My rambling thoughts about How to Save the Nation
My rambling thoughts about How to Save the Nation
Start 2004 09 10 James E D Cline
I've had fleeting ideas about how to turn the trends around. As well as thoughts as to the deeper problems behind the trends that look dismal to me. At this point I am just jotting down the rather unintegrated pieces. Maybe later do what I can to assemble the pieces, like those of a jigsaw puzzle.
1. It seems reasonable that some Intellectuals, many decades ago, learned about Malthusian Theory, of the exponential rise in populations of mice and men. Their learn-ed calculations urged that people ought to stop having so many children, etc, etc. Some groups may have decided to take action to lower the population, well-meaning people that saw the devastation man wreaks on the earth and sea. Indeed, such may have powered some of the forces now rampaging. And those highly esteemed, well-meaning folk, having seen much resulting loss of life and happiness that came forth (all in the banner of lowering the population), believing they did the right things that were hard decisions, do not want to hear a message that says they were wrong, that right now a high quality mankind needs to intensely expand civilization with a path for cities in space right now ... that mankind's potential is truly above that of the animals. Not a message they would like to hear; and much worse, they do not want others to hear. Understandable. But does that mean man has to continue to pull the plug, just to save face? Can we learn from our mistakes and move on?
2. I have always lived lightly on this earth. Even now, though a "senior", I struggle to get around by walking and public mass transportation systems, even though I could drive my car. The need to conserve petrochemical reserves is widely known, yet the average size of the vehicles that pull up at the stoplight as I wait for the light on the sidewalk, on foot, seems to have about doubled. If I look over at the people in those mammoth vehicles, I see one or a couple looking back at me, they rather suspiciously at me, before the light changes and the parade of behemoths surges forward. Somehow, it does not make sense to me, why are those young people racing to consume the resources they and their children will desperately need, not long hence? Are these people well educated? If so, what are they being taught? Maybe it is "survival of the fittest, rip out as big a chunk as you can while there is still something to rip out." Or maybe simply the guy proclaims "I am a winner" and the gal sees the winner and says that surely he will provide for her and her children, and so she will ride with him. Maybe they simply don't think further than that, due their particular temperament and need to just tread water, nowhere really to go. Or so they think, and act upon.
3. Three years ago tomorrow, some strange things happened: something enabled a bunch of planes to be hijacked and slammed into some buildings, and ushered in the age we now live in. Among other things, we are warring in the middle-east, Afghanistan then Iraq; yet, would we not be in civil war were it not for turning our attention outward? As I wander the streets and marketplaces, even workplaces, I see a lot of angry people. Often I see an angry glaring thug right behind me at the checkout line, like at KMart today; I can't adequately evaluate what is going on, but something is. Reminded by recent news, I remember all the assault weapons stockpiled since the 1960's, and the people who focus on that mode, preparing for something, Patriots, many claim. Back in the 1960's it was to dispose of enemy spies in the country, the government was not doing a good job of eradicating them, they thought. Most, surely were well-meaning folk; some were adventurers needing some group backing for their destructive exploits. On both sides. So, who is their enemy now? Without an enemy they have no rallying theme, and they would dissolve, maybe. In the 1960's, the women solved the problem with the motto "make love not war" and it worked: things moved toward peace and prosperity (probably most men find that lots of really real lovemaking with a woman is very much better than slugging it out with the guys), but population grew and energy consumption increased faster than population, along with accumulation of civilization's wastes that nature does not know how to recycle without our knowledgeable help. Horrid disease created since then has now blocked that "make love, not war" option; that door is now sadly shut. Stresses mount higher, suppressed angers fume and strive to find a target. Tranquilizing the public with drugs might help if they could get to the tough thugs, which is unlikely to happen; besides, a stupefied population is not competent to take on the challenges of life. Much needs to be done; and the glazed eyes and vacant smiles walking down the street don't seem to me to be able to get the job done well and on time, and probably they won't even see the problems anyway. And the way of the ruminant herd bull haunts me: ramming headfirst into the broadside of the interloper, as works for bulls in the field, is an image far to close a match for image of planes ramming headfirst into Twin Towers, to down the presumed opposition, so as to claim the herd's future.
4. There has to be a way or ways. The manipulation of "Group Think" seems to be the main force operant nowadays; even I, afflicted with the social handicap of Asperger Syndrome, am not totally immune to the so-subtle advise of Group Think, at the moment of quick decision. Making "boo-boo's" is no stranger to me either; I've "been there done that" too. Most likely there are a bunch of forces which think they are going to "win big" during the turmoil and lack of accountability going on. No good guys and no bad guys, just boys... playing with matches sometimes. Free-Enterprise is proclaimed, yet "nobody is watching the store" except security staff through TV cameras looking for images resembling pre-labeled bad guys; meantime everything is getting sold-out. So, Big Problems in River City. Are we humans great at solving problems? Yes! OK, like the Chicken Pox, we have got it.
5. Assuming there is some future for our nation possible other than being divvied up into feudal lordship corporate kingdoms, within an isolationist nation created through deliberately poking the other nations with a sharp stick; I look for those kind of options. Technology change needs to be handled by other than "the new product company trashes the old product company", if only because it is too easy for the old product company to squash the upcoming new product company in its infant stages. This deprives everybody from the benefits of the new products that might have been. Some of those new products may be life saving; some even civilization and environment saving. Would be nice to have them there in time of need. Perhaps some 3rd party arbitrator kind of thing could arrange for the folk and stockholders of the old company to be welcomed in as adequate partners in the new company, for example; education and training for comparable level employment in the new technology corporation being a mandatory part of the deal. Does this seem of interest to anyone but me?
