Are we people or SHEEPLE?

I know I have been down his road before but, I cannot help but to revisit the topic.  Today, I was having a conversation with my sister about technology.  Very broad topic with some very interesting possibilities, and very scary possibilities.  Starting at the beginning of my memories, I have always had a major fascination for how things work.  Not just gadgets, but living things.  One Christmas, my parents (really my mom, because dad really did not do a lot of the family stuff...that's another story for another day) got me a science set.  This set had a real microscope, jars of formaldehyde (yup...formaldehyde), implements for dissecting, tweezing, slide preparation, various dying chemicals (methylene blue, phenolphthalein, and some others), a real Bunsen burner, and test tubes.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  If I had only had the internet back then, who knows what kind of mad scientist I could have become.  I often would take frogs (toads actually) and dissect them to watch how the heart worked...how long it would take to die, etc...That was real intellectual curiosity (as well as a marker for sociopathy [http://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/early-signs]--and I have more than a few of them).  Early on I knew that I was nothing like any of the kids I knew.  They could not understand my thirst for knowledge.  If I had a curiosity about a topic, it was not unusual for me to sit in a library (keep in mind this was pre-internet) and read everything I could get my hands on.  Typically I would start at one topic and end up at some other seemingly unrelated topic.  It really is no surprise that I fell into the wonder of the internet.  Now instead of having to go to the library, I could literally read anything I wanted to from my own house (when computers and internet were new, they were very expensive and very slow, so most homes did not have one, and those that did could rarely afford more than one).  As computers became affordable, I would come to acquire more than one.  I would often take old antiquated (3-4 years old) computers and disassemble them and reassemble them just to understand how they worked.  I was enthralled by them (a trait that has endured the years [20 to be exact]).  Which brings me to the topic I meant to write about.

We have too much access to information today.  There, I said it.  It is true if you think about it.  If there is a minor earthquake in equatorial Brazil (read that as rainforests), the entire world knows about the event in less than 5 minutes.  Soon after that the news stations (the talking heads) are all talking about the potential repercussions of that quake.  Seriously, it is that quick, and that is where the problem lies.  When the internet was new, pages were static and informational.  There was no commenting on a topic...no satirical websites.  Nearly all of the information was factual and not subject to questioning (as they were mostly written by collegiate professors or students experienced in documenting references).  Most people did not have an opportunity to create webpages because it was not yet possible.  Soon after came the interactive web.  This meant that people could comment on pages though still most still could not create their own, so the integrity of the internet was still, for the most part, intact.  Then came the immersive net.  This is the internet we know today.  Anybody can now create webpages or effect the populace by making posts on blog sites, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the myriad of other instant publishing services.

The history is there for anyone that cares to research it.  The point of my post is to bring light to the idea that we, as citizens of the 21st century, have too much access to information.  If one steps back and looks at trending information, it is possible to predict what might happen in the future.  For example, the incident in Ferguson.  It started with a few [black] people crying of the indignity that poor young kid that was killed by a [white] police officer.  A few prominent people (that we made prominent BTW) started making accusations and offering sound bytes to the masses (via internet and television) which flamed that little spark of indignation into this huge media meltdown over racial iniquity.  One or two lonely voices brought up that the "poor kid" was known to be a troublemaker that had a lengthy criminal record.  Those few were drowned by the rest of the media hype.  One only needed to log into Facebook or some other social network to see the result of the media fanning the fire.  Many folks bough into the hype without looking at all the facts and instead jumped on their virtual surfboards to ride the wave.  One only need type any news story into a search engine to see how it works.

This is our problem.  The internet [and other communication venues] have grown so fast that we have had no time to develop ways to teach our kids not to believe everything they read on the internet.  I think that all kids from preschool should be taught that the internet is a great way to learn just about anything, but that they need to be cautious about stories purported to be FACT.  They should all be taught how to think critically and to look at all sides of an argument [or story] before deciding to believe what is written.  A very powerful demonstration might be the creation of a webpage by the instructor to show the kids that not everything on the net is not true.  One of my college instructors early in my academic career taught us that before reading anything in print, listening to anything recorded, or getting an opinion from anyone, to put on your "SKEPTICALS" and really examine what you are consuming.  Just because "everyone knows", does not make it a fact.  As a result, I rarely take any opinion as fact until I have researched it and know all sides.  Then and only then, will I make a judgement as to the validity of an argument.

