Category: Philosophy

Posted in Philosophy

Sudden Death Brings Life into Focus

Posted on by simplebender

The pandemic has forced us to witness a lot of death and the pain the survivors experience.  But it’s the sudden deaths which really bring life into focus.  The treasure of a loved one suddenly and tragically ripped from our lives.  The last hug in the morning replaced with tears in the evening.  The sudden loss with no time to prepare, as if you can really ever prepare for such a loss.

This week a close friend suffered such an unimaginable loss when her husband was killed in a rogue avalanche in Alaska.  A trained and experienced mountaineer whose life was taken in the blink of an eye. 

And now, she and her daughters must cope with the unexpected loss of the man they loved and adored.  Tom Devine will be missed by many but mostly by his family.

The country has tied itself into ridiculous knots over too many petty issues of politics, lies, innuendos, and unwarranted slanderous comments.  The sudden death of a friend puts all this into stark perspective.  Life is too short.  Celebrate our differences.  Embrace your family and friends, as well as their ideas. 

Life is precious and death, especially sudden death, brings it into focus if you are willing to look. 

#NeverFeartheDream  #Tom Devine

Posted in Philosophy, Political

The Thucydides’s Trap of our own making

Posted on by simplebender

Thucydides, the ancient Athenian historian and general, claims the fifth-century BC Sparta and Athens war was inevitable because of “the rise of Athens and fear that this instilled in Sparta.”  More simply, war is a likely outcome as tensions increase between rising powers and those who are currently ruling and in power.  Are we on the precipice of our own Thucydides Trap and is it one of our own making?

Our trap has taken generations to build.  A failed and misdirected reconstruction, Jim Crow Laws, congressional district jerrymandering, ongoing voter suppression efforts, the Civil Right Act, and the Black Live Matter movement have collectively shored the frame of the trap.  The Republican party controls both the executive and legislative branch in twenty-four states and legislative control in thirty-one; clearly distinguishing it as the ruling party.  And yet we are a country divided.  The past Presidential election and the slim majorities held by opposite parties in the U.S. House and Senate are manifestations of our divide.  The open hostility based only upon race, gender, and /or sexual orientation is played out in the news, and our streets every day.  We, collectively, find ourselves struggling with how we got here and how we get out.

Some of the more significant findings of the 2020 American Values Survey by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute, https://www.prri.org/research/amid-multiple-crises-trump-and-biden-supporters-see-different-realities-and-futures-for-the-nation/) sheds insight and may clearly imply we are stepping on our own Thucydides Trap.  It shows Republicans are the only political organization which believes whites and Christians are being discriminated against more than any other ethnic or racial group.  More granularly, out of nine groups comprising multiple religious and racial affiliations, only white evangelical Protestants, shockingly, maintain whites and Christians are more discriminated against than Blacks, Hispanics, or Asians.  And then, not surprisingly, the white evangelical Protestants maintain the Confederate flag and monuments are symbols of Southern pride and not symbols of racism. Those currently ruling feel they, and their beliefs, are under siege.  The spring of the trap is being pulled taunt and the trigger about to be set.

The corollary from the survey is that in total, Americans, collectively by a large margin, believe Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are discriminated against on a daily and systematic manner.  Americans believe Whites and Christians are the least discriminated against and the symbols of the Confederacy are racist.

We can escape the Thucydides Trap of our own making by strongly standing together as Americans rather than subsets of the whole.  The country’s direction has never been straight and true.  We have grown, matured, and changed with the times.  We should not feel threatened by change but embrace it and help mold it to benefit the majority of us.  The political tents have to be big enough for all of us.  The trap is built.  The spring is taunt.  The trigger set and probably tripped unless we, collectively, decide to recognize the trap for what it is, step away and have the faith and strength of character to determine the best way to dismantle it and do so.           #NeverFeartheDream

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#BigLie, #Jan6

Posted in Philosophy

Greatest Generation v. COVID-19

Posted on by simplebender

Is this how we’ll say goodbye to the Greatest Generation?

This virus doesn’t discriminate on who it infects; but it does discriminate as to whom it kills.  The Greatest Generation and their children are predominately the victims of COVID-19.

The generation who were raised by those who endured the Great Depression and learned the lessons of conservation, re-use, and sacrifice. The generation which came together in their youth to save the world from tyranny.  They faced discrimination at home and chose to take the first bold steps toward Equal Rights and continue to lead the fight today.  The Generation which embraced the challenge of space exploration ‘and doing the other things not because they were easy but because they were hard’.  The Generation who survived the hard life lessons of sacrifice and who were determined to give their children a better life than theirs.

