Larry Powell Should Be “Man of the Year”

On By WinstonIn Personal Responsibility, Politics, Society, Values9 Comments

If the spot’s still open, here’s my candidate for the Time Magazine “Man of the Year”: Fresno County School Supervisor, Larry Powell.

In case you missed it, this person decided to let go of $800000 in salary over the next three and a half years. The reason for his decision? He didn’t need it and he wanted to protect his pet projects from budget cuts and help restore faith in government officials.

In an era of political corruption scandals and massive unemployment in his region, Mr. Powell was looking to make a difference. While others look to take more out of the system, he decided to put some back. Among the projects he wanted to protect, is one geared to getting B and C students into college by teaching them note-taking and strategy skills.

“How much do we need to keep accumulating?” That’s the question that drives the Powell’s decision. To achieve his plan, he worked out a deal to retire and then get hired back at a much lower wage. In fact, he will be earning just $31000 a year. That’s about $10000 less than the starting salary for a teacher in the district.

There are two things that set him apart in my book. One is the realization that just because you can command a massive salary it doesn’t mean you should. In a cash strapped region, he and his wife decided they had all they needed and had no reason to take more. It’s hard to imagine a more radical idea in today’s world.

Oh wait, there is ONE idea that’s more radical, and it’s the other big reason he should receive “Man of the Year”. Mr. Powell didn’t feel the need to tell anyone what he was doing. It wasn’t until four days after the board meeting, that word got out. When it seems everyone is fighting for the spotlight, he didn’t feel the need. There were no press conferences to tell everyone what a great thing he was doing. Instead of a publicity stunt that could have landed him on half the talk-shows in the country, the privacy of his action is the hallmark of it’s authenticity.

Larry Powell: Time Magazine’s Man of the Year! Probably not, but he should be. He would make a great role model for us all.

Cheers, Winston

Videogame Addiction 1.1a update

On By WinstonIn Media, Pop Culture, Society, TechnologyLeave a comment

This information is indicative of a more open position on the part of the APA. As such, I felt it important to post it in the interest of balance and fairness.

In doing some further reading, I discovered the APA (American Psychiatric Association) classifies video-game addiction and Internet addiction as “reward driven behavioral disorders”. It will include these and others in an appendix of the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. See, they really DO right the book on addiction. They still aren’t considering it an addiction, but are including it to encourage further study.

In the previous post, I indicated only that the APA doesn’t view video-game “addiction” as an addiction. The fact that they are encouraging additional study indicates it’s still a possibility. In the meantime, let’s try understanding instead of labeling.

Cheers, Winston

Videogame Addiction

On By WinstonIn Media, Pop Culture, Society, Technology2 Comments

So I’ve been reading again. This time, it was an article about the perils of video-game addiction. I actually found it sort of refreshing. In amongst the drama of neglected family and career, there was an item rarely seen in such an article.

Turns out, the American Psychiatric Association (the organization that literally writes the book on addictions) doesn’t believe that video-game addiction is real. I think that is great news. It’s not because I don’t believe that some people do really bizarre things in the name of gaming, it just removes the easy reason. Let me explain what I mean by that.

Many people seem not to really understand the concept of addiction. I have a teenage daughter (your sympathy is appreciated), and she and her friends use addiction to describe anything they consume in excess amounts. A song, a tv show, a snack, a celebrity, all have been preceded by “I’m totally addicted to….”

The culture of their youth was saturated with a conflicted message. Public Service Messages told them that alcohol, tobacco and drugs are addictive, but the social message was that they are enjoyable. This creates the shorthand association between pleasurable excess and addiction. My daughter understands that she isn’t actually addicted to the song, snack or whatever. It’s just a figure of speech. The problem is that common usage corrupts and replaces the actual meaning in peoples minds. That leads to a larger problem.

My daughter says she can’t possibly do dishes right now because she’s “addicted” to the show she’s watching. Someone else says they’re not attracted to their spouse anymore because they’re “addicted” to pornography. Is it really surprising that someone will say their life was ruined because they are “addicted” to video-games?

Jackson Toby, professor emeritus at Rutgers University writes, “I do not believe that the concept of `addiction’ is useful; it only describes strong temptations; it does not explain strong temptations. What makes the temptation so strong? The memory of past pleasant experiences with the behavior that we are talking about – in this case video-games.” He goes on to say “I don’t believe that someone can be addicted to video games.”. Addiction is a label, and the label isn’t the thing.

As soon as you apply that label, you avoid responsibility. “It’s not my fault, I’m an addict.” The person isn’t choosing to spend sixty hours a week playing World of Warcraft, they can’t help themselves. It’s not accurate, but if they see it enough in the media, it becomes real. The addiction label is also incredibly disempowering. Once the person believes themselves addicted, they assume the addiction has power over them. Not only are they being told they aren’t responsible for their actions, they’re powerless to change them.

