Comments on: On Feeling Frustration With My Culture - http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/ Human Animals at the Crossroads of Culture, Science, Religion and Media Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:51:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Home ownership sucks « Chaos Theory http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-31257 Home ownership sucks « Chaos Theory Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:41:34 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-31257 [...] I felt guilty even considering not having a house. I have CHILDREN, for Gods’ sake!   They like to ride bikes and roller blade . . . which require what??  That’s right -  Concrete! Asphalt!   Cool.   I hate having a yard.  I wish I was one of those nurturing gardener-types, but I can’t even keep the indoor plants alive anymore, and I don’t really care.  I weed-whack what little grass I have when it starts to get embarrassing, and once or twice a fall, I rake.  I live in the city, the yard is small and thank the good Lord I don’t have some obnoxious neighborhood association breathing down my neck for having plants out of alignment, o...  [...] [...] I felt guilty even considering not having a house. I have CHILDREN, for Gods’ sake!   They like to ride bikes and roller blade . . . which require what??  That’s right -  Concrete! Asphalt!   Cool.   I hate having a yard.  I wish I was one of those nurturing gardener-types, but I can’t even keep the indoor plants alive anymore, and I don’t really care.  I weed-whack what little grass I have when it starts to get embarrassing, and once or twice a fall, I rake.  I live in the city, the yard is small and thank the good Lord I don’t have some obnoxious neighborhood association breathing down my neck for having plants out of alignment, o…  [...]

]]> By: snake http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-2319 snake Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:24:53 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-2319 It is my contention that much of our industrial - technological society, suffers from the 'never enough - not enough syndrome'...Gross materialism seduces, but it's satisfaction has a short life span...Our society stays in alot of denial about it... It's 'soul - draining' and just not a good way to live...It's one of our sicknesses... ----- I read about the Ladakh culture, when I was young...And the idea of what constitutes 'poverty' was changed ever since... ...'When I first went, in the early days, I found people who thought of themselves as very rich and literally said so. They very proudly served their own food and played their own music and wore their own clothes. I came to a particularly beautiful village in the early days, and just out of curiosity I asked a young man to show me the poorest house in the village, and he thought for a minute and then he said, "We don't have any poor houses." Eight years later, I heard the same young man saying to a tourist, "Oh, if you could only help us Ladakhis - we're so poor." Within eight years his self-image had changed dramatically, literally from one extreme to the other, because of the contact with western tourists and the sense that this other way of life was one of complete luxury and leisure and incredible wealth.'... http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC17/NHodge.htm It is my contention that much of our industrial - technological society, suffers from the ‘never enough - not enough syndrome’…Gross materialism seduces, but it’s satisfaction has a short life span…Our society stays in alot of denial about it…

It’s ’soul - draining’ and just not a good way to live…It’s one of our sicknesses…
—–

I read about the Ladakh culture, when I was young…And the idea of what constitutes ‘poverty’ was changed ever since…

…’When I first went, in the early days, I found people who thought of themselves as very rich and literally said so. They very proudly served their own food and played their own music and wore their own clothes. I came to a particularly beautiful village in the early days, and just out of curiosity I asked a young man to show me the poorest house in the village, and he thought for a minute and then he said, “We don’t have any poor houses.” Eight years later, I heard the same young man saying to a tourist, “Oh, if you could only help us Ladakhis - we’re so poor.” Within eight years his self-image had changed dramatically, literally from one extreme to the other, because of the contact with western tourists and the sense that this other way of life was one of complete luxury and leisure and incredible wealth.’…

http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC17/NHodge.htm

]]> By: keith fletcher http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-1012 keith fletcher Wed, 12 Jul 2006 17:49:27 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-1012 Air force one and the farmerAir Force One crashed in the middle of rural America. Panic stricken, the Secret Service mobilized and descended on the farm in force. When they got there, the wreckage was clear. The aircraft was totally destroyed, with only a burned hulk left smoldering in a tree line that bordered a farm. Secret Service descended upon the smoking hulk but could find no remains of the crew or the President's staff. To their amazement, a lone farmer was plowing a field not too far away as if nothing at all happened. They hurried over to surround the man's actor. "Sir," the senior Secret Service agent asked, panting and out of breath. "Did you see this terrible accident happen?" "Yep. Sure did." The man muttered unconcernedly. "Do you realize that is the President of the United States' airplane?" "Yep." "Were there any survivors?" the agent gasped. "Nope. They's all kilt straight out." The farmer sighed cutting of his tractor motor. "I done buried them all myself. Took most of the morning." "The President of the United States is DEAD?" The agent gulped in disbelief. "Yep, he kept a-saying he wasn't ... but you know what a liar he is!" Air force one and the farmerAir Force One crashed in the middle of rural America. Panic stricken, the Secret Service mobilized and descended on the farm in force. When they got there, the wreckage was clear. The aircraft was totally destroyed, with only a burned hulk left smoldering in a tree line that bordered a farm. Secret Service descended upon the smoking hulk but could find no remains of the crew or the President’s staff. To their amazement, a lone farmer was plowing a field not too far away as if nothing at all happened. They hurried over to surround the man’s actor. “Sir,” the senior Secret Service agent asked, panting and out of breath. “Did you see this terrible accident happen?” “Yep. Sure did.” The man muttered unconcernedly. “Do you realize that is the President of the United States’ airplane?” “Yep.” “Were there any survivors?” the agent gasped. “Nope. They’s all kilt straight out.” The farmer sighed cutting of his tractor motor. “I done buried them all myself. Took most of the morning.” “The President of the United States is DEAD?” The agent gulped in disbelief. “Yep, he kept a-saying he wasn’t … but you know what a liar he is!”

