Is This Where We Came In?

Professor J,

I was thinking that the continuation of smoking by anyone anywhere is just more proof of our addiction to short term thinking. 

I also have never been to Canada, so have no personal experience to add here.

I'm tempted to read all kinds of hidden meaning into the library that became a Victoria's Secret, but yes, for the sake of bibliophiles everywhere let's just assume the library moved. ;)

The real thing I'd like to know is --did the Canadians seem able to have a civil discussion? You mentioned several protesting groups. What was their demeanor? 

While watching the president's speech on health care today I saw that he was booed by some young people protesting the pipeline. Yesterday at Columbia the Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly was actually prevented from speaking because the students booed him off the stage and the speech was cancelled.  Of late all over social media we've seen friends have visceral reactions to hearing an opinion that opposes theirs. The language is heated. And the points mostly rehashed sound bites from one side or the other.

We want people to be passionate about their government and what is happening in their communities, but passionate debate can't take place when things are shut down and discussion is prevented. The students certainly have a right to ask about how profiling is being used, but I found it particularly interesting that the students at Columbia thought they'd struck a blow for "free speech." That confused me a bit especially since Kelly's remarks were supposed to be followed by a question and answer session.

And when was the last time you heard anyone say that they've changed their mind on something? When did the intellectual honesty to say that you learned something new, reexamined your stance, or were previously misinformed become a liability?

Perhaps that is one of the biggest problems with the lack of civility in the arguments floating around, when you've resorted to name calling it becomes a lot harder to admit later that you were wrong. Verbal flame throwing makes it hard to listen anyway so you aren't likely to learn much. Anonymous technology ramps all this up of course. Which makes me wonder if these discussions are best had among close friends or at least people who respect each other. When the relationship is more important than getting the "one up" it tempers our language.

I know this sounds familiar but it seems much worse now than when we started having this discussion. And it was bad then! Please feel free to tell me if it's just me.

Oh Canada

Madame:

American smoking before the Surgeon General’s report could perhaps be explained away by ignorance.  Smoking after the report had its legacy holdover, then dropped, and then the drop stopped.  Why, we could ask?  Perhaps it could be a lack of confidence or even hope in a decent future?  Think of all the people under 40 that smoke: Do they, on average, seem the success-bound, confident kind?  Perhaps there’s general malaise and low-confidence about a great future that is playing a factor.

And yes, it’s probably the bike thing.  Those other things don’t matter, do they? :)

Canada, which I surprisingly had never been to, was a good deal more full of the unexpected than, well, I expected.  I got approached by Greenpeace, by girls' worldwide education (Plan), attended a native American (Canadian) anti-fracking/RCMP brutality protest by accident, and got to see how much food is available without all the crap Americans typically have loaded into for them.

Vancouver had a library that became a Victoria’s Secret (am assuming the library just moved, but it was odd to see the VS pink in the 2^nd story windows where the books used to be).  And speaking of the 2^nd floor, so many restaurants were on the 2^nd floors of buildings.  Seemed to be a quite popular design layout.

Of course, the papers were filled with tales of the antics of crazy American politics. But Canadian newspapers actually had reporters asking deep insightful questions of their own politicians.  Some top topics in the Canadian scene seemed to be cyberbulling, railroad safety, mismatched skills of college graduates, and free trade, topics almost welcome-tame in comparison to American ones, although one additional topic, failure of Native American (Canadian) policy, was a possible exception. 

Still, I had a Canadian-born political scientist tell me that their government is different from ours in economic servitude to the wealthy only by degrees, and that their democracy is nearly just as constrained as ours, just in different ways.  She said, and the papers gave some support to, that Canada is in the process of subjugating itself to potentially ruinous trade arrangements, all to serve a global class of wealthy people while caring hardly at all about sustainability or the environment.  Perhaps issues are more alike in some respects than one would think.

