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.

America Adrift

America currently is adrift, floundering in a sea of emotions, fear being the main one. People watch the news, which may not be a good idea, and grow frightened, nervous. They are shown a world that loathes us, where evil waits at every corner, and where their jobs are on the line every time they start their day. They are shown a world where blacks hate whites, Latinos don't get along with Anglos, and no one likes Moslems, where heterosexuals hate gays, and where Republicans and Democrats are rapidly demonizing each other. As a result, folks watch too much sports on TV, eat too much, drink too much, take too many drugs and spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about their sex lives ( just watch any sports program and  see how many adds for erectile dysfunction treatments there are). Enough.

Look, things are not good, but we are not at the beginning of the Apocalypse. I don't see the 4 Horsemen saddling and I haven't heard Gabriel sounding his trumpet. It is true that some people in some parts of the world are anti-American but, if we had any brains, we could solve that problem by keeping our noses out of their affairs. Trust me, there are still countries that are fond of American people, they just aren't happy with our government.

Many, by far the majority, of Black and White folks get along just fine. Many of my best friends have been Latin and if the media did not keep stirring things up, most Americans get on pretty well with Moslems; they have been among us for years and they are like everyone else, some good, some bad, and most in between.

I know very few people anymore who give much thought about gay people. Sure, there is some residual homophobia, but it is fading rapidly. And, from what I see, most Americans are none too fond of extreme Republicans or extreme Democrats.

We are all just people. We are all a mixture of good and bad. I know no saints and all of us sinners really aren't that bad, quirky maybe, but that keeps life interesting.

So, don't buy into doom and gloom and, at the same time, don't see the world through rose colored glasses. Just be realistic. And stop being so damn afraid. We have problems but, if we stop looking for governments to solve our problem, we can make some headway. Turn off the TV, get outside and take back the Country. Who knows, maybe that's all people need to do to cure those ED problems

America and Fear - Part 5

In Frank Herbert's great book Dune, an oft repeated phrase is 'Fear is the Mind Killer.' True, usually, however, fear can be used. Fear, when controlled, can bring the mind to a razor sharp edge, for awhile. If uncontrolled, or if it continues for too long, the mind buckles from stress and thought, clear thought, becomes impossible.

In the first 4 parts of this series, I have traced the mind-boggling rate of change we have seen in the last 150 years. It has been exciting and it has been draining and nothing slows down. Still, we have to cope. The fear response to such change is understandable, but we have to take a few deep breaths and get over it. In the past, change was dealt with by relying on an underlying system of thought, a world view, and these changed slowly. We no longer have that option or that crutch and far too many are looking at past views of our place in the World in hopes of finding security.

Often, such world views are bound to religions, so let's look there. Much of the World is Hindu or Buddhist and those views can be discounted because they largely view this World as unimportant. True, that might help you cope but only if you basically just want to opt out of the whole deal. Tempting, perhaps, but in the long run, unsatisfying.

Judaism is no longer a major player on the World scene. To put things quite bluntly, their insistence on following an ancient set of tribal laws is not even too appealing to most ethnic Jews. However, there traditions are being kept very alive by the insanely fanatic Moslems who are wreaking so much havoc. The fundamentalist Islamic movement does not, as has been stated, wish a return to the Middle Ages, they wish a return to the ancient days of Biblical tribalism. Sharia law is nothing more than an especially harsh, literal interpretation of Levitical law, a frightening concept given how harsh those laws are. True, they wish to re-establish the old Caliphate, but then they would turn the clock further back. Why? People who are so frightened of the present, so terror stricken at a vision of the future they cannot understand, will seek refuge in the past.

The Christian world is little better off. The Catholic Church went through centuries of trying to dominate the World and finally gave up, but today, there are still those who long for a return to a Medieval-like world in which the Church is the Law and I would not be surprised to see the Church make some sort of last effort toward those ends. The Protestant Churches, especially those teaching a literal interpretation of the bible, make clear their belief that they will one day, sit with the Lord as rulers of the World, which will, conveniently at that point, consist of nothing but Protestant Christians, since everyone else will be in Hell.

All of these religions base their beliefs around the Jewish Old Testament. The New testament and the Koran use that book as their base. One big problem, years of research by dedicated historians, archeologists and linguists have shown that the tales of the Old Testament are, for by far the most part, either total fabrications or extreme twistings of what really happened. You cannot use a book as the basis of your belief, of your world-view, and claim that you have the truth that will prevail, when that book is full of half-truths and out-and-out lies.

