On the Boulevard

Big Picture / Human Society / Social Organization / Immigration / Melting Pot

In time, we will all be melting pots of each other.

Go to an airport someday and look around. Watch everyone that boards your plane. Clearly America is no longer a land of white Anglo-Saxons. We are from every location, every race, every color, every creed, and as the internet and jet travel and migration continue to bring us together, people will increasingly cross national and racial lines to join and build lifelong relationships.

Social change is like a strong flowing river where you can try to swim upstream initially, but eventually you must acquiesce to the power and direction of the river. The growing melting pot is a social flowing river and to try and swim upstream to turn back the clock and make America all-white and all-Christian not only will not happen, but it should not happen.

We’ll need to embrace this fact and face the challenge of making our country work for everybody. It won’t be easy and there will be big problems along the way, but it is the inevitable evolution of every country that they can no longer remain homogeneous in race, but will all be melting pots of each other. The longer we fight against this, the more problems we will cause and the harder it will be to achieve a lasting peace inside and outside our countries and populations.

However, Americans need to accept the competing tensions between two issues: our openness and respect for all immigrant populations; and, the fact that dysfunctional immigration processes do cause problems for all of us (illegal drugs, terrorism, crime, overloaded social systems). The goal should be as it is in so many cases, to reach a reasonable, fair, and equitable balance between these two priorities.

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Big Picture / Religion / Faith

Faith gives a person a certain power and confidence, a comfortable and secure belonging to a group that one trusts, and the fellowship that arises from that association.

But the sharper edge of the sword is that faith can also drive a person down a narrow path that does not respect other points of view, with a severe purpose that is stubbornly unshakable. In many contexts, this kind of determination can manifest as a good quality that will deliver successful, sometimes incredible results.

In some cases, however, blind faith can drive people to seriously harm non-believers outside their circle, and also members inside their circle for purposes of accountability and enforcement.

The disastrous irony of blind faith is that it motivates people to do harmful things that, in their heads, they believe are good, right, just, noble and necessary to serve the principles of their faith. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence. What can you say to a person like this to convince them otherwise? Heads are chopped off in the name of faith; horrific never-ending wars are waged that kill thousands.

I ask you, is there a more powerful and sharper double-edged sword in our world than blind faith?

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Big Picture / Human Society / Social Organization/Change / Immigration & Refugees

Is separating immigrant and/or refugee children crossing our border from their families in effect weaponizing children for a political policy objective?

• We Can Do Better: When the early pilgrims and pioneers came across the Atlantic to seek religious, political, and economic freedom in the United States, they came over as intact families and were not separated from each other when they arrived. As immigration increased throughout the decades from many corners of the world, there were occasional times when a father (or mother) came over first to find a job, but the children stayed with their mothers and grandparents and when they came later they were not surprised upon arrival that they would be separated from their parents. As we moved west to explore and settle this great United States, we did so as intact families. Separating kids from parents at such a critical moment in their lives is simply an abomination and a gross transgression of American values. No amount of political spin or religious pontificating can change that fact. (sp)
• Is America Abusing Children? (sp)

Do immigrants and refugees have to arrive self-sufficient, or is it enough (as it always has been) to come with $1 in their pocket and a sincere desire to work, take care of their family, and pursue the American Dream?

• It’s Not About You: There will always be native peoples that came before us, and there will always be new immigrants and refugees that will come after us. The belief that we were here first and no one should come after us is selfish, misinformed, and a lie that discriminates and harms generation after generation. (sp)
• Eventually, We Will All Be Melting Pots of Each Other (sp)

Are sanctuary cities overall good for America? Or, do they erode the rule of law?

Instead of squalid shanty towns, can we plan our refugee settlements to transform into livable towns?

After World War I, did we ever think we would use barbed wire again to trap humans?

Do walls dehumanize us?

• Walls SEPARATE Nations: Walls physically and emotionally block and dehumanize good people, but the far more destructive edge of this sword is that walls separate whole nations. To spend billions of dollars to try and keep out a few bad actors at the cost of separating us from an entire nation, is a terrible trade-off and a fool’s calculus.  We put up walls in fear, hate, and war. We take down walls in confidence, love, and peace.  What kind of society do we want to live in? (sp)

How worried should we be about alleged criminals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border?

• Get a Grip!! If you’re worried about criminals crossing the border between Mexico and the United States, thousands of miles away, don’t bother, because you should be more worried about:
  • getting struck by lightning
  • getting broadsided in your car
  • being gunned down by a well-armed american angry person
  • getting a heart attack, cancer, stroke, dementia, parkinson’s
  • getting whacked by a tornado, hurricane, wildfire, or
  • divorce, depression, alcoholism, suicide, so
  • Get a grip, man!! Immigrants and refugees are the least of your problems. (sp)

Further reading

• berlin wall: The Berlin Wall Taylor
• documentary: Hurdle
• families just like us: Kim’s Convenience
• global refugee crisis:
  • The Boy on the Beach Kurdi
  • Human Flow Weiwei
• great depression: Of Mice and Men Steinbeck
• nothing good comes from: Walls Di Cintio
• science & ethics: Open Borders Caplan
• survival: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• teaching kids our immigrant legacy: Her Right Foot Eggers
• unintended consequences: The Line Becomes a River Cantú

Big Picture / History / World Since 1920 / United States Since 1920 / Dystrumpia

We don’t realize how much character matters in the highest office, until we don’t have it. If we don’t draw a line in the sand now, it will only get worse. (sp)

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Do Donald Trump and Dystrumpia share your values and those values of a civil society?

