August 17, 2009

On Recessions Part 2

Summary: Reiteration as to why I like recessions.

I pretty much covered why I view recessions to be not only necessary but beneficial as well in my last post. I just wanted to follow up on that idea and expand on it by adding some information based on recent experience.

First of all, customer service in a lot of places I've been recently has gotten a lot better. I l think people in the retail and service industries are waking up to the fact that you get more return customers when you do a good job to help/serve them and returning customers cost a business about one tenth as much as trying to bring in new ones. Of course when boom times are here and everyone is running like it's the Roaring 20's all over, retailers and restaurants don't try as hard as they could and should. Recessions aren't exactly a setback from normal times. Recessions ARE normal times and boom times (or non-recession periods of growth) are artificial. That means that money being tight and businesses working hard to bring in customers (and keep them) should be the norm, not the exception. I'm not a big shopper by any means so I'm not the most experienced in following customer service trends but I can tell you that the few trips I've had to make recently have shown me there is a difference between now and a couple years ago. But why wait for people to penny pinch to work hard. My attitude is that when times are tough, key returning customers will make allowances and try extra hard to continue to shop and support the businesses that take care of them. I know I for one feel that this is the time for me to shop when I usually don't--because not only is the service better, but so are the prices and the knowledge that I am probably helping keep this particular business that I care about open and healthy.

I don't think I need to beat this point to death so I'll just say that of all times, for those that do have the means, look out for those you care about because there is a good chance they will remember that you did when situations are reversed. This interesting time that we're in right now is our chance to reshape the future of retail and business for a long time to come. Instead of cutting back and saving money by shopping at places like Wal Mart and McDonalds, this is the time to hurt them they they have to so many other small businessmen over the past 50 years. I know that like you, I often feel like my vote for politicians doesn't mean anything and often feel overwhelmed by the sheer size and complexity of the major corporations and the problems they cause for us...but I do know that in this country about ALL others, we don't vote with punch cards but with dollars. Where we spend out money is the biggest source of change we can make right here and now. Sorry Obama but change has not come with you like you promised. Nor will it or can it.

This post is a bit more preachy and personal than I prefer but I guess my time off has sharpened my tongue a bit and shown me that my usual stance is a bit too passive (and not as much fun). And as a disclaimer, don't think that I'm trying to tell you how you ought to live your life--I'm merely pointing out something I've learned from first hand experience that I believe is of similar experience that most people have as well. So don't feel like I'm forcing an idea on to you when I shouldn't ...instead, feel like I'm presenting the opportunity for you to live vicariously through me as a kind of trial run to see if you like what you see in the water before jumping in head first.

Good Night and Good Luck.

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August 16, 2009

On Breaks and Balance

I haven't posted anything in awhile and I know that. This online soapbox was not designed to be a trend--something that sounds fun at first and then dwindles as my busy life takes back over and my post updates get delayed and then neglected altogether. No, this outlet is therapy for me and no matter how busy things get, the need to reach out and communicate to others, to vent frustrations and ask questions about why things are the way they are will always be with me. My little little multi-month break was due to the fact that I was trying to spend more time actually doing the things I'm writing about, and less time thinking and writing about them. There was a good intention behind the delicate balancing act I was striving for between communication in the online and real worlds. I realized that as much as I want to experience things first hand and in person, it is still helpful to have a source of reflection on what it really was I experienced and saw on said occasion.

Now although I took a break from posting, I didn't turn my brain off completely and I've continued to write ideas about questions I have as to how the world works and suggestions that I'm finding that, through first hand experience, may make things work a little more smoothly.

I have this saying that I like to use on occasion that goes, "Everything in moderation...even moderation itself--therefore excess from time to time leads to balance."

Good Night and Good Luck.

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May 27, 2009

On Happiness

Summary: Happiness, in reality is a myth and the pursuit of it can lead to both control of individuals and societies and create a mass of hopelessly depressed people--all searching for something the doesn't really exist.

