JUNE IS A GLORIOUS MONTH for students and teachers, and my summer vacation began with a bang. Yard work, recreational reading, and a few days helping paint my friend's house. Nothing wrong with a little extra cash for good, honest work. After one day of it, I was surprised at my reaction; I almsot wanted to keep on painting houses all summer, instead of lounging by a pool, partying, or traveling. I almost wanted to paint houses.
but why? Maybe it has something to do with experience. Experience, after all, is all we have left, experience and the memory of it, when we approach the end of our days. Travel, I have done. Swimming pools, golf courses, been there, done that. But I have never earned a living, over a period of time more than a day or two here and there, at physical labor. I've always been either a student, or a teacher, or sometimes both.
As the paint went on, and I developed a feel for it, learned the subtle art of it- and there is a subtle art to wall painting, as I'm sure there must be to everything else - a state of mind overtook me, a certain mindset crept in, of complete absorption in the immediate task, the immediate moment. Is this what Zen mindfulness is? Somehow i hope so! It was, somehow...fulfilling...
I don't have much time left to work, or to do much of anything else in life, relatively; I'm pushing sixty. Oh, i know, its just a number.....true, to a point. Let's agree on this one point; when you start pushing sixty, whatever it is that you would like to do that you have not yet done; its time to get started.
For me, does that mean a summer of house painting instead of the usual gardening, golfing, tennising, swimming, partying, traveling? Maybe it does! So should I go back tomorrow, try one more day of it, and see what happens? (Today all we did was paint the front porch and the living room. The rest of the house beckons, unpainted.) What other real choice do I have?
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Including the Kids
THEY WERE OBVIOUSLY repaving two tennis courts, but they were not repaving them as tennis courts. They were doing something different, but i couldn't tell what. It appeared they were dividing them up into much smaller units; but, for what? I couldn't figure it out. Some kind of handball or paddle ball, some sport much smaller than tennis? But what sport, exactly? Racquet ball and handball and squash, all with smaller courts, are played inside, right?
Then I heard the answer on the radio. Two public tennis courts in city park were being turned into eight mini tennis courts; smaller versions of the game of tennis, intended for kids under the age of ten! The United States Tennis Association, on a nationwide basis, is bringing into existence a new sport: miniture tennis for small children.
Having played tennis all my life, I was instantly fascinated by the idea. I never had, or would have ever thought of it.. no matter how young and how small my students in my many tennis clinics and lessons, i had always given tennis lessons on full sized courts, with never a thought to any alternative. There wasn't any alternative. Now there is. I have often been frustrated, and seen the frustration of some petite eight year old, struggling with the sheer size of the game. My attitude has always been, that there was absolutely nothing that either of us, me or tiny student, can do about it.
Presumably that same frustration has plagued enough people that a whole new inclusive attitude about tennis has come into being. Presumably now americans all over the country will see regular tennis courts being converted, and kid's tennis will probably enjoy a great surge of popularity. Pretty good idea, really. It might change the game of tennis, and improve its foundations among youth, as much as wheel chair ramps and equal opportunites have revolutionized life for disabled people in america over the past three decades.
Bowling leagues and softball teams for the elderly. Womens' softball and soccer. Facilities for the handicapped. And now, tennis for the very young and very small. Can it be that our society has decided once and for all that everyone, regardless of age, gender, size, or ability, is worth of attention and consideration? So it would seem. No more are women relagated to the kitchen, disabled people regalated to the back room, and the elderly to the nursing home. After thousands of years of painfully slow upward struggle, we are arriving where we were meant to be all along; where every human being is considered worthwhile, worthy of inclusion. May the dear lord bless us.
Then I heard the answer on the radio. Two public tennis courts in city park were being turned into eight mini tennis courts; smaller versions of the game of tennis, intended for kids under the age of ten! The United States Tennis Association, on a nationwide basis, is bringing into existence a new sport: miniture tennis for small children.
Having played tennis all my life, I was instantly fascinated by the idea. I never had, or would have ever thought of it.. no matter how young and how small my students in my many tennis clinics and lessons, i had always given tennis lessons on full sized courts, with never a thought to any alternative. There wasn't any alternative. Now there is. I have often been frustrated, and seen the frustration of some petite eight year old, struggling with the sheer size of the game. My attitude has always been, that there was absolutely nothing that either of us, me or tiny student, can do about it.
Presumably that same frustration has plagued enough people that a whole new inclusive attitude about tennis has come into being. Presumably now americans all over the country will see regular tennis courts being converted, and kid's tennis will probably enjoy a great surge of popularity. Pretty good idea, really. It might change the game of tennis, and improve its foundations among youth, as much as wheel chair ramps and equal opportunites have revolutionized life for disabled people in america over the past three decades.
Bowling leagues and softball teams for the elderly. Womens' softball and soccer. Facilities for the handicapped. And now, tennis for the very young and very small. Can it be that our society has decided once and for all that everyone, regardless of age, gender, size, or ability, is worth of attention and consideration? So it would seem. No more are women relagated to the kitchen, disabled people regalated to the back room, and the elderly to the nursing home. After thousands of years of painfully slow upward struggle, we are arriving where we were meant to be all along; where every human being is considered worthwhile, worthy of inclusion. May the dear lord bless us.
Bullying as American Industry
SCHOOL YARD BULLYING is among america's strongest traditions; millions of americans could comfortably lie on their backs, relax, subject themselves to the allure of a swinging pendulum gold watch, and unload to a trusted shirnk the roots of career stresses, marital turmoil, and premature hypertension.
In George Washington's day students rose and bowd to teachers entering the classroom, but as westward expansion shaped american culture and interpersonal behavior, stiff british behavior loosened considerably, tom sawyer saw fit to dip becky thatcher's pig tails in his ink well, out came the slingshots; all in a day's fun before walking back to the farm for yet more daily chores.
If it hadn't been the white man's manifest destiny to conquer the continent, our school children would still be bowing before their school masters, and we'd be clustered in pubs on the east coast, paying for our stout with chilling and pence, with english accents, praising our well behaved children, well on their way to harvard, swarthemore, or even oxford!
Welcome to the world of school bullying, twenty first century style. We are told that one of every three kids in grades one through twelve is a victim, which must mean that a fairly large part of the under eighteen age group is a member of bullies unlimited, or that bullies in general are quite busy, with a full docket, and a high number of victims per capita. Do they all sit in the back of the classroom, sneering at the over achievers up front? They did in my time, what few there were, until they were rotated forward alphabetically.
In Madison, Wisconsin, the bastion of upper midwestern idealism, the city council enacted an ordinance allowing for fining of parents whose kids are multiple offenders. Madison police have announced their intent to enforce the new law with discretion. Cooperative, repentant parents will get a pass; if the parent is defiantly in denial, out comes the pad and pencil. Stay tuned for lawsuits and court challenges in the land of perpetual litigation.
Today's bullies are not lacking for role models, what with hundreds of cable channels spewing out thousands of hours of intensse psycho-emotional confrontational melodrama on millions of american flatscreens. Every adolescent demands their sacred right of privacy, and a computer screen is the perfect shield behind which to hide while dispensing regurgitated anger and alienation.
