Fear

"Fear is the mind killer." Frank Herbert, Dune
I am like my Dad in that I am a people watcher. He told me that he went to the horse races for 3 reasons. One, to watch the horses and two, to watch the people. It is fascinating. Just be subtle. It is rude to stare.
I have been traveling around a bit of late. Too much, really, but that is another story for another time. I have noticed a vast change in my fellow Americans. People are scared to death. Few seem willing to just open up and be alive. Folks seem closed in and shut off. You can see it in their eyes and in their ,mannerisms. Tension, a rigid nervous smile, an embarrassment when they actually laugh. Many no longer answer when you say hello and strangers will not meet your eyes when you smile and nod at them in the streets. Even among those you know, there is a reluctance to talk about anything of any substance.
In masses, people will rant and rave in the midst of useless demonstrations, but, one on one, they will duck disagreements. If you differ, they nod and grunt  and quickly change the subject, or just move away. Trust me, this is not the way we used to be. You know, back when America really was great.
Why so timid? Why so afraid of difference? Why so willing to freeze up except in large groups engaged in mindless, irrational acts of fury?
The answer is, for once, simple. Fear. We are in a period of rapid change. This has been the case for about 60 year. In my time, we have gone from a time when TV was almost a novelty to all the wonders, and horrors, of the internet. We have seen the collapse pf vast empires like the Soviet Union and the rise of people who not long ago were desert nomads to a to a terrifying World power that fights a warfare that has no battles, just hit and run attacks. We have cone from an era of sexual limits to an era where folks think you can di what you want without consequences. In medicine, we went from prosthetics that were mostly cosmetic to finely tuned instruments that can function as well, or sometimes better, than our natural parts. We went to the Moon and are actively exploring the linits of the Solar System
. I could go on and on,  but you get the point.
Change is the only constant, but we have never seen change at this rate. Some of these changes are good, some bad, and, as always, most are in the grey zone. Humans are always nervous about change. This is foolish, but that insecurity is real. Most just don't deal well with it. Now, the change is so fast, that many cannot cope. Why do you think we have so many psychoactive drugs being handed out by doctors and so many illegal opiates being consumed. We are scared to death, and that leads back to the opening quote. Fear is the mind killer.
Humans must learn to accept change at any pace. Just realize that everything is always changing every second and that what you are seeing now is the same thing at a much larger and faster scale. To fear, to withdraw is a horrible strategy. Do not be overwhelmed. Accept what you think is right, reject the rest and then stand up, proud and brave and fearless and get on with things. Like the old Little Feat song, roll with it.
This is not that hard to do. Trust that your Creator will catch you when you fall and help you in every way. To those who do not believe in our Creator, you have a problem. The strength and support God will give you is unfathomable. Without it, you are a puny animal. With it, you are a noble, conscious being. Unbelievers, you may want to reconsider that. Remember, the first thing that angels say when, in the Bible, they contact people,e is Fear Not. Heed those words and have a grand and Blessed day.

Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again

Well, It's that time in the Summer again. Rain, and that is a blessing. It has been so hoy and dry the last few days. Walk outside and you feel your skin parch. That hot and dry.
I don't understand why folks get so upset by rain. Few of us are farmers in danger of losing a day in the fields. Construction workers will make the time up. Those who work inside should have no reason to complain at all. If you get wet going to and from your car, so be it. You will not melt.
Maybe you can't play gold or a ballgame gets rained out. That hardly rates as pain and suffering. Yet, folks get edgy and impatient and irritable when storms drift in. If course they get the same way when it is hot and dry.
We seem to lack a connection to Natural World. We have lost that and somehow think that the creation is there simply for our convenience. Your personal comfort is not the purpose of Creation.
No rain. no food. Too much rain, no food. No plants, no trees, no clean water and no you. Everything is in a balance, nit static, but dynamic.  Learn to roll with the ebb and flow of Nature.
Soon it will be cold again and everyone who complained about Summer's heat will be complaining about Winter's cold. In the beautiful balance of Spring, we complain about pollen allergies and in the crisp balance of fall, we gripe about having to rake up the lovely fallen leaves.
I really think that complaints about the ever changing climates is a mask for another complaint. Uncertainty. Nothing stops, nothing stands still and it seems that nothing, not even the Earth we live on is constant. That is exactly the lesson we all need to learn WE ourselves are in a constant flux and we only bring ourselves and others misery when we try to hold tight to what is passing. The only answer is to embrace change and revel in the constant process of fading and renewal. In short, learn to roll with it.

