What’s Important?

The news is filled with many topics. Some are interesting, some funny, and others gossipy. Still others are educational, inspirational or downright newsworthy. Of the latter I would include the following:

• Ebola outbreak; when is it classified a plague?
• ISIS rampage across Syria, Iraq; where will it extend to?
• World response to ISIS; will multi-lateral forces strafing ISIS in foreign territory increase change of a regional war?  Why is Saudi Arabia sitting this out?
• State of International Peace: what are the trouble spots? (Iran nuclear program; Syria civil war; Libya civil war; Egypt leadership challenges; African nations and their leadership issues; et.al.)
• Russian adventures to unsettle eastern Europe; re-sovietization?
• North Korea and who will maintain peace in the region for the international community?
• Global warming, climate change
• Economics 2014 and 2015: where are we headed and when? How can we improve on the results? Wealth gap issues? Middle Class survival?
• Technology: tool or master of our destiny?
• Educational health of our nation: are students getting what they need to succeed? What age students?
• Global Community, Global Economy? Do all prosper?
• Persistent drought conditions; where? How to manage the issues, repair the damage, and solve the problem long term?
• World Health and Medical Service Access: how do we raise the level of health care for the most people on Earth? Who bears the responsibility and cost?  Leadership?
• Arts: what role does it play in human destiny, health, and life quality?
• Energy independence globally: how do we meet our own needs and help other nations to do the same?
• Housing: What is the new norm? What standards should be followed? How do living standards globally get improved? Who leads?

This list can go on and it should. The list should then be categorized to some extent for solid focus, then prioritized as to which ones are truly most important for the long term good of humankind. 

With that list interested people could commit to do something about the topics to improve on them, to improve on the history of mankind.  Wouldn't that be nice!

However – you knew there was a however! – we are subjected to endless celebrity news,

Interesting tidbits about fashion, food, wine, travel and much more. Interesting to some, of course; but fascinating and life changing?  Hardly. No there are other things we ought to matter to us.

Instead we are distracted by the things that allure to the lowest common denominator among us.  Pitiful.

There are real issues and real goals we ought to be working on. That work is challenging, fun and rewarding all in its own way. In some fashion or other I've been about that most of my life. I haven’t always focused on the most important, but in the end what I have done matters to others. That’s all I can wish for.  And I feel pretty certain the wish will come true.

Can you tell the world that what you have focused your life on has made a difference in the lives of others? Even a little?  Bravo!

Now about the others,…

September 24, 2014

Media Fare

What we are exposed to daily by the media is quite an array of topics. That’s an understatement!

Sports seem to be a seasonal favorite throughout the year. Currently autumn football action is a big deal in the USA.  It’s colorful, action oriented and interesting to witness the athletic prowess, mental strategies of the game as well as the movement on a big screen TV.

But I am not a sports enthusiast. Not in fall, summer, spring or winter. I like the Olympic winter games probably more than the others, but then I’m sitting in my warm home viewing the quaint wintry exhibitions of others out in the cold! For some reason it makes me feel cozy.

Baseball for me is boring. Watching a game on TV is better than being in the ballpark. Fewer distractions on the TV and more focus on the game. Still, it feels like watching paint dry. I know my comment won’t sit well with sports fans, but hey, there are a gazillion people just like me so get over it!

The only good thing about baseball for me is its arrival on the seasonal calendar means winter is over and outdoor activities beckon with warmer days and sunny skies.

So, sports don’t do much for me. I care which cities have winning teams for different sports. It makes them feel better about their community. That’s a good thing, so I pay attention to that. But I really don’t follow sports. At all. I’d like their presence in my newspaper or internet home page to be devoid of this distraction. I have other things I’m interested in.

The Kardashians seem to be everywhere and that’s the problem for me. I don’t know these people, nor do I care much for them. From what I read and see they don’t produce anything, improve on anything, or empower the world, so they seem to be a national Facebook item that’s gone viral!  Enough. They are not news.

Same for most society items. Those are not news unless it is local. Celebrity news, too. They are nice people and talented. They share their talents with us in the form of their art and entertainment. They get well paid for those efforts. I really don’t need to know their marriage is in tatters, or they are having an affair with someone, or any of that rot.  I wish them well and hope their lives are happy and not filled with obsessions or addictions with various behaviors and substances. On the same hand I don’t wish to be informed of those troubles should they encounter them.

