Obligation or Privilege

If your little girl cried out to you for help, would you respond?

From the house, you hear her out in the yard, scared and calling for you.
Nothing would be more important than responding to that cry.

• You wouldn't stop to check the list of chores she was supposed to do to make sure she'd done them all.  

• You wouldn't hesitate, even it she was in the middle of doing something you'd told her not to do.  

She's yours, and your love isn't dependent on whether or not she's perfect.  She can come to you anytime she wants to. She can ask you a million questions, she can complain and argue and disagree, she can push against the boundaries, and she's still yours.  Always will be.

Consider then the Father of us all.  A religious mind is perhaps overly full of rules, of requirements to be met, those things which we are obliged to do in order to qualify for attention.  Prayer might be on such a list of obligations, but then we doubt our prayers will be heard, perhaps because we see our own imperfection.  We don't deserve His attention.  That part is true.  His love for us isn't there because we deserve it.

As a father, my love for my daughter isn't there because she qualified for it through some performance checklist.  It's because she's my child, a precious part of my own life whom I love without reservations.  The fact that she has done so many things incredibly well brings joy and pleasure, but the love was there all along.

I wonder sometimes if we might doubt our prayers are heard because we're disappointed in ourselves today and figure He is too.  That's not how it works, we're told.  He hears every prayer; it's a privilege He gives us all.  Even when we're not at our best.

Social Security - Entitlement or Welfare

From a recent Op-ed:  Social Security is not an entitlement!  
Actually it is, but don't misunderstand.  Strong words circle the issue of social security as an undeserved government handout.  Republican leadership favors raising the age of eligibility and reducing benefits. Democratic policymakers neglect the fact that social security is not federally funded but is paid for by employers and employees.  From the taxpayer's perspective, once you're eligible, your benefit is generally based on how much you and your employer have paid into the program.  The longer you work and the more you pay in, the bigger your monthly check.

SS is not an impressive return on investment when compared to other options, but it is somewhat secure. And mandatory. The government takes money which we should be saving for the future, and they've implied they'll give it back when we need it, more or less.  It doesn't actually work that way, but that's the idea.

That said, social security is in fact an entitlement, and the problem is word usage.  Social Security is an entitlement in the literal and legal sense of the term. Social Security is Title II of the Social Security Act, and other programs (like Medicare) make up the other titles of the law. So that's where the root word "title" comes from.  It's perhaps much like my home to which I hold title and for which I pay taxes, etc.

Once you meet all the qualifications for Social Security benefits (work credits, age, etc.) then you are eligible. When you apply and get approved, you are legally entitled to those benefits.

Over decades of employment and subsequent retirement, our SS payments return perhaps the equivalent of a good savings account.  Not impressive, but more secure than the marketplace.  Had the mandatory amount instead been used to purchase CDs or savings bonds, the return would be somewhat higher.

It is, however, a paid-for benefit.   Most would gladly take a lump-sum return of payments plus interest.

Note the GOP (big business) offered solution moves everyone to the 401-k world, leaves the risk in the hands of the corporate world, and removes the employer's contribution.  It's a simple but troubling solution that offers little in the way of 'security'.

F's and G's

Bear Grylls tells of his father's advice to him as a young man, "Follow the three F's and watch out for the three G's."

And those three F's are...

• Family,
• Faith, and 
• Follow your dreams.

And watch out for the three G's...

• Gold,
• Glory, and
• Girls.

Not that there's anything wrong with them, but ya gotta be careful when you're a young fellow.

Some of the things he eats are

rather strange.

Not bad advice for a young man looking to lay out his path ahead; not bad at all.

Bear and Barack in Alaska

He's an interesting fellow, rather clear thinking and focused in life.  His sister gave him the nickname 'bear' when he was a week old.  A serious minded Christian, he's involved in charities, writes books, does adventures and drags others along with him.

Music ... it's the sound!

It's the sound of music that makes it great, true?

No, not really.

It was a surprise for the musical snob world to find out that a rendition of Mozart is not judged on the auditory impact alone, even by professional, expert judges.  Despite centuries of thinking that perfection of execution was the sole criteria on which music is evaluated, we now know otherwise.

"Chia-Jung Tsay was something of a piano prodigy.  By age 12, she was performing Mendelssohn in concert. At 16, she made her debut at Carnegie Hall. Soon, she was on her way to some of the best music schools in the country — Juilliard and the Peabody Conservatory." ~NPR  She discovered along the way that her chances were improved if the judges could 'see' her perform rather than just hear her play.  Notice the key; her visual presentation in performance changed the results.

Dr. Chia-Jung Tsay, in addition to her musical career, is also a psychologist at University College, London.  She's helped clarify some things for us.

Consider.  Music lived on the radio for decades.  Live performances were rare, and a lucky person might see one or two a year.  The music world exploded with music videos, and MTV went quickly through the stratosphere and around the world.  Why?    

Powerfully presented ...

Presentation changes our valuation of content.  Mediocre anything in an impressive presentation get's a better reception in our brains.

