removing impact blinders Archives - Page 2 of 16

On Getting Back to the Garden

June 14, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

A post I wrote quite a few years back, that still seems relevant, especially in light of recent tragic events…

We are stardust…
Billion year old carbon…
We are golden…
Caught in the devil’s bargain…
And we’ve got to get ourselves…
back to the garden.

Joni Mitchell, Woodstock, 1969

I’ve reluctantly come to the conclusion that the world “se fue para la mierda”…a crude thing to say, but since my readers generally don’t speak Spanish, I can get away with it.

But it wasn’t meant to be that way, was it?

If you believe that there’s a creative force behind everything our senses perceive, it’s just not logical to think that creation was meant to be this screwed up. The book of Genesis tell us that God created a garden (called Eden) where he placed the first two humans. This garden was perfect and they lived in complete peace and harmony between themselves and nature.

Sounds kind of nice, huh?

Then something happened. Since God had given these two creatures, made in His image, a dose of “free will”, they decided to exercise it to their detriment. And things haven’t been so perfect ever since…in fact, far from it.

So the question I pose this morning is this…how do we get “back to the garden?”

Moreover, what’s the force in this world that seems so determined to prevent that from happening?

It would seem that this force is what we sometimes refer to as evil. And even though some deny its presence, it certainly seems to exist and play an ever-present role in the daily affairs of humans.

Why else would a dude named Hitler adopt the belief that natural borne Germans should dominate and subjugate the entire world and in the process eliminate a race of people (the Jews) that he felt were a threat to that belief? If that’s not telling evidence of the existence of evil in this world, then I don’t know what is.

Much of the strife and conflict in the world has to do with opposing belief systems. Moreover, it seems that “evil” often resides in the recesses of such belief systems like a dormant virus. At the appropriate moment evil turns them to its own insidious advantage.

Why else would such systems, initially conceived with laudable ideals and goals, be later used to propagate such inhumane acts?

These belief systems offer differing ideas about our spiritual existence and how that should lead us to manage our material existence.

For instance capitalism says that since we’re endowed by a “creator” with inalienable rights, we should be free to exercise those rights and manage our own material existence free from government interference. Socialism, or Communism, on the other hand, directly opposes capitalism with the idea that our material existence should be handed over to a central governing entity, “the state”, that will make sure everyone gets an equal slice of the pie.

Proponents of each system hate those of the other. So each seeks to annihilate the other at all costs, even threatening the virtual destruction of the planet in order to do so.

Does any of this make the slightest bit of sense?

Why can’t we do away with the labels that separate us into different camps hell-bent on killing each other?

Should we be teaching our children to hate? Will that create a better world?

I don’t think so.

I say do away with the labels and open the mind to ideas that will serve to take us back to the garden, or at least in that general direction.

There are serious flaws with all man-engendered systems for managing our material existence…what we routinely call governments. None of them are perfect…in fact, they’re all far from it.

For instance in a capitalist system those that are “advantaged” tend always to take advantage of those who are not. There will always be such power imbalances inherent in such a system. In a communist system, the idea of replacing the “Creator” with something “created”…that is, “the state”… will always lead to tragic human rights abuses.

Could a system that recognizes and protects our creator-ordained freedoms, but at the same time creates a secure safety net for those left behind, or disadvantaged, for whatever reason, not be better?

And why do we rant and rail about every government program designed to help the less advantaged at our expense? Are we willing to step up and take up the slack without a government mandate?

No, of course we aren’t.

If we human beings got really serious about helping each other, regardless of our differences, it would end poverty and the evil reality of starving children in a moment.

If everyone were willing to be less focused on his or her own material existence and more on helping others with theirs, then we wouldn’t need those government programs…now would we?

And if we did away with the labels that foster hate and fear among nations, or groups within nations, then maybe we wouldn’t need to pour the trillions of dollars into creating a war-machine in the name of defeating the “evil of opposing beliefs.”

These are just some thoughts that occurred to me today in contemplating how society could march in a different direction…

one that takes us away from “the cliff” and back towards “the garden.”

