HUMANITY – Page 25 – REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE

Psychological Unease

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Cosmic Serpent

Written by: Jeremy Narby

Narration by: James Patrick Cronin

JEREMY NARBY (AUTHOR, PHD ANTHROPOLOGY FROM STANFORD) — JEREMY NARBY (AUTHOR, PhD ANTHROPOLOGY FROM STANFORD)

Psychological unease accompanies Jeremy Narby’s erudite speculation about the meaning and origin of life in “The Cosmic Serpent”. The unease comes in two forms. One, is Narby’s seduction by hallucinatory experience. Young people in America are choosing to overdose rather than face today’s perceived reality. The other is Narby’s patterning of observations to create either a true or false belief. It reminds one of the potential of Einstein’s discovery of matter and energy equivalence. Einstein discovered falsifiable evidence of nuclear fission that holds a key to sustainable energy. He also opened the door to Armageddon.

Narby, like Timothy Leary, is educated at some of the best universities in the world (Leary at Harvard; Narby at Yale). Both have PhDs. Narby has a PhD in anthropology; Leary in Psychology. Few, if any, believe LSD (Leary’s hallucinatory drug of choice) offers insight to the origin and meaning of life. However, like Leary, Narby suggests hallucinatory drugs may be a pathway to understanding.

Regarding hallucinatory experience, Narby does not appear to have slipped into the bizarre behavior of a Timothy Leary; at least not yet. Narby is 59 years old. When Narby did his research, he was in his late 20s and early 30s. “The Cosmic Serpent is published when Narby is still in his 30s. Leary lived to be 76. Each passing year exaggerated Leary’s belief in the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs.

MIND PATTERNING Patterning is the human ability to see structure in disparate facts and events. Some say this is the sign of genius. Einstein is said to have formulated a theory of time by riding a train. Einstein’s insight came from thinking (patterning) how time is relative based on a person riding a train and a stationary observer watching the train pass. However, patterning also leads to incorrect conclusions like a person’s recollection of a crime. Human brains are shown to manufacture events and facts to make stories complete rather than necessarily accurate.

Narby’s articulate presentation of Peruvian shamanism tempts seekers of knowledge and experience to try something new. The temptation comes from different sources. One is genuine interest in understanding more about the world and our place and purpose in it. Another is the desire to believe that there is something more important in life than wealth, power, or position.

“The Cosmic Serpent” suggests that native cultures around the world offer insight to the origin and meaning of life because of common hallucinatory experiences. Narby suggests the hallucinatory symbol of a winding serpent is evidence of the configuration and importance of DNA; long before Watson’s and Crick’s discovery. The inference is that shamanistic hallucinations are not mere symbols but a truth of life. Narby’s inference is that seekers of life’s truth should listen to the experience of shamans and pursue shamanistic experience through the studied use of their methods.

SNAKE-DNA IMAGE — Narby suggests the hallucinatory symbol of a winding serpent is evidence of the configuration and importance of DNA; long before Watson’s and Crick’s discovery.

Narby argues that the scientific community needs to widen its view of the world. He believes DNA holds the secrets of nature’s existence. The question is whether youth and science should accept the risk of Narby’s patterned belief?

At the least, Narby makes one appreciate the importance of native culture. He may be opening a worthy field of scientific research. On the other hand, Narby may be creating false expectations that offer ignorance and escapism, rather than research and science.

INFORMATION MONITIZATION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Who Owns the Future?

Written by: Jaron Lanier

Narration by: Pete Simoneilli

JARON LANIER (AUTHOR, INFORMATION AGE PHILOSOPHER,FUTURIST)

Society is at the threshold of change. Jaron Lanier writes about the information age in “Who Owns the Future”. Just as the industrial revolution, and two world wars mechanized human production, the computer and internet “informationizes” mechanical production. Lanier bluntly explains that human employment will decline in proportion to computerization of production.

Lanier is neither posturing as a Luddite nor abandoning the principles of capitalism. He suggests human beings need to understand their changing role in society. Lanier infers a failure to understand human’ role-change will compel disastrous reactions; i.e. reactions like the Luddites of the Industrial Revolution or socialist, fascist, and communist sympathizers of the post-industrial world.

Luddites during the Industrial Revolution–Workmen take out their anger on the machines.

Lanier argues that automation is replacing jobs at a faster rate today than in the 20^th century. Human nature does not change. Money, power, and prestige remain the motive force of human achievement.

Achievement in the past is based on productivity from the work of human hands with the assistance of mechanization. The days of human assistance in mechanization are steadily being reduced by computerization.

Lanier forecasts a future of abundance where the goods of life will be available upon request; without the assistance of human hands. No one knows how far into the future humans must travel to arrive at that age of abundance but Lanier suggests it will happen.

Lanier has an abiding faith in human beings’ ability to adapt and control technological change.

Lanier infers human initiated technology will continue to eradicate disease, and manipulate the atomized world to manufacture the necessities and desires of life. Replication machines will become common household appliances to manufacture diverse products, ranging from food to toothbrushes, to “goop” machines that extrude finished product.

HIGH SPEED GOO KNITTING MACHINE MANUFACTURED BY SONY–PRICED AT $30,000.

Industries will become more automated and less dependent on human employment. Lanier suggests now is the time for society to understand the change. As means of production reduces the need of human hands, the contribution humans make to society will increasingly become information based.

Lanier begins to explain the concept of information monetization. This is something that exists today but is mistakenly understood as something that is free.

Examples are Facebook, Google Search, Amazon.com, Microsoft Windows 10, Apple ITunes, governments, and other organizations that Lanier calls Siren Servers.

Nothing is free. The price humans pay is information about themselves, their needs, desires, habits, interests, etc. Every phone call, every web search, every email, every purchase made tells Siren Servers what product they can sell, what price they can sell it at, and how much money, power, and prestige they can accumulate.

