Too many things on my mind lately to write them all down. The economy and the pending lapse of our dear tax breaks, the mosque at Ground Zero, the changing of the guard at the Obama White House, the kickoff of the NFL and College Football seasons, all those damn cupcake shows on cable, the fact that my Starbucks coffee at home is tasting better than the one at the stores lately, the impact of government spending cutbacks on my business, the arrival of Fall in the next few weeks. Too much to process!
Having the ability or right to do something is not the same as it being the polite or spatially aware thing to do. So many of the situations that we currently face in the US could be solved using the Spatial Awareness Test. Essentially it's a case of personal responsibility and do unto others as they would do unto you. This test can be applied to many individual situations we face during the day as well and would help to make us a more considerate society. Should I cut that guy off in traffic? Should I skip the line at the deli? Should I race ahead of that old woman to get in front of her at Starbucks? While I can and most definitely could, should I?
What is the SAT (Spatial Awareness Test)?
The SAT consists of applying the following questions to a situation. If you can answer yes to all of the following, your decision/course of action is spatially aware.
1. If this situation happened to me, my spouse or family, would I be OK with it?
2. Would I be confident enough in my decision to tell my kids and be able to explain it in a way that they would understand?
3. Would I be able to sleep soundly at night knowing how I treated that person or group?
4. Would I be willing to go on the news or be interviewed by a newspaper and proudly state my opinion of the issue?
5. Would a reasonable person who I met as a stranger on the street hear my decision/course of action and think that it was perfectly sane or consistent with normal behavior in your country?
Let's take a look at a few of the major issues in our country today and apply the SAT (Spatial Awareness Test) to them.
The Quran Burning
The First Amendment of the Constitution defends our right to public displays of protest, flag burning, free exercise of religion, etc. Seemingly, this would also protect the Dove World group's right to burn Quran's in protest this coming weekend. However, what purpose does this really serve except to enrage a group of people that otherwise would have had no knowledge of your actions? Is this a shallow attempt to build followers and publicity for this church? If so, shame on them. If not, what purpose does it serve to publicize the event other than to enrage an otherwise disengaged group of people (the large percentage of Muslims in the world) and give "bulletin board" material to Islamic extremists? Now, I would defend their right to burn the Quran but I hardly agree with them doing it.
Let us apply the SAT:
1. If a small mosque of Muslims in Florida joined together and burned the Bible, what would this church say?
2. What would their children say other than it seems silly to burn a book.
3. Seems like they might sleep soundly resting on over-zealous religious faith.
4. They have already taken to the news outlets so this would be no-go. However, they've done so as a church group, not as individuals. Would they each go on record with their name, address, etc.?
5. I would guess that there are less than .00001% of Americans who would see this activity as normal.
The Ground Zero Mosque
This is a situation that I try to work with my kids on all the time. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I will defend the rights of the Ground Zero mosque people to place their mosque there but I am absolutely in the camp that they SHOULDN'T due to the emotions, outcry and anger it has stirred up. Take the land offer from NY State and put it elsewhere. If the organizers of the GZ mosque were more spatially aware, they would move quietly elsewhere and take the high road.
Just because you CAN reach the toaster now doesn't mean you should see if your fork fits in it.
1. If we put a large Christian outreach center across the street from the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca or some other venerated site, would you quietly allow it?
2. How do you handle it if your child bothers another child by teasing, poking, hitting, etc.? Would you allow it to continue by placing them in the same room or same space? Or would you separate them for a bit, let them cool down and then talk about playing nicely?
3. Not sure about this one. It seems that the organizers are getting a perverse joy by placing the mosque in this location.
4. The organizers of the GZ mosque have been very quiet about their intentions, etc. for the center given the outcry and anger while letting others stir up civil rights, racism, intolerance arguments. If they addressed the media, it may shed some light on why they are choosing this site and insisting on continuing the process.
5. Given that over 70% of Americans are against the placement, it would seem that this behavior would be considered abnormal.
Illegal Immigration
Immigration will continue to be a hot button issue for years as many Americans still identify themselves based on their heritage (ex. "I'm half Irish and half Italian" or "I'm a mutt") along with being an American as compared to most other countries who are more nationalistic in their identity. There is still a romance about America being the melting pot based on our formation as a country. This clouds the issue of Illegal Immigration as it avoids the real crux of the situation and how it effects our entire country. Just because I don't agree with Illegal Immigration doesn't mean that I hate or dislike or mistrust people from other countries. In fact, I embrace our diversity, I just want the people in our country to be here legally and to be documented as such. Let's see what the SAT would say about this situation:
1. If I illegally entered your country, siphoned jobs, resources, etc. would you tolerate me and allow me to get by without speaking your language, paying taxes, contributing to social security, etc? Would you allow me to steal documentation, educational resources, etc. without recompense?
2. If I told my kids that I was going to go to another country, take everything I needed without paying for it, what would they say?
3. First and foremost I could sleep well knowing I took care of my family but knowing that I was fleecing someone else out of the resources they've paid for wouldn't sit very well with me.
4. Would you be willing, as an illegal immigrant, to stand up and say in the press that "I'm here illegally and I'm proud of it!"? What would happen if I did that in your home country?
5. Is lurking in the shadows of society, not paying taxes, avoiding showing legitimate documentation, all considered normal? I would argue no and it seems that the majority of Americans would agree with me as well.
These are but a few examples of the SAT and how it could be applied. We as a country have become overly tolerant for fear that we offend someone or step on someone's toes. As a result it seems like those willing to flaunt that tolerance for their own gain are called victims when we find out about their chicanery.