The more rational among us have their own problems. Many of these folks wish a return to the Enlightenment, The Age of Rationalism, and its Clockwork Universe. They wish to view the World as a great machine, humming along steadily and mechanically like a giant wind-up toy. Well, sorry folks. Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Theory put an end to all that. The Universe is unfathomably weird and we have just scratched the surface. To all those seeking comfort in the thought of a cold, mechanical world, sorry, that ship sailed about 100 years ago and you missed the boat.

Finally, a word about the so-called New Age beliefs. These are basically based on simplistic versions of science and even simpler versions of the old pagan beliefs. The key word there is simple, as in simple minded. Learn some real science and a bit of real anthropology, and learn that quantum theory does not mean that the Universe is just what you want to think it is and that some of those old pagans you want to follow were bloodthirsty monsters. Then, if you still believe in all of that New Age BS, please consult a therapist, because you need serious help.

So, to wind up this series, I guess I should offer some smooth, easy answers, some profound wisdom. Sorry, I have nothing. Until we slow down, think things through and open our minds to what we are learning, we will have these wretched wars and unwarranted sufferings. All I can say is that the way forward is not back. Look at history, learn from it, save the good, save what works and jettison the rest. You do not need to carry old baggage on a new trip. What works? That's easy. Be kind. Try not to judge your fellow humans harshly; they make mistakes, so do you. Be open minded, but not bubble headed.  Be tolerant, but do not let yourself be bullied. Have some fun, it's good for the soul, body and mind. Avoid violence in all but the most extreme cases, but fight if there is no other way. Last, think, with your head and your heart.

America and Fear - Part 4

Finally, we arrive at the era of Bush 2, George W., henceforth known in my blog as the Shrub. How this man became President is a mystery. Heck, how he graduated from Yale Law School is beyond me. The man can barely string two words together and coherent thoughts are foreign to him. I guess when your daddy is rich, ex Congress, exCIA, ex Vice President, ex President, you can get away with a lot. In my Is Paris Burning Series? on terrorism, I wrote of his disasterous Mid East policy, so for information on that I refer you there. All I need say here is that it has left us with a bunch of half decided battles, wars that will seemingly last forever, and a smear of deep red blood spread over the Mid East that is rapidly spreading to Europe. We have earned the enmity of most of the Moslem world.                                  

 

At home, he did no better. To be fair, the bank scandals that ultimately crippled the economy were not his doing. No,the Old Gipper convinced Congress that we didn't need any silly regulations hampering industries and they said a collective, "yes Sir." and dutifully repealed a lot of them. When the Shrub took office, the chickens came home to roost and we learned that some of the Nation's largest and most trusted Investment Banks were running scams that would make a common grifter blush, all the while giving themselves huge bonuses and raises.                                                 

Had it just been the wealthy who were hit when the crap hit the fan, I wouldn't care. After all, when you lie down with pigs, you ahould expect to get a might dirty, but many of the funds that failed were held by people who were just trying to get ahead in life, young couples thinking to the future of their kids and older couples hoping for a nice retirement. Gone, swindled. Again, not strictly the Shrubs fault, but when the truth became obvious, I don't recall him calling for criminal charges and prison terms. No, of course not, these were his buddies, his financial bakckers. In other words, these were the guys calling the shots and he knew not to mess with them.                                                                                 

To say I did not like him is an understatement, but, in retrospect, he almost looks good next to Obama. Almost. Our current President has less business holding that job than Elmo. He is arrogant and has come to believe that his word is law. I remember when the Government was in one of its perpetual budget crises. He threatened to block Social Security checks from being issued. When it was pointed out to him that such a move would cause great hardship for many, he made it clear tha he was unmoved by that and that he would follow that course of action if Congress did not bow to his wishes. Blessedly, they did.                                                                            

He has no comprehensive foreign policy. We are told, by him, that we have a plan, it will work, and he is sticking to it, despite great evidence to the contrary. The whole thing is a miserable failure. He is however pushing Climate control, something Americans are not as concerned about. Terrorism and the Economy, those are our basic issues right now, but Barry will have his way, and I guarantee that he will push through an agreement that will be a disaster, just like the horrible deal he made with Iran over their nuclear program.                                                                                           

Are Americans afraid? Damn right they are. They have come to see the government as the enemy and with good reason, since they have made a mess out of a great Nation.We have had years of constant, extreme change and on top of that, we have no idea where we are headed and no sign of a real, competent leader (sorry Trump, you do not inspire trust, no matter how much you try to sound like one of us). Pile stress upon stress and anyone will break. We haven't broken yet, but how much more we can take is questionable. In the next, and last part of this series, I will, attempt to throw out a few ideas. Nothing will be easy.

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.