Lanier suggests that the concept of Siren Servers should be expanded to include defined populations, common-interest groups, and individuals. Lanier argues that information humans now give for free be monetized. Every person that produces information that increases another’s money, power, or prestige should be compensated.

Employment continues to be an integral part of living life. Compensation is proportioned based on others’ use of provided information. It does not eliminate unemployment but it offers a more broadly applicable potential for employment. It does not eliminate poverty or extreme wealth, but it offers potential for broadening the middle class. More significantly, it does not demand the impossible; i.e. a change in human nature.

Though not addressed in this book, Lanier does believe there is a circumstance where information should be provided for free.

He argues the experience of Taiwan, in the Covid19′ pandemic, offers an example of free information that helps society. Taiwan created an open platform for Covid19 to allow the general public to enter information about their infection, masks that they are wearing, and where they are located. Of course, a key to their success is testing kits to determine infection. American can learn from this. It offers a pragmatic way of safely returning to work.

There is a slippery slope aspect to Lanier’s idea. The slippery slope is the intrusive requirement of government regulation inherent in any system based on information contribution.

In the case of the Covid19 pandemic, the idea would be for the platform to inform the public; not to be used by a central government to direct people’s decisions. It remains an opened Pandora’s box that only leaves hope.

Congress is asking how far down the road of “1984” should a nation go before becoming a creature of totalitarianism?

If the government is in control, numerous questions rise. Who decides what information is being used by another and what the rate of pay should be? One may argue that is a fault of any economic system but how far down the road of “1984” would a nation go before becoming a creature of totalitarianism?

The point is that human nature does not change. Though Lanier may be absolutely correct in societies’ transition from industrialization to computerization, people remain greedy, power-hungry, and hubristic.

Can democratic capitalism resist totalitarianism in an Information Age? America’s two most current Presidents suggest otherwise.

Both Obama and Trump expanded the potential of “executive action” that bypasses congressional oversight.

Also, Lanier’s age of abundance presumes technology will keep pace with human needs, desires, and habits. Global warming, rare earth monopolies, and population increases suggest otherwise.

“Who Owns the Future” is an insightful view of the modern world. Unlike those who revile modernity and pine for a return to an idealized past, Lanier offers an alternative. Lanier strikes one as a Socratic seer of modernity.

Link below is a synopsis of Jaron Lanier’s history: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/dec/29/games.academicexperts

WEAPONS OF WAR

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War

Written by: A.J. Baime

Narration by: Peter Berkrot

“The Arsenal of Democracy” takes a retrospective look at an epic quest by America to build an arsenal of weapons before entry to World War II. Some surprising names are shown to have Nazi sympathies and anti-Semitic beliefs. Those abhorrent sympathies and beliefs are cloaked by pacifist and capitalist credos.

There is the capitalist credo that unregulated self-interest is the most important determinant of success. There is the pacifist credo that someone else’s tragedy is an opportunity for economic gain. Some pre-WWII movers and shakers are tainted by capitalist greed and prejudice. A. J. Baime shows there are two sides to the story of “The Arsenal of Democracy”.

CHARLES LINDBERGH’S 9/11/1941 SPEECH IN DES MOINES, IOWA;

HENRY FORD (1863- 1947, AMERICAN INDUSTRIALIST, FOUNDER OF FORD MOTOR CO.)

Henry Ford, the “god” of America’s industrial revolution, is awarded the “Grand Cross of the German Eagle” by Nazi officials in 1938. He is 75 years old. The Grand Cross is the highest honor that can be given to a foreigner by the Nazi government. (The only other American recipient is Charles Lindbergh.)

Baime accusatorially notes that Ford is the only American named in Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”; i.e. the most well-known anti-Semitic book ever written. Ford did not wish to enter WWII. One may draw their own conclusion, but it stretches credulity to believe it is unrelated to Ford’s personal prejudice and presumed economic gain.

Ford is not the only self-made millionaire who believes America should not enter the war. Joseph Kennedy is equally opposed. Of course, before Pearl Harbor, the majority of Americans were against entering the war. However, Ford and Kennedy share a capitalist entrepreneur’s amoral belief that everything is negotiable, including peace with Hitler.

This amoral belief is characteristic of an idealized business model reflected by writers like Ayn Rand; i.e. it is a belief that the strong survive. and the weak deserve their fate. (This is an amoral belief evident in today’s American President, and a number of congressional representatives.)

Though Kennedy is not as clearly tainted by anti-Semitism as Henry Ford, both believe war is not a solution to Hitler’s aggression. Business men like Kennedy and Ford believe political leaders, like prudent business leaders, will fail if they do not benefit their country’s citizens and employees by staying out of war and making a profit. They, like most Americans, could not believe holocaust rumors could be true. Baime suggests the stark evidence of Jewish slaughter after the war shakes Henry Ford’s conscience. (One is inclined to doubt Baime’s conclusion considering Ford’s history of anti-Semitism.)

WW2 CONSPIRACY—FORD BUILDS TRUCKS FOR NAZIS, B-24S FOR USAAF,

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT (1882-1945, 32ND PRES. OF U.S.,1933-1945)

Baime primarily focuses on how “The Arsenal of Democracy” came into being. Baime recounts “The Arsenal of Democracy” speech given by FDR on December 29, 1940. The year before Pearl Harbor, Henry Ford reluctantly agrees to join the automobile industry mavens in re-tooling car manufacturing for the defense of America.

WILLOW RUN ASSEMBLY PLANT,

Ford’s brilliant innovation in assembly line manufacturing is recognized as key to FDR’s vision of “The Arsenal of Democracy”. Ironically, Ford despises FDR and explains that Ford Corporation’s contribution is based on defense of America and not intervention in a European’ war. The leader of the Corporation, on paper, is Edsel Ford but Henry, until Edsel’s death in 1943, retains veto power over any corporate decisions.