Canada is also getting pot vending machines (for medical marijuana), with safeguards to keep it under control.  Guess we’ll find out how it works out!  Speaking of medical, Canadians are overall pretty proud of their universal health care.  The one complaint they generally have, and it doesn’t get too loud as I perceive it, is the wait for elective procedures. 

It was interesting to go to Canadian businesses and have them use machines, like a fast machine that lets you input tip yourself—calculating percentage for you if you want—and save a step (and some paper), that are just beginning to appear in a few places in America.  One Canadian manager even said to me, “In a year or two, you down south will have this too.”

So in addition to a whole lot else, we can’t even be on the cutting edge anymore.  Better we not be so eager to flash the “number 1” sign, eh?

The Happy Danes

Professor J,

Another study of which countries are the happiest is upon us and we needn't be surprised; Denmark tops the list. Several things about how the Danes live were cited as possible contributors to their apparent giddiness including: parental leave, healthcare,  prioritized gender equality, biking is the norm, and Danes feel a responsibility to one another.

We Americans must be pretty far down on the scale.

Our government gets around to offering a health care option (which came with a government shut down, and in the country that gave us Bill Gates and Steve Jobs no one could quite figure out how to keep the website functioning and accessible. Healthcare, more than anything else I can think of keeps people awake at night. Even when nothing is wrong. It's one of those things that a financial adviser, when telling you that yes, you can go ahead and take that trip and in the next breath remind you that a devastating illness could wipe it all out.

If you have your health you are wealthy. I don't think enough people grasp that if the smokers and couch potatoes are any indication. But the Danes ride their bikes for transportation and not for a work out. I'm imagining not only the benefits of the physical exercise and being outdoors, but the lack of hassle and expense of owning a car. Geographically impossible in great swathes of the US.

But I think the real key to this study (which happens every year, if this sounds familiar) it that they say they feel responsible for each other.

I wonder how many Americans would say that. We tend to spend a great deal of time outlining who we are not responsible for and why we aren't responsible for them. Entire political platforms revolve around not wanting to be responsible for everything (or nothing) from education to the quality of the air we breathe.  I wonder if the Danes would have also said that they feel responsible to each other. In a universal health care system do they feel the need to take the best care of themselves possible? To not smoke or overeat? Lots of them do smoke so maybe not so much.

In an interview I saw, a woman said one of the things that she thought made them happier than other countries was that "we trust our government."

I can only assume by this comment that she means the majority of Danes don't think that their government lies to them to get them into unnecessary wars, or spies on its citizens, or is more interested in lining their pockets and those of their friends than in doing what is good for the country.

But nah, it's probably the bike thing. 

Down Curve "Learning"

Madame:

The piece you cite is telling, and the full article by Hedges is a masterpiece of intricate understanding, and comes extremely highly recommended to readers. 

What have we learned from this shutdown debacle and what are the effects? 

Possibly next to nothing. As Hedges points out, America seems to forget the next week what happened in the previous one, so little do we internalize political events.

There has been a good deal of talk on the chatterwaves about economic violence and legislative terrorists had been attempting to perpetrate a coup d’tat, or failing that, to obstruct and destroy. While I’m not sure where I feel on that interpretation precisely, I am thinking that many of them don’t need their party anymore, that a few main financial backers and they are secure in their gerrymandered districts. 

I am also thinking that some of them earnestly believe they are trying to check deficit spending run amok, believe they are trying to address, even in brute fashion, actuarial and other looming train wrecks.  And also possibly feel they are trying to check ever increasing executive power. While one could fault their blind, crude methods, one could at least understand the motive(s).

But other obstructionists don’t fit that mold.  They instead fit classic reactionaries.  Seeing that the country is changing, demographically in particular, and with it white dominance and even privilege, they don’t appear to think of it as their country anymore.  And therefore don’t much care if it wrecks, as THEY will be taken care of, regardless.

Or so they think.  Hedges’ last quotation in the full article is a chilling one.