Sanders is a Step in the Right Direction

April 17, 2016 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

To keep doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

It’s also the reason why the system of oligarchy, or rule by the rich, has grown such deeps roots in American society.

Today the nation, the world, is faced with grave problems that cannot be dismissed. And, as a matter of fact, neither ISIS, nor immigration, are in the top three.

Economic inequality has grown to monstrous proportions in our country and in the world at large. In our country the richest singly family owns more wealth than the bottom 40% of all Americans. In the world, the richest 62 people own more wealth than 50% of all people on planet earth. Let me put that another way, 62 people own more of the earth’s resources than 3.5 billion!

Now, some might say, so what?

Well, if you don’t think that all that concentrated wealth carries with it concentrated power, then you’re just not being honest with yourself.

It does matter. And it is creating an unsustainable situation in our country and throughout our planet.

It is creating a dangerously unstable situation.

The reality is that the conflicts throughout the world might just have more to do with inequality than with anything else, including religion. The disaffected are looking for answers and the siren song of violent reaction, whether sounded by Trump or by ISIS, can be very alluring.

But thinking people know that violence is not the answer.

Right?

The capacity for influence that all that concentrated wealth carries cannot be lightly dismissed. It has become quite acceptable to the American populace that only the most wealthy among us share the privilege of leading us in government. And it’s become perfectly acceptable to many that only those with access to billions from wealthy contributors (or from their own pocket books) should be capable of successfully running a campaign for national office, like president, congressman, or senator.

But that access comes at a price…and that price is oligarchy.

Government does not work for the people.

Government works for the rich. If that’s not the case, then why can’t it take action that the people want?

Do the people want health care as a right, not a privilege? Should we not live in a situation in the richest country on earth, where the prospect of a health crisis does not also lead to the inevitability of a personal financial meltdown? The citizens of virtually every other developed country on this planet have that…but not here, not in the U.S.

Why?

Because those in power don’t want it, either because they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping health care costs soaring and making sure the populace keeps paying the price for it.

Do the people want their kids to have the chance to get a start in life with a college degree without the added burden of crushing debt? Debt that they may be paying back for the rest of their lives? Is it not reasonable to expect that the wealthiest nation on earth could provide that benefit to its youth in the same way that most other developed countries provide theirs? Of course, but those in power don’t want that.

Why?

Well, because either they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping education costs soaring and making sure the populace keeps paying the price for it.

Global warming is a scientific fact. If you’re reading this and don’t believe that, the only thing I can suggest is…do a little unbiased research. The scientific evidence is overwhelming…along the lines of gravity, or evolution.

Not only is it a scientific fact, but it’s a very real and current threat to humanity. The negative effect of global warming on our planet and our lives is not some distant danger…it is a present danger. They are taking place throughout our planet now, from disappearing species that some are calling the sixth mass extinction of life on planet earth, to the melting polar icecaps and rising sea levels.

So, why can’t we seem to get our collective act together and do something about it? Because those in power don’t want that.

Why?

Because either they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in ignoring climate change and making sure the populace keeps doing the same.

Make no mistake about it, the reason the government doesn’t work for the people is because it works for the wealthy.

And we keep voting for that reality.

We keep voting for oligarchy.

We are facilitating the problem.

It is madness to think that someone who finances his or her campaign with donations from the 1%, will then take office and govern for the 99%. Tweet it out!

Ain’t gonna happen.

But, wait, a solution has arrived on this event horizon, just in time for us not to go careening over the edge into the black hole…

His name is Bernie Sanders.

Now, am I saying that Bernie Sanders is the answer? That he will be the proverbial magic wand whose waiving will vanquish all the grave problems we face?

No, I am not and I do not believe that.

But, I do believe this…he’s the best chance we’ve got at this point in time.

His election does not guarantee success. It does not guarantee that the people will get what they want.

But he does increase that probability.

Bernie Sanders does not guarantee success.

But…Bernie Sanders is a step in the right direction.

The Trumpet Call

July 31, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Well, I tried.

And, I failed.

My experiment in repatriation proved to be a disaster.

Why, you ask?