I have my own thoughts on this subject but thought that it might be beneficial to start with someone else’s ideas and then expand from there. To quote Bertrand Russell from his book The Conquest of Happiness: “My purpose is to suggest a cure for the ordinary day-to-day unhappiness from which most people in civilized counties suffer, and which is all the more unbearable because, having no obvious external cause, it appears in escapable. I believe this unhappiness to be very largely due to mistaken views of the world, mistaken ethics, mistaken habits of life, leading to destruction of that natural zest and appetite for possible things upon which all happiness, whether of men or animals, ultimately depends. These are matters which lie within the power of the individual, and I propose to suggest the change by which his happiness, given average good fortune, may be achieved.”

I do believe that happiness, as a concept, is overrated. The starting point of my proposition no other than the Declaration of Independence itself. The key word stated here is not ‘happiness’ but ‘pursuit.’ To pursue happiness does not guarantee it. In fact, the very fact that one is in pursuit of something intangible (because the definition of happiness varies from person to person) means that that person can also be lied to and misled to believe that something will make him happy when in actuality, it does the opposite. This is the deceiving part of this phrase that I feel people have taken for granted for so long. Unlimited happiness for some must come at an equal expense of another. And therefore the we are all not equally granted the right to be happy, even though our Declaration of Independence says so.... What I mean by this is that our society in the good ‘ol USA gives preference to some group over another. It always has and apparently, it always will (or at least try to). Think about blacks, women, Mexican immigrants, the elderly, gays, etc...We’re always increasing our personal happiness at the expense of some other groups. But here’s the kicker--more and more people in this country appear to be (if not fully admit to be) depressed. Why then, if we’re guaranteed the right to pursue happiness and we actively suppress other groups’ happiness, are we not happy? The answer here lies in true nature of Capitalism.

Free market capitalism (at least our current version of it), by nature relies on the continual extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal of goods and services. I think that in order to get people to buy said goods or services, a corporation or business must first convince them that they have a reason to buy their product...even if they don’t. A what appears to be a very effective way to get people to buy things they don’t need is to play off their insecurities. One must feel so bad about oneself that the only solution is a product offered by a manufacturer that will relieve the symptoms that one is feeling at that moment. Of course the reality is far from that clean and simple. As stated in the quote from Russell, mistaken views of the world lead to unhappiness. But a company peddling products that no one needs must change a person’s view of the world or else they couldn’t stay in business. What I mean by changing one’s world view is that they must convince the person that they are lacking something that only they, the corporation can provide. This is the essence of almost every advertisement we’ve all ever seen. It goes something like this: “ Hey you...yeah you, you ugly moron. Why don’t you just spend some of your hard earned cash on a pair of these Banana Republic chinos and then girls will swoon over you and your co-workers will finally respect you.” This is clearly an example of a mistaken world view--one that most people don’t start with from birth but learn over time from their peers, parents, tv, government, etc. What’s wrong about this world view is that it automatically assumes that most people are or should be unhappy and that they, the brand name company can provide the only means to achieving happiness. Nowhere at this point does anyone step in and say, “Hello people!!!! Don’t you know that we are all already happy and just need to understand and accept that?!” Does clean water, fresh air, good food, friends and family not count for anything these days? I know your answer to this is yes, they still do count but we think and hear so little about these oh so important factors in out lives--because very few (if any) corporations can make money by keeping the air clean and siblings speaking to one another.

I could go on and on about this but I want to conclude by saying that happiness, like good health is the default. And by default, I mean that it is something we already have at all times and must be convinced what we don’t have it in order to be sold something or told what to do in some way (most major religions come to mind here). For those that already know true happiness, they know it isn’t something that one needs to pursue or look for, all they need to do is understand why certain groups want to take it from them and then protect it--what they already have. I’ve said this before but ‘why things are the way they are’ is the most important philosophy one can live by. One must understand how and why corporate capitalistic structures work in order to understand why one is unhappy or depressed and then of course, what one can do to take back the control over one’s life that, in essence, they’ve had this entire time.