To Everything There Is A Seaspn

It is hard to grasp the ever changing needs of life. There are many things that are a fine idea when you are 15 that are not good at all for a 70 year old. Boxing and mountain climbing leap to mind. The human body cannot do some things as you age. Mind you, physical activity remains important as you age, but you can back off a bit.
In societies, there are similar changes. Here and there, cultures become so stuffy and conservative that they have to loosen up. In the 1950s, many thought the USA to be too uptight about certain issues, mostly sex and race. So, come the early and mid 60s, the culture started to  examine such matters and grew a bit looser. Then, as usual, things got too loose, and the pendulum swung back toward the conservative. This is a vastly oversimplified explanation, but I think you get the idea
The same in personal matters. There was a time when I worked long and hard and was expected to be at peak efficiency at all times. I lived on coffee and tobacco and, given what I was doing, that worked well. If I did that now, I would be a nervous wreck and would likely have a stroke/ Recently, after long years of near crippling arthritis, I read a doctor's page online and took his recommendation , drink 2 to 4 glasses of red wine at night. It worked well and effectively. In recent days, I have learned of some non chemical ways of dealing with the pain and inflammation and gave given up wine. What was right and appropriate at one time, was no longer a good idea. Let me be honest, alcohol has its own problems
On a National level, there are times to reach out to other countries, try to establish peace and mutually beneficial trade. But, somewhere, someone, in one of the countries will try to take advantage.  Then, peace must give way to fighting, Then, things will change back,
My point, in what must seem like aimless rambling, is that life is not static, Things are in a constant state of change. There is a balance, but never at a perfect equilibrium. The Creator has built change into the Creation, at all levels, from the quantum to the galactic and all points in between, We, as individuals and societies are a part of that Universe are subject to the same constant state of change and must constantly adapt, To put it in simple terms, you have to roll with it.
Oh, and to all who think the Bible useless and simple minded nonsense, maybe you should glance again at the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Remember, All Things Pass

It is true that times are a wee bit strange and it is easy to get caught up in the sheer lunacy. It seems, at times, like the madness is terminal, and I will admit to lapsing into that myself.

Remember, all will pass. It may, and likely will, take some time, but the World goes through cycles. This insanity is but a passing phase. Why? I have no idea.

But, one way or another, we will deal with Korea and taxes and , racial  tensions. Fo;ls will stop shooting each other at such a furious pace and the economy will jump start.

When? Beats me, but sure enough they will. It may be rough for a bit, but change will cone and the pendulum will swing back toward sanity, for a while.

What can we do? Roll with it. Ride out the storm. Be positive and productive and ready to help your friends, family and neighbor. Have as much fun as you can and love as much as you can.

Things will get better, count on it.

Thanksgiving will be here soon and the Christmas and New Years. Why not start the Season right now?

America and the Constitution

A couple of mornings ago, I saw Glen Beck on CNN. In a surprisingly rational conversation with the host, Glen stated his undying devotion to the Constitution. This is certainly not surprising but, I have come to understand, it  is not a viable position.

Do not misunderstand me. I love the Constitution, just as I love my memories of small town America and my memories of our Nation's simpler times. However, to stubbornly cling to the past is foolish. I can say that because I have, at times, done just that. When you do, you grow stagnant.

My Dad loved the old days and spoke fondly of them often, but as he grew older, he grew more accepting of change and realized that things would not hold still for him. He slowly, but inevitable, came to enjoy, not all, but many of the changes in our culture. I, slowly, kicking and screaming at times, have come to understand that change is inevitable, and you cannot fight everything. This does not mean cheerfully accepting everything, but many of our changes, are for the better.

The Constitution was never intended to be eternal. Thomas Jefferson, who wrote much of it, said that he hoped it would be changed often lest, as he put it, it became nothing but 'dead leaves.' The document was a product of a time when America was sparsely populated and had a largely farm based economy. Jefferson lived long enough to see the first signs of the Industrial Revolution and knew that much of the Constitution would not work as time went on. In fact, he, seemingly quite seriously, said we should have a revolution about every 25 years, that an occasional blood letting was a healthy thing.

