Like a Phoenix, Rising From the Ashes

 The title may be a bit of an overkill. I am going to put some effort into reviving this project. It's been years since I wrote in this space. I wrote one post at the height of COVID but anytime I though about writing for an external audience, I didn't have very good things to say and I did not want fill the world with more negative thoughts. Let's be honest, we were all having a few too many.

I now feel like I have things to say to make the world a better place. I'm not too concerned if people read what I have to say. Currently in my mind, it is about the information being available. Maybe over time I will feel a need to promote certain posts but, just having my thoughts out there in the world for anyone to read is a good feeling.

My life has changed a lot in the last few years. We re expanding our family. In fact, when I wrote this blog regularly in the past, I wasn't even married. My family is amazing. They give me strength. They give me purpose. They are what matters the most. Parenting has made me into a better version of the person I want to be. As I write this, my son is sitting on my lap and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The world is getting more fragmented and adversarial. It's a bad way to be going. Yes, we all have and idea of how things should be. At least you should have some opinion. That doesn't mean others don't also have good ideas.

I plan to explore how we can make things better, how we can be better, how we can laugh more, and how we can learn from what we see.

The lessons are everywhere. Often we are not very good at seeing what we need to see. Often we are so caught up in the day to day routine we don't reflect and learn. That doesn't mean we can't make an effort to do better.

There are a lot of good ideas out there, I want to capture and focus some. I want to show the world, even if today they are not interested in listening, that these ideas are worth exploring and reflecting on.

So, I'm not sure how frequent the posts will come but there will be posts. I'm not sure how long the posts will be. I am sure that they will be authentically from me and I hope that everyone reading will gain something from me.

I really think putting good ideas out into the world only helps all of us.

Safe Spaces

We need safe spaces. We need to feel physically safe. We need to be able to take chances and do something something different. We need all that.

Universities need to be safe spaces. They are a place that a lot of people move away from home end up. In no way do I think that someone should feel physically threatened. However, when you are at university, you better feel intellectually threatened. One of my professors, he went by Rabbi Rose, said that if you don't question your beliefs, you should ask the university for your money back.

I've noticed a change in the world around me. So many people cut anyone with a differing opinion out of their life. This has created a big problem. 

A lot of what is going on in America is caused by groupthink. Their 'us versus them' mentality comes from not listening to the other side. If an idea scares you, then you should be exploring it. You should be trying to find out what they are saying and why you don't like it. Beyond that, you need to know why they believe it. 

The world needs more people understanding why not everyone looks at the world the same way. We are shaped by our experiences. We will not all have the same experiences so we need to understand what makes people happy, what makes them hate, and what makes people want to do better. However, because so many people cut out anyone they disagree with, close-minded nationalism is taking a hold of a lot of people. 

The good news is, this is easy to fix. Instead of sealing these people out of your life, talk to them. Find out what they are thinking and more importantly why they are thinking this way. You need to understand people who are different than you. People don't want to have the courage that their mind may be changed. I know it's scary to change your position but I think we all need to be open to that. It's the only way to make the world a better place.

I don't want your body to feel threatened but I really want your mind to be challenged because too many people are not expanding their minds and allowing themselves to be cut off from so much of the world.

Accept vs. Respect

Everyone says it. Young people are not the same as they used to be. In my world, this change took place between my grade and the grade behind me in school. I know what you are thinking. Everyone thinks they are part of the good group and the people behind you don't live up to your high standards but in this case it is true.

In the first couple of years after high-school, when I would be back in Russell, Manitoba, some teachers would mention that my class was a much better class than the ones that came behind.

Kids these days are not the same. Throughout history, there have been several instances of youth uprising and change the establishment. However, it seems that kids these days don't do it right.

It all comes down to the difference between respecting an individual and accepting what they have to say.

People deserve to be respected. There may be a few exceptions. Names such as Hitler and Dahmer come to mind, but for the most part you should respect the people around you. You should really respect the ones that have gone before you and are trying to pass their knowledge and experience on to you.

However, that doesn't mean you should accept what is being said. History is full of instances where the establishment has passed on bad ideas to the newest generation. You don't have to dig deep to find some. The world is flat, women shouldn't vote, and the earth is the centre of the universe are a few examples.

Everyone should respect the people around you but you do not have to accept what they are saying. It is good to question and challenge what you are being taught but it must be done in a respectful manner.

This may be a bit easier said then done. It takes skill and tact to challenge and disagree while remaining respectful. You need to challenge and question the idea, not the person delivering the information. This can be hard. People can be very tied to their ideas but you can ask how does this idea fit within the natural world. 

