A College Collage

"Some people get an education without going to college. The rest get it after they get out."

 

~ Mark Twain ~

 

Just over 36 years ago, I crossed the stage at the University of Nebraska to receive my diploma: A Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. With only one exception, I remember almost nothing of the formulas and theories I learned about business. Seemingly, I went to college for nothing. But I didn't. I learned one priceless thing no one has ever been able to take from me. I learned how to "learn."

 

In increasing regularity, I see posts on social media addressing the value of careers like welding, plumbing, construction, electrical work, etc. "You don't need to go into debt and get a college degree to make a living,!" they scream. And I completely agree. These careers, jobs, and life-skills are beyond valuable in a civilized world. We need people who are willing to do these highly skilled, important jobs. They certainly don't require the enormous cost of "higher" education. But they should. Hear me out.

High school did nothing.......nothing, to prepare me for the world that waited for me outside the walls of my small town high school. Part of that was my fault. But the greater weight falls directly on the shoulders of our current school system. And, in almost every case, that isn't the teacher's or administrator's faults. It's a multi-dimensional issue that will likely not be solved in my lifetime. High School was an indoctrination and nothing more. 

College was different and this is why. The moment I set foot on the campus of an institution of higher learning, I was exposed to a plethora of differing world views. Different cultures. Different races. Different political, religious, and economic ideals. As I immersed myself in university, I was forced to hear, and at least consider, a multitude of ideas different than my own. I was forced, if you will, to finally ask the most important question of all, "Why?"

I can't speak for you, but the answer for me was almost always the same. Why was I a Methodist? Why did I have conservative political views? Why this? Why that? The answer? "Because that's what I've always been told." Or....."That's what I was taught." College afforded me the opportunity to face that question head-on at every turn. It taught me to read every newspaper article, watch every news channel, and listen to every preacher, politician, and teacher with a critical eye or ear. There was a bit of truth in everything; And a bit of untruth. I had to find the answers for myself. And so I did.

College changed my worldview. And that is why I believe everyone should have the opportunity to attend an institution of higher learning. Still want to pursue a career as an electrician? By all means, do that. Holy Mary, that career pays well. But see about changing your worldview first. 

"But everyone can't afford college!" you say. And I get it. I do. You'll have to take my word for me on this one. The cost of attending university is ridiculously expensive, but the investment is well worth the cost. And there are ways. There are hundreds of ways to fund college. Will it leave you in debt? Most likely. Will it change your life and the lives around you? That I can guarantee you.

You don't have to be an A student or a Rhodes Scholar. You'll get way more back than you spend. I do realize that it's becoming increasingly difficult to gain acceptance to many colleges. Not much you can do about that, except apply yourself more in high school. Please. I didn't even know how to tie my shoes in high school. By the time you realize how important college preparation is, it's too late.

So, here's my suggestion for an alternative. Travel. Visit other countries if you can. Learn about their history. Delve into their failures and successes. Visit other states. Check out historical landmarks. Or.....for the love of God, at least leave the town you were raised in long enough to hear different music. Is it going to be expensive? Of course it is. Is it worth it? Not only is it worth it, it's vital to our human existence.

Look, there isn't one single thing wrong with growing up and staying in the village/town/city where you were raised. In fact, in many cases I think it's noble. I know of a few people from where I went to high school that stuck around and now carry the torch for a variety of civic services that need done. I applaud them. I envy them, even. But of the ones I can think of, they all ventured off to examine their worldview before they returned. It's important.

So, I've rambled on about all that to say this. You have to ask yourself why. You a conservative? A liberal? Christian? Muslim? Trump supporter? Hate the thought of universal health care? Ok. I'll listen. But I'll only listen if you can honestly answer the question, "Why?" Because if you come at me with anything that resembles, "Because I've always believed that way," or, "My parents taught me this way or that," or even, "We've always done it this way or that," then I'm probably through listening.  Maybe your parents did teach you something and after careful examination it rung true with your spirit. That's awesome! But until you've done that, you're operating under a code of ignorance, and you can fix that.