THE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY SPEECH BY FDR:

EDSEL BRYANT FORD (1893-1943, SON OF HENRY FORD, PRESIDENT OF FORD MOTOR CO.)

Edsel and Ford Corporation’s managers finally convince Henry to build Willow Run, the largest assembly plant of its time, to produce American bombers. The goal is to produce a completed airplane bomber at a rate of one per hour. Baime argues that the goal is achieved through Edsel’s leadership; complemented by innovations created by Ford Corporation’s experienced managers; e. g. men like Charles Sorenson, the lead engineer and designer of the company.

In a muddled side story, the role of Harry Bennett is explored by Baime. The story is muddled because it is shrouded in mystery involving rumors of Bennett’s mob-informant role for the FBI; his contacts with foreign interests, and his strong-arm tactics against union sympathizers. Henry Ford expresses great confidence in Bennett’s ability.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF HARRY BENNETT : <iframe width=”640″ height=”390″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z0jyOfSg0P8″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen> Baime suggests Henry Ford treats Bennett like more of a son than Edsel. When Edsel dies, Baime writes that Edsel’s wife accuses Henry of being the proximate cause of Edsel’s death because of Henry’s constant criticism (Edsel dies in 1943 with a diagnosis of stomach cancer).

FOOTAGE OF THE 1941 STRIKE WITH A GLIMPSE OF HARRY BENNETT: <iframe width=”640″ height=”390″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/PLN1svpbPBA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>

This is an interesting story but one has to remember the context of the time to have a fair perspective of villains in sheep’s clothing. Henry Ford is an anti-Semite but he joins a vast number of Americans that were equally anti-Semitic.

5 CORPORATIONS THAT HELPED CARRY OUT THE HOLOCAUST: <iframe width=”640″ height=”390″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/RXh7HfEFhik” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen>German anti-Semitism did not suddenly spring from one demented leader. Henry Ford came from the same primordial swamp that all human beings came from.

THE TWO FACES OF HENRY FORD:

Baime notes that Edsel Ford had contact with Hitler’s French puppet government leaders. Edsel is accused of aiding Ford Corporations’ manufacturing capability in occupied France. Intertwining relationships often distort truth but there is a conflict-of-interest odor surrounding Ford Corporation’s actions before and during the war.

The facts are that creation of “The Arsenal of Democracy” would have been a pipe dream without Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, Charles Sorenson, the industrial capability of the auto industry, and the American people. Truth and history do not forgive anti-Semitism, manager’s exploitation of workers, human greed, illegal dealings with the underworld, or nasty treatment of a sons by fathers. The truth is and always will be–human beings are good and bad. Baime’s story of “The Arsenal of Democracy” joins a pile of books affirming the moral duality of humankind.

ADAM ONE AND TWO

David Brooks (Author, Political and social commentator) Of course, Brooks means both men and women in his singular reference to Adam. In David Brook’s “The Road to Character”, the forces of nature are classified as Adam one and Adam two. Adam one is characterized by logic, and rationality. Adam two is characterized by sex-drive, instinct, … Continue reading “ADAM ONE AND TWO”

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough
(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Road to Character
Written by: David Brooks
Narration by: Arthur Morey, David Brooks

DAVID BROOKS (AUTHOR, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL COMMENTATOR-WRITES FOR THE NYT AND OTHER DAILY PAPERS)

David Brooks (Author, Political and social commentator)

In “The Road to Character”, David Brooks refers to Adam one and two (a nod to biblical creation) as two forces of nature embodied in all human beings.

Of course, Brooks means both men and women in his singular reference to Adam.

In David Brook’s “The Road to Character”, the forces of nature are classified as Adam one and Adam two. Adam one is characterized by logic, and rationality. Adam two is characterized by sex-drive, instinct, and emotion. Brooks suggests these characterizations apply to both sexes.

Of course, categorization of logic and instincts in human beings is not a revelation. But, Brooks notes these categorizations are the foundation for character. Brooks does a masterful job of recalling several historical figures that are the gravel base and pavement for his “…Road to Character” argument.

Because Brooks turns to the past, there is an inference, and some suggestion, that the present and future are threatened by an imbalance between logic and instinct; with a result that implies diminished character in modern times.

The seemingly erratic behavior of the past President of the United States offers evidence to support Brooks’ observation.

FRANCES PERKINS (1880-1945, SERVED AS U.S. SECY. OF LABOR 1933-1945)

Brooks recalls the first woman Cabinet Member, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Francis Perkins. Perkins is raised in a wealthy family in Maine, educated at Mount Holyoke College, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia. Perkins becomes the woman behind the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In spite of her wealthy upbringing, Perkins is incensed by poverty and its causes. Her “Adam one” tells her that poverty is not caused by lethargy or want of ambition but by social circumstance.

Perkins is drawn to this conclusion by the struggles of her own life and those around her. Perkins becomes engaged with humanity while struggling with a mentally deranged husband and a financially and emotionally dependent daughter. Perkins lives a life that shows she is not in control of “Adam two” but that “Adam one” can ameliorate through hard work and service to others. Perkins is a consummate organizer; i.e. an essential manager needed to make Roosevelt’s New Deal effective. She supports her husband and daughter throughout the struggles of her life.

Brooks goes on to give thumb nail histories of Dwight Eisenhower, George Marshall, Bayard Rustin, Mary Ann Eliot (aka George Eliot), Samuel Johnson, and others. In each vignette, Brooks outlines a struggle between “Adam and Eve one” and “Adam and Eve two” views of the world.

