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In 1760 General Jeffrey Amherst, commander-in-chief of the British army declared, “Indians always do mischief.” (Blackhawk, page 149). This sentiment set a tone that has persisted now for 265 years of white American antipathy towards all other races and (later) ethnicities. Unlike the French before them, when the British won dominion over interior lands hypocrisy and duplicity became their standard for diplomacy, and though this worked for a bit, by 1763 Native Americans recognized their tactics for what they were. It was at this time (during Pontiac's War of 1763) that Amherst purportedly ordered the delivery of smallpox-infected blankets to Indian villages saying, “We must use every stratagem in our power to reduce them,” and ordering that all prisoners “be put to death, their expiration being the only security for our future safety.” (Blackhawk, page 159).

This mindset solidified even further as colonists in pursuit of land began rebelling against the (half-hearted) British policies of consensus, pacifism and tolerance. This uprising alongside the more-often cited taxation eventually led to revolution. In his book “The Rediscovery of America” Ned Blackhawk succinctly states: “Indian hating is an ideology that holds Native peoples are inferior to whites and therefore rightfully subject to indiscriminate violence.” (Blackhawk, page 164) — this All-American precept would evolve over time to apply to others as well. America, for 265 years, has consistently visited violence in some form - (physical injury, hatred, separation, isolation, servitude, confinement, fear, hunger, homelessness) - on the poor, the powerless, the downtrodden (often synonymous with non-white race and ethnicity) all in pursuit of property, wealth and power…

…which is and always has been the true American Dream.

From where I sit, for those in power with wealth and property, it appears their dream has been fulfilled, yet they continue to pursue more property, more wealth, more power. In pursuit of our American Dream, it is obvious that enough is never enough. And it is this greed and desire dating all the way back to George Washington and the British colonists that to this day defines us as a nation and as a culture.

As previously described, this year I was forced into retirement and forced to take a part time job. I got on as a bank teller and every day I work I see wealth and entitlement and I see poor people struggling to play by the rules; and there are a lot of rules. This week I saw a man (in the drive-thru) get angry over having to explain a technicality on a $300 check (less than 1/10th of 1 percent of his account balance) so he drove off, leaving the check and not caring about the fate of his $300. A few weeks ago I saw a man confused and near tears over multiple $35 non-sufficient funds fees from multiple ACH withdrawals (some automatic) totaling less than $100 - he received a check register and an academic lecture (from the branch manager) on how to balance his checkbook.

Do we have our priorities turned around?

A little bit?

Maybe?

Though he didn't appear to care, would Mr. Carte Blanche object if we took his $300 downtown to hand out to the homeless?

All this from “Indians always do mischief.”

Food and Music - two of the most magical things on this planet.

I am writing a Cookbook in which I am also sharing my love for (and taste in) music. This idea has evolved from my original thought of a standard cookbook format to include Top 5 lists based on feedback from those who consistently taste my food. The working title has also evolved from ‘Not my best effort…’ to ‘Structured Chaos: The Process of Preparing and Cooking a Meal’ to ‘Food as Song: My Culinary Playlist’. I can't imagine cooking at home without listening to music. I am inspired (by the finished product that is song) to work similar magic on a dish and/or a meal; to bring contrasting and complementary ingredients together in a fusion of flavors, textures, aromas, and presentation. To this ultimate end of layering food and music I am (somewhat randomly) assigning a subgenre of music to each category or section in the cookbook. Examples: Rockabilly to Starters/Appetizers and Hard Rock to Potatoes; yes potatoes get their own section - I love potatoes. I am also assigning a particular song from the associated subgenre to each recipe. And I still intend to have a Top 5 in each section and I will include an historical note or two with each song entry and with each recipe.

