This may be a disjointed blog entry because I shall be rambling on various subjects and some of what I write may be repetitive: I rarely re-read things I have posted and likely have said some of these things before.
>To cover current events I’ll give my spin on the war in Gaza, where the violence is just the latest iteration of centuries of conflict. Anyone claiming that only one side or the other is guilty or innocent simply has not done their research. Both populations have historically been victims and perpetrators of injustices, so my inclinations follow that of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who at the beginning of the American civil war, stated:
"You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it ... Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail“
In other words, war is hell and for any individual or group to advocate for it is madness. In the latest case Hamas perpetrated a hideous invasion of Israel and Israel began what is its latest violent response. Many opportunities for peace and coexistence have been squandered over the decades and centuries and now more innocent people are dying. Egypt and Jordan have done nothing to absorb the refugees because they want nothing further to do with this long running destabilizing situation. So like Sherman's march to the sea there is a kind of scorched earth policy being deployed which in the end will either create a lot more resentment and bitterness or-and I can only hope that this is true-the participants on both sides will finally acquire the wisdom to think of their grandchildren and reach a lasting peace agreement. Could the state of Israel just as easily have been created in the deserts of New Mexico? Probably, but only if the religious nonsense about ‘holy ground’ had been abandoned and respect for the entire planet replaced it. The worth of a place is determined by the value of the ideals by which it is nurtured. So if Israel decides to flood the tunnels to rid Gaza of the festering cancer that Hamas has become, and future Israeli extremists can be restrained, I shall mourn the loss of innocent life but hope that both Palestinians and Israelites might look to the future once and for all time.
> Beth and I have noticed the poor driving of people lately, mainly in their inability to maintain a constant speed. One would suppose that cruise control had never been invented, or that modern cars were incapable of cornering at a steady rate, so we see driver's slowing down far more than necessary then accelerating at a fuel wasting rate. We assume that being distracted by cell phones or in dash infotainment systems is responsible for much of the behavior we see, but simple inconsideration is the culprit for other things; Yesterday I was held up in the drive through of a bank when a woman ahead of me finished her transaction at the ATM then proceeded to put the money into her purse and adjust her paperwork for a full minute before pulling ahead. Why basic respect for those behind her did not motivate her to move her car is a failure of human decency. Small, selfish things sometimes translate to more consequential behaviors.
> I have noticed people having grandiose arguments about things such as gender neutral bathrooms or banning books, or gun control, or abortion-which, as important as those issues may be, ultimately are all distractions from more important issues like climate change and artificial intelligence. The latter will affect not only certain segments of humanity, but our entire species. Predictions of scientists vary from total destruction within 50 years to only a small probability of the world ending within the century. One thing is certain to me; there is nowhere to hide. As Jackson Browne said in 1973-“ you can hold on steady, try and be ready, but everybody’s gonna get wet. Don’t think it won’t happen just because it hasn’t happened yet.” It is a matter of when, not if, humanity will reap the consequences of its own success. However much we ignore it, the oceans Are warming, and acidifying, and being over-fished, and CO2 and methane Are accumulating in the atmosphere and ice Is melting, and the human population Is continuing to grow while other species and ecosystems are declining. The Earth is our only island, so eventually there will be nowhere to hide from ourselves. Politicians and lobbyists and corporations and average citizens can argue about other things as they build their portfolios and their ‘secure’ bunkers, but what kind of world will they inherit when billions have died foolishly because human beings did not show foresight and restraint? I sometimes wonder what quantum computing combined with artificial intelligence will create; when a super-intelligence computes at a pace we cannot comprehend, what will become of us? But I have no control beyond my own little space so lament the inability of our species to live responsibly.
> My final rant will be about the lack of critical thought by so many people and the hypocrisy and corruption and tribalism that consumes human nature. It is clear from psychological studies that facts and reasonable arguments rarely change someone's mind-particularly if their views are constantly reinforced by like minded thinkers. The polarization of the country is proof of that; we have all been raised in a similar culture yet hold divergent views about its worth and direction. Demonizing others rather than embracing differences is a propaganda method used by some people, and social media has amplified negative voices that used to be marginalized. I suspect that both genetic and environmental factors influence the viewpoints that people defend, and I also presume that this is how we have evolved; there will always be those who defend hate and slavery and greed and all the other darker sides of our being. But I do not fatalistically conclude that there is no hope, only that we are -each of us- responsible for defending the better sides of our nature and resisting those darker forces in ourselves and others.
> At heart I am a contented person who believes that America is already pretty great. Certainly not perfect, but much better than many places in the world today and throughout history. I have lived in a tent, slept under bridges, rented apartments, lived in mobile homes and houses, owned cars and motorcycles and bicycles and kayaks and televisions and sofas and beds and ovens and can openers and many other material possessions. I have been free to move about the country and disagree with my government and join protests and do almost anything else I have wanted. In that regard I am like many other Americans but-lest people believe I have been unusually privileged-in 26 years of full time work I never grossed more than $31,500 and that amount was only for a few years. For most of my working life I have traded money for time. I benefited from the combined incomes of marriage for 13 years, then as a divorced father my obsessive hobby was walking and writing, so I lived frugally and drove a moped to work. I borrowed $15,000 from my mother to buy a trailer home which I repaid within six years. For twenty years I contributed 10% to a 401k,-which has profited my retirement- and while helping my elderly mother I lived cheaply while I worked on my book. After Beth and I met we combined resources but both of us have always been members of the lower middle class. Our situation may differ from some Americans but it seems to me that the loudest complainers in this nation do not focus enough on the wonderful things about their personal lives. They whine about Americas faults while driving fancy trucks and talking on cell phones to plan parties where they will have their choice of foods from around the planet. They blame politicians and immigrants and homosexuals and blacks and deep states and anyone but themselves for their discontent. They forget that every country, institution, family and individual has both flaws and qualities, so they lash out rather than examine their own attitude-which is all they have that is lasting. That is the crossroads the United States and civilizations worldwide have entered-not simply arguing over personal differences and disagreements- but fundamental threats to the world we will leave our descendants. Like I stated above- I have no answers and no expectations of changing minds that are already committed. I simply refuse to be complicit in what I consider to be immature, ignorant, intolerant and ultimately destructive behavior, so I speak out where and when I can. Do I expect my words to influence those in power when I write to them? Not directly, although someone somewhere will read them, and from those seeds perhaps something positive will grow. At all times I remember that reality is natures way of cutting through human hubris-including my own.
"One-quarter of U.S. adults say 2024 will be a better year than 2023 for them personally, and 24% expect it will be a worse year. Some 37% of Republicans expect it’ll be a worse year for them, compared with 20% of independents and 13% of Democrats.
Just 5% of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” confident that the federal government can make progress on the important problems and issues facing the country in 2024, with 7% of Democrats and 11% of independents being optimistic, compared with 1% of Republicans.
The AP poll of 1,074 adults was conducted Nov. 30–Dec. 4, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. "
