This Memorial Day has me thinking...
About my dad who is no longer with me, having died of cancer 10 years ago next month. He served in the US Navy for almost 23 years. When he left the service in 1975, he started life anew in the civilian world. It was not kind to him. The corporate world proved to be his undoing as he fought for survival as a man in his forties starting over again. He went to college, got his degree and then moved the family twice before settling down for the scraps that the work world had for a man in his late fifties.
Still, in the end, he survived to see his son get married to a firebrand. If only he could have been alive to see his granddaughter and grandson. That would have made his day. Especially MacKinnon, he would have loved. I bet he would see a lot of me in him, his love of cars and all things that go boom!
But another thing that has me thinking...
The need for a Memorial Day at all... it just leaves me sad to think of the lives that are gone forever, fighting for lands in the sand and on a map. Violence on a the state scale... has always been, probably will always be. But still, it saddens me to think of the futility of it all when you think that men and women and national treasure are squandered so often, so cavalierly to in the end a pointless exercise in oneupsmanship. Backers of nationalism always point out that national defense is no vice. It is patriotism at it's zenith. I beg to differ. True patriotism is defined not in us versus them but in "us." The leaders of countries that are against our national interests (whatever those may be, and I assure you, so often those interests run counter to the American ideal) are often at odds with their populace. We do ourselves no favors by waging war against countries that in every chance they could get would love to sit down with American citizens and have a dialogue. Our American Exceptionalism and brio are akin to putting one's foot in the mouth. They are cancer to the global community and when they are finally purged from our psyche, either by our decline or by defeat in battle, we will be better off.
The sight of remembrances on this Memorial Day is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is fitting to pay homage to those that have died in their service to the country. But on the other hand, we are commemorating the larger picture of the use of force to establish the American Way, to bring empire to the world and to be the City on the Hill. Only this Hill is but a slight rise on the garbage heap of the 20th and 21st century of mass killings, secret killings and indefinite detentions all in the name of our freedom.
Pardon me if I don't partake in it all. My father and I disagreed on this vehemently towards the latter part of his years. But he also understood where I came from, as did I. I wonder what he would think ultimately about all this modern day Memorial Day remembrances, in light of what we are doing as a nation globally.
I don't think he would approve. It is often said that only the non-veteran favors entering into conflict because those that have seen war firsthand do not enter it lightly nor again.
Miss you Dad.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The title says it all:
Usually I like to stir it up on Facebook with my conservative friends/frenemies, but this was too direct and in your face that it would more than likely tick them off. This article dovetails nicely with my own thoughts based on my own life observations. And I have found this to be pretty accurate. The thrust of the article states that low IQ and Conservative Ideology lead to prejudicial views of other classes of people.
Truer words have never been said.
While the article gives exceptions to the rule, it does correlate to what most people with an inkling of common sense and observational skills can tell you: you lead a sheltered life and aren't intellectually curious, you are more predisposed to be prejudiced and ignorant of other views in the world.
The rest of the story goes into much further depth here:
Link
What is really telling is that I used to be sort of like this many years ago, when I held to a religiously influenced conservative ideology. I outgrew it and most of those tendencies. I have, from time to time, recognized some of the leftovers of that period in my personality to this day. It is almost subconscious and insidious and I try to be cognizant of this mindset. But that I realize it is really a very important first step. I have found that as I search out new ways of thinking outside of the box, the less likely I am to harbor negative feelings and attitudes towards my fellow man (although my ire towards conservatives gets the better of me at times). But this is also kept in check because my thought on that mindset is that I used to be them and I understand the mentality.
All in all, a very interesting study in the article.
Truer words have never been said.
While the article gives exceptions to the rule, it does correlate to what most people with an inkling of common sense and observational skills can tell you: you lead a sheltered life and aren't intellectually curious, you are more predisposed to be prejudiced and ignorant of other views in the world.
The rest of the story goes into much further depth here:
Link
What is really telling is that I used to be sort of like this many years ago, when I held to a religiously influenced conservative ideology. I outgrew it and most of those tendencies. I have, from time to time, recognized some of the leftovers of that period in my personality to this day. It is almost subconscious and insidious and I try to be cognizant of this mindset. But that I realize it is really a very important first step. I have found that as I search out new ways of thinking outside of the box, the less likely I am to harbor negative feelings and attitudes towards my fellow man (although my ire towards conservatives gets the better of me at times). But this is also kept in check because my thought on that mindset is that I used to be them and I understand the mentality.
All in all, a very interesting study in the article.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
It's been a while, hasn't it...
A couple of years have come and gone since I last left some thoughts here on the Lair...
And a very interesting couple of years it has been...
1. Mainly, important decisions concerning the big picture have been undertaken... life changing ones and all for the better. When I am free to spill the beans, it will be a huge load off my chest.
2. MacKinnon Dax Parker and his big sister, Danica, are consuming more of my time, both in the good times and the bad. But in the end, this father thing is working out so far. Been the toughest thing that I have ever done. And having a son who loves his dad's love of motorcycling is pretty cool! I think I may have a fellow rider in the future. That would be a blast, tearing up the roads when he is old enough to ride (and only if he WANTS to).
3. Been really pouring on the extra work... making great strides in stretching my talents to bring in some really nice work. Thanks to some really fine people who have fished me this work, I can't thank them enough.
4. Some old legacy items in the brain have finally settled and are sorted through. Retrospection has helped me rethink the future and what needs to be done going forward... I have learned a lot about myself, especially these last 6 months. And I thank some key friends who have helped sort out these areas. They know who they are. And here is to some new ones.
5. Finally, I think that I need to spend more time here in the coming weeks, to share some thoughts and ideas about life, the big picture and even the small things, stuff like when it makes my day to see my son walking past me in the hall and does a big circle wave with one arm and says "Hello Dad-da!". From a two year old, no less.
Well, paying jobs require my full attention. Until next time....
Chris
And a very interesting couple of years it has been...
1. Mainly, important decisions concerning the big picture have been undertaken... life changing ones and all for the better. When I am free to spill the beans, it will be a huge load off my chest.
2. MacKinnon Dax Parker and his big sister, Danica, are consuming more of my time, both in the good times and the bad. But in the end, this father thing is working out so far. Been the toughest thing that I have ever done. And having a son who loves his dad's love of motorcycling is pretty cool! I think I may have a fellow rider in the future. That would be a blast, tearing up the roads when he is old enough to ride (and only if he WANTS to).
3. Been really pouring on the extra work... making great strides in stretching my talents to bring in some really nice work. Thanks to some really fine people who have fished me this work, I can't thank them enough.
4. Some old legacy items in the brain have finally settled and are sorted through. Retrospection has helped me rethink the future and what needs to be done going forward... I have learned a lot about myself, especially these last 6 months. And I thank some key friends who have helped sort out these areas. They know who they are. And here is to some new ones.
5. Finally, I think that I need to spend more time here in the coming weeks, to share some thoughts and ideas about life, the big picture and even the small things, stuff like when it makes my day to see my son walking past me in the hall and does a big circle wave with one arm and says "Hello Dad-da!". From a two year old, no less.
Well, paying jobs require my full attention. Until next time....
Chris
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
