The Complexities of a Questioning Mind

Mary Delaney, my 3rd great grandmother, born in Ireland 1812–1896 died in Canada. Paid for her own gravestone with her own money and damn proud of it!

Everyone loves a good movie. Not everyone wants to see movies that are about history, even if it’s shown through the comfortable lens of a love story. Still, there is a desire for movies to resemble reality. Is that possible to achieve? That leads to a question about what I believe is the core draw of movies. Passion. What does passion mean, really?

Are we all born with a connection that is challenged and leads some to a disconnection? Or, are some people just born with too much passion that cannot be suppressed? I’m not talking about romantic passion, just that other thing no one, especially certain men who only want to discuss a passion related to sports, war, or domineering sex with a head butt, strong pat on the back or a guttural “yeah, man!”.

Photo by Olga Guryanova on Unsplash

I’m looking for the passion that makes you tick, through your own lens, through your self loneliness. Are you a one dimensional being without inner dialect or do you question and feel everything from the depths of your being? The latter being an extraordinary responsibility and burden, the former lending itself to self satisfying sleep induced satisfaction.

“Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.” Maria Rilke Rainer

Photo by Jeremy Lishner on Unsplash

Our knowledge of historical events is predicated from an early age by several factors. The strongest being a narrative that is handed down by the governing body of whatever nation you are born under. So, to a certain extent, you’re life is made comfortable by trusting that narrative completely. We all do it because we don’t have much of a choice. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we need this education. BUT, I also believe as adults, we should grow into questioning all narratives and search for our own meanings and truth. That journey requires a comfortability with endless unanswered questions, with an understanding of the ugliness of truth.

The people that change our viewpoint of history are the ones buried around us longing to tell us their stories if we would just dig enough to listen. Not just genealogical dates and places, but the impact historical events had on their lives, or just maybe, how they may have been a big part of that history. Take that to the furthest outposts of historical string theory and you might ask how the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Revolution, World War I, and the dissension into a tyrannical Hitler affects us today. You might ask about the roots of the slave trade economy throughout the world, manifested in the US south’s stranglehold on human bondage that would not release its grasp, while the North devoured cotton for their economic growth while demonizing the very industry they exploited. You might ask the most vital questions of all. Who decides what we know? Is there ever clearly defined right and wrong, black and white?

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Nothing transpires out of thin air. Nothing worth knowing well is going to be easy. Answers lead to bigger questions, that lead to endless journeys of discovery and frustration. Yes, “the more you learn, the less you know” is partially right. The more you learn, the more you grow by realizing the less you know.

It’s clear some people make definitive choices to remain sure of what they think they know, then shut the door. This is called narrow minded oblivion. We’ve all seen enough of those types of zombie wanderers to last a lifetime. It’s safe, it helps you sleep better if your privileged enough for most things to not really affect your marking time in the comfort line.

The world is in complete chaotic change right now and the ones who are fearful of change are controlling the dialog. We have a golden opportunity to grasp and define our collective future if we all open our passionate hearts to the massive access to historical data. Passion meets documentation. We cannot look forward without learning from the past. It is vital. These are exciting times! These are terrifying times! Both are equally true. Are we up for invention in place of reaction?

It’s amazing to see norms evolve so fast now. What was acceptable oblivion in the recent past has become intolerable in our ever changing present. We have a golden opportunity to change the course of human interaction, humane responsibility, and a world without destruction with passion for the betterment of the collective. That huge challenge has never had a greater opportunity for success or failure than now.

We cannot go back, yet the idea of doing so is being shoved down our throats while we struggle for air. Will we rise or will we drown in our own inadequacies.

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Perception

https://medium.com/@rousseauman123/perception-84675881a2d4

Perception

This is pretty simple to understand if you stop and reflect.  We, as American’s (US of A) have always had racists, bigoted aggressive people in our world.  Our recent history has always shown these people as minority schisms in our fabric, existing on the fringes of society until unmasked in contained cells of activity. Along came the 1990’s, then the turn of the century, marking a seemingly forward motion into equality. Perception. 

This is why we have such a large liberal base of sentimental views towards that era, that movement forward. At the same time, you have a moderate conservative sentimental view of the era of the 50’s where family values reined, good black people knowing their lot in life, good white families prospering in job growth, racism isolated to small areas of minority clashes. Segregation and Lynching minor soils on the landscape. Perception.