Another way I think we (as people of the 21st century) can help mitigate this problem, is to have students learn cause and effect.  When the sun goes down, the temperature drops causing a chill in the air.  If A happens, then B might happen, unless C causes D which will result in E.  I know it seems complicated, but if we were to think through all of the decisions made on bad information, then we might have decided that the risks outweighed the potential benefits.  If G W Bush had been made to prove that WMD were indeed there, we might not have gone to war with Iraq (this time).  If the FBI had shared intelligence with CIA and NSA then perhaps, 9/11 might not have happened and we would not have gone to war with Afghanistan.  If we (people of the UN countries) had not gone to war, then perhaps the economy would not have collapsed (worldwide).  Many ways to see in retrospect, that decisions we make on minimal or incomplete data, can result in catastrophic consequences.

In closing, I would stress to the parents and educators of the world, to please, please, teach critical thinking and practice cause and effect scenarios with your students and children.  By arming our progeny with tools to be skeptical and investigate, we can give them the power to make good decisions and not fall into the "SHEEPLE" and "LEMMINGS" we are today.  Good information makes good choices.

Technology or Bust

Recently, I have been lurking on FB and Craigslist, just for something to do...I have discovered a great travesty (or is it shame) that there are hundreds of thousands of people craving the attention of another person, no matter how remote.  Let that sink in for a minute...

Our greatest achievement (our, meaning the human race) is also our greatest downfall.  I was born in the late 60's.  We had 3 channels on TV, a long distance call cost a fortune, video games had not been invented yet, and the calculator was called and adding machine and was huge.  In the last 30 years, humans have created the largest, most extensive information and communication system that we could have ever dreamed of.  Television has expanded and created niche channels that number in the thousands.  Music, movies, and TV shows are now streamed to any number of devices.  Communication is virtually instantaneous.  If something tragic happens overseas, the world knows every detail of the situation within a few minutes, and the talking heads will argue about the significance of it within an hour. 

Yet, despite this massive information exchange system, there are more people than ever before suffering from depression, anxiety and isolationism.  Why is that?  My guess is that people have gotten used to the anonymity and freedom to express their innermost opinions without repercussion.  We have lost the ability to communicate on a personal level.  Many times have I wondered what would happen if all of a sudden, the web, cable systems, satellite systems, and electrical grid had a catastrophic failure.  What would it be like to the folks that have had instant information and communication all of their lives, to suddenly have nothing but the printed word, candle light, and wood fires to cook and warm with?  I believe that in placing all of our information completely on silicone chips and digital hard disks, that we might be setting ourselves up for a mighty failure.  Think of a time when you went to a grocery store.  Your order came to $10.56.  You gave the cashier $11.01 but she forgot to put in the $.01 and had absolutely no clue how much change she is supposed to give you.  In another vein, you write a page of instructions in script and hand it to your teenager expecting them to complete the tasks listed.  The teenager looks at you like you handed over a page of hieroglyphs.  As a concerned parent, you look at your kid's chat log to see what they are talking about.  All you can see is a bunch of letters assembled in such a way that you cannot understand what they are saying. 

As I write this, one might think that I am wholly against technology.  Quite the contrary actually.  I am very about technology.  I have 2 different college degrees, both firmly entrenched in technology and lack just 4 classes from a masters.  My concern is that we have let our children (grandchildren) to get lazy.  Instead of teaching them in school how to multiply, divide, add, or subtract, they teach how to use a calculator.  Gone are the days of parents quizzing kids in unexpected places--What is 9x6?  Instead we have zombies that stare at a screen, type "21st century hieroglyphs", and have these odd things hanging from their ears. 

Instead of teaching script, keyboarding is now taught.  My nephews and kids can all touchtype without looking at their hands, but they cannot read cursive nor sign their name in cursive.  I am not saying that script is absolutely necessary to human development, but it does teach our kids variation and creativity.  My cursive looks nothing like my siblings, yet we can still read it.  We learned individuality, creativity, and variational thinking at the same time we learned to write cursive.  It is a shame that art is being lost to the ages.

