Prevailing Winds

The Forum asked the question—what is perhaps the most important survival skill in the Human world? Overwhelming evidence of the group as a whole shows them to be distinctly ill-equipped for long term species survival. Below is an article Reiki Clown found while going through editorials printed in early 21st century newspapers. While the author seems to have “hit the nail on the head” to quote an old Earth saying, it appears to be yet another example of a select few enlightened beings attempting turn on burnt out bulbs.

Prevailing Winds

Empathizing with the reader’s younger self brought a smile to my face. An aspiring journalist his confidence in his ability to accurately judge issues had been undermined by the surety with which his Ivy League peers proclaimed their doctrines. Declared with attitudes of such implacable infallibility no questioning of their veracity could be considered. How could these classmates be so entrenched in their beliefs and he so unsure when all drew from the same well of information?
Perhaps entrenched isn’t the proper word but the concept of someone so firmly convinced of the accuracy of their beliefs on a wide range of subjects, a person who portrays themself as the pinnacle of knowledge, not to be swayed no matter the information revealed to them, might perhaps be considered entrenched. To those of indeterminate opinion this surety might seem to resemble intelligence, causing those still seeking the answers and possessing a weaker egoistic foundation to be failing in some way. In my mind this conceptualization begs the question; “as long as the person in question is able to disseminate all acquired information and come to a logical, final conclusion based on all the facts set before them how then is that the lesser, ‘dumber’ individual?”. Those unable to change upon realization that they have been in error, those who are unable or unwilling to bend in their opinions and conclusions, those will ultimately fall by the wayside. The reader himself came to that conclusion after a lifetime of experiences and subsequent disseminations. Those fellow students who had been so self-assured in their late teens and early twenties, so decisive and opinionated, so unable to allow self doubt to nibble at their minds, lacked one of the most important of survival skills. As with anything carried to its extreme self doubt can be harmful but a healthy dose provides the impetus to explore and evaluate situations; allowing for the possibility of positive change. Those pedantic and set in their ways must rail against anything new and spend their lives immobilized by fear.
The writer that got my mind going on this subject mirrored my feelings as a young person. I too often found myself unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion on an issue. The information provided coupled with my lack of experience left me feeling inadequate to properly access many situations. Perhaps the machinations necessary to adequately write a research paper can be compared to forming healthy opinions. Every side of the research topic needs to be examined whether agreed with or not before a realistic conclusion can be reached. Even then should some additional or new information become available-and there must be openness to just such an eventuality-the previous conclusion may need to be thrown to the winds. Indiscriminately flip flopping and pursuing whatever seems plausible at any given moment is not what I am suggesting. Pursuing a careful, complete assessment of a given situation before reaching a well thought out conclusion then allowing for change should the need arise is.
Those who, while forming opinions and life credos are nevertheless able to assimilate new information, change their minds and their habits, learn from their mistakes-- should consider themselves fortunate.

And the Difference Would Be?

Following what should have been an early warning sign to most of the Humans on the planet Earth, specifically the Hurricane named Katrina, there occurred such a flurry of accusations as to complete flummox all of us. I, Euroswydd, could not stay silent upon reviewing certain details regarding the President of the United States reaction to the calamity. Below is a synopsis of one of my monologues as typed by Reiki Clown.