IN a nutshell, american children are not likely to refrain from torturing each other until american adults set an example of restraint. And that, dear citizens, aint likely to happen anytime soon. So fortify thyself for inundation of online anti bullying leagues, group discussions, conferences, guidebooks, and a whole new under thirty generation of smartly attired neo yuppies, with degrees in the psychology of bullying plastered on their business cards, ipods at the ready.
In George Washington's day students rose and bowd to teachers entering the classroom, but as westward expansion shaped american culture and interpersonal behavior, stiff british behavior loosened considerably, tom sawyer saw fit to dip becky thatcher's pig tails in his ink well, out came the slingshots; all in a day's fun before walking back to the farm for yet more daily chores.
If it hadn't been the white man's manifest destiny to conquer the continent, our school children would still be bowing before their school masters, and we'd be clustered in pubs on the east coast, paying for our stout with chilling and pence, with english accents, praising our well behaved children, well on their way to harvard, swarthemore, or even oxford!
Welcome to the world of school bullying, twenty first century style. We are told that one of every three kids in grades one through twelve is a victim, which must mean that a fairly large part of the under eighteen age group is a member of bullies unlimited, or that bullies in general are quite busy, with a full docket, and a high number of victims per capita. Do they all sit in the back of the classroom, sneering at the over achievers up front? They did in my time, what few there were, until they were rotated forward alphabetically.
In Madison, Wisconsin, the bastion of upper midwestern idealism, the city council enacted an ordinance allowing for fining of parents whose kids are multiple offenders. Madison police have announced their intent to enforce the new law with discretion. Cooperative, repentant parents will get a pass; if the parent is defiantly in denial, out comes the pad and pencil. Stay tuned for lawsuits and court challenges in the land of perpetual litigation.
Today's bullies are not lacking for role models, what with hundreds of cable channels spewing out thousands of hours of intensse psycho-emotional confrontational melodrama on millions of american flatscreens. Every adolescent demands their sacred right of privacy, and a computer screen is the perfect shield behind which to hide while dispensing regurgitated anger and alienation.
IN a nutshell, american children are not likely to refrain from torturing each other until american adults set an example of restraint. And that, dear citizens, aint likely to happen anytime soon. So fortify thyself for inundation of online anti bullying leagues, group discussions, conferences, guidebooks, and a whole new under thirty generation of smartly attired neo yuppies, with degrees in the psychology of bullying plastered on their business cards, ipods at the ready.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Sacred vs Civil
A YOUNG SINGLE LADY IN CINCINNATI decided to pursue a career in computers, and got a job teaching computer science at a catholic high school. It is presumed that upon hiring her, the school administration was aware of her religiosity, or lack thereof, from their viewpoint.
She decided that she wanted to be a mother, and she had herself artificially inseminated. Here in the twenty first century, single parents are no longer widely regarded as immoral, and single mothers are accepted, to a point. Their children, at least, are no longer defined by society as "illegitimate."
It brings to mind the old movie "Paternity", in which burt reynolds, it may've been, wanted to be a father, but without the burden of marriage. (Smart man.)... But, it must be conceded, if an unmarried lady wants to be a mother, but does not want to get married, or have unmarried sexual intercourse, is not catholic, and gets herself artificially inseminated, a catholic high school might not be her best choice of workplace.
So the school, the church fired her. They claimed that upon her initial employment she had signed an agreement to abide by all the rules and regulations of the catholic church, and that single parenthood and artificial insemination are nowhere to be found in the liturgy.
She sued, and in federal court the lady was victorious, awarded back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, all totalling slightly under two hundred thousand dollars. IN america, all religions are subject to civil, secular law.
If the young woman had misrepresented herself as being a catholic upon her hiring, the church would have had a valid agrument. But since they knowingly hired a non catholic person - good computer teachers are hard to find - they had this courtroom decision coming. Most probably they simply assumed that there would be no problems with religious issues, an assumption which proved terribly incorrect.
Every world religion would do itself well to keep in mind that we live in an increaisngly secular world in which religioous dogma takes a back seat to progressive civil liberties and rights. The world of secular civilization moves on, evolving. Any religious organization which does not do likewise is likely to encounter many future unfavorable rulings in courts of justice.
She decided that she wanted to be a mother, and she had herself artificially inseminated. Here in the twenty first century, single parents are no longer widely regarded as immoral, and single mothers are accepted, to a point. Their children, at least, are no longer defined by society as "illegitimate."
It brings to mind the old movie "Paternity", in which burt reynolds, it may've been, wanted to be a father, but without the burden of marriage. (Smart man.)... But, it must be conceded, if an unmarried lady wants to be a mother, but does not want to get married, or have unmarried sexual intercourse, is not catholic, and gets herself artificially inseminated, a catholic high school might not be her best choice of workplace.
So the school, the church fired her. They claimed that upon her initial employment she had signed an agreement to abide by all the rules and regulations of the catholic church, and that single parenthood and artificial insemination are nowhere to be found in the liturgy.
She sued, and in federal court the lady was victorious, awarded back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, all totalling slightly under two hundred thousand dollars. IN america, all religions are subject to civil, secular law.
If the young woman had misrepresented herself as being a catholic upon her hiring, the church would have had a valid agrument. But since they knowingly hired a non catholic person - good computer teachers are hard to find - they had this courtroom decision coming. Most probably they simply assumed that there would be no problems with religious issues, an assumption which proved terribly incorrect.
Every world religion would do itself well to keep in mind that we live in an increaisngly secular world in which religioous dogma takes a back seat to progressive civil liberties and rights. The world of secular civilization moves on, evolving. Any religious organization which does not do likewise is likely to encounter many future unfavorable rulings in courts of justice.
Getting Past the Founding Fathers
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT issued one of those five to four rulings today which inspires you to think that not only could the vote easily have gone either way, but that perhaps it should have gone the other way.
As of now, anytime a person is arrested for a "serious crime", it is perfectly legal for the arresting officer to administer a DNA test to the arrestee on the spot, and to submit it as evidence. Precisely what constitutes a "serious crime" remains undertermined; it may be that misdemeanors are not serious, and felonies are.
Opponents of the ruling are quick to point out that there is room to believe that the ruling is a violation of the fourth amendment, the one about prohibiting unreasonable search and siezure. But here we are again; precisely what does the word "unreasonable" mean"?
IN this country, it means whatever the United States Supreme Court says it means.
Which brings up another point; wouldn't it be worth considering to write and adopt a new constitution for the united states, and to replace the current one with it?? Under the current one, everyone is forever asking "what was the original intent of the founders?
That "original intent" question gets asked so often that one becomes tempted to ask "why in hell does it even matter what the founder's original intent was? They're all dead! Why not focus on what the words mean, to us, now, among we the living?"
The advantage of a new constitution is that we could write it in such a manner that we would not have to spend precious time speculating what people who have been dead for two hundred years had in mind; we could write it clearly, succinctly, so that we would never have any doubt about its meaning - insofar as that is possible. And it wouldn't necessarily have to be all that much different from the traditional one; just clearer, and more relevant to us.
WE could eliminate the amendmant prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, and the amendment reinstating their legality, which of course cancel each other out. We could politically correctly leave out the clause defiing african americans as three fifths of a human being. We could write a version of the second amendment specifying whether bearing arms means carrying muzzle loading weapons around, as the founders intended, or includes AK47s, or whatever. We could do so much!
but first,we would have to get over this unwarranted idolatry of the founding fathers. After all, for the most part they were nothing more than a bunch of slave owning, high talking, wig wearing bunch of pompous aristocrats.
