Monthly Archives: December 2023

The race issue is fixed

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If it weren’t so serious and destructive, mariner would chuckle at the white supremacists. They are defending a race that already is destined to virtually disappear. Consider the odds: white people constitute about 20 percent of the world population. That’s one white person for every four nonwhites. Breeding is indiscriminate, especially with modern transportation, climate immigration, wars and abusive national governments.

Further, in spite of the supremacist presence, has the reader noticed that in the United States half the television commercials are biracial and the Hispanics have their own Spanish broadcast networks? One analysis from Wikipedia projects that whites in the United States will be a distinct minority by 2040.

Traditionally, the English language has been the primary language for international communication but this is changing as the advantages in communication via the Internet permit individualized conversations between nations. It is likely that along with English – Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic and Hindi will have a larger role in global communications.

Mariner suggests that parents of young children in the United States encourage them to be bilingual (probably Spanish) or even trilingual as many Europeans are. It occurs to mariner that a new, hybridized language may emerge – complete with slurring for the hearing impaired.

Hasta la vista, baby!

Ancient Mariner

 

A new thought

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Mariner trusts that everyone saw Judy Woodruff’s special on PBS about the state of democracy in the United States. If not, go to the PBS website at pbs.com and check it out. Most of the program exposed the deep emotionally-based opinions of both political extremes.

One thought that captured his ears was the suggestion that one of the ways to unite the citizens and break down splintered allegiances, was to expand civil services. The term ’civil service’ suggests that the nation’s governments pay for large numbers of citizens to perform any number of public activities that unify the effort to achieve a common identity among the nation’s citizens. Examples of civil service, utilized especially during the Great Depression and both World Wars are:

֎ The military, of course, where the government required virtually all men within certain conditions to serve time in the armed services.

֎ During World War II, the government directed vehicle manufacturers to stop building civil equipment and focus their entire effort on manufacturing military equipment. With all the men in military service, women filled job vacancies while their men were unavailable.

֎ The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. The WPA put 8.5 million Americans to work building schools, hospitals, roads and other public works. The WPA also sponsored projects in the arts – the agency employed tens of thousands of actors, musicians, writers and other artists.

֎ Shortly after WW II, the government launched the Interstate highway system. The legislation expanded the Interstate System to 41,000 miles and authorized $25 billion to be made available in fiscal years 1957 through 1969 for its construction to accommodate traffic demand in 1975. The Federal share of costs would be 90 percent.

Civil service provided the money for each of these projects. As a result, workers could ask for additional benefits like paying for college, guaranteed retirement, and a fair wage. Today, 70 years later, all these benefits are nonexistent except in a few commercial situations where there are labor shortages. Inflation has risen but the general salary base has not.

Interestingly, it was the war years and global economic dominance that funded what is called the Woke class, 9.7 percent of today’s population that constitute a white-collar, college class that has the most influence in government and industry.

Could the government launch another civil service program to more evenly level its social and economic classes?

Ancient Mariner

Living life on carnival rides

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Spending some time in Chicken Little’s henhouse, where news broadcasts and publications are not allowed, mariner has become aware of how myopic news programming is. Many readers will agree that if one watches the news on Monday then watches the news a week later, it’s the same news. Perhaps Fox news, MSNBC, all the social media sources and ‘streaming’ news together have set the bar very low in terms of other topics that, while not blowing things up, starving people, giving coverage to useless and mostly conspiratorial congressmen, may have more impact on the near future of mankind. Below are a couple of topics that are very important and are changing reality on a daily basis.

Extinction

Back in 2014 Elizabeth Kolbert wrote a scholarly treatise about the rapid decline of the world’s creatures. A quote from the flyleaf of The Sixth Extinction – An unnatural history:

“Over the last half billion years, there have been five major extinctions, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us.”

Elizabeth cites the disappearance of over 16,000 species of every nature and every family of creatures. There are too many humans (see Overpopulation below) taking up way too much space, consuming way too much of the planet’s reserve of chemicals, and by their nature, deliberately and wantonly destroying critical balances in the Earth’s environment.

Through technology and industrialization, humans have been able to flaunt the natural restraints of Mother Nature, enabling humans to live longer, live conveniently and ignore disturbances in the planet’s biosphere – at the cost of 16,000 innocent creatures and, since the 19th century, destabilizing the careful balance of global weather; an issue that is important enough to make the news. For the last 300,000 years, the weather has been unusually stable, allowing an excellent opportunity for all creatures to flourish. That stability is rapidly disappearing. The inability of humans to evaluate human economics versus planetary economics may be the doom to life on Earth as we have known it.

Humans, being the smarty pants that they are, abide by a major perspective: “If it can be done, do it”. In this vein, humans may be adding themselves to the list of species that are becoming extinct. Less than a year ago, scientists celebrated a special accomplishment: They were able to marry a computer sequence with a chromosome such that the computer sequence can reproduce itself. Now computer programmers themselves may be out of a job. Two scientists, no less than Albert Einstein and  Stephen Hawking, held that if artificial intelligence can propagate itself, humans are too inefficient to compete and will become extinct.

