For several weeks now I've seen articles/editorials all over the net about lying. Not the little white lies we all use to avoid confrontations and hurt feelings. I mean big lies, with big consequences. Then there's deafening silence in the broader culture giving the liars tacit approval to pile one whopper on top of another. So, am I finally detecting a collective disgust? I only wish.
This kind of lying knows no political bounds nor does it have a definite inception. Leaders since the beginning of time have lied to their people for both noble and nefarious reasons. Parents lie to their kids in order to protect them - so they believe. It's not as simple as declaring every single thing with brutal honesty and damn the consequences. But we've come to a time when the most powerful people lie with such ease it has become a pathology. Even when called out the liar suffers almost no consequences and in fact often rise in fame and stature.
It's come so far that people prefer the warmth of a lie to an uncomfortable truth. I'm reminded of a quote posted on one of my favorite blogs alfinnextlevel.wordpress.com George Orwell declared “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act”. How would people react to a leader who told the truth? Would they even know it?
The thing is evidence is beginning to show that the brain of pathological liars is rewired, eventually robbing them of their ability to think otherwise. According to Professor Bruce Charlton "Habitual dishonesty (most notable political correctness) is a form of learning; and learning strengthens some brain pathways and brain connections; while allowing other pathways and connections to wither and (perhaps eventually) perish.
Therefore, even on those rare occasions when a typical modern intellectual tries to be honest and to think straight - they cannot do it, because their reasoning processes have been sabotaged by their own repeated habits of dishonesty..."
The topic of Political Correctness is ipso facto the topic of pathological lying, and it is PCism that drives much of the bureaucratic lying we suffer today. But not all of it.
Obviously the quest for power motivates lying on a grand scale. The incredible thing is, focusing on the current regime in power, the sheer number of lies, big and small, should have counted for something. They didn't. The President lied about nearly every aspect of his history. Many people presented evidence of the facts - and even when substantiated they were ignored by the press and the electorate. Most people wouldn't want a dog catcher that lied that much - but president, well that's OK.
As pointed out in Victor Davis Hanson's recent piece:
Barack Obama, as is the wont of politicians, has lied a lot — and from the very beginning of his national career. He knew Bill Ayers well, Tony Rezko too. He lied about his decision not to seek the presidency as a newly elected senator, and lied about his willingness to take public campaign financing funds in 2008. He misled about what he would shortly do about most of the Bush-Cheney anti-terrorism protocols. Obama lied about much of his own biography.
When the president uses emphatics like “make no mistake about it,” “let me be perfectly clear,” and “in point of fact,” we know what follows will be untrue. He did not cut the deficit in half in his first four years. He had no intention of ever doing so. He lies about the circumstances of America’s gas and oil production surge — occurring despite, not because of, him. He lied about his involvement in the radical ACORN community action group, and fabricated about his father’s and grandfather’s World War II involvement.
Tally up what Barack Obama said about his health care initiative, the border fence, and his fiscal policy. Almost all of the major assurances proved lies.
I'm not crying boo hoo here, merely pointing out the astonishing fact that straight-up lying doesn't seem to hurt - it in fact seems to help. Can some of the same things be said of George W. Bush? Bill Clinton?
Of course. Yet both Clinton and Bush we're called out on their lying repeatedly - and in the case of Bush by the time his presidency ended he was blamed for literally everything with such dishonesty that it became the stuff of jokes. Barack Obama seems to be blessed with an ADHD media. Yes, politicians lie, always have, probably always will, it's the ease with which they lie in this current era that is so incredible.
We could spend all day talking about the abuse of the truth the media subjects us to. Yes, including FOX news, but I hardly think any of the "serious" news outlets (like MSNBC) would even know how to come clean while still captive to their delusions of objectivity. The media's lies and omissions would fill volumes - a subject for another day...
Oddly, it's our sports stars that we won't accept lies from. Ask Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds even Alex Rodriguez. Isn't it strange that men who play games aren't allowed to lie, but men who control armies and economies are expected to.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
What woman want and other unknowables...
I'm only half joking with this blogpost title. Being a man in a long term relationship (pretty good one I guess) I ultimately have no idea what women want and I likely never will. It's because what they say they want and what they actually want - deep down - are often entirely contradictory. The truth is most woman will agree with that statement.
I stumbled upon a fascinating blog the other day and read with great interest because the subject was essentially about the "bad boy" syndrome. Most of us safe, reliable beta males know exactly what that means whether we understand it or not. This article was about today's ultimate bad boys - Muslim men. You can read the whole thing here.
While the article is written by a Christian woman and is centered on the feminist movement's love affair with Islam I thought some of the underlying insights from a woman's perspective were fascinating. Regardless of the fact that most woman would deny many of these assertions if you've lived with a woman or women long enough you know there is truth in there.