In recent weeks my efforts have been reined in; not as a lessening but as a tightening. This is me giving up on the world. I have always worked hard. In the beginning the driver was a sense of responsibility for those immediately around me. First, I did not want to disappoint my parents and (perhaps to a slightly lesser extent) my siblings. Then, (married at the age of 20 with three children over the next ten years), I worked hard to do right by my own family and I continue to do so today (extended to in-laws and grandchildren) and I will continue to do so until I am no longer able. But in addition, somehow in my nature and/or nurture, by the time I became a hard-working adult with my own family my efforts expanded and I also acquired a strong sense of responsibility towards the world at large; I worked very hard at improving an ever-widening circle of surrounding circumstance. So to this end, as I continued to live and learn I developed a stubborn mindset that frequently refused to just go along to get along and more often than not insisted on moving against the current because I was learning that in most circumstance improvement comes from moving against the current. My determination in this regard has grown stronger with each passing year and decade. I rejected the way of this world, instead chasing dreams and believing in some greater fulfillment; something more meaningful than mere ego, prestige, capitalism and ownership. I wanted to make things better. I wanted to wreak Goodness on this misguided world. But after 4 plus decades the world has responded to politely inform me that I am the misguided one so I can just go sit down now - and I will, turning my back on this world that is not at all interested in what I have to say. I sort-of get it; I am only one tiny, tiny, small, insignificant voice of disagreement, and power prefers/demands status quo, and human nature tends to fear change; but I think I could have helped…

Two months ago I semi-retired. At the time I didn’t think I was ready and it made me angry that I was forced out. That said, perhaps they did me a favor. I am coming around to the perspective that these extra days off are in many ways pretty great. I am finding I am okay (and perhaps more than okay) with being forcibly removed from the world. Now that I have slogged through a good portion of the bureaucracy (social security battles, insurance hassles, healthcare negotiations, and part-time job hunting), I am finding myself going back to from whence I came in my adolescence and early twenties; cinching my focus to work harder for family and friends (one in the same) and even some for myself. The world let me go and each day I am finding it easier in turn to let the world go. Thank you World.

Covid.

Sincerity: freedom from deceit, hypocrisy, or duplicity.

Pretense: false sincerity.

In recent years I have been working to wrap my mind around the inanity that is ‘pretense sincerely believed to be sincerity’. I have been working diligently to find a way to empathetically and interdependently outline and excise the pretense, leaving reality; but for so many of us if pretense were removed we would be devastated by the insubstantiality of the superficial layer that remains. We have become a nation of true believers.

On the web site theculturefactor.com, they have this to say about Norway:

“[Norway scores 8 on Motivation towards Achievement and Success]… ...the softer aspects of culture are valued and encouraged, such as levelling with others, consensus, “independent” cooperation and sympathy for the underdog. Taking care of the environment is important. Trying to be better than others is neither socially nor materially rewarded. Societal solidarity in life is important; work to live and DO your best. Incentives such as free time and flexibility are favoured. Interaction through dialogue and “growing insight” is valued and self development along these terms is encouraged. Focus is on well-being; status is not shown. An effective manager is a supportive one, and decision making is achieved through involvement.”

This to say about Sweden:

“Sweden scores 5 on Motivation towards Achievement and Success and is therefore regarded as a Consensus society. In countries scoring low on Motivation towards Achievement and Success, it is important to keep the work-life balance, and ensure that all are included. An effective manager is supportive to their people, and decision making is achieved through involvement. Managers strive for consensus and people value equality, solidarity and quality in their work lives. Conflicts are resolved by compromise and negotiation, and Swedes are known for their long discussions until a consensus has been reached. Incentives such as free time and flexible work hours and place are favoured. The whole culture is based around ‘lagom’, which means something like not too much, not too little, not too noticeable, everything in moderation. Lagom ensures that everybody has enough and nobody goes without. Lagom is enforced in society by “Jante Law” which should keep people “in place” at all times. It is a fictional law and a Scandinavian concept which counsels people not to boast or try to lift themselves above others.

And this to say about the United States:

“[The United States scores 62 on Motivation towards Achievement and Success]… …Behavior in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”. As a result, Americans will tend to display and talk freely about their “successes” and achievements in life. Being successful per se is not a great motivator in American society, but being able to show one’s success. Many American assessment systems are based on precise target setting, by which American employees can show how well a job they did… …Typically, Americans “live to work” so that they can obtain monetary rewards and, as a consequence, attain higher status based on how good one can be. Many white collar workers will move to a more fancy neighbourhood after each and every substantial promotion. It is believed that a certain degree of conflict will bring out the best in people, as it is the goal to be “the winner”. As a consequence, we see a lot of polarization and court cases. This mentality nowadays undermines the American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” Rising inequality is endangering democracy…”

As a human, I cannot completely excise pretense and because pretense has a proclivity towards judgement, reality will always be tainted, and because our national culture favors and encourages pretense, democracy, equality, liberty, and justice are all flailing and writhing in pain, coming closer and closer to death.