I once read a comment, and I wish I could remember who said it, that all politics is ultimately theological. Our view of God determines our view of government and many, such as Mr. Beck are stuck in the traditional Christian view of God as unchanging. They believe that everything God, according to Bible, has said is etched in stone. Thus, the Bible is always correct, and if you believe as they do, that the constitution was written by God-inspired men, then it must be unchanging. Jefferson and many of his colleagues would be amused at this since they were rational Deists. By the way, there are other interpretations of Christianity that are far more valid.

The World will change, that is inevitable. If you wish to remain a contributing member, you must change and guess what, that is not only fine, it is wonderful, because you stay engaged. Again, you do not have to follow every idiotic fad. You can retain many traditional values, adapting them to the current world. If you do not change, you will become irrelevant and isolated in your nostalgia. If you adapt, you can temper change with wisdom. If all of us who remember the past opt out, then the future will take a rudderless direction and God help us all. Then you will see a future society that will likely be a blend of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. The poor and uncooperative will feel the wrath of Big Brother and will be crushed under his boot, while those who play along will be treated to a mindless existence, numbed by the best drugs and rigid programming, mixed with a bit of genetic manipulation.

Traditional Christianity is no longer viable in a World where Science has disproven much of the Scripture and History has dealt much of the rest a crippling blow. Likewise, the Constitution cannot stand as is. The World is small now, there are vast numbers living in urban areas, and, thanks to the manipulations of the mega-corporations, there are too many poor folks lost in a poverty that will soon become hopeless. Something must change because I can guarantee you that there is no more dangerous creature on Earth than a human with nothing left to lose, and. since I see no hope of businesses willingly changing, the Government must step in and begin to balance things. If not, before long, this Nation will be swept with a violence that will make ISIL look like church mice. and do not speak to me of the Churches as instruments of change; the little ones are remnants from an ignorant superstitious past and the big ones have become little more than a blend of social club and big business.

So, to Americans who remember the traditional ways, I say, get over it, and move on. Cheer up, it's not that bad. Change keeps you alive.

When Will America's Bubble Break?

What goes up, comes down. Nothing could be simpler, nothing is more true. At the risk of being thought overly pessimistic, let me say that this will be true in this country, just as it has proved true in every nation, every civilization, that has sought greatness. Sorry folks, that's just the way it is.

This has little to do with terrorism; that is but a symptom.  Look  at the World and you will learn, Things age, they die, and, from that, new is born. I didn't make the rules, but I see the logic. A human, or any other creature born will, over time, loose its ability to function. Civilizations are no different.

Civilizations coalesce when people get new ideas, when they find new world views and this is going to happen as long as we have life. Change is the only constant in the Cosmos. If you are not changing, you are dying. We are constantly learning about ourselves and our World and you cannot ignore what is learned. To do so, to attempt to live in a World that is dead, a World that is no longer authentic is suicide and, yet, that is what many, many attempt.

Politicians strut on the stages, spouting stale rhetoric. "We are the strongest. The rest of the World looks to us for guidance." This is nonsense, dangerous nonsense. True, we have a whole bunch of nuclear missiles and bombs but we cannot use them without destroying ourselves, Our conventional forces are depleted, our troops, while brave fighters, are burnt out, and let us for once be honest, we cannot now defeat a small army of half trained, poorly equipped lunatics hiding in the desert because we are petrified that to do so would arouse the wrath of various countries. Sorry, we have lost the will to be great. That happens with all creatures as they age and countries are no different.

As far as the rest of the World is concerned, we are a somewhat useful tool. They would love for us to waste our funds and the lives of young men in efforts to save their asses. We, seemingly are dumb enough to keep doing this. I have recently heard it suggested that we, despite being involved in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and despite still, after almost seventy years having many troops in S. Korea and many more in Europe, that we need to do something about ISIS in Libya. What pressing business do we have in Libya? Where next? Samoa? The Canary Islands? Nepal? Maybe we should just draft every 18 year old, male and female (who, by the way, will be sent into combat) and put troops and missiles in every damn country on Earth and threaten to kill anyone who steps out of line.