And today, sequestered in nursing homes, assisted and independent living centers, as well as isolated in their homes which they fought so hard to own; they wait for COVID-19’s dark shadow to take their breath away.  Their families almost helpless to give them the care and love they deserve and have earned.  We avoid them not because we don’t love and respect them, but because we do.  And they, the fiercely independent generations struggle with understanding while missing our touch and can’t see the warm smile behind our mask.  They see only the love and concern in our eyes and the compassion in our muffled voices which are so hard for them to hear.

This virus doesn’t discriminate who it infects; but it does discriminate as to whom it kills.  In the United States those 50 and above comprise over 85% of all deaths.  In some states, those above 60 comprise over 90%, and the worldwide numbers are just as staggering.  They are the most vulnerable for infection and death.

Their fate could be in the hands of those they raised and love so much.  As hard as it is, please stay away and mask up. By doing so, you show your care, concern, love, and appreciation.  Applaud the facilities which have enforced lock-downs and refused visitors.  As hard as this is on the residence, families, and the staff, they are saving lives.  For those facilities which haven’t, let your moral conscious be your guide and judge, as the next ambulance drives away from your front door.

For those in these generations, you too bear responsibility.  We understand you might be confused, frightened, angry, and alone; yet, just as you have all your lives, lead by example.  If you must go out, be vigilant on social/physical distancing and mask up.  Greet those you encounter from a distance, behind your mask, with your compassionate smiling eyes.  They will understand and the person you save could be a loved one.

And who am I?  I’m the masked gray-haired guy, in-line behind you at the grocery store, trying to give both of us space while I get supplies for my family and medication for my senior, isolated, mother.  The concern you see in my eyes isn’t for me, it’s for you, your family and friends, and those of the Greatest Generation.  We will get through this, but many of them won’t and let’s hope we don’t lose the memory and generational lessons taught to us.  It’s wrong that this is how we might have to say goodbye; but stay strong and never forget. That’s what they taught us.  #NeverFearTheDream

 

Posted in Philosophy, Political

1619: We’re Better Now, Right?

Posted on by simplebender

1619:  Twenty score years ago the first African slaves came to America. Twelve score years of slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation and a country torn apart.  Four score and ten years of Jim Crow Laws, three score more of separate but equal.  Five score and nine years from Emancipation to the Equal Rights Amendment.  And yet still we have a racial divide which seems to be growing not healing.  We’re better now, right?

Shamefully, slavery was a globally accepted and biblically supported practice.  A global industry with Arabs and Africans capturing and shipping other Africans around the world.  Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right.  But today’s ‘right’ can’t be the benchmark for the past or the future.  Those time-frames have their own standards for right and wrong.  Yet, those past practices set the stage for today and should be forcing us to ponder; how many generations does it take to transition from being property to being a person?  If all your life, and all your forefathers lives you were told you were inferior; how much internal strength does it take to stand up and declare you are not? How long would it take you to overcome the constant, unrelenting, message that you are less and unworthy? Is an apology needed, or wanted?  You can’t really apologize for what your forefathers did, you can only apologize for what you do.

Have the federal projects and affirmative action programs created an environment of reverse discrimination and resentment?    If so, just know it’s a slippery slope from resentment to racism.  Those of ‘privilege’ will never be able to empathize until they have lived what others have endured.  The few incidents where they feel they have ‘suffered’ will never compare with the score of years others really have.

A keystone of this country is ‘majority rules, minority rights.’  We are far from this tenant.  As efforts increase to ensure the rights of the minorities are respected there is a false perception that these directly result in the demise of the historic privileges of the majority.   And worse, the more vocal the minority the more resentful the majority. When will we decide to choose to accept and give an opportunity for respect? A few quirks about respect.  It’s not a right or a privilege. It must be earned and cannot be demanded.  It’s easily lost and hard to regain, a lot like trust.

All we are owed is to be accepted, an opportunity to show we should be respected, and freedom to pursue your dreams; but not at the detriment of others.  We may be a long way from “I want no negro government; I want no Mongolian government; I want the government of the white man which our fathers incorporated.” (Sen. G. Davis D-Kentucky, 1866). However, we might be just as far from the dream of “not being judged by the color of our skin” (religion, gender, or orientation) (Rev. M. King, 1963).  Discrimination persists, against racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, women, and LGBQ because we allow it and silently condone it.  Those who stand firmly on ‘majority rule’ should consider someday you will be the minority and will want all your rights protected. We would do well by remembering the thoughts of Jesuit monk, Fr. A. DeMello, the three hardest intellectual things to do are, 1) returning love for hate, 2) including the excluded, and 3) admitting you are wrong?

We’re better now, right? Right? (#NeverFearTheDream)

Posted in Current Events, Philosophy, Political

Who Represents the Folks in the Middle?

Posted on by simplebender

The mid-terms and the delayed State of the Union are over, and we really need to ask; is there no middle ground? The far left and right are controlling their party’s. Extremism, unrelenting and unwavering, has crippled a divided country and our legislative bodies.  There isn’t any effort to compromise for fear of alienating ‘the base’. Our discourse is based on misinformation and fear with little or no supporting facts.  They have become elevated shouting monologs.  Who represents the folks in the middle?

