Maybe After A Couple More Incarnations?

We are all guilty of it at times. It is probably the most dangerous of human traits. We hate it in others and yet it is absolutely addictive. What the heck am I talking about? Self righteousness. Self righteousness inspires people to bomb abortion clinics, to kill abortion providers, to put fatwas out on cartoonists satirizing Mohamed, to become suicide bombers, to run political attack adds, to engage in road rage, to condemn people, and a bunch of other evil stuff.

We are probably all familiar with the question, "Would you rather be right, or be happy?" The answer is obviously, "I would rather be right, in fact I want to be filled to overflowing with self righteous outrage!" The reason we never admit it is, we blame others for our self righteous anger. Anybody over age 12 should know better than that but, nobody does.

Nobody can solve a problem they fail to admit they have. We as a species need to come to terms with our proclivity for self righteousness. We will probably go extinct if we do not. I suppose what actually makes self righteousness fatal is our instinct to dominate. If we did not try to impose our will on others we would just be miserable but not dangerous.

I am working on this and have made some personal progress but I know I have a long way to go. I have pretty much given up on controlling, so my self righteousness just makes me miserable. Now I let go of it a lot quicker than I used to.

The other day I saw an interview with the Dalai Lama on my TV. His Holiness was asked who his favorite American politician was. To my surprise he said it was George W. Bush. The interviewer seemed taken aback. He asked the Lama why he liked George W. Bush so much, considering many of his warlike policies. The Lama replied that he did not like President Bush's policies but he really liked George W. Bush, he thought he had a charming personality.

I sure do have some ways to go! I doubt I will achieve the Dalai Lama's spiritual clarity for a few lifetimes at the very least. I hope we don't kill ourselves off before I get the chance!




Russell

Why Can't We Be Bad Friends?

According to one of my spiritual references anytime we judge another person we are actually condemning ourselves. I guess there is a heck of a lot of self-condemnation going on because there is certainly a lot of judging. I think I agree with that precept. I know my judgements of others have never led to any actual contentment for me. I also like the idea that judgement is self condemnation because self righteous people really annoy me. I hope that doesn't mean I am judging them! But I bet it does. Still don't you hate it when people make negative assumptions about your intentions?

I am no saint but in general my intentions are benign. I don't think that is at all extraordinary. I think most people I know have done some pretty regrettable stuff. I don't know anyone (well maybe one) who claims to always act from a pure heart. The thing is this, how can we ever be friends with anyone if we expect perfection as a condition of our friendship? I am not sure I would even want a perfect friend.

I know a few people that present themselves as role models for the rest of us. There I go judging again (progress not perfection as they say I guess). Anyway these role model people make me really uncomfortable. They are no fun at all! I liked the part in Huckleberry Finn where Huck resigns himself to going to Hell for being an abolitionist. He comforted himself by deciding he would rather go to Hell with Tom Sawyer than to Heaven with all those hypocrites.

So if you have glaring character defects and you sometimes act regrettably be consoled to some extent. I would probably like to hang out with you. Then again I'm not sure I should be associating with kind of people that would have me as a friend.



Russell

Suffer In Silence Please

The other day I was complaining about how long it was taking my elbow to heal after using it as a crumple zone subsequent to flying over the handle bars of my bicycle. This guy nearby says, "yeah as we age it takes longer to heal," then he chuckled out loud. So I slugged him. I'm not sensitive about getting old, I just don't want to hear about it, gawdamnit! I'm bald too, and I'm used to it now, but people that need to tell me I'm bald are pretty annoying. I don't need to tell them they're unoriginal cretinous dumb bunnies, so why do they need to tell me the less obvious fact that I'm no longer a child and have experienced significant hair loss?

Usually I am in better humor but I was irritable. I think it was because I was sick. I don't do sick well. I prefer to ignore it. The trouble with that is it doesn't work. You just wind up getting sicker. I hate sick people, including myself when I'm ill. Anytime someone starts going on about their symptoms I find myself considering euthanasia as a speedy and preferred solution for them. I have all kinds of sympathy in other areas. Whine about most stuff and I will listen absent mindedly and offer casual reassurance that it will all work out. In other words I'll be a reasonable facsimile of care and concern. On the other hand start complaining about your snotty nose, your diarrhea, your achy feelings and I'll start fantasizing about smothering you to death with a pillow. So there I am feeling miserable wondering how to put myself outa my misery. I didn't call anybody or ask for anything because shit I wouldn't inflict me on anybody when I feel like that.

