Upon Returning From California

A week ago I left Jacksonville, FL for San Francisco, CA along with my wife and two children. Our travels also included four days in beautiful Santa Cruz, CA. There are a considerable amount of memories from this trip, most of which I've surely forgotten due to my failure to document the moments in writing when they occurred. My hope is that the 600+ pictures that were taken can revive any misplaced moments.

The cause for heading west was to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday, of which our presence was to be a surprise. Though still very astute mentally, being close to completely deaf and with very limited vision made the surprise somewhat lengthy as she worked through figuring out who we were. Seeing her great-grandchildren along with my wife and I gave her much joy along with moving those others in attendance. The intriguing thing about the event is that the vast majority attending the party were from Carl's (my grandmother's husband) side of the family. Carl is her third husband, one she married late in life, who had two (if memory serves) kids and from them many children of their own. A wonderful and welcoming family of whom I am grateful to have this connection. It should be noted my mother was also there, having arrived some two weeks prior to us, along with my cousin Jessica. I have not seen here since my wedding. She has a beautiful new daughter, Nikki.

The experience itself was worth every penny spent. When a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old girl manage to enjoy seemingly every moment you know you've done something correctly. Walking the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz (the walking tour is a must), Ghirardelli Square, The Mystery Spot, The Exploratorium, The Santa Cruz Boardwalk...all succeeded in pleasing the masses. As noted, I will have more to write about of which I hope can bring you as close to the experience as possible.

Funny that some things I took from my visit are almost meaningless and inconsequential. Glean from them what you will.

• Do you ever think about the music you hear while pumping gas? While in Santa Cruz I was graced with Robert Plant's Heaven Knows from his album "Now and Zen". A Zen moment indeed.
• When I got back in the car from fueling the classic radio station was broadcasting a show by Alice Cooper. He had just started playing U2's Gloria from "Boy". The Zen moment continued.
• I was told Santa Cruz (SC) was a hippie town. I knew going into the trip that San Francisco (SF) was a big homeless city so there was an expectation of folks begging for cash. It wasn't until we were boarding the BART on our last day that someone actually asked for money.
• An endless gripe I have is giving money to the homeless. I tell my children that institutions are in place that are paid for by tax dollars and other donations to ensure that they get help as opposed to getting direct money which may fuel their addiction(s). Furthermore, begging is not an occupation. That being said, in both SF and SC we saw many talented musicians trying to make a living on the streets. It was a great opportunity to give money to someone who at least was trying to "earn" it. They may still have used it on their addiction(s). I hope not.
• SC must be (and I'm guessing definitely is) a pedestrian friendly city. At no time did I ever see a car not yield for someone on foot or on a bike. Maybe there are strict laws requiring this. My direct experience was my long run for the week. I was on a four lane road and was at the cross walk...not in it. As I waited for traffic to thin, drivers who saw me standing on the sidewalk came to a complete stop so I could cross. Again, I WAS ON THE SIDEWALK. Not sure I'll ever see that in Jacksonville.
• I'm sure I am misquoting the bumper sticker but this is pretty close. "Be courteous. We are all trying to get somewhere." I think Josh McTiernan shared something close to this some time ago.
  
• The house we rented in SC was directly across from the beach and we were serenaded by crashing waves every evening. The house itself was roughly 1,300 sq ft and consisted of two separate buildings. It couldn't have been that much larger than the first place I lived with my wife down at Jacksonville Beach. Minimalism is a wonderful thing. Even my son commented that, though different, we could live like this.
• One night we spent at the SC Boardwalk which was a miniature amusement park (The Lost Boys was filmed there). Of the 5 hours we were there, and considering the cultural and economic mixture of attendees, there was not one altercation. More Zen moments.
• Widest bike paths I have ever seen in my life.

It has been quite some time since I have actually felt recharged. To a greater degree it has been some time since I obtained so much focus. On the plane ride home I was able to talk about Absurdism and Camus with my son. I have to believe even he was impacted as he began to see the life affirming aspect of this system.

Now to get back on East Coast Time.

A Brief Thought on Fear

One of my favorite quotes is from the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "Fear is the mother of morality." This quote was brought to the forefront of my thoughts while reading on Confucius and his ways of the Superior Man. The correlation to the Nietzschian Ubermensch immediately disclosed itself, but it was the three items that Confucius noted which made me pause.

“The way of the superior man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.”

When do we consider that we fear something? Fear seems to arise from a lack of control. Death, for example, can be a prime motivator to believe in a God. For Confucius, knowledge was "the" component to being superior. For Nietzsche, not being a "slave" elevated the person. Each thinker expressed a common sentiment: it is freedom which we desire to attain and in this freedom we become better.

