The Quotation Project

I have always been attracted to quotations from the wise and witty personages that have populated my particular line of sight. I sometimes think I may be a "quote-a-holic" if there is such a thing, and I confess to having a nasty habit of posting them in prominent locations, as if they were some kind of totem. Sometimes I will drop one, post-it note style, in a public place. I like to imagine it will find the person that will derive some benefit from it.

It occurs to me today that this blog is a "public place". Limited traffic to be sure, but still public. To this end, I am going to begin a little "Quotation Project" here on the Monday Mike Chronicles. This will entail my simply posting various quotations. Sometimes with brief comment, but I imagine more often just letting them just stand alone.

My hope is that you may also find this enjoyable. Maybe you might be inclined to pass them on yourself. If a particular quote resonates with you, I would love to hear why. It would also be appealing to me if you would, from time to time, leave a quote of your own for me to chew on. If you feel so inclined.

Let me kick things off with a gem from one of the great wits of the 19th century:


"Be yourself. Everybody else is already taken" -Oscar Wilde


(Funny and wise at the same time. Not easy to do.)

A Deep Bow

You have probably seen or heard of the footage of President Obama giving a "deep bow" to Japan's Emperor Akihito this past week. Conservative commentators were falling over each other to complain about how "inappropriate" and "demeaning" this was for an American president. Ah yes...the shame of it all! To show respect, to be dignified, to honor the customs of another country, these are the occupations of wimps! "But", some have said, " did you notice that the emperoer did not bow back? What about that"? To which anyone with even a passing knowledge of Japanese culture would respond..."did you know that it is an ancient Japanese tradition that the Emperor does not bow to anyone"?

The real American way I guess is just to do what ever the hell you want and consequences be damned. I am sure our previous president would have likely tried to give the Empress a backrub. I mean it worked so well with the German chancellor! (Google: Bush Merkl backrub).

Okay... I am being a little sarcastic, but seriously, what is wrong with our country when it's front page news about the "scandal" that has taken place when someone (admittedly a famous someone) is "caught" showing respect?

I just heard today that one major poll indicates Obama's approval ratings have slipped below 50%. Well, I have a theory as to why. People may say it's the health care crisis, or it's the bailouts and the still sluggish economy, or it's the effect of the fearmongering waged by Fox News. Well I have a different theory. The problem is that President Obama is actually a decent, thoughtful man. He has spent a lot of political capital trying to reach across the aisle and find common ground with his detractors. And for this he is being pilloried. Well, Mr. President, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee! I have to say I am big fan, and I think you should continue being a man of honor, integrity, and decency. But just know this: If you want to get re-elected you are going to have to be more of a....what's the word? Oh yeah: Jerk

Many people, it seems, are more comfortable with that type of politician.

Last night's Colbert Report

I don't know if you have ever watched Comedy Central's Colbert Report, but this show (along with the Daily Show with Jon Stewart) have generally occupied my time from 11:00 p.m. till midnight for quite a while now. For my money, these are two of the best shows on TV. And speaking of paying for TV... that reminds me of when I was living in England in the early 1980's. Did you know that TV's in England at that time actually had coin slots on the back? You would drop a couple pounds in and get so many hours of TV in return. Some goverment chap would then stop by your house now and then to collect the money from the back of your TV. Weird Huh?

Anyway....back to the topic. The guest on last night's Colbert Report was especially interesting. He is a physicist from England named Brian Cox and has co-authored a book entitled "Why does E=MC squared? And why should we care?" I have put this book on my reading list on the strength of this guy's performance. He was quite a character. I had heard previously about this gigantic "Hadron Super Collider" in Switzerland. Its the worlds largest and highest energy particle accelerator. This machine, 17 miles in circumference, is designed to send particles smashing into each other at astronomical rates of speed. One of it's many functions to search for the elusive Higgs-Boson particle. This is the so called "God Particle" as it is supposed to be the animating force of the universe. When they were getting ready to start the machine up for the first time last September some were concerned that it could accidentally create a black hole and suck our whole planet down the tubes. As far as I have heard this has not happened yet. Correct me if I am wrong on this please.

