REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE

SOJOURN TO NORTHERN INDIA

TRAVEL-INDIA
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Sojourn to Northern India

Written by: Chet Yarbrough

World Travel

Chet Yarbrough

Sixteen days in Northern India vivified life. This sojourn into the world’s most populated Democracy is at once astonishingly beautiful and terribly disheartening. Northern India is beautiful for its millennial accomplishments and disheartening for its seemingly insurmountable social, economic, and political challenges. (This personal view is supplemented by authors, Arundhati Roy, Katherine Boo, Aravind Adiga, Raghu Karnad, and a smattering of Great Courses’ audio books on ancient cultures.)

India contains some of the greatest monuments of ancient history. Managed by Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, India has prospered, crumbled, and reappeared as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The great challenges of the past occur and recur with a resilient response by India’s people. Their ability to adapt to foreign occupation by disparate cultures is a tribute to their longevity as an independent nation.

INDIA FEB 2018_2132 — Alai-Darwaza, built in 1311 AD. It is the first building employing wholly Islamic principles of arcuate (beams and arches) construction and geometric ornamentation. Located in Delhi, the capital of India.

One of the main attractions in the so called ‘Pink’ city of Jaipur is the World Heritage Site of Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory. This impressive collection of astronomical instruments were built by Sawai Jai Singh, a Mughal commander, dated 1728.

INDIA FEB 2018_1599 — *Sukh Mandir : Amber Fort in Jaipur (the pink city), Built by Mughal King, a refuge for sultans in 1599 AD.*

The Sukh Mandir palace was kept cool in the summer by covering its arched openings with screens woven with the roots of the aromatic grass called khas. The screens were moistened periodically with water, air passing through the screens was thus cooled, and carried also the fragrance of the grass into the palace-chambers.

INDIA FEB 2018_1557 — *The Diwan-i-Aarm was the court where the Raja gave audience to his subjects.*

Vehicle for entrance to the Raja’s fortress.

INDIA FEB 2018_1226 — Taj Mahal–The dome is covered with sand to clean it to become as white as the remaining structure which has already been cleaned. The Taj Mahal was built as a tribute to the Mughal Emperor’s favorite wife.

Like a cobra preparing to strike, India seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges.

Today, India’s adaptability seems over-matched by environmental and societal challenges. Air and water pollution is ubiquitous in Northern India. India’s primary source of energy comes from fossil fuels, particularly coal. Over 65% of India’s energy is non-renewable while electricity is supplied to only 81% of the population (based on 2013 records). Today’s Covid19 pandemic accelerates India’s environmental and societal challenges.

In a 2011 report, Hindus represent 79 percent of the population. The Ganges river is sacred to Hindus. It is a major source of water for agriculture and life in Northern India. However, the Ganges is highly polluted. In today’s news, (May 11, 2021) scores of bodies are reported to be floating in the Ganges.

In Varanasi, it is reported that fecal coli-form bacteria from human waste is 100 times the Indian government’s official limit.

Hindu religious practices in India compound Ganges’ Pollution. Because of the Ganges religious importance, cremation occurs daily with human remains discharged into the river in Varanasi. This cremation ceremony occurs on the banks of the Ganges. Though cremation removes most organic material, there are circumstances under which un-cremated bodies are placed in the river.

INDIA FEB 2018_0836 — *Cows, which are sacred animals in India, also pollute the waters.*

Every night, (7 days a week–Human bodies are prepared for cremation on the Ganges’ bank. Fire in the background obscures a wrapped body that is lain atop a wood fire to reduce a deceased person to ash.

INDIA FEB 2018_0768 — *Two young people in the middle being married at the edge of the Ganges in Varanasi*.

A societal challenge facing India is its history of caste and religious belief. Caste and Modi’s reification and emphasis on Hinduism conflicts with Islamism. Just under 80% of India is Hindu with Muslimism over 14%. Border disputes with the largely Islamic state of Pakistan continue to roil India’s culture.