It's important. As a species, we must examine each other's worldviews if we're ever going to have a prayer of finding common ground. It isn't just "us vs. them." It's all of us...together. And each and every person, city, state, country, and continent play a part in how the pieces of the puzzle all fall together. Be whatever or whoever you want to be, but find out for yourself what or who that is. You have to dig deeper. We all do.

Consider each and every belief you harbor, and ask yourself the question that needs asked about them all. 

Why?

 

 

 

 

Evolutionary, My Dear Watson

"Every generation hopes for a better life for their children than what they had. Then when they get it, they complain about their entitlement."

~ Matthew Leatherwood ~ 

Shortly before I retired from a large metropolitan fire department, I attended an Officer Enrichment Seminar. It was designed to help officers like me become better, well, officers. At one point our group was addressed by a Battalion Chief who began to tell us how challenged we would be at the station by new recruits that were raised as Millennials. He told us how lazy they would be and how they lacked work ethic.

Because I knew I was close to retirement with little to lose, I raised my hand to address the chief. And I began to explain to him that the problem with Millennials wasn't them. It was us. I don't know who he'd been around, but the vast majority of Millennials, Gen Xers, Gen Yers, or whatever that I've encountered are some of the most evolved young people I've ever known. So I told him, after years of tradition and history in a service that often does things "because we've always done them that way," there was, at last, a generation of people brave enough to finally ask, "Why?" And not only that, they were smart enough to suggest a better way. 

Now, I'm going to ask you to think big. No. No. Bigger. Nope. MUCH bigger. Step out of your box of American or even Earthling, and think about things from a perspective that involves our universe. We are stardust on a speck of cosmic mud that is hardly a pin prick on the map of a universe that is one of thousands of universes. And, all of those universes are expanding at an exponential rate. We are completely insignificant. And.....completely unique and special at the same time. We're evolving. We have to evolve. 

Whether you believe in the biblical Adam and Eve, or the Big Bang, life on this planet has been evolving from the beginning. It's been evolving for billions upon billions of years. Human life as we know it has been evolving for about the last ten thousand years or so. The only span of that you can be acutely aware of is the last 100 years, or so. Just think how far things have progressed in the last 100 years. Now imagine the next 100.

But, finally, to my point. Each and every generation since the beginning of man has hoped for a better, easier, more satisfying life for their children. And each generation has basically succeeded at doing exactly that. Once achieved, each generation then calls the next one soft, or lazy, or entitled. My great-grandparents likely thought my grandparents were soft because they had a cover on their wagon. My grandparents scoffed at my parents because they had a car, or black and white television. My parents were amazed I had a car, went to college, etc. And now my generation whines about kids today and their technology. "They should go outside and play more!' we scream. 

Now, I'm not saying it isn't good for anyone to get some fresh air, but stick with me here. This generation is different, and each generation after is going to evolve at an exponential rate. My youngest daughter, clearly in the Millennialish category was never all that crazy about talking on the phone. "We don't do that," she'd say. "We text."  And so it begins.

Faculty at MIT have developed a thingamajig that converts brainwaves to electricity and allows you to manipulate electronic devices with just a thought. It currently only recognizes about 100 english words, but before long thinking is all that will be required to change the channel on your TV, make a phone call, drive your car, and yes, even communicate from one person to the next. Verbal communication is on its way out. 10 years? 100 years? 1000? I don't know, but it's happening.

What about cursive writing? Oh my god, how we cry about how kids can't write or read cursive. My question to you is this. "So what?" Kids and young adults don't need to read and write in cursive. It's outdated and archaic. It's being replaced by something way more efficient, and the fact you're reading this blog is evidence of it. You're just angry that YOU had to learn it. Language and communication are evolving. 

Kids today don't go outside and play as much. Is that sad? Sure, sort of. But it's only sad because that's what I did as a kid, and I loved it. But today's kids are prepping their brain for much bigger things. I don't even know how to play a video game, but can you imagine a better way to prepare your brain for the advances to come than to "plug in?" 

