"Don't be afraid. That simple; don't let them scare you. There's nothing that can do to you... a writer always writes. That's what he's for. And if they won't let you write one kind of thing, if they chop you off at the pockets in the market place, then go to another market place. And if they close off all the bazaars then by God go and work with your hands till you can write, because talent is always there. But the first time you say, "Oh, Christ, they'll kill me!" then you're done. Because the chief commodity a writer has to sell is his courage. And if he has none, he is more than a coward. He is a sellout and a fink and a heretic, because writing is a holy chore."
-Harlan Ellison
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
MLK DAY 2009
What follows is a couple years old but reading it over I thought I should have it here too.
Every year I somehow someway end up hearing the "I have a dream" speech. Usually on NPR.It never gets old.
It makes you think about where we've been and where we are. He saw enough to imagine all the good that was possible and to warn of all the pitfalls along the way.
And even with all that warning, we still managed to hit most of them.
As far as we've come. We still fall so far short.
As a society we tend to look at the past from two points of view. We exalt the achievements of the past while at the same time being mystified by how far behind us they were to be faced with those problems in the first place.
He saw the path. He saw that in the struggle to achieve social and legal equality there would be the temptation to demonize all whites as "the enemy" and went out of his way to point out the white men and women that were standing with them that day. Because they recognized that we are not separate. The cause of freedom binds us all to one another.
And he warned of using violence in pursuit of that freedom.
Which reminded me of a buddhist belief that talks about how for your pursuits in this life to be pure they must come from "right thought, right speech, right action, right meditation, etc". The idea behind it being that it's not enough to want the right thing. You have to pursue it in the right way for the right reasons. When you use the wrong path to acquire that right thing then the whole thing has a fatal flaw built into it that will ultimately cause it to fall apart.
Lots of missteps we've all taken on this path. Some well intentioned and badly executed. Some badly intentioned and well executed. I get it. It's hard enough just to do the right thing, much less doing the right thing the right way.
It's like the old saying goes "If it were easy everyone would do it"
It's not easy. It's hard. Decades and Centuries hard.
Some want to build a better world. Some just want to get along. Make it through every next day. Worry about themselves. Keeping their vision narrow. Thinking that what they see is all there is.
There is a quote I heard somewhere that goes "The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true." (James Cabell)
I say they're both wrong. There is a world yet to be that is better than any of us has ever seen. One where people lead by example. You know, that old "do unto others" thing?
If you believe that a way of life is the correct one, then live that way. Show people by your example. Let them judge for themselves. Trust the truth to bear itself out. Don't try to force people to behave as you do. Don't threaten them with God's wrath. Don't try to scare them into submission. Be a shining example of your own philosophy. Map out a path and accept any who wish to travel it with you. Welcome questions and debate. Grapple with truth. Seek answers and be willing to change when there is reason to.
Because as the great Shakes' was known to say..."There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophies"
(take a minute and take a listen)
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=99557465&m=99557459
Every year I somehow someway end up hearing the "I have a dream" speech. Usually on NPR.It never gets old.
It makes you think about where we've been and where we are. He saw enough to imagine all the good that was possible and to warn of all the pitfalls along the way.
And even with all that warning, we still managed to hit most of them.
As far as we've come. We still fall so far short.
As a society we tend to look at the past from two points of view. We exalt the achievements of the past while at the same time being mystified by how far behind us they were to be faced with those problems in the first place.
He saw the path. He saw that in the struggle to achieve social and legal equality there would be the temptation to demonize all whites as "the enemy" and went out of his way to point out the white men and women that were standing with them that day. Because they recognized that we are not separate. The cause of freedom binds us all to one another.
And he warned of using violence in pursuit of that freedom.
Which reminded me of a buddhist belief that talks about how for your pursuits in this life to be pure they must come from "right thought, right speech, right action, right meditation, etc". The idea behind it being that it's not enough to want the right thing. You have to pursue it in the right way for the right reasons. When you use the wrong path to acquire that right thing then the whole thing has a fatal flaw built into it that will ultimately cause it to fall apart.
Lots of missteps we've all taken on this path. Some well intentioned and badly executed. Some badly intentioned and well executed. I get it. It's hard enough just to do the right thing, much less doing the right thing the right way.
It's like the old saying goes "If it were easy everyone would do it"
It's not easy. It's hard. Decades and Centuries hard.
Some want to build a better world. Some just want to get along. Make it through every next day. Worry about themselves. Keeping their vision narrow. Thinking that what they see is all there is.