FTA: random statements
- - inside, women are like children looking for limits
- - she wants to have the security of being put in her place
- - they are seeking someone who will put them in their place and pass their fitness tests
- - women want to be in submission, but they tend not to want to do it without some fitness testing
- - a man can’t really pass a woman’s fitness test if at the end of the day he does not have any power
- - seeks a worthy man who is strong enough to keep her safe if she cedes control in order to follow him
These assertions (from a woman) at first seem shocking to our modern post-feminized mindset, yet they are buried deep within an evolutionary psychology that pre-dates the feminist movement by tens of thousands of years. What the feminist movement has accomplished by emasculating modern society mostly via political correctness prevents most men from ever passing the fitness test. Modern government, urbanization and high technology has aided in this transformation. Today's modern man is not generally called on to physically defend the family or kill game for food or even conquer the land. Hell, he isn't even able to fix the damn car without advanced training. So today's women either settle (and I mean settle) for a beta, never marry and become cat ladies or go lesbian. Or they seek an often tormented, destructive life of chasing alphas - the bad boys.
In her article Sunshine Mary draws the distinction between what she calls the White Knight - this being white Christian men in modern Western society (in other words the devil himself) - and Muslim men. Now, I believe most Western women have no interest in Islam itself, but they way Muslim men act toward women is strikingly similar to the infamous bad boy in Western culture. That Muslim men are frequently tall, dark and handsome doesn't hurt. It's the aloofness and the absence of any semblance of male neediness combined with the willingness to use coercion and violence that is like an aphrodisiac. Add the infidelity that is literally expected of the bad boy and he is simply irresistible. Her constant dread that she is yesterdays news keeps her striving to please him in every way regardless of how he responds.
Women who settle for safe, comfortable beta males often let themselves go physically and have little interest in housework or cooking or sex. Their "yes dear" husbands do nothing to instill dread and often fall into the same rut. They too let themselves go and find solace in sports and drinking or some other activity that separates them from their wives. This while the media and society fills both their heads with images and stories of the triumph of alpha males and the fruits of their conquests.
It has gotten so bad that men are constantly told in commercials that they need a drug to get back what feminism and the modern world has taken from them - their hard-ons. One, you never see overweight, dopey mamma's boys in those commercials, and two, try to imagine erectile dysfunction TV commercials running in Muslim countries - not gonna happen.
A huge problem for women these days is that the pool of qualified men that can even take the fitness test is dwindling before their eyes. This problem is exasperated as they age because what they have to offer in a mans eyes fades. Without any "manly jobs" (face it there are very few actual full-time positions for firemen) a young man without a college degree has few prospects of achieving an earning potential that even get's him in the door. It's hard to blame women for that. She has needs, and the security of high earner sharing her bed is often paramount.
Young men around the world have retreated to their parents basements to play video games. They've gone K through12 doped up on Ritalin because they, well, they acted like boys. Now college doesn't want them, manufacturing plants have left the country and the trades are over-stocked with cheap immigrant labor. It's hard to blame young men for that. They get their needs met in their mom's kitchen and of course broadband Internet porn.
And so the TV and radio commercials for online dating web sites blare morning and night. In the end very few ever measure up. Young men aren't interested in overweight, demanding women and young women aren't interested in man-boys that live in their mom's basement. What a world we have created.
As a self confessed beta male and having once been a "yes, dear" husband I think the solution is that men are going to have be a hybrid... Alpha-when-you-need-to-be. Take charge of your life with confidence. There are times being assertive and sensitive, aloof and attentive all at the same time is going to be required. You will have to set yourself up socially and economically to demonstrate your manliness and status without being a full-time jerk. Hopefully you won't have to resort to violence ever, but be wary of anger. Alpha males are rarely angry men. I don't know if woman like violence as Sunshine Mary asserts, but I am sure that women don't like anger.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
I stumbled upon a fascinating blog the other day and read with great interest because the subject was essentially about the "bad boy" syndrome. Most of us safe, reliable beta males know exactly what that means whether we understand it or not. This article was about today's ultimate bad boys - Muslim men. You can read the whole thing here.While the article is written by a Christian woman and is centered on the feminist movement's love affair with Islam I thought some of the underlying insights from a woman's perspective were fascinating. Regardless of the fact that most woman would deny many of these assertions if you've lived with a woman or women long enough you know there is truth in there.
FTA: random statements
- - inside, women are like children looking for limits
- - she wants to have the security of being put in her place
- - they are seeking someone who will put them in their place and pass their fitness tests
- - women want to be in submission, but they tend not to want to do it without some fitness testing
- - a man can’t really pass a woman’s fitness test if at the end of the day he does not have any power
- - seeks a worthy man who is strong enough to keep her safe if she cedes control in order to follow him
These assertions (from a woman) at first seem shocking to our modern post-feminized mindset, yet they are buried deep within an evolutionary psychology that pre-dates the feminist movement by tens of thousands of years. What the feminist movement has accomplished by emasculating modern society mostly via political correctness prevents most men from ever passing the fitness test. Modern government, urbanization and high technology has aided in this transformation. Today's modern man is not generally called on to physically defend the family or kill game for food or even conquer the land. Hell, he isn't even able to fix the damn car without advanced training. So today's women either settle (and I mean settle) for a beta, never marry and become cat ladies or go lesbian. Or they seek an often tormented, destructive life of chasing alphas - the bad boys.