Good Night and Good Luck.

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April 28, 2009

On Recessions

Summary: Most people don’t know what the words ‘Recession and Depression’ actually mean. Coupled with the fact that they are built into our current economical, political and social systems, knowing both their inevitability and manipulation can not only help people cope with their effects, but also thrive while others lose hope.

Now both recessions and depressions will be treated similarly here to avoid too much overlap and redundancy. Of course, in economic terms, a depression is a more pronounced and longer lasting form of economic contraction. So as I speak in terms of recessions, it’s easy for one to add time and magnitude to that to carry the current circumstances from one definition to another.

So this brings me to the non-economic definition of the word “recession’: the act of receding or withdrawing. Hmmm...basically, it means to take back or to recede. What else in life or nature does this? The most obvious phenomenon that comes to mind is the tides. Water spends half the day moving up the beach and then half the day back down. Another example that may not be considered ‘receding’ but does act like tides in that it spends half the day one way and half the day another is the Sun. Could one assume that the sun recedes at the end of a day? It comes up, hangs around a bit, and then heads back down...a lot like tides do. Now does the fact that these two very natural and very prominent occurrences mean that because there is some recession involved that they are bad? The answer is obviously no. The fact of the matter is that recessions (and depressions) are in direct response to the economic growth and that means that not only is it ok, but it’s good and necessary to the health of the over all system.

The reasons why we have recessions and when they hit are a bit more complicated than identifying their inevitable nature and their necessity within our system. Looking back, it’s easy to predict one coming now after such a long and large boom from the growing construction, housing and financial sectors of our economy. The last real recession we had was in 2001. Of course I was a freshmen in college at that time and had both a wonderful part time job in retail and college student loans to help mitigate and buffer any personal economic slowdown that the general working public was experiencing at the time. This is my first experience since having graduated and now working a full time job to experience such a “contraction.” It’s definitely easier for me to make the connections and see the relationships between our boom times and bust times now.

Personally, I think this recession couldn’t be going any smoother...That and I also hope it gets a lot worse before it gets better. Now, I feel that I may need to explain or defend my position here so you know where I’m coming from. I do currently have a job and will probably have for some time into the near future. It’s easy for one to say, “hey, you can talk until you lose your job”...True. I understand and respect that opinion but I disagree in that I feel one doesn’t have to lose one’s job to understand what’s going on around them and the true impacts of current policy, resource use, education, planning, and general lifestyle decisions. I’ve made almost every effort I can personally make to act as if I don’t have a job and therefore no incoming source of personal revenue that comes associated with said job. If jobs = dollars and dollars buy resources than for me, resource independence (partially if not fully) is a clear direction to pursue and goal to set to both achieve personal happiness and provide a buffer from current and future ‘downturns’ that we all know are going to be more frequent, more severe or both as time goes on.

Here’s the biggest problem or beef I have with this recession: it’s not that it’s here or that it puts a lot of people in tight spots, it’s that I feel most people won’t walk away from it stronger. All trying situations ought to prove one’s endurance, courage, strength and stamina and this is no exception. I for one am looking forward to where we end up when this is all over years from now. I hope to god (not really “god” but thought it makes a good figure of speech) that we all learn from what’s going on now--why and how we got here and how to avoid such situations in the future. And by avoiding such situations, I don’t mean make more money, up World Bank Interest rates, fight more wars for control of global oil supply... I mean that by understanding the true cause of a situation, one can choose wisely enough to avoid causing the initial problem that got one where one is in the first place. It’s about making connections and seeing that our choices and decisions not only impact ourselves and those in our immediate vicinity but those that are on the other side of the world...and even those that haven’t even been born yet. That right there is really my whole point in thinking about recessions in a positive manner--so that those who make it out, walk away with newfound knowledge as to why and how they got there in the first place so they can make clear, responsible and positive decisions that not only benefit themselves and their immediate situation, but also others that may have no connection to them or the environment that brought about the decision in the first place.

