you read it here…

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/15/possible-flash-mob-hits-maryland-7-eleven-police-say/%27?test=latestnews

Considering the story at the link above and the fact of degenerates using Twitter and other social networking sites to create mobs of looting vandals and criminals in the UK  the inevitable is going to happen. The way I see it, because a handful of degenerates exploit a system to cause crime we will see legislation and policies inacted in some way to restrict the easy availability for all (Twitter, etc) so we can stop the unethical carbon based life forms from violating other individuals life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Of course their will be the screams of free speech and the legal and ethical arguments back and forth and the polarization of the whole thing distilling it down into political camps and political philosophy — NEVERTHELESS — it will happen in our lifetime….maybe within the next five years….

What do you think?

information, ideas, thinking and the truth

I came across an interesting article this morning at the NYT titled The Elusive Big Idea. Some of the interesting, thought provoking quotes are:

“If our ideas seem smaller nowadays, it’s not because we are dumber than our forebears but because we just don’t care as much about ideas as they did. In effect, we are living in an increasingly post-idea world — a world in which big, thought-provoking ideas that can’t instantly be monetized are of so little intrinsic value that fewer people are generating them and fewer outlets are disseminating them, the Internet notwithstanding.”

“It is no secret, especially here in America, that we live in a post-Enlightenment age in which rationality, science, evidence, logical argument and debate have lost the battle in many sectors, and perhaps even in society generally, to superstition, faith, opinion and orthodoxy. While we continue to make giant technological advances, we may be the first generation to have turned back the epochal clock — to have gone backward intellectually from advanced modes of thinking into old modes of belief. But post-Enlightenment and post-idea, while related, are not exactly the same.

Post-Enlightenment refers to a style of thinking that no longer deploys the techniques of rational thought. Post-idea refers to thinking that is no longer done, regardless of the style.”

“The real cause may be information itself. It may seem counterintuitive that at a time when we know more than we have ever known, we think about it less.

We live in the much vaunted Age of Information. Courtesy of the Internet, we seem to have immediate access to anything that anyone could ever want to know. We are certainly the most informed generation in history, at least quantitatively. There are trillions upon trillions of bytes out there in the ether — so much to gather and to think about.”

“In effect, we are living within the nimbus of an informational Gresham’s law in which trivial information pushes out significant information, but it is also an ideational Gresham’s law in which information, trivial or not, pushes out ideas.

We prefer knowing to thinking because knowing has more immediate value. It keeps us in the loop, keeps us connected to our friends and our cohort. Ideas are too airy, too impractical, too much work for too little reward. Few talk ideas. Everyone talks information, usually personal information. Where are you going? What are you doing? Whom are you seeing? These are today’s big questions.”

“The implications of a society that no longer thinks big are enormous. Ideas aren’t just intellectual playthings. They have practical effects.”

“No doubt there will be those who say that the big ideas have migrated to the marketplace, but there is a vast difference between profit-making inventions and intellectually challenging thoughts. Entrepreneurs have plenty of ideas, and some, like Steven P. Jobs of Apple, have come up with some brilliant ideas in the “inventional” sense of the word.

Still, while these ideas may change the way we live, they rarely transform the way we think. They are material, not ideational. It is thinkers who are in short supply, and the situation probably isn’t going to change anytime soon.

We have become information narcissists, so uninterested in anything outside ourselves and our friendship circles or in any tidbit we cannot share with those friends that if a Marx or a Nietzsche were suddenly to appear, blasting his ideas, no one would pay the slightest attention, certainly not the general media, which have learned to service our narcissism.

What the future portends is more and more information — Everests of it. There won’t be anything we won’t know. But there will be no one thinking about it.

Think about that.”

2 cents: While reading this article, two Bible verses came to mind.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4 KJV)

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away….Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  

(2 Timothy 3:1-5, 7 KJV)

In the above quotes I underlined a few words and phrases.

