Miners in a Tube

Like most, I am fascinated by the drama of getting 33 miners out of the ground through a tube. I am claustrophobic, and every time one of those dudes climbs into that can I get a severe case of heebie jeebies, and am sweating by the time they emerge 15 minutes later.

The aspect that amuses me is that everyone immediately thanks God, rather like a quarterback does if a pass reaches the end zone to win an important game. I think the thanks should be given to the Chilean government for barring no expense at ensuring a successful rescue, and to the US commercial animal, oft criticized, for incenting the kind of productive technology that allowed that huge drill to dig a half-mile through rock.

If God is to be thanked, it is for gifting us the brainpower to achieve.

Upward Bound . . . and a Bump

This morning in my half-sleep whilst sipping my strong Philippine coffee, Seven Flavors, if I get the translation correct, it struck me that I somehow feel more secure in the Philippines this year. It is nothing tangible, really. It is just a sense that the government is honorable rather than ruthless. It may not be competent, always. Who is? But it is not totalitarian and manipulative in the guise of sweet concern for the public, the sense I had of things under President Arroyo.

I also think President Aquino generally thinks about the well-being of the Philippines first, and his own gains second. That, too, is a reversal. It is inconsistent with how so many think here, where self-gain is all that matters. Principles like honor and integrity and compassion and generosity hold little stock. The "trade of favors" that underlies corruption in the Philippines is deeply and broadly rooted, and is essentially the foundation of self-dealing that undermines high-standing principles.

My wife and I were driving along a narrow road; we came upon a crowd of motorcycles, the owners of which were gathered at a cock-fight about 25 paces away. One of the motorcycles was parked in the road, blocking it. I honked. No one responded. My wife got out to try to get the attention of the owner. 50 guys turned and looked and someone told told her to move the motorbike. She is 4'9" and the bike was big, but she struggled to get it out of the road. Not one guy was gentleman enough to step over to help.

It is a frame of mind. You think of helping others, or you don't . . .

A Crappy Leather Wallet

My impression of Philippine culture is not always kind as ways here often conflict with my own cultural upbringing which taught politeness and well-organized achievement. We were taught the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. There is consideration and compassion in that rule. As Boy Scouts we were taught to do a good deed each day. I flunked out of that organization, for we were supposed to master crafts and hike the hills and do various projects, but I only learned to shoot a .22 rifle and make a crappy leather wallet.

Nevertheless, the "good deed" and thoughtfulness rule was infused in our every act by parents and teachers and scout leaders and little league managers. Respect your elders, obey authority, get good grades, achieve, think ahead ("be prepared", as the Scouts would say), compete fairly in sports, honor your country. These were the values we were taught. Churches taught similar lessons but I flunked Church, too, my illusions shattered by seeing the good parson across the street lighting up his cigarette once the faithful had departed. I also found the bible stories hard to believe. At a young age, I did not grasp the concept of allegory or the fluidity of interpretation where truth was bent to fit the doctrine.

Faith forms its own fake reality, as Church folk believe in what they imagine, or what they are told to imagine by the cloaked minister. It still seems a tad lunatic to me, although I confess to being quite able to slip into a spiritual moment at a good sermon that teaches the wonders of our world or the strength we must exhibit to do right when wrong would be so much easier.

What's my point? My point is that the Philippines would be a healthier place if ego-bound behaviors were tempered a little in favor of compassion and giving. The nation would be less stressed, politically, and might even gin up a diplomat of the first order instead of a pack of crusty, self-serving oligarchs. The land would be cleaner and there would be fewer dogs out killing motorcyclists on the National Highway. Ferries would sink less often and bribes would fade in favor of the honor of doing good for others. Pro-action would replace reaction and the excitement of ambition would replace the drudge of daily subsistence.

Achievement. Make it a part of the culture. Dancing and kareoke and star-struck, breathless idol worship are not achievements. Having white skin is not an achievement.

Giving is an achievement. Getting things done well is an achievement.

I'm for a more productive, kinder, and more thoughtful Philippines.

God's Flawed Gift

The human capacity is limited, eh? Our minds are unable to grasp the scale of the universe or come up with a unified picture of God, animals like pigs can smell better (where smell is a verb, not adjective), lions can hear better, and dogs have inbred GPS that allows them to find their way home if they get dumped in the middle of nowhere; we humans, on the other hand, sit down and cry.

Like striking the wall in front of our noses, solid, we bump into complete vacuity, a very dead nothing, at the end of our understanding. Yet we don't miss what we don't know. We don't run around feeling empty or substandard or shortchanged or guilty at the overwhelming ignorance we cart around in our heads. No, just the opposite.

We are proud of our overwhelming grasp of things. We are confident of our correctness in debate, pleased with our ability to explain to Junior why he cannot run with a pencil, happy to tell our stories, our life's lessons, gleaned by clambering down the bumpy path of life and somehow, after the fact, taking pride in the bumps. Life's a big motocross, eh? There for the telling. We know what we know, and that is plenty.

That it is virtually nothing, or even wrong, does not phase us.