Many reasons…not the least of which was getting off to a very bad start.

Nevertheless, it was another eye-opening experience. And in that light, it was beneficial to have suffered it. I had a handful of folks genuinely pulling for me…and I sincerely thank you all for that.

But in the end, it just didn’t work.

And what revelations and epiphanies transpired in my mind, heart and soul from all the trauma?

It all sort of comes down to this opinion, conclusion, warning, or however you want to couch it…

The U.S.A. is in deep trouble.

No, not because of 8 years under Obama. If anything, his presidency has been successful in a myriad of statistical ways…but it has not reversed the trend…

the slide into the abyss…

In fact, his presidency seems to have marked an acceleration.

The basic problem comes down to this: the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.

We can drill down on that a bit more and rephrase it: the super rich are getting superbly richer whilst the rest of us are growing more and more downtrodden…

and the great swath of American society called the “middle class” appear to be completely oblivious to this alarming trend.

Rather than look up to the problem, they look down in blame…or over at Obama.

Obama is not the source of the problem. He does acknowledge it, but he’s been pretty powerless (or unwilling) to do much about it.

Obama’s presidency has in no measure changed the increasingly factual reality that our country has become an outright oligarchy.

The super rich class control the levers and they’re making damn sure that their ass is insulated from the turmoil that’s coming…

The shit may be close to hitting the fan folks.

And the election of someone like Donald Trump could really be the proverbial straw…to continue on with this annoying string of clichés.

What we don’t need is exactly what a fellow like Trump proposes.

And that is, the privatization of, well, everything. The idea that everything works better if it works for profit…

And for whom does that profit work?

Well, certainly not for me…

You perhaps?

Doubtful as well.

What do “we” all really want…the normal we…not the private jet-set crowd…but regular run-of-the-mill blokes, like you and me?

We want “America” to work…we want the land of the free and the home of the brave to be a nice place to live in, for all of US…right?

Well, if this problem continues unabated much longer, it won’t be.

One reason I feel more at ease down south…way down south…about as far removed from the culture of materiality as you can get…

is that, while people are generally poorer than poor, in terms of American standards…

they are exquisitely happy, dignified and life loving folks.

They work good and hard…but their work doesn’t define them. Their decreased desire to accumulate reduces that pressure.

And what I witnessed during my five odd months of U.S. repatriation is that THAT is just not true up there.

The downtrodden are just that, downtrodden, and rightly pissed off about it. The culture that tells them they are worthless wretches for not having more gives rise to their anger and frustration.

This anger is simmering to a boil under the thinning crust of American materialistic excess…and the pressure that could lead to violent eruption is building.

What could possibly release it…the pressure that is?

Perhaps the election of someone who really cares about THE PROBLEM.

Someone who doesn’t ignore it, or make short shrift of it as being part and parcel of a dreaded “progressive” (translated: communist) ideology.

The problem will persist (and grow like a cancer) regardless of how you choose to label it…

Labeling is not the solution that will make it go away.

I’ve learned the hard way that the strategy of ignoring (or belittling) my problems generally only leads to their becoming larger.

So, in a little over a year, America will be faced with a very important choice…

if we’re fortunate enough to get to that point.

I’d suggest it choose wisely.

The trumpet call is sounding…it’s time for less words, more action.

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Will This Make Me Wealthy?

June 13, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I have long been infected with the entrepreneurial virus. I guess it’s like an STD that never goes away…

Not sure exactly where the infection originated. My grandfather and father were both similarly afflicted.

For many years any idea that popped into my head about starting a business would immediately give rise to the following question…

Will this make me wealthy?

Because if not…why bother?

I mean, that’s the capitalistic way to think, right?

It’s funny, but this little pueblo that we call Perez Zeledon…where I currently* reside…is a hotbed for entrepreneurial endeavors.

It is the veritable “Silicon Valley” of Costa Rica…

without the silicon, of course.

But for a different reason than the one up north.

I seriously doubt if there was ever a Silicon “start-up” whose founder did not ponder that same question…

Will this start-up idea make me filthy rich?