As of now, anytime a person is arrested for a "serious crime", it is perfectly legal for the arresting officer to administer a DNA test to the arrestee on the spot, and to submit it as evidence. Precisely what constitutes a "serious crime" remains undertermined; it may be that misdemeanors are not serious, and felonies are.
Opponents of the ruling are quick to point out that there is room to believe that the ruling is a violation of the fourth amendment, the one about prohibiting unreasonable search and siezure. But here we are again; precisely what does the word "unreasonable" mean"?
IN this country, it means whatever the United States Supreme Court says it means.
Which brings up another point; wouldn't it be worth considering to write and adopt a new constitution for the united states, and to replace the current one with it?? Under the current one, everyone is forever asking "what was the original intent of the founders?
That "original intent" question gets asked so often that one becomes tempted to ask "why in hell does it even matter what the founder's original intent was? They're all dead! Why not focus on what the words mean, to us, now, among we the living?"
The advantage of a new constitution is that we could write it in such a manner that we would not have to spend precious time speculating what people who have been dead for two hundred years had in mind; we could write it clearly, succinctly, so that we would never have any doubt about its meaning - insofar as that is possible. And it wouldn't necessarily have to be all that much different from the traditional one; just clearer, and more relevant to us.
WE could eliminate the amendmant prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, and the amendment reinstating their legality, which of course cancel each other out. We could politically correctly leave out the clause defiing african americans as three fifths of a human being. We could write a version of the second amendment specifying whether bearing arms means carrying muzzle loading weapons around, as the founders intended, or includes AK47s, or whatever. We could do so much!
but first,we would have to get over this unwarranted idolatry of the founding fathers. After all, for the most part they were nothing more than a bunch of slave owning, high talking, wig wearing bunch of pompous aristocrats.
Staying in the Spotlight, While having Fun in Russia
Q:How many members of congress does it take to figure out why some crazy people tried to murder a bunch of innocent people?
A; Six, plus Steven Seagal, and an all expenses paid, tax payer funded, luxury visit to Russia
A DELEGATION consisting of six members of congress, and action figure actor steven seagal, has flown first class to russia in order to find out why, towards the end of last month's boston marathon, a couple of adult children from the former soviet republic of chechnya tried to kill everybody. As if anybody needs to go to russia for that.
Hint; the bombers were islamic, angry, and alienated from american and bostonian society, as if a trip to russia, or anywher else , is neccesary to explain it, or could ever offer any valuable clues. Who in his or her right mind is NOT alienated from american and bostonian mainstream society, right?
But, as we well know, no member of the united states congress, house or senate, ever missed an opportunity for a swanky public relations building vacation at tax payer expense, and for that purpose, any reason is a good reason.
Famed actor steven seagal was an absolutely necessary ingredient for the vacation, because he has connections in russia, as if high ranking representatives of the american government require chaperonic connections in order to introduce them to foreign governments.
Stevn, whose movies are positvely enthralling and entertaining, if a bit violenty hyperbolic, is just the sort of guy to attract a few more cameras and media coverage, fulfulling the unending american appetite for vicarious stardom, and spruce up the junket a bit, facial celebrity-wise. And besides, with him along, nobody has to take any crap from anybody, big steve can kick butt.
ALONG for the ride is retiring rep barbara bachman, who just can't seem to bow out of the limelight without one final grand exit, Celebrity is addictive, they say. Did she sit next to seagal in flight , gazing into those strong eyes, discussing anti terrorism measures?
The big issue seems to be whether the crazy kids got the idea for bomb making while still living in the former soviet union, or in america, as if it matters. Gotta have a pretext to spend millions of working american's dollars on champagne, luxury jets, and caviar. According to republicans, ever deflecting blame from mainstream american culture, the two kids got their bright idea in russia, according to cavorting democrats, it happened after they had come to america. Gotta disagree on something!
the russians say they have no idea, but they are happy and honored to have an americn actor and hero of such renown on their ancient soil. Even russians need a good dose of celebrity spotlight now and again.
A; Six, plus Steven Seagal, and an all expenses paid, tax payer funded, luxury visit to Russia
A DELEGATION consisting of six members of congress, and action figure actor steven seagal, has flown first class to russia in order to find out why, towards the end of last month's boston marathon, a couple of adult children from the former soviet republic of chechnya tried to kill everybody. As if anybody needs to go to russia for that.
Hint; the bombers were islamic, angry, and alienated from american and bostonian society, as if a trip to russia, or anywher else , is neccesary to explain it, or could ever offer any valuable clues. Who in his or her right mind is NOT alienated from american and bostonian mainstream society, right?
But, as we well know, no member of the united states congress, house or senate, ever missed an opportunity for a swanky public relations building vacation at tax payer expense, and for that purpose, any reason is a good reason.
Famed actor steven seagal was an absolutely necessary ingredient for the vacation, because he has connections in russia, as if high ranking representatives of the american government require chaperonic connections in order to introduce them to foreign governments.
Stevn, whose movies are positvely enthralling and entertaining, if a bit violenty hyperbolic, is just the sort of guy to attract a few more cameras and media coverage, fulfulling the unending american appetite for vicarious stardom, and spruce up the junket a bit, facial celebrity-wise. And besides, with him along, nobody has to take any crap from anybody, big steve can kick butt.
ALONG for the ride is retiring rep barbara bachman, who just can't seem to bow out of the limelight without one final grand exit, Celebrity is addictive, they say. Did she sit next to seagal in flight , gazing into those strong eyes, discussing anti terrorism measures?
The big issue seems to be whether the crazy kids got the idea for bomb making while still living in the former soviet union, or in america, as if it matters. Gotta have a pretext to spend millions of working american's dollars on champagne, luxury jets, and caviar. According to republicans, ever deflecting blame from mainstream american culture, the two kids got their bright idea in russia, according to cavorting democrats, it happened after they had come to america. Gotta disagree on something!
the russians say they have no idea, but they are happy and honored to have an americn actor and hero of such renown on their ancient soil. Even russians need a good dose of celebrity spotlight now and again.
Go Ahead
EVERY YEAR MORE THAN forty thousand books are published in the united states alone, and the number is growing. Nowadays many of them never make it to paper and cardboard, cyber books are the way (wave?) of the future. but still, anyone trying to maintain a current paper library is fighting a hopeless, sisyphysian battle.
Everyone should write a book. Its the best way to leave behind a personal legacy; pull up the rocks, and turn cemetaries into parks! Stop having so damned many kids! Write a book, and leave something of yourself behind for posterity.
I want mine to be a combination autobiography comtemporary history social commentary, and its nearly time to begin work on it, as i approach the tender age of sixty. It always amuses me when some twenty five year old celebrity hot shot announces an intention to write an autobiography; autobiography of what?
My role model is and will be davy crockett's autobiography "A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee", a splended two hundred page succinct masterpiece, a best seller in its time, in print ever since, and still popular. He actually leavs out a lot of pertinent material, obviously trying to hurry it along. And of course, he left out, by teh irrevocable laws of nature, the most famous act of his life; his death at the Alamo...