DWIGHT EISENHOWER (1890-1969)

Brooks notes Eisenhower’s caddish dismissal of his long-term mistress as evidence of a character formed by an “Adam one” view of the world. The importance of Eisenhower’s duty to family, to position as President, and as example to country outweigh “Adam two” emotions of an illicit affair; i.e. he summarily dismisses his mistress with a memo.

Brooks suggests the importance of Eisenhower’s duty to family, to position as President reflect “Adam one” behavior that outweighs “Adam two” emotions of an illicit affair.

Brooks stories reflect on the agony felt by human beings struggling with logic and rationality, and its conflicts with spirit, sex drive, instinct, and emotion.

Jean Edward Smith’s “Eisenhower in War and Peace” reinforces Brook’s assessment.

Eisenhower engages Civil Rights conflicts during his presidency. However, his engagement is principally based on upholding “rule of law” when the Supreme Court settles Brown v. Board of Education.

One presumes Eisenhower’s political decisiveness is based on an “Adam one” belief in Constitutional enforcement of the law of the land. Eisenhower’s road to character is paved with “Adam one” duty. Jean Edward Smith’s “Eisenhower in War and Peace” reinforces Brook’s assessment.

The same case is made for General George Marshall. Duty-to-country is at the base of Marshall’s public “…Road to Character.”

GENERAL GEORGE C. MARSHALL,
(1880-1959)

Like George Washington, Marshall serves his country without desire for fame or fortune but with a reasoned need to do what they perceive is right.

Like Washington, Marshall is a hard task master. He expects much from his army and from himself. He is confident, without being arrogant. He suppresses “Adam two” emotions to do his duty. He confronts obstacles directly. Outwardly, Marshall neither fears any man or position.

The folly of hubris is never evident in either Washington’s or Marshall’s actions but each is willing to do what their country asks of them. Brooks tells the story of Marshall wanting to lead the D-Day invasion but agreeing with Roosevelt’s decision to appoint Eisenhower, Marshall’s subordinate.

Harry Truman (1884-1972. 33rd President of the United States.)

Marshall intends to retire after the war but is called to duty by Truman to form the Marshall Plan for the recovery of Europe.

Ironically, the Marshall Plan cements Marshall’s name in history. The point being made by Brooks is that seeking fame is a fool’s road to character. Marshall did his duty. He did not seek fame. Fame found him through good works based on character.

Brooks notes how Marshall confronts General Pershing when he criticizes Marshall’s lesser command; and later, confronts Roosevelt when the suggestion is made that WWII will be a war of machines rather than men.

A surprising thumb nail history is given of Bayard Rustin, a black activist that happens to be gay. Rustin is compelled by “Adam two” emotions that drive him to serial relationships with men. Rustin is shut out of King’s march on Washington because of a threat from Adam Clayton Powell Jr. to expose an intimate King-Rustin relationship. Rustin remains in the movement but is forced to reduce his profile.

BAYARD RUSTIN (1912-1987, Social Movements leader for civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights.)

Brooks notes that Rustin is a primary influence in Martin Luther King’s non-violence, pacifist movement, founded on Gandhi’s philosophy of resistance.

Though Rustin’s “Adam two” sex-drive besmirched his character, “Adam one” logic placed him on the right side of history.

Another fine vignette is the story of Mary Ann Eliot; better known as George Eliot. Mary Ann is raised in a strict catholic environment. She rebels by denying the myths of Christ’s story of resurrection and healing. She firmly believes in God but not the truth of biblical apocryphal stories.

After Eliot’s father’s death, Mary Ann is driven by her emotions and sex-drive to become serially involved with men for gratification, attention, and recognition. This insatiable desire continues until she meets the love of her life, George Lewes.

It is Mary Ann Eliot’s courage to flaunt convention that paves her “…Road to Character.” Like Rustin, Eliot struggles with her personal life but through hard work and insight to human nature, she becomes a woman of substance and a writer of great human understanding.

George Lewes becomes Eliot’s muse, constructive critic, and eternal admirer. Eliot becomes the famous writer of “Middle March” and “The Mill on the Floss”. Lewes is characterized as a lesser light but exactly what Eliot needs to realize her literary gift.

George Henry Lewes (1817-1878, Philosopher, literary, theatre critic.)

Lewes is married but has a reputation for philandering. Eliot chooses to become Lewes companion in Europe in spite of the harm it would do her reputation.

Brooks profiles Samuel Adams and Montaigne in the last chapters of his book. They are equally well-formed men of character; forged in the face of human struggle.

In the end, Brooks suggests “The Road to Character” is defined by the base upon which the pavement is laid. What is troubling about Brooks’ conclusion is the inference that the way children were raised in the past is better than they are raised today. The inference is that children are not punished enough or are too coddled with praise to be motivated to achieve great and good things. Further, that today’s environment fails to build character because there is less understanding or appreciation of hard work and its rewards.

Brooks may be misreading today’s youth. Today’s youth are children longer than in the past. They also have more years to live. Human hardship will always be with us and even the coddled learn from mistakes made in their youth.

The substance of character has not changed but it may take more years to reveal it.

GLOBAL WARMING

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Written by: Elizabeth Kolbert

Narration by: Anne Twomey

ELIZABETH KOLBERT (AUTHOR,AMERICAN JOURNALIST,PROFESSOR AT WILLIAMS COLLEGE)

Homo sapiens are the only species that has the capacity to change events to conform to plan.

Elizabeth Kolbert argues that the fate of life on earth is subject to the randomness of nature’s cataclysmic events and the will of society.

“The Sixth Extinction” recounts the history of five worldwide extinctions. In recounting that history, Kolbert and most scientists suggest there is a pending sixth extinction. The difference between the first five and a presumed sixth is the birth and maturity of humankind.

To some listeners, this story is tiresome. It is tiresome because the future seems so far away. It is tiresome because some think it a hoax. It is tiresome because humans are an adaptive species. It is tiresome because some believe it is God’s plan. It is tiresome because science says extinction is a part of evolutionary science.

