A Vision of Goodness

This year I wrote extensively on this blog about the pursuit of goodness for the world as a whole and for individuals within that global sphere.  Certainly goodness is about as subjective a topic as one could opt to write about, nevertheless, pursuit of goodness seems to me to be the core reason for existence. As a capstone for my 2016 contemplations, here is a summary of the aspects of goodness that I perceive deserve pursuit with compassion and rationality at every turn.

Respect for the Universe.  Everything begins with matter and energy and their organization spatially.  Having a healthy awe for and understanding of all things from galaxies to quarks helps set the stage for any experience that might be called good.

Respect for the Environment.  On Earth, a healthy environment underlies the natural cycles and interconnected ecosystems that all species depend on. Minimizing human impact long term is critical to maintaining a healthy world.

Respect for Communities. Whether we're talking about society as a whole, a specific living species, a peaceful human sect, or a complex biome, there is goodness in the emergent qualities that groups of individuals bring to the world.

Respect for Individuals. All living things have value. Self awareness, consciousness, and the capability to experience sufferring and thriving are some of the elements contained within the package of an individual. Yet no single individual of any species has infinite value, which presents a challenging reality.
Respect for Abstraction.  Ideas, creativity, emotion, art, science, music, mathematics, story-telling, adventure, dreams et al. The variety of abstract concepts are uncountable as the stars, and play a critical role in the lives of thinking creatures and their world.

Each of these elements deserves great consideration by human individuals and communities worldwide. Recognizing the interrelatedness  of these elements and their impact on the rest of the world needs must drive progressive systems and behaviors, if our journey is to be one of goodness.

imperfect sunset

When Turkeys Fly Free

meleagris gallopavo silvestris

strut with pride 

strut with poults by your side

winged creatures
wander free
wander wide

across the countryside

and when the occasion suits
lift your wings
and fly

The Day After

trump wins

civilization implodes

(if We let it)

Numb and helpless. That's the simplest way to describe how I felt after the votes came in last night.

The people of this country and the world will be feeling a whole range of emotions today and for weeks and years to come.  For many it will be disbelief, anger, sadness and disgust.  And for many it will be feelings of victory, joy, and yes, hope and pride.

I honestly don't know if we can heal as a unified nation anytime soon, but has our nation ever been wholly unified?  Too often we can imagine a time where togetherness as a country existed in these united states, alas in the best and worst of times protesters, idealists and change seekers are needed to keep stagnation and human rights violations in check.

To be sure, it will take time for many of the left to catch our breaths, but I submit that our country can thrive even from under a predominantly conservative and unpredictable leadership.  It is because the challenges will be greater that our progressive efforts will need to be all the more stalwart.

And I personally have to believe the razor thin majority has goodness within them, and that with nudges, protests, and conversation, we can still fight for positive change in these trying years to come and make slow progress forward toward a greater good.

For now I recognize I and many in the pursuit of positive, progressive societal outcomes needs must work through some extreme, hard feelings... some peaceful venting and fantasy escape are in order, but we cannot curl up and quit the good fight.

For now I'm convinced that my feelings of depression over this election can be countered with the intake of humane food, energizing exercise, beauteous nature, open-hearted learning and listen-filled teaching moments.  For the pursuit of good works and rational ethics must continue.

In the end, I believe mindful and heartfelt communication and action within our families, circles and extended communities serves a great purpose.  These efforts will not alleviate all suffering, let alone unify us all, but good works can bring many of us together and reaffirm that goodness within humanity lives and progresses!

Hallowiener Unleashed!

dusk approaches with a glop glop glop
lapping at the sun like a fruity lollipop

leaves swirl about me doing their worst
as i race through the autumnal colorburst

my tiny paws stampede crunch crunch crunch
bred to ferret out badgers and the beasty bunch

no longer am i a canine brute
my job now is to be Übercute

so on Halloween beware of me, the wienerdog
consume you I will, like a film by Werner Herzog





[Just a short poem this week to connect with the experience of having joyful fun. no deep explanations, just encouragement to have a laugh for the laugh of it!  (btw Into the Inferno by Werner Herzog is pretty cool and on Netflix now)]

Happy Haunting!