I don’t know about you but now, when I think of the word ‘recession,’ I think of the tides that are gone one day and back the next...and when I think of the word ‘depression,’ I don’t become depressed at all--instead, I become activated, energized and inspired--not by the daily events of said depression but by what might become of everything and everyone once the current unfavorable situation passes.

With that. I wish and even more heartfelt and pronounced, “Good Night and Good Luck.”

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April 5, 2009

On Heaven and Hell

Summary: No matter what we choose or do on this Earth, we’re all going to Hell anyway so we might as well stop worrying about what happens in the next life and start thinking of ways to improve our current situations and the situations of those around us.

So I ran about 14 miles yesterday and had plenty of time to let my mind wander. At one point (for whatever reason), I started thinking about God. Now I’m by no means a religious person, nor am I agnostic or an atheist. But I was curious as to exactly how much thinking does one do about God (or the choice to accept there is one in the first place). Here’s what I came up with. Now there’s some x-thousand of religions out there, most are subgroups of the main sects we all know about: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. But the subgroups create a huge number to choose from. I mean Calvary Chapel born-agains would argue all day with traditional Protestants and they are “in theory,” both Christians. Now I don’t know all the details of all the different groups and sub groups but I do know that some (if not all) are in conflict with each other. What I mean by conflict is that in order to subscribe to one group’s views and moral codes, one must be in violation of another’s. So that’s really the big idea here. I have to make a choice to follow a set of one groups rules to get myself into Heaven, even though another group says that I’m going to Hell if I don’t do what they say. So if I do some simple math, I find that no matter which group I chose to go with, there will still be a group that has different views that would be in conflict with mine. So in essence, if I chose to work towards getting into Catholic Heaven, I would then accept the risk that by doing so, I would also be going to Islamic Hell.

So no matter what religion I go with, I am bound to end up in another groups Hell. So I can argue that point and say that I’m right and they’re wrong so their Hell must be null and void...but I don’t want to jump to conclusions. I mean this is my everlasting soul we’re talking about here and I at least ought to understand what I’m up against before putting all my eggs in one basket. So let’s take it one more step shall we and see what I can do to better guarantee I’m making the right choice and ensuring I don’t burn in fire and darkness for eternity. Now if all things were fair and considered equal, I would at least get information on ALL the religions out there before making up my mind. I know from personal experience that I grew up in a predominately middle class, white, conservative Christian suburb. I never even met a Hindu or follower of Islam growing up so right off the bat I feel like I’m at a disadvantage. I’m asked (actually told) to believe in something that exists solitarily and does not give acknowledgment, let alone equal time to another point of view. That sure is a confident or rather cocky point of view on behalf of the religion that does not ensure that it’s followers understand their options before committing to them and their moral codes for everlasting salvation.

Let’s pretend for one minute that, now that I’m aware of all these other groups and sub groups of religions out there, that I can do some homework and decide which one has the best chance of getting my soul into Heaven when I die. I think this task would be impossible. I could spend my entire life researching, interviewing pastors, sitting in on masses, etc and still not make it through them all. So now most of my free time would be devoted to learning about the different religions and I wouldn’t have time to actually put these groups ideas into practice. The chances of not doing what I need to do to be saved are still present because I don’t have the time to learn about all the regligions and to find out which religion I should commit to and if I leave any out of consideration, there's still the possibility that one of those may be the one who’s Heaven and Hell concepts are the most realistic for me.

If we think a bit more about this, most follows of most religions do not investigate all the other religious possibilities before making a choice because a.) most don’t know they have a choice, and b.) they wouldn’t have time to investigate all their choices anyway so what’s the point.

The obvious conclusion here is that most people follow their particular religious path and therefore accept the requirements needed of them to get into Heaven (or for some to avoid Hell) even though they know there are other religions out there that say they are going to Hell. So whatever the choice we all make, we cannot avoid ging to another religion’s Hell and them would go to ours. So either way, we are ALL going to some form of Hell. Now given this information: that we are all going to both Heaven and Hell, what does this really tell me about religions and choosing one over the other.

