hopelesshappiness.com

Pig-Baby bespeaks your debut
Wee head in pig hood all askew
Each morning, a plea
Stop looking at me!"
Now he can start looking at you

Pig-Baby bespeaks your debut
Wee head in pig hood all askew
Both frightening and dumb
Wants you for his Mum
So he can look down upon you

Pig-Baby bespeaks ballyhoo
Wee head in pig hood all askew
I'll build my damn wall
To hell with the all
I'd rather take care of the few

Pig-Baby bespeaks not a clue
Wee head in pig hood all askew
It's the past that he blames
For the Now that he frames
As a yearning for myths to be true

Pig-Baby bespeaks barbecue
Wee head in pig hood all askew
Wee head recommends
Pulled pork and burnt ends
And bacon-wrapped sausage times two

Pig-Baby bespeaks peekaboo
Wee head in pig hood all askew
He may seem comatose
But he's watching you close
So he can report back on you

Pig-Baby bespeaks deja vu
Wee head in pig hood all askew
His little pig eyes
His truths that are lies
You find you don't know what you knew

Pig-Baby bespeaks Pikachu
Wee head in pig hood all askew
Reality blurred
A fiction absurd
That's sustained by me and by you

Pig-Baby bespeaks black and blue
Wee head in pig hood all askew
Bacon-sausage-pig fat
I get bruises from that
Blood thinners will bring that on you

Pig-Baby bespeaks Waterloo
Wee head in pig hood all askew
To go back to again
Is to be where you've been
According to your deja vu

Make America Great Again!

This week I am working to examine the possible "Agains" in American history that many of us appear to want to relive.

First though, how are we defining Again? Is it a specific period of time? For example, a particular year? Or decade? Or is it more of a vague general golden age misremembered as nostalgia? Is it from our lifetime? Or is it the glory days of our grandparents' misremembered nostalgia, misremembered by us through their embroidered stories? I don't feel like this hearkening to yesteryore---(made-up word?)---goes beyond recently remembered lifetimes, but perhaps it should. Perhaps the Good Old Days get Gooder as they get Older. And perhaps our nostalgic yearning is merely a reflection of one's desire for youth and longevity and/or one's frustrated attempts to find meaning and purpose. Perhaps as we get older we become more afraid and perhaps this nostalgic denial of the future is one's way of defying death. Regardless, I want to look at the logic of Again.

I have struggled for some days on how to examine "Again" and have decided that I would like to look at some broad categories that impact comfort and well-being separately, to come away with an unweighted scorecard of sorts, and then step back to consider the factors as a whole. I will begin with some measurements that are obviously relevant to this discussion - those having to do with...

...Life and Death
Life expectancy is a bit misleading. It is logical, and sounds obvious, to say, "the longer one lives, the longer one is expected to live," but when you examine that statement there is more to it than "Duh!" As an example, (according to infoplease.com), in 1850, at birth, all white males had an average life expectancy of 38.3 years; but if a white male lived to the age of 10, the average age at death jumps to 58 years. In the year 2000, the gap closes and the years increase dramatically, and those numbers, (respectively), become 74.8 and 75.4. (Life expectancy for women is greater, and all numbers across the spectrum of categories reflect similarly.) A large contributing factor, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, is that our infant mortality has decreased from more than 100 deaths (per 1,000 live births) in 1920 to less than 10 in 2000; that is a tenfold decrease in infant deaths. Thanks to improved health care more of us are living longer. So life expectancy does not mean that in 1850 everyone died before the age of 40 and today everyone lives to be 75. Regardless, based on the facts, if given a choice, I would take my chances today.

Looking at these numbers over time, it took us 50 years (from 1850) to gain ten years in life expectancy, another 20+ years to gain another ten years, another 40 years or so to gain the next ten years, and close to 50 again to reach this last ten year increase in life expectancy bringing us to today. Going the other direction, from 1500 to approximately 1800 it appears that life expectancy held steady at around 30 years, and maybe trended downward to as low as 20 years in ancient Greek and Roman times, with the likely leading cause of death throughout all of history (before about 1950) being infectious diseases. Today mortality from all causes (per 100,000 people) has declined 54% since 1900; which speaks directly to our overall comfort and well-being. It should be noted here that though worldwide life expectancy continues to increase, (according to multiple sources) for three years in a row life expectancy in the United States has decreased; the first such three year trend since 1915 - 1918 which included a world war and a flu pandemic. Regardless, if the goal of life is to live, I believe we are currently living in the golden age.