TRUMP’S VIEW ON CLIMATE CHANGE: trump and climate change

A fatalist might read Kobert’s book and think it implies a “…Sixth Extinction” is inevitable, regardless of one’s belief. President Trump and other “do-nothings” sing “Be Happy, Don’t Worry”. There is nothing that can be done; so why try?

The truth is– much can be done to abate the consequence of wild fires, hurricanes, and other cataclysmic events.

Cities can be hardened against flooding.
Forests can be better managed.
At risk populations can be permanently relocated. It’s a matter of recognition of threat and political will to mitigate environmental consequence.

hurricane

global warming evidence In spite of, earth’s rising average temperatures, melting icebergs, and seashore flooding, the story of extinction offers no sense of urgency.

Some believe wildlife extinction is a part of the natural order of existence; others, a cataclysm of human-caused events, while coreligionists believe it is a part of “God’s” plan. And finally Kolbert and others believe science will provide a solution for humans to escape extinction.

Kolbert’s book is popular, and is awarded the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction because she writes well and has a point of view that offers hope for the future of humanity. She infers science will provide a plan for humans to escape extinction. On the one hand, Kolbert decries the death of bat species, the acidification of earth’s oceans, and the loss of coral reefs. On the other, she suggests human life prevails because it has shown capacity to change.

TRUMP AND CLIMATE CHANGE — The real fear that Kolbert, and many other journalists, scientists, and politicians talk about, is that society will not respond to manmade degradations of earth’s environment soon enough to delay an inevitable “…Sixth Extinction”.

Kolbert infers artificial preservation of endangered species is a fool’s errand in the face of habitat destruction. After all, what is the point of preserving a species in a zoo or in a frozen state of animation if natural habitats are destroyed?

SPECIES EXTINCTIONS — Another way of interpreting Kolbert’s theme is to argue that loss of life’s diversity is a consequence of earth becoming an island of sameness. She calls loss of diversity is an island of sameness because environmental degradation introduces the same bacteria, the same pollutants, and the same adaptive needs to survive.

Biodiversity becomes less possible because of the interconnectedness of continents, consequent to international travel and species introduction to all continents of the world.

One may argue this is the fault of human civilization. That seems wasted intellectualization. The advance of civilization naturally induces loss of biodiversity. But, Kolbert’s theme suggests interconnectedness is only a proximate cause of loss of biodiversity. She argues it does not have to be a cause for a “…Sixth Extinction”.

Kolbert’s argument reminds one of the Serenity Prayer:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.”

CHANGING EVENTS TO CONFORM TO PLAN

“The Sixth Extinction” notes that human beings are the only species that shows the capacity to change events to conform to plan.

What humanity needs is the political will to mitigate the causes of human environmental pollution. It is not that a “…Sixth Extinction” will not occur, but human beings need not be the proximate cause.

GOD IS NOT THERE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Written by: James Baldwin

Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White

JAMES BALDWIN (1924-1987 AMERICAN NOVELIST & SOCIAL CRITIC) — JAMES BALDWIN (1924-1987 AMERICAN NOVELIST, SOCIAL CRITIC)

Go Tell It on the Mountain because God is not there. Go Tell It on the Mountain because no one listens. Go Tell It on the Mountain because no one cares. James Baldwin rages against culture that makes one, what one is not. Baldwin wins fame from a book that defines the chains of discrimination. He explains why and how culture is a curse. Baldwin tells a story that explains why being different denies equal opportunity.

Go Tell It on the Mountain is partly auto biographical. It tells of the author’s remembrance of his childhood and formative years. In broad perspective, Go Tell It on the Mountain shows how Americans are born as equals but deprived of potential by culture. Though published in 1953, the truth of Baldwin’s observations about culture is institutionalized in America.

Baldwin writes a story about three economic opportunities for early 20^th century black Americans. They are announced by Baldwin as robber, pimp, or preacher. Today, some believe blacks are still not suited for more.

STEREOTYPING — Only when human beings are treated as equal will stereotypes disappear.

Baldwin’s story is about two fathers of the same boy. One is the natural father; the other is a stepfather. The birth father is characterized as naturally smart. He moves from the rural south to the urban north with a woman he does not marry. The father is arrested for being at a store when two black men rob it. Because the father is in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is sent to jail for trial. The father is accused but not convicted. He is so shaken by the experience; he slits his wrists and dies. What would this father have become if he had not been arrested and jailed? The innate skill of a human being may be a combination of genetics and environment but if one’s color says you can only be a robber, a pimp, a preacher, a sports star, or an entertainer; being smart is not enough. Only when human beings are treated as equal will stereotypes disappear.

BLACK PREACHER — The irony of a stepfather/ preacher’s abuse is that he is biblically as sinful as most human beings. (In retrospect, knowing that Baldwin is gay, one surmises how abusive a religious stepfather might be.)

The second father of the same boy, a stepfather, also gravitates from the rural south to the north but he is older and knows success as a preacher. He is not characterized as particularly smart but he believes in God and talks the talk of a good man who will rescue an unwed mother and her child from a life of despair. However, the stepfather is a martinet. He severely punishes his wife and children for what he considers sin or disrespect. The irony of the preacher’s abuse is that he is biblically as sinful as most human beings. (In retrospect, knowing that Baldwin is gay, one surmises how abusive a religious stepfather might be.)

What makes Baldwin’s book important is its reflection on a part of American culture that denies equal opportunity for all. A smart man kills himself because he is black and has experienced the hate and inequality of discrimination. A preacher beats his wife and sons because he believes he has a right, given by God, to assay sin and punish those who violate his limited understanding.