Davy, who preferred being called "David", could read and write only on a sixth grade level, so he spoke his book, and a friend of his wrote it down, (which is how most people do it today), and hardly a thing was changed in any way, as per david's wishes.
I recommend everybody read it. The vernacular is classic american hillbilly, homespun frontier humor and fold wisdom, a model for mark twain, and the "Beverly Hillbillies". Words like "reckon", "mighty", "heap", and "mite" illuminate his style, and he genuinely spoke like that, while simultaneously speaking and writing fluently, and intelligently, like tom sawyer, or jed clampitt. Instead of saying "I knew it would happen", crockett would say "I know'd it would happen".
Formally educated stuffed shirts made fun of him mercilessly during his lifetime, but davy had the last laugh, laughing all the way to the bank, and beyond, laughing all the way into the hearts of america, during his lifetime and beyond. Never was there a person of such wit, charm, intelligence, and wisdom packaged in a brain with so little formal education.
Davy Crockett and his life are, to my thinking, the very best of america; making do with what one has, and doing it splendidly. so, when you put a few more years under your belt, and start writing your own book, you'd be mighty right advised, to just be yourself, like davy, and, in his immortal words, to "first be sure you are right, then go ahead."
Everyone should write a book. Its the best way to leave behind a personal legacy; pull up the rocks, and turn cemetaries into parks! Stop having so damned many kids! Write a book, and leave something of yourself behind for posterity.
I want mine to be a combination autobiography comtemporary history social commentary, and its nearly time to begin work on it, as i approach the tender age of sixty. It always amuses me when some twenty five year old celebrity hot shot announces an intention to write an autobiography; autobiography of what?
My role model is and will be davy crockett's autobiography "A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee", a splended two hundred page succinct masterpiece, a best seller in its time, in print ever since, and still popular. He actually leavs out a lot of pertinent material, obviously trying to hurry it along. And of course, he left out, by teh irrevocable laws of nature, the most famous act of his life; his death at the Alamo...
Davy, who preferred being called "David", could read and write only on a sixth grade level, so he spoke his book, and a friend of his wrote it down, (which is how most people do it today), and hardly a thing was changed in any way, as per david's wishes.
I recommend everybody read it. The vernacular is classic american hillbilly, homespun frontier humor and fold wisdom, a model for mark twain, and the "Beverly Hillbillies". Words like "reckon", "mighty", "heap", and "mite" illuminate his style, and he genuinely spoke like that, while simultaneously speaking and writing fluently, and intelligently, like tom sawyer, or jed clampitt. Instead of saying "I knew it would happen", crockett would say "I know'd it would happen".
Formally educated stuffed shirts made fun of him mercilessly during his lifetime, but davy had the last laugh, laughing all the way to the bank, and beyond, laughing all the way into the hearts of america, during his lifetime and beyond. Never was there a person of such wit, charm, intelligence, and wisdom packaged in a brain with so little formal education.
Davy Crockett and his life are, to my thinking, the very best of america; making do with what one has, and doing it splendidly. so, when you put a few more years under your belt, and start writing your own book, you'd be mighty right advised, to just be yourself, like davy, and, in his immortal words, to "first be sure you are right, then go ahead."
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Friends
THROUGHOUT THE COURSE of my fifty eight year sojurn on earth I have had the great good fortune to have accumulated a great number of friends. This is somewhat surprising, in retrospect, because I have never put any great effort into friendship formation, from childhood through late middle age, having beeen, and still being content to pursue solitary vices and endeavors.
In america most friendhsip formation takes place in high school. I always tell high school students; beware! Makes your friends while you can! Never again will you have such a golden opportunity to spend every day with a large number of people your own age, with whom you have a great deal in common. Of course they don't listen, being unable to conceive of life beyond high school.
But its true; the older you get, the harder it is to make friends. You are set in your ways, less active, more inclined to enjoy the pleasant routines long established by years of habit. And then too, in america, the older you get, the more widely dispersed your friends are throughout the country, a precess which begins immediately after high school graduation.
But now we have the internet, and facebook, that golden opportunity to reconnect. Strange thing about facebook is that most americans seem to use it more to aquire hordes of new cyberspacial "friends" than to reconnect with ones with whom one has lost contact in the "real" world. go figure.
Like most americans my age, most of my oldest friends from youth are now scattered around the country, and I haven't actually seen them for years. Every once in awhile i renew contact with them, sometimes individually, sometimes in groups from our high school class of 1973. Its fun, and, in certain ways, quite revealing.
the first thing I noticed is how lazy people ae about writing email. Most of the time, communication consists of two or three perfunctory lines, hello, how are ya, good bye. Since I love to write, email , blogs, or anything else, my emails are always filled with fascinating information expressed in elegant prose. But what I get back is usually either "good to hear from you"..or nothing....
rarely if ever do my friends and distant family members initiate communication with me. And when I initiate it..I get back....very little, if anything. And what I do get back is almost always a brief summary about what they are doing, and never do they show the least bit of curiosity, which i take to be interest, in me. Never any questions about my life, my activities, my thoughts, my feelings.
No matter how long its been since we last saw each other or talked, even if its been more then twenty years; nary a word of interest in me. Only a few quick remarks about themselves, then, see ya later.
And I truly have no problem with this. Maybe they assume that I have done absolutely nothing worth reporting during the past twenty years, and maybe they are right. Maybe they simply don't care, or are afraid of seeming nosy. Or, maybe they are self absorbed, narcissistic, blindfolded americans, stuck in their own little world, uninterested in anyone else's, including mine.
MY sense is that the last theory is correct. After all, we are talking about americans. Sometimes I want to tell them" look, goof ball! I have a life! Its an inteesting life, at least to me, and since we have been friends for over fifty years, and haven't seen or talked to each other in ten years, perhaps you could at least feign some interest in me?
But I never say these things, I only think them. I am honest, but not that honest. I have no interest in forcing or shaming people, even old friends, into being interested in me. I am, and that's all that matters... to me.
And besides, I am not really interested in their lives either, and their lack of interest in mine affords me the perfect opportunity to cut short the emailing, avoid the pretense of feigned interest, and get back to what's really important to me; complaining about my oldest, and dearest friends.
In america most friendhsip formation takes place in high school. I always tell high school students; beware! Makes your friends while you can! Never again will you have such a golden opportunity to spend every day with a large number of people your own age, with whom you have a great deal in common. Of course they don't listen, being unable to conceive of life beyond high school.
But its true; the older you get, the harder it is to make friends. You are set in your ways, less active, more inclined to enjoy the pleasant routines long established by years of habit. And then too, in america, the older you get, the more widely dispersed your friends are throughout the country, a precess which begins immediately after high school graduation.
But now we have the internet, and facebook, that golden opportunity to reconnect. Strange thing about facebook is that most americans seem to use it more to aquire hordes of new cyberspacial "friends" than to reconnect with ones with whom one has lost contact in the "real" world. go figure.