What this tells me is that it really doesn’t matter which religion you choose. It doesn’t matter if you say one prayer or another, go to church on Wednesday or Sunday, worship Muhammad, Jesus, Mary, Neptune, the sun, etc...It doesn’t matter because they all cancel each other out. What’s to be gained here is that there is something that each one of these religions share that is what ALL people share. There is a common underlying factor in all of these groups that gets over looked in favor of names, rituals, ceremonies, and a big game of finger pointing at who’s right and who’s wrong. Those who understand this are at an advantage to those who don’t because they are the ones that feel connected to people and the planet and have to capabilities to do real good here and now, on this Earth, while they’re still alive...instead of spending their whole lives doing what someone else tells them without questioning...just hoping that they picked right when their time is up and judgement day arrives.

Good Night and Good Luck.

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March 31, 2009

On Waste

Summary: This blog post could be titled “On Trash, On Garbage or On Away”...but all of these terms represent the idea of waste in mainstream American daily life and can be evaluated and written about as one concept. The goal of course is to eliminate the idea of “waste” completely--something that is not easy to do. In fact, waste in all forms is so prevalent in our society that even the idea of reduction of it is difficult to comprehend and come to terms with.

I started a little experiment 2 months ago to find out exactly how much waste I create in just one months time. I of course am only one person. So I figured if I could quantify what I threw “away” as an individual, I could start to get a sense of just how much garbage was created on a daily basis and then try to determine if this current method of incinerating and land-filling the things we don’t currently have a use for is a good idea or not. So month one: The first thing I did was date my trash can. A bit eccentric you say? Maybe...but necessary eccentricity. So now I have a starting point--a point of reference to then measure from. So now that I‘m calculating just how much I throw away each month, I’m a little more aware of every purchase I make than I used to be. Is this item recyclable or compostable? Trash? Reusable? Every decision must be weighed against it’s cost vs it’s benefit. There are some items that I would normally buy but I can make for myself. There are some items that, depending on packaging and use, may actually change my behavior. An example of this is food ordered “to go.” I never used to think anything of it but now that I’m looking at trash production and accumulation, “to go” becomes one of the first things to stand out as unnecessary, lazy and incredibly irresponsible from a waste-oriented standpoint. So “to go” is out. That requires a big shift in thinking and time management. When I go out to lunch with co-workers, I now have to be willing to stand up for myself and say, “no, I’ll eat my food here or not at all.” It also requires a re-allocation of time. To decide to eat at the restaurant or cafe does take slightly more time than calling an order in advance, picking it up and eating it back at the office. At first, this all seems to be a laborious effort for what most consider a cost of “progress” and efficiency. I see it entirely differently. Progress isn’t time related, nor is efficiency. There’s an immeasurable quality associated with taking your time to eat and paying more for the privilege (or right) of considering one’s health along with the health of the environment.

Ok, back on point here. So now that I’ve started thinking of purchases in terms of “waste producers” and “non waste producers,” I now am benefiting indirectly from this particular line of thinking. Originally, the goal was to produce less trash. And what I didn’t foresee are benefits like extended lunch breaks, fresher food from more trips to the grocery store, bulk items that can be stored and cost less than most brand name items, etc. So here I am, with more leisure time, more healthy food, less cost and a better relationship with those that both sell and prepare my meals. Now, not all of these things can have a priced attached to them but for those that can, they are in my favor. So this brings up a bigger question--how can I better my personal situation by working and spending less? I never tried to answer that question but I ended up doing both by trying one thing: produce less garbage. Although this is an on-going experiment, it brings up the idea that maybe my health and happiness is linked to my local and regional environment’s health. And if that’s true (which so far, it appears to be so), what can I do to further enhance the health and vitality of those people, plants and animals around me? I don’t know exactly what I can do at the moment but knowing the connection I have to my surroundings puts me in the right place to continue from here. Time and experience will answer other questions I currently have.