Eye-catching ...

This particular nuance in our thinking process is a troublesome vulnerability.

From performers to marketers to politicians, they shape their presentation for the best reception.  Note the effort that is focused on presentation rather than on content quality or benefit, on persuasion rather than on objective understanding; it's not information, it's a sales pitch.  They hope to thrill us and emotionalize us into their camp, whether it's a political ideology or a product line.

Cuteness, however ridiculous ...

It's soap they're advertising, but who cares ...

Carry the concept into the media realm, and you realize it's not a friendly environment.  It's a competition for our attention, our money, and our endorsement come election day.  It's an intense and deliberate warfare without rules where the stakes are our future and the minds of our children.

Being an objective observer of truth and value is perhaps the most difficult mental task one will face in their lifetime.

In the Morning ...

In the morning, our brain springs into action and quickly fills with the stuff we expect to face in the day.  We rummage through all that must be done, figuring out details, trying to set some priorities and make our mental lists.  Why would anyone suggest that we begin the day in prayer when there's so much to be done?

Perhaps they've discovered something?

Perhaps a mind refreshed and reminded about things that truly matter, about values that can lift us up above the furor ... perhaps that's a better place to begin the day.  It will certainly affect the shape of things at the end.

Give ear to my words O Lord
Consider my meditation

An old fortress on a misty morning in western Africa.  A great place to sit and think a bit before
running off to work and school.  Remembering what's important as opposed to just urgent,
well it's not easy, but it is the difference between productive and just busy.

Harken unto the voice of my cry
My King and my God
For unto Thee will I pray
My voice shalt Thou hear
In the morning
O Lord in the morning
Will I direct my prayer
Unto Thee and will look up

The Science of Snobbery

- and how we learn to be stupid.

A $10 wine is obviously going to be less worthy than a $100 wine.  Of course.

An interesting series of experimental studies suggest that even the experts often can't tell the difference.  White wine with red food coloring elicited red wine compliments, the grand crus are described like cheap wines and vice-versa when the bottles are switched, and so on.

Despite protests from wine lovers, there's perhaps not as much science and objectivity involved as you'd like.

Rude salespeople actually increase the chance
that you'll buy that expensive item.

The Science of Snobbery: How We're Duped Into Thinking Fancy Things Are Better  ~ there's an interesting article on the subject in The Atlantic

Is a Mercedes actually better than a Chevrolet?  Well of course it is, it costs twice as much, and it's more cool to drive one.

From the science, it appears that preference is tied to inferred quality, presentation, and name reputation as much if not more than actual quality.

Thin Slicing.  The term thin-slicing refers to our making quick decisions with minimal information. It's how you decide many things, from what you'll buy to what you'll believe. At the gut level, it's based on previously acquired values, of which snobbery is one.


Thinking has always been described as a conscious effort, but thin-slicing is the unconscious behavior of gut response, and we all depend on it regularly. Perhaps 95% of the decisions we make are at this level.

The Drowning Child Dilemma

In what ways should we question our intuition?

Consider this dilemma posed four decades ago. You see

a child drowning.  You could save that child's life, but

if you do, you will ruin your fancy $1,000 suit. People

were asked if it is okay to let the child drown.  Most

say, of course not, that would be monstrous.

In another case, children on the other side of the world

 are desperately in need of food.  By donating money,

you can save their lives.  Do you have an obligation

to do that? Most people say that it’s nice if you do,

but it’s not terrible if you instead choose to spend

your money on luxuries for yourself.

Most philosophers have taken those intuitions at face value

and said, that’s right, there is a moral obligation when the

child is right in front of you, but not on the other side of

the world. "Is there really a moral difference?"

~Joshua Greene, discussing Princeton moral

 philosopher Peter Singer who conducted

the study. Singer asks the question.

Is there?  Of course not.

Thin slicing or instantaneous analysis; it's how we evaluate quickly, and the criteria (values) we use are acquired but not necessarily from logic and objectivity.  It's the things we've learned to actually care about.

The primary source of established gut values in the western mind is the media.  It used to be family and church and school, but things have changed.  Is that good or not?

The things we care about, those values we use so regularly in decision making, can be consciously chosen, but it's an uphill battle against the deluge of proffered norms in reality shows, advertising, and exaggerated drama in the social realm.  

Choosing to care is a surprisingly difficult task, particularly when you consider that caring usually requires doing something.  It's easier to just notice and move on; that's the common path, the easiest way out.  See, and choose against.  The choice is perhaps below the conscious level, but our personal values are visible in our actions, our lifestyle, our choices.

Know what your values are?  Short quiz:

• Do you admire the successful?  Why?
• Do you prefer the designer clothing lines? Do you know why?
• Would you pay $150 for a pair of running shoes?
• Do you aspire to a larger, nicer home like 'they' have?
• Is 'having' one of your primary life goals?
• Do celebrities appeal to you?  Do you know why?
• How often is 'helping others' on your agenda?

Look into the mind of a teen ... here.