Lies

There are so many lies in our culture that it's hard to tell reality from fiction. After a while, some lies become true and take on a life of their own.

Humans use lying and deception as a survival technique. When we deceive ourselves it makes it easier to deceive others.

I know that there isn't much left of truth, but to navigate out of the mess we're in, we need to start facing the TRUTH.

If you ask me a question, I have nothing to hide. You are going to get the TRUTH. To lie is to compromise my dignity and honor, which is about the only things I have.

It is peculiar that religious fanatics run around saying they have the "TRUTH." In their own minds that have turned a collection of fables and Mediterranean mythology into "TRUTH," thanks to the help of some Third Century Roman Catholics. So, suddenly, we have the one and only "TRUTH," which is real nice unless you are gay, a Democrat, or a Hispanic immigrant, or anyone else the holders of the TRUTH do not like.

TRUTH should be based on fact, in the best and most accurate way we know it. TRUTH should be our honesty, not some stupid mind-game. TRUTH should be TRUTH, and to settle for anything less is to compromise one's self.

I'm glad this day has come to an end. I really, really, am. It was a day I'll never, ever forget. And I learned SO MUCH from my experience.

I stood up for the TRUTH today, and my dignity remains intact. It really does.

Thank You, Thank You All ...

Nature is worth fighting for, but after a
while some of us get tired.

Yellow Canary Steps To the Microphone

[Clears throat] To my friend Günther and to my handful of fellow bloggers on dotMac, I would like to say "THANK YOU" for reading my blog. I had hoped that my blog would become a worldwide sensation, and that people would read it, empty their pockets at the alter, and turn from their destructive ways. Nope, hasn't happened yet.

It is Saturday evening at 11:23 p.m. Just a couple of things:

• Being a good environmentalist, I moved my office into a shed behind my house. I now work in my backyard in a shed. In the evenings, I often go in my shed to do more work, to do volunteer work, to blog, exchange e-mails with Günther, and whatever. So, the point being, it's really weird back here. It's really dark, and the crickets and other creatures are much louder when you're in a shed. I feel more connected to nature, but it's also kind of strange. I am now spending about one-third of my life in front of a computer, at a desk, in a small shed, in my backyard, in a small town 20 miles west of Atlanta. I am here man. I am a little dot.

• The other freaky thing is that whenever I get involved in a volunteer-run organization I just have to dive into the middle of things, get in over my head, and take on more than I can chew. I just have to hold a leadership position. Then, it's the same old cycle. I start getting burnt out after so many years, but I force myself to continue on because the cause that I'm working for is so worthwhile. But then I start getting resentful and it festers and builds up inside me, and then there is usually a point when I really don't want to do it to begin with, and someone will rub me the wrong way, and I'll just snap. And I'll use that person who rubs me wrong as justification in my head and to others for why I am quitting. Now, this is particularly difficult for me because I, Yellow Canary, am not a quitter. But this does happen on occasion. Maybe it's normal. I also seem to have a limited attention span and after a while I just get bored with something.

Volunteer Work

All my life I've done lots of volunteer work, and from 1989 until now I've continuously held a leadership position in some organization, including churches. I have tried to start two churches (both failed), I helped start a computer club and spent many weekends tutoring the disabled, elderly, and young. I mean, for YEARS I did this. I worked in the church nursery for nine years!!! Then in 1997 I decided to save the world and joined several environmental organizations and even started a new one the following year (it's still alive). For YEARS I was working 40 hours a week and then volunteering 20 hours a week. This took a great toll on my family. By 2003 I was experiencing serious shit burnout and by 2004 I cut way back on my volunteer hours. I hung it out for 2004 and still did quite a bit, and I continued into 2005. But finally, someone rubbed me wrong and just a few weeks ago I had "the big snap." So, I'm thinking what would life be like if I only, say, did five hours of volunteer work a week, and continued to give regularly to church and good causes? Then I would be covered. I could have peace and say, "SEE, I am giving back to my world. My bases are covered. I can feel good about myself." But really, I just end up feeling absolutely miserable because there is so much to be done, and I can NEVER do enough.

