…goes I.

Never, ever forget that.

So many of us do forget that basic lesson, our personal circumstances, who were our parents, help determine what tools we have in our psyche to confront a universe indifferent to our fate.

I have been trying to assemble together a grand post that links together several themes and ties together many different topics into a philosophic whole.

Time limitations have prevented me from completing this work, but some parts of it cannot wait, so in the interim, I will recommend you read these posts:

“The poor really are different” from Jane Galt at Asymmetrical Information

“Structural Unemployment” also from Jane Galt at Asymmetrical Information

“New Orleans - On the mend, but changed forever” at The Economist (subscription, but worth it, the key paragraphs are quoted below)

The storm’s most dramatic political effects could turn out to be local. It has seriously aggravated race relations in New Orleans. Blacks tell pollsters that they are mad at Mr Bush for the slow federal response. Whites are more inclined to blame the looters, the thugs who shot at rescue boats and Mayor Nagin, who is black. A drunk white householder asks a rhetorical question: “Can you name a country run by blacks that is an example to others?” When your correspondent suggests Botswana, he roars: “Get off my property!”

Two thirds of New Orleans’ registered voters are black. But the floods could change the city’s racial mix. Those who lived in the worst-affected areas were typically poor, black and renting. They are now dispersed, some as far afield as Montana. They have no assets to tie them to New Orleans. Many will find work in Texas or Mississippi before their neighbourhoods are habitable again. No one knows how many will come back.

There are other links I will add to this post later, but the key point is this;

We are all responsible for ourselves, and we make our own choices.

However, the choices we make are the result of what we were taught, and more importantly, shown as children.

If there are no examples of good choices presented to us when our minds are forming, how can we make good choices later?

This is the fundamental dilemma when dealing with poverty.

Do we abandon those who do not have the tools to climb out of that pit?

For those who say we are a “Christian nation” I sincerely hope the answer to that question is “NO!” for otherwise they are abandoning the very principles upon which their faith is based.

So, where do we go from here?

Technorati Tags: commentary, poverty, recommended reading

NOTE: Unfortunately, this is not the long post I am working on that is pulling together several different threads and themes. Instead, this is something that struck me this morning that I must exorcise before the larger work that I need to ensure is both balanced and well-reasoned before I put it online.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work I had CNN International on the television (one of my four options on local cable for English language programming, the other three being BBC World, BBC International, which I believe is an amalgamation of their domestic programs from their different channels, and SkyNews, the 24 hour news station from the UK-centric BSkyB satellite network).

A commercial came on, with the song “Think” by Aretha Franklin playing with the sound of a crowd cheering in the background. The first image I saw was that of a large commercial twin engined jet airplane flying low towards a packed stadium, with the spectators seeing the jet and seemingly celebrating the sight of the plane.

Subsequent images showed a large shadow of the airplane over other scenes, all of which involved Africans celebrating or children imitating flying.

This was an ad for South African Airlines, apparently trying to both generate some pride in South Africans for their national airline while simultaneously getting their name in front of an international (presumably European, given where I live) audience.

The first image stuck in my mind, however, that of a large jet low in the sky flying towards a packed sports arena.

Although the imagery was completely innocent, trying to show the joy and pride inherent in the accomplishments of a national airline to the people in that nation, my first thought was, “Is that plane going to crash into the packed stadium?”

This is what the terrorist attacks of Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, have stolen from us, our context.

Context, what exactly is it? (Read ALL the definitions)

The most relevant definition includes, “the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event.”

Everything that we Americans see (even those of us abroad) is colored by the set of circumstances created by the attacks of September 11, 2001, in a way that the rest of the world is not affected by.

That last part is italicized because it is important to recall, the rest of the world was not traumatized by the attacks as the population of the United States was, even those such as myself who did indeed expect some attack of this type given the gaping holes (which still exist) in the overall security systems of the United States in comparison with the groups that want to see us harmed.

It is all about context, about the set of circumstances, or even more fundamentally, the set of beliefs and assumptions that we surround any event, image, or any other thing that impinges upon our consciousness.

So when I viewed the commercial for South African Airlines, I thought of the airplane at an unusually low altitude heading towards a sports stadium as an attack, despite the depiction of the cheering and obvious joy in the crowd and the uplifting music.

We need to remember the rest of the world does NOT view events within the same context that we have.

When we forget this, we abuse and lose international allies.

We need to remember that even within our own nation there are many people who do NOT view events within the same context that we have.

When we forget this, we abuse and lose the support and even the allegiance of fellow citizens.

When those of a certain philosophical view look at the proposed memorial to the 9/11 crash site in Pennsylvania, they see a “crescent” that is in homage to Islam rather than an innocent geometrical figure, and in a sad irony, through their cries in opposition impose their own form of political correctness upon the design despite their previous tirades against the regime of “political correctness” imposed by the “liberals”, who had their own, differing views.

Ultimately, ANY kind of imposition of “correctness” upon all by ANY group is wrong, even if the group seeking the imposition is in the majority.

How do we grow beyond this?

That’s the part I’m still working on, and why some of my other posts are delayed. I don’t want to only point out the problems; I want to propose solutions.

Technorati Tags: commentary, fundamentals, weblogs

Phin unfortunately has the wrong idea when it comes to REAL Memphis bar-b-que (see what I wrote in his comments).

I’ll excuse the fightin’ words, this time…

Technorati Tags: humor, recommended reading

I have often thought of creating my own “awards” for various things I find amusing or ironic. For example, a “Wile E. Coyote Engineering Award” for the most ridiculous, over-engineered product of the year.

Well, I have discovered in blogworld behavior that certainly deserves recognition with some type of award. I recently had an epiphany regarding blogworld:

I have been expecting too much of both politicians, and of blogworld.

I did not understand it is one big game of Calvinball, where you not only make up your own rules, but you never use the same rule twice.

And you never, ever, ever apply a rule that is to the disadvantage to your own side, only to the opposition.

Surely, outstanding examples of this behavior deserves recognition!

How can we recognize players who excel in expressing such fungibility?

Why, by awarding

The Calvinball Play of the Week

Each week I will be awarding the most egregious best example in blogworld of hypocrisy creating new rules as the situation demands.

Nominations of individual posts are solicited and should be sent to:

cpotw-at-randomfate-dot-net

On Monday each week I will announce the recipient of the award, which will go to the post from the previous week (from 12:01AM the previous Monday to midnight the following Sunday) that truly deserves recognition as The Calvinball Play of the Week.

The first award will be given in a separate post, without nominations because it is so deserving of recognition. Look for it soon.

Spread the word.

No one is allowed to question the masks.

Technorati Tags: weblog awards, weblogs

…an art exhibition that LeeAnn might enjoy:

Yes, that dude is totally drumming on cheese

Technorati Tags: humor

At his eponymous blog, Basil is resurrecting the blog interview.

I’m on the interview list, so if you have anything you’ve been burning to know, send in a question.

Technorati Tags: weblogs, weblog interviews, blog interviews