Back in college I had to give a two minute unprepared speech on the famous FDR quote regarding fear. I argued that the statement "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" was wrong. Fear can be a great motivator, but only when we are strong. I find this sentiment in the superior man reference, but in a different approach.

Confucius would want us to be free from fear by being bold. It would be easy to read this as we should not fear but I do not feel that would be accurate. Through virtue and wisdom we attain a level of confidence and vision so to embrace and overcome fear. What this demands is a high level of honesty to self and others, and to a greater degree personal accountability. As long as I am binding myself to a belief system which inherently has me limited I will turn to it when fear grips me.

This idea is obviously deeper and more complex than a hit and run blog entry but at the surface there is a basic element at work. While we sit and marvel at those around us who overcome and succeed, what is it that holds us back? Fear of public speaking, fear of humiliation, fear of loneliness or fear of failure are but a few stones. Honesty towards the obstacles is a start which then leads one to the "path'. Once on the path we must be careful that fear does not handcuff us in a manner that Nietzsche warned: that being a system which requires acceptance of rules without question. It is then that we can be bold enough to see the stones not as obstacles but as parts of the path which we are creating.

The Heart of the Matter

With the recent press surrounding Shirley Sherrod's unfortunate firing we have been given the opportunity to reflect on a few evident and elemental aspects as to how we should express and obtain information. The fear tactics used by the Left during the recent Bush administration (loss of privacy) along with those used by the Right related to Obama (Socialism) predate this event but carry the same poison. The easiest thing to do when confronted with an idea is to react. The more difficult approach is investigation as it could inherently change one's established beliefs. In either example above the individual is faced with the problem of trust. Do I trust the source? Do I trust myself?

What is at the heart of the Sherrod issue? Some would have you believe (Keith Olbermann) that it is a mandate against Fox News and the right in general. Some would have you believe that it is a commentary on the racism within black institutions (Andrew Breitbart). There are other red herring's at play as much as there are other examples that could be given. Though there may be an element of truth contained within these positions, they do not represent the greater concern. What they do is to rally a specific segment of their audience by feeding to their established opinions on certain issues and in doing so actually illuminate where the heart resides.

In an article from The Guardian, Lola Adesioye writes:

That the NAACP, itself supposed to be an organisation concerned with equality, was so fast to denounce Sherrod as "shameful" is another surprising twist – it also had to backtrack once the full video was made available. Rather than taking responsibility for not using due diligence and checking the facts, the NAACP said it had been "snookered" by Breitbart and Fox News. The truth is, the NAACP was not "snookered"; it simply failed to act in a professional manner.

Conservatives can defend the idea that Fox News is "fair and balanced" but the fact remains that it is watched primarily by Conservatives. The same can be said for any "liberal" media outlet. What is highlighted in this quote by Ms. Adesioye is that there is a truth value assigned to today's journalists to the extent that if we hear, see or read it we are inclined to believe it. How often does one, after listening to Olbermann or O'Reilly or Limbaugh or Maddow, take the time to investigate their opinions or the opinions of their guests? And if we convey their opinions as fact, how often to we blame them for the information?

When writers like Leslie Savan try to paint this in a political light, Weapons of Mass Distraction, the sentiment conveyed is that it is a problem of politics. While it is true every media outlet (save the likes of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and CNN) should have delivered a highly visible apology, the idea that only the Right is the enemy plays into the problem. As was noted on the Today Show this morning, that problem is the politicizing of journalism. The once trusted media outlets have become the pawns to the political powers that either invest in them or for whom they have ideological agreement. Even more frightening may be the power of advertisers to dictate content.

If the news has become nothing more than opinion pieces we should all be careful. Broad sweeping generalizations are an easy red flag and serve to do nothing more than divide us into our little groups where we feel validated and safe. To put this in a different "color", do you recall the Duke Lacrosse incident? Do you recall how the media handled it along with political figures within the state and the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? Do you recall who did and who did not issue apologies? To a more recent incident, there is Obama's public assertion that the Harvard acted "stupidly", only to find out it was his friend professor Henry Louis Gates.

These tactics are not isolated to a particular political party or special interest group. We, as citizens, need to be better educated on events and more critical of the information we receive. It goes beyond questioning the source to questioning intent. Much like Shirley used the moment in her speech as opportunity to change, so should we use her conflict for our personal benefit. As long as we empower politicized or "shock" journalism that is the information we will receive. By questioning intent and digging for more information we better serve ourselves and our community.