Being smart or being religious is not enough; particularly if you are a minority or a woman because cultures stultify individuality and restrict opportunity. Individuality and opportunity are hindered by poor education and biases that are eternally engendered (institutionalized) by discrimination. Blacks have shown they are more than criminals, preachers, sports stars, and entertainers. And women have shown they are more than child bearers and housewives but America continues to struggle with equal opportunity for all. Baldwin exemplifies America’s struggle in Go Tell It on the Mountain.

THE NATURE OF CORRUPTION

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security

Written by: Sarah Chayes

Narration by: Sarah Chayes

SARAH CHAYES (AUTHOR, SENIOR ASSOCIATE IN THE DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW PROGRAM AT CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE)

Unquestionably, Hamid Karzai and his administration were corrupt during his ten years as President of Afghanistan. There is ample proof of corruption. “Thieves of State” is a tiresome revelation by an author one admires for confronting state sanctioned corruption. However, Sarah Chayes etiology for corruption is askew.

As Sarah Chayes notes, Mubarak’s government in Egypt was comparably corrupt. Chayes ten years in Afghanistan and her ability to speak Arabic offer tremendous credibility to her observations. However, her suggestion that corruption threatens global security is tiresome because “Thieves of State” exist in all forms of government, including the United States.

HOSNI MUBARAK (FOURTH PRESIDENT OF EGYPT 1981-2011)

Most, if not all, governments have some level of corruption because their leaders are human. In Afghanistan, Karzai protects his family’s interest by allowing his brother to sell land at high prices when it is virtually given to him by the government.

President Trump chooses to stay involved in the management of his corporate interests around the world. His justification is day-to-day management is in the hands of his sons. How credible is that argument?

HAMID KARZAI (PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN 2004-2014) Karzai protects government functionaries that require bribes for favors because they are loyal to him.

Trump has tweeted that loyalty, above all, is expected from the people who report to him. Trump chooses to use government functionaries that are closely tied to industries that the government intends to regulate. When does loyalty become more important than fair-dealing?

Greed is a part of human nature. It is disingenuous to think Vice President Cheney did not have an interest in seeing his former employer become the military supplier in the Iraq war.

Money, power, and prestige motivate all human beings. Societies only defense is government regulation but even that is subject to human nature and motivational force.

Rod Blagojevich (Former Governor of Illinois)

Desire for money, power, and prestige has no political party. It is in the nature of all humankind. Ironically, President Trump sets Rod Blagojevich free at the end of his presidency.

The irony is multifold. Trump is elected as a Republican, Blagojevich is elected as a Democrat. Trump is alleged to have tried to bribe a foreign head of state. Blagojevich is alleged to have tried to bribe a former President. Both choose use their elective offices to advance their ambition for more money, power, and prestige.

Chayes is absolutely right when writing about how important it is to listen to the general population about their government and its affect on their lives. Only then can one gain some understanding of a nation’s corruption. The consequence of human nature’s truths are dire. Human nature’s truth, when added to an outsider’s cultural misunderstandings, can be catastrophic.

Chayes suggests that an Afghani citizen will refuse to warn Afghani policemen of an IED “…because policemen require bribes to do their job”. Chayes concludes “…corruption is a threat to global security”.

This is a reasonable conclusion but what can an outsider do about it? Correction of corrupt practices can only come from the people who are governed. America can only lead by example; not by force of arms. America fails itself and the countries it forcefully tries to change. Yesterday it was Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq– today it is Afghanistan.

KARL MARX (BORN TRIER, GERMANY 1818-DIED LONDON, ENGLAND 1883) History shows that cultural outsiders destroy national comity and identity. Marx was an outsider in the Russian revolution but he formed the basis for communism’s takeover of Russia.

Lenin, Stalin, and to a lesser extent, Trotsky (all indigenous Russians) changed the government based on an outsider’s machinations. The same can be said of Mao’s China and Castro’s Cuba. Change comes from an outsider’s interference; while revolution only comes from within. The only consequential role an outsider like Chayes can play is publicizing indigenous public discontent. That is the true value of her observations in “Thieves of State”.

Chayes points to a Nigerian oil CEO who makes $1,000,000 per year. Chayes exposure of kleptocracy in Nigeria is only legally different from that which exists in the United States. The difference is that kleptocracy in America is legalized by a stable government. Robert Walker of Andarko Petroleum makes over $15,000,000 per year. American tax subsidies and American tax policy subsidize the oil industry. THIS TYPE OF CORRUPTION IS LEGAL IN AMERICA.

The American government protects CEO incomes that reinforce a widening gap between rich and poor. At least two of President Trump’s cabinet are billionaires and most are multi-millionaires. Few of the super-rich have much interest in, or concern for, the poor.

Chayes’ book would be more interesting if she had contrasted America’s corruption with Afghanistan’s. She limits her comparisons to medieval Eastern, African, and European cultures. Listening to “Thieves of State” is off-putting because America, like all nation-states, have some level of corruption; i.e. legalized corruption is still corruption.

Invading Afghanistan is understandable because of its role in harboring terrorists. However, it is a waste of American lives to believe an outsider’s intervention will change the hearts and minds of an indigenous population.

If America makes the mistake of invading Iraq or throwing money at the Afghanistan economy, it is only we Americans who are to blame. It is not only the fault of Afghani or Iraqi corruption. It is the innate nature of humanity. Fault lays at the feet of an outside country invading a foreign culture.

Respectfully, Chayes invested her time in understanding Afghanistan which puts her far and away ahead of most Americans but she misses the root cause of corruption which is unregulated human nature. That is why many countries that have poor government regulation turn to religion.

If a secular government cannot regulate human nature, Taliban-like martinets fill the vacuum with public executions or Mullah Dictates. Neither secular nor religious governance is a guarantee of perfect human justice, equality, or equity. Justice, equality, and equity must come from the desire of indigenous populations.

