liveonearth: (Default)
The uglification of which I speak didn't exactly start with Ailes (Fox), but he certainly boosted it. One of the hats that I wear is at a natural products pharmacy; we dispense herbs and supplements and a few hormonal products. I spend some time sitting behind the counter simply helping the next person who comes to the window. Most people are decent, kind, and even patient. But lately I've noticed a trend. The proportion of cranky, mean and abusive people is increasing.

Today it was a lady by the name of Hammer. What's in a name, I ask? Did your name make you into a prosecutor in the pharmacy line? How many hammering questions does one have to tolerate before you are satisfied? Is there an inkling of generosity in you? A morsel of patience? An ounce of kindness? I saw none. I experienced questions hammering in faster than they could be answered, demands stacked up while I was trying to answer the questions, topped with an insult. Ms Hammer is just the most recent experience of this sort. There was one yesterday, and the day before more than one. Too bad it's nice people who get cancer and not the bitches.

This is Oregon. People in general are nice here. But not the raving maniac that stabbed two men to death the other day trying to get to some young women who were a different color than him. This disease of condemnation and hatred is seeping deeper and deeper into our culture, and leaking out in more settings all the time. I do not know how to fix it. I don't believe in phony niceness, but I also don't believe in punishing people just because you can. I am sensitive and not cut out to tolerate verbal abuse in the course of my work. I try to contain my anguish until I am in private. Then I weep. I try to be kind to the people that I meet. And I may have to find a way to not serve the public any more.

In Japan they have a name for it. Hikikomori. It's a sociological phenomenon in which people simply stop participating in society. If society is ugly, then decent people will not show up. If decent people do not show up, society will uglify even more. If we all retreat into our tiny little bubbles even more than we already have, the fractures in our supposed union of states and free people becomes null and void. This culture is headed for the bloodbath.
liveonearth: (moon)
Check out the photo of this convicted rapist who did it again and got convicted again.
Handsome, eh?


What does it tell you?
What it tells me )
liveonearth: (officer?)
Nice post here about how to encourage a 50/50 split of talk time and have better conversations. Unfortunately there's no advice on what to do if the OTHER person is the overtalker, except perhaps to excuse yourself to go get another drink.
liveonearth: (blue mountain painting)
Success:
To laugh often and much,
to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,
to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others,
to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition,
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson
liveonearth: (Default)
I solemnly pledge to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.
I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude that is their due.
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity.
The health of my patients will be my number one consideration.
I will respect the secrets that are confided in me even after my patient has died.
I will maintain by all the means in my power the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession.
My colleages will be my sisters and brothers.
I will not permit considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, race, political affiliation, nationality, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient.
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life.
I will not use my medical knowledge to violate human rights or civil liberties even under threat.
I make these promises solemnly and freely and upon my honor.
liveonearth: (Default)
There's a lot of hate directed at him out there on the internet right now. Only one in four Connecticut voters approves of him. Among Democrats, 81% disapprove. Chris Murphy is getting ready to run against him. And he is being treated with disrespect on the floor of the house. What I find interesting is that it's really hard to find out what he is actually supporting, because everybody is so mad at him that he's being shut down like Ron Paul usually is. What if he's right? It's not popular to stand against a gang of politicians who think they are going to get their way.
more )
liveonearth: (Default)
5 Minds for the Future: Cultivating Thinking Skills
by Jamie on July 15, 2009
http://selfmadescholar.com/b/2009/07/15/5-minds-for-the-future-cultivating-thinking-skills/

“…We must immediately expand our vision beyond standard educational institutions. In our cultures of today – and of tomorrow – parents, peers, and media play roles at least as significant as do authorized teachers and formal schools…if any cliché of recent years ring true, it is the acknowledgment that learning must be lifelong.”
– Howard Gardner
Great article, text behind cut )
liveonearth: (Default)

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he
spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time
tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.
E. B. White
liveonearth: (Default)
In chemistry 360 I sit in the middle of the front row, between a wannabe veterinarian, and a wannabe doctor. The potential vet is a professional dog trainer named Monica. Sometimes she brings her canine to class. The dog wears a vest that says "Don't pet me, I'm a working dog". The dog lies behind her chair and does not move for the entire 50 minute class. I am convinced that Monica is really good at training canines. She competes with her dog Gritty in agility events around the west, and consistently places well, or wins.
Dog Petter )

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