The inconvenient truth is:  It’s our own fault.  We’ve let it happen.  We’ve disenfranchised ourselves.  We surround ourselves with those who think, sound, and act like ourselves.  We are comfortable being with ourselves and very uncomfortable with being with someone different.  We like our tribe.  We have become voters who focus on singular issues and will support whoever promotes that special interest. Because of single issue extremism we now vote against, rather than for, someone.  It no longer matters there are no fact-based debates and ‘facts’ are made up and unchecked.  This type of support blinds us to all other aspects of the person.  It’s now acceptable to lie to the public on a wide range of issues, as long as the special interest is supported.  It’s alright to harass, bully, and ridicule people, publicly and privately, who don’t agree with you.  We have turned a blind eye to and given tacit approval for unacceptable behavior.  We now live by the standard: ‘the means justify the end’; it doesn’t matter whose hurt if we win.

We, the folks in the middle, want someone who understands that centralism is needed to govern.  We need representatives who understand and encourage differences of opinion and the calm civil debate of all those positions.  We must support civility, honesty, and disagreement.  We want statesmen rather than politicians.  People with whom we may honestly disagree with on some issues as well as agree on others; but on balance believe the person wants to make this country and state better for the whole not just the fringe.

We need leaders and representatives who build collaborative alliances, not defensive bastions, to advance solutions for the population at large.   Statesmen who believe in and practice principle centered leadership.  Who aren’t afraid of not being re-elected, but willing to do what’s right. They should stop encouraging public chastisement of people.  They should aggressively, and publicly, reject any and all forms of discrimination and ridicule.  All sides matter in these discussions of our future, not just the loud ones and/or the ones from their base.  They should listen and propose legislation which is balanced and for the common good.

We are diverse population and are stronger by embracing our diversity.  Growing because of our diversity, not in-spite it.  We in the middle understand change and respect are necessary to move forward, as individuals, as a state, as a nation.   We know you can’t move forward if you can’t let go of the past.  We are the majority and yet our voices are shouted down, and opinions summarily dismissed.  This representative republic can do better.  We must not sit idly by while the country is bisected.  We must do better if we want someone to represent us.  It’s up to us.  Let’s first represent ourselves better and stop condoning unacceptable behavior.  #NeverFearTheDream

 

 

Posted in Philosophy

The Goal: Average

Posted on by simplebender

Ask yourself if you would rather be called ‘Average’ or, ‘Average At All Things’?

No, seriously, ask yourself; and give the question a lot of thought.  They are different.  How you answer could dictate your outlook on your entire life and influence your assessment of everyone around you.

Be realistic as you ponder this.  Every day you strive to excel in so many things; your relationships, profession, education, arts, hobbies, and athletics.  You measure yourself against your peers and your competition.  Your supervisor and coach assess your performance and give you advice on how to improve.  Your peers and competition may not be so willing to help you excel.  Those with whom you are in a relationship; well, they shouldn’t be trying to change you, they should be accepting and enjoying (but that’s a topic for later).

Of course, you’re not ‘average’; that’s for someone else; the other folks not trying as hard as you to be the best.  And you’ll be damned if you’ll accept being average at all things; you work too hard.  Be realistic….

What does being ‘Average’ really mean?  Statistically, it’s a single measure which summarizes the general significance of a set of unequal values.  It means, if you honestly assess your relative level of performance, or expertise, you are going to be better than some and inferior to others.  Strive as you might, as they are too, there will always be those better and worse than you across the spectrum of your life activities.

If you’re ‘Average At All Things’ you acquiesce being, or striving to be, better than anyone at anything.  You accept mediocrity.  You will neglect some aspects and struggle in others.  Will you not strive to improve in those areas you can?  Will you take for granted your natural talent?

If your answer is yes; then enjoy the stagnation of mediocrity.  Forever forgoing the intoxication of victory and the power of re-commitment after failure.

As for me, I’m working and training just to be called ‘average’… but down-deep for ‘above average’.

#NeverFearTheDream #Average #WatchoutForTheCrazies #MakeItGreat

Posted in Philosophy

Indecision is a Decision

Posted on by simplebender

Being indecisive is clearly a decision.  It’s a decision to abdicate your rights and obligations and let events, and/or others, decide for you.  It’s a decision to acknowledge you aren’t in control of yourself.

Maybe you are overwhelmed with too many options or opinions.  Maybe you don’t have a clear direction or have no dreams to catch.  Maybe you are paralyzed into inaction because you are over thinking and over analyzing the opportunity.

