Archives for January 2015

American Sniping

January 29, 2015 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus as I prepare for my big move to Portland, Oregon.

But I couldn’t help but respond to all this “American sniping” over the new blockbuster war flick by Clint Eastwood, American Sniper.

The movie has been wildly popular, especially in conservative circles.

But has drawn some criticism from the left.

What has become caustic cannon fodder for Facebook news-feeds is the controversy over Michael Moore unleashing a tweet insinuating that Chris Kyle, the subject of the film, is a coward.

Now, let me say upfront, of course Chris Kyle is not a coward…he’s a hero…a military hero…the kind that we love to love in America.

He saved American lives…

By taking non-American ones.

Now that shouldn’t detract from his heroic status, since he was doing the job he was ordered to do…and doing it quite well, I might add.

But maybe we could take issue with those orders that propelled him to deadliest sniper fame.

And maybe this film, which I’ve yet to see (it’s not playing in Costa Rica…go figure), is a little too dismissive of the idea that those orders, especially the one that sent Chris Kyle to Iraq in the first place, could, and perhaps should, be called into question.

Now, I’ve seen some nasty stuff on Facebook concerning Michael Moore, especially pointing out that he’s a bit obese.

Most of the comments I’ve read certainly could be considered a form of sniping.

And I do agree that Moore’s tweet was in poor judgment.

However, Michael Moore, in my opinion, is also a hero, a middle-class hero.

Wait, WTF?

Sure, because he makes documentaries, and very good ones, that expose some important truths about our society.

Truths that we may not want to hear…but need to.

His documentary, Capitalism: a Love Story, is about how capitalism is ruining the lives of ordinary middle-class Americans…the very kind that Chris Kyle represented.

It’s my guess that much of the hatred directed at Moore is coming from ordinary, middle-class Americans.

Why are you so vociferously hating someone who’s just trying to raise a middle-class voice over the noise, so that your plight can be heard?

Oh, I get it…you all think capitalism is really working in your favor, right?

And that Chris Kyle fought to preserve capitalism, since that is the underlying foundation for the American way of life?

Perhaps he did.

Perhaps the war in Iraq was, for the most part, a war motivated by capitalism…the same capitalism that’s pushing more and more wealth into the hands of an ever shrinking sliver of the population…

that sliver you keep hoping that maybe one day you’ll be a part of…

The same capitalism that pushes corporations to do irreparable harm to the environment, deny it and then fund this delusion of denial, so that it becomes dangerous mainstream thought…

And pay politicians to do their bidding to make sure that the system is rigged for the richest and exploitative of everyone and everything else.

Perhaps, in reality, that’s exactly what Chris Kyle fought for.

And perhaps we need truth-tellers, like Michael Moore, to help us realize it…

So, that in the future, the orders that sent Chris, and other brave men like him, into harm’s way,…

will never be given.

Chris Kyle is a hero and worthy of our celebration, but the war that provided the opportunity for his heroic exploits is not something we should be proud of, nor celebrate.

I think the reaction to this movie clearly indicates that, at least in some circles, war and capitalism are a bit too popular in the U.S.A.

image credit: Za Rodinu via Compfight cc

Straining Gnats and Swallowing Camels

January 13, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I’ll admit “the news” can be pretty addicting.

But it pays to remember what the underlying objective of nonstop “news”, by the likes of CNN, Fox and others, is…

making money.

Don’t get fooled into believing otherwise.

Yesterday, I got involved in a Facebook comment string on a post about how Obama was criticized, especially by Fox News, for failing to attend a rally in Paris in solidarity against the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.

My take on the matter was…WTF cares!

And really, I could say that about a lot of things that masquerade as news these days.

I especially like to pick on Fox.

Why?

Because they don’t even put up much of an effort towards being a legitimate news channel.

It’s very hard for me to take Fox News serious…and the same goes for the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze.

Just take a look at the websites of Limbaugh and Beck.

What seems to be the objective there…to enlighten their readers with good and useful information, or simply to make Beck and Limbaugh more money?

Both sites are massive eyesores…

Littered with ads trying to sell everything from guns and ammo to identity theft protection.

Don’t Rush and Glenn already have enough fucking money not to have to distract their readers with relentless ads about stuff no one really needs.

No, of course not…there’s never enough, right?

You see, it’s not about the message…it’s about the money.

I believe all these guys, and especially Fox news, foment our worst fears and prejudices because they know that’s what drives ratings.

And those ratings make the paychecks of O’Reilly and Hannity larger, and ultimately inflate the wealth of the Newscorp billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch.