As parents of "21st century technogeeks", we are falling behind our kids in tech, while we retain our creative and innovative thinking.  This leads to a very large gap in understanding between generations.  It really is no wonder that kids roll their eyes when you ask a tech question or have a hard time understanding how to use that stupid phone--which incidentally is many times more powerful than the orbiter that landed on the moon. 

I guess my point is to move forward technologically, but also scream to the masses that we should not allow ourselves or our progeny to forget/never learn how to do math, read cursive, and write cursive.  The irony is that I cannot remember the last time I had to write anything longhand, but I absolutely know that I can should the need arise.  I also know, without thinking that $.45 is the change. 

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas??

I keep seeing this all over the net...every year the same thing...well I take offense.  Why?  Because I am not Christian...and I believe in equality for all...not that I disrespect your God or your beliefs, quite the opposite...I say happy holidays because I believe you have the right to believe what you choose.  I will never force my goddess or god or faith on anyone...saying Merry Christmas to me is the equivalent of saying you MUST believe in my version of the holiday Christmas and no other...truth is that there are many different holidays from thanksgiving to Christmas...for some it is Kwanzaa, Hannakuh, or in my case, Yule.  They are all equally important to the people that believe...I will never exclude your holiday because I don't believe...if you say to me Merry Christmas, I will respond Happy Holidays though I don't celebrate "Christmas", because I validate all religions and their belief structure...people are letting things go out of control with Christianity...the Christmas that most folks celebrate bears no resemblance whatsoever with the actual event.  Christmas is actually a pagan festival celebrating the end of the dark and renewal of the new...by bringing in a fir tree, we celebrate life renewal and the coming of the light as well as the end of the dark season...the evergreen is a symbol that life will begin anew...days start to get longer and though the cold intensifies, it is a reminder that warmth will return...Gift swapping is actually way out of proportion as well...it used to be a token symbol that reminds the person receiving the gift, that I think of you and recognize that thought with a simple gift...this year and all years hence will be celebrated by me with the bringing in of a fir branch, burning it in the fireplace with my Yule log as a symbol that I recognize the coming warmth and I will pass to those I care about a simple, probably home made gift that says, I love you and think of you in this renewing of life...may you prosper in the coming light...

That being said, please take no offense at me saying Happy Holidays, because I do care about what you believe and I cherish that right...but I also demand that same respect...

To all that give a damn, Happy Holidays...all of them...

Stop Wasting Taxpayer Money

I am sick of the GOP wasting taxpayer money to sue, impeach, or repeal Obama.  The simple truth is that Mr. Obama has done more for the minorities (Gays, Blacks, All Manner of Aliens) than any other president.  By passing "Obamacare", he has made sure that millions of people that would have never qualified for health insurance due to pre-existing conditions, can get an affordable health insurance.  By standing up to Congress (read that as Teabagging Republicans), he has eased the fear of 4 million individuals that they would be deported leaving their children (American Citizens) to the welfare and foster care systems by allowing them to apply for work cards and SS numbers so that they could stay here, pay their taxes and keep their children at home, where they belong.  The Repubs, again, are threatening to sue or impeach our president for doing the right thing by saving money on deportation (of aliens in the country for more than 10 years), welfare/foster care costs, and increasing the coffers with 4 million new tax paying individuals.  How can they even justify the thought of suing the President (which I believe they cannot until he is out of office) or wasting millions of American Taxpayer money to impeach him?  Every President, both Democrat and Republican, have exercised their Executive Order Privilege while in office, and yet, none of them were sued or impeached (Except President Clinton, who ironically had the highest favorability rating of any...ANY President in the history of America, and still enjoys a very high popularity).  How can they sit in their offices, saying "no" to any Democratic Party Initiative that would benefit the people for which they were elected to represent?  Incidentally, has anyone noticed the makeup of the Congress??  A majority of middle-aged white men...name one state where the population is made up of a majority of middle-aged white men (other than Washington, D.C.). 

I have a solution for Congress (Dems and Repubs).

