Category: philosophy/sociology

View posts musing about the general human condition.

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Reclaiming the Conversation: “Climate Change”

I remember asking my astrophysicist uncle what he thought about “Global Warming” (the old name for “Climate Change”) somewhere around 1990; he replied, “It’s an interesting theory.”  I think that’s kind of where a lot of [non-ecologist] scientists were at the time.

Even though “Climate Change” as caused or exacerbated by human activity seems to have gained something of a scientific consensus, I think it is ultimately a catchy, but virtually useless phrase. Yes, of course the climate changes over time – this has been happening since before humans walked the earth and is, to some degree, a natural occurrence. Ultimately, this is what weakens the environmentalist stance vis-à-vis this oblique terminology.

Actual climate change is but a part of the problem, or more accurately, a consequence arising from the problems of human technology and terra-forming. I say trash (& do not recycle) the phrase, “Climate Change,” – let’s talk about the real issue, which is Destruction of Natural Resources or Non-sustainability.

Continue reading “Reclaiming the Conversation: “Climate Change””

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The Affliction of American Optimism

Probably the most deeply ingrained myth in the USA is the idea that anyone can gain anything, that if you work hard enough (& think positive), you can achieve any success.  If you flip the same pieces around, the same belief system says that people get what they deserve.

I can’t imagine a more hostile piece of elitist malarkey. Sadly, even people who are not successful believe this, as it gives them hope that they can succeed far beyond what their circumstances would seem to allow.

The fact is that circumstances matter. Not everyone is given equal opportunity in our highly skewed educational system, where some public schools are much better funded (with correspondingly better outcomes) than others and where some schools have inaccurate “facts” or religious tenets in their course curriculum. Continue reading “The Affliction of American Optimism”

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Aging

I’ve been thinking about aging a lot as I’m fading into the 3rd quarter of my 30s & so many friends/peers are in their 40s. Aging has always been gradual, but suddenly, it is all too noticeable. I got so used to my body as it was, but everything is changing. My general resilience has tanked; my skin, muscles, metabolism are all just a bit off. I’ve been getting more injuries which last longer & small physical inconveniences like headaches and tiredness can no longer be easily “powered through.”My energy, fortitude and tolerance are drastically reduced & it’s all a bit depressing.

I finally get why people have kids. Well, maybe not the primary reason in their conscious minds, but, wow, it a good way to avoid dealing with aging. To be wanted, needed, by a being so new, delightful, all-consuming. To be surrounded by external youthfulness is such a wonderful distraction from an inevitable and immutable self-decline. Continue reading “Aging”

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Depression 101

Not too long ago, a friend of mine reluctantly let me know that her teenaged daughter had attempted suicide. She completely could not understand it because, as she said, she’s basically a happy person. I smiled ruefully and told her I could completely understand, especially for a teen.  We had a lunch meeting to talk about it, so I could explain how depression works (and to get more information so as to better understand & offer perspective).

I assume that everyone has their own variation of the big D, but some of the key points I could offer:

  1. Children’s brains aren’t fully developed (some say until about age 25) and they often have weirder, more extreme and less rational reactions to things than adults do.
  2. Teenagers are flooded with hormones which make them even more emotional, awkward, sensitive and unpredictable than younger (or older) children.
  3. Anyone who is unusually sensitive, unusually intelligent or otherwise unusual will be more susceptible to feelings of alienation, isolation and self-critique, which can lead to despair.
  4. Anyone who gains knowledge about pervasive injustice (e.g., animal agriculture) is likely to feel sad and helpless, unless that person can feel like they are able to “do good” in some way (e.g., going vegan, or volunteering for non-profit).
  5. Boredom is the gateway drug.
  6. Physical health is a prerequisite for emotional well-being; some severe deficiencies can “make” someone moody/unhappy/depressed.

Continue reading “Depression 101”

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Neutrality (it’s not as neutral as you think)

The concept of neutrality (or moderation) seems to embody a sort of lofty wisdom in our culture, an ability to stay “above” the fighting. However, in reality, maintaining a strict neutrality is more often a sign of severe apathy, unwillingness to engage or fear of confrontation.

I’m not the kind of person who thinks in binary, so I won’t say that every dispute requires that one pick a side, but I will say that in the case of heated debate on an issue or set of issues, the underlying opposing viewpoints are often complex and merit some consideration. Moreover, the two (or more) sides are frequently uneven (i.e., one side often has a much stronger case), so if the neutralists could weigh the issues and involve themselves, they might help solve the issue in the most favorable way.