The video-game addiction label is also a mask. It’s a false image hiding the real cause of the behavior. If a person can’t actually be addicted to video-games, then why are they destroying their lives? It’s easier to accept the mask than look at what it hides. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but that’s what we want.

When I was a teenager, video-games weren’t the boogeyman. I guess Pong just didn’t get it done for everyone. Back then, Dungeons & Dragons was the mind destroying addiction. One person killed themselves when their character died in game. Another was killed during a “live-action” adventure. Grades suffered as kids cut class to game. It was the “gamepokalypse” of it’s day. Then people moved on to the next media sensation and the hype died. Everyone realized that D&D hadn’t caused the tragedies associated with it. It was just a vehicle for deeper issues. Video-game addiction is no different.

If someone loses their spouse, children, house, job or even their life because they won’t stop playing a video-game, you need to wonder what’s going on inside. Saying “addiction” isn’t going to help anyone. At least not anyone looking for an answer instead of a soundbite.

Cheers, Winston

Why Dog’s Love Car Rides

On By WinstonIn Humor, Personal2 Comments

Last night while driving to my trailer, I realized why dogs like car rides so much. Here’s my theory.

Normally if a dog wants to experience new things, it has to get off the couch and walk around sniffing stuff. The more new things it wants to experience, the further it has to walk. Now I can’t speak for every dog, but mine has times he’d rather just sit on the couch. That’s where the car ride comes in, he gets all the smells without all the work.

A car ride is like the Internet for dogs. He gets to sit in one spot and let the world come to him. Like the Internet, he doesn’t get the full experience of the world around him, but he doesn’t have time to get bored with any of it either. When he’s had all of the world he can handle, he takes a nap without leaving his seat. Just like surfing the net at work.

What really clinched it for me was his reaction when we stopped to eat. Instead of wanting part of our supper, he was restless and fidgeted the whole time. It’s the same thing I do when I get a lousy signal on my iPhone and have to wait forever for a page to load off the Internet.

Now you know why your dog gets so excited about going for car rides. Remember though. If you drive past a dog breeder, the smells are like Internet porn for dogs. You’ve been warned.

Cheers, Winston

p.s. If you have a cat, it probably doesn’t like car rides as much. That’s because cat’s don’t care about the rest of the world. The only part they’re interested in is the part that contains them. Besides, they get their cat porn on the real Internet while you’re out.

W

Tools Don’t Change Anything

On By WinstonIn Personal, Society, TechnologyLeave a comment

Earlier today I read an article on Maclean’s which argued whether Apple or Google had done more to change the world.  The author argued that Apple had simply refined what was already there, while Google had done something revolutionary.  My first thought was to side with Apple.  I use Google a LOT, but I use my iPhone a LOT MORE.  Of course, I have a Google App on my iPhone that I use too, so that kind of muddies the waters.  As I was debating with myself which is more important for me personally I realized something.  I was over thinking the question.   Let me give you an example.

I recently asked a friend of mine, “Why is the sky blue?”  They told me it’s about the light refracting through the water molecules in the air and so on.  I explained that they were over thinking it.   The answer is very simple.  The sky is blue because we’re told it is.  If we were told the sky is green, the sky would be green even though it would look exactly the same.

The same logic holds true for the Apple / Google question.  The answer is:  Neither one changed the world.  We are told that certain things changed the world.  The first stone tools, fire, bronze, iron, steam, electricity, splitting the atom were all “things that changed the world”.  Well, they weren’t.  What they did, was affect humanity’s ability to change the world.  This isn’t simple wordplay, it reflects our view of the world and our place in it.  All those things, from fire to Google, are just tools.  The idea that tools changed the world removes both our responsibility and our sense of engagement.

No tool ever changed the world.  Tools didn’t build the Pyramids, or the Eiffel Tower, or the Golden Gate Bridge.  No hammer ever drove a nail on it’s own.  My iPhone doesn’t write this blog.  Google doesn’t research a political issue unless I ask it too.  Tools don’t change anything.  People change and shape the world for better or for worse.  The printing press didn’t change the world.  People used the printing press to change the world.  Splitting the atom didn’t change the world.  What people decided to do with that tool, changed the world.

We aren’t used by our tools, we use them.  Our tools allow us to influence our world in unprecedented ways.  Whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.  What we have to remember is that the choice is ours.  Tools don’t change anything.

Cheers, Winston

My Important Things

On By WinstonIn Personal, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

What are the important things in life?  This is a question I occaissionally give some thought to.  The fact is, the answer is different for everyone.  I believe that there are some things which are more or less universal.