Today, we have a major problem.  The majority of Americans encompass these two views that can no longer stand the test of truth.  These two paths have not only collided, but exploded in our faces, opening up a large gaping hole that Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Newt Gingrich walked right through.

The master of manipulation, Trump, met Perception and the virus was feed daily.  The racist, who knew better than to show themselves to anyone openly, except chosen confidants, began to test the Trump virus and see how open they could express their views. Not only were their egos stroked, but their own President shared their anger, their bigotry, their bold representation of manifest destiny cloaked in flag waving patriotism.  They rode their cars and trucks around neighborhoods displaying American Flags, Confederate Flags, decals of defiant boys pissing in the wind with a smirk on the face, gun posters, Hillary hating posters.  They were emboldened with their love of aggressive male rage, with their women supporters who found validation in their worth as blond idols to be worshiped by their whistle blowing, grabbing their junk in a sign of dominance, showing their women just who will protect them if they stand by their sides. Perception.

Liberals helped open this window as well with an inability to do anything without the approval of big money.  Giving Americans a facade of kumbaya utopia that really had no teeth.  Asking for equality nicely, without demanding strong legislation that was impenetrable to lies and manipulation, only willing to step lightly and ask for permission, unattainable perfection expected at every corner. Setting up criteria that was meager, then cowering to moneyed interests. Perception.  

This is a big mess and we will destabilize more than just the United States in our lack of addressing the huge steps that must happen going forward.  How do we manipulate a manipulator?  How do we convince someone who we perceive as stupid, yet clearly is smart enough to get more action happening than anyone before him, to see how he can benefit from benefiting our country’s stability?  Trump is 100% motivated by winning and continuing to remain rich and powerful.  How do you create an environment where he can have this temporary satisfaction yet be steered towards the betterment of our country and how we treat others?  I don’t have the answer, but I have ideas.  Does the liberal establishment have ideas?  We are told they do, yet never see action at play. This is where our Democratic leaders flounder.  If they are unwilling to remove Trump and his enablers, who know exactly how to manipulate him well, by Impeachment then they must have a strategy, and it must be shared. 

I do not believe that Pelosi has a concrete strategy other than let’s wait until 2020 elections which is not a strategy, it’s a cop out.  We must ask who’s interest she protects.  Does she really know anything about how middle America survives?  If not, why isn’t she listening?  Why is she, and other Democratic leaders, putting their connections to lobbyist at work for us?  Why do they cower to lobbyist interest over the common citizen? Why does it feel like she is patting us on the head and saying, “trust me, you’re not smart enough to understand political play”?  That is right back in the 1990’s political play book, and we need transparency now in 2019.  Why is Pelosi ostracizing Ocasio-Cortez?  She’s using the same pat on the head to her and it’s going to divide us deeper.

I’m just one questioning, learning, human being that deserves to be heard just like you.  We must ask questions, good questions of our representatives and not let them squirm out of difficult questions with rhetoric. We must hold our American journalist bosses to the flames for caring more about selling/ratings than newsworthiness. We must demand our journalist ask difficult questions and follow through with good retorts to lies and manipulation. We must stop accepting lawyers double talk, manipulating PERCEPTION to the advantage of whoever they deem valuable. 

We, American’s have a LOT on our plates.  We are at the same point that our first defiant citizens of this former British colony stood.  We can reshape this country into what it really was meant to be.  A flawed nation set on a course of unity, prosperity, and human dignity looking forward to change with reverence and humility, looking back with an unfiltered lens with responsibility and action to correct course, seeing that we are an immigrant and native melting pot.  That is the only PERCEPTION worthy of our time and efforts to change into reality.

I offer my humble opinion and service to this fight.  How about you?

Starbucks CEO: Sucking up Power wasn't enough.

Let's take a long look at the history of Starbuck's rise under former CEO and now presidential hopeful, Howard Schultz.  Doing due diligence on anyone who hints at controlling the checks and balances of our fragile country right now is essential.  Stay with me through a bit of background and personal experience.

Schultz took the helm of Starbuck's early in its inception after coming from a lower income family in Brooklyn, NY, selling coffee machines to start out.  You can get a general bio with an internet search.  How he transformed his life and turning Starbucks into a conglomerate is the stuff of an "All American Dream" life.  But, let's look at that deeper.