In her article Sunshine Mary draws the distinction between what she calls the White Knight - this being white Christian men in modern Western society (in other words the devil himself) - and Muslim men. Now, I believe most Western women have no interest in Islam itself, but they way Muslim men act toward women is strikingly similar to the infamous bad boy in Western culture. That Muslim men are frequently tall, dark and handsome doesn't hurt. It's the aloofness and the absence of any semblance of male neediness combined with the willingness to use coercion and violence that is like an aphrodisiac. Add the infidelity that is literally expected of the bad boy and he is simply irresistible. Her constant dread that she is yesterdays news keeps her striving to please him in every way regardless of how he responds.
Women who settle for safe, comfortable beta males often let themselves go physically and have little interest in housework or cooking or sex. Their "yes dear" husbands do nothing to instill dread and often fall into the same rut. They too let themselves go and find solace in sports and drinking or some other activity that separates them from their wives. This while the media and society fills both their heads with images and stories of the triumph of alpha males and the fruits of their conquests.
It has gotten so bad that men are constantly told in commercials that they need a drug to get back what feminism and the modern world has taken from them - their hard-ons. One, you never see overweight, dopey mamma's boys in those commercials, and two, try to imagine erectile dysfunction TV commercials running in Muslim countries - not gonna happen.
A huge problem for women these days is that the pool of qualified men that can even take the fitness test is dwindling before their eyes. This problem is exasperated as they age because what they have to offer in a mans eyes fades. Without any "manly jobs" (face it there are very few actual full-time positions for firemen) a young man without a college degree has few prospects of achieving an earning potential that even get's him in the door. It's hard to blame women for that. She has needs, and the security of high earner sharing her bed is often paramount.
Young men around the world have retreated to their parents basements to play video games. They've gone K through12 doped up on Ritalin because they, well, they acted like boys. Now college doesn't want them, manufacturing plants have left the country and the trades are over-stocked with cheap immigrant labor. It's hard to blame young men for that. They get their needs met in their mom's kitchen and of course broadband Internet porn.
And so the TV and radio commercials for online dating web sites blare morning and night. In the end very few ever measure up. Young men aren't interested in overweight, demanding women and young women aren't interested in man-boys that live in their mom's basement. What a world we have created.
As a self confessed beta male and having once been a "yes, dear" husband I think the solution is that men are going to have be a hybrid... Alpha-when-you-need-to-be. Take charge of your life with confidence. There are times being assertive and sensitive, aloof and attentive all at the same time is going to be required. You will have to set yourself up socially and economically to demonstrate your manliness and status without being a full-time jerk. Hopefully you won't have to resort to violence ever, but be wary of anger. Alpha males are rarely angry men. I don't know if woman like violence as Sunshine Mary asserts, but I am sure that women don't like anger.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
Saturday, July 06, 2013
New Art
click on image for a larger view
"The Blue and Gold"
30" x 48"
(acrylic)
2013
by
Craig Willms
From a photo found online, original photographer unknown to me.
30" x 48"
(acrylic)
2013
by
Craig Willms
From a photo found online, original photographer unknown to me.
A new painting that took me nearly a year to complete. I was so frustrated with finding/mixing the right color blue for the bird's plumage that the painting sat idle for 6 months. I eventually decided that I had to go with what I had. The blue is not as striking as would have liked but the painting, I think, turned out well.
Be sure to see more of my art here: www.static-art.blogspot.com/
This time I am not wrong...
Ugh
Monday, July 01, 2013
Is it Over Yet?
My God, is it over yet?
If an alien race where to land on Earth in the year 2013 and watch the news for any length of time who would fault them for believing the most oppressed people on the planet were the homosexuals.
Seriously, I don't give a flying f__k what homosexuals do or don't do or want or don't want. I am just so tired of hearing about it. You would think that they have been tied up, held down, stood on and generally repressed by every single aspect of our rotten, unfair, jack-booted culture. What BS.
Homosexuals have had the culture by the short hairs for a long time. Yay for them, they've come a long way baby, we're thrilled, just thrilled I tell 'ya. Now can they just please be quiet? That's not going to happen is it?
They will eventually get everything they want out of government, it's just a matter of time now, the Federal government will fall in line - as it should. That's fine, like I said I don't give a hoot, not my fight. Even after all the states and Uncle Sam become gay friendly it won't be over, because government benefits was never the goal. Nothing short of the destruction patriarchal Christianity (ie the Catholic Church) will do.
How ironic that the Catholic Church, where homosexual men went to hide all these years, would be the ultimate target of the gay cabal. Make no mistake this is a no holds barred fight to the finish, and it doesn't look good for the Christians. The problem is no one is going to come out the winner here, no one. If the gay cabal crushes the Church and throws out the baby with the bath water we all lose.