Change is hard, but things are changing and they're changing fast. Every alien movie ever produced imagined an alien species void of things like verbal communication, written word, or even sex as we know it today. It's where every generation is heading. If you don't believe me, do some reading about Quantum Physics or String/Wave Theory. You don't have to understand the math to understand the implications. Even Einstein could barely fathom where we're heading.

Now, it's completely plausible that we won't survive as a species long enough for all this evolution to come to fruition. That's a very long topic for a whole other time. In the meantime, by all means, make your kids get some air, but let them have their electronics and gadgets, too. It's where we're heading, and it's necessary for them to survive. Don't keep them locked in the 1950's and 60's. Help them thrive in a future that's evolving exponentially. You don't have to like it. But it's necessary.

It's evolutionary.

Let Me Stay

“Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal”
― Gayle Forman

Let me stay, 

Just one more day.

Let me see who I can help today.

A loving touch,

A gentle hand.

Let me search throughout the land.

Let me stay,

Just one more day,

To help someone along their way.

A hungry child,

a lonely heart.

Let me give them a new start.

Let me stay,

I beg of you.

Please, let me stay, 

To start anew.

Let me stay, 

Just one more day.

One more sunrise,

One more chance at play.

A lot to ask,

By chance at best.

If I can stay,

I'll help the rest.

Please, if you can,

Please, let me stay.

Just let me stay,

Just one more day.

~ Matthew Leatherwood ~

   

In All Fairness

“Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now.”
― Joss Whedon 

When I was attending college at the University of Nebraska, an Economics professor assigned Looking Backward, by Edward Bellamy as required reading. In this novel with economic undertones, a man with insomnia wakes from his basement sleep quarters to find his house burned down around him and he was left undiscovered for many years. 

What this man discovered was that, while in a deep sleep, society had changed...... a lot. He awoke to a modernized society; a society governed by pure socialism. So while you're bashing me as a "libtard, socialist, bleeding heart," let me explain to you what Socialism actually is.....and what it is not.

In his novel, Bellamy describes an economy and society free from worry, crime, war, poverty, hunger, etc. Everyone, regardless of job or status, makes exactly the same amount of money per year in the form of "credits." Doctors, lawyers, cooks, dishwashers, construction workers, ad infinitum, all make exactly the same salary. What you choose to DO with your salary is entirely up to you. You can live in a big house, drive fancy cars, take lavish vacations: it doesn't matter. Oh, and you if you accidentally overspend your credits, you can get an advance on a future year's wages. 

Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Well, to be fair, the human condition (mainly greed) won't allow for this type of economy. We all strive to desire more and we think working harder, or smarter, or whatever will get us "more." And truthfully, I can see where this type of setup would speak to our inherent laziness as humans. What's the incentive? 

So, let's be clear. Let's be fair. I'm not a socialist. It simply won't work. It's a shame, but it won't. Capitalism, on the other hand, seems to work for a bit, but you can bet we'll collapse under its weight eventually. Wanting to provide affordable health insurance, wanting to feed those that are hungry, and wanting to provide safe haven to those seeking asylum, is not socialism. It's caring.

Let's discuss immigration for a moment, you know, just to be fair. We have to start thinking outside the "'Merica!" box for a bit if we're going to survive as a species. We're humans, not Americans. But I've covered that in other posts. 

The "Wall" is a bad idea. It won't help, for a number of reasons. For starters, most illegal immigration occurs in places other than our southern border. It happens in the air, by sea, and to the north. Just like spending billions per year on a drug war we can't win, building a wall doesn't address the issue at all. Illegal immigration isn't the giant mess you think it is. It's what you've been programmed to believe.

A very small fraction of those that enter "our" country are criminals: drug dealers, murderers, rapists, terrorists. The vast majority of our major crimes are committed by white male citizens of these United States. It doesn't come from the outside. Think immigration drains our system? It's hardly a blip on the radar. Out-of-status immigrants don't qualify for any government programs and it is heavily screened and scrutinized. There are some exceptions where immigrant children are concerned, but it's a number you'll never feel.

