Emerson Troward's blog

I'm proposing a new theory to explain what's gone wrong.

Here it is: We're experiencing cultural collapse.

The very same collapse that was experienced by the Plains Indians when their way of life was destroyed and they were herded onto reservations.

The very same collapse that was experienced by countless aboriginal peoples overrun by us in Africa, South America, Australia, and elsewhere.

It matters not that the circumstances of the collapse were different for them and for us, the results were the same.

For both of us, in just a few decades, shocking realities invalidated our vision of the world and made nonsense of a destiny that had always seemed self-evident.

For both of us, the song we'd been singing from the beginning of time suddenly died in our throats.

The outcome was the same for both of us: Things fell apart.

It doesn't matter whether you live in tipis or skyscrapers, things fall apart.

Order and purpose are replaced by chaos and bewilderment.

People lose the will to live, become listless, become violent, become suicidal, and take to drink, drugs, and crime.

The matrix that once held all in place is shattered, and laws, customs, and institutions fall into disuse and disrespect, especially among the young.

Circumstances have at last shattered our mad cultural vision, have at last rendered our self-aggrandizing mythology meaningless, have at last strangled our arrogant song.

We've lost our ability to believe that the world was made for Man and that Man was made to conquer and rule it.

We've lost our ability to believe that the world will automatically and inevitably support us in our conquest, will swallow all the poison we can generate without coming to harm.

We've lost our ability to believe that God is unequivocally on our side against the rest of creation.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, we're . . . going to pieces.

At last, good news.

Here is my good news: We are not humanity.

All the intellectual and spiritual foundations of our culture were laid by people who believed absolutely that we are humanity itself.

We forgot that we're only a single culture and came to think of ourselves as humanity itself.

But why would it be such bad news if we were humanity?

If we were humanity itself, then all the terrible things we say about humanity would be true -- and that would be very bad news.

If we were humanity itself, than all our destructiveness would belong not to one misguided culture but to humanity itself -- and that would be very bad news.

If we were humanity itself, then the fact that our culture is doomed would mean that humanity itself is doomed -- and that would be very bad news.

If we were humanity itself, then the fact that our culture is the enemy of life on this planet would mean that humanity itself is the enemy of life on this planet -- and that would be very bad news.

If we were humanity itself, then the fact that our culture is hideous and misshapen -- very bad news indeed.

But we're not humanity, we're just one culture -- one culture out of hundreds of thousands that have lived their vision on this planet and sung their song -- and that's wonderful news, even for us!

If it were humanity that needed changing, then we'd be out of luck.

But it isn't humanity that needs changing, it's just . . . us.

And that's very good news.

Why No Cheezburger?

The Basic Problem of the Global Economy for the Past Three Decades

Asia Times:

"Low wages even in boom times have landed the world in its current sorry state of overcapacity masked by unsustainable demand created by a debt bubble that finally imploded in July 2007.

The whole world is now producing goods and services made by low-wage workers who cannot afford to buy what they make except by taking on debt on which they eventually will default because their low income cannot service it."

Henry C.K. Liu

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Arizona band and local favorite,
JED'S A MILLIONAIRE
... are expected to soon be in Los Angeles,
to record their
4th CD.

(Okay, technically, 5th, but for mysterious reasons,
one of their CDs never officially got released.)

Anyhoo...

-----

U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner Doubles As Stand-Up Comic in Beijing

BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday reassured the Chinese government that its huge holdings of dollar assets are safe and reaffirmed his faith in a strong U.S. currency.

A major goal of Geithner's maiden visit to China as Treasury chief is to allay concerns that Washington's bulging budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy will fan inflation, undermining both the dollar and U.S. bonds.

China is the biggest foreign owner of U.S. Treasury bonds. U.S. data shows that it held $768 billion in Treasuries as of March, but some analysts believe China's total U.S. dollar-denominated investments could be twice as high.

"Chinese assets are very safe," Geithner said in response to a question after a speech at Peking University, where he studied Chinese as a student in the 1980s.

His answer drew loud laughter from his student audience, reflecting skepticism in China about the wisdom of a developing country accumulating a vast stockpile of foreign reserves instead of spending the money to raise living standards at home. ...

Is it me, or does there seem to be something wrong with selling flags like these a few blocks from my house, at the neighborhood intersection?

(22nd & Kolb; Tucson, AZ)

I drove by for a second time, and had my kid take a couple pictures with my cell phone.

What do these flags actually mean?

I know the Confederate flag is a racist symbol.

But, what the hell does a flag containing Obama's image with the word, HOPE attached (sewn) to the end of a Confederate flag mean?

The guy selling them looked like some kind of mean looking, drunken rancher, wearing a cowboy hat.

I don't get it.

Yes.

The Sederville Directory is now complete.

Next step: Organizing my life. :)

Too often we let the outer conditions of our lives determine how we feel and thus what we attract. That's fine if what we are looking at is something we like. But if what we see around us is something we do not like, then by observing it and focusing on it, we keep attracting more of it into our lives.

This game is very simple; it's designed to help you to stop focusing on what you don't want, and imagine what you do want. To play, just close your eyes and imagine that you are in the exact surroundings you would be in if your desire had already manifested itself.

For example, if you are currently living in a tiny apartment but you would like to be living in a brand new home, close your eyes and imagine that you are currently sitting in that home.

With your eyes closed, in your mind's eye, where in the room are you? How tall are the ceilings. What is the floor made of? What color are the walls?

If you want to win an Academy Award, imagine that you are at the award ceremony. Who is sitting in front of you? Who is sitting behind and beside you? Who is standing at the podium? How high are the ceilings? What colors are the curtains and walls?

Now as you imagine this vividly, see if you can evoke the emotions from currently being in these surroundings.

Describe how it makes you feel?