The thing is the Church (Catholic or Protestant) is a hypocrite, it's true. There is a biblical ideal which kinda follows along with common sense and human nature. The ideal is that a man should lie down with a woman, it's natural thing. Its is not that hard to imagine that this should be the ideal. The reality is we all fall short of "the ideal" in one aspect of our lives or another. We are all in process, a work in progress, we are probably never, any one of us, ever going to be "the ideal" with regards to anything. Besides this notion is massively overshadowed by Jesus' command that we love one another. The Church should invite them in with all its heart and love them just the same. Jesus would never have turned them away, and neither should any of his followers.
The gay cabal does not care that many Christian churches have opened their doors to them. Even a huge slice of the catholic population hold out open arms to homosexuals. That doesn't matter, the Church is still the enemy. That's OK, Jesus implores us to love our enemies. It's just another thing that shows just how radical Jesus was.
What I see in the near future is a concerted effort by the gay cabal in solidarity with Politically Correct elements in government and the media to continue an all out assault on the Church and Jesus Christ himself. First to go will be the tax exempt status. This may be inevitable as the last vestiges of Christendom finally wane. Then the Church will be slowly stripped of its rights as a private institution, like every other private institution that displeases PCism.
Here's the rub, if equal rights and equal treatment under the law were all that were at stake it would be a done deal. But deep down we sense, even some in the gay community itself sense, that at the heart of this is pure evil. It's the destruction of good. So called gay rights is at the tip of the spear, righteousness plunged into the heart of injustice. Unfortunately injustice isn't the target, justice is. There is only one justice, one judge, God himself.
Whether they want to acknowledge it or not the tip of the spear is always followed by the shaft. To God they say "give him the shaft"!
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
PS
This is not a gay bashing diatribe - if you read it carefully I am imploring Christians to open their hearts and love all people equally. It's PCism that is at the root of this evil of which I speak, GLBT is just one of the many dupes that have been strapped to the tip of their spear as they jab it into the heart of goodness.
If an alien race where to land on Earth in the year 2013 and watch the news for any length of time who would fault them for believing the most oppressed people on the planet were the homosexuals.
Seriously, I don't give a flying f__k what homosexuals do or don't do or want or don't want. I am just so tired of hearing about it. You would think that they have been tied up, held down, stood on and generally repressed by every single aspect of our rotten, unfair, jack-booted culture. What BS.
Homosexuals have had the culture by the short hairs for a long time. Yay for them, they've come a long way baby, we're thrilled, just thrilled I tell 'ya. Now can they just please be quiet? That's not going to happen is it?
They will eventually get everything they want out of government, it's just a matter of time now, the Federal government will fall in line - as it should. That's fine, like I said I don't give a hoot, not my fight. Even after all the states and Uncle Sam become gay friendly it won't be over, because government benefits was never the goal. Nothing short of the destruction patriarchal Christianity (ie the Catholic Church) will do.
How ironic that the Catholic Church, where homosexual men went to hide all these years, would be the ultimate target of the gay cabal. Make no mistake this is a no holds barred fight to the finish, and it doesn't look good for the Christians. The problem is no one is going to come out the winner here, no one. If the gay cabal crushes the Church and throws out the baby with the bath water we all lose.
The thing is the Church (Catholic or Protestant) is a hypocrite, it's true. There is a biblical ideal which kinda follows along with common sense and human nature. The ideal is that a man should lie down with a woman, it's natural thing. Its is not that hard to imagine that this should be the ideal. The reality is we all fall short of "the ideal" in one aspect of our lives or another. We are all in process, a work in progress, we are probably never, any one of us, ever going to be "the ideal" with regards to anything. Besides this notion is massively overshadowed by Jesus' command that we love one another. The Church should invite them in with all its heart and love them just the same. Jesus would never have turned them away, and neither should any of his followers.
The gay cabal does not care that many Christian churches have opened their doors to them. Even a huge slice of the catholic population hold out open arms to homosexuals. That doesn't matter, the Church is still the enemy. That's OK, Jesus implores us to love our enemies. It's just another thing that shows just how radical Jesus was.
What I see in the near future is a concerted effort by the gay cabal in solidarity with Politically Correct elements in government and the media to continue an all out assault on the Church and Jesus Christ himself. First to go will be the tax exempt status. This may be inevitable as the last vestiges of Christendom finally wane. Then the Church will be slowly stripped of its rights as a private institution, like every other private institution that displeases PCism.
Here's the rub, if equal rights and equal treatment under the law were all that were at stake it would be a done deal. But deep down we sense, even some in the gay community itself sense, that at the heart of this is pure evil. It's the destruction of good. So called gay rights is at the tip of the spear, righteousness plunged into the heart of injustice. Unfortunately injustice isn't the target, justice is. There is only one justice, one judge, God himself.