And before you bash immigrants (who do actually fuel our economy in a number of ways by paying different taxes and buying goods), by saying they're "taking our jobs," remember two things. Immigrants aren't taking your jobs. Automation is. And for every immigrant who gets a job in the U.S., it's an American company who hires them illegally. 

And to be fair, perhaps we should talk about the notion of drug testing people on welfare. It's a ridiculous notion you wouldn't support if you did the math. Most people on welfare are A: already employed in a job that doesn't provide a living wage. B: white, and drug free. Welfare and "food stamps" are the most highly scrutinized programs there are. It's difficult to qualify. Just like the drug war, drug testing welfare recipients would be an huge expenditure to police a program that doesn't need policed in that way. 

Let's tackle the Trump issue, just to be fair. I don't need to write an entire page of adjectives to describe him. I don't blame him. I blame you....and me. We put him there. We either didn't go to the polls or we did and didn't bring enough people with us. We put him there, but we can get him out, too......if we hurry. 

In the midterm elections in Texas, only 12% of the eligible Hispanic and Black vote turned out to actually cast a ballot. The very people most affected by a conservative platform didn't show up to make their voices heard. Are they lazy? No. They've been beaten back culturally for generations and they believe their voice doesn't matter. We have to change that. Everyone counts. 

It seems to me I could ramble on and on about the concept of fairness and there just wouldn't be enough space in all the internet to cover it. Like many other entries in the past, I'm begging you to do your homework. Don't look to the news. Look to your soul to do the right thing for all humanity. Our situation is reaching Critical Mass, and if we don't change our collective consciousness, and soon, we can pull up a chair next to the dinosaurs. 

Just be fair 

The Perfect Stone

"Everyone says love hurts, but that isn't true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts. Everyone gets these things confused with love, but in reality love is the only thing in this world that covers up all pain and makes someone feel wonderful again. Love is the only thing in this world that does not hurt."

~Unknown~

I saw you there,

but I passed you by.

Oh, I noticed,

your uniqueness, 

your beauty, 

your inner strength.

But I passed you by,

thinking where you were was best,

as I moved on to search for other stones.

And stones I searched,

held them, 

turned them over,

admired them, 

and loved them for a time.

Ten million to one,

a hundred million to one.

The odds I'd stumble upon you again,

as if the universe needed me to take another look.

Connected by one day,

and chance meetings, 

and a feeling no one thought to share.

You couldn't.

I didn't.

Those that knew didn't.

And so I searched,

found, and tossed away.

And there you were.

Just as beautiful, 

and smooth,

and strong, 

yet more embedded.

Perhaps it's best I leave you there again.

Perhaps the perfect stone was there from the beginning,

and the searching in vain.

I saw you there, 

but I passed you by.

~Matthew Leatherwood~

 

 

America Isn't Easy

"America isn't easy.  America is advanced citizenship.  You gotta want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight."

~ Michael Douglas as Andrew Shepard, The American President ~ 

Every day, men and women by the hundreds sign up for active duty in our military.  Thousands more are putting their lives on the line each and every day in a land foreign to them.  Every day, an American soldier or an ally dies and you never see it on the news.  Not any more you don't.  Don't you think it should be?  Don't you think, above all else, soldiers dying for a cause they barely understand should be front page news?

Once again, the media calls the shots on what's news and what isn't, and we soak it up like sponges.  It doesn't matter whether you watch Fox or CNN, you're being fed a pre-scripted line of crap designed to wash your brain.  And we just keep feeding at the trough.

The sad part is, we think we're fighting for "freedom."  The truth is, we're fighting to support a money-generating war machine that World Bank discovered long before most of us were born.  War on terror?  No.  We're killing young soldiers to help the rich get richer.

