How Did Jack Become Such a Greedy, Dull Boy?

Two or three generations have grown up in an atmosphere of cultural delusion, constructed to keep President Reagan's ideal economy afloat. This “greed is good” delusion has created an atmosphere that has nurtured rampant materialism and the belief that never ending financial gain is the source of all happiness.

However, over time, this type of atmosphere becomes toxic. Throughout most of our evolutionary history, human beings have had very little experience with abundance. Our physiology and brain functioning are wired for scarcity. Prolonged times of excessive opulence only lulls us into an obtuse complacency. Keeping this in mind, it starts to make a little more sense as to how "Jack" became such a dull boy.

Sure, now, that the economic meltdown has exposed the limits of this delusion, the vastness of stupidity and greed that has engulfed so many people (stupid person #1 right here) becomes glaringly visible. But since our economy is built on our never ending desire for more stuff, changing what has been drilled into us for 30-years may not be all that easy. Can we - government, businesses, and consumers - reorient ourselves and reconceptualize the way we measure "goods" and "services", especially since we're emerging from a Rumpelstiltskin like stupor.

Although this individually and celebrity driven culture has all but crushed the values by which we take care of each other, Dacher Keltner, author of Born to be Good: Signs of a Meaningful Life believes all is not lost. He argues that human beings have survived as a species, not solely because of "survival of the fittest", but because we have managed to control the aspect of ourselves that is naturally greedy, and destructive in order to connect so that we can instead, protect and help each other survive.

In addition, a recent study suggests that giving is better than receiving, providing further evidence that altruistic actions may improve health and longevity. After three decades of excessive desire for more than one needs or deserves, this study may prove useful in convincing people to give up their materialistic obsession and devotion to pleasing themselves, without any regard for anything else.

"Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." -- Edward Abbey.

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Know the "Agenda" of Your" Proxy Representation"

The representation of people through professionals whose whole career is based on the knowledge of a certain subject or field is sometimes absolutely necessary, but that doesn't mean you (the one being represented) is required to passively accept everything your representative or "expert" says and/or does. Quite the contrary, if you can speak for yourself, then you should do so, but if you must seek representation, you should speak up as well because no one knows "you" as well as you.

After reading Gore After Gore in Vanity Fair Magazine, it occurred to me that letting someone else represent or stand or act in place of you, as a substitute, proxy, or agent is a very risky enterprise considering everyone has a personal and professional "agenda." Not only that, the representative’s organized plan for matters to be attended, or things to be done on your behalf, may be based on one or a combination of many different reasons that range from selflessness, empathy, compassion, love, altruism, idealism to ambition, greed or the desire to gain financially, anger, hatred, revenge, sexual and the list goes on indefinitely, but usually falls under one or many of the categories I mentioned above. The scariest part of "agenda" is that the person serving as a representative may not be conscious that his "agenda" exists, or cognizant that it is completely at odds with the "agenda" he is aware of.

Journalism and law are perfect examples of professions that demand a certain level of objectivity.

Take for example an attorney who works for a firm. Above and beyond all else, he must zealously represent his or her client to the best of his ability, defending the rule of law our Justice system has established and he must also be mindful of the deficiencies in the administration of justice concerning the ability to afford legal representation. This attorney must also establish a career and a reputation amongst the judges and his or her peers that he will be associating with now and in the future. And then of course, there is one's personal "agenda"...conscious or subconscious, one's personal "agenda" is not supposed to play a part in representing his client, but it most certainly does for better or worse.

The problem is that many "professionals" do not admit to having a bias or that their view is somewhat limited depending on the prism of popular culture, personal experience and significant others have had on influencing the construction of their reality and belief system. Therefore, it's best that the person "representing" is as aware as he can be of his personal bias and acknowledge it so that he can recognize when it starts to interfere with his duties.

Unfortunately, many "professionals" do not admit to or are not aware of their personal bias. It's up to "us" as consumers, clients, citizens to know the person representing "us" is indeed human, and that his past, present and what he hopes for the future all will affect the quality of his representation or in a journalist's case, reporting.

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Angel of the Garbage Dump

Hanley Denning knew she wanted to dedicate her life to helping people, so she went to Guatemala City in 1997 to learn Spanish hoping that would make her a more effective social worker when she came back to the United States. Instead, Ms. Denning found her life’s calling, when a nun and a priest took her to the city dump, dug into a ravine, where she saw hundreds women (some with babies on their backs) and children, literally searching through the garbage.

Ms. Denning decided she must do something to help these poor people. She called her parents and asked them to sell all her possessions. In 1999, after her parents raised $5,000 from the sale of her assets, Hanley founded the non profit Safe Passage program, and set up a school in a small abandoned church at the dump, and ministered to the poor.

Denning's work was featured in the film "Recycled Life," which was nominated for an Oscar in January. But just five days before the nomination were announced, she was killed in a car accident.

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