Fortunately I am all better now. I even rode my bike today, by the time I got back my inflamed tendons were letting me know I still have some healing to go yet. I guess I need to hold off of yoga for a while yet. I tell you what though, you gotta push through this stuff or else pull the plug.



Russell

I Love Asian Surf Rock!

Every once in a while the Google folks decide to fart around with the design and mechanics of my blog. It annoys the hell outa me! Why are computer nerds never able to leave anything alone? have they never heard the cliche' "If it's not broke, DON'T FIX IT!!" I guess not. I'm sure these geeks are well intentioned, but shit man they are OCD about constantly picking at stuff. I bet none of them has had a scab for more than hour or two before they started picking at it. Yech! I apologize for that analogy.

Here's the deal; imagine you go out to start your car one morning and you don't even recognize it! That's what these infernal tinkerers are like, like someone completely redesigns your car without consulting you! One day it has a steering wheel the next it is controlled by a joy stick because some arrogant little nerd decided it would make your life easier! Which of course it doesn't (those dumb asses!) because now I have to learn how to drive all over again. Thanks a bunch Erkle!

Actually I like nerds, love nerd rock! My taste is quite bizarre. I heard this band that is totally nerded out and totally awesome. They're called the Surf Coasters and they are absolutely the best Japanese surf rock band you will ever hear. They are partially to blame for my recent bike accident. I mean with the MP3 injecting Asian surf rock into your brain how can you ride with caution? Okay any reasonable person could but face it that sort of stuff is impossible for people like me.

Fortunately I don't know anyone else like me. Now don't get me wrong. I like me a lot! I am one of my favorite people actually. Still a little of me goes a really long way. The problem with being an individual is that you may be an outsider. On the other hand how many cliques do you want to fit with? Have you ever hung around people that seemed to have the same conversations over and over and over? They are out there.

I guess they like the familiarity of the same subjects, the same jokes, the same thing all the time. Maybe they're right. Knowing exactly what your friends think and what they're going to say might be reassuring. The last thing they want is some nerd redesigning the conversation especially in a world where every time you go to a website you never know what you'll find. And as soon as you get used to it and know how to smoothly navigate it some jerk wad nerd changes the whole damn thing!


Russell

Field Guide To The American Peasant

My younger sister used to take ballet lessons (she was really serious and pretty good as a matter of fact). Her teacher was from Russia and had at one time been a famous dancer in Europe until an injury ended her career. She moved here with her mother some time after WW II. Her mother was from an aristocratic Russian family that fled that country when the Bolsheviks took over. Pretty interesting but the reason for mentioning all this is to get to this, this ancient Russian aristocrat once complained to my mom that American peasants did not even know they were peasants. She said that the peasants in Europe at least knew they were peasants but American peasants did not know their place in society. We all thought she was sort of charming in her way but nevertheless daft. I don't think that anymore.

That old Russian aristocrat was right. We don't know we are peasants but we are. The rich know it. The politicians know it. The banks, insurance companies and stores like Walmart all know it. Yet the American peasant remains clueless. Our whole system depends on the American peasant never figuring out that he is indeed a peasant. Once the peasant gets out of the bag there will be no getting him back inside. The occupy Wall Street movement is a peasant uprising. You will never hear the media calling it that because they don't want us peasants to know our true status, they know we would find it unacceptable. That is why Mitt Romney says he believes in two classes the rich and the soon to be rich, he thinks that kind of BS will mollify us peasants.

We probably have this kind of condescending treatment coming to us too. I mean we are the ones who refuse to accept the reality of our status. We support our aristocrats because we cling to Horatio Alger fairy tales of peasants becoming landed gentry through pluck hard work and just a smidgen of luck. Meanwhile we get nickled and dimed to death by the corporate aristocracy.

Jeff Foxworthy has that you may be a redneck if... routine. Here's the deal you don't have to be a redneck to be a peasant but if you are a redneck you are a particular type of peasant. America has a variety of peasant types. Maybe we need a field guide to the American peasant since they seem to be largely unrecognized.

If you work in the fast food industry you are a peasant. If you work at a factory you are an endangered species of peasant. If you teach school you probably don't believe you are peasant, this is especially troubling because you are very likely misinforming your students of their own peasantry. If you work in a store you are a peasant. If you anticipate get money back from your tax return you are a peasant. If you shop at discount stores you are a peasant. If you buy fast food more than once a year you are a peasant. If rising gas prices have made you think about your driving habits you are a peasant. Face it you are a peasant. The elite has thought of you this way for years. What are you going to do about it?

Should Our National Dessert Be Apple Or Humble Pie?