My current fascination is with the deceits that make up the patterns of our understandings. These deceits can be blatant, like “my God is better than your God”, or Head and Shoulders is a better shampoo than Palmolive, or the Lakers are God's gift to ball players, or Wiki is honorable, or the FBI is honorable, or a Filipino is inherently corrupt. They can be subtle, like name-calling to avoid take a loss when discussing an issue. Or logical fallacies in debate. Or seeing the absence of light as a fearful dark even though there are more threats in the daytime than at night. And the night critters grasp that, even if we do not.

This confidence in what little we know keeps us from shrinking into curled up little balls of inadequacy. If we were to grasp with clear understanding how little we know, we'd shrink with embarrassment, zoom right pass humility and go into a catatonic horror, frozen at the impossibility of making it through the day being so outright stupid.

So like the first fish that grew feet and ambled up on the banks to find a worm, we evolved a state of blindness about what we don't know. It is necessary to our survival to block a certain kind of knowledge about our prized human cranial capacity. We block out the understanding that we really don't know much of anything, and we most certainly know nothing about other people's lives or motives or being.

But we act – and feel inside - as if we were God's gift to others with our glorious awareness and knowledge. Yes, yes, I demonstrate this trait with about every blog I write.

I wonder what would happen if opposing parties stepped back a pace from the edge of this blind arrogance and started serious debate with the fundamental premise,

“I wonder in how many ways my thinking is wrong.”

Maybe we'd do a better job of finding harmony. Israel and Hamas would find ways to agree. Mindanao and Luzon would become respectful neighbors. Democrats and republicans would put the people's interests first. Oligarchs and farmers would walk arm in arm through the rice fields, singing “Up with People”.

In groups of animals, a hierarchy arises, most dominant to least dominant. It is done without thought, an inborn need to find the proper place to exist in harmony.

What if our minds were applied to find real equality instead of dominance?

What if we actually thought about what we are really doing rather than operated from the premise that only we know best, and anyone who thinks otherwise ought to be made to be subservient?

The Earth is Melting

Color me Chicken Little . . .

The following pro-forma has been added to The Society of Honor's permanent pages so that it will not get lost in stale blog archives.

“Climate Change Response Program”

There is nothing that prevents any city or municipality from taking up its own defense, nothing that prevents them from making each day safer and more prepared.

Fictions, Frictions and Economic Predictions

I am always surprised when a Filipino accuses me of being an “idealist” or an “intellectual”, as if my writings were somehow detached from practicality. And I am equally surprised when I opine about things that I consider to be foundational about the Filipino social structure, and the economy it generates, and it shoots right past people as irrelevant.

Take the hiring of cousins and classmates, a part of the “trade of favors” that is a major currency, in addition to money, in the Philippines. Look at the US economy. What energizes it is the daily pounding away of people trying, and incented by the boss, to do more in a better way. People compete for raises and for skills and for recognition. It is high octane gasoline.

In the Philippines, people largely just subsist. “Productivity” is absent from the economic lingo, just as “appointment” is a dirty word. The Philippines use wood chips from the dirty kitchen to power the economy.

Why is this dynamic – the collective AMBITION of a people driving for self-improvement – simply shrugged off by Filipinos.

Many, I suppose, because they got their own job by a favor.

“It's our way,” they say. But then they look for scapegoats as to why the economy is doing so poorly, why there are so few jobs and so many mouths to feed, and why corruption is so rampant. Last May, it was Arroyo's fault. Now it is Aquino's.

“Duh,” I scream. It is because you have not OILED THE OLD ECONOMIC MACHINE WITH AMBITION, WITH ASPIRATION, WITH DEVELOPMENT OF SELF, WHICH DEVELOPS ALL, EVERYONE, THE COLLECTIVE MASSES.

That is idealistic? I think not.

That is the way it is. Down and dirty, applied, functional, pragmatic. As real as it gets.

I even scream “PASS A FAIR EMPLOYMENT LAW” that makes capability the only lawful basis for hiring and promoting people, and that is considered just one of JoeAm's intellectual ramblings. Not practical. No one will take that up. Detached from reality, that old Joe.

Christ almighty. How do I get more “applied” than that?

What part of “IMPROVEMENT” do you not see connected with “AMBITION” that channels “SKILL” into the management of “PRODUCTIVITY”?

What part of SOCIAL DYNAMICS and ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY are you BLIND to?

Idealistic intellectual fictions, eh? Your MIND is a fiction*.

[*Standard caveat; this insult does not apply to all Filipinos; only those who got their job by favor and/or feel that favor is a better way to power an economy than ambition that leverages skill.**]

[** Please excuse my temporary relapse; it is like the need for alcohol or bananas; comes and goes.]

What a Jerk

Sometimes, upon re-reading what slid out of my brain and onto my typewriter, I agree that I really am a piece of work, insensitive and arrogant and too willing to let anger run my keyboard. Sigh. I will not remove the bits that offend me, and undoubtedly others. They stand as a stamp across my concrete cranium that I really need to try harder next time.

I moved to the Philippines for the adventure of it; the exploration, the beauty of the land and the enjoyment of a lifestyle that is incredibly rich, though not always easy to adjust to. Like fireworks on Christmas. But that is MY problem, decidedly . . . not yours.