Hope is esssential, for without it, there can be only despair.  Hope fuels dreams and builds the future.  It makes hardship bearable and gives strength to the oppressed.

Belief is required, for hope is it’s hostage.  Hope is meaningless if you don’t believe it.   Belief is the engine fueled by hope.  A dream cannot become the future if the dreamer doesn’t  believe it.  You cannot make any change if you don’t  believe you can.  No good thing could ever have happened if it was not believed in.

Trust is the seed from which grows friendship and love.  Without trust, one is forever alone.  No matter how many people surround you, if there is no trust, there can be no companionship.  To be trusted is to recieve the greatest of compliments.  To give trust is to trust yourself.  Trusting yourself is the key to acheiving your dreams.  It doesn’t guarantee success, but not trusting yourself guarantees failure.

Love is both the source and the outcome of all these.  Without love, there can be no fulfillment  Every good thing comes from love of others.  Love is the very essence of hope, belief and trust.  It is the best of everything we are.

For me, there is one more essential.  Humour.  Whenever I have lost hope and and believed I could not trust to love, I have always gotten through with humour.  Some of it may be dark or in poor taste, but it is a way for me to cope when I have no other.    They say that feeling pain lets you know you’re alive.  Being able to laugh even when you’re in pain lets you know why you’re aliive.  Humour is a way of looking at things we cannot face.  Laughter is a medecine for the soul.

This list is far from complete.  These are my essentials, and invite everyone to share theirs.

Cheers, Winston

A Peaceful Place

On By WinstonIn Personal1 Comment

So here I am. It’s sneaking up on midnight and I have yet to write today’s post. I was sitting on my deck with my dog watching the squirrels, chipmunks, jays and finches going about their lives. I should have been working on this post, but my phone was inside charging. Instead I sat and enjoyed the world around me.

It’s mid-week, so the campground is quieter than on the weekend. My dog warms himself in the late summer sun. A chipmunk comes up onto the step. It sees me sitting there and chitters at me before running away.

It was a Louis Armstrong moment. “I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”. That’s where I’m at. I’m amazed by how lucky I am. I’m surrounded by peace and beauty and I’m glad my phone is on the charger inside.

It’s just a quick note tonight, but that sense of peace still lingers.

Cheers, Winston

Fundamentalist Yes, Christian; Not So Much

On By WinstonIn Personal, Politics, Religion, Society7 Comments

Welcome Brethren, Sisters, one and all. Are you confused by all the people claiming to do God’s will? Do you look at what they are doing and wonder if you misunderstood it all like they claim? Do you feel the call of the Fundamentalists? Well, worry no more. I am here to help!

Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Good citizens of the blogosphere! Welcome to Brother Win’s Traveling Miracle Tent And Christian Values Revival! Step inside and I will reveal to you: The TRUTH! That’s right folks. They claim it, I’ve got it. Have a seat right up front here, we’ve got plenty of room.

When a sitting US senator says that homosexuals and unwed mothers shouldn’t be allowed to teach, they talk about Christian Values. When people want to cut social programs, they talk about Christian Values. Others say non-Christians shouldn’t hold public office, or that the debt crisis is God’s punishment for (you guessed it) declining Christian Values. All these people talk about Faith and how God hates this group or that group, and they quote the Bible. That must mean they’re right, right? Wrong!

They are absolutely wrong, and I’ll tell you why. They are slow readers. That’s the whole of it. They’ve been reading that Book for years, but they’ve never got more than half way through it. They read the part where it says an adulteress should be stoned to death. They never got to the second half of the Bible. That’s where Jesus says, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” They read the bit about unclean acts, but they missed the chapters on forgiveness in the second half.

That’s right folks, everyone who talks about hate totally missed the New Testament. Well not totally, they just skipped ahead to Revelations. All of them read Revelations. Do you want to know why? The answer my friends is fear. That’s what the Old Testament has in common with Revelations, they are all about fear. Their message is, “Do what we say. Or else.”. That’s the perfect message for people who hate. It’s perfect for people who want power. People who like to tell others what to do, they love that message of fear. But it’s not what Jesus taught!

Jesus taught people not to fear. He taught people to hope. His message wasn’t one of fear, but of love. I can hear what the “Fundamentalists” are saying right now. “Jesus said He didn’t come to change the Law.” That’s absolutely true. He didn’t come to change it, He came to take our punishment for every sin we could ever commit. The Old Testament was a huge list of “Do”s” and “Don’t”s. The list in the New Testament list is a little shorter. “Believe in me and you shall be saved.” That’s it. One simple rule. Do this, and you’re in. Regardless.