That, IMHO, is the real purpose behind the existence of Fox News, as well as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck…

And in pursuit of that purpose, they do major harm to people and planet.

How?

Well, a particular case in point is the extent to which they add to the absolute ignorance that is global warming denial.

And as their massive audiences fall prey to this insanity, the more certain Congressman are emboldened to remain in the pockets of big oil and block any legislative attempt to do something to solve a very serious problem…

Same goes with spiraling wealth inequality, racial strife and other divisive issues of our day.

People and the planet we live on are thus threatened by all this nonsense in the name of “news” dissemination profiteering.

This is serious stuff folks.

If Rush or Beck really wanted to get their messages across, perhaps they could take the lead of one of my favorite bloggers…

Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net.

Check out his site. See any adds? See anything at all other than the bare message that he’s presenting to his reading audience.

It’s not that Leo doesn’t need to make a living…hell, he’s got a wife and 6 kids!

But to Leo, what’s more important is improving the quality of life of his readers…making the world a better place…not making money.

And he does just fine with the quarter of a million or so who regularly view his blog.

The Fox News, Beck and Limbaugh approach to “news” presentation reminds me of what Jesus once said about the Pharisees of his day, who he viewed as a threat to the people of Israel…they’re all about (and I paraphrase)…

Straining gnats and swallowing camels.

In other words, they don’t have their attention on, and they’re certainly not trying to direct our attention to, what’s most important.

They have the power at their disposal to make things better, to be impact mindful…

But do they use it that way?

No, instead they try to peddle us garbage and feed on our worst fears, just so they can make an extra million or two.

I’m here to tell you that further increases to their already massive net worths is NOT what’s most important.

They certainly don’t deserve nearly the amount of attention that people give them.

image credit: News Corpse via Compfight cc

My Life in Thirds

January 8, 2015 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

As 2014 drew to a close, as well as the 54th year being me, I reflected on my life in thirds…

The first 27 years were marked by a great deal of flailing.

That is, flailing around this or that, trying to figure out who Scott Bowers really is…

an artist?

an athlete?

a drugged out beach bum?

a hard-working, motivated young man on a mission?

And then one day, in 1987, at the close of my first 3rd, it dawned upon me that Scott Bowers, more than anything else, was destined for great financial success…for fame and fortune.

That set the course for the next 17 years, which were filled with activity in the pursuit of success, first as a lawyer, then as an entrepreneur.

And I did achieve limited success…

educationally and financially.

At least for fleeting moments.

But then something happened that to this day I can’t quite put a finger on…in terms of the exact reason(s) why…

This “metamorphosis” happened about 10 years ago.

Success, in the capitalistic sense, simply ceased to be a priority for me.

Maybe it’s because I exchanged that desire for another one…the desire to indulge.

So I spent half a decade, or more, doing just that…

Indulging to my heart’s content.

But about half-way into that decade, around 2009, I began having these idealistic notions of there being more to life than success, or indulgence.

I began to think that maybe there’s a purpose to it all that’s grander than me.

That it really isn’t all about me, myself and I.

This line of thinking has persisted to the point of provoking a crisis in my life that is now demanding decisive action.

So, as I close out 2/3’rds of my life…the first 54 years of it…I question what to make of the next 27 years…

the next, and perhaps final, 3rd.

In that regard, I’ve decided to make the following three vows, which will define the final 3rd of the life of Scott Bowers…

I hereby disavow any desire for success in terms of fame, or fortune. I once thought that was my destiny…well, it’s obviously not.
I hereby vow to do what is in my power to enhance the quality of the lives I love the most, chiefly my wife, our children, and, when the time comes, our grandchildren.
I hereby vow to live my life according to the principles of impact mindfulness, which means being dedicated to my writing and to activism on causes I care deeply about…the environment and social justice.

In many ways I’ve wasted the previous 54 years of my life.

Wasted them by attempting to climb a ladder without a top rung, which also happened to be leaning against the wrong wall.

Well, I’ve come back down to earth…my feet are finally firmly planted on solid ground…and I know what I want my life to be about in the relatively short time I have left.

This blog and the idea for impact mindfulness will play a key role in my future.

I don’t know how exactly…but they must.

I do feel somewhat remorseful about wasting much of my life up until now.

Yet, perhaps I never would’ve come to my current realization were it not for those wasted years.

Were it not for those years, neither would I be the person I am in the present, a person I believe adequately prepared and mentally focused to pursue his vows.

In fact, this is the first time in a very long time that I feel…focused.

So, in that sense, I guess the first 2/3’rds weren’t a waste at all…and really shouldn’t be lamented as such.