Pledge Across the Centuries

Centennial, 13 Stripes, 37 Stars

I pledge allegiance

to my flag

and the Republic for which it stands

one nation, indivisible

with liberty and justice for all

---

Bicentennial, 13 Stripes, 50 Stars

I pledge allegiance

to the flag

of the United States of America

and to the Republic for which it stands

one Nation under God, indivisible

with liberty and justice for all

---

Tricentennial, 13 Stripes, 1 Planet

I pledge my heart and mind

to the planet Earth

and to the pursuit of liberty and justice for

conscious creatures, a sustainable environment

and beautiful experiences everywhere

namaste

-----------

Divisiveness reigns at the moment like no other time that I can remember. This polarized patriotism inspired me to contemplate and explore what ought to lie at the heart of patriotism. With poetic exposition and found art elements I use the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance of the past, present and of a speculative future to pursue this.  

Although in the poem I imply a recitation of the pledge in 1876, technically the pledge wasn't written until 1887.  Still, I felt stepping from the original 19th Century form to the current version reflects a significant refinement of what was perceived to be required of the patriotic American. In particular, the addition of "under God" in 1954 to the official text underscores how the ideological right persisted to integrate a monotheistic belief component into the common interpretation of patriotism. 

(Aside: while reading this poem at The Without Limits Coffee House, I made a point of standing at the start of the poem, sitting down for the middle stanza and rising again for the third. This was to demonstrate support for the Sit Out the Pledge effort which seeks to remove "under God" from the pledge as a step toward a more mindful pledge)

Personally, I recited the pledge pretty much mindlessly in school growing up.  My position on the pledge has evolved alongside my worldview.  To this ends, the third stanza envisions a admittedly very progressive pledge for the Tricentennial year 2076.  I aimed to embody a positive, unifying, humane pledge with simple encouragement toward a greater, global patriotism, a patriotism that reaches beyond nationalism. Importantly, this speculative pledge is something the entire world could recite with pride, respect and hopefulness.

(Note: Namaste was added as the final line primarily because it has the punctuating character of an amen.  It also has an element of foreignness which emphasizes a joyful, global diversity .  I translate "namaste" to mean "in you i see sacredness" where the you in this case includes other people, creatures, the environment, creativity and the world as a whole.)

Namaste.

Angels of Indigestion

lost in wilderness
seeking answers, seeking truth
god's worshipers pray:

resolve climate change

bring peace, miraculous wealth

feed us with manna

ten trillion angels

orbit earth; watch, wait, squat; in

unison excrete

this irreverent haiku triad was created by a human, like all of the supernatural tales that have come before.  

while in principle i support the rights of people to worship peacefully, the foundation of supernatural obeisance sadly encourages believers to treat wishful thinking and mythology seriously and often to simultaneously avoid confronting the realities of the world. 

now i do enjoy fantastical, fictional creations (from Gaiman's incarnations to Clarke's machinations) and in fact, i think imaginative metaphor and allegory can help humans and humanity transcend our primal origins and motivations. however, one should first be able to identify fact (global climate change, human over-population, evolution) from fiction (heaven, sacred souls, creation myths) to more effectively implement mindful solutions that will lead to a better world for humanity and environment alike.  

believing angels or other imaginary higher powers are watching over us, waiting to escort us to paradise is a critical issue for humanity as it distracts too many people far too frequently (with violence and absolutism) from working on these solutions together.

as a hopeful exception, i have heard some "inter-faith" communities have managed to meet toward forging rational solutions while leaving their supernatural beliefs behind.  if accurate, it is a step in the right direction.

Human Creativity Takes Flight

Two Blondes and a Ballot

(I am now on hiatus compiling the Goodness First Millennium Vision blog entries into a unified manifesto.  Updates to come.  In the meantime, I will be releasing some of my poems and some commentary to fill the void. Enjoy and be warned)

word has it two blondes are vying to lead the nation

one's a casino lord so smart he evaded federal taxation

i heard the other misplaced her email

allegedly sexting pics with Dan Quayle

all while the american voter elects for aphyxiation

Here is my two cents on the upcoming election.   

My poem is meant to highlight how much national policy direction is being ignored in favor of sound byte gaffes and candidate likability.  Yes, trustworthiness is a laudable aspect of any candidate, but given the choices the country, and the world, will best be served if we elect intelligent people to lead us toward peace, prosperity and global ethical responsibility. 

Voting for the progressive candidates (which in most cases will be the Democratic candidates) from your local representatives to your national president will result in the best path forward.  Only by getting progressive leadership elected and then engaging with them can we reform political districting and political financing to reestablish fair representation of the people by their representatives.

And if there is a single reason why voting for Hillary Clinton is the better presidential candidate it is because she will continue the mildly progressive policies that President Obama has leveraged, even in the face of a very conservative congress.  Supreme Court nominations are particularly long term actions that will lead to the more progressive change many of us long for from our country, so whatever you do don't sit out this election.

Ok, that was at least 3 cents worth of commentary. Sigh.