There are a couple more of his teachings that I’ve always liked. When Texas Governor Rick Perry rented a football stadium for his blatantly political Day of Prayer he definitely hadn’t gotten to the second half of the Bible. If he had, he might have remembered this line. “Be not like the Pharisees and the Sadducees who pray loudly in the streets. Go instead into a dark room, lock the door and pray there. In context it means, stop trying to look righteous and start being righteous. That’s not something Gov. Perry or ANY of those like him want to hear. If people can’t see them being “righteous” there’s not much point for them. People aren’t going to go along with your hate-fueled personal agenda if they don’t see how “righteous” you are.

Then there’s my personal favorite. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one and other. Even as I have loved you, that you also love one and other.”. If you follow this one rule, the other ten are automatic.

The other day, a man named Jack Layton passed away. He wasn’t a mass murderer, or a brutal despot. Still, a person of “Faith” posted this when wishing his friend a happy birthday. “Jack Layton died… Great Birthday present.”. I guess they didn’t get more than halfway through either.

Now you know The TRUTH! Next time someone tells you that God Hates this, or God Hates that, feel free to tell them The TRUTH. “God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON to die for our sins.” They won’t hear you, but don’t let that stop you. If we don’t speak up, people will only hear their voices.

Now rise up my Brothers and Sisters! Leave my humble tent and go out into the world. Take The TRUTH with you, for it Shall make you free.

Cheers, Winston

Short Thought For The Day

On By WinstonIn Personal, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

The trouble with second guessing yourself… It’s still just guessing. It may be an educated guess, or it may be uneducated. If it’s not guaranteed, it’s still a guess. Besides, if you aren’t happy with your first one, there’s no reason to expect your second guess to be any better. It’s often a case of the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.

Just something to think about.

Cheers, Winston

Jack Layton: A Man I Admired

On By WinstonIn Personal, PoliticsLeave a comment

Jack Layton passed away today after a lengthy struggle with cancer. He was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party. He was a politician who put principles first, and I respect that.

For those not familiar with Canadian politics, we are a two party country. Officially, there are a bunch of others, but not really. For my whole life, if you wanted to run the country, you joined either the Liberals, or the Conservatives. Mr. Layton devoted his political life to changing that.

His youth was one of privilege and comfort. The sort expected to produce a more conservative adult. Despite this, he became a proponent of social justice. After serving for a time in municipal government, Mr. Layton decided to move to the federal arena.

Did he move to one of the two major power parties? No, instead he joined a smaller federal party that was a better fit for him. The NDP (New Democratic Party) were the social conscience of the federal government. Everybody “knew” they were never going to be a big player, but Jack Layton saw something else. He saw the NDP as more than Canada’s guilty conscience. He saw it as a major power, and a vehicle for change.

He worked within the party to win over the core members. Eventually, he became party leader. There still wasn’t much of a party to lead, so he set his sights on like-minded people who for years had regarded the NDP as an also-ran joke. From there, he took his message to the Canadian people. The NDP weren’t a bunch of free-spending, socialists on the far-left fringes of the political landscape. Then he was diagnosed with cancer, and he fought this fight as he had so many others, with courage, dignity and humor.

Going into the last election, Jack Layton was leading a party with a clear vision and an achievable agenda. By that time, the roles had been reversed. A strong and vital man once joined a weak and ailing party because he believed in what it could be. In 2011, a strong and vital party entered an election led by a man struggling with a terrible disease. While other parties campaign messages were basically, “Vote for me because I’m not the other guy.”, the NDP spoke of a vision. Not a vision for the NDP, or for “the Nation”, but for the people of Canada, and the people responded.

The NDP didn’t win the election, but they won the day at every other level. From a perennial third place also-ran, they now form the official opposition. Instead of being viewed as a semi-radical fringe party, they are now seen by many as a serious contender to govern the nation.

Let me be clear about something. I’ve never voted for the NDP. Instead of voting for a party that shared my values, I voted against ones that didn’t. Anyone who reads this blog knows I feel strongly about social and political issues. I read the news, and I listen to those more educated, or experienced than myself. Then I talk to people about what I’ve learned, or I post to this blog.

There were issues that Mr. Layton felt strongly about, and I’m certain he talked the people around him, but he didn’t stop there. He engaged with the system and worked to change it from within. When there was no political party that would support his vision, he rebuilt one from the ground up. He didn’t just talk about what he believed, he lived it. He didn’t just dream of a brighter future where things are done differently, he worked to build that future.

That is what I respect the most, the determination to translate his dream into reality. Anyone can find faults in the world. It is a rare person who will devote themselves to fixing them. Mr. Layton fought cancer and a come-from-behind election campaign at the same time, and that’s all impressive enough. What made him a great man in my eyes is the dignity, grace and decency with which he did so. Thank you Jack for your vision, your work, and most of all for being a man I admire.

Jack Layton died today, but his unbreakable spirit and commitment to changing the status quo will live on.

Cheers, Winston