They shaped me into a much wiser person. A person who cares about his world, even more than he does about himself.

A world that I would like to leave to others in a better condition than the one I found it in.

Will you hold me accountable to these vows?

On Getting Real

January 6, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

As age creeps up on you, so can the trepidations about what the future might lay in store.

You probably should’ve had such worries a long time ago, but when you’re young and carefree, the future seems like too faraway a place to pay that much attention to.

Well, that was then and now is now.

“The future” has arrived and continues to arrive at ever increasing velocity.

The years seem to whizz by faster than Formula 1 cars at an Indy 500 race.

And when your present doesn’t quite comport with the illusion of your dreams, then those fears about the future become all the more foreboding.

Will it always be this way…

or worse?

Alone-ness can really intensify those feelings.

However, if you are even a remotely spiritual person (regardless of “religion”) and you look around with an open mind and see ample evidence of intelligent design and universal connection, then the idea of alone-ness doesn’t really make much sense…

now does it?

It seems the most compelling earthly evidence we have of that “universal connecting force” can be found in nature, it its purest and untainted form.

If nothing else, my 13 years in Costa Rica, especially the last 5 of them, have put me in closer connection with that force.

So, no, I don’t fear the future, since I’m not alone to face it.

The future is just a necessary component to getting real.

Sometimes it takes years to figure that one out…the joy of growing older…wiser.

I will leave this post with a blurb from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

In this children’s story, two nursery toys, the Skin Horse and the Rabbit, discuss the issue of becoming real…

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.

“When you are real, you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” Rabbit asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become.

It takes a long time.

That’s why it doesn’t happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.

But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are real, you can’t be ugly…except to the people who don’t understand.”

How to Win a Facebook Debate

January 4, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I really believe that social networks, of which Facebook certainly dominates, can be great sources of social change.

A place where consensus can be found to solve the many problems faced by people and planet.

However, all too often what I will herein denote as “Facebook debates” tend to devolve into childish insult trading among the comments of the parties on opposite sides of the issue under discussion.

It’s as if each thinks that he or she can win the debate simply by being more offensive than the other.

That really doesn’t work.

I mean, what’s the real purpose of a debate?

Is it to demean your opponent?

Is it to make yourself appear more clever than your opponent?

I would say that the answer to those questions is NO, even though that tends to be the way we gauge the winners and losers of the televised political debates we’re accustomed to.

If you can just get that one-line zinger in that really causes your opponent to sweat a bit harder, like Bentsen did to Quayle back in 98, then we’ve got a winner.

I’m going to suggest a different tactic for how to win a Facebook debate, or any other, for that matter…

When I put forth a position in a debate, or a simple Facebook discussion, in the form of a solution to the issue at hand, or the problem posed, I then want to support my position in a way that causes the other side to accept or agree with it.

If I can do that, well, then I’ve won.

But what if the other side to the debate is so ideologically entrenched that getting him or her to agree on anything, even the most obvious point, seems impossible?

In that case, perhaps you can initiate the idea for some common ground that will move the other side closer to a mutually acceptable solution, idea, or position.

Because when it comes right down to it, we’re not all that different in our basic needs and desires as humans, are we?

The purpose of the debate should be, even though it rarely is, to move forward towards a solution…

No?

Simply playing a game of one-upmanship doesn’t accomplish that.

I believe that’s why those political debates are worthless…

It’s never about solutions. It’s a media-driven show to prove one candidate the winner, not because of the higher quality of his ideas, but because he’s somehow able to demean the stature of the other fellow.

That might help you popularity-wise, and maybe even vote-wise, but it doesn’t move society forward one iota.

The same goes for these Facebook comment back and forth’s that all too often degenerate into “dissing” matches…

Now, granted, there are some out there who’ve perfected the art of the insult, or the offensive comeback. I don’t know who invented the term “libtard”, but it’s pretty clever, in a sophomoric way.

Being offensive doesn’t make you a good debater, nor does it prove that your ideas, if you actually possess any, have merit.

And it certainly doesn’t produce solutions…it just moves the parties further apart.

So, my suggestion is this, “can” the insults and show us your ideas…

New Facebook Debate Rule: Ideologies and the ideas they degenerate are fair game…people are not. Tweet It Out

Of course, complying will require an activity that perhaps we could all stand to engage in a bit more…

It’s called thinking.

If that was an insult…well, then I apologize.

I’m simply suggesting an alternative to the normally venomous political diatribes masquerading around social media under the guise of “debates.”

image credit: claireteat via Compfight cc

Archives for January 2015

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