What Do We Openly Value In The US? Dispoble Heros?

(This was written to my FB connections.  The message still resonates even without that connection.) 

This post will be by far the most offensive one I have ever written. But most of the people reading my FB posts are friends and family who are stuck with me. That being the case, you can still make donations to buy my a newer 48' Hans Christian. Make donation checks payable to “Foundation for ridding American psyche of cognitive dissonance by casting out logic, reason, and science”.

Ok, do me a favor. Look over your FB feed for the past 48 hours. Look upon it not as yourself, but as an outsider to this country. Judge what you see to be an extension of the things we value. “What do Americans value above all else?” Judge the people that get mentioned or pictures posted by the reason they are mentioned. (Hint, a lot of pics of soldiers that last couple of days.) Judge their job not by the warm emotional feelings associated with the term, but by the job description.. I'll give you a second to go do that...... OK, what would an outsider see about about US society and its values? Would they see it value its engineers and their dedication to advancing life saving technology? Would they seen scientist valued for expanding our understanding of the world and reality. Would an outsider see us commending the dedication of a doctor, who sacrificed 12 yrs of his life to , not getting drunk and foreign countries and buying hookers with his buddies, but endless boring study, labor, and constant threat of failure. For a few years the doctor even works for free! When he is done he has a bill bigger than the 3 times the cost of most of our houses. Do you see that in your FB feed? How about fire fighters or police officers who run toward danger with a mission to bring everybody out alive, no matter who they are? How about the teachers. We contribute DNA to create our children's bodies, but they contribute knowledge and enlightenment that creates their personality. Often in a teacher is a life raft in a sea of malice, bullying, and of social Darwinism that exist in the hallways of our public schools. When was that last time you saw somebody post a picture of “My Teacher”. How about the factory worker, a good one, who is a iconic example of dedication and hard work. Ideas are great, but you need somebody to make them a reality. How about the architect and carpenters who build these things where all your great memories are made. As a government employee maintaining a very important information system, I save lives every day. We have a < 0% acceptance of loss. So it is mundane and hardly seems worth is on most days to take care of the backup system to the backup system. We have only the safest NAS in the world to kind of reflect our efforts. 

Here is why this is so important to me that I risk public and family ridicule. “You all”, and the commune (aka community) are all purveyors of a massage that is creating my daughter's personality whether I want you to or not. Already she knows “Michigan sucks” and “The Steelers suck”. I didn't teach her that. Social forces taught her that. She doesn't even know what it means. She now has a predisposition against Michigan. What if a school or a job later in life calls her that way. Yes the subconscious it that powerful, especially to those who believe it isn't. The people reading this post are very close to me and thus her. I want my daughter to value education, technology, science, hard work, dedication, all human life (enemies included), non-violence, and independent thinking for herself. I want her to reject blind faith and “patriotism”. But she will never go to a football game and hear, “Let's have all the psychological researchers stand up! We thank you for teaching us about ourselves. To move towards a more peaceful and enlightened society.” She will never be at church and hear, “Let's pray today that the engineers that are working on life saving tissue and organ replacements are safe and successful.”. In our society she will never witness those traits I value being publicly highlighted. It is rare we see things like life long commitments, nonviolent sacrifice, or compassion honored in grand format. “The parade to commemorate the people who never got divorced.” We all seek social acceptance (well except maybe me. Blame it on my ADD... sail.), and we all look to mimic those we see getting it. So I need, feel obliged for the success of Cecelia’s growth, to chastise the US as a society. You are threatening to misguide my daughter. Stop it. I know this is a losing battle, but I have never fought any other kind.

Here is a truth about a capitalist society. If you create something, it cost money. If something cost, you now have a vested interest in using it. We have to be able to justify the cost, to get an ROI. Often times we seek to make sure our investment is justified. If that investment is your son or daughter's life, you seek even more intently. So if you create a soldier, you have a vested interest in creating an army. If you create an army, you have a vested interest in going to war. If you have people paying you and you are just sitting around, people start to wonder why they are paying you. (Ask any of my prvious and current bosses.) The reality is that if we spent as much on creating doctors and hospitals to combat health problems, we would save millions of American lives each decade and solved nearly every physical and emotional ailment. If we spent half the money we do on defense on training engineers and scientist, we would have our energy problems sustainably solved and be working on a way to reach another planet. Instead we train soldiers, build armies, and facilitate war, then claim we are a peaceful “Christian” nation. Then we honor the mess we made as if it were something unavoidable.
OK, like I said, all those who think, “This dude should get out of this country if he doesn't like this one!” (Thus missing the point but, oh well). Send me a message. I will tell you where you can post the donations to. I am currently $996,345 short of the money I need to get the boat and stock it to get underway. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCsH1g5ZESk

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