America the…

For the past two weeks I have been busy in a number of different ways. I attended a conference, started to apply for a scholarship, and contracted the dreaded North Dakota Winter Cold/The Bubonic Plague. So, you will have to forgive me and accept my apologies for the late manner in which I now return to Adversaria.  I did not have much time to think of anything, much less the greater questions of life, while at the conference I attended or while starting the application process for this scholarship. However, over the course of the last four days, while curled up in bed resting and trying to combat my illness, I had plenty of time to simply think… and so think I did. The topic of discussion in my little head? America. Or, rather, the state thereof: The state of America. The more I thought about it I realized that there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?

Don’t worry, I am not going to turn this into some radical Tea Party rant, nor am I going to espouse an ultra-liberal political agenda. In fact, I would plea with my reader to simply lay aside their political biases for a moment and consider what I have to say as an American.

America today suffers from a stunning lack of perspective… we know so little of ourself as a country, as a modern nation. Do we have priorities? Do we really? Allow me to put to you a few observations. In a country that supposedly values education the cost of attendance at our universities and colleges rises every year and as a result over the last 25 years American institutions have raised their cost of attendance an average of 150%, with the highest rates topping 400%. On  a yearly average, 17% of all college students in the U.S. have to drop out due to the rising cost of attendance, with the highest state rate at 24% in California. Do we really value education?

In a country that espouses the importance of family and family values we have a divorce rate that is among the highest in the world. Over 40% (some statistics point to a rate of over 50%) of all child-bearing households will end in divorce,  with the divorce rate increasing by 15% for each marriage the divorced couple enters after their first. Do we really value family?

In a country that prides itself on the openness of its political system and a place where political aspirations can become a reality we have a horrible mess of a political system. In fact, our political system is so open that you have to align yourself with one of two parties in order to be seen as a politically viable candidate. It’s so open that all you need to run a presidential campaign is the small amount $50 million. In the 2008 presidential campaign John McCain raised a total of $368 million while Barack Obama raised a total of $745 million, for a combined $1.1 billion dollars. The fact that political scientists say that to even think about running for president a prospective candidate needs at least $50 million is absolutely ridiculous. The fact that the two candidates campaign funds combine to equal the annual economic output of some of Middle-America’s cities is also absolutely ridiculous. Barack Obama’s cash-on-hand report was enough to buy out some of America’s most industrious energy companies, and the overall amount of $745 million dollars could have single handedly financed the operation of 76% of all public schools in America for six hours; and, with the combined $1.1 billion every school in America, and then some, could have operated for six hours.

My point, ladies and gentleman, is that we, as a country, seem to have a lost a certain perspective. We are more unaware of the inherent hypocrisies in our nation than we have ever been before, and this is a dangerous thing. There is a disconnect between what we say we value and how we act. I am simply calling for us to take several steps back and reevaluate what we, as a nation, value and what our priorities are. As far as I am concerned we are not “America the Beautiful” or “America The Land of the  Free,” because I am not entirely convinced even American’s know what America is. I think we need to start an intelligent, rational, and realistic conversation about what we as a country believe in, what we would fight for… talk about things like equality, political campaign finance, race, religion, sexual orientation. I think we, as a nation, have forgotten the importance of discussion. So, let’s start one, so that we no longer have to be “America The…?”.

The Simple Pleasures

To say that the nature of life in this epoch is tumultuous and chaotic is certainly not altogether inappropriate. While out and about grocery shopping, driving or having dinner with a friend, one can hear the whistles and bells of the Blackberry; one can see the manner in which humanity continually disconnects itself from within. The internet has brought about a social revolution, this cannot be denied. Skype, Facebook, Twitter and smart-phones have all made made the ordeal of maintaining contact with someone much less painful and much less of a hassle. Needless to say, the days of hand written letters have seen their last sunset. Now, one simply needs an internet connection and a few spare moments of time in order to “talk” to someone. But, does all of this come at a cost?

Does the fact that it is so very easy to maintain these relationships without actually having to know someone or without actually having to interact with someone in the same room, make the connections that we maintain less important and less realistic? I would say that they do. But, I digress. What I really want to talk about is how this social revolution brought about by the dawn of the “inter-web” has made us lose ourselves in the hustle and bustle of daily life in the 21st century. Call me old-fashioned, but, I still find pleasure in the simple things of life – sometimes, the incredibly simple things of life. I don’t need the latest apps on my phone, cool little games that fling bird-bombs across my screen at pigs huddling in a fortress built of Lincoln Logs, or the ability to go onto the internet and check my email every moment of every day.

Nope, give me a Peggy Lee or Felonious Monk CD (yes, I said CD) on a sunny Sunday afternoon… an open window with a view and a cup of tea and I am happy man. Give me a good book – give me a lovely walk on a fall afternoon. When I tell people what I enjoy doing I often elicit an odd, blank stare followed by, “That’s boring” or “What’s a CD?” It seems to me that people have forgotten how to appreciate the simple things in life, and I think it is because they are so very caught up in maintaining their social lives as they exist on the internet. It’s sad really. Real friendships and relationships are hard to come by these days because of the increasingly disconnected way in which we interact with one another.

I am not saying that I do not text, or that I don’t have a Facebook account and don’t talk to people on Skype – because I do all of those things. However, the difference between myself and most people seems to be that I haven’t forgotten what really matters and I haven’t lost the ability to enjoy these “simple pleasures.”

Do yourself a favor and go downtown to a local coffee shop and people-watch; go out for a walk and enjoy being alive, and don’t forget that life doesn’t happen on Twitter or Facebook. Life is out there… in the wild, messy and wonderful thing we call society. Go make a new friend, a real one, and not someone with a profile picture and screen name. I promise, it’s not that hard or painful. Life doesn’t have a connection rating, people.

An Introduction to Insanity

Starting a blog is always an interesting, if at least entertaining, fiasco. You are never quite sure who will read it, nor are you ever quite sure as to why it is that you are actually starting it. When one thinks of it, blogs really are very arrogant. Who am I to think that anyone would read what I have to say, much less care? But, alas, here I sit arrogantly typing away.

I suppose the genesis of this blog is rooted in the same gross misunderstanding that I have in myself. You see, I am not sure about much and I am even less sure about the things that I know… for, what is knowledge really – could it be, like beauty, simply a matter opinion, how one chooses to view the world? Unlike most I am not willing to say that I understand the nuances and profundities of life. For, in the concepts of truth, suffering, love, and the all important question of “why,” I have little understanding. But, like most, I do seek to better understand these concepts. And therein lies the inception of this blog.

I am not so concerned with actually mastering any of these concepts. I am more concerned with simply seeking to gain insight into what this odd little thing of a world is and why it works. The questions of truth, suffering, love, and “why” are barely the beginning of the all encompassing manner in which our lives blanket the world.

With the “introduction” complete, I must bid you farewell… if only for a moment, for I will return.

Jon