Like most americans my age, most of my oldest friends from youth are now scattered around the country, and I haven't actually seen them for years. Every once in awhile i renew contact with them, sometimes individually, sometimes in groups from our high school class of 1973. Its fun, and, in certain ways, quite revealing.
the first thing I noticed is how lazy people ae about writing email. Most of the time, communication consists of two or three perfunctory lines, hello, how are ya, good bye. Since I love to write, email , blogs, or anything else, my emails are always filled with fascinating information expressed in elegant prose. But what I get back is usually either "good to hear from you"..or nothing....
rarely if ever do my friends and distant family members initiate communication with me. And when I initiate it..I get back....very little, if anything. And what I do get back is almost always a brief summary about what they are doing, and never do they show the least bit of curiosity, which i take to be interest, in me. Never any questions about my life, my activities, my thoughts, my feelings.
No matter how long its been since we last saw each other or talked, even if its been more then twenty years; nary a word of interest in me. Only a few quick remarks about themselves, then, see ya later.
And I truly have no problem with this. Maybe they assume that I have done absolutely nothing worth reporting during the past twenty years, and maybe they are right. Maybe they simply don't care, or are afraid of seeming nosy. Or, maybe they are self absorbed, narcissistic, blindfolded americans, stuck in their own little world, uninterested in anyone else's, including mine.
MY sense is that the last theory is correct. After all, we are talking about americans. Sometimes I want to tell them" look, goof ball! I have a life! Its an inteesting life, at least to me, and since we have been friends for over fifty years, and haven't seen or talked to each other in ten years, perhaps you could at least feign some interest in me?
But I never say these things, I only think them. I am honest, but not that honest. I have no interest in forcing or shaming people, even old friends, into being interested in me. I am, and that's all that matters... to me.
And besides, I am not really interested in their lives either, and their lack of interest in mine affords me the perfect opportunity to cut short the emailing, avoid the pretense of feigned interest, and get back to what's really important to me; complaining about my oldest, and dearest friends.
Cyber Warfare as Payback
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS the united states and china have been dealing with yet another disagreement, in a long history of such. The united states claims that the chinese are computer hackers, using hacking techniques to steal secrets form american corporations, disrupting american websites, and even barging into military computers and stealing top sceret information.
Unsurprisingly, the chinese deny the accusations.. The situation is rather vague. The americans know its happening, but are not sure whether the crime is bieng committed by the chinese government, or elements within the country but not associated with the government. They suspect the former. The chinese also know its happening, but usually either claim that they know nothing about it, or that the culprit is a rogue organization unknown to beijing.
Either way, at last president obama and the chinese premier are going to get together, face to face, and talk about it. Also on the agenda are other economic and trade issues, north korea, iran, and syria. There is potential for productive action to result, and also the ever present possibility that nothing will occur other than an exchange of grandiose rhetoric.
If cyber warfare is the worst crime china has ever committed against the united states, america is indeed fortunate. China sent forces into korea during the korean war, and snatched a stalemate from the jaws of american victory, which adheres to this day, and sent help to north viet nam during america's invasion of that country, which contributed to american defeat.
ON the other side of the coin; after the american civil war, the united states, in developing the wild west, brought in tens of thousands of chinese laborers, then abused them, often killing them. Resentment over the influx of non white non christian chinese spread all across america, and in 1882, and again in 1902, congress passed chinese exclusion acts, prohibiting further chinese immigation to america; this, after america had brought the chinese workers here in the first place. All over the country, chinese people in america were tortured, murdered, and massacred, in yet another of america's many shameful episodes of racism.
Meanwhile, england, led by the biggest drug dealer in history, queen victoria, and amrican east coast millionaires were illegally dealing opium in china, addicting millions of chinese, and sucking the chinese economy dry.
Beginning around the turn of the twentieth century, the U.S., under the war mongering racist imperialistic leadership of teddy roosevelt, encouraged japan to dominate china in order to "civilize" it. This the japanese did, or tried to do, beginning in 1931, leading to world war two in the pacific, and thirty million premature deaths.
So, it works both ways. When all the accounts are added up, it almost seems that china owes the united states a little internet mischief. After all, it isn't as if americans have always treated china with the greatest love and respect.
Unsurprisingly, the chinese deny the accusations.. The situation is rather vague. The americans know its happening, but are not sure whether the crime is bieng committed by the chinese government, or elements within the country but not associated with the government. They suspect the former. The chinese also know its happening, but usually either claim that they know nothing about it, or that the culprit is a rogue organization unknown to beijing.
Either way, at last president obama and the chinese premier are going to get together, face to face, and talk about it. Also on the agenda are other economic and trade issues, north korea, iran, and syria. There is potential for productive action to result, and also the ever present possibility that nothing will occur other than an exchange of grandiose rhetoric.
If cyber warfare is the worst crime china has ever committed against the united states, america is indeed fortunate. China sent forces into korea during the korean war, and snatched a stalemate from the jaws of american victory, which adheres to this day, and sent help to north viet nam during america's invasion of that country, which contributed to american defeat.
ON the other side of the coin; after the american civil war, the united states, in developing the wild west, brought in tens of thousands of chinese laborers, then abused them, often killing them. Resentment over the influx of non white non christian chinese spread all across america, and in 1882, and again in 1902, congress passed chinese exclusion acts, prohibiting further chinese immigation to america; this, after america had brought the chinese workers here in the first place. All over the country, chinese people in america were tortured, murdered, and massacred, in yet another of america's many shameful episodes of racism.
Meanwhile, england, led by the biggest drug dealer in history, queen victoria, and amrican east coast millionaires were illegally dealing opium in china, addicting millions of chinese, and sucking the chinese economy dry.
Beginning around the turn of the twentieth century, the U.S., under the war mongering racist imperialistic leadership of teddy roosevelt, encouraged japan to dominate china in order to "civilize" it. This the japanese did, or tried to do, beginning in 1931, leading to world war two in the pacific, and thirty million premature deaths.
So, it works both ways. When all the accounts are added up, it almost seems that china owes the united states a little internet mischief. After all, it isn't as if americans have always treated china with the greatest love and respect.
A Time to Compromise Beliefs
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, you may recall, ran for president against obama, waged an honorable campaign, and lost. he has served in the U.S. senate a long time, is a viet nam war hero, and knows a great deal about matters relating to military concerns.
recently he went to syria secretly - secretly because going openly would have put him at great risk - in order to assess the situation in the two year old syrian civil war, a war in which the united states and the european union support the rebels, and the russianss, iranians, and palestinians support the government of dictator bashar assad.
For a long time it has been assumed in america that assad's government would inevitably fall, because the rebesl appeared to have the upper hand. However, just recently russia, iran, and hezbollah, the palestinian liberation organization, have begun pouring aid, in the forms of fighters and weapons, into the war on the side of assad.
Senator McCain reports that because of this recent infusion of aid, the assad forces now have the upper hand, and will prevail, unless the U.S. steps in and offers help to the rebels, with whom we americans are most definitely allied.
Even those of us who are isolationsists non interventionsists anti-imperialists should pay serious attention to what senator mccain says. For the assad government to remain in power would be a terrible tragedy for the human community; one more brutal dictator left in power, free to continue the oppression, torture, and murder of his own people, of any among his own people who oppose him, for whatever legitimate and appropiately expressed reason.
The best course of action for president obama might be to put senator mccain in charge of the american response to the syrian situation, in charge of the american aid effort to the rebels, with the senator acting as a sort of pro temp secretary of state and secretary of defense both, to work closely with the holders of those two cabinet offices.
