Archives for September 2017

Genuine Genuflection

September 30, 2017 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

The country…indeed the entire world…seems more divided than ever these days. And those on one side of the divide are generally loathe to express any sense of understanding or respect for those on the other.

The dividing issue of the moment is “genuflection.” Yea, you read that right…the nation is divided as ever on the issue of “knee taking.”

And with Trump at the helm, next it could be “ring kissing”…but I digress…

I guess I really don’t need to reiterate the facts of this current brouhaha. I posted a bit about that the other day.

The intention of this post is rather to get at the heart of the matter.

What is really dividing us? I mean REALLY!

I wrote a post earlier in the year entitled, The Tale of Two Americas. That one alluded to the idea of inclusion versus exclusion as the seminal issue of deep division…

But is that really it?

Or, is it something even more sinister??

Is there a structural component to the division? Is it deeply embedded in the structure of society? Is there something inherent in our human DNA that makes us prone to taking sides? And have we actually built an entire civilization on that faulty foundation?

Perhaps those questions are too hard to answer in a less than thousand word blog post.

So, let’s come at it from a different angle…

Since the divisions themselves are so plainly apparent, perhaps the better question is, what will enable us to bridge them?

Acknowledging a few basic facts could help…

Like the fact that we’re really all made from the same stuff…

And have the same basic desires…

And live on the same revolving rock…

Are you catching my drift?

We humans have a lot in common, regardless of whether you’re on the “hate Trump” side, or the “love Trump” side.

Each side of the divide thinks that it has the answer about how the world ought to operate. In fact, each side is entirely convinced on that issue…

I’ve made the point repeatedly in this blog that neither really does. That’s the chief impact blinder this blog seeks to eliminate…the idea of absolute rightness…

When it comes to things like politics and religion…

there simply is none…

There is no “right answer.”

And guess what we’re divided most about?

Yep, you got it, politics and religion.

So, the direction I’d like this post to point to and encourage is one of stepping back from the fray and showing a bit of genuine genuflection out of respect for the fact that we’re all humans who deserve the right to be wrong.

After all, being wrong about something can ultimately lead to rightness…

just ask Edison.

We humans crave rightness…so much so that we’re willing to make up pretty elaborate stories about the way the world works and then dedicate our lives to them…

even die for them.

The real issue then might be just that…the competing stories we make up to prove that we’re right.

When it comes to the dividing issues of our day, such as whether it’s right or wrong to kneel or stand at the playing of the national anthem before a sporting event, is there really a “right side” to be on, or only a story that makes us feel like there is?

Are these competing stories really so important that we’re willing to risk the destruction of an entire society over them?

I seriously don’t think so.

My Life is Like the Grateful Dead

September 26, 2017 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

I’ll readily admit it…I’m a deadhead.

Have been for a very long time…and I don’t believe it’s something I’ll ever “grow out of.”

At least, I hope not.

I woke early this morning with some weird Dead tune playing in my head…

I reflected for a moment and realized it was from the album Blues for Allah.

Actually, Blues for Allah was my introduction to the Dead, back in the late 70’s.

The tune in my head was one called The Music Never Stopped.

Blues for Allah is one of the Dead’s most esoteric and weird studio recordings…it’s a mixture of hard psychedelic jam infused with jazz and other genres.

The title track for the album is a eulogy to former Saudi Arabia King Faisal, a fan of the Grateful Dead who was murdered in the year the album was released.

You can get the album in its entirely here.

One of my most memorable live Dead shows was in Charlotte, N.C. I guess it must have been like 1985. I went with a couple deadhead buddies…driving an old VW van, of course.

I remember being molested harshly by the Charlotte police on the way in…for no reason other than we looked “hippie”, I guess.

We had dropped some really good acid (you could always get that at Dead shows) and I was tripping pretty heavily throughout the show. Towards the end, the band was playing a Dylan tune and either projecting, or I, along with the entire audience, was hallucinating, some grand image on the stadium ceiling.

It was, well, just plain weird and exuberant fun.

