Showing posts with label DFTBA. Show all posts
"Stop referring to yourselves as consumers. Consumers are different than citizens. Consumers do not have obligations, responsibilities & duties to their fellow human beings." -James Howard Kunstler
The United States has mastered the avoidance of social responsibility. In a move of stunning hypocrisy we are a nation of religious men and women who donate more money to charity than any other nation on earth, yet there is very little regard for our own neighbors. We have expanded so fast and so vast that our sense of humanity has become skewed in the process.
You can see this in our architecture.
In place of town squares and community centers we have cookie cutter
houses and mega-Walmarts that take up entire city blocks. Locations
have become defined not by what we do there, but by what we get there. I get gas at the gas station, I get food at the grocery
store, I get a movie at a Best Buy and then I return to my home
that is three-sizes too big where I can separate myself from the rest of
humanity.
This changes how we think, how we act
and the way we interact with other people. Humans stop becoming
unique and start becoming automatons that provide you with services.
Things don't happen to you but to "them." You are not at
fault, "they" are. You are not responsible. It disengages
us from humanity.
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| The workers all live in the houses behind this store. |
I had a professor at University that
repeatedly said many problems would be solved if people understood
the history of Pledge of Allegiance and the Oath of Allegiance. He
believed that instead of reciting the Pledge at schools or government
meetings, everyone should be taught and recite the Oath of
Allegiance.
Americans are familiar with the Pledge:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Many countries have similar pledges as
well. Something short, concise and repeatable. The history behind the
pledge is that it was written in 1892 and advertised by a
marketer in hopes of selling more American flags. It's a gimmick. A
slogan. It's the same as "Got Milk" or "Just do it."
An argument can be made that it has evolved to be more than that. I
suppose. But let's look at the simple truth: It doesn't mean
anything. It is a collection of words that neither make any promises
or require anything of the speaker. It is meaningless.
Immigrants are familiar with the Oath
of Allegiance, sometimes referred to as the Oath of Citizenship.
Every immigrant who wishes to become a naturalized citizen must
recite this Oath:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
The Oath is almost the exact opposite
of the Pledge. Long, wordy and filled with things the speaker must
do. In fact, there are five things that can not change in the Oath of
Allegiance. (Wording can be adjusted, but these things must stay the
same).
1. Swear allegiance to the United States Constitution2. Renounce allegiance to any foreign country to which the immigrant has had previous allegiances3. Defend the Constitution against enemies "foreign and domestic"4. Promise to serve in the United States Armed Forces when required by law (either combat or non-combat)5. Promise to perform civilian duties of "national importance" when required by law
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| Internal debate: How tall is guy in second row? |
This responsibility is key.
There are too few today who feel responsible for their own, or others', actions. Perhaps, this is a repercussion of society extending beyond
it's biological abilities. As cultures developed they did so in
tribes. Rarely more than 100 people, every person had
responsibilities and accountability. Even when tribes formed into
communities, it was closer to a collection of tribes rather than a
different entity entirely. Individuals were still responsible to
their tribe first and then allegiance was given to larger and larger
groups.
Today, we live in a country of 300
million, in cities of tens or hundreds of thousands. Our neighbors
come and go, especially the closer to a metropolis you live. This is
the one, and perhaps only, area where small farming communities in
the West and Mid-West are more advanced than people along the coasts.
They still rely on the individuals around them to survive. Around
that necessity develops strong communities and close friendships.
They act more like a tribe with a common goal rather than individuals only linked by proximity.
The unfortunate truth is that whether
because of technological advances or exponential population growth,
all of us have begun to disengage from humanity. Author John Green
said,
"I would submit that all human lives are usually lived in a state of functional nihilism. Very few of us believe that life is devoid of all meaning and that all we should do is satisfy our base urges and fulfill our basic desires and try to distract ourselves from pain, or fear, or unpleasantness. But almost all of us act as if we believe that." -John Green
Each and every one of us has tremendous
ability to effect our surroundings positively. We can grow a garden,
clean up a park, visit our neighbors, or help the poor, sick, and
needy. There are opportunities every day to change our outlook on
life. We can become more socially responsible one step at a time.
Engage with humanity, take responsibility and live life as if it has
meaning.
Because it does.
DFTBA
DFTBA
"No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection" -Patrick Rothfuss
It has been a long few days. I am somewhat exhausted, but very much excited to be alive. That's all I've really got at the moment...it's great to be alive.
Don't be silly, I've got way more than that.
I traveled from San Diego, CA to the Grand Canyon, AZ. It took about nine hours. During that little jaunt I stopped and got new tires because apparently mine were so worn a pebble could puncture them.
Arriving at the Grand Canyon was like passing through the gates of hell...excpet it was raining. A lot. I thought to myself, isn't this the middle of the desert? Are they getting all 5 inches of rainfall out of the way in one day?
Fortunately, the view made up for it...and then some. Words can never describe the vastness, the beauty, or the unbelievable power of nature. Trust me, I want to be able to tell you. I can't. I literally can not come up with words to describe how I felt, what I saw, or the blissful serenity it caused me.
It felt spiritual. So if you have a moment that you felt particularly connected to everything around you; as if suddenly conscious of some other dimension that always existed but you had never seen before. A dimension where you can feel, see, smell, touch, and taste everything all at once. It was something like that...
To be one. To be centered. To have seen the face of God. To have touched Nirvana. To be at peace.
I'm putting pictures up but, believe me, they don't do the place justice. Maybe I'm not that good of photographer, but my gut instinct says that the Grand Canyon is a place for painters. The landscape is too vast to all be perfect. One tiny area may be the greatest photo in the world, but when you try to show it all there is too much.
Two quotes really stuck with me as I was exploring the Grand Canyon. The first is from a book I'm reading called The Life of Pi:
"The finite within the infinite, the infinite within the finite."
The second is a famous quote from William Blake:
"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."
Both bring some much needed coherence to this explanation of my time at the Grand Canyon. Being there was like seeing all and nothing at once. As if I was both the most important person in the universe and also an insignificant collection of atoms. I was in awe. And it was awesome.
What I'm left with is this.
DFTBA. Dont' forget to be awesome. Don't forget to allow yourself to be amazed. Don't forget to take in every moment you can. Remember to be kind to others. Remember to treat yourself with the respect and love that you deserve as a remarkable human being.
Remember to love others.
Thank you for reading.
I'm graduating in two days. I have a lot of thoughts but not a lot of time to write. Hopefully I will be able to soon. Until then here are some blogs that I enjoy, maybe you will too.
Zen Habits Note the stunning similarities to my own blog. I really like this guy.
Seth's Blog My mom sent me a link to this guy's site. Good stuff with a business edge, but with a minamilist style that I appreciate.
Partick Rothfuss' Blog The writer of writers. His blog is funny but is more for the fan than the general reader.
Vlog Brothers A super special gift! That is the youtube channel page for John and Hank Green. It has hundreds of videos that are all amazing in their own way. That's pure hours of enjoyment that's been stamped with my approval.
DFTBA everyone!