Start 2004 09 10 James E D Cline
I've had fleeting ideas about how to turn the trends around. As well as thoughts as to the deeper problems behind the trends that look dismal to me. At this point I am just jotting down the rather unintegrated pieces. Maybe later do what I can to assemble the pieces, like those of a jigsaw puzzle.
1. It seems reasonable that some Intellectuals, many decades ago, learned about Malthusian Theory, of the exponential rise in populations of mice and men. Their learn-ed calculations urged that people ought to stop having so many children, etc, etc. Some groups may have decided to take action to lower the population, well-meaning people that saw the devastation man wreaks on the earth and sea. Indeed, such may have powered some of the forces now rampaging. And those highly esteemed, well-meaning folk, having seen much resulting loss of life and happiness that came forth (all in the banner of lowering the population), believing they did the right things that were hard decisions, do not want to hear a message that says they were wrong, that right now a high quality mankind needs to intensely expand civilization with a path for cities in space right now ... that mankind's potential is truly above that of the animals. Not a message they would like to hear; and much worse, they do not want others to hear. Understandable. But does that mean man has to continue to pull the plug, just to save face? Can we learn from our mistakes and move on?
2. I have always lived lightly on this earth. Even now, though a "senior", I struggle to get around by walking and public mass transportation systems, even though I could drive my car. The need to conserve petrochemical reserves is widely known, yet the average size of the vehicles that pull up at the stoplight as I wait for the light on the sidewalk, on foot, seems to have about doubled. If I look over at the people in those mammoth vehicles, I see one or a couple looking back at me, they rather suspiciously at me, before the light changes and the parade of behemoths surges forward. Somehow, it does not make sense to me, why are those young people racing to consume the resources they and their children will desperately need, not long hence? Are these people well educated? If so, what are they being taught? Maybe it is "survival of the fittest, rip out as big a chunk as you can while there is still something to rip out." Or maybe simply the guy proclaims "I am a winner" and the gal sees the winner and says that surely he will provide for her and her children, and so she will ride with him. Maybe they simply don't think further than that, due their particular temperament and need to just tread water, nowhere really to go. Or so they think, and act upon.
3. Three years ago tomorrow, some strange things happened: something enabled a bunch of planes to be hijacked and slammed into some buildings, and ushered in the age we now live in. Among other things, we are warring in the middle-east, Afghanistan then Iraq; yet, would we not be in civil war were it not for turning our attention outward? As I wander the streets and marketplaces, even workplaces, I see a lot of angry people. Often I see an angry glaring thug right behind me at the checkout line, like at KMart today; I can't adequately evaluate what is going on, but something is. Reminded by recent news, I remember all the assault weapons stockpiled since the 1960's, and the people who focus on that mode, preparing for something, Patriots, many claim. Back in the 1960's it was to dispose of enemy spies in the country, the government was not doing a good job of eradicating them, they thought. Most, surely were well-meaning folk; some were adventurers needing some group backing for their destructive exploits. On both sides. So, who is their enemy now? Without an enemy they have no rallying theme, and they would dissolve, maybe. In the 1960's, the women solved the problem with the motto "make love not war" and it worked: things moved toward peace and prosperity (probably most men find that lots of really real lovemaking with a woman is very much better than slugging it out with the guys), but population grew and energy consumption increased faster than population, along with accumulation of civilization's wastes that nature does not know how to recycle without our knowledgeable help. Horrid disease created since then has now blocked that "make love, not war" option; that door is now sadly shut. Stresses mount higher, suppressed angers fume and strive to find a target. Tranquilizing the public with drugs might help if they could get to the tough thugs, which is unlikely to happen; besides, a stupefied population is not competent to take on the challenges of life. Much needs to be done; and the glazed eyes and vacant smiles walking down the street don't seem to me to be able to get the job done well and on time, and probably they won't even see the problems anyway. And the way of the ruminant herd bull haunts me: ramming headfirst into the broadside of the interloper, as works for bulls in the field, is an image far to close a match for image of planes ramming headfirst into Twin Towers, to down the presumed opposition, so as to claim the herd's future.
4. There has to be a way or ways. The manipulation of "Group Think" seems to be the main force operant nowadays; even I, afflicted with the social handicap of Asperger Syndrome, am not totally immune to the so-subtle advise of Group Think, at the moment of quick decision. Making "boo-boo's" is no stranger to me either; I've "been there done that" too. Most likely there are a bunch of forces which think they are going to "win big" during the turmoil and lack of accountability going on. No good guys and no bad guys, just boys... playing with matches sometimes. Free-Enterprise is proclaimed, yet "nobody is watching the store" except security staff through TV cameras looking for images resembling pre-labeled bad guys; meantime everything is getting sold-out. So, Big Problems in River City. Are we humans great at solving problems? Yes! OK, like the Chicken Pox, we have got it.
5. Assuming there is some future for our nation possible other than being divvied up into feudal lordship corporate kingdoms, within an isolationist nation created through deliberately poking the other nations with a sharp stick; I look for those kind of options. Technology change needs to be handled by other than "the new product company trashes the old product company", if only because it is too easy for the old product company to squash the upcoming new product company in its infant stages. This deprives everybody from the benefits of the new products that might have been. Some of those new products may be life saving; some even civilization and environment saving. Would be nice to have them there in time of need. Perhaps some 3rd party arbitrator kind of thing could arrange for the folk and stockholders of the old company to be welcomed in as adequate partners in the new company, for example; education and training for comparable level employment in the new technology corporation being a mandatory part of the deal. Does this seem of interest to anyone but me?
posted by Unknown at
20:04
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