Our plan was to move on to the next show in Norfolk. We hooked up with some deadhead chicks heading in the same direction. However, I got sidetracked and ended up staying in Greensboro, N.C. with some girl I knew there. The others continued on.

And that’s how it was back in those days, when Jerry was still around.

Flash forward about a lifetime later and I remember my last Dead show, while I was a practicing lawyer, again in Charlotte…with my ex-wife.

No acid this time!

Jerry died that same year.

And suddenly the Dead were no more…at least not in the pure form that I had come to know and love over so many years.

So, why do I say that my life is like the Grateful Dead?

Well, if the members of the Dead were anything they were nonconformists.

Some people really hated the Dead, but did they care? No, because they knew who they were and what they were about. And that was all that really mattered to them…and the legions who abandoned normal conformists lives to follow them.

And if I’m anything, it’s nonconformist. That’s why I find myself sitting here in the jungles of Costa Rica, typing out this post…rather than in Charlotte, being an elevator jockey.

The Dead was an eclectic mix, both in terms of the members of the band itself, and the music they played.

There has never been anything like the Dead. They played everything from heavy duty psychedelic, to folk, blues, bluegrass, R&B and country. One of my favorite Dead country covers is Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried.

In essence, with the Dead, there just weren’t any boundaries.

I believe that idea also captures the essence of this Revolutionary Misfit. I don’t believe in boundaries, borders or anything else that limits our experience of this life…that limits our potential for impact.

The Dead were musical scientists. They experimented with different mixes of sounds and genres. I’ve heard some crazy stories about their studio sessions. They liked to throw things together to see what might “work.” They weren’t afraid to take risks.

And, boy, do I ever do that. This blog is an experiment. My life in Latin America has been a continuous “risk.” Some aspects of my life here have proven disastrous for sure. But it has been worth it.

The Dead never thought of selling out, for any reason, especially not for money. I respect that and desire to emulate their example in what I do for the remaining days I have here.

I sincerely believe in what I’m doing right now. And I will continue to throw things out there into the world to see what might resonate…all consistent with my worldview, of course.

The Dead had a great impact on their fans. They influenced world-views with music and that’s not an easy accomplishment.

They were financially successful only because they attracted a loyal fan base, a tribe, who followed them to the ends of the earth.

I will readily admit that my world-view, the one this blog is all about, is heavily shaped by music, especially that of the Grateful Dead.

And I am sure they will continue to be an influence until the day I leave this Brokedown Palace.

They were Revolutionary Misfits for sure…

Long live the Dead!

image credit: cabalero5280 via Compfight cc

Knee Jerk Patriotism

September 26, 2017 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

There are certain things that make me feel patriotic. And, yes, the national anthem before a sporting event can be one of them…

But what is patriotism, really? And, perhaps an even better question is, what is it not?

At its heart patriotism means having pride in what one’s nation stands for. Certainly in our case that means our liberty, which many have fought hard to defend.

Here’s a recent video of a woman who spontaneously sang the national anthem at the Lincoln Memorial…

Yea, that one made me beam with patriotic pride. Her effort seemed to have a similar effect on those standing around her.

Those who’ve fought to defend our shared liberty come in many shapes and sizes. Certainly the brave young men who stormed the beaches of Normandy fit the bill. But so does the young woman who refused to ride in the back of the bus. So do those who braved the firehoses, nightsticks, and attack dogs of Bull Connor and his officers in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama.

And so does the young quarterback who took it upon himself to demonstrate his concern about social injustice in our country.

In one form or another all of those mentioned above paid a price for their displays of patriotism, some the ultimate price.

To me there is nothing more inspirational than true patriotism. But true patriotism has nothing to do with flag worship, or even worship and praise for the military. That’s what I would prefer to call “knee jerk patriotism.”

You see, when that flag is draped around really bad ideas like racism and bigotry, or around blind support for misguided military excursions that unnecessarily consume our nation’s precious resources and spill its even more precious blood…then it ceases to symbolize liberty, especially for those oppressed.

Donald Trump’s comments for a crowd of his “base” followers in Alabama offer up that brand of knee jerk patriotism that’s anything but inspirational. For many, perhaps most, his comments were infuriating.