Keeping score: so far we have two votes for Today from life expectancy and mortality.

Technology
From fire and tools to big data and big brother we may have jumped into the frying pan, but we need continued advancement to solve problems that very recent advancement has created. It sounds pleasant to hop in our time machine, (being built by Russia and paid for by Mexico), and travel back to a simpler 1950's lifestyle, but if we did that we would likely create similar problems or worse because someone with an ego would be in charge thus making it likely that mistakes would again multiply. So if technology is not allowed to vote for tomorrow, if our time machine can only travel backwards, then the 1950's (or maybe the 1980's, as best as I can misremember these two decades and their stories), might get the nod; but that would not be a long term solution. Technology would prefer our existing planetary time machine to continue on our current plodding path to the future, but as an opposite act of defiance, (to balance our current disregard for the future), Technology will cast its vote for Tomorrow.

Scorecard: Today 2 - Tomorrow 1.

Crime
From available statistics for centuries past, murder rates have decreased from estimates upwards of 60+ per 100,000 in 13th century Europe to less than 7 today worldwide. In the United States since 1700, rates of violent crime have steadily decreased with murder rates currently trending below 5. In the 1950's we saw rates as low as 4, increasing through the 60's and 70's, peaking in 1980 at around 10, and again in the early 90's at nearly 10, and decreasing again since then to today’s rates approaching those of the 1950's.

War and Terrorism
According to ourworldindata.org "it would be wrong to believe that the past was peaceful. One reason why some people might have this impression is that many of the past conflicts feature less prominently in our memories, they are simply forgotten." (Additional support for my emphasis above on "misremembered" histories.)

Throughout recorded history it appears that battle deaths have maintained a consistent 5 to 10 per 100,000 per year, excepting major conflicts such as the Thirty Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, or the World Wars of the twentieth century. In the past 70+ years, since World War II, this number has dwindled to less than one, approaching zero. As reported on vox.com, some experts believe we are in a long peace that will continue as long as we "maintain the trends of the world we live in, including growing international trade, strengthening of international institutions like the UN, and strong diplomatic ties between democratic states." Other experts believe we are merely in a gap between major conflicts and that it is too soon to assume it will continue. The "Long Peace" proponents point to the steady declines in all violence over centuries to support their belief. The "Let's Wait and See" naysayers discount other factors apparently believing that the volatility inherent in emotional nationalistic disagreement is such that cool heads are less likely to prevail; and based on recent years, they may be right. In this regard, "Again" may be 2014, which for all intents and purposes is still Today, and Tomorrow (in this moment today) is too full of uncertainty.

There is much discussion on the difference between war and terrorism, but (for me) terrorism implies widespread fear within civilian populations that they, (the civilians), are subject to intentional targeted violence, (as opposed to incidental violence). Keeping this differentiation in mind, consider the following:

• Many people, (and in some countries, most people), believe that accepting foreign immigrants increases the likelihood of terrorism. Yet statistics continue to show that most acts of terrorism are carried out by citizens in their own country.
• According to the Cato Institute it is 65 times more likely I will be killed in an animal attack than in an attack by a foreign-born terrorist; and the odds of me dying in an animal attack are 1 in 1,600,000. Granted, these statistics are since the 9/11 attacks, but if I include those, I am almost 800 times more likely to be killed by lightning than I am to be killed by an illegal immigrant terrorist.

Who is more guilty of terrorism? The guilty-by-association foreign-born immigrant, (legal or illegal)? Or the fear-mongering politician with an agenda? Who contrives more fear? Who is more scary? Who is to blame? You do the math. When I do the math, the answer I can’t shake is, I am to blame; and by association, we are to blame.

Scorecard: Based on the presentation above, Violence casts two votes for Today extending its lead over Tomorrow to 4 to 1.

Wealth
Poverty continues to decrease. Enough said.

Income inequality and the wealth gap continue to increase. Enough said.