So two weeks ago nobody had ever heard of Robert Bales. Now we are all scratching our heads and searchong our hearts trying to figure out what to do with him. The truth of course is that we killed him way before now. We don't know what to do with him because he is our creation. Every single one of us is complicit in his crime. We decided to tolerate endless war carried out by a few unlucky bastards on our behalf. We all know, or absolutely should know, that we are steadily destroying the people we send there to fight over and over and over again. This wasn't the first atrocity either, it's just the first we know was committed by a nice guy that we turned into a psychopathic killer.

We don't want to judge Robert Bales because we know he was just our instrument. Finding him guilty will be hypocritical unless we also find ourselves guilty. Of course if we do not find him guilty we are endorsing the crimes he carried out for us. We are stuck in our collective guilt.

Just like Robert Bales we are mostly good people that allowed ourselves to get sucked into a massive crime. It's time to confess and suffer the consequences. It's time to quit the killing. We like to think we are morally superior to other nations and that is the first step toward genocide. We need some humility.

We aren't the only people with that sense of moral superiority. The Islamic terrorists have it, the Nazis had it, Stalin had it (Putin may too) the Japanese had it prior to WW II, racists have it. Hunility may not be as glamorous as self-righteousness but we cannot afford that kind of glamor anymore.

We need to lose terms like "collateral damage." The Nazis talked about people that way too. We were and are apalled at how they dehumanized groups of people. I tell you what, predator drones controlled remotely and used with impunity with tolerable amounts of collateral damage (innocent victims) would have been one of Hitler's favorite wet-dreams.

The German army in WW II killed civilians, they massacred prisoners of war, were they cold hearted sociopaths? Of course they were. Or were they just German soldiers who wanted to serve their country and were gradually perverted by never ending war? Of course they were.

I feel real bad about Robert Bales. I remember being the lone protester against these stupid wars 10 years ago. I wish that having stood at 61st and Seawall with my "No War" sign would somehow relieve me of any responsibility but it doesn't. Still I'm glad I did it even if it didn't prevent these stupid wars. It's time to man up and admit we are wrong. It's time to quit pretending we are morally superior. It's time to bring home our wounded soldiers. And it's time to recognize that every last one of them is wounded and needs healing.



Russell

Squatch This!!

I kind of like the show "Finding Bigfoot" I also like some of those UFO programs and this new show about "Prepers." Prepers are not preppies they are people preparing for doomsday. These shows interest me because they appeal to my inner-crackpot. I admit it I have crackpot leanings. I don't think I'm that weird either and that's sort of unfortunate. The thing is though I know that looking for Bigfoot or evidence of ancient aliens is a colossal waste of time. It's just a lark, sure I wish Nessie was real but I know he's not. I want to believe in crop circles (I mean believe they are not man made) but I just can't.

Actually I would love to pull off a hoax. I'm too lazy and undisciplined to create a crop circle. I have tried to figure out a good bogus UFO scare but my best idea involves plastic dry cleaning bags and birthday candles. I don't want to be responsible for any fires so that's out too. Living by the coast I should probably work on some sort of sea monster hoax. I think coming up with some sort of mutant mullet caused by the BP oil spill would be totally cool. Imagine a completely harmless bait fish transformed into a venomous harbinger of death! I like it!

Here's how it would work; these fish mutate into flesh nibbling carnivores after eating seaweed contaminated with oil. That would make them merely annoying, so the real problem is the dispersants used in the cleanup caused their bite to be lethal. The dispersants get in you when the death mullet bites you and the dipersants dissolve blood plasma! It's a horrible way to die! Oh shit this rumor might impact tourism! Forget it immediately! We need a monster the will attract tourists not scare them off. I will keep thinking about it. Meanwhile I'll keep watching shows about Sasquatch, UFOs and Area 51.

Hey the best thing I have ever heard I heard on that "Finding Bigfoot" show! What is it? What's the best thing I've ever heard? It's so cool I can hardly believe it! It's gawdamned awesome I swear! Ready? It's, it's "SQUATCHY!" it's an adjective! It means having Sasquatch like qualities. They say shit like "hmm... that smells squatchy!" or "this place looks squatchy!" or even just "this feels squatchy!" This is a word we all have to use as often as we possibly can. Imagine making mad passionate squatchy love! Or complaining to your waiter that your eggs are squatchy! I want to take a day off from work by calling in squatchy! If someone really pisses you off just tell them to go squatch themselves! or to take a flying squatch! I'd go on but I feel like squatching out for a while.




Russell