They were infuriating to those who know very well that while they might not agree with certain ideas, or the means used in expressing them, peacefully, nevertheless they will defend to the death another’s right to express them.

That’s exactly what all those players and owners were doing out there on the fields across the nation on Sunday.

It had nothing to do with “the flag.” The flag is a piece of dyed cloth. The military is a government program that consumes an inordinate amount of our nation’s capital.

Neither deserve our worship.

But what that piece of dyed cloth represents and what the brave young men and women of our military defend, now that’s another story.

And that “story” is one of our commonly shared liberty…

To the chagrin and outright anger of some, including our sitting president, Colin Kaepernick has become a symbol of that liberty.

And Trump should be wary because in our country true defenders of liberty have a pretty good track record of success against their detractors.

The Trump Doctrine – A Dogma of Division

September 20, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Donald Trump’s speech before the United Nations this week revealed one thing very clearly…

that he does not embrace the concept of the Big US!

He unveiled his “America First” doctrine in dramatic form, encouraging other nations of the word to similarly embrace sovereignty and independence.

While that might sound good to some, it flies in the face of the world as it currently exists in the year 2017. A world in which people, goods, money and ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads move openly and freely across borders.

Trump is gaining a worthy reputation as the “pull-out king”, pulling out of trade agreements, anti-nuclear proliferation treaties, and global efforts to combat climate change.

However, pulling out is not always a very effective strategy, neither for birth control, nor global diplomacy and leadership.

In fact, I would opine that Donald Trump is leading us and the world in a very dangerous direction.

A world in which nations engage in a “we first” zero-sum ideology, as the one Trump espoused in that divisive speech, is a world likely headed for disaster.

Isn’t it already scary enough that we have category 5 hurricanes lining up in the Atlantic, earthquakes shaking the foundations of the world’s largest cities, and nuclear missile tests being conducted over the heads of people who already endured the horror of that type of warfare?

In short, this president scares the hell out of me!

The Trump doctrine should come as no surprise to anyone. It’s exactly in line with his campaign rhetoric. Many of us thought, or hoped, he would tone that down…however, he instead seems hellbent on ratcheting it up.

Trump has always operated with this zero-sum mentality, in his business dealings, as well as his personal life. You hit me, I hit back three times as hard, he likes to boast.

In fact, modern-day conservatism seems to have taken this myopic me-first turn that foments fear as a political strategy. This is not a unique phenomenon. It’s been used for centuries. It was used by the democrats in the post-civil war south in order to disenfranchise and castrate (socially and economically) the blacks, using Jim Crow laws, segregation, and white supremacist terrorism.

So, there’s really nothing “new” here.

And of course fear did get Trump elected. It tends to work on a certain segment of the population. A segment that embraces the status quo and fears any force that risks disruption.

Granted, right now there are disruptive forces at work. The population is rapidly diversifying ethnically, in terms of sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and certainly in culture and color.

Two pathways are clearly emerging for the future…

the path of the Trump doctrine, the one that embraces the dogma of division, or one that embraces the concept of the Big US…

that we’re all really in this boat together.

You see, Trump can call global warming a hoax until he’s a bluish-tinted orange in the face, but that doesn’t make it any less than a scientific fact.

And neither does Trump’s dogma of division negate the fact that we have one planet to live on. There are no others within reach. This is it.

We can choose to pull up our sovereign ladders and thumb our nationalist noses at the losers on the outside. That’s the direction Trump is leading the world in…he along with other similarly-minded leaders.

Or we can embrace the fact of connection, interdependence and cooperation.

Will Trump’s dogma of division work?

Well, it never has before. In fact, that type of leadership has in the past ultimately spelled disaster for its proponents, but not before wreaking mayhem on the rest of the world.

In a world in which human civilization is fast becoming completely connected and interdependent, I don’t really think it will work this time either.

A Satisfactory Philosophy of Ignorance

September 19, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

In the words of the English philosopher, Bertrand Russell…

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent full of doubt.