Whether they want to acknowledge it or not the tip of the spear is always followed by the shaft. To God they say "give him the shaft"!
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
PS
I have gay friends, have for my whole life. They are my friends because they don't constantly push an agenda on me or anyone. They have their passions like anyone else, but can read a room and determine when and where to say something or not. This is admirable...
This is not a gay bashing diatribe - if you read it carefully I am imploring Christians to open their hearts and love all people equally. It's PCism that is at the root of this evil of which I speak, GLBT is just one of the many dupes that have been strapped to the tip of their spear as they jab it into the heart of goodness.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Random Thoughts: What did they think would happen...
So now that the military has completely thrown the door open for women (yeah women!) what are we really to expect? I have heard anecdotally that male combat vets are OK with women in the fox hole next to them. They've recounted stories of heroism that declare without question woman can do the job. Great. Equality. Finally.
Now we are to understand that women will be trained as navy seals and army rangers, but rest assured standards will not be lowered. Yeah right. These programs are so grueling that most hardened men drop out/flunk out, with many reduced to tears. So excuse me if I fail to believe standards won't be lowered for women. There is no crying in the fox hole, right?
This announcement coming at the same time the current regime in Washington is busting balls in the armed services for rampant sexual abuse. What did they think would happen? These men are trained to be killing machines, their humanity altered to see other human beings as targets to be destroyed. For centuries, for eons, these men have been separated from "friendly" women. Whereas in the field of battle these men were not prosecuted for slaughtering the men, women or children of the enemy - and it doesn't take much imagination to see even these professional soldiers sexually assaulting the women of the enemy. So, now let's put these same trained killers together with women in the close quarters of combat, yes, that's great idea. Oh my, you're telling me that woman are being assaulted. Who could have predicted that?
I heard that the current regime in Washington is pushing to have ethanol produced from newly abundant natural gas resources. Isn't it bad enough that state and Federal governments prop up this bogus industry with massive subsidies as it is? This is stupid, foolish and wasteful all in one. When they dreamed up the ethanol industry in response to Global Warming (I guess) it resulted in 40% of the U.S. corn crop being used as fuel for our cars instead of as food for the world. The price of corn and all the products in the food chain (including meat) dependent on corn skyrocketed. What did they think would happen? Didn't take a rocket scientist to see that one coming.
The ethanol industry is floundering for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the immoral implication of burning food as fuel when billions of barrels of oil are readily available. So in order save it the government is going to force the use of natural gas in ethanol production. I makes zero sense until you factor in the political contribution aspect of it all. Without doing the research I would bet that the ethanol producers are massive contributors to politicians and PAC's.
A dozen states including Minnesota have implemented a sales tax on businesses partnering with web giants like Amazon.com and the like. Amazon began sending letters to these small businesses in Minnesota saying essentially "you're fired". This is how Amazon will get around the burden of having to calculate and collect taxes for individual states and localities. So, in other words, these small business, who likely rely on the sales they derive from Amazon.com's incredible reach, may likely go out of business or have greatly reduced incomes - and therefore pay less taxes. We call that cutting off your nose to spite your face. What did they think would happen?
The crafty Democrats who wrote and sponsored this legislation claim to have factored Amazon's reaction into their numbers and still plan on seeing a 5 million dollar revenue increase. Of course this law like so many will spin off something called the law of unintended consequences. I predict a loss of revenue as some of these businesses go under and of course the likelihood that new businesses that serve the web giants will go elsewhere to set up shop (like across the river in Wisconsin).
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
Now we are to understand that women will be trained as navy seals and army rangers, but rest assured standards will not be lowered. Yeah right. These programs are so grueling that most hardened men drop out/flunk out, with many reduced to tears. So excuse me if I fail to believe standards won't be lowered for women. There is no crying in the fox hole, right?This announcement coming at the same time the current regime in Washington is busting balls in the armed services for rampant sexual abuse. What did they think would happen? These men are trained to be killing machines, their humanity altered to see other human beings as targets to be destroyed. For centuries, for eons, these men have been separated from "friendly" women. Whereas in the field of battle these men were not prosecuted for slaughtering the men, women or children of the enemy - and it doesn't take much imagination to see even these professional soldiers sexually assaulting the women of the enemy. So, now let's put these same trained killers together with women in the close quarters of combat, yes, that's great idea. Oh my, you're telling me that woman are being assaulted. Who could have predicted that?
******************************
I heard that the current regime in Washington is pushing to have ethanol produced from newly abundant natural gas resources. Isn't it bad enough that state and Federal governments prop up this bogus industry with massive subsidies as it is? This is stupid, foolish and wasteful all in one. When they dreamed up the ethanol industry in response to Global Warming (I guess) it resulted in 40% of the U.S. corn crop being used as fuel for our cars instead of as food for the world. The price of corn and all the products in the food chain (including meat) dependent on corn skyrocketed. What did they think would happen? Didn't take a rocket scientist to see that one coming.
