Half Empty/Full

15. A pessimist is one who has been compelled to live with an optimist.- Elbert Hubbard

People often call me a pessimist, which confuses me. I always try and correct them and tell these people that I'm a realist, which as I understand, most pessimists do. But the thing is, I'm not a pessimist, I'm simply too analytical to be an optimist. I don't think everything will become worse, that everything I try will fail, nor do I think life is generally miserable. I simply don't blindly assume everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows.

Optimists are strange people to me, they confuse me. I just can't ration how it pays to be that way all the time without getting bit in the ass for it. To be so unendingly positive that you outright refuse to allow yourself to see the negatives. People who don't allow themselves to complain, to bitch, to just generally feel something negative. But here's the thing, they don't just ignore the negative, they blindly accept it as well. Looking on the bright side means putting up with the bad, and it's in this vain that people can start to become pessimistic around optimists.

The man who refuses to look at the negative, at all, forces someone else to. There's a problem, obviously, but the optimist is just going to try and find the goodness in it. But that doesn't fix the problem, it's just brushing it under the rug, someone has to go and say it's there under that rug. This person, now acknowledging the problem, is unwittingly focused solely on it, simply because the optimist refuses to see it at all.

I'm going to make a bold proclamation. There is no advancement with optimists, nobody who looks at only the bright side will try and fix something. No optimist neanderthal ever had a problem with the hunter gatherer method of life, they just said "at least we're getting good exercise!" It was the pessimist, the guy who was annoyed at following elk for thousands of miles, and hoping the fruit picked from a random tree wouldn't be poisoned, that decided one day to capture an animal and plant a tree. He that day invented farming and livestock, he was the one who would allow humans to settle in one place.

And he did it cause he focused on what sucked.

Fate and Belief

Fate:
1 : the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do: destiny.
2 : an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end.

Some people believe in fate, in a preset course for everything that cannot be altered no matter how much you try, what steps you take to avoid or evade the outcome that is set. A car accident that’s going to happen; you know it’s meant to be so you do everything to avoid it, only to realize that the steps you took TO avoid it caused the very thing you were trying to prevent. Ain’t that a bitch?

Some people don’t believe in fate, they argue that free-will and open thought processes immediately condemn fate to oblivion. How can something be predestined if you don’t even know what you’re going to do until the very moment you are in the midst of doing said thing?

And some people are in the middle. Multiple universe theory, where a universe is created for every possible option that could come to pass, whether or not it does indeed come to fruition in your current conscious universe or not (ie; fate is just living in motion for; if everything is fate, fate must exist).

What is right?

Well, we’ll never know. People have tried to answer this question as long as it has been posed. Some answer it absolutely; fate is God’s hand in motion; some answer it with uneasy curiosity; I do not know if fate exists or if fate is merely mocking me to think upon its existence to further its own eternal plan. The variable of fate is in every question, every philosophy, in science, in religion. Whether discussing Jean-Paul Sartre’s belief in complete indeterminism, Einstein’s theory of relativity or John Calvin’s intent teachings of predestination, fate will play a role.

No matter how true we may insist our beliefs are, in the end that’s all they ever are. Beliefs. Belief in what we proceed to think of as truth, belief in what we conceive are lies. Humans are predisposed to wondering and trying to place ideas in sections of right and wrong. It makes us uneasy to have anything hovering in the “well, I honestly don’t know” category in our brains.



So; fate, does it exist?

Or perhaps the better question, the more open minded question and the more intellectually honest question; do you believe it exists?

Out of Gas

Spring is here and Summer is right around the corner. Time for picnics, barbecues, and beach parties! It's also time for the gas prices to skyrocket. The weather shift will mean more people will want to get out of the house, which means heavier driving. Long drives to the beach or the amusement park, road trips, vacations, people are driving... a lot. This all leads to the insane gas prices we all love to hate. I can talk about the corruption of big oil, I can talk about how unfair the prices really are, but I'm not. Today I'm going to talk about how we have no one to blame but ourselves.

How can we be to blame? It's the oil companies that blast the prices up. They claim shortages, they claim higher demand, they claim high barrel prices, they claim many things and still gross billions of dollars. How can we not be angry with them? These people grab every dollar they can from us, they inflate their prices and make lame excuses without even trying to hide the ridiculous amounts of profit. But here's the cold hard truth, we let them do it.

It's one thing to be angry at these people for taking advantage of us. It's a completely different thing to be angry and do something about it. This is basic economics, supply and demand. They have the gas, we want it. For as long as we ask for it, and accept their prices, they can get away with the insane prices. But this simple principal of economics can work in our favor, we have power. We need to stop the demand...

