Another view on the Flag

Sometimes you and your friends don't see eye-to-eye when you are talking over things. We have run into that here on the Front Porch from time-to-time.

I didn't really see a problem with US Olympic athletes carrying our flag after they won a medal. Likewise, I didn't have an issue with them using the flag as a cloak.

I agree 100% that the flag is a sacred symbol of our nation and it must be treated with respect.

The athletes at the Olympics represented our country. When they won, they won for themselves and for us. Therefore, I didn't mind if they wrapped themselves with the flag, sweat and all. In fact, I kind of liked it. Though I am not an athlete, I feel a chill when our national anthem is played after winning a gold medal.

I am glad that the Olympic athletes felt enough pride and patriotism to show the flag. I think it shows that there is something special about representing your country on the global stage and at the pinnacle of athletics. In other words, maybe when the athletes say that it is special to represent their country it isn’t just a platitude.

One more thing. If you look around, may times our flag is flown in ways that do not meet all the standard rules. It bothered me at one time. However, when you travel overseas, you don't see national flags flown nearly as often as you see Old Glory in the US. I think it good to see our flag outside car dealers and restaurants, even if the flag is a little faded and tattered, or left flying in the rain. In a small way, it shows a special pride. Maybe it is because America is more of an idea than just territory or where you are born.

What’s So Special About the Flag, Anyway?

I watched some of the Olympics. Not as much as some, but enough to notice something very disturbing. Since when did it become fashionable or acceptable for winning American athletes to wrap themselves in the US Flag?

It is disgusting, arrogant, disrespectful, and boorish.

This flag represents the grand ideals, principles, and spirit of freedom gained by many who lost their lives for the Nation. This flag is reverently placed on the caskets of our fallen dead who gave all, literally. This flag is the symbol of hope and encouragement to emigrants from the world over, who sacrificed family, friends, and fortune to become one of the ‘huddled masses.’

With all of the accolades, honor, and adulation these athletes receive, is it really necessary for them to dishonor the flag by wearing it for a victory cloak? Shame on the US Olympic Committee for not discouraging this practice! Shame on NBC for broadcasting the images!

We live in a society that has difficulty showing reverence for noble and sacred things. Repeated scenes of victorious athletes wrapping their sweaty bodies in the flag, will now give young athletes around the country permission to do the same—turning the flag into just another athletic uniform.

Are You an Olympian?

I remember a line from a movie or cartoon “may I be excused, my brain is full.” Something is bothering me but I can't explain what, exactly. It’s feels similar to looking at distant, faint stars at night. You know the ones--those that you can only see when you don’t look directly at them. So you look at another nearby area of the sky to actually see your target. Then the frustration, as you attempt to show someone else the constellation—you tell them not to look at the place they need to look, to see the place you want them to see.

I suppose it’s the atmosphere of extremes that surrounds us in the world today. The Olympics is a case in point. Who isn’t amazed by the impossible drive, training, and accomplishments of these athletes? These people have achieved extraordinary accomplishments. Yet, the Olympics tend to make me very uncomfortable. I’m sure it’s partially out of personal jealousy. I’ve never felt the desire to narrow my focus on one activity for so long that I could come close to the dedication, determination, and resulting phenomenal performance of these gladiators of athletics. But, for me there is also a very real sense that we are setting ourselves up for constant disappointment, if we pattern our daily life after the Olympians’.

First of all, not everyone will excel at something, just because they want to, have a positive attitude, and work really hard at it! I know I just contradicted the entire self-help community in one broad stroke of the pen. However, no matter how hard a 5 footer practices, he’s not going to play basketball in the NBA. There are just some things that can’t be overcome with a positive attitude.

Secondly, how many of us have the will, means, or time to drop nearly every other thing in life and dedicate years to running, jumping, swimming, or throwing something? Most of us living a ‘normal’ life are routinely choosing to compromise with the extreme opportunities of life. We take that job because it doesn’t require us to travel away from family so much, even though the other job pays more. We pick a home because the schools are better, but the taxes are higher than in the other county, or it is farther away from parents.