Anyway, last night I learned the collider has been experiencing some bizarre malfunctions which has led two prominent physicists (Cox not being one of them) to posit the theory that the accelerator is being sabotaged from the future. Get that? It has (or will have) have created something so awlful that at some future point something or someone will be sent back in time to stop it. Let this idea swirl around your brain for while....

Comments?

Another thing I learned was that if I had no mass I could travel at the speed of light.

Can't wait!

Francis

Today, according to Christian tradition, is the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi. He has always been one of my favorite saints and I am surely not alone here. He is known as having a special, intutive relationship to Nature, and is often depicted in pious renderings as having animals gathered around him, with maybe a bird or two perched on his shoulder. I bet you know who I am talking about.

I think the reason I always liked him is he always seemed to me like some sort of medieval hippy. A sort of wandering, tree hugging, mystic. And in todays world, with all of our environmental concerns, he takes on an obvious added significance.

But as cool as St. Francis is, it is another Francis who I want to honor today. For it was 17 years ago today that our beloved cat, named after this saint from Assisi, came into our lives. On October 4th 1992 I picked up a 5 month old bundle of energy from a friend who had way too many bundles of energy on hand. Francis has been a great companion to both Lori and myself. A real friend. And yes, at 17 plus years he is still going strong!

So today, on his day, I wanted to honor him with these few words. You have been a peerless feline and we love you buddy!

I have attached the above picture because this entry obviously requires a photo so everyone can see what all the fuss is about. It's a fairly recent shot, taken within the past year.

Feel free to use the photo as wallpaper on your computer.

C'mon. You know you want to ...

Gelassenheit

You will probably remember back in October 2006 when there was the news of the awful tragedy at an Amish school in Pennsylannia. Some crazed man broke in took hostages, eventually killing five girls before killing himself. After the tragedy it was noted widely how quickly the community forgave the man and even reached out to his family to give support. In 2007 a book called "Amish Grace: How forgiveness overcame tragedy" was released to popular acclaim.

I have not read the book, but something I saw this week reminded me of a news interview I saw back in 2006. A reporter was interviewing and elderly Amish woman about the tragedy and asked her how the community was able to forgive so quickly. The woman responded that they believed in "Gelassenheit"and it was an integral part of their Christian faith. This is a German word that translates as "yieldedness". They forgive because they accept, they "yield" their own feelings and agendas to realities truth. Which, of course, in their mind is synonymous with "God's will".

Whether one believes in God or not this is a very powerful and liberating frame of mind. Let me explore it a bit.

My first thought is that you find the same intuition in most if not all religious or spiritual systems. The one that comes to mind first is the Taoist path. The sage Lao Tzu said famously "The tree that bends does not break". This is pretty much it in nutshell isn't it? If we rigidly hold on to our desires and do not "bend' or let them go when necessary, we suffer. You find the same thing in Buddhism whose "first noble truth" is that "life is suffering". How do we over come suffering? By letting go of desire. Easier said than done I know! But lets face it...think back to any moment you were experiencing suffering, or even discomfort. The root of the problem can only be one of two things: either you wanted something you did not have, or you had something you did not want. It's as simple as that.

If you are not turned on by religion then you have (for example) the decidely non-religious teachings of the Stoics. This classical philosopical system, epitomized in popular culture in recent years with the Star Trek character Mr. Spock, goes back to the ancient Greco-Roman period. A basic example of a Stoic arguement would be as follows: It is the nature of glass, when it falls from a height, to break as it hits the ground. So why are you upset that your glass has fallen off the table and shattered? Is it not it's nature to break? How could it be otherwise? Why then are you being emotional? Accept the truth of reality and you are free. (It helps if you imagine Leonard Nimoy's voice reading the last few sentences)

What do you think people? Any thoughts?

We must protect our children!