Isn’t it true that most of the trouble in the world tends to derive from cocksured-ness? That is, a dogmatic (or quasi-dogmatic) belief that I am right and the rest of you, well, can either join up, or be annihilated.

Look at the problems in the Middle East, for example. This is an entrenched conflict that has gone on for thousands of years at the expense of millions of lives. And why? Because each side is cocksure of the righteousness of their respective dogmatic opinions about the origins of the universe! And neither really has a clue.

Look at that dude in Syria, Bashar al Assad. Here you have a dictator so full of himself that he’s willing to sacrifice the population of his country (or, at least the part that doesn’t agree with him) just to stay in power.

Right now we have a president in our country that I’d describe as similarly cocksure. And most of what he’s so sure of, such as the idea that global warming is some kind of liberal hoax, he’s dangerously wrong about! And people and planet will suffer for that…believe me.

Wouldn’t it be better if these cocksure leaders had the capacity to look themselves in the mirror and think the novel thought that maybe, just maybe, I might be wrong.

Truth be told, there is one constant in the universe that we can all be sure of. And that is that we’re mostly unsure. Every second of life is chock full of uncertainty.

Did any of those New Yorkers going to work that fateful morning of September 11, 2001 have the foggiest notion of what was about to unfold? Did the U.S. government, the Central Intelligence Agency, or the Pentagon? No, not really. That day we all had to come to national grips with how uncertain life can be, didn’t we?

Does all this mean that there is no grand design, or purpose to it all? Are you kidding me…how would I know?

However, on some spiritual level I do sort of believe that there might be. But I don’t know what and I doubt seriously that I ever will. I believe maintaining a satisfactory philosophy of ignorance in the face of so much that is unknown is the better way to go.

So, what am I really saying this morning? That we should all just stay in bed?

No, better to repeat this…

I relax my consciousness…

I un-set my heart…

I wear the world as a loose garment…

I learn to dance on the constantly shifting carpet.

There now, with that said, the uncertainty tends to loose its edge over you.

You are now ready for it.

You are now armed with that satisfactory philosophy of ignorance that will help you make it through another day without doing any real cocksure harm.

Positive Impactfulness

September 19, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Here’s one from the old Costa Rica Guy blog that I wrote before I ever conceived of the idea for Revolutionay Misfit and Impact Mindfulness as a comprehensive worldview.

But, as you can read, the idea was already germinating…

Virtually everything we do, or neglect to do, has an impact, positive or negative. There are few things that we do that are completely neutral in terms of impact.

And this comes right down to the food we choose to eat and the clothes we choose to wear. What we say. Whether we smile when we greet others on the street. How we conduct ourselves behind the wheel of our cars (or motorcycles, skateboards, bicycles, etc.).

To maintain oneself in an energetic and healthy state of existence, via eating good food and exercising regularly, has positive impacts on your job performance, your relationships, your creativity, etc.

And so on it goes.

So, I believe a positive motivational force can and should be impact mindfulness.

Tony Robbins is able to convince thousands upon thousands of people to come to his seminars and learn to be motivated to achieve success in life.

But maybe a simpler way to self-motivate is to stop and be mindful of the impacts that our decisions (or indecisions) have on others and the planet on which we reside.

The great ones that have walked among us, the ones we immortalize and who inspire us, were people who exercised impact mindfulness.

Think of Ghandi…ML King…Christ…they all practiced it.

All were far less concerned with fame or fortune than they were about having a positive impact on the world, even to the point of sacrificing their own well-being in pursuit of that aim.

The great ones that have walked among us, the ones we immortalize and who inspire us, were people who exercised impact mindfulness.

I really love to blog. Lately I have been thinking how I can turn this labor of love into something that’s perhaps more than just a hobby. But in doing so I don’t want to rob myself of the motivation I have to write in order to have an impact…and nothing more.

I don’t want this blog to become, even if it’s only in my mind, a “vehicle” for me to gain fame, infamy, or fortune.

I want this blog to be a vehicle that inspires readers to live a life marked by positive impact.

photo credit: “†OnlyByGrace” via Compfight cc

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