Dear George Washington, though you were about 100 years apart in age , I'm sure you heard of the playwright, William Shakespeare and, the first few lines of the famous monologue from his play "As You Like It". I vent to you George, because lately those lines have been stuck in my head like the lyrics of a song that won't go away...
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
SO, Fellow Travelers is our life on Planet Earth one giant soap-opera? Is the person who robs a bank only 'playing' the part of a criminal in 'this-life' then plays the part of a schoolteacher in the next life then a pilot in the life after that?
IF there is life-after-life then answering that question with a "yes" is easy. If--the answer is yes what are the lessons from so many lifetime experiences? Is a corrupt mayor or prime minister absolved of their conduct because they were only playing-a-part to further the 'plot' for how other people's lives evolve? Hmmm...
Because I've struggled with this notion since January my blog postings have been stalled. [Those who typically follow my blogs wondered 'where' I was.]
Anyway--moving beyond Shakespeare's insightful monologue, what I finally came to terms with was a premise somewhere in the middle. And what helped me 'get-there' was the Parable of the Talents. Talents a few thousand years ago was a form of currency... A father sent each of three sons out into the world with the same amount of money as a test. One son spent his talents/money foolishly returning home broke, a second son horded his talents/money so returned home with exactly the same amount he left with, but the third son took a risk with his talents investing his money that also benefited others and he returned home prosperous. The lesson of this parable [that I made a mess of interpreting] is to recognize opportunity then share it. What we share comes back 10-fold.
Okay. Today Talents has a different definition, or does it? A 'talent' is still something that can be turned into a means for earning income. If you have a talent for mathematics or science or sculpting or acting or medicine or hair styling or sewing or welding or anything, you have an obligation to develop that talent, that ability, and share it with others so others may benefit too. Of course--not everyone has the same talent. An engineer shares bridge building ability with a farmer who can cross a river to cultivate more land and grow more wheat to supply a baker who feeds the engineer. [My example is quite simplistic, but we do need each other since everyone has different 'talents'.]
Why then has literally all news mediums [print, digital and network] spent so many hours and so much space on the thief and indolent rich and the chronic depression of someone ill? Why...? Theater! Apparently 'only' crime, crisis, and casualties deserve air-time or print space.
Herd Stupidity...If "all the world's a stage and men and women merely players..." has a 'script' been written for us via fate and destiny? Or - could we set a course for this planet's future on a steady, productive path that offers the most opportunity for the most people most of the time?
Regardless of our ancestors' birthplace--either somewhere in the Americas [South & North] or Europe or Africa or Asia or Oceana, every single one of the 8 billion humans on Planet Earth are all one single species...Only one! Ohhh, there is between 5 and 6 thousand cultures with various languages and dialects, but every last one of those 8 billion people were all born warm blooded vertebrates. The outer 'upholstery'/skin varies, but the skeletal structure remains basic.
Even more exciting [or annoying] all of those 8 billion people have 8 billion opinions...With that, why the hell are there still so many people who even try to attempt influence over this human mass? Personally, I'd want to stay out of their way.
SO--I see Herd-Stupidity in terms of the Herd of other humans who have risen [like curdled cream] to the top of notoriety in order to seek public positions of leadership.
For literally thousands of years various 'forms' of leadership [from self-appointed 'royalty' to others with grand titles like emperor, or governor or duke etc...] have typically made a fine fiasco of the vast majority of cultures they attempted to lead by control. The most effective leaders [like Mahatma Gandhi and George Washington] let people lead themselves. Gandhi and Washington were [rare] examples of effective coordinators and delegators, much like the conductor of an orchestra.
For literally thousands of years various 'forms' of leadership [from self-appointed 'royalty' to others with grand titles like emperor, or governor or duke etc...] have typically made a fine fiasco of the vast majority of cultures they attempted to lead by control. The most effective leaders [like Mahatma Gandhi and George Washington] let people lead themselves. Gandhi and Washington were [rare] examples of effective coordinators and delegators, much like the conductor of an orchestra.
An orchestra conductor does not need to know how to play every instrument--the conductor merely needs to coordinate all strings and brass and percussion, so they play together in harmony.
Divided - there is no orchestra. That said, what if tomorrow all of America's voters were Registered Independent? How would that change the next election script? Anyone and everyone could vote to select a candidate in the round of Primaries. With no clear idea of who was more liberal or more conservative polls couldn't influence so intently. Would people seeking public office need to work harder to earn public office - and actually 'serve' to keep it?
From A Distance...After several inches of new snow falls, everything is covered by a clean blanket of white. Also, looking out through the widow of an airplane everything below appears neat and tidy. All the roads look clean and farm fields seem organized and perfectly geometric like every farmer used a T-square to lay out crops in the fields. However, after the snow melts, we can spot those weeds and the peeling paint on patio furniture. After the plane lands and we return to ground level our homeless citizens come into focus. But how were these citizens cast in these parts?
What is puzzling, in America of plenty, is the cultural neglect that systematically created our homeless population that has grown [far] out of proportion to the prosperous culture thriving around them. Granted, 1 million dollars doesn't buy what it once did [like seven years ago] but county, state and federal budgets waste precious funds on trends and special-interest projects.
From the summer of Woodstock [1969] began decades if 'free-love' that created an increase in drug addicted single moms. However, instead of helping those moms so their children could remain with them, state run social service departments too often removed children from birth parents and placed them in foster homes. Sometimes kids in foster care were adopted, but more often they grew up in foster care, moving between several homes as they aged. When foster kids turned 18 [with none of the family support system most young people have] they age-out on their own. Recently, more and more states have modified their 18 and you're out policy. But bridge programs still aren't national with group homes to help foster teens transition from care to independence, so this change has been slow. Regardless, the previous 4 decades that lacked any of those policies generated thousands of dejected, desperate young people who became criminals or lost souls who scrounge in dumpsters and sleep on park benches or in doorways.
I'll bet none of our homeless citizens ever considered any future plans to include 'no-fixed-address' in their high school yearbook.
How do we get better 'parts' for those 'cast' as homeless? Call and write your mayor, governor, state legislator, federal senate and congressional representative...Public people [whose salaries we pay] who want to keep their 'leading-role' on the public 'stage', will be pressured to listen.