What's really hard is that now that I work from home, I really dislike driving outside my little community. Most of the environmental meetings are in the city or the other side of my county — both 50 mile round trips. So, I would just rather stay home, in my comfortable shed, and in front of my little computer.

The other thing is that I'm ALWAY behind. Junk mail and important papers continually build up into piles — I can never keep up with all the paperwork of running a household, plus all the volunteer-type paperwork. And I'm always behind on car maintenance, projects around the house, dental and eye doctor visits, taking my dog to the vet for shots, etc. It's like there are so many details to running a household and for once in my life I would like to be CAUGHT UP. I know, that sounds anal, but I would just like to be anal. I'd like to get the ton of papers in my home office organized as well. Whew.

So, What's the Moral of Tonight's Painfully Boring Blog Entry?

The point is that to save the world, you need to have a lot of time. If you have a family, a house, and a full-time job, it's really hard to find a lot of volunteer time. And if you make something the focus of all your free time, well, I get burnt out on that. But the world needs me because there are activists on the other end of the political spectrum who wish to push us back into a medieval, fundamentalist state. But I want to push my country and world forward. I am not a liberal — I am a progressive, and I'm proud of it. I want to see reforms that would better harness capitalism, eliminate poverty, protect our environment, and achieve long-term sustainability. I would like to see us reinvent how we live our current unsatisfying car-based lives. I would like to see more people growing gardens and just digging their hands in the moist dirt — after all, that's where we all supposedly came from.

Maybe when my kids move out and I'm an empty nester I'll do another big push to try and save the world. But for now, I am burnt. Maybe I will keep blogging — some of my fellow activists see it as a waste of valuable time. Maybe I will just become an armchair activist — one who does the phone calls, letters, and faxes, but rarely attends meetings. Actually, I have no idea of how I will feel about all this volunteer stuff next year. Really, I have no idea.

What is "Moral?"

That's the Beauty of Blogging....

I can write about nearly anything I want. It's like the ultimate freedom. On occasion, someone might even read my stuff, who knows.

On To Today's Lesson...

One of the big problems with our society is that it is difficult to define "moral." For instance, a good conservative Christian believes that gay marriage is immoral and, heck, they are repulsed by it. At the same time, I think that Christian politicians who cozy up with oil companies are immoral, and heck, it repulses me.

We humans appear to need a moral benchmark. One possibility that I considered is to say, "What would be pleasing to God?" But, whoa, wait a minute, in no time at all people would be murdering one another "in the name of God." Heck, this is already happening.

Another idea is to use the ancient religious writings as a moral compass. That's a good idea to a point, but then that gives people an excuse to discriminate against gays, women, other religions, scoffers, people who eat pork, Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, orthodox, reformed, liberal ...OH MY GOSH ... there can be no end to this. Okay, this isn't a good idea!!!

So, what do we do?

How about a moral system based on common sense, logic, and the common good? Even this is sticky. Take abortion for example — some call it a women's right to choose and others call it murder. This is a debate that never ends. Whew.

Maybe we could elect a council to decide morals. Maybe we could vote on morals.

But there are a few accepted standards ... maybe ...

1) We should obey the law. I'm all for that because it brings order to society. But what if the law was made by corrupt individuals looking out for their own self interest? Sure, we can change the law. But what if the people who control the power block the democratic process? At what point should you practice civil disobedience?

2) We should NOT do things that offend others. That means no cussing, public drunkenness, or excessive displays of affection. But these days, just about EVERYTHING offends someone. Where do you draw the line?

3) We should do things that are RESPECTABLE. Again, isn't this a matter of personal opinion?