]]> By: artemis http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-38 artemis Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:59:54 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-38 Good work at finding perspective, Mindy, and I encourage you to stay in a place of rationale and calm rather than anger and outrage, in order to effect change. You have figured it out, in my opinion... to make better choices, and to aim for the do-able. Good work at finding perspective, Mindy, and I encourage you to stay in a place of rationale and calm rather than anger and outrage, in order to effect change.

You have figured it out, in my opinion… to make better choices, and to aim for the do-able.

]]> By: Nancy Inman http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-23 Nancy Inman Tue, 04 Apr 2006 14:57:18 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-23 Min-- I second Eric's thoughts, and thank you for so beautifully articulating the thoughtful observations of a humble American traveler. You shine a bright light on the consequences of the million choices we make every day. Those choices that either "buy-in" or " opt-out" of the empty cultural tidal wave sweeping in the the masses. Shall we all give up electricity, clean air and clean water to experience life at its most basic level? Shall we try to "help" those we deem to be on the wrong path? How do we as individuals do our part in reclaiming the self-sufficient, courageous, community-centered and hard-working heritage of our nation? How do we raise our children, in the midst of plenty, and with joy in their heart, to distinguish between wants and needs? While I struggle with these thoughts, I continue my habits. I confess to my failure in courage and vision in this regard. I think on a daily basis about whether we should eradicate TV from our life, but haven't done it. I hate Christmas, but continue to participate in the sickening materialism of it all. I take my kids to Limited Too on shopping sprees. I love my car because it's comfortable and fast. I believe that we are in the final analysis, nothing more than the sum of our choices. So your thoughts have inspired me to look with courage at making some changes-- not because I think I can change the world-- but because I know I can make a difference in the lives of my children if my husband and I make some different choices. I'll keep you posted. Min– I second Eric’s thoughts, and thank you for so beautifully articulating the thoughtful observations of a humble American traveler. You shine a bright light on the consequences of the million choices we make every day. Those choices that either “buy-in” or ” opt-out” of the empty cultural tidal wave sweeping in the the masses.

Shall we all give up electricity, clean air and clean water to experience life at its most basic level? Shall we try to “help” those we deem to be on the wrong path? How do we as individuals do our part in reclaiming the self-sufficient, courageous, community-centered and hard-working heritage of our nation? How do we raise our children, in the midst of plenty, and with joy in their heart, to distinguish between wants and needs?

While I struggle with these thoughts, I continue my habits. I confess to my failure in courage and vision in this regard. I think on a daily basis about whether we should eradicate TV from our life, but haven’t done it. I hate Christmas, but continue to participate in the sickening materialism of it all. I take my kids to Limited Too on shopping sprees. I love my car because it’s comfortable and fast.

I believe that we are in the final analysis, nothing more than the sum of our choices. So your thoughts have inspired me to look with courage at making some changes– not because I think I can change the world– but because I know I can make a difference in the lives of my children if my husband and I make some different choices. I’ll keep you posted.

]]> By: steve http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-21 steve Tue, 04 Apr 2006 04:52:40 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-21 Mindy: No favorite Nietzsche quotes from me. I never liked the guy. Didn't he die a painful death to syphillis? Anyway, I feel your frustrations as well. You have painted a colorful and dark snapshot. Yin and the Yang comes to mind 陰陽. Thanks. Steve Mindy:

No favorite Nietzsche quotes from me. I never liked the guy. Didn’t he die a painful death to syphillis?

Anyway, I feel your frustrations as well. You have painted a colorful and dark snapshot. Yin and the Yang comes to mind 陰陽. Thanks.

Steve

]]> By: Erich Vieth http://dangerousintersection.org/2006/04/03/on-feeling-frustration-with-my-culture/#comment-20 Erich Vieth Tue, 04 Apr 2006 04:11:05 +0000 http://dangerousintersection.org/?p=57#comment-20 Mindy: Thank you for this gift. The last few times I returned from abroad, I was struck by the loud, wasteful, entitled intensity of American culture. It smacks you in the face as soon as you land in an American airport. It all seems so gauche. Or maybe, as you have written, we tend to notice the crazy things easiest and it takes awhile for our eyes to adjust. Your post reminded me of one of my favorite Nietzsche quotes: When taking leave is needed.-- From what you would know and measure, you must take leave, at least for a time. Only after having left town, you see how high its towers rise above the houses. --Wanderer and his Shadow, #307 Mindy:

Thank you for this gift.

The last few times I returned from abroad, I was struck by the loud, wasteful, entitled intensity of American culture. It smacks you in the face as soon as you land in an American airport. It all seems so gauche. Or maybe, as you have written, we tend to notice the crazy things easiest and it takes awhile for our eyes to adjust.

Your post reminded me of one of my favorite Nietzsche quotes:

When taking leave is needed.– From what you would know and measure, you must take leave, at least for a time. Only after having left town, you see how high its towers rise above the houses.

–Wanderer and his Shadow, #307

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