There are no subscribers to this blog yet. Click here to be the first subscriber to this blog. |
|
 |
|
| | |
| | The Pen is Mightier than the Sword | | | Friday, May 2, 2008 (1:11 PM)
(I'm feeling anxious) | | In August of 1971 Stanford University did an experiment. It was designed to simulate a prison experience for 14 days in order to see how prison life effected “normal” people. The effects were to be evaluated for both the inmates and the guards. The guards were not given much in the way of instruction, but simply told to follow the prison rules and to maintain order. The prisoners were picked up by actual policemen and brought “to justice.” All of the volunteers were given complete psychological examinations and all were diagnosed as being “normal.”
Six days into the experiment, it was ended because of a complete breakdown of moral and ethical control. Solidarity amongst the prisoners lasted barely into the second day. The guards began using psychological techniques by the third day, and by the end of the third day had started full scale harassment of the “inmates.” By the fifth day the guards could be easily broken down into three categories, a third of them falling into the “hostile” category. This group used physical and mental abuse to break the will and maintain their dominance over their captives. This abuse was so prevalent that there was no choice but to stop the experiment.
Why am I telling you a story about a failed college grad school experiment from 37 years ago? Because I am very concerned about the welfare of our troops overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq. Guard groups have taken tour after tour, and their problems are more significant than having trouble keeping their jobs. A quote from one soldier interviewed on NPR this morning
“We’re all divorced, too.”
More disconcerting, and perhaps telling with regards to my real concerns, however, is this quote.
“I can’t say the war is right or wrong, but I can say I’ve never seen some people needed killing more than some of the people over here,”
Soldiers are not deployed to make moral judgments over who is in need of “killing”. They are deployed to take hills, and valleys and establish and then maintain peace until a police force can take over the latter job. Why is this happening and where is this coming from?
Brining this back around, there is a great article and interview about the similarities between the Stanford experiment and the atrocities at Abu Ghraib prison in 2004. I am not trying to berate our soldiers, as I said, I am concerned about their welfare (specifically the mental welfare) as many of them have served for so long in the middle east. I believe they are under a tremendous amount of stress, combined with a serious lack of humanity and are reacting to that situation.
Remember, within 5 days, a third of the “normal” college kids had become hostile toward their college comrades. Over thirty percent. But don’t let that small sample size fool you. Check out these numbers on Iraq, and ‘Nam from the News Observer from studies of soldiers returning to Ft Brag from Iraq: ( http://www.newsobserver.com/nation_world/iraq/82nd_embed/story/182263.html )
“The numbers are looking more and more like Vietnam,” said Capt. Jill Breitbach, chief of psychology services for the 82nd.
A national study of Vietnam veterans determined in 1988 that the prevalence of PTSD was about 15 percent at that time. In all, 30 percent had experienced the disorder at some point since returning home.
This from Reuters, yesterday (1 May, 2008):
The announcement came just a day after closing arguments in a San Francisco federal court case in which veterans allege the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is unable to deal with the growing number of PTSD cases emerging from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
Further it states:
RAND Corp estimated that 300,000 troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from symptoms of PTSD or depression.
These are very real and very staggering numbers.
Yesterday morning I received this video via email. You may not actually want to watch it. There is not graphic violence or anything like that, but the video is none-the-less disturbing. I think it goes without saying that this clip represents a minority of the men and women serving in the U.S. military, however it sends a powerful message about what happens to normal kids in remarkably abnormal circumstances.
I think everyone wants our troops back, as soon as possible (shameless plug… there is a candidate for President that will speed that process up more than the others, I’m just say’n). This just underlines one of the many reasons for working toward making that happen. There are things (other than voting) you can do to help accelerate the end of this war, such as writing your Congress person.
In the mean time, I’d like to point out another option. We know the soldiers are going to be over there for a while, no matter what happens in November. We know nothing good can happen from them feeling isolated and abandoned. We also know that when people stay in touch with their humanity, they are less likely to do things that require them to cross moral or ethical lines.
In this area, you can help. There is an organization called EmailOurMilitary that matches up people willing to give some of their time toward writing letters with service people who are looking for penpals. It may seem like a trivial thing, but, consider that video, Abu Ghraib and the Stanford experiment. All of those young people were considered “normal” as one point or another. And yet, look at their behavior. I do not think this is coincidence. If you agree, think about taking a little time out of your life to provide a dose of humanity to our soldiers away from home, it doesn’t get much less trivial than that.