So to go back again to my waste management technique. I have one normal grocery store plastic bag as my kitchen trash bag. This serves as my entire apartment’s trash (including trashed produced when company comes over). So my original goal was to go one month before filling one grocery bag of trash. I achieved that goal by going just over a month before feeling the need to empty the trash. Of course now that I’ve gone a month, why not go two. The eventual goal here is to eliminate the idea of waste completely. One day, I won’t have to worry about emptying the trash at all because there will be no “trash.” There will be no “away.” What is "away" anyway? Where does all this trash go? If it went 2 blocks instead of 200 miles from my house, I bet everyone on my street would have a different concept of how much trash they want to contribute to the community “pile.” That’s the thing: because it is “away” from here, it’s ok. It’s the old adage of “out of sight, out of mind.” Well guess what folks, what’s out of sight NOW will be in sight SOON. And what’s currently out of sight for some is in sight for others. So maybe we can be creative enough to get rid of that idea of “waste” completely. Maybe we can someday create waste in a way that, like in nature, more is better. There’s no shame in littering because one groups trash is another’s treasure.

I wish I could end this with a set of “to do” lists for those who want to reduce their waste production...but I can’t. All I can do is share my own personal experience and hope that in some way, it is similar and then inspiring to someone else’s situation. All I know is that in order for someone to find the “change” that the world seems to be talking about these days, they need to try it first for themselves in order to gain experience and information about what that change really is and really means to them. From there they can decide how to proceed with that new found freedom and knowledge. For me, change will come in very small doses, on step at a time until I no longer have to think about it anymore.

Good Night and Good Luck.

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March 29, 2009

On Adaptation

Summary: There is a definitely an imperative need for people of this culture and era to take the steps necessary to adapt themselves to their environment and not the other way around.

Work in Progrss.

Good Night and Good Luck.

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March 18, 2009

On Opting Out

Summary: As a follow up to my post on Action vs Inaction, I wanted to add to it that an intentional inaction can be construed as an action and therefore satisfy both desires we have to affect positive change in what appears to be an increasingly negative era.

The idea that there is safety in numbers holds true here. I can think back to when I was in school and at the end of a lecture the professor would ask if everyone understood what was just said or if there were any questions. Usually what would happen was that most students did have questions but everyone looked around the room to see if someone else would ask theirs first so that person didn’t risk being singled out as the only person without a clue. And once one person finally spoke up, others either chimed in in agreement or proceeded to share their own ideas/opinions. That’s what’s happening today. The lecture has concluded and the professor (ie scientist, politician, priest, friend, etc) is asking if you have any questions or comments (ie where do we go from here?). I hear all the time that people think we have a lot of room for improvement in this society (that’s putting it lightly) and that things need to change-hell, wasn’t that the mantra and motto of our current president’s campaign? But then what? Who is going to be the first person to stick their hand up and say, “I’m willing to risk going first in the event that I am not the only one who feels this way.” So who’s going step out first and say to everyone else, “Here’s what I’m going to do about the problems everyone seems to be in agreement about”?

Why is it that we all want change or hope or a new era, etc but are waiting for someone else start it. Don’t you want a say in how things will change? In the direction this new era takes? This leads me to believe that there are 3 basic types of people when it comes to admitting to and starting to solve problems. Person 1: Denial. This person says there are no problems, life is grand, status quo should remain and nothing needs to be done. Person 2: Admits Only. This person recognizes that there is something wrong but doesn’t want to risk sticking their neck out to fix it. This person looks around the room hoping someone else will say something first so they won’t have to. And the last type of person and the rarest I’ve come across--Person 3: Admits and Acts. This person admits there is are issues that need to be dealt with and that they specifically, like everyone else is partly responsible for the problems creation and therefore for is responsible for doing something about it.

