Right or wrong? Who makes the rules?

The name of a movie once declared that "The world has gone mad!" Various reasons behind that statement are what made up the plot. Mostly it focused on how individual perspective determined opinions of right or wrong. Some perspective was based upon fact, some perspective was based upon limited observation. Everyone acted on what they deemed as truth with outcomes sometimes humorous, sometimes nothing short of disaster. The movie highlighted how ignorance can rule people and even entire societies.

Fact: Reality/truth exists regardless of what you say or believe.

Listening to news of changes in long held rules regarding morality and law lately reminds me very much of that movie. Hollywood once again predicted the future. Reality/truth no longer prevails. Life changing decisions are now based upon perspective. And, this is the really silly part, it is the perspective of a self-indulged few that rules the majority of those who view reality as, at the very least common sense. The weapon of choice to empower ignorance is guilt. It works, big time!

When I was a kid, the neighbor kids never got treats from their folks. The family had way more money than my family but for whatever reason the parents did not spend money on treats of any kind. No popsicles from the popsicle guy, no ice cream or cake on birthdays, no candy bars from the corner store bought with allowance money on Saturday afternoons like the rest of the kids in the neighborhood. However, whenever any of us other kids had treats the kids from that family would be right at our sides with the phrase: "Jesus says we must share!" To load us up with guilt if we didn't give them some of our treats. As kids we wanted to do what Jesus did so we shared. We couldn't hold up to the guilt. That is until us other kids realized that those kids weren't Jesus, they never shared anything with us. They just wanted some of our stuff and used the Jesus guilt trip because it worked.

Now I'm all growed up and I find that some of those kids are still around loading me an millions of other people up with guilt so we will give them what they want. There are no limits as to what they want either:

 "I broke the law but you only want me to be held accountable because you don't like me or anyone like me."
"I can do this, even though it disgusts you because I was born that way. Accept it or you are old fashioned."
"I am special and don't have to work. You have to do with less of your hard earned money and support me or you are selfish."
"I decoded, all by myself what God really says and wants. You are out of touch with the modern concept of God."

Guilt is a huge weapon against good minded people. Nobody wants to feel guilty do they? Maybe it's this unfounded guilt that has made the whole world go mad. Are you guilty of allowing guilt to overcome your better judgement? Perspective, ours or theirs?

The Titanic and perspective

Once again the movie, "Titanic" is in the news. Now it is being presented in 3D venues so you can experience the pain more easily of drowning I guess maybe. I don't particularly get a good feeling from a movie based on a true story where so many people died a slow death. Good music, choreography, love scenes and songs don't lessen the tragedy do they? But, I feel there is a lesson to be learned here concerning perspective. The Titanic was an example of the newest technology of the period. Engineers, designers, machinists, all sorts of educated people were brought together to build that luxurious ship. From their perspective it was "State of the Art!" From the perspective of all those passengers and crew that suffered in the sinking of that magnificent floating castle it was a piece of dangerous junk wasn't it?

When I write here I am speaking from my perspective and I don't expect everyone to agree. That's what perspective is all about. Perspective creates discussion, discussion increases vision, increased vision reduces misunderstanding, reducing misunderstanding helps us all negotiate the intricacies of our differences. That's the way it's supposed to work anyway. That's the lesson of the Titanic I think. I'm not at ease with viewing such a real tragedy. I find it akin to the monsters that beheaded a helpless prisoner and put the beheading on the Internet for everyone to see. Thoroughly disgusting, inhumane and heart wrenching! The people who, in their perspective agreed with the terrorists applauded their cowardice. Those people who in their perspective disagreed were sickened and enraged. Both sides feel they were right. In the case of the Titanic maybe viewing the movie will bring a more clear perspective to safety in all types of transportation. Maybe viewing the terrorist beheading will bring a more clear perspective to the insanity of hate. It's all in your perspective I guess.

Games and perspective

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In a game like this treasure hunt the solution lies in the ability to decipher what went through the designer's mind. If you followed behind me, in my exact tire tracks, only moments after, you would have seen something different. It still would have required you to do some thinking to figure out what it is that I saw. Perspective! Several years back the medallion was on a telephone pole located on the corner of two streets. The pole was sunk in the edge of the wedge where the two sidewalks intersected. The medallion was on the inside of the intersection, facing the house on the corner, away from the street. It was attached to the pole by a Phillips screw and sunk about an inch into the ground, clearly visible if one looked. A fellow that played the game every day also walked his dog every morning about 9:00am before going to work. He often carried the riddle and clues with him to look over while the dog dallied as dogs do some times. As he explained to me later, there was a fire hydrant next to that telephone pole that his male dog found to be of great interest. He would lean on the telephone pole, reading and thinking about the riddle and clues while his dog followed his instincts regarding that fire hydrant. Almost every day of the four months the game took to be solved. There were a couple occasions the dog found interest in the telephone pole too, all around it in fact. While this guy diligently tried to decipher the riddle and clues. Someone else found it just after he went on one of his dog walks. Perspective!

That's what games are all about. Last night Michigan had the perspective, Michigan State didn't. They were left at the doorstep. Both excellent teams with loads of talent. Such is the way of games. Two more seconds and perhaps a different outcome. Don't get caught leaning on the pole while someone else does the looking.

Interesting hunger perspective

Scanning over a list of top stories and articles I happened across statements from a woman in social services who says she has been released from her job because of a statement she made about alleviating hunger in school age children. At first I was reminded of how many people always blame someone else for their problems but she really wasn't doing that. She wasn't trying to get her job back or bad mouth anyone at all. She was simply being interviewed for her stand on childhood hunger in America.

Her stance: In schools across the country children are being fed, usually free of charge breakfast, lunch and, in some cases dinner. In her opinion all this free food is only encouraging people to use their, already quite generous resources for anything but food. She feels the school food programs are removing parental responsibility and weakening the family unit to the point of complete socialism or worse yet, communism. She pointed out that many people, children as well as adults that are supposed to be financially strapped are wearing designer clothes, using $200 cell phones and shoes, overweight almost to the point of obesity and sporting tattoos worth hundreds of dollars. Yet these same people are statistically among the underfed.

Her solution: When a child comes to school and uses the free breakfast, lunch or dinner program the parents should be contacted and interviewed to find out the reason they cannot feed their child those meals at home. If there is a rectifiable problem it should be dealt with. Otherwise, the use of food stamps, bridge cards and food pantry items should be strictly adhered to. If the parents are found to be using those gifts for other reasons and allowing their kids to go hungry, and don't change after repeated warnings: She feels the kids should be taken away from the neglectful parents as well as the accompanying government assistance and charitable gifts.

She said that apparently her views are not particularly welcome in an agency that thrives on the needs of those less fortunate as a means of control., encouraging, creating and maintaining a culture of "being needy". Agree or disagree she brings up food for thought doesn't she?