There is an old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Whether used to write a legislator, or write a soldier (or both), it seems to me like a pretty good time to test that theory out…
| | | 76 Views | 0  Thumbs Up | 0 Comments |  |
|
|
| | Thats my story... | | | | Tuesday, April 29, 2008 (9:17 AM) | | A couple of days ago an online friend of mine entered into an online argument (taking on all comers, including, we shall later see, myself) regarding Danica Patrick’s recent “historic” racing victory.
His, quite valid, point was that she did not win the race by being a woman, or in spite of being a woman, she won the race because of her superior skill (and that of her racing team, despite what it may look like, racing is not an individual sport). As such, he opined, people should not be making a big deal, regarding gender, about the significance of her win.
He had several protracted arguments on this issue, largely because most of them were not focused and became rambling exchanges were the people involved (including him) talked at each other and not with each other. Our discussion was much shorter:
I stated my position as such:
I completely agree with your base premise, however #42 did some good things that can only be identified on a racial canvas
overcoming negative and exclusive preconceptions is a very important undertaking and *that* deserves some attention
He replied thusly:
I agree, I think we should all categorize people based on ethnicity and gender. That way we don’t have to focus on individual skill.
I countered with this:
thats not what I said :) I agree with what you are saying, but there are bigots out there that need to see it to believe it, making the convo. relevant
Our “debate” ended right there, short simple and to the point.
I bring this up, because there is another gender line potentially being crossed in L.A. and this one probably deserves some attention. Five years after Hollywood decided that it would be appropriate to have a woman on the historic Los Angeles S.W.A.T. team (they were the first such team ever assembled, in part as a result of the Watts riots), and 14 years after losing a sexual discrimination judgment for keeping Nina Acosta out of their “good old boys network”, S.W.A.T. is on the verge of having its first female member.
This is newsworthy, because she is a woman, and I will not apologize for saying so. Today, in 2008, there are still pockets of ignorance and denial throughout our country and throughout the world. Enclaves of the callow and bastions of bigotry where certain genders, races, religions (etc.) are considered inferior until proven equal. As I pointed out to my friend, while a person being a woman does not make her any more or less qualified for the job; and while gender, in and of itself, should not be newsworthy, the message that women can do the job, and do it well, still is. Preconceived exclusivity based on antiquated and obviously mistaken notions simply does not have a place in our world. Accomplishments therefore need to be broadcast, shouted and exhorted until this simple truth transforms itself into common knowledge.
That’s my story, and I’m stick’n to it.
| | | | 52 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | How can I make the world better? (first edition) | | | Monday, April 28, 2008 (8:44 AM)
(I'm feeling excited) | | For the past couple of weeks, in a variety of venues, I have started my day by telling people I am working on ways to improve the world and asking if they had any suggestions. The variety of the answers has been remarkable. It probably goes without saying that I have not been able to honor every request (especially ones put out to social media sites), but it has been fun reading, listening and implementing (some of) them. I think I will continue this practice for a while and from time to time write about a few of the requests and how they went. Please feel free to comment if you have any suggestions!
Here are a couple of the suggestions thus far:
From Twitter I received the request to “perhaps you could assault religion as the evil it is?” I was not able to completely comply on this one (I have issues with a lot of organized religion stands for and does, but not religion as a whole). But, I did produce this blog entry
Is that blog going to change the world, no. But, if it makes a couple of people think, and opens their minds a bit… that could be the start of a positive transformation. I’ll settle for that :)
Via email I received the following request: “Work on shifting the daily negativity in our society toward positivity”. After responding “that will never work ;)” I got busy!!! The first thing I did was rekindle my own interest in a project that was supposed to get off the ground a month ago, with any luck it will be rolling within the next couple of weeks. Here is a teaser from the “about” page:
Many people think of gratitude as something that comes at the end of a process. Sort of an “end of the day” emotion. Certainly there are elements in our societal training that condition us to believe that we need something to be grateful for, in order to be grateful. What we would like to suggest to you is that gratitude is the fertile soil from which accomplishment blooms. Gratitude is, in fact, the “beginning of the day”.