But let's assume, just for the sake of argument, what these young men and women are fighting for is American Freedom.  Each and every one of them that read the brochure or enlistment papers will tell you that's why they're putting their lives on the line.  They're risking it all for your freedom.  But what exactly IS freedom?  It's certainly not something good for one, and not good for another.

Our news if full of tragedy.  If it's not the Neo Whatever movement, it's a mass shooting or some dispute over confederate flags, or the American flag, or even confederate monuments.  There's fighting over health care, racism, land rights, kneeling during a football game, ad infinitum.  We're being divided.  The sad part is, we're volunteering.

So, let's discuss freedom.  That's the roof we reside under, right?  For starters, let's clear up this whole "democracy" thing.  The good ole U.S. isn't a democracy.  It's a Republic.  Look it up.  And within that free republic, you and I are free to do anything.  Anything.  Stick with me here.

I think racism is wrong.  It's ugly, grotesque, ignorant, and cruel.  But if you're a racist, you're free to believe that way.  I'm free to disagree with you.  In fact, you're completely free to host your own little rally to support your cause.  If you do it peacefully, it's lawful.  If it gets ugly, it's no longer lawful, but you're free to do it.  And I'm free to oppose it under the same rules.  If I dissent peacefully, I'm good.  If not, I can go to jail.....just like you.  We're both free to make the same choices.

Guns are another hot topic.  You're free to own one.  Hell, I don't even like guns and I own two.  But I am free to disagree with you about assault and automatic weapons.  It doesn't even really matter what the debate is.  The bottom line is, we're both free to believe what we wish.  I just wish we'd stop using a "this side or that" mentality about EVERYTHING!!  When it comes to guns, there are a dozen things that need addressed, including addressing mental health issues.  There isn't a single solution, and I don't care what side of the argument you're on.  The world isn't black or white.  It's a million shades of gray.

I'll do you one better.  You're free to kill someone.  Nothing stopping you.  You'll probably go to jail or get put to death for it, but you're free to do it, nonetheless.  Freedom isn't about things.  It's about choice.  And in this country, we're free to do what we choose.  That includes taking a knee during the National Anthem (it's a song, for Christ's sake), firing your players for taking a knee, saluting a flag, burning a flag, or standing in protest about whatever it is you feel "protesty" about.  You want freedom without consequences?  Now you're just being silly.

America isn't easy.  We are free.  But if you're going to go around using the word "freedom" as a catch-phrase, you'd better understand what it means.   Because if you use the word freedom and then give an example of why you're free to do something and someone else isn't, well, that just makes you a hypocrite.  But you're free to be one!

You know which freedom I wish we'd exercise?  I wish we'd exercise the freedom to love each other.  

I keep hoping.

Namaste

 

  

And the Answer is..........

"If we don't halt population growth with justice and compassion, it will be done for us by nature, brutally and without pity- and will leave a ravaged world."

                                     -Nobel Laureate Dr. Henry W. Kendall 

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function."

- Dr. Albert A. Bartlett, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Colorado; World Population Balance Board of Advisors 

When I was a child, my family made the trip from Nebraska to Texas at least twice a year to see my dad's family.  On such trips, the construction along the I35 corridor became evident somewhere in northern Kansas.  As the years progressed, so did the construction, as it moved south toward Oklahoma City and beyond.

As I grew to adulthood, I made trips to, and eventually settled in, Texas.  Since, I have made hundreds of trips up and down the I35 corridor to see MY family in Nebraska.  The road construction, once completed south of Oklahoma City, started over once again in northern Kansas.  You see, as time passed, the population grew and, the once sufficient new highway, was no longer sufficient.  So they started over.....and over, and over.

Just recently my girlfriend and I made a trip from San Antonio to Dallas.  The road construction was hideous.  San Antonio, Austin, Dallas:  the work goes on and on and on in an attempt to keep up with growing traffic pressure.  It's the same in every major city and every major highway throughout America, and I suspect, other developing countries as well.  Every time we build a bigger highway, traffic demands surpass what we've built before we can even finish. 

