Things I've Noticed

Hating the Hate-able

Deni is staying true to form with this week's Roundtable blogpost in which he talks about things he absolutely hates.  And he asks whether it's alright to hate certain things and people.  It doesn't matter what you say, he's still gonna hate whatever he wants to hate.  But hop on over to his blog, Out of Tune, and let it out.  What are your views on hating and what do you hate?

+ Atul

The Interdivergence of Culture and The Tree of Humanity

As our planet becomes increasingly global, it seems as though the world is all becoming the same in one earth melting pot.  Thanks to transcontinental travel, immigration, intercultural marriages, and technology such as the internet and DVD's, the transfer of ideas and culture occurs quickly.  But some of these are adopted by most of the world, while others are not.  Additionally, what people tend to forget is that in our beliefs and preferences, we all branch out in different directions from the same tree of humanity.  Perhaps the best analogy is that we all started from one tree, it forked into perhaps 15 different trunks and the branches are crossing back over and intersecting branches from other trunks.  Extremist groups are on branches that shoot off to the edges and don't intersect with other branches.  They filter ideas and beliefs and use them to keep the branch growing further away from their original trunk.  Having spent many weeks in different cities around the good old U.S. of A., the differences in local cultures have become apparent.  I would venture to say that cultural differences were smaller in the early 1900's, (when the tree of humanity was smaller).

On one hand, we're growing together more tightly into a tangled web that can never be unraveled; on the other hand, our tangled branches must contend with the actions of those from the fringes because they will always be connected to us in some way.  Luckily, as the branches grow out further, they become narrower relative to the other branches on the tree.  Hopefully the tangled web of branches will be one that is beneficial to the tree on the whole and can resist the renegade branches.  Even if the renegades don't hurt the tree, I worry that the webs will become larger, stronger, and more impenetrable.  This could result in large webs that will be in continual conflict with each other.  One could argue that it is already happening with the conservative Christian world and the radical Islamic world.  Hopefully these and any other webs that form can coexist peacefully, but I'm not optimistic.  Perhaps we must be confronted by another tree in the forest for our own tree branches to work toegether in harmony.

I know that this analogy isn't perfect because branches don't tangle together on most trees, but once I started with the ultra-nerdy ultra-philosophical analogy, I felt compelled to carry it through.  I think it has some merit.  What are your thoughts?

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Blessings

"Why do I have to sneeze to be blessed by somebody else?"

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Quick Questions on Religion and Driving

<<< I've decided to add a new feature.  I will occasionally post "Quick Questions" which will be similar to Quick Quotes in their randomness, but these will be lines you'll be more likely to want to comment on. I'm starting with two questions, one philosphically heavy, the other somewhat goofy. >>>

"Is it possible to love God but dislike religion?"

"Are you really as good a driver as you think you are?"

+ Atul

Growing Old Is Getting Old

Carol, one of the newer Roundtablers out of Seattle, Washington, is revisiting a topic that makes us all really think.  There is no doubt that we're all living longer than we used to, but do we want to or should we live forever?  This time in her post, she has sources including a gerontologist who wrote a book.  So don't wait too long before heading over to Carol's blog to provide insight into your opinions.

+ Atul

Confess Your Guilty Pleasures

Seattle's Suzanne, who continually perfects procrastination, is the Roundtabler this week and she is holding a non-denominational confessional of sorts on her blogpost.  She has already started off the fun with her list of guilty pleasures and we all listened,  (although not anonymously).  None of us are exactly holy, so join the rest of us, jump on over to her blog, and fess up to those things you do that you shouldn't, but that you feel like admitting.

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Humanity and The Universe

“How insignificant yet precious we are.”

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9/11 - Looking Back on What I Felt Needed to Be Said Five Years Ago

I seek not to add to the sensationalism that I feel some of the media is using to exploit the events that happened five years ago, but I dug up an email that I sent to many friends and coworkers a few days after the terrorist attacks in 2001.  I had lost my sense of faith in humanity just as many others did, especially those that lost loved ones.  Their grief is something I don't want to downplay, but for me personally, I felt a bit paranoid for my own safety.  More importantly though, I felt as though many Americans were suddenly looked upon in completely different way by others, just because of our ethnicity or appearance.  It made me want to speak out to on the behalf of these individuals.  What I wrote still applies today and can be projected onto the global scale.  Remember that this was written well before our military chose to invade Iraq.  Here is the note...