Voluble spewing attributing his slow reaction time to the preponderance of poor, African Americans unable to transport from the city caught in the maelstrom of Katrina and her aftermath, while morally reprehensible, doesn’t fully delve into the intrinsic shortcomings of this man. I say man, not President, for a reason. In this situation it should be the man who acted not the President hiding behind his confining façade of bureaurocatic rules and regulations. A truly humane man wouldn’t even consider separating supporting constituent from unimportant nonvoter as a measure of value; a truly humane man wouldn’t put his gray cells to work figuring out what can be done for helpless people in the face of unimaginable circumstances through a web of bureaucratic red tape but would slice through it with huge shears clearing the way for immediate, all encompassing action. A truly humane man, acting in the capacity of President of the United States and supposed Leader of this country, would have mobilized the aid and sent them on their way with immediacy. The Canadian Royal Mounted Police arrived within two days! They came from Canada located to the NORTH of the United States. But I am allowing emotion to distract me from the specific purpose of this dissertation.
Mr. Bush’s ever supportive wife denounced the words and sentiments of those maintaining that her husband dragged his feet because the victims were mostly poor, African American people not important enough (in his opinion) to be bothered with. She maintained that she knows him and that convinced of how important every human being is to her husband such accusations are “disgusting”. It should be noted that she doesn’t defend his timing, just the explanation for the timing. To me that speaks volumes. Put into plain English, her husband didn’t do his job properly and as a result many suffered needlessly but it’s not because he’s a racist. Thank you for clearing that up for us Mrs. Bush. Apparently she hoped no one would notice that she didn’t defend his slowness to respond, that they would get caught up in what a compassionate man he purports to be, as opposed to the major faute pas he perpetrated.
I, Euroswydd, member of the Forum of Quizzical Minds cannot fathom how this man could presume to continue in his position. Other members of the government are encouraged if not forced to resign for far lesser infractions. The people of the country must have been terrified from that moment on. Should another catastrophe strike where will their help be? Perhaps as did the unsavory character Jacob Marley in Charles Dickens, “The Christmas Carol”, he does not have a problem with “decreasing the surplus population”.

The Faulty Ego as Viewed by Mort

I’m particularly fascinated with the technology of things. Spending time learning about the levy system protecting the city of New Orleans until its breach in August of 2005 as the result of a massive hurricane provided me with an unexpected insight into the machinations-or lack thereof-of the two-term President responsible for coordinating Federal Disaster Relief to the devastated areas. I can’t say I was impressed and the following is my personal commentary entered in our library for posterity. Mort.
Four days after the event itself-the hurricane dubbed Katrina-the President of the United States feels himself to be enough of a force that a mere visit from him will undo the dramatic lapse in judgment that has rendered hundreds of thousands of people dehydrated and starving. Unable to gather together the massive resources of one of the richest most powerful countries in the world and get those resources to the areas of crisis with any semblance of timeliness, this inept man retains such an incredible ego that apparently his mere presence will assuage the hunger, thirst and demoralization inflicted on these people since Katrina’s grand entrance and prolonged exit. Quite frankly if he had showed up Monday night or perhaps Tuesday morning I might have felt somewhat soothed, that perhaps help was on the way and yes, as President, he was spearheading the prompt supplying of needed items. A token fly over on Wednesday followed by Friday’s visit hardly makes up for the lack of arriving Federal aid.
Apparent as New Orleans’s possible plight seemed to be to most Americans-after all the city is protected by a series of levies that haven’t been revamped in a good many years, and its antebellum mansions grace land below sea level-if hit by a storm displaying the destructive capabilities of Katrina, our esteemed President once again (as usual) didn’t get it. Now he will sweep in to ravaged areas, act as though he cares, make a trip through the devastation, pat people on the back, shake a few hands, look encouraging then return to a hot bath, air conditioning, plenty of food and water. I wonder how he would react deprived of food, water or medical necessities for over four days. Would it perturb him spending those four plus days enduring high temperatures, and humidity, wading through fetid water, dodging bullets and wondering where on Earth help was? After all this is the United States….this type of thing happens elsewhere in the world but surely not here….
Just as New Orleans and Louisiana are suffering from Federal neglect so to are Mississippi and Alabama. Hurricane damage stretches inland for a hundred miles or more in some cases. Cameras portray the piles of lumber and bricks that were once towns. Perhaps the government has been too busy defending its poor performance to the world to view these pictures. Such institutions as the Red Cross seem to have found time not only to visit but to provide necessities, perhaps the government could look to them for tips on effective mobilization to better prepare themselves for the next calamity.
Those people in the projected path of a hurricane are encouraged to prepare. Stock up on canned food, bottled water, batteries, extra money, gas the car etc. Why then not the government? Shouldn’t they be waiting in the wings, ready to enter a disaster zone as soon as the storm is past? Particularly as it seems to take them so long to get their act together. Certainly the circumstances surrounding this particular storm and city warranted some sort of preparedness on the part of those expecting to go in and provide help.