11/1/11
We start this entry with a list of
links:
This first link is for ANYONE with an
account at BANK OF AMERICA, CITIBANK, CHASE or WELLS FARGO. These
are the biggest banks in America, the most irresponsible, the ones
investing your dollars in things you don't believe in and have no
control over. Move your money to a small, local bank if you can, or
at least out of these 4 corrupt giants.
Secondly, a basic explanation of what Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is about:
Secondly, a basic explanation of what Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is about:
Third, a succinct viewpoint on OWS from a pro-capitalism journalist:
Fourth, an informative word-vomit on an
issue a little further into the future (2012):
I feel as though the tractors of my
destiny are finally starting to clear a path through the wilderness
of options that I have had to contend with in this life. Some of the
“why?” questions that have been floating around in my head for a
long time have now found comfortable, feel-good answers, and have
nested down in the trees of my brain-forest. I have found a
motivation that I lacked for many years. I have started to eliminate
some possible paths from my future, making the options which are left
seem much closer and more attainable. I have begun to know my truth. And this is the thing that I have been searching for. A friend wrote me an e-mail recently, and included this quote:
"What I really lack is to
be clear in my mind what I am to do, not what I am to know, except in
so far as a certain knowledge must precede every action. The thing is
to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me to do: the
thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for
which I can live and die. ... I certainly do not deny that I
still recognize an imperative of knowledge and that through it one
can work upon men, but it must be taken up into my life, and that is
what I now recognize as the most important thing."
—Søren
Kierkegaard, Letter
to Peter Wilhelm Lund dated August 31, 1835
As
I wrote in a previous blog, my mission is now to improve the
well-being of all humans into the future. “Oh, is that all?” a
friend asked sarcastically. “Don't you think that's what everyone
is trying to do?” And the truthful answer is no, I don't. I think
most people are trying to improve their own lives, and the lives of
those close to them, without hurting anyone else along the way. And
some are trying to improve their lives and lives of those closest to
them at any cost, regardless of the harm to others. And some are not
really trying to do anything but make it from day-to-day without
dieing of starvation, going crazy or getting behind on their rent.
Most of us don't operate on an “everything is connected, all the
time” wavelength, which, in combination with the mindful mission of
creating a better existence for future humans, is the mindset change
that I hope to spread.
The
other reason that my friend was sarcastic about my stated mission is
that she thought it was a little broad in scope. But the deeper I
dig into the problems that I want to help fix, the more I realize
that the scope has to be huge, because the problems are all
inter-connected, just like everything else. Focusing solely on one
aspect of what is wrong necessarily means ignoring what it is
connected to. Focusing on the symptoms of a sick society will help
heal some problems, but will not prevent the society from continued
illness. I want to focus on prevention. If you step back far
enough, the haze of complex problematic interactions blurs together.
What really needs to happen is a great wind to come and blow all the
haze away, so that we can start with a fresh, new, sunny day.
Yesterday, for Halloween, I started
driving my rental car from Greensboro, NC at 10 am and turned it in
at Dayton, OH at 5:45 pm, where I had rented it 3 days earlier. I
then boarded a city bus, which took me close to I-70, where I would
wait to get picked up by Sal, whom I had met 4 days earlier in
Chicago through Craigslist, and who was giving me a ride back to
Chicago, where I am now.
During the hour-long wait for Sal, I
took advantage of an offer from Chipotle (a growing burrito chain,
which claims to be making strong efforts to serve naturally raised
foods), which said that anyone dressed like something from a family
farm gets a burrito for $2. So I stopped into the Walmart in the
same shopping center as a Chipotle close to I-70, bought a pitchfork
and a straw hat, put on my plaid shirt, and crossed the parking lot
to Chipotle. There I joined a line which included 2 cows, a pig, a
cowgirl and what looked to me like a panda, but she claimed she was a
dog. The manager at Chipotle was thrilled to give $2 burritos to
anyone in costume.
After
obtaining my burrito, I crossed the parking lot back to Walmart and
returned the pitch fork and hat I had bought 20 minutes earlier. Sal
showed up shortly, and we made the 5 hour drive back to Chicago. I
arrived at my friend Cody's apartment around 2 am. I was glad I got
to dress up for Halloween. Haven't missed one yet!
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