And the answer to that seems to be making the larger highways toll roads so that only the middle class and above can take advantage of the lighter traffic.  The rest of the population is stuck in the same old traffic jam.  The bottom line is, the only people winning are road contractors and civil engineers.  We can't ever catch up.

So, "Where is he going with this?" you may be asking.  Lucky you, I'm going to tell you.  And this might be my most controversial post yet.

We live on a planet of finite resources.  What is it we're always fighting about?  Oil, natural gas.......energy!!  But that's only the beginning.  We're battling over all sorts of resources like food, water, and even things like wood and countless other products produced by our dying forests.  And while we have most certainly grown accustomed to the conveniences of the combustion engine, warm homes, and electricity, the battles over oil are nothing compared to the battles we'll see over food and water.  And trust me, the numbers that don't have those basic needs is growing.

The news has some blurb almost every day about climate change.  And unless you're completely ignorant, you simply can't ignore the fact our climate is changing.  It's warming.  The scientific data is clear. Now, obviously our planet has gone through a series of changes over the billions of years it's been around.  The "ice age" you hear people discussing was simply the most recent ice age.  There have been others and, left to it's own divices, Mother Earth cycles through those every 10,000 years or so.  The next one is coming faster.  (Go ahead and google how warming leads to an ice age.  It's too detailed a topic to discuss here).  And it's happening more quickly because of only one thing....population growth and the demand that puts on our atmosphere.

In every other species, without exception (at least I haven't found one), a growth in population beyond the scope of available resources results in catastrophic population decline.  If deer overpopulate in an area of abundance, and eat all the foliage, corn, whatever, until it's gone, the deer die off until the ecosystem can support them again.  I can't even begin to name all the examples of where that's happening, but suffice it to say, many species of animals, insects, and plants become extinct EVERY DAY!!  Are humans truly so self-centered as to believe it won't happen to us? It will.  And unless we address overpopulation scientifically and systematically, Mother Nature will do it for us.  And it will be catastrophic.  That's a promise.

Look carefully at the charts above.  They all basically say the same thing.  It took nearly 1000 years for our population to reach 1 billion.  It took only 150 ish years for that to double.  And only 50 more years to reach 4 billion.  In less than 50 years, we're approaching doubling that figure again to 8 billion.  By the year 2050, most agree our world population will exceed 11 billion people.  And then it begins to taper off. 

This is the part you're going to hate.  Our advances in modern science and medicine have made it possible for humans to live longer.  In fact, it's made it possible for thousands of humans to be born or survive at all.  Infant mortality is WAY down and we've eradicated dozens of fatal diseases from human existence.  If that's your child or my child or your relative or mine, that is absolutely a great thing.  Of course we want our children and loved ones healthy and free of deadly diseases.  That's a wonderful thing on a micro scale.  But what does that look like for the survival of the species?

In essence, we've largely eliminated natural selection, or "survival of the fittest."  The weak no longer die as they did less than 200 years ago, and as they continue to do in animal populations.   At least that's the case in developed nations.  So we continue to grow a population of healthier humans which in turn, produce healthier humans, and so on and so on.  There's an entire field of study regarding Transhumanism, which is, no doubt, fascinating.  And wouldn't it be amazing to evolve to a species of super humans, free of disease.  Theoretically, it could happen one day.  That is, if we survive as a species long enough for that to happen.

Look, there are hundreds of conservation and resource concerns today.  You can drill more oil wells, tap more natural gas pockets, dam more rivers, harness the energy of the sun, and even the wind.  But sooner or later, the demands of the population exceed the ability to support it, and catastrophic de-population begins.  In my lifetime?  Nah.  In my children's lifetime?  Not likely.  Their children?  Who knows.  But it's coming.  And it's coming at an exponential rate.

We can launch debate after debate of how we protect the human species.  But if you want to solve the world's energy and resource problems, you have to address the population.  In the long run, there simply is no other way.  It's ugly.  It's unpopular.....

But it's the only real answer.

The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Thomas Malthus
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasmalt366123.html

The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Thomas Malthus
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/population.html