(This was written to my FB connections. The message still resonates even without that connection.)
This post will be by far the most
offensive one I have ever written. But most of the people reading my
FB posts are friends and family who are stuck with me. That being
the case, you can still make donations to buy my a newer 48' Hans
Christian. Make donation checks payable to “Foundation for ridding
American psyche of cognitive dissonance by casting out logic, reason,
and science”.
Ok, do me a favor. Look over your
FB feed for the past 48 hours. Look upon it not as yourself, but as
an outsider to this country. Judge what you see to be an extension
of the things we value. “What do Americans value above all else?”
Judge the people that get mentioned or pictures posted by the reason
they are mentioned. (Hint, a lot of pics of soldiers that last
couple of days.) Judge their job not by the warm emotional feelings
associated with the term, but by the job description.. I'll give you
a second to go do that...... OK, what would an outsider see about
about US society and its values? Would they see it value its
engineers and their dedication to advancing life saving technology?
Would they seen scientist valued for expanding our understanding of
the world and reality. Would an outsider see us commending the
dedication of a doctor, who sacrificed 12 yrs of his life to , not
getting drunk and foreign countries and buying hookers with his
buddies, but endless boring study, labor, and constant threat of
failure. For a few years the doctor even works for free! When he is
done he has a bill bigger than the 3 times the cost of most of our
houses. Do you see that in your FB feed? How about fire fighters or
police officers who run toward danger with a mission to bring
everybody out alive, no matter who they are? How about the teachers.
We contribute DNA to create our children's bodies, but they
contribute knowledge and enlightenment that creates their
personality. Often in a teacher is a life raft in a sea of malice,
bullying, and of social Darwinism that exist in the hallways of our
public schools. When was that last time you saw somebody post a
picture of “My Teacher”. How about the factory worker, a good
one, who is a iconic example of dedication and hard work. Ideas are
great, but you need somebody to make them a reality. How about the
architect and carpenters who build these things where all your great
memories are made. As a government employee maintaining a very
important information system, I save lives every day. We have a <
0% acceptance of loss. So it is mundane and hardly seems worth is on
most days to take care of the backup system to the backup system. We
have only the safest NAS in the world to kind of reflect our efforts.
Here is why this is so important to
me that I risk public and family ridicule. “You all”, and the
commune (aka community) are all purveyors of a massage that is
creating my daughter's personality whether I want you to or not.
Already she knows “Michigan sucks” and “The Steelers suck”.
I didn't teach her that. Social forces taught her that. She doesn't
even know what it means. She now has a predisposition against
Michigan. What if a school or a job later in life calls her that
way. Yes the subconscious it that powerful, especially to those who
believe it isn't. The people reading this post are very close to me
and thus her. I want my daughter to value education, technology,
science, hard work, dedication, all human life (enemies included),
non-violence, and independent thinking for herself. I want her to
reject blind faith and “patriotism”. But she will never go to a
football game and hear, “Let's have all the psychological
researchers stand up! We thank you for teaching us about ourselves.
To move towards a more peaceful and enlightened society.” She will
never be at church and hear, “Let's pray today that the engineers
that are working on life saving tissue and organ replacements are
safe and successful.”. In our society she will never witness those
traits I value being publicly highlighted. It is rare we see things
like life long commitments, nonviolent sacrifice, or compassion
honored in grand format. “The parade to commemorate the people who
never got divorced.” We all seek social acceptance (well except
maybe me. Blame it on my ADD... sail.), and we all look to mimic
those we see getting it. So I need, feel obliged for the success of
Cecelia’s growth, to chastise the US as a society. You are
threatening to misguide my daughter. Stop it. I know this is a
losing battle, but I have never fought any other kind.
Here is a truth about a capitalist
society. If you create something, it cost money. If something cost,
you now have a vested interest in using it. We have to be able to
justify the cost, to get an ROI. Often times we seek to make sure our
investment is justified. If that investment is your son or daughter's
life, you seek even more intently. So if you create a soldier, you
have a vested interest in creating an army. If you create an army,
you have a vested interest in going to war. If you have people
paying you and you are just sitting around, people start to wonder
why they are paying you. (Ask any of my prvious and current bosses.)
The reality is that if we spent as much on creating doctors and
hospitals to combat health problems, we would save millions of
American lives each decade and solved nearly every physical and
emotional ailment. If we spent half the money we do on defense on
training engineers and scientist, we would have our energy problems
sustainably solved and be working on a way to reach another planet.
Instead we train soldiers, build armies, and facilitate war, then
claim we are a peaceful “Christian” nation. Then we honor the
mess we made as if it were something unavoidable.
OK, like I said, all those who
think, “This dude should get out of this country if he doesn't like
this one!” (Thus missing the point but, oh well). Send me a
message. I will tell you where you can post the donations to. I am
currently $996,345 short of the money I need to get the boat and
stock it to get underway. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsH1g5ZESk
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