There is a quote I heard somewhere that goes "The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is true." (James Cabell)
I say they're both wrong. There is a world yet to be that is better than any of us has ever seen. One where people lead by example. You know, that old "do unto others" thing?
If you believe that a way of life is the correct one, then live that way. Show people by your example. Let them judge for themselves. Trust the truth to bear itself out. Don't try to force people to behave as you do. Don't threaten them with God's wrath. Don't try to scare them into submission. Be a shining example of your own philosophy. Map out a path and accept any who wish to travel it with you. Welcome questions and debate. Grapple with truth. Seek answers and be willing to change when there is reason to.
Because as the great Shakes' was known to say..."There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in your philosophies"
(take a minute and take a listen)
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=99557465&m=99557459
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Magic Masquerading as Parlor Tricks
Not that long ago I saw a very impressive episode of Nova and it left me reflecting on how little time is spent on tv of that sort and how much is spent just keeping us amused and living vicariously through the exciting lives of pretend people.
I was fairly pissed.
The thing is, I didn't have a full and proper understanding of what was really bothering me. Until now.
Its that from where I sit, it appears that science in only relevant to the public when it enables some new way for them to be entertained. There are extraordinary things being created every day but they fly right under the radar.
What bothers me is...this isn't the best of all possible worlds. We have better methods of making...everything! Methods that aren't implemented because if they were it would destroy the economy as we know.
"...the economy that's fake anyway!" -Bill Hicks
See...the economy is such a simple concept. People buying things is what creates the demand that causes companies to hire people to make them but to keep all those employees working, people have to keep buying and buying and buying.
I once saw a guy being intervied by Charlie Rose.It was one of top guys at Walmart. He said (and I'm paraphrasing here)"We've got all the customers we need...we just need them to buy more".
Don't mind tellin ya...I was floored by this. There was something so base about the way he spoke. It wasn't a man I was watching anymore. He was a jackal tearing flesh from bone and giggling with glee. Like the bill collectors who call and try to scare people with threats and pressure them to pay by any means neccesary. "Can't you borrow it from someone?" Truly there is a special place in hell for those people.
But what's worse is...as things stand, that's all this world of ours is designed for. People buying stuff so people can't make stuff so people can buy stuff.
Just don't make the stuff too good. Because that will fuck up the whole equation. Stuff that's really well made lasts thus reducing the number of them that will need to be made in a given period of time. Fewer products being made means fewer jobs, which means fewer people making enough money to buy products...see where this is going?
Economic collapse? In a way I suppose. And in the short term, life would suck for all kinds of people. No question. And we can't dismiss that short term view. People live their lives in the day to day. People lose their homes and go hungry in the short term.
But this money thing...there's no sustaining this anymore. Not in the long term. That has to be obvious by now.
Largely because so many jobs are being made obsolete by technology. People keep being born and born and born while the jobs left for humans keeps shrinking. What could possibly turn that trend around? Should we even try to?
I still remember this line from Star Trek VI...about how french peasants who found their jobs threatened by technology threw their wooden shoes called "sabo" into the machinery...giving birth to the term "sabotage".
We could do that or we could embrace the challenge of a world without money. One where we create the best possible world. One that is designed to last, built from the best designs and materials. Where we stretch ourselves to reach that thing just out of our grasp.
We should do this for one another. The world we live in now works for some. We could build a world that works for all. We have the technology. We can rebuild it.
(Did you know they have found a texture that can be applied to any surface that reduces the growth of bacteria by something like 86%? Not a material that costs millions to produce. Just a texture. How is this not news? Why is this not applied to every surface we come into contact with? Oh wait...it's the economy again, right? All those antibacterial soaps and cleansers and whatnot suddenly take a sharp drop in sales. It's Preston Tucker and Nikola Tesla all over again. The better way gets shafted for the more profitable way. How are we not done with this yet?)
I was fairly pissed.
The thing is, I didn't have a full and proper understanding of what was really bothering me. Until now.
Its that from where I sit, it appears that science in only relevant to the public when it enables some new way for them to be entertained. There are extraordinary things being created every day but they fly right under the radar.
What bothers me is...this isn't the best of all possible worlds. We have better methods of making...everything! Methods that aren't implemented because if they were it would destroy the economy as we know.
"...the economy that's fake anyway!" -Bill Hicks
See...the economy is such a simple concept. People buying things is what creates the demand that causes companies to hire people to make them but to keep all those employees working, people have to keep buying and buying and buying.