Overpopulation

Regular readers know that mariner has placed great stock in the similarity between mouse and rat overpopulation studies done in the 1960s and 70s and the state of human society today. Quoting managing scientist John Calhoun’s observation about the study:

“At the peak population, most mice spent every living second in the company of hundreds of other mice. They gathered in the main squares, waiting to be fed and occasionally attacking each other. Few females carried pregnancies to term, and the ones that did seemed to simply forget about their babies. They’d move half their litter away from danger and forget the rest. Sometimes they’d drop and abandon a baby while they were carrying it. The few secluded spaces housed a population Calhoun called, “the beautiful ones.” Generally guarded by one male, the females—and few males—inside the space didn’t breed or fight or do anything but eat and groom and sleep. When the population started declining the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors, including having sex or caring for their young. At least the rodents had unlimited food and water – not true with the human population.To human advantage, humans have guns and bombs, shoot children and anyone that seems different. Is this enough to reduce population?

A special carnival ride is the combination of not enough food with climate change. The combination is trashing whole nations’ economies.

And with war on every continent, rising authoritarian governments that will enforce inequality, and artificial intelligence cutting society from the past like a pair of scissors, this is a grand carnival ride!

Ancient Mariner

 

 

 

Preparing for Donald

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Mariner and his wife have had more than one conversation about the possibility of moving to another nation should Donald win the 2024 election. They have done some research. The suggested website is a good source. How would the reader like to live in Finland, a perpetual first-place country?

See:

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/the-10-happiest-countries-in-the-world

Ancient Mariner

Guru stopped by

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Guru, mariner’s alter ego for grand theories and other postulates, stopped by the henhouse to see how mariner was doing. Mariner could not resist but to ask how the planet was doing. “Not well”, Guru replied. “Your model of the mouse cage studies on over population is coming closer to reality. There are wars on every continent if one counts the U.S Congress, authoritarian disruptions in Australia and emerging dictatorships in the mid-level-wealth nations; and the super rich continue to hoard wealth.”

There was silence for a while. Mariner finally asked about his dream of a united North and South America. “Don’t ask”, Guru said.

Mariner and Guru stared out the small apartment window for a while.

Mariner said, “I’m not going to ask about the election.”

“You shouldn’t”, Guru replied.

Finally, Guru stood up to leave. “It’s going to be awhile”, he said. “Do you need anything?”

Mariner nodded his head indicating no as he quietly stared out the little apartment window.

Ancient Mariner

Past Forty-five

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Mariner reports from an electric recliner in his henhouse apartment:

This post primarily is for anyone over forty-five. Name five activities the reader hasn’t done for the last five years. For example, walk every, every day, rearrange furniture, sit on the floor cross-legged to watch television while completing a jigsaw puzzle, clean roof gutters, change a ceiling light bulb, weed all the gardens on time, paint a room, help someone else with labor, not money, etc.

When is the last time the reader took on a project that took more than a week to accomplish? How long has it been since the reader read anything longer than ten pages (newspapers and entertainment magazines not acceptable). All these activities are examples of vitality and joy of life.

To be rude, everyone lets themselves die. Mariner acknowledges that evolution has no use for humans after forty-five and has arranged for strength and chemical composition to begin decomposing more rapidly. Eventually, it is inevitable that humans will pass on; everyone does. Medical science has let humans live longer but only artificially. Keeping the old body breathing with twenty-seven prescriptions and supplements is not an example of vitality and joy of life. Yet, prescriptions aside, humans can defy evolution because evolution made the mistake of making humans too smart for their own good.

On a daily basis mariner sees old timers walking briskly, bicycling, even jogging. He sees small groups of folks walking as a group all over town. He knows many hobbyists engaged in everything from making very nice greeting cards to repairing lawnmower and tractor breakdowns as a small business – and that man is OLD. Mariner knows of a group that still goes to storefront movie houses; the ‘group’ part is as important as the storefront culture.

It is important to have at least one group activity. Options are infinite: book club, card or poker club, writing club, church activities, volunteer organizations, community maintenance, and on and on. If one is fortunate, there is a restaurant nearby where a bunch of regulars gather for morning coffee.

Here’s the test:

  • How much real, memorable fun has the reader had in the last two years?
  • What has the reader created that is a new personal accomplishment in the last two years?
  • With how many people has the reader had face-to-face conversations today (telephone, text and Wi-Fi Facetalk don’t count)?.
  • How long has it been since the reader went swimming or hiking or just going somewhere new?
  • Has the reader stepped forward to help another’s need in the last two years?
  • Over the last two years, has the reader regularly performed physical exercises?

Mariner acknowledges that evolution will have its way but go out fighting – the reader  actually will live longer and have a good time as well.

Ancient Mariner

 

 

Where is the sheepdog?

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Remember that mariner writes from a one room apartment in Chicken Little’s hen house. Current news is forbidden here. So mariner writes about whatever drifts into consciousness.

It occurs to mariner that humans are every bit the herding animal that sheep are. Why, around the world, would there be cities with millions of humans in one pasture? (Fences are imaginary boundaries called ‘borders’). Capitalist human sheep would cite the draw of profit and stability. Don’t authentic sheep do the same, looking for better pasture? Just as sheep are maintained by a shepherd with dogs trained to move the sheep for various reasons, aren’t humans maintained by governments and corporations? Where are the sheepdogs? Might they be Governors and senators? Like sheep, don’t humans have to watch out for predators . . . in human’s clothing?