Oh, I’m not much interested in hearing someone’s opinion on what happened, either. I do want to know what happened. I want to wrestle with whether this happening is important and why, but I don’t need someone immediately to tell me that. I want to work that out for myself first. Later, I will search out expertise and their ‘take’ on the matter. This action will help me round out my understanding of the matter and keep me an independent thinker who tests his opinions against experts.

Here’s my ideal news outlet’s content: Weather forecast (do I need an umbrella, boots or a heavier coat); sports scores in tabular form I can scan or skip, nothing more; world events of high impact (wars, peace talks, emergent leaders, etc); regional/national news of high impact; local news; amazing new entertainment/arts events and access to more information on those events if I’m interested; science news; education news; business and economics news.

That’s it. All of that I can research to my heart’s content and feed my own interests. Along the way I can connect, mix or disconnect several items as they interrelate or not. It is that circular interplay of differing topics in which moments of genius are encountered and developed. We all need more opportunity for that to occur.

Today’s media seems to think we don’t think and need to be fed a constant stream of predigested food! News or food, either predigested is disgusting!

So the internet so far serves me better than a newspaper. Even so I am challenged to scan much content and skip a lot of it.

Media are reinventing their genre. It is painful for them and us during this period. Oh how I wish they’d find their place, soon!

September 23, 2014

United Kingdom

I am glad that Scotland voted to remain in the UK family. Being and American I don’t pretend to understand what the whole vote embraced but I feel certain that working together in a unified family of nations is more productive than going their separate ways.

I understand each nation must be firm in its identity. I was unaware that there were tensions in the UK over such identity, especially for Scotland.  For that I am sad.

The vote stirred quite a ruckus. People talked about the issues and emotions of dissolving the union. That will prove to be advantageous, I think. The vote may be over but the dialog must continue.

Scottish national identity needs some work.  They must ask themselves who they are and what makes them uniquely Scot. Also, they need to work on the long term vision of their nation – 20 years from now how will Scotland be viewed? How do they want it to be viewed?

Scotland has a long and proud history. That history has led to the present day. How well is Scotland today? How would Scots describe their present day situation?  Does that beg for changes to launch a strong and alluring future?  What should that future be?  How do they make that happen?

Struggling with these discussions is hard enough for a small organization or business firm. For a whole nation to engage such a process is complexity magnified!  Daunting really. But still necessary.  America would do well to do this, too!

A healthy analysis will lead to a broader understanding among all Scots. From that vantage point all sorts of good things are possible. Collaboration and cooperation among a diverse national population is needed for true progress to result.

It won’t be easy but it is inescapable.  Each citizen needs to engage the process and conversation. They will need to feel a part of the process for it to be successful.

I wish them the best of outcomes. It will lead to a strong and fruitful future for the nation.

The rest of the global community will be watching as well. All nations need to pay attention to their own people, their dreams and hopes. Governing is about the common weal of the people. Without that there is no national identity. Or spirit.

September 22, 2014

Thought for the Day

A complex thought for this day:

            “President Obama didn't invite immigrants to come to the U.S.

            She [Lady Liberty] did.

            Give me your tired, your poor, you huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Our arms are open in welcome, or should be. Our mood is open in justice, or should be. Our intent is open in love, or should be.

Or else how can we be Americans?

Or citizens of the world for that matter?!

September 20, 2014

Quality of Life

Life has many joys contained within it.  Among them – birth of a child, wedding day, career development and promotions, new home, new car, graduation from college, grad school, and many more hallmarks of a life growing in reach and promise.

There are other joys as well. These are often more difficult to catalog but some would include – the enticement of nature in the woods and forests, hiking mountains and back country locales, camping, traveling, smelling fresh air, drinking clean, clear water, growing one’s own food and relishing in its abundant flavors and textures and colors, hearing music that talks with the inner brain and forms more complex thoughts, encountering art in public places, and smells and touches and all the other senses. In rich abandon we can experience life.

But we must be attuned to it to receive it.

To smell the air, to feel the breeze, the soft humidity of an October afternoon – one must be free of distractions that hide the simple pleasures.

Hot and thirsty in a summer’s afternoon? The freshly made lemonade iced to perfection is a special treat! Perhaps at no other time do we truly experience it fully!? The same goes for a perfectly cooked steak or other treat when anticipated and the appetite properly focused. Or the aroma of freshly baked bread. Or an apple pie just about ready in the oven?  Remember those aromas? Recall your reactions then? The taste buds aroused and saliva running? Oh the expectation and excitement!

