We live in a democratic society. We move through each day rather smoothly, almost like clockwork. People go about their daily routines in an orderly, rational manner. We must obey the laws or suffer the consequences. We must follow social norms or be labeled less than normal. We must get dressed, go to work, eat, come home, go to bed, wake up and do it all over again or face the penalties of "erratic behavior." However, under all this order, there may be a deep internal threat to the very democratic society that promotes it.
The emphasis of rational norms administered by government, its institutions, and the larger society may very well lead to the destruction of other precious democratic principles, if it hasn't already. Today, we live in a fast paced world. We are out to get things done: people to see, things to do, stuff to learn. Any alteration from our mapped out attack on the day leads us to unwarranted stress. A traffic jam keeps us from that meeting we are suppose to be at. A friend calls and wants to go to dinner, but that would keep us from the episode of American Idol we were planning on viewing. A homeless man slows our to the office by asking for a quarter or two. Today's norms and values place an emphasis on efficiency and economy at the expense of justice and equality.
By shifting significance to the norms of today, is it possible that we are loosing the greater value of life. Are we being labeled guilty before proven innocent because it's faster? Do we not care to make schools in the Bronx better because it does not effect our own lives? Are we willing to give up a fantastic opportunity because it was not in the plan?
We need to take a minute, or at least a second, to slow down and figure out what exactly is getting pushed aside and lost in the array of rules of cultural norms and bureaucratic order?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Priorities Please!
This is what I know. The world spends 800 million U.S. dollars on military each year. America and Europe spend 400 million dollars on narcotics, 17 million on pet food, and 12 million on perfume. Europe alone spends 100 million dollars on Alcohol and 50 million on tobacco. This all happens while the entire world only spends 12 million dollars on women's reproductive care, 9 million on all other health care, and 6 million on education. How sad is this? Europe and America spend 3 times the amount of money on food for our pets than for our children's education. Guess that puts our priorities in perspective. We like to get liquored up, smoke, and feed our dogs before we take care of our sick and hungry...but don't worry because we smell nice while doing it due to all our perfume purchases.
Don't get me wrong. I am very far from perfect myself. I have 62 pairs of shoes sitting in my closet. But something has got to be done. As a world, we have got to make a change. And as the national great power of America we should stand as an example. America holds only 5% of the population while consuming 28% of the world's goods. And each day 30,000 children die from poverty around the world. What are we doing people? Instead of spending 580 billion dollars on the Iraqi War we could have given that money to provide basic healthcare, needs, and education for countries not as fortunate as this one.
The 3 richest families in the world have a greater fortune than the total GDP of the 48 poorest nations. Lets start today. I gave away a pair of shoes tonight. I know it's not much, but if you knew me at all, you would understand what a huge personal step that is for me. Start today. Today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.
Don't get me wrong. I am very far from perfect myself. I have 62 pairs of shoes sitting in my closet. But something has got to be done. As a world, we have got to make a change. And as the national great power of America we should stand as an example. America holds only 5% of the population while consuming 28% of the world's goods. And each day 30,000 children die from poverty around the world. What are we doing people? Instead of spending 580 billion dollars on the Iraqi War we could have given that money to provide basic healthcare, needs, and education for countries not as fortunate as this one.
The 3 richest families in the world have a greater fortune than the total GDP of the 48 poorest nations. Lets start today. I gave away a pair of shoes tonight. I know it's not much, but if you knew me at all, you would understand what a huge personal step that is for me. Start today. Today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.
Today Is One Of Those Days
These are the days I live for. You might think I am exaggerating, but as a student of politics and with the dream of a future career in policy, I believe that these days encompass the spirit of America. We live in an amazing country at an amazing time and it is a day like this that reminds us of everything we usually take for granted: our freedom, our security, our voices, our experiences, and our individual possibilities.
Moreover, its even more incredible to think not of what we have as individuals, but we have as a nation. Despite who we voted for in November or what our liberal or conservative views may be, these days, days like this one, bring us together because we remember that we are all in this together. Our diversity of religion, color, background, social status seems to fade away if only for a moment, because for a moment we are united under one label...American. I may celebrate Christmas and you celebrate Hanuka. I may be a blonde college girl from the country and you a Wall Street economist from the big city, but today we are Americans and for a split second nothing else matters. What would it be like if we could always feel like we do today? What would it be like if for the next four years our differences never separated us from one another? Today, the artificial walls came down. Tomorrow, we may construct them again, but we have the moment and that is what makes politics so special. It is more than a moment in history, its our present and we could make this moment our future.
Moreover, its even more incredible to think not of what we have as individuals, but we have as a nation. Despite who we voted for in November or what our liberal or conservative views may be, these days, days like this one, bring us together because we remember that we are all in this together. Our diversity of religion, color, background, social status seems to fade away if only for a moment, because for a moment we are united under one label...American. I may celebrate Christmas and you celebrate Hanuka. I may be a blonde college girl from the country and you a Wall Street economist from the big city, but today we are Americans and for a split second nothing else matters. What would it be like if we could always feel like we do today? What would it be like if for the next four years our differences never separated us from one another? Today, the artificial walls came down. Tomorrow, we may construct them again, but we have the moment and that is what makes politics so special. It is more than a moment in history, its our present and we could make this moment our future.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A Heartfelt Goodbye
I just wanted to say good-bye to President George W. Bush. It is his last night as President and I know that we all have a few reservations about the last eight years. There are decisions he made that we don't agree with and actions he took that disappointed some of us. Nonetheless, he was our President and as American citizens it is our job to stand behind him until the very end.
He made decisions with the knowledge he had at hand. He made the decisions that none of us would ever want the responsibility to make. He made the decisions that we elected him to make. So for all of us, I just want to say, "Goodbye and thank you for making the choices that we didn't want to make."