These "enough said" factors are a mixed bag. We are no longer starving but we are hungrier than ever before. Wealth or proximity to wealth is necessary for any pretense of power. Many of us satisfy our hunger for significance through our proximity to the wealth of an employer. Personally and individually more and more of us are self-identifying through our work because more and more of us are becoming less and less significant as individuals. This may sound harsh, but if you factor in the creep of big data, it also rings true.

An unfortunate side effect of power is certainty, and as the individually powerful become fewer their certainty becomes entrenched and emboldened. Perhaps this is the new reality. But to go back to a magical "Again" would increase poverty and, (just as with Technology), someone with an ego would still be in charge. The question becomes, will this current trend strip away some of the trappings of ego by showing us that our only common ground is the common ground of exclusion, perhaps carrying us to a more equitable tomorrow? Or will we continue to be sheep and allow our selves to be herded to a more difficult future?

Tentatively, and with much trepidation, Wealth cautiously casts its vote for Tomorrow.

Scorecard: Today 4 - Tomorrow 2

Opportunity
Some of the above facts on War and Terrorism were presented in such a way to support the premise that nationalism encourages unnecessary divisiveness and smothers opportunity. In recent generations, opportunity was presented to many children, (at least in the United States), as "you can grow up to do anything and be anything you set your mind to." First, that isn't working out so well for a majority of us native ammurricanns, and second, why don't we practice what we preach? Is the fact of a different nationality really a valid reason for unnecessary injustice? But even in the 50's and 60's when we appeared to have a more brotherly outlook globally, we weren't doing such a great job domestically. And before 1950? Forget about it... We have always excelled at injustice of varying sorts.

Regardless, opportunity points to the fact that, despite a step backward here and there, we have made steady progress through the centuries. We must continue. Opportunity adamantly casts its vote for Tomorrow!

Scorecard: Today 4 - Tomorrow 3.

Final Tally
Our Russian-built, Mexican-sponsored time machine can only go backwards, so by default, Tomorrow is Today. And according to these raw scores, Today is our best chance to realistically make America Great, because we are not only not there, from where I sit, we have never been there.

According to the facts, Today leading to Tomorrow wins by a landslide.

According to the facts, "Again" is a vague, undefined hope (i.e. delusion).

According to reality, (from where I sit) we are defying insignificance and death because we are afraid.

Reason votes for Today.

Fear votes for Again.

Today, emotion trumps reason.

Today, Fear is winning.

This has been a very busy week and I am making excuses but it looks like I am on a stream of consciousness parade of words with some thoughts thrown in but mostly I guess more of a stream of subconsciousness or perhaps a stream of unthought but hopefully not a stream of unconsciousness unless of course I am in a Matrix in which case I guess it really doesn't matter but then I think (or unthink or subconsh) that perhaps conshing doesn't matter either except in regards to conshing which is a made up word for a concept that to me for right now means asserting my superiority over beings I am superior to which if this is indeed conshing it is not very meanigful even though it is all about meaning and what does that say about my pitiful efforts to assert meaning where there is none except for that meaning which is meaningful of which there is some because otherwise what drives me to continue to assert unless that might just be emotion which does not make me in any way superior so that's not possible but then neither is time travel unless there is no such thing as time beyond the meaning that I give it to make it meaningful which brings us right back to conshing and the potentially devastating unthought that this is all made up and even if I'm not in a Matrix of a more powerful someone else's doing perhaps I am in a Matrix of my own doing but as long as I don't know this with certainty I can continue to consh along oblivious to the facts that show me most definitively unsuperior but also show me most definitively equally as necessary or equally as unnecessary but I choose to believe necessary not only because it is consensus opinion (the necessary part not necessarily the equal part) but also because I believe in conshing be it straight sub or un so for example this morning I got up with a runny nose and a cough and I could have stayed home to feel sorry for my more superior self but instead I got up and walked to work because I have found that to fight through adversity makes me feel even more superior but I tell myself that to work hard and add productivity is more meaningful than quiescent self-pity and while this appears logical maybe it is just justification for the extent I must go to feel superior which means it is just conshing or false meaning which is sad which is okay because sadness more than any other emotion reminds me that I am human and connects me to other equally as necessary humans because regardless of whether or not it is just conshing, superiority through hard work has got to pay off in some small way and if we could all find our superiority through hard work maybe it would pay off in a bigger way like survival and a world that we can be proud to leave for our kids and their kids and their kids and their kids and their kids and their kids and their great-great-great-great-great-grandkids and on and on until maybe the dinosaurs come back which just came out of nowhere if you want to call the place where my unthought originates nowhere but perhaps there is some validity in believing that technology could produce a world in which we could bring back nature but not the Jurassic Park apocalyptic kind of nature but one in which the dinosaurs smile and I could shake hands with that one with the really little hands and that would be very cool but I want to be clear that I am actually talking about the dinosaur and not referring to a general sense of old people with small hands nor any specific old person with small hands as I just realized that you may believe I am saying something I am not and so as not to belabor the point about no hidden agenda I will go back to sadness which is such an important driver and at least for me a next door neighbor and close friend to compassion and a roommate to humility though even these kind and gentle sounding drivers are probably just more ways to feel superior but I would rather ride on the backs of humilty and compassion as they are led by sadness to a generous and giving superior workplace than to ride on the backs of fear and hate as they are being led by anger to a distant place of a superior us throwing rocks at an inferior them though I do occasionally take anger out for a spin I always try to park it back in its reserved spot and take the long walk winding up and down hills and through the alleys and streets back to my neighborhood with sadness and humility and compassion and Gosh! I sure would like to shake hands with that dinosaur with the really little hands. Bye.