About 10 years ago, I was living with 2 roommates who were “random” in the sense that we’d met online and interviewed in person.  While they weren’t friends, we were all civil and got along fine, I thought.  Then after about 1 year, there was a conflict. I’d brought up some concerns regarding our landlord and was trying to bolster support for asking the landlord to take care of some things.  After a few rounds of discussion (in person and on email), one of my roommates began cursing me out on the emails and became a complete jerk in person, slamming doors and refusing to talk to me.  I did not respond in kind, rather I tried to re-open dialog calmly, to no avail.  Baffled and upset, I asked the other roommate (who had witnessed this behavior) for help and she said that she didn’t want to get involved, that we were both being “extreme.” Continue reading “Neutrality (it’s not as neutral as you think)”

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LuQ for Prez

Since I turned 35 (last year), I like to fantasize about what I’d do if I were elected Supreme Leader of the United States of America. My fantasies are exaggerations of possibility, of course, but I like to think they’re reasonable exaggerations, which are technically feasible and almost socially & legally possible, as opposed to god-like changes.  Here are a few of my bigger ideas / fantasy campaign promises:

Mandatory Sterilization for All

This is less about population control than it is about addressing the problems of abortion and unwanted children.  There’s such heated debate about whether abortion should be allowed, wouldn’t it be better to stop the root cause of this, which is unwanted pregnancy?  Here’s the concept:

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The Social Knotwork

Oh, dearest Facebook, how I do verily loathe thee, let me count the ways…

While I was an early adopter of internet-based functionality (at least the widely available versions in mid-90s), I was more in love with extensive sharing, such as novella-length emails and home-made websites with HTML-based picture albums. I was never such a fan of text snippits & rapid replies, as expected in instant messaging, cellphone texting and what is now known as social networking. I was rather slow to join Friendster, despite the badgering of friends, only joining it towards the end, when Myspace was starting to become rather popular.  Eventually, I joined Myspace, which “everyone” was on, but I never quite understood the point of such things.  I mean, I’d had my own website since 1999, so I had no need for the easy-bake self-promotion on such sites.

During the heyday of Myspace, I had been aware of  Facebook and had a grudging respect for its students only format, which required validated enrolled student “real” users. Don’t get me wrong, I am a great fan of imagination and the internet’s facility for self-invention, but if you’re trying to connect with real people, some of the misleading nonsense that went on in Friendster and Myspace, such as fake accounts for a pet or other fictions could be hugely annoying.   I suppose the high percentage of “real” people on Facebook when it initially became available to the public (and not just students) was key in its rise to the top, though I understand that it now has plenty of musical acts, businesses and other non-individuals (or fake individuals). Continue reading “The Social Knotwork”

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Holey Matrimony

With May comes “wedding season,” but even though I’m fortunate enough to be in a successful long-term relationship with a highly compatible partner, I don’t plan to marry.  Why not?

Although I support and am happy for my family and friends who have chosen (or will chose) to get married, for me personally, the institution of marriage is holey [sic].  In brief, traditional marriage seems to:

  • Privilege “normal” romantic relationships over all  other kinds of relationships, including close friendships and kinships.
  • Be gender-essentialist and (generally) reinforce gender role stereotypes.
  • Represent a “unity” of two people which is incompatible with my fierce independence and my current (excellent) relationship.
  • Be an out-dated tradition that creeps out a rebel like me (as so many traditions do).

Continue reading “Holey Matrimony”

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The Future is Contraction

For centuries, much of human culture has been about expansion – expanding our territory, our populations, our access to resources, our communication, our economy, our influence.  One might argue that the 20th century was the epitome of bigger and better expansionism: two “world” wars among many international conflicts, extreme improvements in transportation (air travel, automobiles everywhere, better boats, trains and public transportation), and the ability to communicate instantaneously and broadly (enhancements to or invention of: radio, telephone, electronic amplification, television, various telecommunication networks, television).

The 20th century ideals of expansion were wildly successful – the world is more connected than ever before; resources, communications and people can and do regularly cross the globe. Our world has become interdependent, such that the well-being of a country like Greece can drastically affect other economies across the world, and vice versa.  And vast numbers of people, not just the super-rich, can purchase and use items manufactured and transported from afar, using fuel and craftsmanship from around the world. Advertisements, the threads of the 20th century economy, literally blanket the world, on billboards and vehicles, sports stadiums and events, flickering across every manner of electronic device, including those small items some of us carry with us everywhere as if they were our lifelines. Continue reading “The Future is Contraction”

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Missed Opportunity 4 Gay Rights

With the mainstream Gay Rights movement laser-focused on marriage equality, I feel it is missing an opportunity to advance more fundamental changes.  The heterosexuals at large (including those in label only) are growing more and more tolerant – so that very few of them (mostly older, rural folks) even dislike gay people, let alone hate them.  The vast majority seem to understand that gay/queer people are regular human beings and should be able to live their lives as full citizens.  But many people, even some well-meaning, gay-friendly straights, feel a bit squicky about gay marriage – probably because they’ve had the princess and prince charming straight-marriage-is-bliss fantasy drilled into their head since they first experienced language.  This is the vulnerability that the haters are exploiting.

The growing tolerance for difference is triggering backlash from the haters, a potent minority, who keep framing the discussion around “traditional marriage” where they can avoid offending the gay-tolerant majority while still preaching bigotry.   Were the Gay Rights movement to play this smart, they could pull a rabbit out of the hat by responding to the haters who proclaim not to hate the gay people, but only to be fighting for “marriage-as-straight”.  I say, let them have it for now.  Let’s call them out at their word.  Gay people are not hated, but they just want to “protect” traditional marriage?   Fine, we’ll let the gay marriage fight go (leaving state and federal laws as is), how about universal, federal protections for LGBT folks for employment, housing and medical coverage?  How about the basic legal protections that straight individuals have without question? Continue reading “Missed Opportunity 4 Gay Rights”