When did it change?
What my Gramma used to say:
When things went badly, disasters occurred—from a minor inconvenience to a major cataclysm—my dear Gramma would say, “Thank heavens our family has worked to achieve the wherewithal to enable us to *do something to fix it.* Now, go study.”
What better way to take the wind out of the sails of a prosperous, inventive, go-getter nation than to change that perspective to one of “I was able to get a room in the Hyatt for the storm and, as I looked out the window on the throngs at the Superdome, I felt so guilty.”
“Are we governable?” is part of the question. More to my point is the question, are we capable of governing ourselves? Each one’s own Self; from the inside. When will we remember that the world is actually a hostile place and that Mother Nature is not a delicate flower in mortal danger from the wrath of Humanity but that Humanity is a delicate species which Mother Nature could wipe out with a shrug? When will we remember to teach our children / all children “it’s gonna be your job to take care of yourself as an adult, so become as accomplished as you can and then accomplish as much as you can.” When did we forget there’s a reason people work to become wealthy ?”
This goes back to my comments of last week. Many of the poor of New Orleans have no idea how to care for themselves. The gene for self-reliance has been removed by a welfare system that requires nothing more than registering for your benefits. Even then, the state provides a professional to ensure that the forms are correct and another to check, afterward, to see that all is well.
Most of those folks could no more help themselves than a gerbil could write Shakespeare.
Posted by on 09/07/05 at 04:44 PM
America historically has been an economic leader and an innovator of modern technology. I believe the real question is - Are “WE” a master of the technology we yield? I would answer that by saying we are in a period of transiton; we have sold out our souls for the sake of raw productivity. Technology has weakened our humanity, human spirit, and our will to “LIVE.” The unfortunate problem is that the price of humanity is highly subjective. Who decides that price? Now, that is a question that merits some real attention. Problematic philosophical questions of this magnitude will not get answered for years, though. The conclusive reasoning - Truth is found in the results; on the effect side of causality. Maybe we’ll get a shot at finding the real cause, or source of this problem. Only time will tell…
Posted by on 09/12/05 at 04:57 PMI dunno ‘bout you, Steve, but I rarely allow my coffee maker to push me around.
As to the rest… If you find you’ve lost your ‘will to “LIVE” ‘ even though it be living confined in quotes, I’d recommend getting some professional help. Also, if you find your coffee maker trying to push you around…
Posted by Claire on 09/12/05 at 08:03 PMWhen the average American has to buy a gym membership to get the exercise they already should have been receiving maybe the beginning of a trend is taking place. Who know how far and how wide the trend will go? Someday people may be plugged into a machine and not even have to exercise their mouths like some folks on this site.
Posted by on 09/12/05 at 08:34 PMOk Stevo—that don’t even make sense.
How do ya “receive” exercise? Who “should” be “giving” it to you?
On my planet, ya just gets up off yer overstuffed couch and go do something useful. There’s always something that needs done. How does it work on your planet?
and not even have to exercise their mouths like some folks on this site.
Was that a slam? Did you shoot your own foot? I hate when that happens, don’t you? That one prolly won’t leave a mark, tho.Posted by Claire on 09/13/05 at 08:55 AM
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