Some other effects of the shutdown and brinksmanship with the debt ceiling:

1.     It is perhaps causing the “borderline” democratizing societies to doubt that democracy really works, and that’s a bad trend, one that played out poorly in the 1920s and 1930s.

2.     China, the rising power, is, citing American irresponsibility, calling for others to join it in thinking about fashioning a de-Americanized world.

The former “A” grade star, America, keeps turning in “F” work and expecting a pass.  And Hedges seems right on the money on far too many things. 

Just once I’d like to see us surprise him and prove him more than a little wrong.

It hasn’t happened yet.

Next week: The Prof’s trip to an academic conference in Canada, with comparisons with our northern cousins (and their comparisons with us!), politically, economically, and perhaps otherwise. 

WTF?

Professor J,

Sorry about the title but it kind of sums it up.

It's a very Fahrenheit 1984 New World.

As I'm writing this it looks like the government shut down is going to end and the debt ceiling is going to be raised. We won't be defaulting on any loans.

Until after the first of the year. Then we get to play this game again.

Our short term thinking is getting shorter. Terrifyingly so.  Our attention span, shrinking to mere nanoseconds, seems keep us from staying with problems long enough to work out effective long term solutions. When we started writing this blog and having these discussions we would probably have defined the short term as the next election cycle. In the case of the Presidency that would have been a mere 4 years, hardly time to get much done. Now thinking even 2 years ahead seems sagelike in comparison to what we do.

We are now making decisions only only to fend off disaster a few weeks into the future. We play increasingly close to the edge, with higher and higher stakes at risk should we get it wrong. 

And the people in power don't seem to look like they are interested in getting it right, or what that might even look like. It seems to me that what is now called governing is like a picture copied over and over. The further you get from the original the less clear it is. Resolution is lost. It seems as if they are all wondering aloud to each other, "What is it supposed to look like, again?" Well, they would if any of them could honestly admit they haven't a clue how to fix it.

 I just watched an interview with a congressman from Kansas who said he didn't believe Standard and Poor's estimate that the shutdown has cost the US economy 24 Billion dollars. He didn't trust them and wanted the numbers from the Treasury.

Which is, of course, only partially operational. Because of this guy and people like him. When the interviewer reminded him of this fact he casually said. "That's right."

Has rational thinking really disappeared so completely?

I give up when Grover Norquist starts to sound like the voice of reason.

Or maybe that's a sign of hope. 

I nearly didn't write anything tonight and just posted our friend, Chris Hedges' article from a couple of days ago, The Folly of Empire:

The last days of empire are carnivals of folly. We are in the midst of our own, plunging forward as our leaders court willful economic and environmental self-destruction. Sumer and Rome went down like this. So did the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires. Men and women of stunning mediocrity and depravity led the monarchies of Europe and Russia on the eve of World War I. And America has, in its own decline, offered up its share of weaklings, dolts and morons to steer it to destruction. A nation that was still rooted in reality would never glorify charlatans such as Sen. Ted Cruz, House Speaker John Boehner and former Speaker Newt Gingrich as they pollute the airwaves. If we had any idea what was really happening to us we would have turned in fury against Barack Obama, whose signature legacy will be utter capitulation to the demands of Wall Street, the fossil fuel industry, the military-industrial complex and the security and surveillance state. We would have rallied behind those few, such as Ralph Nader, who denounced a monetary system based on gambling and the endless printing of money and condemned the willful wrecking of the ecosystem. We would have mutinied. We would have turned the ship back. 

What was I really going to say that was better than that? 

And in case you missed it, my good man, it's perfectly appropriate to keep making comparisons to Rome. Sadly so. 

Hello Balkanization

Madame:

Yes, other countries, many of whom we have had the arrogance to preach to about THEIR governmental and economic policies, must be brimming with disbelief, revulsion, or resentment at our hypocrisy.