These are elements of a quality of life. These are the things that bring a simple joy and appreciation to our consciousness.

Living in a busy, noisy urban area we are often in need of a vacation that takes us away from the dirty air, the noisy surroundings, the frustrating traffic tie-ups, the tension of crammed schedules and calendars. And once on vacation in a quiet place, we are more aware of the sunrises and sunsets, the cleaner air, the appreciation of a passing thunderstorm, clean fresh water and tranquil settings of farm, field and forest.

These qualities of life we have with us most of the time. We just don’t notice them because our days are busy. We are distracted. By problems, dramas, financial pressures, family needs and so much more.

Distracted. The good often suffocated by more complex things dominating our lives.

Wealth can provide some of the simple qualities of life, but most of the time getting and maintaining the wealth distracts us from the things we want and need most.  Poverty and provide a simpler life that allows their enjoyment, their notice. But poverty also brings pressures that distract – unemployment, unpaid bills, insufficient income, poor health and housing and no way of repairing same.

For those who have the time and leisure, there is ability to enjoy the common, ordinary qualities of life others miss out on. 

‘Take time to smell the roses,’ we are advised from time to time. But do we?

In churches throughout the nation we are advised to take time for daily reflection and meditation. To some folks that is a time for prayer; for most it is a time to think about the day, the quiet moments, and the chance to relax in short lived peace.

We are well advised to also stop from time to time to smell the aromas surrounding us. Some will be pleasant, others not. But those smells are witness to the life going on around us.

The same for breathing in fresh air deeply, and slowly exhaling it. Deep breaths taken throughout the day are calming and energizing.  

Savoring a glass of fresh water, or a light meal and tasting the subtle flavors. A salad comes to life unexpectedly! A simple bowl of soup is savory and warming and life-giving. Listening to music during a stressful day, or on the commute home, or while walking or jogging. Music. The challenge of hearing order and harmonies in a challenging day.

These are simple things. These are simple joys of life.  To hear them, feel them, taste them – we must be ready for them. We have to be attuned to their being. We must be disciplined to find the time to experience them.

This does not take money. Or poverty. It takes being.

Be fully present in this day!

September 19, 2014

Wealth Gap

Many Americans bewail the growing gap between the haves and have-nots.  They are becoming more embarrassed by the enormous wealth accumulated by the few while the rest of society continues to be reduced in savings, earnings and all the rest.

Note: this situation does not necessarily mean a declining quality of life, although for many it does!  More on this in a later post.

The wealthiest Americans used to be counted in the top 5 to 10% of households. Usually these people were counted because of their high incomes. Wealth of course has many components – income, accumulated financial assets, large homes or estates, life styles that include long and costly vacations, whirlwinds of social activities at expensive restaurants and night spots, as well as jewelry, clothes and a fleet of posh automobiles, and planes! 

It is the latter that are viewed as the truly rich. And this number continues to grow. We used to think of millionaires as incredibly rich, but now it is the billionaires capturing our attention. Their rise in assets has been astounding. The sheer number of billionaires is surprising. We conclude that the rich are getting richer, even fabulously so.

That is not a bad thing in itself. It becomes bad when the rich are absorbing the wealth from tens of millions of others, and increasingly are influential enough to ensure this remains so.

It has been said often that the poor will always be with you. In fact that statement I believe comes directly from the Bible. But what numbers of poor are we to expect?  Recent statistics released by the US government report just under 15% of its population are poor. Nearly 20% of all children in the US live in poverty. On the positive side this is the first time that less than 15% of the population in America lived in poverty. The numbers have been much higher for a long, long time.

The poor often are structurally poor in their education, housing, geographic areas that are consistently lacking in economic growth opportunities and the like.  Certainly health conditions are part of this story as well. If a person has chronic illnesses, poor health care and limited health services available or poor or no health insurance coverage, their situation is almost always certain to result in continued poverty. The War On Poverty waged by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960’s was designed to end those causes of poverty. It was a grand fight but it failed in the end. It helped some, but poverty remained a stubborn embarrassment for America.

Today poverty takes on a different definition. It includes retirees, working poor, the unhealthy poor (under insured and burdened by high health care costs), and people once thought to be wealthy but no longer.

