Simpler Times?

What I remember most about my early life is the sense of belonging we had when I was a child. Being a child, dependent on others, there is a lot more day to day involvement with family.  Some of my most exciting times were spent at my cousin's house on "sleepovers" when I'd get to see her big sister in action with boys and learn how to be a teenager.  I wonder if she knew how much I idolized her. 

When we get to our elder years, our memories take on  more importance, I think,  than they should by comparison to actual events, but these  memories - true or just perceived - are comforting.   As the years pass and the social and family circle wanes - by choice or circumstance or design, who can say - our memories take us back to those simpler times in life when being dependent was not abhorrent and family involvement was the norm. 

For many, the values of yesterday remain intact.  For others, events have changed the outlook and given new perspective.  The passing of time, the moving on, the changes in life pattern are the end result of  a life lived, starting with the simple and moving to the complex. In spite of our best efforts to aggrandize the idea of "simpler times" it may just be our more innocent memories at work, probably not always real, just earlier.

The Andy Rooney in Us

I miss Andy Rooney from 60 minutes. He was such a curmudgeon and I laughed so at him because he was more often right than wrong with his remarks.  He wasn't afraid to say what he thought and he didn't care what anyone else thought of what he said.  It seems he was the opposite of politically correct and it made him so real.  

How often do you say what you really think without regard for who it will offend?  I'm not talking about being mean to someone or hurtful.  I'm talking about respecting your own values and being willing to stand for them.  It's hard to do when your views are outside the norm.  

There's a little Andy Rooney in us all.  I wish we acted on it more.

Capture!

If you had no faith in the police prior to the Boston Marathon bombing, you will be changing your mind.What a brilliant execution of finding the suspect and gaining his capture. 

And if you have had your doubts that individual citizens or the new media would ever be viable options for crime investigation, think again.  A single photo of the scene near the bombing by one of the runners has led to this capture.  

Thousands of photos were submitted to police and FBI who culled through them and pounced on the two suspects, killing the elder.  A timely phone call to the police by an ordinary citizen resulted in the capture of the second brother. Amazing feat, assisted by citizens.  Almost unbelievable.  

Enough is Enough

The Senate voted against the pitifully watered down gun control legislation today.  Here is what I wrote to my senators and congressional representatives:

"I urge you to do whatever it takes to convince your recalcitrant congressional colleagues to quickly pass a gun control bill similar to or stronger than the one they defeated today, April 17, 2013.  If not, I want to inform you that I will vote against you in the next election and seek a candidate who will fight for what is right. This is a sad day for everyone and unless diligent action is taken, I will advocate voting out every politician currently in office so we can get a fresh start."

I sure hope others do the same and write to their senators and congressional representatives. Enough is enough.

A Little Outrage

I don't know if I'm more appalled at the Boston marathon bombing or at my reaction to it.  My immediate thought was that I was not surprised.  Not surprised that nearly 200 hundred people were maimed or killed??? What's wrong with me?  Am I so desensitized to horrific events that I can't even wrap my mind around the tragedies enough to feel more than "not surprised"?

Something has gone awfully wrong in the world when the best we can do is to block out the horrors instead of running into the streets in outrage.  Comedian  Patton Oswalt wrote poignantly of  this tragedy, and violence in general, when he made a post to his Facebook page after the bombing, ending with, "So when you spot violence...or...hatred..., just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.' "  

I might add, for me, that along with carrying forward with good thoughts about humanity, a little more steam-pouring-out-of-the-ears outrage about violent perpetrators wouldn't hurt, either.

Presidential Good Sports

I don't bash our presidents and don't much like it when anyone does.  George W. Bush got so much bashing that, even though he was not my favorite president, I felt like he was unfairly maligned.  Whether anyone agreed with him or not, the man did the best he could given his personal viewpoint, the times, and the circumstances of his presidency.  

Recently, I think Mr. Bush showed good humor and spirit when, during a talk with CNN about his presidency and his talent at portraiture, he said he knew people are surprised by his artistic ability. He jested that he takes delight in breaking stereotypes, especially because so many people think he cannot even read.  Now that's a good sport.

Headlines Hide Reality

 

The headlines often do not match the story - or, as in the case of the recent Kid Rock interview by Piers Morgan, the CNN news headline skewed the whole story.  The headline reads:  "Kid Rock:  My Gun is Loaded, Ready." Yeh, he said that, but it was less than a minute's worth of a 10+ minute interview that covered a wide range of topics, not the least of which is Rock's dropping his concert ticket price to $20 so more people can afford to go.  That is much more newsworthy in economic hard times than whether the guy totes a gun when he goes to Detroit. But since Morgan is on a gun control crusade, I guess that headline better suited his show's intent that day.