And yes, game theory, the political scientist’s favorite.   There’s a lot that can be said about Mr. Fox’s analysis, and game theory is fraught with all sorts of potentially oversimplifying pitfalls, but it is possibly a more useful tool for analyzing things in Dysfunction Junction (aka, Washington D.C.) at the moment than any other.  Just as good political scientists and other analysts have probed beyond the conventional thinking of “they’re crazy” (when talking about seemingly inscrutable, intractable opponents—Soviets, North Koreans, Iranians--whoever), similar analysis can help out now.  And I hope it does.  History on this does not give us optimism, however, because if it is a guide, the current good work of the political scientists and others in this area will be ignored by nearly all policymakers, alas.

The Obama administration and its Democratic sometimes allies in the Senate have been playing trumped up games with much in and about government lately, with the Park Service being only one example.  There is MUCH to criticize this administration about outside this shutdown, from immigration, deportation, intelligence gathering, policy effectation competence, etc., but any sense of normal analysis and criticism is lost in the unending crises and the bizarre accusations and positions that come from many of the administration’s opponents.

Rubin Navarrette had an article recently (http://www.newsday.com/opinion/navarrette-living-in-the-echo-chamber-1.6241723) about the U.S. echo chamber .  How we have become a disconnected society that does not challenge itself with new thoughts, but only pick and choose those outlets, media and otherwise, that echo back our present beliefs and emotions.  Add this to our gerrymandered (remember when sometimes they actually did something about this illegal practice?) Congressional districting, and we have a situation ripe for the balkanization taking place.   Even more ironic, considering the namesake of that phenomenon has been doing a good deal better lately than its name would imply.  That’s there, though.  This is America, however, the supposed UNITED States.

The overall good becomes lost or irrelevant in such an environment as we have now.  There are, for instance, so many FACTS that this administration can be critiqued on, but Obama hatred is so to the fanatic, irrational level, I find myself having to take too much time correcting misinformation.  Because his detractors are often so vitriolic and emotional—some even racist—they will assert (and their fellows/followers believe) the most outlandish and slanted things, so much so that the arena for discussion, reflection, and analysis becomes incredibly polluted.   I then find myself, in trying to clear out the false and the misleading, seeming to defend a man and his policies when I’m not thrilled with either! 

Madame and good readers, perhaps ye tire of my constant pointing out the disturbing similarities, but this facet is yet another similarity to another, once great and “exceptional,” people.  For the bizarre things being said now are just like the outrageous accusations in, yes, you guessed it, ancient Rome.

Blame Game

Professor J,

Interesting point you make about the partial shut down breeding contempt for the law and law makers. There are always lots of unintended consequences, aren't there?

My main concern is the way we are being viewed around the world. I cannot even imagine what other countries must think of us. Nothing about it paints us in a positive light. And lend us money? We look a bit unstable financially and mentally. What would happen if China were to decide, for instance, that we didn't look very reliable and they'll just take their money on the debt now, thank you very much? 

Disconcerting.

I think your colleague has figured out the game. If Social Security checks stopped and airports closed this would be a much briefer discussion. Middle aged couples threatened with making room for mom and dad because they are suddenly without income would instantly put these politicians in their place. But as you point out in your post the majority of things that actually affect people in the immediate future are running along giving the impression that lots of things are "unessential."

When did this brand of brinksmanship replace statesmanship?  I was wondering about this (though not exactly in those words) when I came across an article in the Harvard Business Review addressing just that. In Understanding the Game Being Played in Washington, the author uses game theory to help us understand what's going on. I found it very interesting, but I sense you may want to nitpick a thing or two about it. I haven't a clue where I would ever get that idea. ;)

And what does this say about our country? Today a citizen took it upon himself to mow the lawn at the Lincoln Memorial. Police watched him from a distance before asking him to leave, which he did without incident. I suspect he'll be making the morning show rounds in a day or two. I'd like to think he was doing it to be helpful, though in the sad world we now find ourselves in it's likely to advertise his lawn service or to launch a not well thought out political career. (Oh, my. I sound cynical don't I?) He didn't seem to be hurting anything and helping, no matter his motives--so why was he asked to leave? Probably because he was making our public "servants" in Washington look bad.