Of course, in their case “wealthy” would surely conjure up figures with more zeroes than my brain could ever envision.

Down here in the valle de El General, the motive is different.

People start businesses because, quite simply, there are no jobs to be had…period.

Actually, that’s becoming a phenomenon in the U.S. as well, which could be a topic for another post.

The entrepreneurial exploits here might be limited to a small neighborhood store (pulperias, as we call them), or a small restaurant (sodas, as we call those)…or simply selling “empanadas” door to door…

The goal is not to be “weal-thy”, but to just be well…

That is, folks here look at business as a vehicle for a life well lived, rather than life as a vehicle for a business well managed. Tweet it Out!

Get it?

I’ve never heard of an entrepreneur down here taking his or her life because his soda failed.

Lately, my mind has been probing business ideas. And I immediately caught myself falling back to the same old question…

Will this make me wealthy?

And then I asked myself…

Why does it really matter?

You see, I’m trying to approach life (and business) from a different perspective.

I prefer that the emphasis be, no, that the entire impetus be…

impact.

Wealth…or economic self-interest…shouldn’t necessarily be the focal point of my entrepreneurial imagination.

Oh for sure, we’ve all got to live, pay the bills and all that stuff…

But we don’t HAVE TO BE wealthy.

In fact, there are many ideas that could have far reaching impacts, but that would never make one wealthy.

So should those be screened out?

Of course not!

I shouldn’t play the role of the typical vulture capitalist against myself. That is, screening out any idea that doesn’t have the potential to “go public”, or “viral.”

Instead I can think of two much better standards by which to judge an idea…

1) am I truly passionate about it?

and

2) does it have the potential for impact?

If both can be answered in the positive, why not go for it?

I’m just plain sick and tired of the tendency to judge everything by dollars…by profit.

I’m more inclined these days to imbue my entrepreneurial ideas with the metaphysical and quasi-spiritual notion or belief that if it has the capacity for impact…then the universe will respond with a required degree of profit to keep it growing…

I know that sounds a little bit “fugazi,” but what the hell…

It makes me happier.

image credit: fpsurgeon via Compfight cc

*I moved to Portland, Oregon in February of this year (2015). I feel I’ve lost a bit of the make impact the impetus mindset that inspired posts like this one. So, I’m reposting it as a gentle reminder to myself…

Endemic versus Reactionary Racism

June 9, 2015 by costaricaguy 4 Comments

My last post was a rant against the tendency of some on the right to use a sort of “reverse political correctness” against throwing down the “race card.”

In this post I want to make the case that not only should playing the race card be legitimate because it’s still in the deck…

but also because it’s a necessary move towards making it (race) obsolete as a factor in our society.

And I am talking about endemic versus reactionary racism. I will explain shortly.

When events transpire that are tinged with even the faintest scent of racism, the card should appear…every time.

Why?

Because racism is a problem so pernicious that it must be rooted out and eradicated from every facet of our lives.

It is one of the ultimate evils in our (and any) society.

But let’s get straight on what I am referring to by racism.

Every time there is a race eruption, you hear the specious argument that attempts to delegitimize use of the race card since it (racism) exists on both sides of the equation.

But there’s a big difference between black racial attitudes against whites, which I’ll call reactionary racism, and the endemic racism that is the prevalent evil in our society.

Do some blacks (well more than some perhaps) harbor negative attitudes towards whites?

Certainly.

But it’s not because of immutable traits like color, physical characteristics or culture…it’s a reaction to suffering the first 100 years of their involuntary presence in this country as chattel…

and the next 100 being socially, politically and economically oppressed.

That would tend to make one a bit suspicious, perhaps even pissed off.

Attempting to accuse blacks of the same brand of racism as that of the Aryan Nation is like condemning a Jew for hating a Nazi. They don’t hate them because of their blonde hair and blue eyes, Colonel Klink-ish accent or tendency towards anal retentiveness…

they hate them because those assholes tried to exterminate the Jewish race!

You see, it’s reactionary.

