Walpole's Way, or the Highway

"In my youth I thought of writing a satire on mankind; but now in my age I think I should write an apology for them." - Horace Walpole

So, even way back in the 18th century people were so distressed by what they saw happening in the world around them they secretively (or openly as well) felt bad for the planet and its inhabitants. Or more specifically, the way that their perceived perception of how the world should operate was being hijacked and destroyed. Walpole was concerned about the political factions of the Whigs and the Tories as they struggled for power in England. He specifically was worried that the Tories were increasing in power over the infighting Whigs, which in his opinion would deliver an unlimited and absolute monarchy to the British Isles.
Sound familiar. 
Substitute Republicans for Tories and Democrats for Whigs.

Or when the previous administration was in power, substitute Republicans for Whigs and Democrats for Tories.

Hard to follow? I will agree with that and that is the main reason I refuse to follow anymore.

It is really about labels and perspectives, not to mention the times that we are living in. And labeling is so, so tiring and time consuming and frustrating and pointless.

And it also seems to be a bit selfish, to be so passionate about a viewpoint that you paint opposing sides as being worthy of an apology because you share that different perspective. It feels a bit like it hits you at that point where you discard the kind regard that people could have for one another were it not for the simple fact they can be found sitting on a different side of an issue fence.

Can you think of a time where you ever changed someone's mind anyways? Generally when you are trying to do that you end up witnessing them dig into their opinions deeper and hold on to them even tighter.

I have given in to the fact that critical thinking is the path that needs to be followed, and that path will allow you to touch everyone with understanding and not try to influence perspectives.

Reflective Thinking Sets the Speed

Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there someday."-- A.A. Milne

Some days it is the most difficult task to just be reflective. I often find that the practice of reflective thinking is the most innovative way I can ask my mind to work. Without that internal discussion that takes place between my ears, I would probably, no certainly, blunder more, create more problems, or deliberately make mistakes again and again. 
Being reflective offers me the time to walk back a step or two, but still be moving overall forward in my progress in life. It allows a certain flow that leads me to creative solutions. It is a scientific method of thinking, especially when it concerns decision making.
Shifting my mind to this way of thinking, helps me to be more emotionally engaged and supportive with people and with situations. I feel much more able to support what I think, be more aware of the positions I take, and even better understand how to dismantle other opinions.
Relating new knowledge to the stored knowledge makes my thinking feel stronger, more relevant and supported. It also drives me forward to bridge the gaps between what I may know currently and what I need to know to be successful in the future.
The river of my reflective thinking keeps me emotionally supportive in all aspects of life, work and experiences.
It offers me true personal freedom.

Iran and the Applause from Celebrities

"Saying 'Death to America' is easy. We need to express 'Death to America' with action." -Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran

The Iranian regime is not populated by Nazis, but it is led by people who do, in fact, seek the physical elimination of the Jewish state and its replacement by a Muslim state. It works toward this end, by sponsoring terrorist groups that regularly kill Jews, both in Israel and elsewhere. The United States is elsewhere; so is Europe, Asian countries, Africa and wherever else Jewish people can be found.

Simply, they mean to export terror or the fear of terror.

So, as a reminder to those who argue that Jews (as well as all the other people that surround them as neighbors) should stop worrying so much about people who threaten to kill them, here is some (just some) of what Iran's leaders, and leaders of its proxy militia, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, have said about Israel:

Mohammad Khatami, the former president of Iran: “If we abide by real legal laws, we should mobilize the whole Islamic world for a sharp confrontation with the Zionist regime … if we abide by the Koran, all of us should mobilize to kill.” (2000)

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: “It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region.” (2001)

Hassan Nasrallah, a leader of Hezbollah: “If they [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.” (2002)

Nasrallah: “Israel is our enemy. This is an aggressive, illegal, and illegitimate entity, which has no future in our land. Its destiny is manifested in our motto: ‘Death to Israel.’” (2005)

So when people from Iran stand up and condemn policies of our country toward them (like at award shows), try to think hard about their right to criticize our reasons for what we do when we hear the hate their nation professes for the freedoms that the United States stands for, and the safety it provides all citizens regardless of religious beliefs. Even Muslims are safe to practice their religion in peace within the U.S. borders.

Where is the power?

"Money is the great power today. Men sell their souls for it. Women sell their bodies for it. Others worship it. The money power has grown so great that the issue of all issues is whether the corporation shall rule this country or the country shall again rule the corporations." --Joseph Pulitzer

Interestingly, when you look at it closely and don't think of money as being a bad thing, money is one of the major factors in everything. I know this probably isn't a new thought for anyone, but it is something that can be looked at through a critical lens. Try to understand the forces that are acting on lives, and how those forces are using money to drive those influencers, and those connections when they are recognized may surprise you.

Now I am no conspiracy theorist in any respect, but conspiracy theorists do use thinking skills to try to frame their beliefs to conform with the facts that they observe. They piece together a narrative to make sense of the world and what is happening around them. And making sense of this crazy, beautiful, wonderful, wild world is worth the effort.

Personally, I seem to feel as if the forces of government are constantly pressuring me to give up more of my treasures and rights so they can redistribute them to others in our country, or build bombs to drop on other countries, or fund their bureaucratic pensions and golden benefit packages. They want me to focus on what they can do for me, what they can protect me from, where it is safe to go, who it is best to associate with, who I should trust more than someone else, even what I should buy and from whom. They just don't seem to realize that I am capable of taking care of myself and trusting the people I have chosen who I would trust in my bunker (I don't have a bunker, but it is how I internally measure the people surrounding me when I ask the question are they "bunker worthy?" And I really don't have a bunker. Really.).