What started out as a guy deeply impressed by a small startup business created by 3 guys who loved coffee and wanted to keep their baby small, into a huge business idea that took advantage of a passion and an idea to transform this at the right time.  His travel to Italy to transfer a long cafe/espresso tradition into an American powerhouse was genius!  You cannot deny that.  BUT.....

Making a huge success of the Starbucks experience was not enough.  I will use a personal example to show how this American dream turned into a destructive conglomerate eating up every possible competition so there were no options for a "good" quality coffee experience anywhere else to be found.  That is the antithesis of what our country was founded on, yet what is driving our democracy into ruin today.

This was elitist because Schultz never touched Dunkin Donuts, never considering them competition.  That sounds a bit harsh.  Yes...I am a lover of quality coffee.  You could say I'm a bit obsessed about it.  I'm not wealthy or I would have top of the line Italian expresso machines, and import my coffee beans from Italy.  But, I can, on occasion, afford to treat myself to good coffee. In the early 90's I would be a poster child for Howard Schultz's twin, colleague, or best friend.

Unfortunately, Starbucks always rubbed me the wrong way.  Why?  They tried the personal touches I love, but I just didn't like their.....coffee.  I had the good fortune of traveling to Seattle in the late 90's and spending time with a good friend seeking good coffee and trying to avoid the Starbucks experience. Fate hit me right between the eyes! We walking into Cafe Torrefazione and what I wanted my coffee experience to be was born.  Umberto Bizzarri was the brain child that created Cafe Torrefazione.  The family roots in roasting go back to the 1940's, when Ornello Bizzarri built his roasters in Perugia, Italy."  Umberto has since created his own wholesale roaster back in Seattle, Umbria, where he began.  He also trains baristas, with cafes in Seattle, Portland, and Chicago, now.

To my great wonder they had a cafe Torrefazione in Boston where I lived AND three doors down from where I was working at the time.  Their baristas learned everyones desires, they ground your coffee beans at levels of what you needed, french press, drip, espresso.  Their beans were distinct from different regions of Italy, Perugia, Napoli, .  Buy 10 bags of beans get one free, buy 10 coffee's get one free, sometimes you could even get a free Italian hand designed mug for free.  I adored this place that had more to offer than the  two different Starbucks just two blocks away in either direction.  They were always packed, but so was Starbucks.

Yes, Starbucks wasn't happy with ANY competition.  So...they bought not only the little guy, Cafe Torrefazione, but all of Seattle's Best, remember them?  NO COMPETITION allowed.  Complete annihilation!

When Starbucks killed the little, and not so little guys, they backed off and started downsizing locations.  Schultz who no longer is CEO left at a convenient time.  My guy Umberto reappeared as well as other coffee cafes making a bit more choices, and competition, but it's not easy as Starbuck's has gotten into your skin.  This isn't to say Starbucks and their former CEO didn't do some great things, such as offer healthcare options to part-time and LGBT partners.  That was smart business that enticed many to work there just for those reasons.

We have a business model in the White House right now that uses this same model of business annihilation.  It's the same model that Mitt Romney used as part of Staples when he worked for Bain Capital (formerly Bain & Co.) where he worked for companies which included Monsanto....remember Office Max, or any other competition that don't exit.  How about hardware stores.  Do we want the CEO of Home Depot running our country?  You want to talk about how small business has been devastated in this country.  Look no further than these CEO's of big business.

Let's be smart this time and keep businessmen who don't have a clue about government or service away from politics and power.  People are commodities in their minds.  Maybe that's why Romney thought nothing of strapping his dog on the roof of his car.

Haven't they feed their greed enough?  I guess the conglomerate that is Starbucks just wasn't big enough for Howard Schultz.  Government offices are first and foremost about service.  CEO's delegate "service" to others so they can focus on "power".  They cannot be bothered.  Do we want that experiment to happen right on top of the disaster we are living through?  Please, run out of the room screaming NOOOOOO!!!!

We try hard to confine, into little boxes, that which defies. What is dark? Is it absence of light? How much light is necessary for an absence of darkness? Everything in a conscious life is complex and mutable, yet it is human nature to desire simplicity where it does not exist.