I find myself struggling with information overload and a lot if not most of it, is usually of no real value. The concept of studying about a subject, pouring over it to learn, grasp and be a master of a subject has given way to typing into what you think is the most powerful search engine so as to give you the information you wanted before and simply bookmark it so if you need you can get to it. My bookmarkers are like my bookshelves in that they are buy genre but unlike my books a lot of them I have not read. They are saved in the event. The goal to increase my exposure and reach to information and data, yet little processing has occurred. What has ended up happening is exposure not saturation. Surface level not depth. If one does not have saturation and depth, then how can one speak or think and develop ideas? The result – instead – is opinion. Let’s be honest, we know the analogy about opinions. What makes one’s opinion of real value is that it is based on knowledge, understanding and experience.  

From an eternal perspective the verses point to the reality that though information increases, the people are further from the truth and understanding it. The majority of the human race that even believes in an afterlife and eternity has decided their opinion is what counts and if there is a supreme being then that being will have to take their opinion into account and that it will matter. But the truth is He will take it into account and its matter will be that it was incorrect and now the human being faces an eternity in a place that no person in their right mind would want to even spend a minute in it and yet they will now reside and endure life there forever.

John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 17:17: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

2Peter 2:2:  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

the hole

I read this NYT article this morning that was the result of two philosophers trying to explain why the majority of people feel “empty” and how to remedy the situation. They tell us to be proactive and participate in things that will provide us “whooshing up” moments. “We get whooshed up at a sports arena, at a political rally or even at magical moments while woodworking or walking through nature.”  The writer of the article points out that these two philosophers writing from the so-called scholarly ivory towers are of the belief that there is no God and since they feel that way and have the empty hole in their lives that the majority of society does as well.

Why I mention this article and am taking the time to post about it is that they do hit the nail on the head, accidentally, as to what many people are and do go through. And this pertains to Christians, religious, spiritual or not. I speak from first hand experience on this. One can have “beliefs” and really not be connected to them. Or another way to put, being spiritual minus the power and peace. In order to have any chance of explaining what I mean I have to speak from what I know so I will address it from the position of a Christian but if the reader is a Buddhist, free-lance, etc I believe they can easily and effectively replace the proper nouns to identify with this better.

For a Christian we are to be Christ-like and that does not just mean “behave”. Jesus came to this earth to save the lost because it was His Father’s will. He suffered and died on the cruel cross of Golgotha because it was God’s will for His life. To be Christ-like, to be a Christian, means to be fulfilling God’s will for your life. In can be to be a Christian book-seller, Christian teacher, Christian janitor, Christian doctor, and it can also be to be a Christian missionary or other similar responsibilities; the bottom line is that we are doing the Father’s will. If we are I am of the firm belief we will not have the empty hole. That does not mean we won’t have rough, tough, miserable times ahead. It just means the hole will be filled and there is a peace that passes all understanding when that is the case.

Our nation claims to be religious/spiritual but the truth of the matter is our nation is religious/spiritual only at a certain place and at a certain time/s a week; the other days of the week we are doing what we want, when we want and doing our best to accumulate wealth, prosperity or simply covering the weekly or monthly living expenses. There is without a doubt a large hole.

Selfishness, prosperity seeking and the like are never ever satisfied; they will always leave a hole.

So the question is simple, whose will are you trying to fulfill?

 

been thinking

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about life lately – much different than I usually do. Over the past three years I have had this kind weird interest in obituaries and the need to see faces to the names. It won’t surprise me that whatever this is – is also behind my interest with the Doe Network. Lives need to be acknowledged but that is a subject for another time. What is swirling around in my mind and spirit is the knowledge that “this” life in comparison to eternity is nothing. I realize it is hard if not impossible for us to get our minds wrapped around the fact of eternity but that doesn’t change the matter that eternity is a reality and a fact. This coupled with our soul – the “us” trapped in our physical bodies – is eternal as well is really becoming sobering to me. My soul, your soul whether one believes it or not if a fact is indeed a fact then our beliefs in many ways doesn’t matter. Yet in the end our beliefs do matter in reference to the state and location of our soul.

Let me try to explain… If I believe that “me” – my soul – my essence, what makes me – me is eternal and there is no afterlife of the soul then – ultimately no harm done to me. But if I am one who does not believe my soul is eternal therefore no afterlife and there is indeed an afterlife and place for my soul based on my beliefs then I am in eternal trouble.