And now we basically have a company, a brand, running the policy of this country. A brand and all those who spout corporate-speak. The Teddy Roosevelt progressives would have been running around madly with their big stick and smashing corporate trusts. But wait...You mean the company trusts are now the government? Self-flagellation may be required.

Pulitzer was also famous for saying that "The man who has not cared for sixteen mules does not know what work and troubles are." The working man and woman of this modern age that struggles with "mules"--like terrible debt, affordable healthcare coverage, police state mentality, intolerance, discrimination, and decent work--know what trouble is. Those struggles leave you with a heart full of holes.

A day of reckoning is coming and I await it, hopefully and peacefully.

Stained Glass Personality

"People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Can you ever really know the true nature of another person? How can we understand what has shaped their being, what experiences have impacted them during their lifetime? Even when we think we know what someone is like we can be shocked to find out what really lies below the facades of human beings. 

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross expressed this quandary eloquently in the above quote, but I would expand a bit on it. It is not just the light within that is revealed, but it is the absence of a light, a darkness that may exist. That darkness is more of what I fear than any type of light. I know that there exists both light and dark inside of me and to admit to that allows me to understand it better. If someone is going to do any type of harm to someone I love, an innocent or a defenseless person, and I can prevent it, I would not hesitate to use the darkness inside me against them. That can be a mean, dark sonsofbitch.

I often wonder also if this is a social issue. We look at the celebrities and sports heroes, in their attire that "sparkle and shine" on courts, fields, runways, red carpets, movie sets and other places they are captured at by the media and paparazzi, and usually we are left with a positive impression. Our military leaders sparkle with medals on uniforms braided with gold epaulets, for campaigns that don't quite sparkle when examined closely.

The political climate these days seems strangely lit, represented rather than by casting light on issues and problems, it is focused on that underlying darkness, that shadow of all things that are back lit by the sun.

Consequently, it is making even kind and gentle people just a tad bit angry and mean, like wounded beasts. 

Perhaps it would be good advice if the gloating stopped and the waving of red flags in the face ceased and the wounded would get a little time to lick their wounds and begin to heal. They will be far better in the fight when they are healed.

You Must Hear Them Better When They Yell

“If you fuel your journey on the opinions of others, you are going to run out of gas.” ― Steve Maraboli

How has it reached a point where everyone with a microphone these days seems to be telling us that they know better what is right for us then we do? I am talking about FOX News, CNN, MSNBC, comedy shows, dramas, radio disk jockeys, even the guy holding the sign at the intersection. We are treated as if we are just simple, stupid hicks. We are looked at by these con artists and spin doctors with their smug, satisfied smiles and provided their simple answers to our varied and many complex problems. Their statements seem so emotionally satisfying to that primitive part of our brain that we can’t help but think about jumping on the bandwagon, shouting amen, or buying a couple gallons of that snake oil they’re peddling. 

In the eighties it was “Tear down the wall” and now we are exhorted to “Put up a wall.”

So let’s dissect a couple things:
• Because someone knows more and bigger words, this does not make them smarter.
• Not believing the same things as what you believe doesn’t make them right and you wrong, right?
• Failing to agree with the majority does not make that minority opinion or viewpoint necessarily a terrible problem, or make them terribly wrong.

Basically, (in my humble, un-shouted opinion) we need to work on having a high level of respect for the many differences of opinion, more than what is happening around us these days. Having moral, policy, or ideological differences is not a failure by one side to “get it.” You don't have to save me from myself or my personal values. I am great with them and we are getting along splendidly.

I am waiting for the ridicule to stop, and empathy to begin to evolve in some people. I am waiting and hoping to hear people without all the shouting and name-calling. 

Basically I am waiting.

It may be a long wait for me and I hope that to have enough gas in my tank. 

The Unexpected Should be Expected

“Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.” -William Wordsworth

Betrayal can come in many forms. It can surprise you unexpectedly when it arrives or it may creep up on you over time and space. Getting older can seem like a betrayal of sorts, as our body and mind seem to decline in its abilities and functions. Our brains do not seem to be cognitively wired to foresee this coming as time marches on. Sometimes our brains do not see the sudden betrayals, the quickening of a dispute, or the rapid reversal of an opinion or a flat out lie that throws you under the bus.

Nature however, as Wordsworth so eloquently states, seems to gather up a consistent and perfect track record of non-betrayal. It moves along laws that can be deciphered and understood, especially when science is applied. You may argue that an earthquake or a volcanic eruption may be nature betraying man, but is it not more nature just being nature. How can we look at it as a betrayal in the sense that humans define betrayal?

When I ponder this, I have new found respect for the existence of the natural world and an understanding of my place in it. It is often easier to exist against a human-less backdrop of earth, trees and sky than in a group of homo-sapiens. Anything that may happen to me while i am in nature should be unexpected yet perfectly reasonable if it occurs. Swimming in the ocean? Get eaten by a Great White Shark. Living in San Francisco? That big earthquake is coming. Build your house in a flood plain? The rains will someday be a fallin’.

So I, as Wordsworth, will continue to love the fact that nature will not betray me. And I will try my best to be more like nature with those around me, so they will not experience the unexpected from me. And hope that they will be more nature-like in return.