Another One Down

If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?  I can attest that if it is nearby when you are walking it definitely makes a sound.

The other day we were taking a walk down the driveway and heard a loud "crack" nearby.  There was a light breeze, but nothing too strong.  We could see nearby a tree that was just beginning to settle against other trees, and I made the comment that we might need to watch out that it was likely to come to the ground.  It did.  Slowly at first.  Settling against the upper branches of surrounding trees.  Then, with a final crash it came to the ground about ten yards from where we stood.

The photo below doesn't do it justice for size.  Apparently, the top had broken off previously.  I had seen it lying in the woods but hadn't yet had time to drag it out.  The broken end is about 8 inches in diameter.  I don't know how long it is, but it will take some time to cut up.

It being dead, I knew it would eventually come down, but I wasn't expecting it to do so as I walked by.  It makes you stop and think about how disaster can sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.  The fact that it was dead was a warning sign.  I simply ignored it.

We need to be aware of the warning signs around us.  If we don't tend to the business of keeping things in order, disaster can occur with surprising rapidity.  That applies to our families, our homes, our businesses and our country.  Plenty of warning signs out there.  A little maintenance can fix much of what is wrong but until that happens, we'd better be paying attention.

 Sensitivity

There are a number of different species in the Mimosa genus that are called "sensitive briar" due to the fact that their leaves will curl up when touched.  They are sometimes called Catclaw Briar and they are a legume which sometimes colonizes where the land has been overgrazed.

I find them interesting because their flowers are showy and attract one to the plant and yet the leaves are sensitive to your presence.  It sounds like a few people I know who do things to attract attention yet are sensitive when that attention occurs.  Sometimes that attention drawing mechanism is in the form of clothing, or possibly piercings, tattoos or bright colors of hair.  They want to be seen yet when given the apparently craved attention are defensive or even belligerent.

All of us are sensitive about some things and all of us crave attention.  Sometimes that craving is misplaced and certainly is frequently misunderstood.  Society conditions us to "blend into the herd" and yet we are designed to be predators, not prey.  It is in our eyes -- literally -- they are set into the front of our face rather than on the side.  Prey animals have eyes on the sides of their head which allows them better vision behind them as well as to the front.  Predator eyes are set on the front of their face which gives them better ability to focus on a target.

Maybe that conflicted nature of drawing attention while being sensitive to it is a product of a society which attempts to make us something we are not built to be.  It makes you question whether many of our social structures are the product of a higher level of predator which preys upon lesser predators -- namely those who are subject to the conditioning of that society.

In my opinion, much of our education system is designed to push people into that sub-predator category so they will be subservient to a more aggressive class of predators.  It creates a "working class" designed to serve an elite which uses them to advance their own power.  The system we see evolved as a result of the need for factory workers and it continues to evolve today in ways that push the boundaries of tolerance due to the conflicted nature between design and conditioning.  It isn't only the educational systems -- much of which is a positive so please don't attack me for the comment -- it is in the media (currently the worst in my opinion is fake news on social media generated through AI by foreign and domestic adversaries), in literature, and in many other societal structures.

In some ways my words may sound like the beginnings of a manifesto of some kind.  They are not meant to be, but they are meant to, perhaps, serve a cautionary note on the trends we see in society that are pushing many to revolt against what they believe to be an oppressed role.  The balance between the needs of the economy and the nature of people is a sensitive one.

Just like the Sensitive Briar (Mimosa microphylla) which colonizes overgrazed land, perhaps the signs of strain in society such as rebellious behavior, are signals that people have been pushed too far.  Those who see themselves as "normal" often see that behavior in a negative light when it might actually be a warning sign of deep systemic problems that must be corrected.

Prisons and Economics

Have you ever thought about why the U.S. has one of the largest prison populations in the world as a percentage of our total population?  In this country with so much to offer, why is it so many people end up in prison?  Is it drugs alone that drives it, or is that merely a symptom?

I suspect it is at least partially a result of our affluence.  The growth and application of technology displaces people.  There is no country on the planet that has experienced this more than the U.S.  When workers are displaced -- lose their job -- they often have difficulty finding other meaningful employment.  Lack of employment leads in some cases to crime and in others to substance abuse and often to both.

In our self-centered culture, where comparison with our peers is encouraged through marketing and media, there is virtually no safety net for those going through the trauma of forced job change.  It isn't an easy situation and it is worsened by the isolation of going it alone which is often the case.  The pressure to "succeed" may drive misbehavior.

Our inner city ghettos are to a large extent the result of the displacement of workers -- either from agriculture or from industry.  Not everyone is suited for an office career.  When there are fewer and fewer unskilled, or low-skilled jobs available, not everyone is able to find work within a commutable distance.  What do those individuals do for income? -- they may become dependent on the government, or they may turn to crime.  Rarely are they able to relocate to opportunity.  Mobility requires a certain level of affluence.

Some might suggest it is a Darwinian process brought on by an improved societal structure where we move closer and closer to universal availability, or access to unlimited energy, food and land (or, space).  This is a Utopian dream of those whose view includes a dependency on technology as a force of good that frees mankind from the drudgery of labor.  I wonder though, without labor -- the work of one's hands -- where does one find the value of contribution?  If I have nothing to do, how can I contribute to society?

For those who are committed to the future of a technological age where machines allow each and every person to experience a life of luxury and leisure, only the wealthy, those who "own" the tools and methods of producing those machines, will experience that Utopia -- at least that is the case in a capitalistic economy.  The remainder of humanity will either die out, congregate in increasingly larger slums, or become wards of a pervasive and universal government.  Those who conform and meekly submit to a life of dependency will become a temptation to the powerful who would find ways to exploit them, while those who rebel against the loss of dignity will spend their lives as wards of the state in ever expanding prisons.