Please don’t assume I’m suggesting we accept mediocrity. Quite the contrary! I know we were intended to be great, successful, and joyful. I worry that we are using the wrong rulebook and scorecard to measure greatness, success, and joy. Certainly, money has shown itself to be a deceitful, merciless master. If wealth and fame bring happiness, then why are there so many miserable, addicted, and insecure superstars? Why do we reward a sports personality with the accolade of ‘hero’ and lavish attention and wealth on him, while the schoolteacher is an afterthought in our society; poorly paid, and barely respected. Which one contributes more to societal success?

Let’s not even talk about ‘beauty’. Our society is paranoid schizophrenic. We tell ourselves not to be vain and superficial, yet we spend $ billions on creams, pill, injections, diets, exercises, clothes, and surgery, in a feeble attempt to turn back time, or change our physical condition to match some mysterious definition of beauty. Wrinkles and sagging are a natural part of life. Sure that old guy on the infomercial looks 20-something. And yes, that woman has the smoothest skin ever. No, a wrinkle will not ruin your life, or cause your husband to leave you. Your balding and/or graying head will not cause your wife to be ashamed—if you married some one who has not been fooled by the false scorecard. Yes, you have a responsibility to stay healthy—proper exercise, diet, and sleeping. Chasing the extremes will only bring exhaustion, disappointment, and poverty.

Let’s learn to find happiness in sitting on the porch watching a sunset, in addition to the occasional expedition to bungee jump from a perfectly good bridge. It can be just as memorable to ride a canoe down a local river, as it is to take a cruise in the Caribbean. It’s not wrong to do the big spectacular things. It’s also not right to believe the big things will bring us joy. Perhaps this is the reason so many marriages crumble—the expectations of a steady, unending environment of blissful, trouble-free, existence. If not, well something must be wrong with my spouse, our vacation choice, our job, neighborhood, friends, children, lack of children, parents, grandparents, in-laws, church…. Could it be we’ve lost sight of the accomplishment in overcoming a challenge together, learning to compromise, looking for reasons to be happy, instead of searching for flaws?

We won’t all be Olympians. In fact, very few ever will. We can be champions in life, family, profession, and relationships. Throw away the extreme games of life and search for a friendly pickup game, and have fun! By the way, next time you’re out at night, show someone the constellation Pleiades.

Do They Think We Are That Dumb?

If you listen to many political analysts (a.k.a. pundits) and some of the political class, they think the American public is very short sited and very self-centered. Some pundits seem to believe that Americans will only support things that provide an immediate, self-serving benefit. I think these people are selling the American people short and doing us a disservice. Their drive to be important and to get their voices heard results in sophistic, short sited solutions to problems, and a generally divisive social climate.

What started this tirade?

The discussion by pundits and politicians about expanding drilling in the US and off our coasts is what fired me up most recently. Just before Nancy Pelosi and the rest of Congress has returned home for the summer recess (the “Summer District Work Period” according to the calendar on the House website (http://www.house.gov/house/House_Calendar.shtml)), they were attacking drilling because it wouldn’t show a benefit for 10 years or more.

It seems like some pundits can’t realize that we can understand the key points of an issue and make a choice that isn’t immediate self-gratification. I think the vast majority American people realize that you can’t instantly drill for oil. We realize that it will take time to find the oil, build the platforms, build the infrastructure to transport the oil, etc. We may not appreciate all the details, but we know this oil won’t be available tomorrow, next year or maybe not for 20 yrs.

Yet the pundits and some politicians seemed to be amazed and puzzled that we generally still favor more drilling within the boundaries of the United States. To me, this reaction and amazement says good things about people and typical things (unfortunately) about the political class, punditry and the news media.

We have major issues facing this country and expanding oil production is really just a small part of it all. In an ideal world, the pundits that were selling us short would sit back, look at this as a case study, realize that Americans can forestall gratification today for a better tomorrow, and then adjust their behavior accordingly. Sadly, that won’t happen.

PV Podcast

Better late than never! Podcast #3 is now available. Please click on the link for PhotoVoltaics Podcast, when you get to the site, click on download. Carl does a great job of telling us about the bright future of PV technologies!

A Bright Future of Hope and Opportunity!

Okay, I don’t know about all y’all, but I’m kind of weary, worn out and tired! Not so much physically, but mentally, and emotionally. Here’s the deal.

First, it’s this presidential campaign. Will it ever end? I mean, really, the stumping, rhetoric, accusations, and discussion feel perpetual. And for now, they are short on substance, and long on emotional manipulation. I’ve always prided myself on being relatively immune to the manipulation aspect, but, for some reason, this time around it is really abrasive. I’m not even talking about the actual issues of either campaign, it’s mood and methods. We can devote another post to the candidates’ issues, but not today.