1.  Drop their retirement fund into the national coffers and make them all pay into the same Social Security  system as the rest of us do.
2.  Lose their lifetime health insurance and put them in the same healthcare system as the rest of us.
3.  Pay them a small stipend ONLY while they are in Washington performing their elected duty, otherwise, they work a regular job like the rest of us.
4.  Set term limits of 8 years, just like the President.  Congress was never meant to be a full time occupation, but a civic duty.
5.  When they are done in Congress, they no longer get paid as Congress-persons. additionally, the President/V. President also would receive no pay after their presidencies are completed though they would still have Secret Service protection for 20 years.  Any information they might have had would be obsolete in that time.
6.  Guarantee a college education to anyone (citizens/tax payers) that wants one-FREE

The result of these actions would kill the deficit, fix Social Security, fix healthcare, make Congress functional again, make Congress actually mirror their constituencies (demographically) and make the USA a strong fighting economy again.  We cannot afford to continue like we are.  The rich are getting richer, the poor, poorer and the middle class is all but gone.  Young people today are saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt from schooling.  That doesn't make sense.  The situation is that there are not enough high paying jobs to allow college grads to pay their debt, which puts them into default.  Their defaulting only adds to the deficit and creates more national debt and hinders the economic growth by limiting spending. 

We cannot continue to expect our economy to recover with Congress doing nothing but fighting the President and wasting taxpayer money.  We cannot continue to expect our college graduates to pay their debt and grow the economy by spending.  We cannot expect our Social Security system or Health Care system to be overhauled while the Congress has no stake in it being fixed. 

amazing world we live in

Tonight I was on FB (surprise there), chatting with friends.  During the course of the conversation, a couple of topics came up--sex in a relationship, and artistic talent.  Very odd conversations but I have very strong views about both topics.  The original question about sex was "why is sex important in a relationship?"  The answer is quite complex, though I gave it a quick and dirty answer--it is FB after all and we wouldn't want me to get in trouble, right?  The answer I gave is that sex is supposed to be the physical representation of an emotional bond...but the answer is much more complex than that.  When you are having sex, at no other time in a relationship are you more vulnerable and open to your partner.  You are not only open physically, but you also leave yourself open to judgement, criticism, and comparison.  Yes, we do tend to compare sex with A vs. sex with B--it is in our nature.  Unless you are really drunk (and shouldn't be having sex anyway), are a prostitute (very dangerous!!), or are just a hit 'em and quit 'em kind of person, sex can be the most intimate thing you can share with another person.  Personally, I do not think sex and emotions should go together.  Emotions are messy and squishy and...aw hell...even someone as jaded as me has felt the love while having sex...it happens.  I still think sex should be anonymous and free of emotion and Love should be only for the person you care about deeply...if you happen to have sex with that person, then you have hit the holy grail of relationships.  But honestly, sex can get mechanical and repetitive unless there is a variety or you are really creative, even if you love the person. 

OK, OK...I hear you...I am not saying that one should not strive for love and sex together, I am just saying that it should not be an expectation.  I have loved many people and had sex with many (oh god) but have only loved one that I happen to have had sex with.  I am open to it occurring again, but still not expecting anything.

The second topic was about artistic talent...I don't think of myself as especially talented.  I know others that can create rings around me, yet, many say that I am very talented.  Sure I have the penchant for having the right word at the right time and am kind of a Nazi with certain words (NU-clear and AUNT -as opposed to ant).  I have been known to paint a picture without a drop of paint, just plain ordinary words organized on paper (please sub whatever media you like here--paper, napkin, computer screen, etc...).  Is that a talent?  I really do not think so...I learned it the same way that everyone else did (or should have, as it were), in school.  I feel like the word talent means something that is a natural ability.  There are folks out there that can hear a piece of music and can play it back by ear without ever having had musical training.  That is talent.  Artists that have never gotten formal training (think college-we all finger-painted) but can create a portrait in one minute and a half or 3D street art that is really terrifying to walk on (you really feel like you will fall off the precipice)--those folks have talent.  I feel that any person, if they really slow down and think about what they want to say, can write.  Anyone.  A thing that I tend to do (or try to anyway) is to explain a feeling/mood/color/item/place without naming it directly, to a person that has never seen/felt/touched/been there.  Using this method one can say that they love a person without ever uttering the word love...his presence ignites a fire in my body that no water can ever quench, but should he walk away unrequited, I shall fall to ash...it really is quite simple...