Maybe the problem with "moral" is that even the dictionary is vague:

mor·al adj*
1. relating to issues of right and wrong and to how individuals should behave
2. based on what somebody’s conscience suggests is right or wrong, rather than on what the law says should be done
3. regarded in terms of what is known to be right or just, as opposed to what is officially or outwardly declared to be right or just
4. giving guidance on how to behave decently and honorably
5. good or right, when judged by the standards of the average person or society at large
6. able to distinguish right from wrong and to make decisions based on that knowledge
7. based on an inner conviction, in the absence of physical proof

Hmmm, how are we EVER going to agree on what is moral? Is driving an SUV moral? Is supporting the drilling of ANWR moral? Is sending out e-mails that belittle Muslims or gays moral? I find all these things repulsive, yet the people who do these things consider themselves righteous and moral, and appear quick to judge me.

Is ignoring the environment and our future moral? Is it moral to neglect the poor and turn a church into a busy-body social organization?

By the standards of the Righteous Ones, I am a pathetic, disgusting, wretch. I suppose they are right, but I'd at least respect them if they admitted that they were wretches too.

WHAT I BELIEVE...

I guess a moral should be twofold. It should be based on LOGIC and it should meet the STANDARDS of the majority. Even that isn't a good benchmark, but I suppose it's a start.

Who is moral? Please tell me.



*Microsoft Encarta Dictionary

Time Is Running Out ... Or Maybe Just Oil

It is 2005 - A New Year

Maybe we should just end it all now, or maybe we should continue the struggle.

I'm puzzled by these "White Flight" Republicans who have moved into their nice trophy houses in the outer counties around Atlanta. They scream how they don't like taxes and how they stand for "values." However, their values have nothing to do with Christianity — the value they push is the "American Way of Life." You know, it's the "all about me" syndrome. "Golly jeepers, I'm an entrepreneur and I don't believe the government should be taking MY MONEY," they say. What they really are saying is they don't want THEIR MONEY being taken and given to those poor black kids FAR AWAY in the inner city.

And if they really believed in "values" why did they flee the city and older suburbs to get away from people of color? If they are Christians, shouldn't they stay in these areas and help the poor people who need help the most? No! They drive their trophy SUVs, go to their trophy churches, live in their McMansions, and then they scream about "values." They have sold their soul to their credit cards and mortgage company and they provide their children with a shallow "video game" existence. VALUES? They get all pumped up about anti-gay amendments, yet most of them have never even MET a gay person. They scream that abortion is unconditional murder, but they have never looked into the eyes of a scared, pregnant 10-year-old girl who was raped by her drunken step-dad. VALUES? Thank God their SUVs are sucking up the oil more quickly. Once our oil-based economy crumbles, then these materialistic conservatives who make up George W. Bush's BASE will be humbled.

Speaking of Oil....

Seven years ago I realized that the Earth is in major trouble, and I decided to work on the most serious social and environmental issues — the human population explosion. But now, I think I might be able to take a break and play more tennis.

See, I am now starting to think that a world oil crises will do much more to slow population than any family planning program ever could. For one thing, it appears that humans are determined to reproduce to the limits of their food supply regardless of how much we are educated and regardless of the availability of contraceptives.

But our food production requires a lot of energy, and as gas goes up to $2.50 a gallon and above, everyone will feel the ripple effect. It won't affect the most primitive societies and it won't affect the very rich because they can afford alternative energy. But for the vast majority of us in the middle, the spike in oil prices will have a major, unpleasant effect on our lives. Maybe then, people will wisely begin to have smaller families and live more sustainably. Then, it will take the Earth a century or so to recover from all the burnt fuels we released into the atmosphere. So, maybe with the cheap oil all gone, humans will begin living a sustainable life sometime in the next 50-75 years.

Values??????

Getting back to my original comment above, I mean VALUES? Everyone wants their freaking "DREAM HOME" and these are usually built on pastures and old farms in the bedroom communities of major cities. VALUES? You just HAVE to pay $40,000 for that SUV, with the video screen in the back, so your three kids will be occupied? You feel safe in an SUV? What about those unfortunate poor people who drive Ford Fiestas? You'd flatten them and not even know it. VALUES? Come on, I am bent over, laying on the floor, and laughing until my sides hurt. VALUES? My gosh! Your souls may be saved, but they sure are hollow — and shallow.