I grew up in the South during desegregation and was intimately exposed to racism. I knew very clearly (then, as well as now) that whites didn’t harbor negative racial attitudes against blacks as a reaction to the incendiary political views of the Black Panther party. They hated them because of immutable traits that they (the black people) were born with and could not change.

And that’s where the real evil lies.

So, it appals me when Bill (the bloviator) O’Reilly delivers a spitting venomous diatribe blaming the totality of problems blacks face in our society on their taste in music, or because they tend to be hornier than he would prefer them to be…while completely dismissing the fact that there has been systematic societal oppression against the black race for over 200 years!

The race card, as ugly as it might be, is a necessary tool to eradicate racism. Tweet it Out!

If an event in our society occurs as a possible result of race, it should be thoroughly investigated, prosecuted (if truly present) and bold steps taken to insure against racism’s future presence in a similar situation, so that real endemic racism has a chance of being eliminated as a pernicious societal sin.

That’s what I would term legitimate use of “the race card.”

I could envision that when that happens consistently, the reactionary “racism” that whites often lament will rapidly evaporate.

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Hyper-Critical

May 14, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I believe Facebook, other social media as well, but predominantly Facebook, has the potential for great societal benefit…

Why?

Because it’s a convenient location for important discussions to take place…

Discussions that can lead to action and change.

But…and this is a really big BUT…for that to happen we need to be less combative, and hyper-critical, in the way we participate, IMHO.

Instead, most discussions rapidly devolve into cyber-shouting matches in a vain attempt to try to prove the rightness of one’s position over another’s.

That can be fun, in as much as it’s fun to degrade other human beings, but it rarely leads to any solutions, or even good ideas.

I believe that our world-views can handicap us in this effort.

That is, if your world-view is predominantly an exclusive one.

One that doesn’t leave room in the world for any other.

World-views that are religiously based tend to be that way.

Highly polarized political ones tend to be as well.

Maybe it’s a good idea to shun religious and political party affiliation altogether for the good of humanity?

Because no one is always right and to affiliate yourself with a particular religion or political party seems all too often tantamount to closed-mindedness.

When the fact is that the more you’re convinced that your position is the only possible correct one, the more likely it is that you’re dead wrong.

As soon as words like Republican, Democrat, Liberal, Conservative, Progressive, Socialist, Christian, Muslim, and others of that ilk are unleashed…

the prospect for a meaningful discussion usually goes dramatically down…

It’s an inverse relationship.

Could it be possible to have a conversation without bringing any of that shit up?

I believe it can.

I can talk about a particular viewpoint as being either good or bad, in my opinion, without giving it any label…can’t I?

I was struck by insight one day, from who knows where, and it led me to this world-view that’s been my consistent guide for some time now, and it helps me to be, well, consistent…and open-minded.

Actually, I believe it was a gradual process, but I can pinpoint a particular moment when it all sort of jelled.

I call it Impact Mindfulness.

I’m particular fond of it because it’s fairly agnostic and apolitical.

It allows me to saunter into discussions without the temptation to immediately begin throwing grenades that polarize upon detonation.

I’m guided by the idea that people and planet will be better off if we believe and act on three simple ideas…

that it’s best to prioritize impact (that is, the positive impact we can have for people and planet via our actions and inactions) over our self-interest…and in particular, our economic self-interest…
that it’s best to embrace the idea of the Big US, or the one where every argument presupposes that we’re all on this planetary ship together, since that is, indeed, a fact…
and that it’s best to take off impact blinders, such as political and religious affiliation, in order to see a bigger and more objective picture.

Am I patting myself on the back for breaking new philosophical ground with this?

No, of course not. I’m not by any means smart enough to accomplish such a feat.

All these ideas have been around…

Many label them as progressive…

But, you know, I don’t recoil at that label…as I truly believe progress is a good thing.

And I’d like to see more Facebook discussions that are progressive leaning and less that are partisan posturing and hyper-critical…

That is, discussions driven towards the end of progress for all, rather than towards elevation of ego via proving one’s rightness, or righteousness.

Proving yourself the smartest guy or gal on the Facebook wall doesn’t make the wall any smarter…or better off. Tweet it Out!

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