Not a good idea? I agree, so let's try this. Push, and push hard, to crush the monster that is ISIS, then get out of the Mid-East, and get out of every other country. Then tell the World to handle its own affairs while we figure out just where we are going and what we want to be when we grow up. Only teenage boys, with raging testosterone want to fight everything that moves.

Our Nation is entering a new phase, hopefully a more mature one, where we stop trying to run the World. From that we will change as we age. That is natural and as it should be. There will be a time when the young, headstrong Nation we were will be gone. Make no mistake about that, and in a whole lot of ways, I will miss the hell out of that. But, what will be, will be. We have two choices. Finish what we started and then mature into something new, or , like many young people, burn out and crash in flames. The latter choice does have a certain romantic appeal but, I have seen that happen to many people and it is not nearly as exciting as it sounds.

America and Fear - Part 2

Change breeds fear; that is only natural. In the last blog, I touched on some of the silly ways technology changed, silly, but useful and important, and silly but, in odd ways, disturbing and disorenting. Now, let's get a bit more serious.                               

 Only 150 years ago, a blip in the history of humanity, we fought the Civil War. Wars, in the European tradition were almost gentlemanly affairs. The Civil War changed that. With modern equipment, battles were turned into slaughters and men were killed and crippled at a horrific rate. Anilhilation seemed the goal, as evidenced by Sherman's March to the Sea, a dispicable act in which he burned everything in site as he passed through the South.  

Afterword, Americans, understandibly lost their taste for war. The Spanish war barely counts and left many Americans embarrassed at our obvious imperialism. We did not want WW1 and were promised by President Wilson that we would stay out. However, the Powers that Be had other notions and we were manipulated into fighting, and it was far worse than the Civil War, unthinkably nightmarish. Keep in mind that this was but 100 years ago.  

Then we were subjected to a ridiculous bit of social engineering, Prohibition. No alcohol was allowed and while that didn't slow down people's drinking, it gave rise to organized crime. Until then, the Mafia was mostly into loan sharking and extortion. Prohibiton gave them a new way to make money and they made a lot. It also gave them a structure that later became the basis for the Nation's drug trafficking.       

Booze was relegalized just in time for the Great Depression. Now we are within 80 years of the present. Some who went through that are still alive. Look at the old photos from that time. Once proud, hard working men were reduced to begging and haunting soup kitchens. There was little work and if you had a job, you worked dirt cheap. Some good came out of the mess. Labor laws were tightened and Unions gained strength, so when the economy finally rebounded, the common man had actually made some gains.              

Then after again being promised by President Roosevelt that we would not fight in Eurpoe, the Powers that Be again showed that they were pulling the strings and we ended up in WW2 an affair that made WW1 look like a stroll through the park on a sunny spring afternoon. We won, but at great cost. Still, Americans showed great resolve and the newly thriving middle class went home and got busy.                                                          

That was all great, but there was one thing. Well, actually a few, but they were all linked. At the end of the war, Truman ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb, sort of a punctuation mark telling the world that, ready or nor, the war was over. But, our much mis-trusted ally, the Soviet Union was said to have developed their own bomb and was building an arsenal at an alarming rate and that, since they were dispicably evil Comminusits, that we had to be ready to fight their looming threat. We got all of this from spies. However, in a fit of lunacy, our brand new CIA had hired the old  Nazi spy ring, who were thought to have agents deep in Russia, to conductr intellighence operations. Nothing much was really going on, and the ex-Nazis knew that the only way they were going to avoid being hanged for war crimes was by producing results, so they did the logical thing, they lied. (this by the way, is not conjecture, it has been acknowledged by our government and by the ex-Nazis). They told tales of great atomic arsenals and emminent invasions and, so we were launched into the Cold War. We also had a hot war in Korea and to this day, I have never heard a rational explanation for that war. Yeah, we were opposing Communism, but we offered no alternative. We were backing an aging, cruel, corrupt, war lord who the Koreans hated, But, fight we did, until the whole mess just sort of ran out of steam and both sides went back to the way things were before we needlessly killed a bunch of their folks and got a bunch of our own kids killed.                                                                                                             

Now, we are only 60 years removed from the present and the threat of possible nuclear anihilation was held over our heads. It worked, in that we allowed the Government to spend unthinkable amounts on military build up. However, it scared the crap out of everyone. Useless and expensive backyard bomb shelters were built and kids in grade school  were taught that if we saw a sudden flash, we should duck and cover. We had drills wher we practiced ducking uder our desks and covering our eyes. We used to add a third step. Duck, cover, and kiss your ass goodbye. Funny in retrospect, but such a morbid sense of humor is not becoming in kids.     