The news media is as much to blame for rumor-mongering as the rockers are for creating their own bad reputations.  In this case, Kid Rock actually had a lot of intelligent things to say on many topics that certainly improves his reputation and he is very capable of articulating his viewpoint, whether or not you agree with him.  That's much more interesting to me than whether he packs heat and the unbalanced approach CNN took to report on the interview was uncalled for. How about this as a headline:  "Rocker as Accidental Philosopher - Kid Rock on Solid Ground."

If news, and the associated headlines, would get back to reporting the story as it actually played out and not just the stuff dedicated to scaring people, we, the audience, would be a lot better served, don't you think?

 

North Korea

I simply don't know what to believe anymore.  It's like I've been desensitized to the point of indifference about most world events. The news is alarming, but I think it is also so hyped that we can't get the true picture of what is going on. 

I have a friend who is a Korea expert and he has said in the past that North Korea likes to "posture" and play its game of to and fro.  I sent him an email and asked what's really going on, but if the threat is real, he'll be up to his ears in crisis and certainly does not have time to answer me right now.  

In the meantime, should we, in California, get ready for a nuclear attack?  And how does one do that?  It just seems to me that the world has gone off the deep end.  And now I sound just like my mother :(. 

UPDATE:  Just got this note from my Korean expert friend: 

"Most of this is political theater for internal purposes and I expect it to subside in the coming weeks, probably capped off by a missile launch or maybe even two. But no war--the North Koreans are not suicidal. Besides they do not --I repeat, they do not--come remotely close to being able to reach the US with one of their missiles."

Wholesale Slaughter

This issue of gun ownership in the U.S. is quite disturbing.  I don't think average Americans need automatic weapons to defend themselves. I don't even think most people think they do.  But only one person in America seems willing to stand up for this cause on a regular basis - and he is a Brit.

Piers Morgan of CNN initiated a one-man crusade against semi-automatic weapons after the Connecticut school shooting.  He's not letting up and his evening program deals with the issue almost daily.  He just cannot fathom the hold the NRA has over congress, this body of elected officials who are supposed to listen to their constituents and who clearly do not.
 

Whatever the gun problem is, it's unhealthy, it's harmful, and it's got to stop.  Have your guns if you really feel you need them, but keep them locked away from children and for goodness sake, keep them out of the hands of deranged young men.  

The NRA may say that PEOPLE kill people, but without these awful automatic weapons in their hands, people can't perform wholesale slaughter, can they?

Truth - and Consequences

I listen to a fair amount of talk radio - the kind that is not politically-motivated or rabidly opinionated - or so they say.  I also watch news channels that purport to be informational.  Over time, I'm questioning the kind of information we really get from these programs. One thing I'm sure of is that there is rarely a conclusion presented and I am tiring of listening to talking heads of all ages and experience levels just rambling on and on and never coming to a point. Or they are adamant on a certain outcome and then do an about-face when it doesn't happen that way.  

Comedian and fake newsman, Stephen Colbert, sure captured what is going on here - "truthiness" by his definition is "a quality characterizing a 'truth' that a person claims to know intuitively 'from the gut' or because it 'feels right' without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.   

That pretty much sums up my opinion on what is going on with information delivery today. It's a little bit news and a lot intuition with a large smattering of "touchy/feely" or political correctness thrown in for good measure. You just can't trust the sources, even the seasoned "experts" who seem to fall into the same trap as the youngsters and opine without supporting their statements - much less with logic or facts.

I don't like it.  It makes me feel divorced from what is really going on in the world with no way of finding the truth.  I hope you don't like it, too. 

Verb Me, Verb Me Not

I'd morph myself outta here, but where would I go??

Words morph a lot these days and it bothers me when our lexicon allows - no, invites - the use of nouns as verbs.  When did we turn a conversation into "dialoguing" and isn't "Google" a place, not an action?  In the old days, we dumped someone we didn't like, now we "defriend" them. A snowboard used to be a piece of sports equipment - now it's an action, too. The list is endless.

I think it all started when we let "ain't" become acceptable English usage.  It was the door opener to a changing lexicon in which everyone can add to the vernacular by devising some new twitter word. And the worst part of it all is that you just can't avoid it.  Join 'em or get left behind.  I'd defriend myself, but it might be actionable in a trending sort of way.