Seldom is the occasion when americans should send weapons anywhere, and often are the occasions when weapons and soldiers are sent, but this...this is different.....well, of ocurse, the same can be said of any american intervention anywhere in the world...but.....this....is different....
But there comes a time to contradict one's own closely held beliefs, to step outside oneself, and see things in a new and fresh light, and now is one such time. Let all of us who steadfastly believe in the doctrine of american non intervention in the affairs of other nations admit that, in this one instance, it is our turn to compromise our beliefs....
recently he went to syria secretly - secretly because going openly would have put him at great risk - in order to assess the situation in the two year old syrian civil war, a war in which the united states and the european union support the rebels, and the russianss, iranians, and palestinians support the government of dictator bashar assad.
For a long time it has been assumed in america that assad's government would inevitably fall, because the rebesl appeared to have the upper hand. However, just recently russia, iran, and hezbollah, the palestinian liberation organization, have begun pouring aid, in the forms of fighters and weapons, into the war on the side of assad.
Senator McCain reports that because of this recent infusion of aid, the assad forces now have the upper hand, and will prevail, unless the U.S. steps in and offers help to the rebels, with whom we americans are most definitely allied.
Even those of us who are isolationsists non interventionsists anti-imperialists should pay serious attention to what senator mccain says. For the assad government to remain in power would be a terrible tragedy for the human community; one more brutal dictator left in power, free to continue the oppression, torture, and murder of his own people, of any among his own people who oppose him, for whatever legitimate and appropiately expressed reason.
The best course of action for president obama might be to put senator mccain in charge of the american response to the syrian situation, in charge of the american aid effort to the rebels, with the senator acting as a sort of pro temp secretary of state and secretary of defense both, to work closely with the holders of those two cabinet offices.
Seldom is the occasion when americans should send weapons anywhere, and often are the occasions when weapons and soldiers are sent, but this...this is different.....well, of ocurse, the same can be said of any american intervention anywhere in the world...but.....this....is different....
But there comes a time to contradict one's own closely held beliefs, to step outside oneself, and see things in a new and fresh light, and now is one such time. Let all of us who steadfastly believe in the doctrine of american non intervention in the affairs of other nations admit that, in this one instance, it is our turn to compromise our beliefs....
Accepting Truth, Without Perishing
HISTORY IS LARGELY PERSPECTIVE, and every historian is limited by his own biases, which reflect in his descriptions, explanations, and interpretations. Throughout american history american school children have been brainwashed by a particular type of history called "hagiography", in which history is written in such a way as to make the subject matter appear unrealistically virtuous. A good example of hagiography is the old testament, in which jewish writers describe jewish history in glowing, heroic terms.
thus the United States becomes the shining example of the highest level of civilization, forever in the right, always struggling valiantly to make the world a better place for everybody, domestic and foreign, always manifesting the highest ideals of human and christian virtue.
Slavery, cruel exploitation of workers, extermination of indians, imperialistic conquest of weaker countries; these things are gloosed over in high school textbooks as growing pains, or necessary expedients to a higher cause. Thus we all grow up believing that our country is a far bettr place than it really is. For consolation, bear in mind that other countries do the same thing.
So we create a world poorly educated in history, in whcih most people do not see the world for the savage place it is. As mark twain astutely said "there are many humorous notions, among them that the white race is less savage than the other savages." In america, hagiography is revised at the peril of being condemned and ridiculed by conservatives refuisng to stop clinging to their hagiographic illusions.
In the nineteen sixties high school students were taught that world war two was triggered by the treacherous unprovoked japanese ataack on pearl harbor, the atomic bomb was absolutely necessary to save american lives, and the cold war was the result od communist aggression. These fundamentsl untruths are still taught today. All are lies, dear reader.
For forty years the united states had encouraged japan to take the lead in dominating asia, including korea and china, hoping to use japan as a partner for american expansion into that continent. When in 1931 the japanese did exactly that, the united states feigned disapproval, which astonished the japanese. the united states had conquered, brutalized and taken possession of hawaii and the phillipines, and when FDR realized that american participation in world war two was essential to stop hitler and gain an american share of the spoils of victory, he did everything under the sun, including moving the american navy from san diego to hawaii, and commenced a trade embargo with japan, to force the japanese into war.
The atomic bombs were dropped on a country already totally defeated, which had been asking for surrender terms for months. The bomb was the american way of announcing its new power to the world. The cold war was an excellent excuse to maintain a war time military in peacetime, and the shattered, helpless russians, with their aversion to corporate capitalism, were an excellent choice of a new enemy.
"We resist the truth only because we would perish if we accepted it", said goethe. One can hope that at some remote, glorious time in the distant future, human beings will have evolved the necessary intellectual strength to not only accept truth, but do do so without perishing.
thus the United States becomes the shining example of the highest level of civilization, forever in the right, always struggling valiantly to make the world a better place for everybody, domestic and foreign, always manifesting the highest ideals of human and christian virtue.
Slavery, cruel exploitation of workers, extermination of indians, imperialistic conquest of weaker countries; these things are gloosed over in high school textbooks as growing pains, or necessary expedients to a higher cause. Thus we all grow up believing that our country is a far bettr place than it really is. For consolation, bear in mind that other countries do the same thing.
So we create a world poorly educated in history, in whcih most people do not see the world for the savage place it is. As mark twain astutely said "there are many humorous notions, among them that the white race is less savage than the other savages." In america, hagiography is revised at the peril of being condemned and ridiculed by conservatives refuisng to stop clinging to their hagiographic illusions.
In the nineteen sixties high school students were taught that world war two was triggered by the treacherous unprovoked japanese ataack on pearl harbor, the atomic bomb was absolutely necessary to save american lives, and the cold war was the result od communist aggression. These fundamentsl untruths are still taught today. All are lies, dear reader.
For forty years the united states had encouraged japan to take the lead in dominating asia, including korea and china, hoping to use japan as a partner for american expansion into that continent. When in 1931 the japanese did exactly that, the united states feigned disapproval, which astonished the japanese. the united states had conquered, brutalized and taken possession of hawaii and the phillipines, and when FDR realized that american participation in world war two was essential to stop hitler and gain an american share of the spoils of victory, he did everything under the sun, including moving the american navy from san diego to hawaii, and commenced a trade embargo with japan, to force the japanese into war.
The atomic bombs were dropped on a country already totally defeated, which had been asking for surrender terms for months. The bomb was the american way of announcing its new power to the world. The cold war was an excellent excuse to maintain a war time military in peacetime, and the shattered, helpless russians, with their aversion to corporate capitalism, were an excellent choice of a new enemy.
"We resist the truth only because we would perish if we accepted it", said goethe. One can hope that at some remote, glorious time in the distant future, human beings will have evolved the necessary intellectual strength to not only accept truth, but do do so without perishing.
Telling It To My Uncle
MY GRANDPARENTS WERE ALL BORN around 1890. They began life in horse and buggy, then in childhood made the jump into high tech model T, undoubtedly all agog. The last one to die was my maternal grandmother, who lived until 1971, and said she was amazed that during her lifetime americans had transported themselves from horse and buggy to spaceship. And no, she was not among the freak crowd who pretend that apollo was a hoax staged in the nevada desert.