There are differences. A sheep requires the space of one sheep whereas a human requires 1600 square feet, a roof, a bathroom, heat and air conditioning. A sheep eats ground cover; a human eats sheep and other food sources found in oceans, mountains, fields, corn silos and restaurants.  Another significant difference is that there are 1 billion sheep in the world whereas there are 8.1 billion humans in the world.

Has the reader noticed that humans are fond of a sheep’s outerwear? Emulating a sheep by wearing sheep’s wool clothing is quite popular.

Lastly, sheep and humans speak the same language: BAA.

Ancient Mariner

Oh Dear

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A few days ago mariner was visiting the local establishment with a relative. A point was made that saying ‘dear’ to a woman is a mild form of sexual assault, an assumption that there is more to the relationship than simple conversation. Oh dear. It is true that he likely would not address a man using ‘dear’ but the use of the word in conversation, depending on the tone of course, implies appreciation and respect – at a minimum a word of acknowledgement. Mariner asked the woman behind the counter if she objected to being called ‘dear’. She said, “No honey, you can call me dear anytime”.

Oh dear. Will ‘dear’ go the way of ‘gay’?

It seems the American language is undergoing truncation. Mariner read that the Z generation has cut the word ‘charisma’ to ‘rizz’. Everyone already knows about ‘woke’, the word describing educated democrats – what happened to ‘elite’? Before we know it, we’ll all sound like we’re from Philadelphia.

On the other hand, Donald uses vitriol in his speech to extreme, punitive ends. While his use of these words may not imply sexual assault (at least mariner doesn’t think so), he abuses the courtesy expected in any conversation. It is no wonder Donald has been ordered to cease and desist by the courts. Donald should learn how to say ‘dear’.

Ancient Mariner

The Plastic Christmas

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Mariner is just old enough to remember when an important holiday event included acknowledging the religious significance of the season. Church services and the rituals of Hanukkah and even of Kwanzaa were a not-to-be-missed event during the holidays.

Except in the most ecclesiastical circles, this is no longer the case. Why? The cultures of the entire planet seem to be melting away but nothing seems to be taking their place.

It is his speculation that participation in spiritual rituals is a personal, perhaps private experience. Rituals are for restoring order and allegiance to ‘absolute’ reality, for realigning faith in self through unity in universal holiness. He suspects that the importance of survival and continuity in daily life may be the provocation for realigning one’s life with spiritual guidelines. Each of the religions mentioned has a common thread that says “faith will make you whole”.

Yet the human experience over the decades has been one of disbursement, of dissemination, and of decreasing need for societal relationships, even with the Holy spirits; diversity has diminished the intimacy that one has with universal faith. Without spiritual judgment, the dissolution of unity has made faith less important. Metaphorically, it is as though the beans of spirituality have been run through a grinder, leaving a formless, powdered society.

Much of this feeling may be attributed to those in the Silent Generation, a generation from a culture that disappeared long ago. Still, where is the new faith? Where is the spiritual bond with the Universe that makes one whole? Is modern society a ship without a compass?

Ancient Mariner

Communal life survives

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The holiday season has begun and the town is enjoying itself with many appropriately focused activities. The willingness to volunteer is widespread. The churches, of course, are providing special dinners and services; the town has a day called “Merry on Main Street” where many commercial businesses are providing space and resources. There are locations where children can buy presents for their parents; a soup supper at the fire station; the library has Santa and Mrs. Claus; the local bank has a treat stop with cookies and other treats; there is a dance performance, and a truck and trailer that tours the streets, replete with Christmas lights and loud speakers, and a band playing Christmas carols. All volunteer.

Mariner visited a nearby town to hear a volunteer choir. The event is to support the continued survival of an old church whose architecture is historical. Those who participate provide many hours of practice and perform two shows and provide an open meal on the shore of the Mississippi River. All volunteer.

How wonderful is this reality compared to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, smart phones and Alexa, and 24 hours per day of horrific news broadcasts.

The magic comes from an honest desire from each individual to share themselves with the community. The motives are intensely apolitical and not commercial. Sharing is the spirit; a chance for individuals to share and identify with their community and its citizens.

These events are an excellent chance to get out of the house and the work rut to meet citizens in an informal and nonthreatening environment. Mariner’s use of the Cheers theme song rings true: “Every one is glad you came and everyone knows your name!

At a library sponsored Christmas dinner for its staff, Mariner met a probation officer! Mariner once was a probation officer, too (1970s). The two of us shared war stories. Now, how often does one meet a probation officer?

This communal world is really what a supposedly democratic philosophy is all about. It is locally managed, innocent, non-money-making, non-self aggrandizement that our government should be protecting. Dictatorships won’t do it; the current scary republican party won’t do it; a dysfunctional, weaponized Congress won’t do it.

Vote on behalf of your local community’s well being. The reader has an especially serious responsibility to get it right on voting day.

Ancient Mariner