As if they need any help with that. 

Shut It

Dear Madame:

Yes, it would be interesting to delve into the studies of whether kilt wearing by men leads to better fertility and better libido over their “constricted” brethren!

This week we all could have used one of those strawberry-lime ciders as we have been treated to the spectacle of the government partial shutdown.  The impact on individuals serviced by their government, and those dedicated servants employed by their government, has been significant, but others have detailed that.  I am concerned about something deeper.

Because it affects those who carry out the details of laws, it does two particularly insidious things.  One, it breeds contempt for the law by those tasked with executing the laws, and a person doesn’t have to get into poor countries’ politics to know the corrupting and enervating effect when the executors and referees don’t have respect for “the rules.”

Two, and perhaps more importantly, it breeds contempt for lawmakers.  You know, those people who don’t have the armed forces or the police to back them up, but only our people power behind them.  And by doing so, breeds contempt for government in general, which serves those plutocrats who want government to be so weak, ineffectual, and unfocused that it can never challenge their power.

Amidst this debilitation, those lawmakers have passed laws to retroactively pay people, and so not punish them for the lawmakers’ actions/inactions.  Perhaps there are enough who understand that it is a short step from government employees’ contempt to most of the populace’s contempt.  Because, in the naked analysis, lawmakers have only the people’s confidence and support to give them power.  Lawmakers don’t have the armed forces or the police (the executive and states/localities do), so their power comes only from our willingness to abide by what they say—and what the document that gives them enumerated powers says.

On a related subject, I have a professor colleague of mine who believes the very fact that the shutdown is partial gives a false impression to the American public of what its government does and does not do for them.  For example, even though, outside of Department of Defense military pay, there is no new money to pay anyone or anything, aside from those who were given different funding streams which carried over from last fiscal year or before, many government agencies and operations have been declared so continually essential that they are “excepted,” meaning that they continue to operate even when there’s no money (govt is essentially writing an IOU).  My colleague feels that this plays into the hands of those who want to show large portions of the government as “unnecessary,” by conflating and confusing the “urgent” with the important that may not be urgent. 

As anyone who strives for effectiveness can tell you, one can be efficient (or seem to be so) by addressing the urgent (which may NOT, however, be important) but will only be EFFECTIVE when focus is made on the important (which, because it often involves the longer view, may not be urgent). 

A Few of My Favorite Things

Wrapping up our travel summer series, and ready to return to other topics when you are, Professor.

I'm filing food and drink under "things" so as to speed up the wrap up. But my favorite things are books and some of the places I just wanted a few more minutes (okay, hours) were libraries and book stores. In Scotland one of the things that most surprised me was that I saw several men wearing kilts. Not as any kind of costume but with coats and ties, briefcases in hand.

The French know how to do lunch. These were the drinks included with our meal in Normandy along with coffee at the end which came with a little square of dark chocolate to melt into it. 

 One thing I always like is a silly photo op. In Invergordon, Scotland I couldn't resist this one since I was wearing yellow and all...

My love of post boxes is legendary. I'm sure people often wonder what in the world I'm doing.

Sometimes "things" just catch my eye.

 I got an entire blog post out of this beautiful picture of rocks on the coast of South Queensferry, Scotland. I even got a blog post out of this picture: Lessons from a Rocky Shoreline.

I discovered something amazingly delicious. A strawberry-lime cider brewed in Sweden. It's the kind of thing the offer you in pubs when you aren't fond of beer.

 I love this quote by C.S. Lewis in a bookstore on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. You could see the castle from where we sipped our coffee.

Am I the only one who thinks this is actually the really practical thing for men to be wearing...(ahem) comfort wise?

I happened into this library in Belfast with famous authors in stained glass above all the windows. Charming. 

Another picture from Trinity College Library. (sigh)

Several areas had up these cheerful banners and they just made me happy, which I'm sure is the point.

Another post box. (swoon)