I once saw a guy being intervied by Charlie Rose.It was one of top guys at Walmart. He said (and I'm paraphrasing here)"We've got all the customers we need...we just need them to buy more".
Don't mind tellin ya...I was floored by this. There was something so base about the way he spoke. It wasn't a man I was watching anymore. He was a jackal tearing flesh from bone and giggling with glee. Like the bill collectors who call and try to scare people with threats and pressure them to pay by any means neccesary. "Can't you borrow it from someone?" Truly there is a special place in hell for those people.
But what's worse is...as things stand, that's all this world of ours is designed for. People buying stuff so people can't make stuff so people can buy stuff.
Just don't make the stuff too good. Because that will fuck up the whole equation. Stuff that's really well made lasts thus reducing the number of them that will need to be made in a given period of time. Fewer products being made means fewer jobs, which means fewer people making enough money to buy products...see where this is going?
Economic collapse? In a way I suppose. And in the short term, life would suck for all kinds of people. No question. And we can't dismiss that short term view. People live their lives in the day to day. People lose their homes and go hungry in the short term.
But this money thing...there's no sustaining this anymore. Not in the long term. That has to be obvious by now.
Largely because so many jobs are being made obsolete by technology. People keep being born and born and born while the jobs left for humans keeps shrinking. What could possibly turn that trend around? Should we even try to?
I still remember this line from Star Trek VI...about how french peasants who found their jobs threatened by technology threw their wooden shoes called "sabo" into the machinery...giving birth to the term "sabotage".
We could do that or we could embrace the challenge of a world without money. One where we create the best possible world. One that is designed to last, built from the best designs and materials. Where we stretch ourselves to reach that thing just out of our grasp.
We should do this for one another. The world we live in now works for some. We could build a world that works for all. We have the technology. We can rebuild it.
(Did you know they have found a texture that can be applied to any surface that reduces the growth of bacteria by something like 86%? Not a material that costs millions to produce. Just a texture. How is this not news? Why is this not applied to every surface we come into contact with? Oh wait...it's the economy again, right? All those antibacterial soaps and cleansers and whatnot suddenly take a sharp drop in sales. It's Preston Tucker and Nikola Tesla all over again. The better way gets shafted for the more profitable way. How are we not done with this yet?)
Friday, March 4, 2011
Some words for the Wisconsin 14
Moveon.org sent out an email the other day asking people to express their support for the Wisconsin 14 by writing a message that Moveon.org would forward to them.
This is mine.
As hard as this has been on all of you, and I'm sure it has been very hard indeed, the sacrifice of a few for even a month will save countless union workers from losing their vital rights to stand together and for one another for years to come. This isn't just one small vote, this is a decision that can define the course of our history as a nation for generations.
It took decades for unions to win the hard fought protections that all of us, union and non union alike now take for granted but it can be lost in a moment. The people haven't left the streets. And with every passing day the protestors and you exceptional 14 maintain your resolve and draw more and more people to your cause. Scott Walker says this is his moment. He's wrong. Its ours. All of ours. People like him like to win without a fight. They'll tell you you can't win in the hopes that you won't try.
But we win everyday. Everytime he says "yes you will" and we say "no we won't". We won't give up, we won't quit, we won't stop, not ever. We'll stand together and for one another til every assault has been exhausted and every enemy of fairness and decency has been vanquished. That's what we do.
Hang in there. As hard as this is you all have a chance that few ever do. To make a difference and to ensure a better life for generations to come.
This is mine.
As hard as this has been on all of you, and I'm sure it has been very hard indeed, the sacrifice of a few for even a month will save countless union workers from losing their vital rights to stand together and for one another for years to come. This isn't just one small vote, this is a decision that can define the course of our history as a nation for generations.
It took decades for unions to win the hard fought protections that all of us, union and non union alike now take for granted but it can be lost in a moment. The people haven't left the streets. And with every passing day the protestors and you exceptional 14 maintain your resolve and draw more and more people to your cause. Scott Walker says this is his moment. He's wrong. Its ours. All of ours. People like him like to win without a fight. They'll tell you you can't win in the hopes that you won't try.
But we win everyday. Everytime he says "yes you will" and we say "no we won't". We won't give up, we won't quit, we won't stop, not ever. We'll stand together and for one another til every assault has been exhausted and every enemy of fairness and decency has been vanquished. That's what we do.
Hang in there. As hard as this is you all have a chance that few ever do. To make a difference and to ensure a better life for generations to come.
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