Scratching the Surface

August 20, 2009
We have avoided Cleveland and are in Streetsboro, Ohio. Seems like a nice enough town. But I say this based on one short drive down a road, a stop at the grocery store and a dash into a motel room. The latter is nicer than what we had last night. Of course, yesterday afternoon when I walked into the lobby and saw the desk people behind the plexi-glass windows, I knew I was in a different world than the U.P. I don't know whether it was bulletproof or not, but I assume it was. And the toilet was on pretty soft flooring. You could feel it sinking. Someone sometime will have an unpleasant surprise. Anyway, we had a good drive here. We discovered some excellent signage just into Ohio directing us to the Rt 80/Rt 90/ Ohio Turnpike. We stopped to get new windshield wipers because we did hit a rainstorm and the driver's side wiper started coming off.
Last night we watched the news and there was a story about a 12-year-old who shot and killed a 24-year-old woman. He is being tried as an adult. This is certainly tragic and indicative of some serious personal AND cultural problems. But the station did a poll asking people whether there should be more regulation around how people store their guns. The result was that 80% said no more regulation was needed/wanted. They talked to the victim's father who felt that the death penalty would be a better result for this child than the possibility of life imprisonment. I understand his position and I cannot even begin to understand his pain. But how exactly will any of this help solve the larger problem? His daughter is dead. She will be dead no matter what happens. And because we refuse, as a society, to deal with the real problem, in the future someone else's daughter will be dead too. Does this kid have serious issues that need to be addressed? Absolutely. But we live in a society where guns are everywhere and violence is entertainment. There's enough evidence to show that these things matter. Who knows what particular dysfunction was afoot in his family. In spite of the lip service we like to give aboyt "family values," this society does a great deal to undermine family relationships, not support them. I don't know the details, but clearly this boy had troubles in his life, probably at many levels. But do we want to take any small part of the responsibility? Nope. People just keep going on about rights. And they keep hoping that they can take care of the problem at the surface. This is the case here, with the economy, and in so many other ways. Imprison a child and pretend that you're actually done something useful. Then when it happens again, be surprised at how bad these kids today are. The economy is crumbling. No kidding—it was bound to happen. It's not sustainable as currently constructed. But what kind of serious discussion is going on about the foundational issues that led us to this point? The voices must be few and far between, because I am not hearing them. This is so typical of this culture. People run around like their hair is on fire trying to take care of things after the fact. You can't make big changes—which is what is needed when you are dealing with things from an emergency perspective. The emergency has to be dealt with, of course, but the root of the problem must be dealt with as well. Going back to our old economic habits—if that is possible—will not get at the real problem. Throwing this young boy in jail after trying him as an adult will not solve the problem. It's hard to deal with these big problems, but what is the cost of doing nothing? It will be pretty high.

New Thinking

August 6, 2009
We're in Jordan, MN. Another KOA that is a world apart from the last one. I took a shower in a clean bathroom this morning—what a treat. We're in a pretty quiet spot with lots of big trees. Hard to believe that a little bit up the road is a major metropolitan area. At some point yesterday I noticed that instead of two lanes in each direction, there were 3. I can't say that I have missed the traffic and the whole urban thing. We will take the northern route out of here and delay our immersion into the congested Midwest for a few more days when we leave here sometime next week!
I heard on the news the other day that consumer spending is up slightly while wages and saving are down. There was some euphoria about this. I just felt myself groaning. Here we go again. Everyone is trying desperately to put Humpty Dumpty together again without recognizing that that egg is rotten. How many times do we have to go back and try the same old stuff? An economy that relies on overconsumption for 70% of its activity while at the same time lowering wages whenever possible is not a sustainable one. Yet everyone keeps wanting to do it again and see if maybe it will work this time. Someone once said that was a definition of insanity. Do people never learn? What is it that makes us so unwilling to change, to try new things or new ways of being? Is the cultural pressure that strong? Do we lack a sense of responsibility for ourselves, our fellow citizens, and the planet? Or are we afraid to look at our own role in what's going on? Maybe we're scared. I don't know. I am scared, too. I am scared to keep on living in a culture that is so blind. I am scared to think about the kinds of devastation we will be witnessing if we don't start getting a grip. I am scared for all of the beings on the planet who will suffer terrible consequences as a result of our old thinking. What scares me is not new ideas or challenges, but rather having to keep living in a culture that avoids them. This is supposed to be a country where innovation is prized and original thinking is valued. The reality is rather different. Innovation? Original thinking? Great, if you can turn it into a money-making operation. Innovation and original thinking that works in service to human beings? No thanks. This is not the kind of world I wish to live in. I guess I still have some hope left that things will change and people will awaken from this consumer nightmare. Or maybe I just need to wake up!