This week I am absorbing "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" - the latest work from Yuval Noah Harari. The quote below strikes me as particularly foreboding:

"We should never underestimate human stupidity. Both on the personal and the collective level, humans are prone to engage in self-destructive activities. ...no god and no law of nature protect us from human stupidity."

The 21 Lessons presented are as follows, (from the Table of Contents):

1. Disillusionment: The End of History Has Been Postponed.
2. Work: When You Grow Up, You Might Not Have a Job.
3. Liberty: Big Data is Watching You.
4. Equality: Those Who Own the Data Own the Future.
5. Community: Humans Have Bodies.
6. Civilization: There Is Just One Civilization in the World.
7. Nationalism: Global Problems Need Global Answers.
8. Religion: God Now Serves the Nation.
9. Immigration: Some Cultures Might Be Better than Others.
10. Terrorism: Don't Panic.
11. War: Never Underestimate Human Stupidity.
12. Humility: You Are Not the Center of the World.
13. God: Don't Take the Name of God in Vain.
14. Secularism: Acknowledge Your Shadow.
15. Ignorance: You Know Less than You Think.
16. Justice: Our Sense of Justice Might Be Out of Date.
17. Post-Truth: Some Fake News Lasts Forever.
18. Science Fiction: The Future Is Not What You See in the Movies.
19. Education: Change Is the Only Constant.
20. Meaning: Life Is Not a Story.
21. Meditation: Just Observe.

Below are my personal corresponding interpretations of how each lesson may add to my personal learning and growth.