This is where I combine the above description of the 3 basic peoples of this society and how their attitudes will either further increase, ignore, or change the current negative condition we all admit we’re in as a planet, society, culture, city, etc. Person 1 won’t do anything. As a group, they’re usually the biggest causers of problems but since they won’t accept or admit they have anything to do with it, they won’t change their behavior--even when presented with overwhelming evidence in favor of the opinion opposite theirs. I think the 1 People and the 3 people are the minorities. I think it’s safe to say that most people in this country would admit to some degree of poor decision making and it’s cause of current unfavorable conditions (speaking lightly again about the shit mess I think we’re all in). It’s the second group, the majority that has the most potential to affect change. The 1’s are a lost cause and the 3’s are already doing something but it’s the masses--the everyday mom and pop, joe blows, high schoolers, truck drivers, etc etc that need to realize that they aren’t helpless victims and that life isn’t a sitcom that they can just sit back and watch, waiting for the hero to swoop in and save the day. These people have real power because they have numbers. They aren’t a fringe group that’s going to pop up on the scene and go away just as fast. They are it....And in some ways they already know it. It’s just getting them to recognize that they can do something about this mess if they want to.

This is where opting out comes in. I use the term to describe choosing not to participate in an organization you do not agree with or who you once did but has lost it’s way. REAL change in this country is not going to come by making our buildings more energy efficient, or by graduating more college students or by sharing more information more freely. Now these are all good things as individual efforts but an individual success in one small or specific area will not help such a large (and getting larger) and increasingly complex society as a whole. Of course choosing to Opt Out can be overwhelming if one does not know where to start. Which company or organization should one opt out from? One probably can’t cut oneself off completely from society no matter how hard one tries...so where does one start? It’s simple....By thinking about where things come from. By this I mean how did things get the way they are now? Or how things came to be? These are essentially all the same question. By looking back at how we got where we are today, it allows us to put our current situation in perspective, and then make concise and responsible decisions about where we ought to be. For example, someone inside of group 2 (the admitters without action) finally gains the courage to take the responsibility upon themselves to make a positive change in some area...then all they need to do is understand why we do what we do currently in that specific area. Then they opt out from that area into something new and feel confident that they made the right decision...and then wait for the others to follow their lead. To use a more specific example, let’s look at fast food. Group 1 says there’s nothing wrong with it but Group 2 says maybe there is but what can I do about it? Well, not thinking about food but transportation may be a good start. McDonalds (like a lot of fast food chains), started out as a regular restaurant in 1940. It wasn’t until 1948 did they enact “speedee” (the pre-Ronald mascot) that then changed their focus to quicker turn-around. This change may be linked to the implementation of the GI Bill (1944) which created the modern housing sub-division (suburbs) and therefore people’s dependence of the automobile as a primary means of transportation. There’s s direct link between the car and the type of restaurant a person has access to. And without going into too much detail, my point is that, like the band The Fixx says, “One thing leads to another.” The choice to opt out of fast food then becomes a choice to opt out of fast, easy, artificially cheap oil dependent transport. Once the car is gone, believe it or not, fast food quickly follows....So with less people driving and then less people eating crappy, poor quality meals, the food industry will change itself as a result of our decisions. To wait for them to regulate themselves or the government to step in on your behalf is a pipe dream. It’s time to step in on your own behalf and take some responsibility for what you want to see improved upon these days. Step In and Opt Out.

Goodnight and Goodluck.

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February 24, 2009

On Action vs. Inaction

Summary: Why doing nothing is usually a more productive method of bringing about change than doing something.