Despite diligent effort by the government to eliminate caste, it remains a source of underlying societal friction. Arranged marriages are extremely important in India because the joining of husband and wife are a marriage of families, not just individuals. Though there are exceptions, many of the young appreciate their father’s effort to screen potential marriage partners. Not that this may not be a better way of ensuring a long marriage than America’s happenstance conjugality, it diminishes cultural diversity. Cultural diversity opens a world of opportunity to all people, regardless of caste.

Upper classes object to affirmative action for the castes, particularly the untouchables, because of tradition. Indians are often able to determine the caste of residents by just knowing their names. It reminds one of Americans and their recognition of race by color. Discrimination seems as prevalent in India as in America. The arc of justice may be bending toward equality but both countries are far from achievement.

Equally concerning challenges for India are the two faces of democracy. On the one hand democracy offers more freedom than other forms of government. On the other, unregulated freedom leads to abuse of power.

“White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga tells a story of the consequence of unregulated freedom in India. Katherine Boo, in “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” tells a story of the consequence of regulated freedom in India that does not work.

India’s effort to regulate freedom faces the same obstacles as America. Knowing where to draw the line on individual freedom is problematic. Too much government denies opportunity to succeed. Too little government leads to the Bernie Madoff’s of the world.

Our personal guide in India proudly noted that his family is from the warrior caste. He wishes to become rich and have his daughter marry into his caste. That is his ideal, but he recognizes his daughter lives in a different world. He is unsure of how his life will evolve. However, he is not optimistic. India has a young population, growing at 1,000,000 people per month. He believes Prime Minister Modi is a good leader but that he will not succeed in modernizing India because of the challenges facing India. He argues that diminishing natural resources and India’s increased population will defeat economic growth and social stability.

A May 2022 “Economist” article on India suggests Prime Minister Modi’s government reforms may substantially improve India’s economy in the 21st century. Our guide in 2018 was quite skeptical.

Our trip to India was astonishingly beautiful but terribly disheartening. One hopes our guide underestimates India’s ability to overcome environmental deterioration and achieves its potential for continued economic growth.

A LIFE OF DECENCY

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

When Breath Becomes Air

Written by: Paul Kalnithi with foreword from Abraham Verghese

Narration by: Sunil Malhotra, Cassandra Campbell

PAUL KALANITHI (AUTHOR, NEUROSURGEON)

“When Breath Becomes Air” memorializes a disease that ravages lungs. Paul Kalanithi did not die from the Corona Virus but from a type of a cancer that attacks lung function. The Corona Virus is not a cancer. But, the Corona Virus creates an infection that simultaneously reduces our immune response. The primary organ of attack by Covid19 are lungs that cannot process air.

Paul Kalanitihi’s book seems an apt tribute to brave health care workers and others in the face of today’s Covid19 pandemic.

Kalanithi writes about his life. It is a short life, infused with stress, success, and failure. Paul Kalnithi is the son of India immigrants who grows up in Kingman, Arizona. (Kingman is a town of less than 29,000 people lying between Las Vegas luck and Phoenix senior living.)

Paul’s parents, particularly his mother, demand much from their children. Paul is exposed to the classics of literature at an early age to supplement his private school education. His educational interest is split between literature and science.

PAUL KALANITHI'S PARENTS (SUE, A MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGIST AND PAUL, A CARDIOLOGIST LIVE IN KINGMAN, AZ)

PAUL KALANITHI’S PARENTS (A MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGIST AND A CARDIOLOGIST LIVE IN KINGMAN, AZ)

Paul is accepted at Stanford to pursue certification as a neurosurgeon. His motivation to become a doctor is partly based on a desire to understand the meaning of life. If there is meaning, Paul believes it lies in the lacunae of the mind.

PAUL AND LUCY KLANITHI WITH DAUGHTER CADY

Within one year of Paul’s ten year journey to graduation, he is struck with lung cancer. After a first round of treatment, Paul’s cancer is in remission and he returns to Stanford to finish his residency.