The ethanol industry is floundering for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the immoral implication of burning food as fuel when billions of barrels of oil are readily available. So in order save it the government is going to force the use of natural gas in ethanol production. I makes zero sense until you factor in the political contribution aspect of it all. Without doing the research I would bet that the ethanol producers are massive contributors to politicians and PAC's.
****************************
A dozen states including Minnesota have implemented a sales tax on businesses partnering with web giants like Amazon.com and the like. Amazon began sending letters to these small businesses in Minnesota saying essentially "you're fired". This is how Amazon will get around the burden of having to calculate and collect taxes for individual states and localities. So, in other words, these small business, who likely rely on the sales they derive from Amazon.com's incredible reach, may likely go out of business or have greatly reduced incomes - and therefore pay less taxes. We call that cutting off your nose to spite your face. What did they think would happen?
The crafty Democrats who wrote and sponsored this legislation claim to have factored Amazon's reaction into their numbers and still plan on seeing a 5 million dollar revenue increase. Of course this law like so many will spin off something called the law of unintended consequences. I predict a loss of revenue as some of these businesses go under and of course the likelihood that new businesses that serve the web giants will go elsewhere to set up shop (like across the river in Wisconsin).
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
Sunday, June 09, 2013
Transcendence: Rise Above and Reenter
In a previous post we looked at the problem of insufferable boredom. To some degree we have boredom to thank for some of the greatest discoveries, notions, concepts, art, music and scientific breakthroughs. There are two kinds of people in the world, those who plod along with what the world offers and those who transcend (however briefly) the humdrum world to a place outside the daily grind to discover something more. It is one of the key attributes that separates us from the lower animals. A dog never strives to more than a dog, he needs no greater understanding of his world or his place in it.It may be that boredom is the key to human progress (if one calls where we are today progress, I'll leave that to greater minds than mine). All I know is that I have been afflicted by the need to transcend the everyday nothingness to either better understand or contribute. Not all people who act and feel this way are extraordinary - I use myself as a case in point - but all extraordinary people are seekers of some such transcendence.
I have been, since I can remember, striving to create something or to have a greater understanding of the world metaphysically, spiritually or what have you. Basically they're the age old questions of why am I here, why is there something rather than nothing and who am "I". Some people don't even entertain these questions and just move about their world day to day. Either they understand that these questions cannot be answered and see no value or they just never go there intellectually. They just let the experts figure it out. Some are seekers some are not.
In Walker Percy's book Lost in the Cosmos he digs deep into the mechanisms of transcendence and reentry, concluding in part that the bigger you are the harder you fall - or - what goes up must come down. The problem of reentry into the everyday everyday is a matter of how softly one lands. Celebrities, sport stars and artists often land the hardest. This is simply because when they rise into the stratosphere the fickle what-have-you-done-for-me-lately public loses interest so quickly they crash to Earth with a resounding thud. There are countless tragic stories of just such crash landings.
There are others, like business titans and scientists who rise to the top of their fields with one defining deal or that one remarkable breakthrough. They can also struggle to exist in the ordinary world. They too implode (or explode). Few, like Bill Gates or Albert Einstein, can stay above it all and continue to live in a transcendent state. There are those, say like pop star Michael Jackson, that transcend and reenter, transcend and reenter over and over. It is well chronicled that he became increasingly weird each time, ending in his tragic overdose death not long after going through a bizarre episode of being accused of child molestation.
Even minor celebrities having tasted the sweet nectar of transcendence refuse reentry. Some successfully re-invent themselves - singers become actors, journalists become novelists and sports stars become broadcasters - and others like José Canseco a one-time baseball star resort to antics that keep them in the public eye but often diminish what they have accomplished and render their reputation into shambles.
That old phrase "be careful what you wish for" can be prescient. Looking back I resent the fact that I haven't lived the large life. I always thought I would, having the ambition I had as young man before the world whipped me back into reality. I often wonder if people of talent and ambition are unconsciously afraid of what success might do to them and the ones they love. I have wondered this about myself. In my own way, having some talent, or so I've been told, (see here and here and here) feeling the need to transcend the humdrum world I have never given it my all. I beat myself up about it all the time. Part of me tells me I'm not near good enough at any of these things, but another part is afraid of success - because then expectations are set. I also am a day dreamer, thinking things and never acting upon them. There is also the phenomenon of the talent as the promoter. I guess I never believed in my talents enough to seek out a promoter, and I'm a lousy self promoter. Why? Because I'm afraid of success? Or am I afraid of reentry? Probably both.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
Sunday, June 02, 2013
The problem of boredom...
"...how ruinous boredom is for humanity...Boredom is the root of all evil." -- Soren Kierkegaard
I was re-reading Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos when I came
across the chapter on boredom and was profoundly struck by immensity of the problem on the human condition. Walker explained that the word boredom didn't exist in the English lexicon until the 18th century. He asserted it was most likely because men were so busy just trying to stay alive there wasn't the time to be bored. I'm not so sure considering the role of spectator sport throughout history, and of course, the whole gladiator thing at the height of the Roman Empire, bloodsport wasn't invented because one's personal survival was itself of paramount concern.