Warmly I remember my grandmother's victorian values. Never attired in anything other than an ankle length dress with long sleeves, no slacks nor sweatshirts. To miss church was a matter of great concern. To be anything but a christian was unthinkable. And her racism was so deeply ingrained that she didn't even know it was racism. She used the term "nigra", thinking it politically correct. It went without saying that they were inferior, in some vague way or other, but the proper christian attitude was to let them live peacefully on their side of town, to never bother them, nor enter their churches.
Her youngest son, my uncle, is now eighty nine years old, and still working, partly because he has a spendthrift wife, partly because he has no idea what else to do, and partly because his love of money is so great, and his disdain for idleness greater still. The discomfitting thing about him is the degree to which he has retained the values with which he was imbued in the nineteen twenties. He overcame christianity, but not racism.
In the nineteen sixties I remember his frequent use of the "N" word; back then, racists were not ashamed of their racism, as they are now. He still harbors his, but denies it, obviously ashamed of it, aware of how anachronistic it is, which might be regarded as a positive sign. In our modern color blind culture we do not realize that racism was so deeply ingrained in the public psyche that the thought that it was "wrong" never entered anyone's mind. To be a "racist" was common sense; to have a patronizingly generous attitude about the right of people of color to exist was progressive.
George Washington bought up all the land he could find, eventually owing a good portion of the state of virginia. He then oversaw its cultivatin by the slaves he had married into when he expediently married "well", slaves to whom he later gave freedom, unlike Thomas Jefferson. With nowhere else to go, impoverished squatters roamed around his vast estates, looking for something to eat. King George the first considered these people to be no better than cats and dogs, and he said so. (Methinks he had it backwards.)
President Teddy Roosevelt considered everyone in the world except germainc aryan white folks inherently inferior, and thought himself magnanimous by offering to bring civilization to them all through american conquest. That he once won the Nobel Peace Prize for hosting a peace treaty signing for a war he the great war monger engineered is one of history's funniest jokes.
We may be on the verge of another quantum leap forward of human awareness. It may be that within the lifetime of our current crop of children we will finally realize that the very concept of "race" is a hoax, perpetuated by pseudo intelletucals with too much aristotle in their blood. Seven billion people, seven billion different skin colors. Go ahead, put your forearm next to that of any other homo sapiens on earth; never will you find an exact match. But don't try telling that to my uncle.
Warmly I remember my grandmother's victorian values. Never attired in anything other than an ankle length dress with long sleeves, no slacks nor sweatshirts. To miss church was a matter of great concern. To be anything but a christian was unthinkable. And her racism was so deeply ingrained that she didn't even know it was racism. She used the term "nigra", thinking it politically correct. It went without saying that they were inferior, in some vague way or other, but the proper christian attitude was to let them live peacefully on their side of town, to never bother them, nor enter their churches.
Her youngest son, my uncle, is now eighty nine years old, and still working, partly because he has a spendthrift wife, partly because he has no idea what else to do, and partly because his love of money is so great, and his disdain for idleness greater still. The discomfitting thing about him is the degree to which he has retained the values with which he was imbued in the nineteen twenties. He overcame christianity, but not racism.
In the nineteen sixties I remember his frequent use of the "N" word; back then, racists were not ashamed of their racism, as they are now. He still harbors his, but denies it, obviously ashamed of it, aware of how anachronistic it is, which might be regarded as a positive sign. In our modern color blind culture we do not realize that racism was so deeply ingrained in the public psyche that the thought that it was "wrong" never entered anyone's mind. To be a "racist" was common sense; to have a patronizingly generous attitude about the right of people of color to exist was progressive.
George Washington bought up all the land he could find, eventually owing a good portion of the state of virginia. He then oversaw its cultivatin by the slaves he had married into when he expediently married "well", slaves to whom he later gave freedom, unlike Thomas Jefferson. With nowhere else to go, impoverished squatters roamed around his vast estates, looking for something to eat. King George the first considered these people to be no better than cats and dogs, and he said so. (Methinks he had it backwards.)
President Teddy Roosevelt considered everyone in the world except germainc aryan white folks inherently inferior, and thought himself magnanimous by offering to bring civilization to them all through american conquest. That he once won the Nobel Peace Prize for hosting a peace treaty signing for a war he the great war monger engineered is one of history's funniest jokes.
We may be on the verge of another quantum leap forward of human awareness. It may be that within the lifetime of our current crop of children we will finally realize that the very concept of "race" is a hoax, perpetuated by pseudo intelletucals with too much aristotle in their blood. Seven billion people, seven billion different skin colors. Go ahead, put your forearm next to that of any other homo sapiens on earth; never will you find an exact match. But don't try telling that to my uncle.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Misusing Literary Gifts
To be a writer is not always easy. Kurt Vonnegut, a major american author of the twentieth century who combined social commentary with science fiction, and talked much about his own experiences as a prisoner of war in world war two, once had a job writing for a sports publication.
He was assigned the task of writing about a famous racehorse which had broken free, and jumped over a fence while trying to run away. Vonnegut sat and stared at his typwwriter ( a primitive form of word processor without a computer attached, in which what one types is immediately printed out on something called "paper") all day, without producing a single word. Finally, about quitting time, he typed out "the fucking horse jumped over the fucking fence."
IN sri lanka, that remote nation in the southern part of the world, a meteorologist got himself into hot water by misusing his literary gifts. He was in charge of assigning names to cyclones, much like names are given to hurricanes in the northern western hemisphere.
After giving the matter some thought, the weather man decided to name the approaching cyclone after a famous fourth century sri lankan king, which to him seened most appropiate, considering the strength of the gathering storm.
However, a public outcry ensued. This fourth century king had been a most productive ruler, having instigated and overseen the construction of a network of canals which facilitated transportation and allowed for a greatly increased food crop yield, which was credited with saving the nation, and bringing prosperity to all.
Because of this, the king has since been revered as a god. It seems sri lankans regarded a cyclone as a destructive evil, and considered it insultingly inappropiate to name it afte such a cherished historical figure. The meteorologist instantly apologized for his oversight, and promplty renamed the storm, after some evil demon from days of yore.
He was assigned the task of writing about a famous racehorse which had broken free, and jumped over a fence while trying to run away. Vonnegut sat and stared at his typwwriter ( a primitive form of word processor without a computer attached, in which what one types is immediately printed out on something called "paper") all day, without producing a single word. Finally, about quitting time, he typed out "the fucking horse jumped over the fucking fence."
IN sri lanka, that remote nation in the southern part of the world, a meteorologist got himself into hot water by misusing his literary gifts. He was in charge of assigning names to cyclones, much like names are given to hurricanes in the northern western hemisphere.
After giving the matter some thought, the weather man decided to name the approaching cyclone after a famous fourth century sri lankan king, which to him seened most appropiate, considering the strength of the gathering storm.
However, a public outcry ensued. This fourth century king had been a most productive ruler, having instigated and overseen the construction of a network of canals which facilitated transportation and allowed for a greatly increased food crop yield, which was credited with saving the nation, and bringing prosperity to all.
Because of this, the king has since been revered as a god. It seems sri lankans regarded a cyclone as a destructive evil, and considered it insultingly inappropiate to name it afte such a cherished historical figure. The meteorologist instantly apologized for his oversight, and promplty renamed the storm, after some evil demon from days of yore.