Regardless of your ‘maybe’; you’ve let go and now are a leaf adrift in the current of life’s river. Events are in control, and they don’t care about you.   You have no one to blame but yourself.  Unfortunately, you will probably, inappropriately, blame everyone else for the events which unfold.  The opportunities missed.  The challenges left for someone else.  The exhilaration of the try.  The excitement of the win, and the loss.  All gone, you are along for the ride.

The good news is, it’s never too late to change.  It is up to you, and only you.  So; do you want to decide to decide?  Know you will inevitably make mistakes, and that’s alright. Just don’t make the same mistake twice.  Or, do you want the uncontrolled alternative.  Either way you have no one to blame but yourself; you might as well step up and be in control.

 

#NeverFearTheDream #IndecisionisaDecision #WatchoutForTheCrazies #MakeItGreat #KicktheCan

Posted in Philosophy

Dreams are meant to be caught….

Posted on by simplebender

If, everyday you’re not doing something daunting; why bother.  Worthwhile dreams are supposed to be daunting.  They are also meant to be caught.  We should never stop dreaming and should never fear our dreams.  They propel us forward to achieve things greater than we would have expected.  No matter how audacious, dreams can be caught.  It just takes work.  Your dreams inspire you, they compel you, they drive you, they improve you.

Believe in your dreams with as much heart as you believe in yourself; because, they are one in the same.  Share your dreams; let others help and celebrate with you.  Dreams are not fantasies.  Fantasies are emotional illusions, mind mirages.  Dreams are our inspirations.  Goals are waypoints in pursuit of our dreams.  As long as we believe, strive, and achieve; dreams become real

Do something daunting today and every day.  Dream and achieve; then dream again… It will change your life.

Go Catch a Dream.

 

#NeverFearTheDream #DoSomethingDaunting #CatchDreams #WatchoutForTheCrazies #MakeItGreat

Posted in Philosophy

Path Closed….Make your own

Posted on by simplebender

pathclosed

Sometimes the smooth path you are on seems suddenly short, rough, and then closed.  That’s the time to ask yourself if you were on common sidewalk, and if so, is it time to set your own trail.

All too often we find ourselves on a shared sidewalk.  Our paths overlapping with others. Enjoying the camaraderie and support.  If you’re not focused, it’s easy to veer off your path and get locked onto the common one; and then, you’ve lost control.

Do you know where you are going, and more importantly why you’re going there?  Or, are you just following the crowd on the common sidewalk?  Each of us has a path to follow.  It is your path to choose.  Don’t abdicate and let others dictate your course.  If you do,  your lost and your destiny is theirs to choosing, not yours.

There will be times during which you feel your path is controlled.  How you respond and react is in your control. You can establish the way for your today and tomorrow.

If you know your ‘why’ your ‘how’ becomes clear, under your control; and not on someone else’s sidewalk.  When theirs is marked closed that’s simply a wonderful opportunity to make your own, and Make It Great.

 

#NeverFearTheDream  # PathClosedMakeYourown #WatchoutForTheCrazies #MakeItGreat

Posted in Philosophy

Locked-In or Locked-Out

Posted on by simplebender

Locks are interesting.  Not the physical mechanical device but what they represent and our perception of intent and purpose.   Inherently, they protect, secure, and isolate.  If those functions focus on physical property, then they are performing as originally intended.  How often have you been locked out from a place you felt you should have free access?  How often has your mind locked you into physical limits? How many times have you locked in your emotions or options?  How many times have you locked your intellectual or creative boundaries.

All around us are metaphorical locks.  Limiters placed upon us by others.  Barriers and obstacles placed to impede us, limit us, and/or control us.  Those are locks you don’t control.  You don’t have the key, and maybe don’t know who does.  That doesn’t mean the lock will hold.

Locks have a function.  They shouldn’t be the instruments which limit and isolate you; you, as a person, as an athlete, as a creator, as a learning, caring, participating person.  It’s bad enough, there are those around us, even our friends and family, who want to put locks on us. It’s worse yet when we lock-up ourselves.

We know who controls those locks; but, do we have the courage to grab our own keys and start unlocking?  Are we strong enough to push through physical barriers when our mind says, ‘you’re done, push no harder’?  Are we smart enough to continue to learn and press our intellectual envelope? Are we confident enough in our bedrock beliefs to challenge them with counter beliefs?

If we are willing to do these things, will we do them with an open or locked mind and spirit?  If the locks aren’t open and removed, then it doesn’t matter how many outside locks continue to ‘limit us’.  We are the gate keeper and have placed the most important locks on ourselves.  We shouldn’t complain about the locks we don’t control until we’ve unlocked ourselves.

Focus on unlocking yourself.  Unlock your physical, intellectual, and emotional self without fear or indecision.  Challenge every aspect of yourself and free yourself of your own locks.

#NeverFearTheDream  #LockedInorLockedOut #MakeItGreat #WatchoutForTheCrazies