########################################

From: ______
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 11:29 AM
Subject: Don't stoop to the level of the terrorists

*****
I am sending this message to people I know so that they can spread the word
to others to make people think before carrying out irrational acts or treating
others with unfounded feelings of hatred.
*****

First of all, I want to express sorrow for the victims of Tuesday's events.  I am still in a state of shock and wish I could do more to help those in need.  I'm sure all of us would have liked for this whole tragedy to have been avoided.  One thing we can all do is to help prevent further tragedies from happening.  In the last week, there have been numerous incidents of Americans verbally and physically attacking other Americans of Middle-Eastern and Asian descent.

One Sikh gentleman was killed, places of worship have been bombed.  This is very disconcerting and it needs to stop because it is simply wrong.  It is, in essence terrorism upon our own people by our own people!

Just because somebody looks like a Muslim (as the terrorists apparently were) doesn't mean she/he is one.  But more importantly, just because a person is Muslim does not mean she/he shares in any of the sentiment and ill-will that the terrorists had towards the United States.  The Muslims that we interact with daily are our neighbors, friends, and co-workers.  They are not our enemies just  because they share a common cultural background with some extremely radical, evil people.   Remember that Jeffrey Daumer and Hitler were individuals who happened to be raised Christian and did horrible things.  Does this make it right for others to seek vengeance on any Christian just for sharing a common background?  Of course not.  Don't stoop to the terrorist level of inhumanity.  This is a time to stick together and support each other.  We are all hurting.  We do not need to add to the pain.

+ Atul

Taking Out Frustrations On The Job

Donny B is up to bat for this week's Roundtable post and it's one that talks about a journalist's responsibility in keeping a personal agenda out of her/his work.  When is it appropriate?  In the case of Dan Savage, who is a nationally syndicated columnist helping people with their sexual relationships, he has been letting his anger flow over the New York State Supreme Court decision outlawing gay marriage.  And boy is he ever taking it out on his readers!  See some excerpts and offer up your opinion on Donny's blog.  I have done so and I offered the ultimate solution to this whole gay marriage controversy in my comment.

+ Atul

Immortality: If It Became Possible, Would You Want It? Should Anybody Have It?

I came across some articles on what is becoming one of my favorite websites, livescience.com. 

LiveScience Article One on Immortality
LiveScience Article Two on Immortality

In this series of articles about immortality, the writer explores how the study of aging is leading science in the direction of drastically extending lifespans.  To some scientists, it's only a matter of time before this becomes possible.  The articles also examine how the world would change if humans lived significantly longer than they do today.  He's not just talking about an extra ten years, more like an extra hundred.  It's something to consider, and consider thoroughly.  What would be the implications of having a portion of this earth's 6 billion people living to be 200, or possibly even forever (until an accident or a hip fracture does them in)?

There would be many positives including more time to do the things you always wanted to do before you died.  Medical technology advancements would probably keep your body in decent shape.  You would also get to live through more of history to see how the world changes and to see your 115 great great great grandkids grow up, (although remembering all their names would be a problem).  Four marriages might become the norm because 170 years with one person might be a bit too much.

But there would be enormous consequences in terms of global population, housing, resource depletion and a host of other issues.  The length of one's career would have to be much longer to save for a much longer retirement and some people might have four careers instead of one.  Fewer people would be able to count on inheritances and newer workers might not find room in the job marketplace.  Social security would simply become a joke.  The young would not be given proper attention since there would be so many more old people to cater to and to attract votes from.  We might become a society that has to kill off people once they reach a certain age as in the movie "Logan's Run."

I've always said that I want to live to be a hundred just to see how the world changes, but I'm not sure where I would draw the line if I were given the opportunity to choose my lifespan.  At what age would you want to cap your lifespan if at all?  How much would you pay to have the option?

+ Atul