The next thing I can consciously put my finger on is the frenzy about world energy and pending global environmental collapse due to carbon levels. Yes, oil prices are high; yes, we need to conserve resources; yes, we are experiencing dramatic increases in food prices! All these are happening, but I don’t get the panic and despair mentality. It doesn’t resolve anything to wander around the world bemoaning our circumstances, and complaining when others don’t bemoan with us. It only adds to fear, despair, and eventually apathy. When people feel helpless often the only way to deal with it is to ignore it. It also makes us more willing to accept just about anything that looks like an attempt at a solution; this can lead to poor and ill-advised actions in the long-term view!

What is the solution? Perhaps, I’m not qualified to say with certainty, yet I have a few thoughts about it. When people are presented with a tough problem to solve, they are inclined to attack it with energy, if they believe there is some type of reward upon defeating the obstacle. Hope! We need to recognize our situation, but also look back and see that we have solved many tough, challenging problems already, and are just as smart and capable (perhaps more so) to do it now. The world and people are resilient! Look at the monumental achievements throughout history. I’m not talking Pollyanna, here, but a realistic, eyes open optimistic enthusiasm to tackle challenges with energy, drive, and balance--avoiding, panic, despair, and desperation. This will require cooperation, moderation, and even some realistic compromise from the extreme views on all sides.

Our nation was founded on the concept that given an opportunity to control their destiny, people will most often achieve greatness. Many times they will surpass expectations. We need to regain that optimism for opportunity, and responsibility for our actions—good or bad! Blaming our neighbor, the church, or the government, shifts our energy away from the individual, and drives away creativity and determination. Allowing ourselves to be told we are not responsible for our actions, because somewhere in our past—near or very distant—some injustice was inflicted on us or our family, makes us exempt from tapping into the personal hope and energy that can take us away from the negative situation.

Of course, I believe at some point along this path, we cannot have a complete hope, until we acknowledge God in our sojourn here on earth. All things are His, and he can help us solve problems we create for ourselves, but He generally won’t act unless we request it!

The Dark Knight Smashes the Box Office!

I admit, I saw it! Everything I heard about the great acting and special effects, did not disappoint me. As a matter of fact, I think that Heath Ledger will receive an Academy Award nomination, and likely the Award. He was a very convincing mad-man. And Michael Caine, well, he’s Michael Caine.

So by now, you’ve determined that I loved the movie; wrong. Believe it or not, despite the superb acting, the excellent special effects, the cool bat-toys, I came out of the movie a bit frustrated! Why? I’m not entirely sure, but I think it has to do with my own personal vision of who Batman is; what he represents. I admit, I never read the original Batman comics, so I don’t know where they took him. I did grow up with the Batman from TV, so perhaps that is where my basis of comparison originates.

Just like everyone said, it is very dark—the lighting, the setting, the mood. Another objective masterfully achieved by the director. I guess, this is where my frustration lies. The film was done so well, that Batman is going to be defined by a new persona, going down a new path, a path I don’t want to see him travel!

The characters infer he's a ‘necessary evil.’ I’ve always, and continue to wish for Batman to be bigger than life; in the ‘toys’ he own, in the bad-guys he catches, in the girls that like him, and in the moral character he displays. With him now being allowed to let the ends justify the means, I get lost in the moral dilemma created. Okay, so I’m an idealist!

But, don’t you think we have enough real-life examples of bigger-than-life ‘heros’, that turn out to have significant vices, personality defects, or character flaws? We don’t have to look far to find examples in sports, business, politics, and even some religious figures. By making Batman more like these, we take away some of the hope that there is reward in being moral, good, and virtuous. Perhaps the message of the film is that we live in a dark world, and the only way to combat darkness, is to use the same tools, but for the right reason, of course. That concept is disturbing and discouraging to me.

In the end, we are talking about a mythical figure from a comic book, made into a feature movie by some extremely talented people. But, IT'S ONLY A MOVIE! I don’t see the social fabric of society being torn away by such a production. However, it does make me wonder if this movie’s success in someway indicates our perceptions about society and morality, or just plain optimism and hope. Something to think about.