In Search of Clarity

Professor J,

Lack of community is indeed a huge problem. How to solve it though, in a society that is so transient, and where technology, while at times a source for sharing and interacting with others, much more often isolates from personal interaction? Yes, I do think that there are, sadly, some who are selfish enough to destroy common interest out of a desire to win at all cost. Can the few who may have clarity be heard over the din of opinionated and near hyperventilating rants from both sides? Things are often opposed ONLY because they come from the other side. Howard Stern sent someone to Harlem during the '08 campaign with a list of McCain stances but attributed them to Obama, then asked people on the street whether they agreed with those policies. They did. As long as it came from their guy. (Around the same time I was in a gas station in MS. where I'm sure that experiment could have been repeated in the reverse with exactly the opposite outcome) Pick a team, then let your thinking, if you have bothered to do any, petrify, while division and selfishness eat away the foundation of society.

Toynbee's 6: Well, those are discouraging aren't they? I am reading an abridgment and they are only briefly outlined though, so "sifting" may be an overstatement. The thing that stood out to me most was in Sense of Promiscuity: the vulgarity and barbarism. Remember when everyone aspired to rise to the class just above them in dress and style and manners? It is so clearly depicted in old movies. But now we see the reverse. The children of the middle and even upper class imitate a sort of thugishness in dress, language, and behavior. The lack of respect toward women and a lack of self respect in women, I find striking. The idea that men would refer to women with the derogatory terms we hear routinely (and in public, not in locker rooms), still astounds me.

Can you expound on which of Toynbee's 6 you think most telling?

My suggestion of starving the beast is of course not something that we are ready for. You are right in saying that no one wants their entitlements cut. From major corporations to the elderly, the sentiment is one of selfishness and greed. I'm reminded of a discussion of cuts that need to be made that I had with an older relative. She agreed with me, but then quickly added "not Social Security though....or Medicare...or prescription drugs."

An idea similar to Jefferson's plan on ending slavery could possibly work. Set a date far enough in the future to allow people to plan, with everyone who depends on these things now have to be dealt with, but how unfair does that sound to the young? Work and pay for these programs that we promised the generation before you, but plan well because you are going to be responsible for yourself? We can only hope that they would think freedom the better payout in the end.

Whenever I take the train to New Orleans, I'm struck by the lack of fresh thinking, thinking that would make Amtrak competitive in the marketplace. A couple of years ago, I happened to be traveling when they were launching a new dining car concept and the train was full of company executives. The price of gasoline was at record high, the economy was tanking; I thought they were missing a prime opportunity to reintroduce the public to train travel, and told them so. I also asked them where the marketing campaign was: "Where are the print ads, and radio and TV spots? Why isn't there great jazz music playing at the station?" I shared with them that when I tell people about traveling on the train, the reaction is that they aren't aware of it at all and that opening a single east/west route in the southeast would cause an explosion in ridership. The response I got from the executives was less than enthusiastic. They listened politely, but I sensed from the glances they gave each other that they were all thinking: to make it profitable would mean losing the government subsidy that keeps it afloat (barely) now (I called them out on that and got no reaction). These suits weren't just risk averse, they were profit averse!

Time and energy isn't wasted just on people and corporations trying to get money from the government. I'm thinking of how much time in meeting with a financial adviser and banker is spent trying to figure out how to protect assets from ever increasing taxes.

The 10 Things you asked about:
1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.
2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people
3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.
4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.
5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.
6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.
7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.
8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."
9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.
10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.


I like what the founder of Oathkeepers said they want to promote: "Good will, integrity, honesty, civility."