Civil Society...	Dystrumpia...
protects families	separates families
shuns nepotism	embraces nepotism
tells the truth	lies
plays by the rules	cheats
repairs, maintains, improves	tears down and abandons
supports public education for all	supports elite education for a few
believes in the Golden Rule	attacks, attacks, attacks
is polite to everyone	is rude to many
is kind to everyone	is mean to many
is dignified	is crude
is unselfish	is selfish
talks about the "We"	talks about "Me"
reads books	watches TV
spends less than they earn	spends into bankruptcy
Is wise	Is chaotic
shows empathy for those less fortunate	takes advantage of those less fortunate
is measured and strategic	is ad hoc
is chivalrous	is a big collective bully
is humble	is vain
respects women	is misogynistic

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Further reading:

• chaos: Trump and His Generals by Peter Bergen
• character: Shade by Pete Souza
• lies: Gaslighting America by Amanda Carpenter
• lunacy: SAD!: Doonesbury in the Time of Trump by G. B. Trudeau

Big Picture / Human Society / Politics & Government / Human Rights

Do you believe in President Trump’s position that “torture works” such that it justifies its use by the United States during war?

If evidence extracted by torture is inadmissible in court, why the heck are we spending billions of dollars at the Guantánamo black-site prison?

Civil Society: There are no human rights at birth, but there are those social programs we prioritize as a civil society that we want and should maintain to care of the people that need our help. (sp)

Break the Chain of Torture

Is the United States (CIA) guilty of a massive violation of human rights by exploiting torture interrogation techniques (in the name of national security) at its black site prisons?

If we rationalize torture in the name of war and saving American lives, then WE become the barbarians and in so doing, we write a blank check to our enemies to retaliate with the same barbaric behavior.

Much like child abuse which propagates from generation to generation, this vicious cycle of abuse and violence will only stop when someone has the courage and leadership to break the chain of torture, and that should be us.

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Big Picture / Human Society / Production & Wealth / Production & Distribution / Business / Co-Working

inside the corporation,

i compete against you, you compete against me,
every person for themselves.

inside the co-working mashup,

you do not compete against me, I do not compete against you,
rather, it is the Cheers effect:
everybody knows your name,
you are happy to see me, I’m happy to see you,
you are interested in my ideas, I’m interested in yours,
you want to help me, I want to help you,
you learn from me, I learn from you,
together, we design and build cool things that make an impact on people.

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Big Picture / Human Society / Politics & Government / Anarchism

The right to alter or abolish government is the ultimate expression of the people’s sovereignty.

Should we, and how can we, make despots accountable for their killings?

When the revolution comes, Trump will be playing golf while V hacks the grid. (sp)

Is the rise of tribalism, populism, nationalism, and identity politics destroying democracy worldwide? How do we live in a 50-50 world?

terrorism: You may assassinate an enemy, but it’s difficult to kill an idea.

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Further reading:

• anarchy: Adjustment Day Palahniuk
• civic saturdays: Citizen University
• democracy: Suicide of the West Goldberg
• dictators have weaknesses: From Dictatorship to Democracy Sharp
• french resistance redux: Time for Outrage: Indignez-vous! Hessel
• nazism:
  • what if nazis won WWII? The Man in the High Castle
  • in america: The Making of an American Nazi
• race war: Wilmington’s Lie Zucchino
• taking it to the streets: Yellow Vests
• what divides us: Enchanted America Oliver

Big Picture / Human Society / Social Organization/Change / Social Hangover

Is greed good?

We live in and willingly accept a fixed social construct fine-tuned for thousands of years that has created a huge set of industries organized around our most addictive impulses:

• drugs > addiction | opioid addiction: In Pain by Rieder
• fast food > obesity
• gambling > addiction
• guns > violence
• liquor > alcoholism
• online gaming > addiction
• payday loans > poverty
• porn > addiction
• smoking > addiction
• social media > dysfunction
• streaming > obsession

And then, we spend a huge percentage of the federal and state tax revenues generated by these industries to try and control, enforce, penalize, and rehabilitate the consequences our impulsive and addictive behaviors and social hangover which creates a massive negative social impact and cost, year after year, decade after decade.

• addiction
• breakdown of relationships, marriage, families
• cognitive offloading and erosion of humanness and thinking
• damage to physical and mental health
• erosion of truth, trust, and the overall social fabric
• financial risk, dependency, bankruptcy
• violence

Desperation

Many cities, states, and our federal government are on the brink of financial breakdown and desperate for more tax revenue. Mega-billionaire gambling opportunists are ready to step in and take advantage of this desperation by promising a flowing tap of cash squeezed from the weakest impulses and addictions of human beings.

Regardless of what Gordon Gekko said, greed will (not) be good in the long term for society with the exception of the 1% who will make big money from the transactions on both sides of this equation resulting in …..

….. a few big winners and millions of losers.

So if you’re asking if greed was ever good, the answer will depend on who you are asking.

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Big Picture / Knowledge Creation / Philosophy / Trust

Trust is the glue that holds us together — the glue that holds together relationships, marriages, organizations, governments, and countries.

Without trust, everyday life cannot function effectively and peacefully. Without trust, things break down: people lose confidence, become suspicious, become cynical, become less productive. At some point of low morale, people just walk away.

Trust thrives in an environment of mutual respect, reliability, consistency, integrity, safety, resiliency, transparency, civility, and love. Trust is the powerful all-encompassing principle that holds us together with clear minds and hearts to be happy, productive, creative and innovative, both at work and at home.

Building trust takes a sincere and consistent effort over time, built slowly but deliberately over a marriage, a career, a lifetime. But, trust can be lost in a second by one mean or vulgar word, one act of betrayal, one premeditated snark attack.

Indeed, one man can destroy a country’s reputation of honesty, integrity, and trust, with just one vile tweet.

Should Americans be OK with that?

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Big Picture / Art / Photography

Life’s random, serendipitous simple pleasures. (sp)