Then in rapid order, we had the Cuban Missle Crisis, in which we almost did use those nukes, the Kennedy Assassination, the Civil Rights upheaval, the RFK Assassination, the MLK Assassination, and the debacle that was Viet Nam ( just like Korea, I have never heard a rational argument for why we had that war) and all of the accompanying student unrest, which culminated in the sight of National Guard troops shooting unarmed protestors at Kent State. No  wonder LSD seemed like a good idea, it was about the only way to get as crazy as those running the country seemed to be. Again, we are now only 50 yeras from the present.     

Many of us, by this time, didn't have much of a clue what was happening, but we, battered and bruised, hung in and staggered into the 70s, 80s and 90s, times when it seemed like some technology loving fairy had waved a magic wand over us, and we found ourselves cranking out new gadjets at a phenomenal rate. Just when you got used to something, it became obsolete. Now, that is certainly better than facing instant destruction on a minute by minute basis. Still, constant change is disorienting and folks simply couldn't find a bit of solid ground to stand on. In the next blog, I will look at those decades in more depth

America and Fear - Part1

Are Americans afraid? Short answer, yes. Of what? Everything. Everything has changed, or so it seems, and we are not reacting well. To be fair, no one could possibly handle the changes we have gone through in the last 100 years or so. When my grandparents were born, news traveled by telegraph and was then reported in the newspapers. They were amazed when regular radio broadcasts began. At that time, especially back in the country where they lived, there was no electricity in many homes. WW1 was reported by wire and in print. It was a good thing no live TV was there because it was a horrific, bloody mess, unlike anything the world had ever seen.

                                                                                                                                                                   

They moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., now a major city, and, at that time, what few roads existed, were dirt. No malls, no supermarkets. a weekly newspaper, and still, a lot of horses on the road. Then, the bottom fell out and the Great Depression hit, followed by WW2. Boys who had never been more than 10 miles from home were suddenly lumped in with guys from all over the country and shipped across the planet to fight enemies they could not possibly understand.                                                                                                                                                            

 By this time, there were cars everywhere, and plane travel was increasing, although it was so costly that most still traveled by rail. Electricity was common and households were growing modernized, with ice boxes being replaced by refrigerators and brooms by vacuum cleaners. And, TV was becoming a big deal.                            

I want you to think. Not that long ago, there was not a TV in every home and when you had a set, your viewing was limited. I remeber a time when we got 2 stations and they were only on the air a few hours a day. Radios and record players were big. Records, those vinyl discs we had before tapes and CDs, were 78rpms, big heavy things that played 1 side at a time, and 33 1/3 rpms that were smaller, but had an awful sound quality. Of course the quality didn't much matter because it was all monaural. I remember my brother-in-law getting a stereo which was kind of cool, but the only stereo records were sound effects, weird things where you would hear a train and be amazed by illusion it gave of motion.                                                

                                                                                                                                                                               Telephones were clunky things with dials and, I remember when you didn't even have a dial. You picked up the receiver and an operator answered and placed the call for you. Even with dials, you, to save money, were on a party line, which meant you shared a line with neighbors. Often, you went to make a call only to find the line in use.                        

I point these somewhat trivial things out to demonstrate the remarkable changes we have gone through. The society we have built seemed like a sci-fi dream to my Grandmother and it has changed radically since her passing. Cell phones and personal computers were not even thought of not that long ago, yet that was only 25 years past.                                                                   

 Changes are a part of life. You cannot stop them, you cannot stand still, but, these changes have come incredibly fast. In some ways, more has happened in the last 100 years than in the preceding 10000, and change at that pace is impossible to cope with. So, fear set in, a natural reaction. Next time, I will discuss more current and deeper causes to the fear that has come to grip America.