On a side note: Today I was thinking about terrorists and why they do what they do. In a book, Bruce Hoffman writes that terrorism is designed for the sole purpose of taking a stance, voicing a belief. Terrorists cause violence, not with the intention to murder, but to make a big enough impact on the world to get their message heard. They believe that what they are fighting for is the truth; it is right and worthy. They are trying to oppose what they see as a universal evil.
If this is true....if all they really want is to be heard and cause a change then it seems to me that, as the rest of the world, we have an opportunity to make it stop. I don't believe that there is a realistic way to ever do this. But if an act of terrorism was never broadcasted by the media, if people refrained from discussing it, and if we acted (even pretended) it didn't make a difference then the terrorists efforts would be unwarrented. How many less would risk life in prison if no one noticed why he went? How many less would choose to be a suicide bomb if they knew it wouldn't make a difference in the world. If we don't listen, it might keep a few from speaking?
I know this is impossible to accomplish. We all have a right to know and the media needs to say something. It's too hard not to care when a loved one dies unexpectedly and so tragically. I understand that we will never be able to stop listening, but it's something to think about.
He made decisions with the knowledge he had at hand. He made the decisions that none of us would ever want the responsibility to make. He made the decisions that we elected him to make. So for all of us, I just want to say, "Goodbye and thank you for making the choices that we didn't want to make."
On a side note: Today I was thinking about terrorists and why they do what they do. In a book, Bruce Hoffman writes that terrorism is designed for the sole purpose of taking a stance, voicing a belief. Terrorists cause violence, not with the intention to murder, but to make a big enough impact on the world to get their message heard. They believe that what they are fighting for is the truth; it is right and worthy. They are trying to oppose what they see as a universal evil.
If this is true....if all they really want is to be heard and cause a change then it seems to me that, as the rest of the world, we have an opportunity to make it stop. I don't believe that there is a realistic way to ever do this. But if an act of terrorism was never broadcasted by the media, if people refrained from discussing it, and if we acted (even pretended) it didn't make a difference then the terrorists efforts would be unwarrented. How many less would risk life in prison if no one noticed why he went? How many less would choose to be a suicide bomb if they knew it wouldn't make a difference in the world. If we don't listen, it might keep a few from speaking?
I know this is impossible to accomplish. We all have a right to know and the media needs to say something. It's too hard not to care when a loved one dies unexpectedly and so tragically. I understand that we will never be able to stop listening, but it's something to think about.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Why continue to Gamble?
I know why people gamble. You play the slots, try to be the one to hit the jackpot. You move to Hollywood, try to be one of the few who gets on the big screen. You date, try to find the person you want to spend your life with. It's easy to understand the human motivation to take a chance. The real question is.....Why, once a person wins, does she continue to gamble?
A man goes to Las Vegas. He bets everything he has on one roll. He wins and has everything he has ever wanted. He has spent his life trying to make a roll just like this one. He knows he was lucky. He knows the house usually wins. So why does he continue to gamble after he's already won?
A young graduate scores the job of her dreams. A few years past and she believes that she can do better, be hired to do something more. Why does the girl give up something she has worked her whole life to achieve? Why does she give up the perfect job on the slim assumption that there's something better?
Two people fall in love. They have been looking for each other high and low. They both know that the other is a perfect match, that they want to spend forever with each other, that they were lucky to find each other in the first place. A few months pass and the man decides to break up with her. He is afraid he is missing out on something more, something greater. Why would a person assume there's someone better after they have already found the best?
Why gamble when you've already won?
A man goes to Las Vegas. He bets everything he has on one roll. He wins and has everything he has ever wanted. He has spent his life trying to make a roll just like this one. He knows he was lucky. He knows the house usually wins. So why does he continue to gamble after he's already won?
A young graduate scores the job of her dreams. A few years past and she believes that she can do better, be hired to do something more. Why does the girl give up something she has worked her whole life to achieve? Why does she give up the perfect job on the slim assumption that there's something better?
Two people fall in love. They have been looking for each other high and low. They both know that the other is a perfect match, that they want to spend forever with each other, that they were lucky to find each other in the first place. A few months pass and the man decides to break up with her. He is afraid he is missing out on something more, something greater. Why would a person assume there's someone better after they have already found the best?
Why gamble when you've already won?
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Am I Free?
In a democracy like America, we are given certain freedoms. Sometimes I believe that those liberties are the very things that restrain us. Marketing, for example, developed due to our capitalist society. Advertisements are not selling the product, they are selling an intangible idea that we all believe we need and cannot find within ourselves. For instance, Nike sold millions selling the idea of transcendence beyond sport. Saturn sells the belief of community, being a part of a group, being accepted. This freedom to advertise...has it lead to a restraint on the individual? Are we being told what we need? If not, then why are we buying into the useless material items that are far from basic necessity?
In America, we are not only buying product, we are buying governance. We are given a select group of politicians to choose from. Political marketing begins years before election. These ads are nothing more than an artful construction of lies. We are not being told the truth. We are being told what we want to hear, the ideas we want to believe in.
Democracy leads us to believe that the consumer is in control. Are we? We need to believe in ourselves in order to understand that a product is just a product and the true fulfillment of personal yearnings is unattainable within those material goods. Do we have enough identity within ourselves to truly be free from persuasion?
In America, we are not only buying product, we are buying governance. We are given a select group of politicians to choose from. Political marketing begins years before election. These ads are nothing more than an artful construction of lies. We are not being told the truth. We are being told what we want to hear, the ideas we want to believe in.
Democracy leads us to believe that the consumer is in control. Are we? We need to believe in ourselves in order to understand that a product is just a product and the true fulfillment of personal yearnings is unattainable within those material goods. Do we have enough identity within ourselves to truly be free from persuasion?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)