If the matter of an eternity is real and fixed – and is the result of some being > God and He makes the rules – period. And if in this very temporary span of time I fix my eternal state based on what I think or expect and it does not align to His rules… my eternal state, the where and how of soul will be based on His rules not mine – period.

Thinking this and considering then how many lives here are even shorter than the expected lifespan. Plus the reality that eternity makes our lifespan almost insignificant HOWEVER the weight of this insignificant lifespan has ETERNAL WEIGHT to it and fixes the eternal state of one’s being when we pass from this life to the afterlife; when we leave the temporal for the eternal. Think about it! If eternity was only 10 million years and let’s say I live to be a 100 that means my lifespan is .001% of my eternal soul. Think how insignificant in numbers a 100 is to eternity!

But what a huge (understatement) implication and impact our short lifespan has to our eternal wellbeing.

We are not all created equal

It is long past the time we need to come to grips with this inaccurate phrase: all are created equal.

One can call it fate, chance, or God but whatever word you use to describe the fact that you were born at such a place and not another, to a woman and not a different woman, at such a time and not 200 or 3000 years ago – we are not created equal.

We have people who get unfair breaks because they trade on their family name. They have no better talent than many others who are involved in the same hobby, vocation, or trade – they however were born to a family that has power behind their name. The child, now an adult has done nothing to bring about their own existence into this world and to whom and when it occurred. They have the unfair edge and advantage over many people far more talented that were not born under the celebrity or power names of our times.

We have people who are born in settings and circumstances that are below poverty that have talent and a heart that can accomplish great things if only they had the edge or advantage of being born in the UK or US instead of New Guinea, Pakistan, Thailand and so on.

Life is not fair. All of us are not created equal.

But wouldn’t it be great if some people of wealth and power had a passion to share their edge and advantage with those who could better those around them and maybe even the world if they had such an opportunity? What if we cared enough to try to spread opportunities for others to shine?

A hole story

You hire a crew of 10 people each equipped with a bulldozer and send them to point X and tell them to dig a hole and not stop till you come and tell them to.
You hire a crew of 2 with shovels and after a week send them to point X and tell them to pick up the dirt that has been dug out of the hole and put it back in the hole.
Meanwhile the diggers keep digging.
And digging.
Now look at the pile of dirt – that is debt.
Look at the hole – that is the deficit.
The hole will keep growing until I make it stop.
I have no intention – that is the government.

Predicament

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

“THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.”

I wish I was so eloquent so as to share with you/anyone my feelings and belief about our country, our government and our predicament. If I had the patience and time I would comb through my books and other texts to provide many quotes, examples for why I “feel” and “believe” what I do. I lack the patience to wait and prepare such a draft because I fear that by the time I actually completed the draft it would be too late.

One truth, I believe there is a time, a parcel of the future where once we reach it that it will indeed be too late. At this moment I believe we are quite close to that parcel.

Second truth, I believe that our country has been the victim of deliberate actions meant to undermine and ruin what the country was meant to be. It began in the days of the nation’s founding but gained traction in the early 1800s and ever since has quietly and destructively rolled onto its goals – sabotage.

Third truth, our nation has been and is being sabotaged. Sabotaged as defined in the Random House dictionary “1. any underhand interference with production, work, etc., in a plant, factory, etc., as by enemy agents during wartime or by employees during a trade dispute. 2. any undermining of a cause.“

Fourth truth, the vast majority of our country’s citizens do not know enough about what America was suppose to be and founded as to be aware of the acts of sabotage that have occurred and are occurring.

Fifth truth, as I see it, the only way our country can be saved and restored to what it was founded as and meant to be is by revolution. Revolution as defined in the Random House dictionary “an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed.”