I submit that we as a country should begin applying the SAT more regularly to our everyday lives and start taking personal responsibility to "being the change you want to see in the world" (thanks Ghandi).
I'm probably as confused as the rest of America this morning. How did all these super smart, freakish even, Ivy League grads screw this up so badly? Aren't they America's best and brightest on Wall Street? I'll tell you how. Hubris, greed, complete and utter ignorance to what is happening in the world, you name it.
When you start receiving pay packages north of $1M per year, things get a bit fuzzy and unclear. When $5M is the norm, prices don't even matter anymore. Past $1oM and you probably don't even consider what is happening to the price of gas in NJ let alone what the summer house in the Hamptons is going to run you for maintenance over the course of the season. Seriously, let's talk about being disconnected from reality. That's what happened to these massive, over bloated investment banks on Wall Street.
Now they are receiving bailouts for their poor performance in the fashion of either a Fed infusion or a lucrative buyout offer from BofA. Talk about the rich keeping the rich afloat. It's not about what's good for the economy at this point. While there will be painful results from this, we'll live. It's about keeping all their prep school buddies in their S550s and in the stands for the US Open. Its' about screwing the little guy again who is left holding the tax bag to help out these idiots who took too many risks and are now paying the price.
If there is one thing that I have shown in my writings on this blog, I'm all about the survival of the fittest. If your coffee sucks, you're going to lose business. If your cars suck, people will go elsewhere. Well, in finance, if your decisions suck, you should go out of business. Pay the price and hold yourselves accountable dammit!
I must agree. Most of the stories you read are gloom and doom out there. It's pretty bad when everywhere you turn, there is a picture of a line at the bank, $5.00 gas, a foreclosure sign, filthy jalapenos, etc. It's getting a bit ridiculous and seemingly only getting worse if you believe the prophets of doom in the media. I say ENOUGH!
Let's look at the positives that we get to experience every day:
- We get to live in the best country in the world, hands down. Although with less Starbucks on every corner, we're just not as caffeinated.
- The bowel pains from salmonella will help remind you to watch what you eat.
- We get to experience freedom like nowhere else. Let's give it up for EZ-Pass!
- We'll all be in much better shape as a result of biking and walking everywhere since we can't afford to fill our SUVs.
- Fear, mistrust, self-loathing is all a state of mind. Stay positive about the stock market and invest now instead of selling off! Fortunes are made in recessions....by people with more money than you.
- We are much better off than our forefathers were 50 years ago. I mean they didn't even have blogs to tell us what to think.
- The internet provides every potentially laid off worker an outlet to make money from home. From Ebay to WOW to Second Life, the possibilities are endless.
- Once this down period is over, it can only get better! Think of the good times ahead! Now I'm not saying put it all on plastic to pay it off later but we're not as far away as you might think.
Seriously though, I think that a little positive attitude will really help this country get its act back on track. We haven't had a crisis like this in 25 years where we need to band together, show some grit and remind the world who we are! It's time to remember that we are the big dog on the block and not some sniveling little bichon frise that we've been acting like for the last 4 years.
What else do we need to do at this point to bolster our fledgling economy. This morning's move by the Treasury and the Fed to save the two large mortgage giants is just another tiny step to fixing what's wrong with the system right now. Granted, stricter lending requirements and more oversight into the secondary credit markets will help in the long run, but let's face it, rules were meant to be bent and broken.
Regardless of what is done to fix the problem now, it will only breed a new level of creativity from shyster brokers and credit lenders. We have to correct the problem, not the symptom. If I'm Dan Mudd from Fannie Mae and this is how my ineptitude and complete ignorance of a problem is rewarded, why am I going to change? If I keep printing money for myself and the other executives while getting a handout from the government to prop my failing business model back up on wobbly legs; why bother doing it differently?
Maybe it's time to send a message to this whole industry. There is no safety net or security blanket. You have to make your business work or it will fail. Along with that, many people will go broke and have misery thrust upon their lives. When faced with adversity, it's either sink or swim and now is the time for some adversity in the American public. A panacea bailout is not the solution.
Well, I've been a bad blog friend. You had me for a few months on a weekly basis and then, BAM! I take a month off just after I promised that I was back. This time I truly am.
Let's review what's happened since I last wrote. The economy is still tanking, houses are still foreclosing, Starbucks still can't sell coffee to caffeine addicted worker bees, oil is still hovering near $20000 a barrel, gas is still overpriced, people are still stupid and we're still only a few months from being more like France and Canada then we ever thought we'd be. So what do I have to write about that's new and novel?
How about the new iPhone that effectively screws all the previous owners by selling at 1/2 the price with three times the speed? How about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays who are shocking the baseball world? What about my hometown Celtics finally winning #17? Nope, I want to talk common sense.
What is America doing with all it's new found wealth (our lucrative tax rebates...) in the last few weeks? Spending it to stimulate the economy? Saving it to stave off future debt? Paying off high interest credit cards? No! They are basically handing it over to Big Oil and the rest of the fossil establishment. They're paying more for food, clothing and getting to work than they ever have! While a tax rebate is nice, wasn't this just a correction for how bad everything has been screwed up in the economy lately?
My common sense thought of the day is this. First the question, what can we all do to lower the impact of fuel costs on our lives? Stop eating so much! Stop driving so much! Stay home with your family and get to know them! Work from home if you can! Stop driving your Humvees and SUVs one mile to the post office! Send an email, not a posted mail! Send a message that we don't need as much as we're currently consuming and watch the prices fall. Simplicity is king in life and if you don't have it, get some.
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Blog Category: Technology Blogs
Blog Owner: Derek Tomlinson
Blog Added: February 20, 2008 04:54:11 PM
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