Boredom is an odd thing, particularly in the modern age. There are countless ways to entertain oneself. Entire industries and vast enterprises have been developed explicitly to engage any extra time and money we may have - all to alleviate boredom. Case in point the whole video game industry. Yes, obviously the game makers are in it to sell games, but it's the bored gamers who drive it. The sheer excitement I've seen in my own son and his friends when a new game has finally come out is only eclipsed by the swiftness of the boredom factor that sets in a mere two or three weeks later. Anticipated for months and exhausted in a few weeks. There's a psychological component that goes deep into our human nature itself. Is boredom wired into us?
The cost of alleviating boredom in a monetary sense is only one factor. The devastation boredom can cause is literally incalculable. Set aside the money that is spent for all manner of boredom relief, be it going to sporting events, acquiring "boy toys" or going shopping to buy unneeded things like another pair of shoes. In most cases no one is really hurt by these sort of activities. On the other hand we have gangs of young men so bored out there minds that they lash out and destroy or even kill. There is the teenager that delves into dangerous drug and alcohol abuse out of boredom or self hatred (whether they know it or not). Then there's the middle-aged man who spends everything he has and then some at the casino or racetrack because another night sitting at home with his wife is simply intolerable. Rather than being bored thrill seekers risk their lives engaging what seem like crazy stunts just to feel fully alive. It has been said that kings, dictators and presidents take their nations to war because they're bored. The question becomes what makes routine daily life so intolerable that death itself (yours or someone else's) seem the only relief?
You see we all suffer from it, myself included. Some of you having read this far probably suffer from it... For those still with me, don't worry I don't think it is any sort of mental illness or anything like that. Sure boredom may contribute to depression or even suicide, but I think it's a perfectly normal temporary condition. Personally when boredom strikes me it's mainly a lack of energy, mental energy. Since I don't care for physical workouts I can't chase boredom away by taking a run or riding a bike. My boredom relief involves mental exercise and often, more so these days, I just have no energy for it. That's me, for others it's different, quite different.
There's always something to do, always. That may be part of the problem - maybe there's too much. We get bored when there's nothing to do, but also when there is too much, or when everything waiting to be done is overwhelming. We don't even know where to start not being bored.
For some it's a lack of any creativity at all, the mind being so numb from the sheer magnitude of modern life there's nothing left to ignite a spark of an original thought. These people are so lacking in confidence, they avoid anything that forces them out of their comfort zone. They passively look to others, maybe the TV or the Internet to take their minds off their pathetic self perception.
We spend most of our waking lives just trying to distract ourselves from our waking lives. It seems bizarre, but give it a moment to sink in... Examine your own daily life. How much of the day are you spending looking for something outside yourself to fill your eyes and ears? If I'm being honest - it's almost all of it. Is it normal? Is it healthy? I don't know. Am I hurting anybody, or more importantly am I helping anybody? Do we have the right to even be bored when there's so much that needs to be done? Again, I don't know.
Was Mother Teresa bored? Was Dorothy Day? Were the Ringling Brothers bored? How about Super Bowl Champion and MVP Tom Brady? One of the most interesting interviews I ever saw was a CBS news interview with Tom Brady the Super Bowl Champion quarterback for the Patriots. Here's a man with multiple Super Bowl rings, the very pinnacle of his profession, millions of dollars, good looks, super-model girlfriends - yeah girlfriends, and just about everything any red blooded American man could possibly want. Is he satisfied? He says no, there's got to be something more than this. In other words he's bored.
Well I doubt Mother Teresa was ever bored. Like any of the relief workers in Oklahoma this month there's too much to do to even think of being bored. When urgency dictates action boredom disappears, but is this then the solution to boredom - living in crisis mode? I don't think so.
A good question to ask is: is personal boredom really a problem?
We are either engaged or attached to something or have an aversion and by choice are disengaged, or we are neutral - we simply do not care. So, if we are not in a state of attachment or aversion and things appear neutral, it could be that boredom is our natural default condition! It is completely natural that we feel unengaged, indifferent or distanced - bored with - the things we find neutral.
When we’re bored we feel like a victim of our circumstances, we feel disenfranchised, disconnected, but since the main cause of boredom is internal it is therefore the opposite of personal creativity. The solution naturally is also to be found within our ourselves. Yeah, easy for me to say...