This is a post that I’ve been mulling over and have been meaning to write for some time now. The main argument here is that our society is so screwed up at its core that people who mean well usually do more harm than good and therefore defeat the purpose of their actions. This is because we, as a nation, culture, society, whatever are judged and judge others not by who we really are but what we do. Everything from where we went to school, how well we did, what job we have, charities we volunteer at, clothes we wear, etc etc are actions and activities that carry with them different degrees of merit. I’ve recently learned that we don’t really know how to view or react to those who don’t do a lot with their lives. We consider ourselves to be failures if we don’t reach a certain level of society's expectations or achieve all the goals we set (or others) set for ourselves. I’ll give you an example of what I’m talking about here: I used to pick on my younger brother for being lazy, unmotivated and even undereducated because he chose not to go to a 4 year college and decided to stay at home and live with the folks for a while longer and hang out with friends. The idea of ‘worth from action’ was so ingrained in my head that I actually thought less of him, not for what he did, but what he didn’t do. I’ve since reversed my opinion of him and those that operate in similar manners. According to my new way of looking at and thinking about the world, less is actually more and now I view think highly of him because has chosen a life that makes him happy and does not cause most of the problems that others do that require solving these days.

What drives me crazy is the conceitedness of most people’s idea that it is their job or duty to solve the world’s problems. Number one, the world doesn’t need saving, people do...so act from that premise and B, understand the issues in a holistic way before choosing a specific path to act. Now these nice folks may be helping make positive change in one area but the idea of change through action goes much deeper than that particular good deed. In fact, for every positive action a person does, there are probably a dozen negative or harmful actions they do. An example is attending an environmental conference to learn about green energy products. People drive there, eat take out along the way, pick up brochures printed on non-fsc paper, and then toss their old products in the landfill and replace with them with new energy efficient one...one that was probably made in China and shipped here, using fossil fuels, packaged in cardboard, etc etc. My argument here is that most of the problems caused in the world today are based on our (or someone else’s) actions. If the negative action is not performed in the first place, the need for a positive action as a solution would be irrelevant and therefore cease to exist. I truly believe that positive and negative actions are linked together deep down in our culture and psyche and that we must have one in order to have the other. I think we don’t need either.

The reason why both of these these dualities of thought exist in the first place can probably be traced back to religion (like a lot of modern civilization’s problems). You see, religions (almost all) stand firm on the idea that there is good and evil in this world (which was taken from the idea of light and dark, meaning sun and night which affects survival, warmth, food, etc). And that (of course) they, the religion, are on the side of good an anyone who opposes them is automatically on the side of evil and is wrong and must be destroyed. That’s a dangerous way of viewing the world. Obviously dangerous for whomever opposes the religion and becomes the enemy (by default) but also dangerous for the believers of the religion themselves. The reason for this should be obvious but I’m afraid isn’t for most people. If anyone who opposes you is the enemy, then how do they view you? The answer: The same way. Hence an endless cycle of different groups vying to get rid of the other while the other is doing the same to them. To go back to my earlier point, in order to have one (good and evil) the other must exist. The only way to get rid of evil is to get rid of the notion of “good.” Good and Evil don’t exist, neither do right and wrong when it comes to solving the energy crisis, saving rainforests, stopping global warming, etc. If good and evil don’t exist, then there must be another story to take the place of what we’ve come to believe for so long. It just so happens that there is an alternate story taking place along the sidelines of mankind’s current (and failing) experiment with civilization. I’ll save the details of the alternate story for another post so as not to run this one on too long (already there you say?).

To finish this off, I’ll reiterate that the concept of ‘good and evil’ is the same as the concept of ‘action vs inaction.’ Actions to save the world only mean something when there are opposing actions to destroy it. And no one, not even humanitarian non-profits want to admit that they are not needed and that there is no purpose for them to exist as an organization, group, government, religion, etc. So these groups probably, subconsciously, act in ways contrary to their beliefs in order to maintain instability for them to justify their reason to exisit to stabilize the situation. It happens all the time and people never realize it.

Ok, so the big idea here is that our ("our" meaning peoples, not the planets) salvation (if you want to believe that we need saving) lies not in what we do in this day and age, but what we can refrain from or restrict ourselves from doing. It appears to me that we’ve tried the traditional line of thought for some time now and have either achieved no results or are worse off than before we acted to solve the problems in the first place. Let’s imagine something different for a moment shall we? Wrap your heads around that one while I go get another glass of wine.

Good night and Good luck.

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