1. Widespread present-day disillusionment has resulted in widespread present-day divisiveness. It appears to me that we have one faction looking to restore the past and another faction looking to maintain the present. The answers are not here or there. We cannot turn the clock back, nor can we productively advance by living in this moment. But I CAN learn from the past to live in the moment FOR the future. If we do not rationally and decisively look to the future together, we will not survive. The answers are in the future; a future that we must start building NOW!
2. Work is no longer a clock or a widget. Work is productive contribution. Some of the hardest working people in this world are parents; (multiply that by two for a single parent). Some form of universal basic income is necessary; (I made a suggestion here - March 11, 2017). For now I will continue to work beyond traditional parameters so I may continue to learn and grow.
3. Because of Big Data, the more I click on what I believe, the more opportunity I have to click on what I believe and the less I see of opposing perspectives, thus becoming more firmly entrenched in my beliefs. I have a responsibility to myself and to all of humanind to seek, find, and then work to understand contrasting and discordant viewpoints so I may encourage an openness resulting in a rational, autonomous evolution of thought.
4. For centuries now wealth and power as established by property has perpetuated inequality. Today the richest 1 percent own half the world's wealth and the richest one hundred people own more than the poorest four billion people. Tomorrow personal data in the form of big data will become the "new" basis for wealth and power. It is possible that those with today's wealth and power will take control of big data. It is possible that governments will take control. To have our needs and desires manipulated by either possibility is potentially dangerous. Harari presents the possibility of a global human collective, but this would require massive global cooperation; which we are, today, moving away from. For today I will continue to work at crossing up the algorithms by clicking on, purchasing, watching and listening to wildly contrasting and discordant points of view; in this way I will, to a degree, maintain personal ownership.
5. Community still means face-to-face human connectivity. It also requires me to pay attention and listen to wildly contrasting and discordant perspectives. I will continue to push myself into varying forms of social connectivity. Some days I prefer my nose in a book, but when I am able, I find myself more studious and open to learning if I take that book (and my nose) to a coffee shop.
6. As entropy marches on, some gaps are getting smaller. Globally, each one of us share similarities---(similar political systems and similar economic models and similar medical practices and similar business practices and similar scientific and technological advancements and even similar ethical and moral beliefs)---with a large majority of the rest of the world's individuals. We all belong to the same civilization. I am a member of a global civilization.
7. It is okay for me to think my nation is unique and special to me. It is no longer necessary (or okay) to think my nation is superior to all other nations. We will never resolve global issues and challenges with radical, extreme, or even merely pretentious nationalism. (See #6 above.)
8. It is okay for me to think my religion/spirituality is unique and special to me. It is no longer necessary (or okay) to think my religion/spirituality is superior to all other interpretations. We will never resolve global issues and challenges with radical, extreme, or even merely pretentious religious beliefs. (See #6 above.)
9. Immigration is a difficult problem and both anti and pro camps have some valid arguments. When I work to think rationally without emotion, I recognize fear as an emotion and it becomes both reasonable and obviously beneficial to encourage diversity within an organized system of immigration. Walls exacerbate fear. The theater of terrorism exacerbates fear. We will never resolve global issues and challenges with radical, extreme, or even merely pretentious emotion. (See #6 above.)
10. In the U.S., since 2001, about 10 people per year have been killed by terrorists; European Union - 50; China - 7; worldwide - 25,000, mostly in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria. The theater of terrorism exacerbates fear, and thanks to our over-the-top media and fearmongering politicians we play right into the hands of small fanatical extremist groups that have no other weapon but fear. I will continue to direct my vigilance, apprehension, annoyance and anger at the careless and ignorant drivers that kill 100 or more people each day in this country, as I am much more likely to save my life by being afraid of college girls on cell phones.
11. War. This is the chapter from which I lifted the quote I began with. I often see stupidity stemming from emotion. We will never resolve global issues and challenges with radical, extreme, or even merely pretentious stupidity, and we run a very good chance, (with radical or extreme stupidity), of widespread decimation leading to near or complete extinction. I will maintain an attentive awareness, and I will work to not underestimate human stupidity.
12. Because I am Human, I lack humility; yet it is the single most important quality for our future together. To sincerely practice humility, I must not, in good conscience, belong to any group that believes they are in any way above, better than, or more entitled than any other group. Yet, because I am Human, I do; it is difficult not to. I must work to improve my awareness, my efforts and my ability to diplomatically communicate my reasons for perceived slights caused by my distance. Perhaps by simply saying, "verifiable history argues against predetermined superiority..."
13. God has too often been an excuse to cause suffering. It is okay to seek peace and harmony through a personal relationship with your God. It is not okay to claim a specific God and believe that He justifies persecution or even divisiveness. (For me), God is Compassion for the Past-Present-Future as one. I should work on this relationship.
14. Regardless of professed religious affiliation, globally, each one of us share a similar secular ideal based on our neverending search for Truth and Wisdom; a search that is not undertaken by those who believe they have all the answers. It is not only okay, but also necessary, for me to be skeptical and question everything. It is not only okay, but also necessary, for me to say, "I don't know" when I don't know. It is not only okay, but also necessary, for me to say, "I don't know" when I think I know. It is not only okay, but also necessary, for me to acknowledge my mistakes. I am Human. I am imperfect.
15. It is okay to utilize groupthink and universal knowledge, as long as I recognize it as such; I am seldom as smart as a rational, open-minded, interdependent collective. It is not okay to play follow-the-leader. It is better to wander alone in an active and curious ignorance than to lead obedient followers to an ever-crumbling precipice of power. (The unfortunate accompanying injustice is that ignorance often does not pay as well.)
16. Justice. I don't have an answer. We don't have an answer. It is as if justice is packaged unaddressed and delivered proportionally according to the size of the houses in the neighborhood, (bigger house = more justice), because FedEx finds it more expedient to deal with the complaints later. I can (and will) continue to complain and I will continue to advocate for some form of universal basic income, (see #2 above), as I believe that to be a way to require justice to be delivered more equitably.
17. The entire history of Humanity is simultaneously post-truth and pre-Truth. The upper-case T denotes a complete and perfect Truth, obviously unattainable yet necessarily desirable. Post-truth acknowledges the necessity of myth and convention that aids in our delusion of control, which in turn has been necessary for our survival. Fake news is not new. I must continue to seek tangible truth from verified experts.
18. There is freedom and a hint of Truth to be found in art. Art inspires the imagination. Perhaps Truth is unattainable because it too is a myth. Regardless, I will keep searching.
19. Today we need to teach our children how to think; a process best accomplished by questioning every thing in every moment. The traditional model of education is obsolete. According to Harari, some experts are advocating completely replacing our traditional model with "the four C's" - critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Because of rapid-fire change, rapid-fire skepticism will become necessary for individuals to retain some semblance of autonomy and not be swallowed whole by Big Data.
20. Meaning. Hocus-Pocus. Sacrifice: fool or villain? Tell me a story; or not. In my story, I am the hero. In my story, the hero suffers. In reality, each one of us suffers. Does that mean we are all heroes? Or does that mean there is no story?
21. Who am I? Today I have the opportunity to explore this most difficult question. Tomorrow? I may be too busy...