For some being bored is a blessing. Life has slowed enough to allow boredom to set in. It may be that something is out of balance. For those who lack the energy (like me) or are just so lazy they can't be bothered to act or think creatively boredom is going to be a constant challenge. Try not to burden or hurt others because you're bored. Some people with a medical condition or metal health issues are going to have to seek help. Personally I think much of the boredom problem is a bit of selfishness. Try reaching out to others and make yourselves useful, serve humanity and those less fortunate and you might find that boredom takes a back seat.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
I was re-reading Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos when I came
across the chapter on boredom and was profoundly struck by immensity of the problem on the human condition. Walker explained that the word boredom didn't exist in the English lexicon until the 18th century. He asserted it was most likely because men were so busy just trying to stay alive there wasn't the time to be bored. I'm not so sure considering the role of spectator sport throughout history, and of course, the whole gladiator thing at the height of the Roman Empire, bloodsport wasn't invented because one's personal survival was itself of paramount concern.
Boredom is an odd thing, particularly in the modern age. There are countless ways to entertain oneself. Entire industries and vast enterprises have been developed explicitly to engage any extra time and money we may have - all to alleviate boredom. Case in point the whole video game industry. Yes, obviously the game makers are in it to sell games, but it's the bored gamers who drive it. The sheer excitement I've seen in my own son and his friends when a new game has finally come out is only eclipsed by the swiftness of the boredom factor that sets in a mere two or three weeks later. Anticipated for months and exhausted in a few weeks. There's a psychological component that goes deep into our human nature itself. Is boredom wired into us? The cost of alleviating boredom in a monetary sense is only one factor. The devastation boredom can cause is literally incalculable. Set aside the money that is spent for all manner of boredom relief, be it going to sporting events, acquiring "boy toys" or going shopping to buy unneeded things like another pair of shoes. In most cases no one is really hurt by these sort of activities. On the other hand we have gangs of young men so bored out there minds that they lash out and destroy or even kill. There is the teenager that delves into dangerous drug and alcohol abuse out of boredom or self hatred (whether they know it or not). Then there's the middle-aged man who spends everything he has and then some at the casino or racetrack because another night sitting at home with his wife is simply intolerable. Rather than being bored thrill seekers risk their lives engaging what seem like crazy stunts just to feel fully alive. It has been said that kings, dictators and presidents take their nations to war because they're bored. The question becomes what makes routine daily life so intolerable that death itself (yours or someone else's) seem the only relief?
You see we all suffer from it, myself included. Some of you having read this far probably suffer from it... For those still with me, don't worry I don't think it is any sort of mental illness or anything like that. Sure boredom may contribute to depression or even suicide, but I think it's a perfectly normal temporary condition. Personally when boredom strikes me it's mainly a lack of energy, mental energy. Since I don't care for physical workouts I can't chase boredom away by taking a run or riding a bike. My boredom relief involves mental exercise and often, more so these days, I just have no energy for it. That's me, for others it's different, quite different.
There's always something to do, always. That may be part of the problem - maybe there's too much. We get bored when there's nothing to do, but also when there is too much, or when everything waiting to be done is overwhelming. We don't even know where to start not being bored.
For some it's a lack of any creativity at all, the mind being so numb from the sheer magnitude of modern life there's nothing left to ignite a spark of an original thought. These people are so lacking in confidence, they avoid anything that forces them out of their comfort zone. They passively look to others, maybe the TV or the Internet to take their minds off their pathetic self perception.
Was Mother Teresa bored? Was Dorothy Day? Were the Ringling Brothers bored? How about Super Bowl Champion and MVP Tom Brady? One of the most interesting interviews I ever saw was a CBS news interview with Tom Brady the Super Bowl Champion quarterback for the Patriots. Here's a man with multiple Super Bowl rings, the very pinnacle of his profession, millions of dollars, good looks, super-model girlfriends - yeah girlfriends, and just about everything any red blooded American man could possibly want. Is he satisfied? He says no, there's got to be something more than this. In other words he's bored.
Well I doubt Mother Teresa was ever bored. Like any of the relief workers in Oklahoma this month there's too much to do to even think of being bored. When urgency dictates action boredom disappears, but is this then the solution to boredom - living in crisis mode? I don't think so.
A good question to ask is: is personal boredom really a problem?
We are either engaged or attached to something or have an aversion and by choice are disengaged, or we are neutral - we simply do not care. So, if we are not in a state of attachment or aversion and things appear neutral, it could be that boredom is our natural default condition! It is completely natural that we feel unengaged, indifferent or distanced - bored with - the things we find neutral.
When we’re bored we feel like a victim of our circumstances, we feel disenfranchised, disconnected, but since the main cause of boredom is internal it is therefore the opposite of personal creativity. The solution naturally is also to be found within our ourselves. Yeah, easy for me to say...
For some being bored is a blessing. Life has slowed enough to allow boredom to set in. It may be that something is out of balance. For those who lack the energy (like me) or are just so lazy they can't be bothered to act or think creatively boredom is going to be a constant challenge. Try not to burden or hurt others because you're bored. Some people with a medical condition or metal health issues are going to have to seek help. Personally I think much of the boredom problem is a bit of selfishness. Try reaching out to others and make yourselves useful, serve humanity and those less fortunate and you might find that boredom takes a back seat.
But I could be wrong.
Ugh
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