Today’s wealth gap is a product of timing and national policy.  Whether it continues will be argued and struggled with at the ballot box.

Legendary Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said:

“We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

He was correct when he uttered these words of wisdom, and he is correct today as the system has continued to careen out of control in the hands of the few for the benefit of the few.

As policy setters in Congress continue to set policy in favor of the wealthy in order to fund their re-election campaigns, poverty continues to grow in their own backyards.  It is reported that:

“97% of the 100 poorest counties in America are in red states [republican] but tell me again how republican policies grow the economy?” ~Author Unknown but found in a liberal website on the Internet

At some point such policies will become unsustainable. Worse, they will likely cause great social unrest that will cause major sections of the nation’s social systems to implode.  Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) has it right, I think:

            “Nobody who works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty.”

Amen to that!  Amen!

Addressing health care costs and adequate health care insurance coverage is a small beginning to address what’s wrong in America. The Affordable Care Act is a good step in the right direction. However, political opposition to the ACA continues to threaten its existence, and trimmed many early components of the proposed legislation. Conservatives and Republicans have waged war on the ACA from its inception. Either they are against President Obama on personal and political grounds, or they are protecting their political power source. Either is an insult to most American citizens.

The commonweal is the focus of government. Either the nation is healthy or not. It is not in the economic sense. And the justice sense. And the education sense. And the cultural sense. It must be faced that America is in trouble on many fronts.

To regain its health all Americans must be engaged in the process. And that means economically as well as employed, healthy, educated and all the rest.

This is our nation. It belongs to all of us. Not just the wealthy and the lucky.

But who is listening to this? Anyone?

September 18, 2014

Believing and You

I get it!  Life is a process. Our inner self emerges over time. And it takes a lot of time, a lifetime to give the process its full measure.  So, if you are hard on yourself for making a few wrong turns while ‘maturing’, let it be. Those are learning opportunities.  Like Joel Osteen cautions us,

“Quit beating yourself up. You are not a finished product. You are still a work in progress.”

It takes some time to learn this point. Often we encounter it even when we think we have learned the lesson well! How many gaffs have I made at weddings, funerals, yes even anniversaries and retirement parties!  The glib tongue seeks camaraderie and instead stumbles into deep embarrassment. Ugh!

Working out the snags and kinks in ‘the who we are’ department takes time and patience. Testing helps, too. Trying out new tempers and ideas works well if you choose the audience carefully!

Trying to be funny is a major trip point. Just think how hilarious Robin Williams was! He did and said things we dared not. His abandonment of carefulness became more daring and funny. Hilarious, even! Not us! We are unaccustomed to this form of humor. And our mistakes become evident quickly.

On a more serious note, George Orwell (1903 – 1950) the British author of 1984, provided this quote for our attention:

            “The people will believe what the media tells them they believe.”

If this is true, then what is belief? Or more exactly what do people actually believe? Do they parrot to others what they think will be acceptable, or what they recently read that sounded intelligent, or are they actually speaking what they do believe? And if the latter fits, at what stage of development is the belief?  Is it the product of years of experience and testing by the individual? Or is it a happenstance utterance with no foundation of feeling and understanding?

It is this incomplete personal investment of work that allows people to believe what they hear or read. Upon closer inspection those same people would more likely change their statements.

During heated political campaign seasons people do toss about political beliefs that are wholly inconsistent with the examples and analogies touted with them. It is clear they are delivering a scripted thought that follows someone they intend to vote for in the approaching election.

Rather they should give it time and thought. They might find that they have been given a line of baloney that is easily discounted.

As Michelle Obama has stated,

“Always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.”

Your goals. Your beliefs. Your consistency of thought. Distracted easily from these? Then you may not be thinking deeply enough, or paying close attention, or perhaps are too distracted from who you really are. Being true to you is not easy work.  Far from it!

Of course we can ask ‘why do we care?’  That’s a good question. This quote from the internet is, of course, anonymous, but is a good place to close today:

“The older I get, the less I care about what people think of me. Therefore the older I get, the more I enjoy life.”

That depends on how you spend your time in your advancing age. If you spend it with lots of people you may need to practice diplomacy to get along and learn from them. Doing so proves you do care what others think. Besides, without that care you may miss out on much that you disagree on. Just think what you are missing!

September 17, 2014