Happy Earth Day!

Source: http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/teachers/month/april/earthday.html

Sunday is Earth Day, and I’ve been reflecting on my impact on this beautiful world of ours. I’d like to keep it beautiful, but since I don’t have a lot of answers, today I’ll start with the questions:

What does it mean to preserve the earth, and what actions can I take that will be most worthwhile?

Is recycling really that effective? What if recycling doesn’t actually save money and resources, but instead encourages us to buy more?

Do political efforts to boost domestic manufacturing jobs make sense, for the economy and for Earth? If what the economy needs most is jobs, shouldn’t we focus on service industries instead?

Can we be green and free at the same time? Should we allow environmental concerns to influence public reproductive policies?

What other questions should we be asking?

I believe we can keep this world of ours beautiful and safe indefinitely, but we will do it because we want to, not because the law tells us to.

Finally, here’s an interesting graphic I found this morning. Where do I fit into this picture?

Political Prejudice

Prejudice. That is what I see driving the comments on the news stories. People have preconceptions and biases, and they feed them with any little negative thing. That is what people read: the hurt, the alarm, the anger, the snubs, the “blasts”. News writers love that word. Because if anyone is blasting someone else, it’s certainly worth reading about.

And since that’s what’s in the news, I imagine it’s because that’s what people like to read. It’s what gets clicked on and commented on, so politicians and campaign managers are motivated to capitalize on it. They’re not motivated to be honest, or to bring out the good in others. They’re motivated to drive wedges and point out flaws.

I hope when people 100 or 1,000 years from now are studying our culture that they look beyond the news stories. If they do, I think they’ll see a lot of sincerity, genuineness and love that is never reported. I think they’ll see that a lot of people don’t fit into neat categories like “conservative” or “liberal” or “left” or “right”. I think they’ll see a lot of people just trying to do the right thing and get along with each other, finding the common good and building on it. There’s a headline for you: “Seattle resident finds the common good in his neighbor and becomes his friend”. I hope that’s what they’ll see 1,000 years from now.

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Adding after the fact, a related article I read later in the day:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/16/opinion/zelizer-two-pragmatists/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

My Aly

Sometimes the unplanned and unposed photos are best. Isn’t she beautiful?

Here are some photos when when was little:

http://durlanddesign.com/family/alyssa/index.html

Don’t miss the birth announcement:

http://durlanddesign.com/family/alyssa/media/alyAnnouncement.swf

What’s in a Sound-bite?

I had a funny dream last night. I was at a Romney campaign meeting, sharing some breakfast with campaign leaders and family members. There was a discussion about a campaign event during which Romney had played volleyball with some college students. He didn’t play well, and had commented later that the bright stage lights had been in his eyes. Some had poked fun at him for making excuses. One advisor asked out loud the question: “So how should we spin this?”

The dream reminded me that campaign managers and candidates must always be shrewdly aware of how their words and actions might be construed, and attempt to predict public reaction before acting. Because image and perception mean so much, the tip of the iceberg must be spot on, no matter what everything underneath the surface looks like. Politics isn’t just for the best-intended; it’s for those who see the value in playing the game, despite the desire to be above it.

This idea of “playing the game” may seem insincere, but a politician with ambition to serve the people must understand how they make decisions in today’s “sound-bite driven culture”.¹ Whether delivered intentionally or not, sound-bites are big ideas and emotions wrapped nicely in bite-sized rhetoric that have ready and wide appeal. Allies cling to them (“Obama has failed America”), opponents rally with them (“I’m not concerned about the poor”), and candidacies live and die by them. But it’s only when our leaders’ actions match their positive sound-bites that everbody wins.

1. LZ Granderson in http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/06/opinion/granderson-obama-iran/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This concept is portrayed as a new one, but I would venture that it is as old as mankind, and perhaps more prominent in the less educated.

Make Me Happy!

This morning I went upstairs to Aubrey’s and Sarah’s room and they were just waking up and very happy and excited about the day. Then Aubrey started in on her whine, “Will you give me a shoulder ride?” and I responded, “Get dressed and then I will.” I went downstairs to help Aly and a minute later Aubrey was crying upstairs. This is a typical scenario. If I hadn’t shown my face this morning, she probably would have cheerfully gotten out of bed and down stairs on her own, but since I was available, she became dependent on me.

Is this story shed any insight on the psychology of welfare?

“Don’t force me to provide care that I conscientiously oppose.”

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my own body.”

Sounds like we all want the same thing: Freedom to act for ourselves.

Merry Christmas!

Here’s a Christmas wish from Carlie, my seven-year-old:

This is on our annual Christmas album we send out to family and friends. If you want one, just let me know!

Best wishes,

Brent

My Daughter Sarah

“Will you carry me like a baby?”

As she sometimes does in the early morning when I’m down at the computer, Sarah has joined me, lying under a blanket on the little couch, waiting for me to go back upstairs. That is her request when I do. What a darling!

What a Beautiful Morning!