I'm certainly no expert on any of this, but the whole issue concerns me greatly.  I don't have any clear answers, but a few things come to mind.  1)  We must raise the dignity of manual labor.  2)  We must find ways to evaluate the societal and environmental cost of technology.  3)  We must examine how our economic system can reward behavior that accounts for more than the short-term transaction cost of a micro-economic decision.

Just my thoughts this morning....

Taking Measure

Sometimes our measure of things is confused.  I'm not talking about objects necessarily, but about anything we gauge.  How we measure depends upon our orientation and upon our reason for measuring.  We gauge things from within the confines of our own "box" -- this shell in which we live which consists of our body and cumulative experience.

An example:  If I need a board to cover a window during a hurricane, I am not particularly concerned with the accuracy of the measurement.  If the window is 3' X 5' the board needs to be slightly larger.  However, if I need the board to fit inside the window frame and yet cover the space completely, the measurements need to be exact, or very nearly so.

If I am building a gate and need a miter cut for a 45 degree angle for the cross brace, the cut needs to be very close to 45 degrees, but doesn't have to be exact.  After all, it is a gate and wear and tear will eventually show and I am not worried about it being perfect -- just close.  But, if I am building a piece of fine furniture and need a miter cut, it needs to be virtually flawless.  The joining of the wood should be so exact as to be invisible.

If my task is to fill a space, sometimes the answer is to find a pliable substance that can conform to that space rather than a rigid material that must be cut exactly.  Sometimes we need to consider why we are taking measure.

We judge things around us in the same way.  We gauge them -- take their measure.  We do this with people too even though we don't think about it in the same way.  How we judge -- take their measure -- depends on our relationship to them.

Sometimes our judgment comes from a rigidity that is built from experience completely different from the one we are judging.  We often don't realize the rigidity is defensive in nature -- it comes from out of the forces that have shaped us.

When we find ourselves judging harshly -- rigidly -- perhaps the first question we should ask is why?  What has caused us to have such a strong, rigid opinion?  Is it due to a past experience, is it merely a perception shaped by others, or is it an issue of right and wrong based on principle?  If principle, we must ask from where that principle comes.  Is it Biblical, is it societal, or was it shaped by our specific associations such as racially biased parents?

There is a lot of misunderstanding going on in the world today.  We measure motive and individuals on assumptions that may be flawed.  Sometimes the first measure needs to be of ourselves. 

Straw Hat Weather

On a recent trip to Corpus Christi, I acquired a new straw hat. It was during the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers annual meeting and trade show. It was definitely straw hat weather in South Texas although it was prior to Easter – which came early this year. OK, so where am I going with this? Traditionally, in most parts of cattle country, Easter marks the beginning date when it becomes acceptable to wear a straw hat rather than a felt hat.

While felt hats are appropriate at any time of year (especially on formal occasions) straw hats generally are worn only after Easter and prior to Labor Day. Those are the dates that basically define the period of warmer weather when the greater airflow through a good straw hat is more comfortable than the heat generated beneath a felt hat.

Easter came early this year. Add to that the early time change and my clock got off somewhere. It is just now warm enough to start thinking about straw hats rather than felt.

Most of the time I wear a cap to cover my bald head. Caps are easier to keep up with, the brim doesn’t hit the headrest on my pickup seat, and they don’t catch as much wind as a hat. But when it is hot outside, you can’t beat a good straw hat. It keeps my neck and ears from broiling.

Some people wear hats for decoration. I never really bought into that. I wear a hat for shade or to keep my head warm. Some people wear hats to keep the rain off of their head. That’s usually not an issue in the Texas Panhandle. It would be nice if it did rain. Then I could test that particular theory.

People seem to have lost sight of proper hat etiquette over the years. I fear that it is a symptom of the general coarsening of behavior. It is tied to a loss of civility in society.

Some years ago the John B. Stetson Company published guidelines for appropriate hat etiquette. These guidelines are appropriate today – whether the wearer sports a felt, straw or a cap.

* The hat should be removed from the head when the National Anthem is played, when entering a building, when you are being introduced – especially if it is to a woman, at a funeral, or when beginning a conversation.

* The hat should be tipped, or lifted slightly from the head, when a woman thanks you, after getting directions from a stranger – especially if the stranger is female, when you excuse yourself to a woman, when you are walking with a friend and he says hello to a woman that he knows and you do not.

* You are not expected to remove your hat in public buildings, in entrance halls or in elevators. The exception being that it is polite to remove your hat in an elevator if there is a woman present – unless it is too crowded to do so. You are expected to remove your hat in any situation where a show of respect is appropriate. This would include removing the hat in public buildings if the building is a church, courthouse, or state or federal capitol.

* Hats should be removed for meals if there is a safe place to put your hat while eating.

Hat etiquette is something that has been lost. I see hats everywhere. Our kids wear them to school and even to church functions. They think nothing of leaving them on their head unless someone in authority asks them to remove them. They have no concept of the lack of respect that wearing their hat shows – or maybe they do.

It’s springtime. The weather is finally turning warm. I believe it’s time for a straw hat.

Here's Your Sign

The stock market went a little crazy this past week. It seems to be fueled purely by emotion. People play the market like they would play a slot machine. It is a tremendous tool for bringing capital and entrepreneurship together. Investment should be made based on the merits of the idea, the skill of the management team, the value of the business, or the worthiness of the idea. It shouldn't be a get-rich-quick scheme. But, that's what it has become. It is one more symptom of the moral degradation of our society.