Learning the Lessons of Conquest
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA was destined, from the beginning, to be a global empire. A vast continent, rife for the taking, inhabited only by non christian non aryan savages. In other words, uninhabited.
In the early seventeen sixties our british overlords enacted a law which prohibited american colonial settlement beyond the appalachan mountains. This had the same effect as the "monroe Doctrine" would sixty years later; little to none. Intrepid pioneers laughed at it, then plowed ahead.
When the country expanded to the pacific ocean by stealing all the land from the native americans and the mexicans, it had no intention of stopping. Beyond the pacific lay the vast continemt of asia, inhabited only by non christian savages, who needed civilizing, just like every other victim of white american conquest.
The white race had originated somewhere near mesopotamia, separate but superior to all other races, so the mythology goes, and spread into europe, across the english channel, across the atlantic, all the way to the pacific. The pacific, eight times larger than the atlantic, presented a somewhat bigger challenge than the atlantic, and was populated by peoples somewhat more organized than the native americans,; but no matter, american mechanized firepower and industrial might had increased, and would be equal to the task.
missionaries brought jesus christ and various diseases to hawaii, and with these weapons nearly exterminated, then conquered the healthy, happy, long established culture. mark twain remarked that since the native hawaiians had nearly been exterminated, it might be expedient to send a few more christian missionaries and finish the job.
A bit later the united states started a phony war against spain, which allowed the empire to spread to cuba, puerto rico, and the phillipines. The strategy; start a phony war then steal the land from the defeated enemies, had worked splendidly against mexcio, why not try it against spain? President polk had even considered the possibility of taking mexico itself, but since its people were not milky white, why bother? texas, new mexico, arizona, colorado, and california would have to suffice.
When the chinese rose up and kicked out all foreign invaders in 1900, and the japanese showed surpsising military strength in 1905 in a war against russia, and world war one distracted american empire building in 1917 adn 1918, cooler heads prevailed, and the thrust into asia was slowed a bit, only to resume with another phony war, this time against japan, in 1941. Entice 'em to attack pearl harbor, then crush 'em.
vietnam, iraq, afghanistan; the beat goes on. But empire building leads to empire maintaining, and as the english finally figured out, sometimes it just aint worth it. Maybe someday the united states will learn the same lesson, and the lesson may just now be beginning.
In the early seventeen sixties our british overlords enacted a law which prohibited american colonial settlement beyond the appalachan mountains. This had the same effect as the "monroe Doctrine" would sixty years later; little to none. Intrepid pioneers laughed at it, then plowed ahead.
When the country expanded to the pacific ocean by stealing all the land from the native americans and the mexicans, it had no intention of stopping. Beyond the pacific lay the vast continemt of asia, inhabited only by non christian savages, who needed civilizing, just like every other victim of white american conquest.
The white race had originated somewhere near mesopotamia, separate but superior to all other races, so the mythology goes, and spread into europe, across the english channel, across the atlantic, all the way to the pacific. The pacific, eight times larger than the atlantic, presented a somewhat bigger challenge than the atlantic, and was populated by peoples somewhat more organized than the native americans,; but no matter, american mechanized firepower and industrial might had increased, and would be equal to the task.
missionaries brought jesus christ and various diseases to hawaii, and with these weapons nearly exterminated, then conquered the healthy, happy, long established culture. mark twain remarked that since the native hawaiians had nearly been exterminated, it might be expedient to send a few more christian missionaries and finish the job.
A bit later the united states started a phony war against spain, which allowed the empire to spread to cuba, puerto rico, and the phillipines. The strategy; start a phony war then steal the land from the defeated enemies, had worked splendidly against mexcio, why not try it against spain? President polk had even considered the possibility of taking mexico itself, but since its people were not milky white, why bother? texas, new mexico, arizona, colorado, and california would have to suffice.
When the chinese rose up and kicked out all foreign invaders in 1900, and the japanese showed surpsising military strength in 1905 in a war against russia, and world war one distracted american empire building in 1917 adn 1918, cooler heads prevailed, and the thrust into asia was slowed a bit, only to resume with another phony war, this time against japan, in 1941. Entice 'em to attack pearl harbor, then crush 'em.
vietnam, iraq, afghanistan; the beat goes on. But empire building leads to empire maintaining, and as the english finally figured out, sometimes it just aint worth it. Maybe someday the united states will learn the same lesson, and the lesson may just now be beginning.
Sprucing Up the World, One Tree at a Time
DURING THE EIGHT YEARS i have lived in my current house,i have planted twenty five trees, and have turned a barren construction site into a pretty nice shady wooded area, with nice thick grass and a little shrubbery. Weeds? Bad, but not too bad.
The one missing pieceis a redbud tree, requisite for genteel arkansas living. Had a small one once, and it was doing right fine until a day dreamy teenaged lawn mower chopped 'er right on down...devastated, i stayed away from the sub species for several years, - but redbud fever eventually returned. I also stayed away from hiring people to mow my lawn.
Too many mutilated redbuds, and trees wounded with weed eaters. One day recently i discovered a volunteer redbud, about two feet tall, standing robustly less than an inch from my paved driveway, beneath a twenty foot pin oak, with limited opportuinty for future success.
Siezing the opportunity, i transplanted it to a much more favorable location. It was a tricky and painful surgical procedure, for the little thing was deeply embedded in rocks. At length i was forced to sever the tap root in order to excise it.
Now it stands next to a row of boxwoods, filling in a gap in a row of property border trees and shrubs. After three days it looks puny, but still has its leaves, and looks to have an outside chance of survival, though i wouldn't count on it.
I know people who don't plant trees in their yard because they don't like leaves, don't like dealing with them. Of all the nerve, for those pesky decidiuous trees to grow and shed leaves! Of all the importunate gaul!
Why bother to contribute to the reversal of global warming and atmospheric carbon accumulation, to add beauty and coolness to your yard, when all you will get for your trouble is leaf raking? Who needs outdoor exercise? Please pray for my baby redbud. I don't mind raking leaves.
The one missing pieceis a redbud tree, requisite for genteel arkansas living. Had a small one once, and it was doing right fine until a day dreamy teenaged lawn mower chopped 'er right on down...devastated, i stayed away from the sub species for several years, - but redbud fever eventually returned. I also stayed away from hiring people to mow my lawn.
Too many mutilated redbuds, and trees wounded with weed eaters. One day recently i discovered a volunteer redbud, about two feet tall, standing robustly less than an inch from my paved driveway, beneath a twenty foot pin oak, with limited opportuinty for future success.
Siezing the opportunity, i transplanted it to a much more favorable location. It was a tricky and painful surgical procedure, for the little thing was deeply embedded in rocks. At length i was forced to sever the tap root in order to excise it.
Now it stands next to a row of boxwoods, filling in a gap in a row of property border trees and shrubs. After three days it looks puny, but still has its leaves, and looks to have an outside chance of survival, though i wouldn't count on it.
I know people who don't plant trees in their yard because they don't like leaves, don't like dealing with them. Of all the nerve, for those pesky decidiuous trees to grow and shed leaves! Of all the importunate gaul!
Why bother to contribute to the reversal of global warming and atmospheric carbon accumulation, to add beauty and coolness to your yard, when all you will get for your trouble is leaf raking? Who needs outdoor exercise? Please pray for my baby redbud. I don't mind raking leaves.
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