I then launched Operation Constant Compliment ™ my own personal challenge to myself to extend no less than one compliment per hour that I am awake every day. So far I am well ahead of the curve, and it feels fantastic!!!! Look for more on this effort soon :)
Last Tuesday morning, I stopped at a light by a man with a card board sign (I’m sure you can imagine the rest of the picture). I thought he might have some insight, so involved him in my process. His response surprised me:
“If you want to make the world a better place, you’d better not give me money. However, you should give me a ride, and be prepared to spend a little.”
This was interesting enough for me to take him up on his (rather cryptic) suggestion. He hopped in, and we headed out. We went exactly one block and he said turn left, so I did, in to the Albertson’s parking lot. He then marched me up to the customer service counter and instructed them that we needed a gift certificate in the amount of… At this point he looked at me for a number, and I replied (somewhat to my own surprise) $100. I had just had a very good night playing poker and was already of the mind that I should share some of my good fortune, however I did not anticipate donating that large a sum of money, especially since at this point I was not exactly sure where the money was even going to go. From there we hopped back into the truck and headed out. He navigated me to a shelter in downtown Boise and asked if I had a problem with him making the donation. A request I quickly concented to. About five minutes later he came back to the car, and offered me the receipt, so I would know he had actually given it to the shelter, I declined. I took him to breakfast, dropped him off and headed back to work.
Did this make the world better… I’m not sure. But I’m sure it had to have had a positive effect on the volunteers at that particular shelter, seeing one of their “patrons” giving back when he had the chance. I know it gave me an infusion of hope.
I think that is enough for today, you get the idea. Again, please share any ideas you have… I’m wide open to suggestion and excited, dedicated and motivated to do as much as I can!!!
| | | | 48 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | Extraordinary Popular Delusions… | | | Saturday, April 26, 2008 (9:45 AM)
(I'm feeling contemplative) | | Over the weekend a friend of mine wrote a blog post about her experience working a volunteer booth. I am going to focus on a small portion of it. During the conversation they began discussing who they would vote for in the upcoming Presidential election. The man she was speaking to indicated that he would vote for McCain, since they had at least casually agreed on most of their conversation to that point this seemed a little strange to my friend, so she inquired as to why. This was his response:
“Cuz I’m not gonna vote for a nigger or a chick”
Later, when the inappropriate use of those words was pointed out, he tried the old Called-On-The-Carpet-Two-Step (TM) of trying to flip the situation by accusing her of judging him based on his words. He went on to say that (paraphrased in her words) “that was stupid, words have power and should be used”.
Before I go on, let me make the simple point that I take exception to his basic premise, on many levels. Here is a short non-inclusive list, for your convenience:
1. While words do have power, that does not necessarily mean they should be used. Fire is very powerful, and as we all know from elementary school, should not be used in a crowded theater if there is, in fact, no fire.
2. The power contained in words is not created equal. Actually, that’s not true, the power is created equal, however what we do with words, as a society, changes all of that. Nigger has undergone such a conversion. While “cute” and convenient in the face of a 5'2? (that is a guess, I do not know how tall she actually is) white person, I can ensure you he would not have used that word around me and my rather large black friends. He is choosing his spot to use a word and using a false argument (or at lease one that he would not have the courage to stand behind in the face of a more hostile audience) to support his actions when he was called on it.
3. When used to advance yourself (or a group you belong to) or set back another (or a group they belong to) it is not called “power” it is called “oppression”.
Lets take a minute and talk about the “power” of his chosen words.
The word “chick”, in this usage, is dismissive and invalidating. Regardless of whether you take the literal connotative meaning (a cute, young, helpless thing) or the offhanded categorical connotative meaning (an insignificant, unqualified, lesser person) what you are getting is a heavy dose of disrespect. Fortunately for him, women are so accustomed to this type of abuse that the fight, for the most part, has been taken out of them. Similarly, even “enlightened” men are so desensitized by centuries of this verbal proliferation of dismissal that they do not notice it, let alone act upon it.
Black folk, well, they have not quite come around to “our” way of thinking just yet. Say nigger in front of the wrong person, and you can absolutely count on dialing 911 for someone in the very near future. “Enlightened” people are also not so desensitized in this area, and will certainly, at the very least, speak out against such things.
So, in this case, the power of his words are defined by his audience, not by the words themselves. They have, depending on circumstance, the ability to intimidate and alienate, or the ability to avail him to the stitching services of a good doctor. I, personally would not call either of those “powerful” in a positive sense, but, I prefer to use my powers for good, not evil… so my mind set may be a bit different than the person of whom we are speaking.
