That Was Then This Is Still Then

Some time ago, it became clear that FDR won in 1932 as a result of a fairly even distribution of people in small towns, villages, and famrs. They shared the burdens of the depression in a similar way.  Their situations resembled each other by and large. 

Urbanization has rapidly moved people into suburbs and large metropolitan areas.  Mechanization and industrialization of farming and food production has reduced the population of farmers to less than ten percent of the overall population.  Among other results, we raise urban children who do not know that chocolate milk does not come from chocolate cows.  

Chocolate cows may sound trivial, but it points to a real and larger issue.  That issue is the disconnect in conscious and cultural framework between those who live in urban, suburban and rural settings.  

I confess to having this disconnect.  A part of me understand the desire of some to live in a rural setting.  Such a setting might permit a person to concentrate on rasing and loving a family.  That setting offers the opportunity to connect deeply with nature and develop self-suffency and enhanced self-efficacy.       

Now, a person can also do this in urban and suburban settings, but this writing seeks to focus on the lack of understanding between the people in the different setting.  Could this lack of understnding have slowly crept into the fabrci of our nation over time as we rushed through the depression, two hot  wars, a cold war, a a resurgence of once  beleaguered  now challenging the Amnerican hegemony in the market place.  

None of this is easy or pleast stuff to grasp.  The human spirit shys away from the hard work that lies ahead.   But, accept this new rality we must, if the best priciples of our founders are to prevail.

America, as the shining city on a hill cannot shine and embrace chauvinism, demagoguery, and selfishness at the same time.  We must embrace communicably and individually slef discipline and enlightened self interest.    We must frequently spend a period of time reflecting on what these characteristics of slef discipline and enlightened self interest means in any given situation. 

Again and again

Have the "trumpets" *  pushed us †   into another reactionary place?  I wonder. 

I lived, as a child, through the beginnins of the Cold War, H. U. A., C., Joe Mc Carthy, and a bat shit crazy aunt. I learned to think nimbly and practice dissimulation dn evasion.  The aunt  could not listen to another point of view.  She had to be right. 

The aunt was my father's sister. The last of five children.   Shortly after her birth instability attacked the family.   The family spoiled her.  She was quite attractive.  She spent her life waiting tables and running a rooming house with my grandmother.  I believe she possessed much intelegence.  She lacked direction. ‡

My cut on this says she never accepted reality fully.  Her expectations from being spoiled exceeded any  realistic point.   She failed to go beyond high school.  And, she could not understand why she didn't have more. 

My aunt consoled herself with reactionary fixations.  These played out in the usual way.  She followed many bizare  fads.  And, she vituperated vitriolically against the usual minority groups.   

From my perspective, trumpets behave in this way.  

We ±do have issues and  even threats.   That is not the question.  The question focuses on the degree of impact and the better way to address it.


* Trump supporters
† USA citizens
‡ How much of this comes from my own projection?  You can find out if you pay the theray bill.

± op cit

Thoughts on a State Department

Start with Ben Gazi.  Descisions dealing with the number of military assigned to an embassy most likly fall into the hands of  a high level career civil servant.  Does a Secretary Of State actually concern themselves with such.  

So why roast Hillary?  
Because they like to. 


Do career diplomats always get it right?  No, not always do they get it right. 
Could an international businessman do something different?  Could those international business contacts acumulated over a thirty year career serve the needs of  this country?  It seems possible.   


So, comes the word that numbers of seior level civil service specialists in the State Department have resigned.  It also seems likely  that many of them might not want to serve under the Trump administration.  But, also maybe the time has come to go do something else.  With such policy experience in one resume, an academic post or work in a private think tank could slo prove attractive.

So, do these resignations  -- head count not available as of this writing -- mean anything other than just the normal run of things?  Only Hannibal Lector knows for sure.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/01/26/the-state-departments-entire-senior-management-team-just-resigned/?utm_term=.f0c3e34778f7

How to denude the worlds forests

Logging!  

It threatens to denude the Tropical Rain Forrests of  South America, Africa and Asia. 

Keep it up. 

 I've got a fix. 

We build Trump frames.  And, on these frames, we grow kudzoo and that invasive fern species taking over Florida'S swamps.*  

The resulting vegetation will do what tree huggers allege that the trees do.

Tree hugger research demonstrates that vines, ferns, and non-tree plants process more carbon dioxide than the much vaughented tree canopy.†

*  The plant has yet to swamp  the good o'l boys  in Tallahassee.
†  This is a fact, whether you like it or not.

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time
Future Schock and two Third Waves 

-- or is it reverse, never mind --

predicted that automation / robots would put a lot of folk out of work.   At that time, off shoring and environmental degradation stood far off if at all in our consciousness. 

We, the people, failed to address the imponderables.  
We continued to let the Good Times roll.  
Or, later on, we rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

Or did we fail?   We must ask if we can save all? 
Do too many  indulge themselves in victim hood and take their expectations from that chorus piece from the Stage Musical Li'l Aber:  "When the idle poor become the idle rich...".  

Ancient Chineese Story

Two milinea or so ago in China

a salesman set up shop in a certain vilage. 

For sale he offered

A spear 

which could pierce anything and 

A sheild 

which could repel anything. 

And his name was 

Trump

Truck Runs Amuck In Berlin Holiday Market.

Did that get your attention.  

That's what that driver wanted:  Your attention. 

Some right wing reactionary types choose to see this as part of a vast Jii - had against Western Kulture.  

Don't do that. 

The few terrorist 

and they are few in number 

along with the right win reactionaries 

want you to think that.

That  ther, the terrorists, are succeding in brining down the West.

Do not give in to their feeble propaganda. 

We in the West don't have a great track rcord.  

We could use some humility. 

What the humility looks like is not the point of this posting. 

The point is 

Stay calm.  Don't panic,