A CHILLING VIEW

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Death of the Adversary: A Novel

Written by: Hans Keilson, Ivo Jarosy

Narration by: James Clamp

“The Death of the Adversary” is a chilling view of the rise of Nazism in Germany. Hans Keilson never mentions the word Jew or Hitler in his novel about the 1930s but notions of history inform the listener of what Keilson is writing about. Names are not named because Keilson writes the story while hiding during WWII. He flees Germany to join the Dutch resistance when denied the opportunity to practice medicine as a Jew.

The main character of Keilson’s novel refuses to believe his father or acquaintances at work and school of the threat of the unnamed adversary in Germany. This anti-hero pursues his life as though the threat of Nazism would pass without affecting his life. However, as events unfold, the anti-hero hears the radio voice of “…the Adversary” and begins to understand the underlying murderous intent of a charismatic political actor who will turn German lives upside down.

words matter — The realized terror is that spoken words by one actor can lead to a genocidal mania on the part of a chosen people.

Keilson writes of a speech given by “…the Adversary” to give the reader/listener some insight to the power of words in the hands of a consummate actor. It is a terrifying realization both to the anti-hero and the reader/listener of Keilson’s book. The realized terror is that spoken words by one actor can lead to a genocidal mania on the part of a chosen people.

There is relevance in Keilson’s story for events today. Pundits and politicians use words to victimize and terrify immigrants, and minorities in the same despicable language of yesterday.

Next, Keilson tells a story of a meeting at a friend’s house where several young men congregate to discuss a local incident participated in by one of the young men. The anti-hero’s friend is a woman who is employed at his place of work. One of the young men is her brother. It appears the young men are relatively close friends that choose to allow the anti-hero into their conversation. One of the youngest tells of his recruitment in an obscure organization. He volunteers to go on a night mission under the organization’s leader.

The recruitment is for a team of hooligans to desecrate the graves of a cemetery which one presumes is a particular ethnic graveyard. The purpose is to defile the memory of a particular graveyard and the common beliefs which it represents. Some of the participants are ambivalent about the mission but go along with the leader’s direction. Head stones are overturned and graves are shat on.

GRAVEYARD DESECRATION — The anti-hero of Kielson’s story volunteers to go on a night mission under the organization’s leader. The recruitment is for a team of hooligans to desecrate the graves of a cemetery which one presumes is a particular ethnic graveyard.

BATTERED SUIT CASE — Keilson recounts the love and guilt of his anti-hero by explaining how his father prepares a suitcase for himself, his wife, and his son.

Keilson recounts the love and guilt of his anti-hero by explaining how his father prepares a suitcase for himself, his wife, and his son. The suitcase for the parents is preparation for the knock on the door in the middle of the night. The parents do not plan to leave their country in spite of the danger which the father knows. The suitcase for the son is for him to escape the country. The son seems resigned to let life happen. He is an anti-hero that is prepared to let events control his life; even though the consequence may be the loss of his parents.

The final chapters offer the anti-hero the opportunity to kill “…the Adversary”. He chooses not to and history shows his decision to be both right and wrong. It is right in light of the ultimate death of “…the Adversary” because of actions of others to stop his reign of terror. It seems wrong because of the death of many (particularly the anti-hero’s parents), and his failure to confront “…the Adversary” before it was too late.

One is compelled to wonder about oneself in listening to Keilson’s story. Who will choose to confront the adversary? Who will “go along to get along”?

A MISOGYNIST SEA

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

A Room of One’s Own

Written by: Virginia Woolf

Narration by: Juliet Stevenson

VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882-1941, BRITISH AUTHOR, A WOMAN AHEAD OF HER TIME)

Virginia Woolf is a woman outside of time. As Woolf implies in the early twentieth century, women are drowning in a misogynist sea. Woolf is born when female inequality breaches the existential threat with a first wave; i.e. Women’s Suffrage in 1920. The preeminent feminist, Betty Friedan, is just born (actually, 1921). (Friedan later writes “The Feminine Mystique”–published in 1963.)

“A Room of One’s Own” is a contemplation on why women are underrepresented as great poets or fiction writers. With the exception of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Woolf suggests there are no 19^th century women renowned for fiction. Apocryphally, the unlikely story of Lincoln saying “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War” is an apt coda for the insignificance of the public’s view of women writers.

EMILY DICKINSON (1830-1886, AMERICAN POET, PRODUCED 1,800 POEMS IN 40 HANDBOUND VOLUMES)

(As one listens to her complaint, one thinks about Emily Dickinson. However, Dickenson did have a room of her own.)

Woolf wittily skewers male paragons of the pen and their misogynist comments about women. She sets the table for an explanation of why there is no female Shakespeare’, erudite Johnson’, or Longfellow word smiths.

Woolf’s point is that women had no money because they were dependent on men or family inheritance. Often, young ladies are discouraged from college by their families who feel marriage and bearing of children are their primary duties. Without educational support and few opportunities for gainful employment, women only had money if they inherited it or married a wealthy husband. Without money, there is little opportunity for independence; without money, there is little chance of having “A Room of One’s Own”.

There are many examples to support Woolf’s observation about money and the luxury of contemplation, having a room of your own. Michel de Montaigne’s essays are spectacular observations of life and living but the key to his success is in wealth that allows him time for observation and contemplation of life. He had a room of his own. In Woolf’s lifetime there were few women who had such luxury. Have things changed? Maybe, but #MeToo suggests women’s independence and wealth still involves misogyny.

In the last section of her lecture Woolf notes women write fiction with a mixture of public disdain and admiration. Disdain from implied colorlessness in writing but admiration for a twist in a story that suggests a first-time female author has potential.