It is important we send the newest generation down this road. It is my best idea to break the current entitled disrespect you see from so many young adults and teenagers. We need to build a society where free exchange of ideas for betterment is a skill held by everyone. Now, to have credibility in what you say, you need to have education and experience to back it up. Education is access to a lot of people's collective experience but you need to have experience to understand how the collective knowledge manifests itself in the world. At that point, you may be able to challenge while maintaining respect.

All is not lost but, we need to make sure that people understand that you do not have to accept what people are saying while you give them respect that they deserve.

Original Thought

As our online existence continues to mature what we share with each other seems to be changing. Maybe it's just my online experience but I have noticed that a lot of what is being directed toward me from people I stay in contact with is not original.

I'm not saying there is not a lot of original content on the Internet. People are making new stuff everyday. However, it seems that my News Feed on Facebook and my Twitter feed has a lot of reposted material. A lot of it is pictures of cats, other posts have witty slogans or attempts to explain what some perceive as stupidity in the world. Some of it funny, some of it is insightful, a lot of it is lame.

I do repost things from time to time. Often it's a link to a news story I come across. It may not be important news but it is interesting to me. Back in the 90's people used to fax jokes around, as that decade wound up and email became more commonplace, much of the humor was send over the Internet. It seems the medium has moved to social media.

One of the revolutions of social media was that anyone could say what they wanted to everyone or to a controlled audience. It was easier than ever before to express yourself. It seems that for a lot of people it has become an easier way to share someone else's ideas or creations.

There are two reasons I can think of why my newsfeed is full of recycled material. They are not mutually exclusive and may both have some impact on why people post what they post.

Most people are not very creative. It may be because we live busy lives or we just can't seem to express our thoughts but most people are just not very original. They find it a lot easier to express how they are feeling or try to make you laugh with someone else's content. It is more convenient, you can't deny that. There are people who seem to have a lot of time on their hands and I'm sure they produce their share of bad content but if you make enough, you will have some good ones.

People don't want to be to honest online. If you repost someone else's content, it's their idea and you didn't say it if there is backlash. You can say how you feel but you have a veil of protection. You don't put yourself all the way out there. It feels safer.

I have no problem with people reporting others content. Some of it is really good and makes me laugh. That being said people should have the courage to put some of their own ideas out there. Let's be honest, we can only look at so many pictures of cats acting like people.

Powerful Language

I just watched a segment on the long running CBS News Magazine, 60 Minutes about Huckleberry Finn. A publisher updated the text replacing a common racial slur with the word 'slave.' There has been great debate for a long time about the language used by Mark Twain. Many schools will not touch Twain's writing because of the language used while others believe it must be taught because of the same language.

Written and spoken language can be so powerful. We communicate ideas with language but we communicate a lot more. We put for beliefs and emotions with language. It can be very subtle or very bold. You can communicate multiple ideas with a single sentence or say nothing with several pages.

I have noticed I tend to tailor my message to my audience. My workplace is very bilingual. I see this as an asset but I also find that when I speak to people who speak French as their first language, I use a more direct simple language. The people I speak with most of the time work very well in English but I don't want the idea to get lost in translation. They are much better in English than I am in French and it will be like this for quite a while.

I don't know where I really stand on updating literature. I do thoroughly believe in free speech. I think we need to keep the ideas from the past and learn from them or be doomed to fail again. I also understand how racial slurs can make people uncomfortable. It's a type of language that may not be appropriate for all situations or scenarios. That's the hard part.

It seems the last bastion of offensive language is attached to race. There is still too much racism and people get set off very easily about race. It's understandable but we need to keep working to move beyond our current state. Only then will the power of these words be used for good and not for hate.

This Dude is Smart

I was just watching an interview with a Peruvian economist named Hernando de Soto. He was brilliant to listen to. His ideas on solving the global credit crunch were spot on. We should be listening to him.

This raises a point to me. How come I had never heard of him?

We know everything about Michael Jackson and Brittany Spears. They are good at what they do, or did, as the case may be. We don't even know about some of the smartest people on the planet. They should be recognized and recognizable. They will fix the big problems. They will make the world a better place.

I think to be an informed member of society we should seek out smart people and find out what they have to say. When it is a good idea we should take heed and do it. We should promote their ideas.

I don't know if society can change their information consumption patterns in the near future, but we should. There are probably others out there that we can say that this dude is smart.