I've seen it attempted, many times. I've seen the desperate attempt to get a massive gas boycot going for just one day. I've seen the power of the internet fail on getting the word out, I've seen radio ads fail, I've seen newspaper fail. We as a nation seem to rather bitch and accept it, than for one day not drive, for one day show big oil that we don't want their prices, that we don't absolutely need the fuel they charge so highly for. One day, it's all it would take, one day if everyone just stopped, if everyone just walked, carpooled, used public transportation, it would decimate the gas companies. It would work, with nobody buying the gas companies would begin hemorrhaging money, they would be forced to lower prices. We seem to forget that in this system of capitalism that it is not just the corporation that runs the show, we all have the ability to control what we get and how we get it.

Just have to stand up and walk.

Oh, Baby Don't Hurt Me

What is love?

Is it predestined connection, where for every person there is the ONE other that can complete them, love them entirely and without withholding?

Is it a chemical reaction in your brain, too much dopamine and norepinephren. A large build of up serotonin, a release of vasopressin?

Is it an emotional struggle, built up over time from laughter, tears, fighting, smiling, talking?

No matter what it is, humans are centered around it.

Websites built around finding it, songs written about losing it, sanctified rituals that promote the outward symbolism of it, fights and hate over who is allowed to feel it for whom.

What is important in life? Most of the typical answers revolve around this all consuming notion of love.
Friendship; the neutral love of another human being without sexual passion or romance.
Family; the bond of love between those considered your net, your support. Even to some, the love of someone who shares your blood.
Spouse of significant other; simply said, romantic love.

But why?

Why this ever going search for love, whatever it may be in a technical sense?

Is it because we’re afraid of being alone?
Is it because we have been told for so long that love is the meaning of everything?

Is it the movies, the TV, the music, the stories, the poetry?

What is it?

I think, in my small pocket of introspective wisdom, that when we can answer this question THAT is when we are ready to find the thing most of us strive for.

Love isn’t just the goal; it’s the first thought, the people along the way, the footsteps behind you, and the long stretch of road in front of you.

Love is the journey.

How are you Feeling?

This is a topic I've both wanted and not wanted to talk about. It's an issue that I am passionate about, an issue that can drive my blood to boil. I've literally had shouting matches with my family, whom have an opposing view. These shouting matches are the reason that, despite my deep passion for the topic, I've held off from doing it. The issue is heated, more heated than anything else I've discussed here. People get angry, furious, when you bring this up, and the last thing I want to do is bring trolls to this blog. Strap yourselves in, cause I'm about to talk about Health Care.

But what to say about it? There are so many aspects of this issue, so many things to say. I could talk about the morality, the idea that health is a right, and those who profit off the sick are universally disgusting. I could talk about the quality of health care, the exaggeration of wait times, and the simple idea that waiting is preferable to simply being unable to afford treatment at all. I can discuss the cost of all things, while our country spends billions on military and war efforts. I could even go into the corruption of Insurance Companies, who set up plans intent on keeping you ill and their most grievous slight of preexisting condition clauses.

These are all topics I can write an entire article on, I could rant and rave, I can show my logic and rationale for hours. But in the argument's listed, there is always a counter, counters I personally find weak, but reasonable. There is another, more pressing argument though, that finds this issue at it's most heated. It is the argument that spawns hatred and rage, and it is completely and utterly ridiculous. The idea that Universal Health Care is a Socialistic method, a method that has no place in Capitalism. I just shake my head at this, I wonder how they cannot realize the simple truth?

There's already Socialism in America.

I want you all to think about something for me. Are you over eighteen? Do you have a job? If you answered yes to these questions and don't have any children above the age of five, guess what... You're part of a socialist program. The people who bleat this argument say that it's unfair that they have to pay for everyone's health care, when they can just pay for their own which they consider to be superior. What they don't realize is we already have this system in place for something else... Schools. Public Schools are paid for by the State, the State gains money through the taxes. I have not gone to a School in seven years, and yet I am paying my part for our children to learn.

Now you can go ahead and send your kids to Private School, private schools receive no funding from the state, they're a tuition based system for profit. They're often times considered superior to Public Schools, the fact that you pay them directly means they can afford better equipment, and the limited number of students compared to public means your kids get more attention from the faculty. But your taxes still go to that Public School. You, paying for your own kid's private education are paying for Public School. Are you really going to say you don't want every kid to have access to some form of education? You're going to tell me, that because I can't afford Private School, my child is not allowed to learn?

From the Postal Service to Police we in this country pay through taxes what could easily be privatized and have been. Fed Ex sure beats out the USPS, but I'm sure you're happy the post office is only gonna charge you ten bucks to ship the package that Fed Ex would have charged you forty when you're strapped for cash. And I know you're happy that the cops don't write you up a bill when they've finished investigating a robbery.