Misogyny still roils the sea but more women writers have a room of their own. The second wave is forty years in the future but Friedan steadies the helm-bearing toward equality. At $.79 cents to the dollar in the 21st century, there is still a long way to go.

The frightening prospect of a Taliban government in Afghanistan is more threatening than wage differences in the U.S. The only concession they have recently made is to ban forced marriage of women. This is not to diminish America’s misogynist history but to show how backward and unfair the world can be to women.

However, for realization of potential, Woolf suggests the author needs to have a room of her own to have time to think and reflect. To prove Woolf’s bona fides, she ends “A Room of Her Own” with short stories. They are beautifully written and worthy of the theme of which she writes.

As Aristotle once said, contemplation is the highest form of activity for the soul. Woolf implies great literature; great fiction, and poetry come from authors who have time and a room of their own.

WIRED TO CREATE

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind

Written by: Scott Barry Kaufman, Carolyn Gregorie

Narration by: Nick Podehl

CAROLYN GREGORIE (SCIENCE WRITER FOR THE HUFFINGTON POST)

SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN (AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR, SCIENCE WRITER)

The book “Wired to Create” is an internet sensation. It began as an article in the Huffington Post; written by Carolyn Gregorie. Based on the article, she co-writes a book with psychologist Scott Kaufman. The book is promoted as a loss leader (no charge) to attract customers to Google e-books and other internet savvy vendors. The book’s popularity is in the argument that intelligence is only one characteristic of a creative mind. With IQ as only one characteristic of creativity, the field of human subjects who fit the definition of creative is broadened.

PICASSO'S BULL'S HEAD — PICASSO’S BULL’S HEAD

Scientists, inventors, artists, sales people, mechanics, technicians, sports stars, and other unnamed categories of people are “Wired to Create”. This is no revelation. It is not unusual to find friends or acquaintances that are able to think in three dimensions, rotate objects in their mind, come up with solutions to complex problems, or create art out of ordinary things. Some of these creative people are great explainers; others are introverted and non-communicative. Some recall events in perfect detail; others only remember broad outlines. Some create art out of nothing; others say nothing about art but build cathedrals.

ST. SERNIN, TOLOUSE, FRANCE — ST. SERNIN, CATHEDRAL IN TOLOUSE, FRANCE

Kaufman and Gregorie identify some characteristics of creative minds. There is the ability to hold opposing concepts in mind while rendering something never thought of before; i.e. like a work of art that shows planes of a human face from every angle in two dimensions. There is a disruptive quality in a person with a creative mind. That disruption is often seen in school students who cannot sit still, are always talking, and are constantly interrupting class activities. It is the creative teacher who handles the disruption to gain participation of all students, including the disrupter.

Kaufman and Gregorie mention famous creative geniuses like Einstein, Edison, Wozniak, and Jobs who exhibit creativity in varied but similar ways. Einstein may rise above the others because of a creative universality but each exhibit a passion and intensity for what they think and do. Edison and Jobs are super salesmen; Wozniak is a tinkerer; Einstein is a conceptualizer. To varying degrees each practices the others’ skills.

“Wired to Create” notes that creativity is not restricted to either introverts or extroverts. Creativity encompasses all sociological categories. Creativity comes from persistence and resilience; driven by passion.

MIND DECONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF EVENTS — (Competing theories of learning suggest human brain interaction with environment is too complex to measure; i.e. the way the brain reacts when stimulated by the environment is, at best, an evolving mystery.)

THOMAS EDISION (1847-1931, AMERICAN INVENTOR, BUSINESSMAN CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE AMERICA'S GREATEST INVENTOR) — THOMAS EDISION (1847-1931, AMERICAN INVENTOR)

The authors note the many failures of creative people; e.g. people like Edison and J. K. Rowling. The authors note that only a handful of Edison’s thousands of patented inventions were successful.

J. K. ROWLING (MOST FAMOUS FOR THE HARRY POTTER SERIES)

Rowling had many publishers turn Harry Potter down until one publisher accepted her work. The tortured personality theory of creativity is addressed by the authors but it is only one of many factors that make people think what they think and do what they do. As noted with Einstein, Edison, Wozniak, Jobs and Rowling not all creative people are aberrantly affected by hyper activity, repeated failure, or intense focus. Kaufman and Gregorie imply some creative people may have tortured personalities but correlation is not causation.

PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903, PAINTER, SCULPTUR) — PAUL GAUGUIN (1848-1903, PAINTER, SCULPTOR)

Gauguin is financially unsuccessful as an artist in his lifetime because of the public’s rejection of his work. Gauguin’s paintings are sold for millions today. Kaufman and Gregorie imply creativity is no guarantee of money, success, or happiness. Gauguin’s lack of success may have led to use of drugs but it seems as likely that penury and failed acceptance, rather than misunderstood creativity, is the proximate cause of death. Taking drugs is a malady of the uncreative as well as the creative.

Vincent van Gogh, a contemporary of Gauguin, commits himself to an asylum in which he paints one of his most revered works of art, “The Starry Night”. However, like Gauguin, van Gogh is never financially successful. Gauguin and van Gogh succumb to the stresses of life; not because they are creative but because they are poor and unable to cope with their perceived failure.

VINCENT VAN GOGH (ONE OF MANY RENOWNED SELF PORTRAITS BECAUSE VAN GOGH COULD NOT AFFORD MODELS.)

Kaufman and Gregorie broaden the definition of creativity. However, there seems little revelation in their suggestion that creativity comes from intense interest, average or higher IQs, hard work, and persistence in the face of rejection. Talk of left brain, right brain activity, and frontal lobe brain waves are unconvincing physiological origins of creativity. Play theory seems passé. Competing theories of learning suggest human brain interaction with environment is too complex to measure; i.e. the way the brain reacts when stimulated by the environment is, at best, an evolving mystery. Mysteries of the creative mind remain undiscovered.

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