Final Thought:

When I close my eyes, I will not become invisible; I will become oblivious. When I tell my story, I will not become a superhero; I will remain oblivious, and I may become a liar, a zealot, a fearmonger, a fool, and/or a villain.

Twas the week before Christmas, when all through my heart

My blood to my head, and my soul comes apart;

Sleepwalking through crises, profuse wear and tear,

Mad hopes that St. Nicholas would answer a prayer;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Decided right there, no more sugar-plum crap,

We went out on the lawn and we made such a clatter,

The kids and the neighbors sang "what is the matter?"

My eyes they did roll and my teeth they did gnash,

My heart and my arms they did flail and thrash.

"Look at the hate and the anger," I cried.

"Look at the trees and the birds that have died.

Look at the lies and the myths and the fear,

Look at the truths we try hard to unhear."

Most of the neighbors, they went back to bed,

But the children, they listened, and nodded their head;

They listened as one and the wisdom it came,

Forgotten ways shouted, they called them by name;

"Now, Seeing! Now, Blinking! Now, Hearing and Flowing!

On, Feeling! On, Thinking! On, Learning and Growing!

In the commons we'll share! Divided we'll fall!

Walls that we build will imprison us all!"

As dry wisps that before a tradition does die,

When we meet with an obstacle, mount and defy,

Conventional wisdom may be what we knew,

But now we unthink and rethink and redo.

And then, with a crinkling, old guard undermines,

The future is benched, the past redefines.

But I knew in my head as I was turning around,

The wisdom of children will prevail and astound.

The old will die off and the young will refresh,

With thoughts and ideas that will strengthen and mesh;

With kindness and poise they will pick up the slack.

With passion and reason they'll work to give back.

I will join the young! It's too late to be wary!

I will raise up more clatter and be more contrary!

To those droll little mouths drawn up like a bow,

Those imperious looks that think that they know.

That stump of a brain entrenched in old ways,

The fearful adherents hanging on in a daze;

I'll maintain a broad mind! I'll denounce Machiavelli!

I'll steer clear of groupthink and the old underbelly!

No more chubby and plump! No more pompous old elf!

I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll find a new self!

With a wink and a nod and a twist of their head,

The children will look to the future instead;

Believing they can, and knowing they must,

The children will fill all our stockings with trust.

Obeying the knowing uncertainty knows,

The children, I trust, they will not presuppose;

So perhaps we won't slay our Santa just yet,

Perhaps he still lives through our hearts and our sweat,

And perhaps through our children he'll grow erudite,

I believe in the children. Happy Christmas. Good Night.