The next time someone asks you a question like the ones above, step back, think about it, and then speak.  If you wish to have debate on any topic, please feel free to email me, and we will do just that...until the next time my brain itches, bye!

here we go again...

It is again that time of year when retailers begin selling 2 seasons away.  What?  Christmas shoppe already??  Yup.  And I fear it will become earlier and earlier until the eventual decision to not take it down at all.  The world is a mess right now.  We have a dysfunctional Congress, an unpopular President, high cost of fuel, runaway inflation ad nauseum...and people that need 4 months to buy the unnecessary stuff that retailers are telling our kids that they need.  It is ridiculous.  Halloween is not even upon us yet, almost 2 weeks out, and already we have Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving and Halloween retailing.  Why?  When did "Christmas" become the time for retailers to recoup their losses all year?  I remember as a kid the smell of pumpkin and the leaves as they fell from the trees in October.  Never did I see Christmas anything until the week before Thanksgiving.  Christmas was not about how much in debt you could get your parents in order to compete with the Joneses next door.  It was about taking the time to think of what someone likes or dislikes and choosing a token gift (either making it or buying it) to let them know you think of them.  The best Christmas I can ever remember was the year I got my see-n-say.  I was about 5 or so and saw the commercials on Saturday (cartoon day for those too young to remember) and really wanted one.  I never asked, but always when the commercial came on, my eyes lit up and my parents noticed.  I didn't ever get tons of gifts, but usually got a toy and some clothes, but I was always happy.  That Christmas when I opened up that see-n-say, I cried tears of joy because at that moment in time, there was nothing I wanted or needed to complete my happiness.  Another year, my mom sewed Christmas.  She and her best friend, literally decorated our plastic tree with homemade decorations that were sewn from used cloth.  Our gifts that year were very simple.  The boys got octopi and the girls got dolls.  That was it.  There was no money for the latest Atari or new bikes.  The fact that mom went out of her way to make these things meant the world to me.  Kids can be cruel though. 

My mom always loved Christmas time.  To her it was a time of family and love and cheer.   For me it was a time of torment.  Other kids in the school showing off all of the nifty things they got while all I had was an octopus.  The other kids noticed that we had nothing and usually made fun of us poor kids.  In my mind, it only cemented the idea that Christmas would never be to me what it was to most kids.  I revel in the idea of neat personalized gifts that are tokens of my love or feelings for the person.  I refuse to spend thousands of dollars to buy things for people I really don't like based on a calendar date.  Instead, I will make something or share something with the people that mean something to me.  They will know that the gift I give is from my heart and that I really thought about them.  My gift will have sentimental value where others might have monetary value.  Am I cheap?  No, I am not.  Give me a pretty leaf that made you think of me or share a digital picture of that time we did whatever...those things have substance and will last forever whereas these expensive cheaply made trinkets will not last the year.  I think everyone needs to watch the Grinch this year and remember what the season is really about.  It is about family and friends sharing their time here on earth, making memories,  and sharing memories of those passed.  So know that if you are my friend, you will likely not get anything more than a wish for happiness and prosperity, but know that the sentiment comes from my heart and not my wallet.

Does evil exist??

The simple answer to this question is no, it doesn't.  Before you get all riled up, let me explain why.  Humanity is made up of people, all of whom are somewhere on a behavioral spectrum from pure good all the way to pure evil...I use the term good and evil only to describe societally accepted extremes.  Most people will fall in the middle somewhere where there is both good and evil in equal or about equal measure.  If you look at a standard bell curve below, the 68% in the middle is where most people fall.  on either side of that middle section is 14% either side where a person can be more left than right and vice versa.  the remainder (at least for this essay) can be described as pure good or pure evil.  Keep in mind, this is all based on the scientific principal of standard deviation.  I am guessing that if one were to devise a survey with questions ranging from complete evil to complete good and ask these questions to a random sample, this deviation would be represented.   Again these questions would be based on accepted societal definition of good and evil acts.









