Monday, March 19, 2012

Against The Wind


Thanks for stopping by – having made it through the dark days of winter I am finally ready to rip into 2012 with a list of things I believe (and an equally long list of things that piss me off).

I believe that Kony 2012 was a great concept that educated the mainstream about the atrocities committed by Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army.  But I believe there’s more to getting involved than posting the link to Facebook or tweeting about the video.  If you want to make a difference you need to get involved (and that means learning all the facts – not just the YouTube sound bites).  It takes education, effort, and real action.  And speaking of getting involved, Occupy Wall Street showed what happens when you give voice to the voiceless but don’t identify your objectives or what you’re trying to accomplish.  It comes down to identifying objectives, targeting an audience, and execution…..”End The War” is clear, succinct, and easier to make happen than “End Greed.”  I believe that we need to spend more time, effort, and money on space exploration – not less.  This is a reversal of my earlier position in which I bitched that space exploration was a waste of money.  The big picture (as explained by Neil DeGrasse Tyson) is that space exploration is about innovation.  Discovery.  Pushing boundaries.  I believe that collectively we as a nation have stopped pushing boundaries and we’re falling behind.  Seriously behind.

I believe in Made In USA and I think we need to find more effective ways of manufacturing products in the USA.  Here’s an idea – factories and shops in inner cities, tax breaks for companies willing to investment, and job training for people who might want to work but lack the necessary skills…..and maybe if 1 or 2 big box retailers got behind this and pushed their suppliers to swing bigger percentages of the manufacturing back to the USA it might happen.  I believe no husband or man in any serious relationship wants to hear the words: “we have to talk”, because inevitably it just involves some aspect of our behavior we need to change (even if we don’t want to change it).   I believe too many politicians are out of touch with the realities of America in 2012 and the issues affecting their lives.  I believe Justified and Southland are two of the best shows on TV right now (followed closely by Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire).  And I believe I can happily live my life without ever seeing another reality show, except maybe Intervention.

10 comments:

  1. What a great blog! Full of much thought-provoking beliefs. Neil DeGrasse Tyson rocks and so does Kevin Michaels!

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    1. Thanks Joe! I only started watching/listening Neil DeGrasse Tyson within the past year or so (mostly on Bill Maher). He's given me a whole new perspective on science and space exploration - seriously, if my teachers in school taught science like he explains it, I might have enjoyed it so much more.

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  2. What Joe said!

    And I love the idea of more space exploration by the US. If we could spend all the money on that, that we spend on war, we could make real headway.

    I like your inner city jobs idea, but the cynic in me - who has worked with many people who who have been handed a food ticket almost their entire lives, says I dont think it would work.

    The hopeful person in me wants it to, but I just dont see it realistically happening. As soon as the new employee finds out that they lose their food benefit if they work more than 26 hours a week, they will quit or do something to get themself fired. I wihs it was not so, but I have seen this on more than a few ocassions.

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    1. Thanks Cat! That's the biggest problem in creating jobs in inner cities - we've created a culture where some people find it more advantageous to stay home rather than work. I've done some consulting with companies trying to manufacture products in the US and the biggest challenge is finding qualified workers or finding workers who can be trained - it was tough because those jobs were paying the same as unemployment benefits.....it's an on-going uphill battle.

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  3. Lovely, idealistic post, Kevin. I agree that "we as a nation have stopped pushing boundaries and we’re falling behind. Seriously behind." But I have virtually no hope of anything getting better. We're too busy texting, tweeting, facebooking, and following the inane activities of various celebreties, to take the time to get educated and take action on important things. It's too easy to think, "Well, that doesn't actually affect ME, so la-de-da." As for me, I admit that I have been overcome with the feeling that my one lonely voice will never be heard, so screw it. I know, I know...if everyone said that, no reforms would ever be enacted. In my youth, I was an anti-Vietnam-War activist, an anti-nuclear-proliferation activist, a pro-choice activist, etc ad nauseum. Now, I just sit quietly and fume.

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    1. Dear Lady,
      Please share your thoughts. I find them well worth the time to read. Besides, sitting and fuming is like closing the flume when a fire is roaring in the fireplace it just fills the room with smoke to no ones benefit.

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    2. Thanks Z and I want to add, "yea - What Leon said."! I share your same thoughts about today's society/younger generations and the way we're consumed with the inane...that's part of what inspired some of my recent posts, rage, and anger. But to quote a line from The Shawshank Redemption: "Hope is a good thing." I think we have to keep trying to make a difference in spite of the indifference and apathy (guess it's those 1960's ideals we all learned)!

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  4. I agree that it is a thought provoking rant, (like all of your work is) and I applaude you for publishing it. Activism is working to accomplish a goal (action or change of mind) and the means to accomplishing that goal as varied as there are people on the planet. I believe that we should strive toward the goal, I'd go further, we should strive toward the ideal of the goal. Without the delusion that achieving anything less than the ideal is failure. We must do what we can, if that is liking something on facebook, sending money or joining a march that is good. But I'd agree that anything more one can do is good too. There have been causes that I wished I could do more, but because of distance, youth or adult responsibility I didn't pack a bag and go join the fray, although i had wanted to. What I'm trying to say is do what you can, and take no credit for what you do, only rejoice with likeminded people, when your cause reaches a milestone.

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  5. Thanks Leon! I agree that we have to do what we can in whatever way we can (love your line: "because of distance, youth or adult responsibility I didn't pack a bag and go join the fray"), but I think there is so much more that can be done by so many. Too many think that the level of commitment stops at "liking" a post on FB when that's really only the start. I believe you have to keep pushing forward and you have to keep working to create change, but you also have to know what it is you're trying to change.
    Best-KM

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  6. …..”End The War” is clear, succinct and say's it all....

    You have a great site here and I loved that our friends added great comments to your worthy rant.

    Jeanette Cheezum

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