — and intervene in a way that is meangingful before its too late, thats the only solution.  we need to gain a better understanding of how mentally ill people, even pathological people, have not picked to be that way, that they have no choice in the matter, that they are acting in a way to try to make sense of the only world they know, which is the world they have inherited through their blueprint, which is genetic.

so what has blame and retribution got to do with it in any honest world?