Life, categories, books, & hope – ch2

Looking at my state in life and being honest with myself I determined the rut breaker would have to be my life outside work. My job was not challenging in the least but I had a nice vague title in a large company that is highly respected in society. I get paid more than some managers in other companies, definitely retail or restaurant managers and yet I put in less hours, have less responsibilities, and less “performance stress”. So, yeah, I’d be an idiot to quit – (but then again many people do call me an idiot so that door is not closed) so my real life needed attention. Heck, more than that it needed to actually be built! Ok so what is next? Significant other? As much as that would be great, I had no life to locate such a person.

First decision is made though, in reference to a significant other candidate, definitely not someone I work with. Too much potential for soap opera type drama. That resolved I tried to figure out what hobby or area of interest I had out side of work that may be a potential arena to locate a significant other. Ok, you are probably wondering if sharing this amount of detail is really necessary in order to tell you what happened a couple days ago. Have you ever had someone tell you something or a story about something that happened and at the end when you should be experiencing the “ah ha” moment instead you stare and share the “huh” moment? Then after discussing the loss of understanding they remember an important part of the story that they forgot to tell and then you have “ah ha” moment followed quickly by “what an idiot” moment for screwing up the story and wasting so much of your time? Ok – I am doing my best to avoid that scenario, you can thank me later.

So what would suffice to be an interest I could explore and build an enjoyable life outside of work? Of course key to being an enjoyable life outside of work would that it would include a significant other. That is the foundation, the walls, roof, etc. (I wonder if that is why the Commodores sang “She is a Brickhouse”?)

How am I going to determine the best fit? Ask parents? No way! You & I know that the average or so-called normal parent will continue the childhood lies of yester year. “Yes darling you are a wonderful artist.” The drawing consists of circles and triangles and what I was trying to draw was a football player. Yeah, I was twelve. The flood of lies flood the mind in reference to piano lessons, baseball practice, or shop. Ask a friend? That for me is unfortunately not possible since I do not have a friend but do have co-worker acquaintances. Internet search? Tried it and let me say that is a truly weird world out there. Go to a bar or night club, nada. I don’t drink so I don’t want a potential alcoholic partner and let me say I draw better than I dance.

I decided to go to a bookstore. Huh? The train of thought was first they have quite a few magazines which are displayed by categories or areas of interest. Secondly, the same approach is managed for books. Why not the library? A lot of reasons but first is the Dewey system for categorizing books is problematic enough – definitely not user-friendly. Gee what does 201.123 have to offer me? By the way I made that number up so if it happens to be linked to something about naked yoga, sex for seniors, or anything else embarrassingly similar it was completely by accident. Honest.

An unspoken principle – ch1

My eyes were closed but I could see the brightness of light. The warmth of the sun made its impression on my face as it grasped me. A moment, one rarely noticed, never mind enjoyed, was mine – then. Yes it is correctly noted in the past tense. That was the moment I learned the news; a moment where a carefully nurtured principle of life was once again proven to me. The principle is when you are at a place of happiness or perceived bliss something will dash it away – quickly – and bring your spirit crashing to a brand new low. Cynical? Pessimistic? Realist? No matter what you may think of me and this principle the fact remains it was then that I was submerged into the dark account of the events which changed me forever.

I wonder if the secret to avoiding this cruel principle is that we are to never to consciously or subconsciously recognize the reality of pleasant contentment. If you acknowledge the experience then you promote enjoyment which attracts the unseemly characters of despair. This is at least my current working theory of the matter and considering I am still quite submerged it will be a while longer before I can seriously test my theory; but I digress.

It was two years ago when I had decided that I needed to “spice up” my life. For several years I had the familiar rut of job, tv, computer, bed – repeat. Raised either knowingly or not that an adult’s value is perceived by others by one’s occupation and marital status – I knew I advertised “lost” since I was in a dead-end job with no significant other. If you are male and divorced by the way society deems that it was your fault. Guilty unless proven innocent and you will have to carry that burdensome unjust label with you everywhere you go. If you are a single male past the age of 26 you have commitment issues and are self-centered. Married males you are considered part of the norm but you are not out of the judgment booth. Does your wife have to work? Oh so you can not provide for your family? On and on it goes but again I digress.

The point being I knew I had to break out of the rut. Lacking athletic abilities and the social gift of gab it took some time to really determine exactly how I would break out.