I am watching with interest the current fracas over President Obama's upcoming address on September 8th to high school age students. It is designed to be played to the children while they are at school. Many parents are expressing concern and even outrage that the President would presume to"teach" their kids. Many are considering keeping their kids at home to "protect" them. According to the AP the speech is going to be about "the need to work hard and stay in school". Okay... now I understand the outrage. We must protect our children from these Commie priniciples of hard work and education!

But seriously, who are these people? And why are they angry? Please, can someone tell me what is wrong the President trying to encourage our young people?

These are of course rhetorical questions. The reason for the outrage is clear. In this era of hyper-partisanship no idea or action, no matter how lofty or noble, is to be countenanced as long as there are politicial points to be gained by opposing it. This is the new guiding principle of goverment. Seriously, it is. Rush Limbaugh summed it up neatly when, shortly after Obama was elected, he said he hoped that the new President failed. That's right! For those on the political right (I almost said Republicans) it is better for this country to fail at the highest level, than to succeed if it means seeing an opponent get the credit. You will get this same basic message anytime you happen to watch Fox News. Obama and his legion of Socialist Democrats are out to ruin this great country. They must be stopped at all costs.

And by the way, did you know that Fox News gets (by far) the highest ratings of any televison news program in this country?

Here is a non-rhetorical question for you: Are we a nation of mostly idiots?

Abraham Lincoln, when putting together his cabinet, purposely picked several people who were his opponents to be his closest advisors. The main reason being that the country was in peril, and he would rule out no ideas. Even from his detractors. Doris Kearns-Goodwin tells this tale beautifully in her book called "Team of Rivals". You may want to pick it up as a cure for the indigestion you get when contemplating the current political scene. Maybe send it to your Congressperson when you are done with it.

Sorry folks: U.S.A. is not "Number one!"

I am watching the whole health care debate that is now raging in this country with what could best be characterized as disgust. And for some reason it is not the inept politicians or the greedy insurance companies who are in my sights today. (I'll save that for another day). No, today it's your average flag waving, patriotic American that is making me sick. And this whole health care debate has underscored it for me. Here's why:

In general, I have always been I deeply suspicious of flag waving, patriotic types who like to loudly proclaim how much they love this country. Why? Because in my experience, these sorts also tend to be narrow-minded and often bigoted in their personal lives. I am talking about the folks you might see on TV who like to chant "U.S.A, U.S.A. U.S.A.". This will often be followed by "We're Number One !" or "This is the greatest country on Earth!".

Really? We are number one? Well, in relation to health care, we are certainly not number one. Not even close. We are not number one in education either. In education we rank #18 (with South Korea coming in on top). But back to health care... here are the stats.


1. Preventable deaths- U.S.world rank #14 (France -that country with Socialized medicine- is #1)

2. Life Expectancy- U.S. rank #24 (Japan in #1)

3. Health Care System in general (as determined by the World Heath Organization) U.S #37 (again those French are number #1!)


So I watch these outraged Americans on TV at these Town Hall meetings and I see them shouting down anyone who wants to have a real discussion about health care reform, and why are they angry? A. Because our system is just fine and we don't want government screwing it up. (Again... France whose health care system is "socialized" and government run is number one in the world, but don't tell them this because facts make them angry). Anyway...I see these people disrupting these meetings and I just know in my gut these are the same folks waving all the flags and cheering on the troops, and telling people not to criticize the president (oops, that's okay now that a Democrat is in the White House) and it just pisses me off. Maybe we used to be a great country, but right now, by the yardstick I use to measure such things (Yardstick: How well do we take care of our own people?) we are struggling to be just a good country. Forget about great. Now don't get me wrong. This country, as envisioned by it's founders, and even practiced from time to time, is most definitely a fine nation. At times it has even been the finest. I love my country. I just need to report the facts here: We have slipped. And more than just a little bit.

But, to be fair, we do have our areas of excellence. We are number one in military expenditures (coming in at twice as much of all of Europe combined). So we are good at fighting.

That's something I guess.