Of course, for him, either reaction puts him in the winners circle, when you evaluate the big picture. If the woman recoils, retreats, or acquiesces she is further solidifying the “chick” stereotype he is advancing. If a man (or woman) of color lashes out against him, he, again, gets support in perpetuating the stereotype he is alleging. He may lose either battle, but in doing so, makes progress in the war.
As for the individual making these comments, I believe he was trying to fire a preventative shot across the bow. Trying to create an atmosphere where inferred commonalities create a state of mental cohesion and eliminate the need for actual discourse on the issues or qualifications surrounding the candidates he was attempting to dismiss. If you can get someone to quickly consent to your position by way of agreeing to an unrelated (and in this case invalid) sentiment, you can continue on with your conclusion unfettered (see “The Patriot Act” for a very effective example of this on a much larger scale).
It is unfortunate that, in the year 2008, we still are dealing with these nuances of bigotry in our everyday lives.
However,
I do have reason for hope, because the general mood and disposition of the country is moving away from those expressed by this individual.
I do have reason for hope, because people like my friend will stand resolute in the face of this type of subtle violence and act without validating the stereotypes it seeks to reinforce.
I do have reason for hope, because we actually have a nigger and a chick running neck and neck to be the Democratic presidential candidate, and they both have a very legitimate chance of winning the November general election.
Those, would be words with power…
| | | | 43 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | How my son made me a better person this week… | | | Friday, April 25, 2008 (9:39 PM)
(I'm feeling anxious) | | Last Thursday my son came to me and asked if we could go to a program about displaced children in Africa. Obviously (I think obviously????) I would have moved heaven and earth to make this happen, fortunately, I didn’t have to, it just came together quite nicely. The program was last night and it was really good.
The organization is called Invisible Children and the cause is worthy.
They have made a series of documentary movies (one of which, Black is for Sunday, was shown last night) and have hosted or encouraged “displace me” rallies, where people displace themselves for a night in solidarity with the displacement villages in Africa. Through these projects they have generated a significant amount of awareness and actually nudged congress into action. At one of their “displace me” rallies, a synchronized rally nationwide, over 75,000 people participated.
However, the project that really struck me was their bracelet project. This is progress in action. They have created jobs, income and (moderate) stability for part of the displaced population. The bracelets are made in Uganda, in the displacement camps by the residents. The profits of their sale here in the United States, and in other countries as well, go directly back to the displacement camps for schools and food. Recently they started a line of purses as well (the bracelets are available online, the purses are not… yet).
My son and I bought bracelets while we were there, my son also, independently, made a sizable donation without an associated purchase and is calling a “rival” area school this week to see if he can participate in their “displace me” rally this Friday. All in all, this was an evening well spent.
Please, check out the web site. I know not everyone reading this is able to give money or buy a bracelet, but if you have a blog, and are inspired by what you see these kids doing, write about it, the power of your message is very valuable. I get roughly 120-150 unique visitors a day on my blog, if I can get 5 of them to write about this, I can (using tried and true viral marketing tactics) probably touch over 1000 people by the end of the day, that is my objective.
I don’t ask for much in my blog, but I am asking for something here… will you help?
| | | | 45 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | Unsolicited Dating Advice... | | | Friday, April 25, 2008 (11:11 AM)
(I'm feeling excited) | | This is from something else, something far more private and personal, and it has been changed a bit for public consumption. There may be a bit of “life experience” in here that another man can benefit from. I wish I had this insight about 8 years ago, my life would be much different now:
Not too long ago, I was returning from a conference in New Orleans. A few rows in front of us there was a couple. Clearly they had not been together that long, however they were, at the same time, quite “established”. Right in the “zone” between bliss and when the honeymoon starts to come to an end. She was still demonstratively in love with him, he was in love with her… but very “guy like” and distant about it.
As they began to gather their belongings and prepared to disembark there were several times when their faces came close together. Each time, she sensed it and availed herself to him for a kiss. She did not approach him, she simply made herself available. While they were waiting to get out, she put her cheek on his shoulder and rested it there. Emotion and love were pouring out of her toward him. He was focused on the business of getting off the plane. Every time their faces came close and she would anticipate his kiss, my head screamed “Kiss the girl, Kiss the girl!!!! You have no idea what you stand to lose!!!!” (This would have been a great time for the little mermaid sound track to start playing!!!).