The problem with this argument of socialism is that these people believe it's going to corrupt our nation despite the fact that it's been here for decades. They think that as a Capitalist society we can only run on capitalist methods, but it just doesn't work that way. A symbiosis of ideas from many methods of government is the way. It's the very foundation of our nation that it's government would be run by it's people, that we wouldn't be bound by one rule and one system. That we could forge a new system as needed when needed.

I am at heart a Capitalist, as shocking as it might sound, I truly believe that if you have a service you should be able to sell it. But this isn't cell phones or produce we're talking about, this isn't real estate, this isn't big screen TVs, this is life. When you see someone in pain, when you see someone sick, when you see someone at the cusp of death... Are you really gonna ask them cash or credit?

...

Testing the Teacher

There's this issue going around our schools as of late, no it's not test scores, it's not funding, and no it's not teachers with inappropriate relations with their students. This is an issue of payment. The Teacher's Unions have started to sway towards favoring a Merit pay system. A system that rewards Teachers who's classes do well. This issue has only been pushed further with President Obama urging that this system of payment be accepted widely. This of course has sparked a debate, is this a good or bad thing?

When I first heard about this issue, it seemed to me what was being proposed was a Teacher would be paid based on their performance, I.E. their student's grades. This to me seemed a bit... Questionable. What seems to be the actual case is more a reward for teachers that excel, as opposed to punishing those who don't. A bonus for teachers who's students preform well. This seems at first like a great idea. Though it does raise some questions that must be asked.

What definition are we using for excellent performance? Does that mean a certain grade average per class, or per student? Or would it be per assignment, and tests scores as well? The definition of good becomes varied depending on the criteria it is based upon. There is of course the factor of the students themselves, some students will refuse to learn, I remember kids when I was in school who would rather have dental surgery than pay attention in class. What is going to happen to a student like this when a teacher is now getting paid per grade? How can we be sure this system will be introduced fairly, that teacher's won't lower their standards or simply cheat their student's grades to make sure they receive these bonuses?

All these questions come to mind, all these questions are yet unanswered.

But lets think about this... Let's just assume this is implemented in a fair and balanced way, what will this do? Well, it will improve our school systems for one. As teachers continue to strive for the better pay, the student's will be pushed into maintaining higher grades. A new influx of talented teachers will emerge, the ones who can continually gain this extra incentive will survive, while teachers who lack care or motivation for their job will be forced to find better suited employment. This also takes care of our teachers who have been universally under paid for years now, giving them the influx in money they desperately need to keep our current teaching staff employed, as well as give new teachers proper motivation to become teachers at all.

This entire idea is rough, undefined, and jagged around the edges. But you know what? I'm for it if they can polish it down to something that works. This system, if implemented correctly, will simultaneously aide both our educational system, and those working for that system. I can only hope, that if and when this discussion becomes a reality, the kinks and bumps will have been grooved out.

Just makes me wonder why we don't have this kind of system for our Doctors.

Come Fly with Me

In my short time on this planet, I have flown a few times. The experience was, well... Adequate. I got to the airport, grabbed my ticket, trudged through security, and boarded my plane. And while I certainly don't hate the airlines for my personal trips, I do hate them for another reason, I would like to fly more. But the prices for plane tickets are astounding, especially considering the service.

Here you are paying between two hundred and five hundred dollars, three weeks in advanced, for what is in essence an air taxi. A taxi that you don't get to enjoy alone, but must share with several dozen more people. Now I understand, the operation of an air liner is much different than that of a Taxi, so comparing the prices is a bit silly. But here's the thing, the one aspect of air travel that drives me up the wall... A taxi does not increase it's price based on when you call for one. Say I wanted to take a flight in one month, I check the price and it's two hundred dollars, so far no problems. But if I wanted to book that same flight two weeks from now, the price would be much higher... And if I wanted to book the same flight on the day I wanted to leave, the cost would be over double what I would have paid today.

It's completely backwards! An air line makes it's money by booked seats, a plane departing without all or at least most of it's seats filled is not making as much money as it can. The idea is to sell those seats, but here we are at the moment of departure, seats unfilled, and raising the price. It's a cruel little joke on the passengers, they know a person booking a flight on the same day is in crisis, they need to leave on that day, they cannot refuse the hugely inflated price.

You add this with the general disdain of air travel and you can see why companies are falling left and right. Additional charges for luggage, lost luggage, insane security that doesn't make us more secure, cancellation fees, delays, and of course having your flight simply canceled. It may seem like small complaints, air lines can't expect to be perfect, mistakes happen. But think of how much you're paying these people, how much money one trip really costs. With how much we spend to fly, is it too much to ask for better treatment?

I'd just as easily take the occasional mistake if it meant I could afford to fly more often.