UPWARD MOBILITY ? There is a prevalent misunderstanding as to how society functions. Upward mobility cannot ever be achieved solely on the basis of one's own talents, efforts, and abilities. It is always dependent on someone, already connected and above, opening the door and letting someone from below, in. This is true in regard to every social stratification, and it is true as to many types of opportunities where the illusion of self promotion consumes time and energies, while reality requires vouching for. Belief in a purely self made upward mobility is as true and effective as pulling your self up by means of tugging on your own bootstraps. In fact it cannot be done, but incredibly the phrase is often believed and naively used in what are meant as genuine directions given to those struggling to make it. Similar to Yale’s infamous “skull and bones” society, someone has to tap you on the shoulder and ask if you accept. Accepting means opting in to the prevailing social rules, which differ significantly to those rules that you were accustomed to. Nevertheless, someone has to let you in. There is always a door keeper, in every advancement, whether professional, or social. No one is truly self made, and self sufficient. That is purely an illusion.
GLOBALIZATION AS A “CARGO CULT” ? Globalization has proven to be more like a consumerism cargo cult of false beliefs about progress and the future. We are not in an economic downturn. That belief results in patching up a hopelessly broken system to resume its failures. Radical restructuring of values and the economic system, so that what truly needs to be done can get done, bringing values of lasting quality and craftsmanship, of worthwhile invention and artisanship, as well as meeting other real human needs, to the forefront, of actual practice necessitates much more radical change than what we see being contemplated in the world’s economic capitals. The effect of what is being contemplated will be a short lived rise in some fortunes, and an even more precipitous decline, when the new injection of fiscal fuel runs out and the tanks proves dry again. CARBON FOOTPRINT IS MISLEADING In light of what we said about globalization and the cargo cult mentality, we might reiterate what we said about automobiles. It is not the owning and diving of vehicles which has the largest impact on the environment. It is in fact the impact of obsolescence that is the real problem. Vehicles have long been meant to be paid for in five or fewer years, and traded, based on warranty considerations and the high cost of after market parts and labor. In fact longer amortization of reasonable costs, eg ten years rather than five, would reduce the burden of ownership and reduce monthly living costs, increasing affordability to a greater number of persons, while freeing some income for other economic purposes in a further segment of the population. To do that the industry has to build better vehicles. Vehicles that last fifteeen to twenty years, rather than five to ten years. The reduction in plastic and metal scrap, reduction in energy consumption for recycling and production of new models, would have immense impacts on the environment. It is steel and plastics (petrochemical) manufacture that is the big energy hog in the equation, and a very significant source of effluent. Not to mention the lack of environmental safeguards in some nations where many automotive parts are now being made, even if that issue can be addressed separately and effectively by means of upgrading those facilities with state of the art technologies. GOVERNMENT LOANS SUPPORTING A FAILING SYSTEM ? Loaning money to existing businesses proven of little real social value, no real ingenuity or craftsmanship, providing for little invention, only adding to the mass of near to worthless things, of no real cultural merit, leads to an eternal recurrence of the same nihilistic economics. Material culture continues to increase the size of the garbage heap, few real needs are met, certainly not better met than before, and an increasingly bland and unstimulating, uninspiring, refuse heap disguised as culture gains increasing prominence. It is a path to destruction. Governments ought to consider supporting what is of lasting worth, real innovative value, true inventiveness, genuine creativity, genuine craftsmanship, as the alternative to a throw away society which is tending to treat people in the same ways that it treats things: something to be used, consumed, and thrown away. How money is lent, and where, when it is government that is involved, can have an immense impact on rebuilding society and its culture, in more positive ways. We cannot afford to do the same old, and turn our world into one immense landfill site garbage heap, of everything seen as here today, gone tomorrow, and nothing of any lasting merit. GAZA ESCALATION EXTENDS FAR BEYOND GAZA’S BORDERS The Gaza conflict is escalating and will continue to escalate in consequence of predictable increase in anger and violence that has demonstrated itself in the course of events. The escalation is one that is happening far beyond the actual battlefield in Gaza, and will likely and very soon become irreversible. The conflict has deep roots demanding military intervention at an early stage to protect civilians from the effects of the assault. Enforcing peace, and delivering international justice is now the only method left that can help to prevent long term escalation into a larger arena and a probable world war in the immanent future. At the very least the situation will spark a new and very dangerous arms race, including a very increased desire and resolve, by many lesser players in the world arena to invest themselves in acquiring, developing and possessing weapons of mass destruction. That too is a direct consequence of the failure as to effective intervention on behalf of the civilians of Gaza. In many ways it is being seen as a test case, testing the world community as to its loyalties, ethics, morality, and actions. At least half the world will increasingly declare that community a failure and will seek to build their own separate community, with its own means for furthering its aims, handling disputes and responding to attacks from any others. Clearly some arms dealers will profit greatly from the Gaza situation. Clearly many, who were neutral, or undecided, will now be compelled to choose sides in the conflict. No one can serve two masters, who have conflicting goals. That polarization and militarization of the world community, cannot, in the long term, lead to peace. It can only lead to rising tide of terrorism, and eventually to world war. Robert Morpheal --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