There is nothing in the world as powerful as the fountain of love that comes from a woman toward the man she adores, and there is nothing as stupid and entitled as most of the men receiving that love. If you are fortunate enough to have a good woman that loves you… be smart… kiss the girl!
Contrary to popular belief (amongst men), it is not unmanly to show affection to the woman you love. It is appropriate to reciprocate love… or even, dare I say, initiate it!!! It will mean the world to her, and, as luck would have it, turns out to be enjoyable for you as well. When you get the chance… kiss the girl!!!!
He didn’t do it… that’s too bad. As for me, I never intend to miss another chance… whenever I can… I will kiss the girl!!!! | | | | 47 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | My Challenge to You… | | | Thursday, April 24, 2008 (9:05 PM)
(I'm feeling excited) | | This post is going to piss some people. Those of you who sometimes get upset by my posts, especially when they have something to do with religion (you know who you are)… flee. Run away now, and do not look back.
I think religion is losing its strangle hold on it’s role of opiate for the masses. As the guidance system for the nations morals, the compass of our conscience, and, in some peoples view, the primary impediment to logical, rational and free thinking, spirituality is starting to fail.
A growing number of people are publicly renouncing traditional faith based religions. Atheists, Wiccans, and Agnostics are just a couple of examples of alternatives to the study and adherence to the conduct code found in the Bible.
However, most people seem to need some sort of authority, so were does that leave us? Who is the rising star in the game of providing meaning and purpose to the lives of insecure and uninspired humans. Certainly something has to fill this role.
World, meet the media… media, this is the world.
Ah, I see you two know each other.
There is a critical and growing mass of our society that relies on the media (and by that I mean all media, newspapers, movies, tv, radio… all of it) to set their moral compass. Relying on what todays “expert” tells them are good policies, good morals and good codes of conduct.
- in 2002 USAToday reported “that about 90% of parents say TV programs are getting worse every year because of bad language and adult themes in shows that air from 8-10pm”
- A 2004 study published in Pediatrics magazine showed that, basically, kids with a higher exposure to TV were almost twice as likely then kids with a lower exposure to initiate sexual intercourse.
- By the age of 18 a typical US youth will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence. - American Psychiatric Association
- The average youth living in the US watches TV 25 hours a week and plays computer games an additional 7 hours - American Psychiatric Association
- Children younger than 8 “cannot uniformly discriminate between real life and fantasy/entertainment… they quickly learn that violence is an acceptable solution to resolving even complex problems, particularly if the agressor is the hero”. - American Academy of Pediatrics
You get the idea, I could go on for hours.
So, we, as a society are moving away from a stable, established and static set of guidelines, toward an ever changing, more violent and more sexual model. I’m trying to reconcile how I feel about this.
Clearly, those stats up there do not point toward an improving society. However, for society to improve, don’t we need to be dynamic rather than static? From my perspective, we do, and that is the root of my problem with most forms of religion today.
Mind you, I am not against spirituality, in fact I am a big fan. However, organized religion seems to be lacking in the very spirituality it is supposed to be built upon. What I get from my experiences with organized religion is a set of fear based marching orders (sounds kind of like a Bush Government, doesn’t it) on how to live my life. Marching orders even the churches in question do not seen to do a very good job of adhering to.
There are certainly exceptions, but this is what my general experiences have been. This continued experience, which I cannot help but think is shared by a growing number of people, is a large part of why I think the media is garnering the momentum it is in todays society. If you create a vacuum of leadership and inspiration, someone or something is going to fill that void. The more sensational that something, the more readily it is going to be accepted. It doesn’t get much more sensational than the ever devolving nature of public media.
There are some good answers out there and my challenge to you is to go out and find them. Turn off the TV, stop going to zombie movies (how many of them do you really need to see, seriously; watch I am Legend and then quit on a high note!), and stop listening to degrading, sexist, violent music. Find a cause you believe in. Find balanced news or commentary to rally around. Find yourself.
Decide to be a force for, and an example of, “good”… and then do it. You don’t need TV, or a Bible, for that.
| | | | 53 Views | 0 Thumbs Up | 0 Comments | |
|
|
| | |
| |
|
|
|