Now that we have defined the populace, we can get to the meat of my assertion that evil does in fact, not exist.

The above bell curve applies to nearly anything you care to challenge as long as humanity is involved.  To prove my assertion, I am going to point out several situations that will require you the reader to think about your feelings of the scenario and rate it 1-10, with 1 being pure good and 10 being pure evil.  Keep in mind, I am not trying to change your mind about anything except the original premise.

1.)   You are on safari in Africa and are told by the guide that today there is a wedding in a village that you just happen to be visiting.  The bride in this wedding is a lovely young woman of 11 years, and the groom is a very well respected 45 year old in the village.  The bride will be the third wife of the groom.  Is that wedding good or evil?

2.)  In an Aboriginal tribe somewhere in the south Pacific, a ceremony of passing is being celebrated.  The deceased will be cooked and served to his descendants as is their custom.  The belief that consuming ones ancestor is to assure that their energy would continue to live in all of their relatives.  Is this act of reverence good or evil?

3.)That same Aboriginal tribe, before cooking their ancestor, removed a portion of his skin.  This skin was preserved and made into a drum skin.  This drum becomes a ceremonial summoner of the spirits of the ancestor during rituals.  Is this practice good or evil?

4.)  Deep in the Brazilian jungle exists a tribe of pygmy.  This day is a coming of age ceremony for a 9 year old girl that crossed over to womanhood by beginning menarche.  The girl is laid down and is sexually penetrated by all adult males (all males in or past puberty) that are not related to her to ensure that the essence of her mate (that was chosen for her) could enter her womb and allow for a successful carriage of offspring.  Is this ceremony good or evil?

For the purpose of argument, let us assume that each of these things are documented somewhere and are indeed factual situations. (I did just make them up for the purpose of illustration, but they could in fact exist)

The answer to all 4 questions is neither good nor evil.  The participants of each of these situations is doing what has been culturally expected of them.  It has been well documented that a number of places in the world (even today in the 21st century) marry their young girls off as soon as they reach menarche.  It is also not uncommon for young girls to be involved in the sex trade.  Not the same as a penetration ceremony, but similar in principal.  As for the other two, I could see a ceremonial reason to use a part of an ancestor or consumption of said ancestor.  I would think in the mind of the tribe, it would be a great honor to be consumed and used to make a drum so that my spirit would always have a place to go.

I guess the basis of this argument hinges on how much of a critical thinker you are and how rigid you are as far as morality is concerned.  Personally I feel that it would be wrong of me to judge any of the four groups based on some archaic form of morality that does not even apply to the subjects.  I feel that holding another to my standard of morality is inherently a negative prospect as the subjects have not experienced the things I have nor had the enlightenment that I have.  It would be akin to holding a lion responsible for a child charging into the pride and getting killed.  The lion did nothing it was not designed to do.  It viewed the small human as a threat and dealt with it accordingly.  We as a species need to step back and recognize our animal origins and remember that not too long ago (in the cosmic scale) we were not much more advanced than the lion and we killed far more quickly.

Now that I have explained a few things, let me put it into perspective.  Humanity strives to label things to put them into some sort of classifiable structure.  It is very hard for me to think of anyone that is pure evil or pure good.  Think for a second...if we never had any negative occurrences (in our own perspective) then we could not by definition recognize a good occurrence.  That is pretty much the only thing modern religion has gotten right (in my opinion).  Humanity is flawed...we will do wrong (perceived) and violate the accepted moral standard that is Christianity.

I believe that we are all a bit of everything.  We can be cold as ice one minute and warm and fuzzy the next.  We kill to survive (meat animals) and we kill to protect ourselves.  It is neither good nor evil as we are doing what we were designed to do.  Humanity is designed to be both good and evil (per our invented scale of morality).

So, as a recap, evil does not exist because we are doing what we were designed to do according to our own cultural norms and have arbitrarily assigned one extreme as evil and the other as good, when in reality the vast majority are somewhere in the middle of the bell curve.

Something to think about, huh?