As he nears completion of residency, the cancer reasserts itself and Paul decides to write “When Breath Becomes Air” to explain what he believes about life.

There are many messages to humanity in “When Breath Becomes Air”. It is founded on insight drawn from what Paul Klanithi has read and what he has experienced. No life is without stress and failure. The best one hopes for is to live and leave life as decently as Paul Kalnithi. He died at 37. He was at the peak of his career.

Every death is a tragedy to a family that has lost a loved one. America has lost over 200,000 human beings as of October 2, 2020, some famous, some not. Just last April, deaths were less than 34,000.

Alex Trebek died today, 11.8.20. He fought pancreatic cancer and filmed “Jeopardy” up until two days before his death.

Those who choose to listen to “When Breath Becomes Air” will look at life differently. Not because of belief in God or the fallibility of human beings, but because we all live between Las Vegas luck and Phoenix senior living.

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children 5 years and older. It is time for parents to protect their families and others from the ravages of Covid19. Measure the odds–make a decision based on science, not politics.

This news reminds us of the health care workers, safety officers, farmers, public employees, news reporters, grocery employees, and volunteers who risk their lives every day.

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.

AMERICA’S MOMENTUM

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System

Written by: Steven Brill

Narrated by: Dan Woren

STEVEN BRILL (AMERICAN LAWYER, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR)

“America’s Bitter Pill” is a policy wonk’s dream and an American citizen’s nightmare. It reveals the role of money and politics in American government. Steven Brill overwhelms readers, which are not policy wonks, with disgusting political backroom deals and entrenched private and non-profit interests. The disgust comes from the distortion of the most important legislation passed by the American’ Federal Government since the New Deal. Government leaders, private industry, and non-profit corporations worry more about being re-elected or having their pockets lined than providing basic health coverage to the American’ public.

FRIEDRICH AUGUST von HAYEK (1899-1992) — Even the “god” of conservative economics, Friedrich von Hayek, believed government had a responsibility to provide “…a comprehensive system of social insurance in providing for those common hazards of life against which few can make adequate provision.”

Brill indicts a political process that seems freighted with more venal self-interest than good will. How can one argue that the private sector through an “invisible hand” is adequately providing health care to a general public in the richest country in the world? Too many Americans have no health coverage because they cannot afford it. All one has to do is ask how many Americans do not go to the doctor because they cannot afford the visit and do not have insurance against catastrophic illness. Even the “god” of conservative economics, Friedrich von Hayek, believed government had a responsibility to provide “…a comprehensive system of social insurance in providing for those common hazards of life against which few can make adequate provision.”

What Brill shows is that the value of high profits to private and non-profit insurance and medical facilities is more important than offering reasonably priced health care to the general public. What every special interest lobbied for in the Affordable Care Act depended on improving or maintaining profit. “America’s Bitter Pill”, the Affordable Care Act, is laced with greed. The Affordable Care Act has extended insurance to more people in the United States than ever before, but it continues to rankle knowledgeable Americans because it is based on the false belief that it will cure an incurable disease, human greed.

ADAM SMITH (1723-1790, AUTHOR OF -THE WEALTH OF NATIONS) — ADAM SMITH (1723-1790, AUTHOR OF -THE WEALTH OF NATIONS-Many politicians hid behind the mythic part of an “invisible hand” to rationalize their cave-in to special interests.)

Many politicians hid behind the mythic part of an “invisible hand” to rationalize their cave-in to special interests. Hiding is shown to be non-partisan by Brill because it includes both Democrats and Republicans. The mythic part of the “invisible hand” is the belief that self-interest is always in the best interest of the public.

President Obama chose the only path he could see to have any chance of passing an Affordable Care Act. The only voting majority in America’s bicameral Congress that had any chance of success is shown by Brill to be dependent on acceptance by insurance companies, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, and ancillary medical service equipment manufacturers.

An optimist chooses to believe America’s flawed legislative system will, in the long run, serve its public better than any other known form of government. The optimist believes the Affordable Care Act will be improved over time and will mitigate increased health care costs. The pessimist believes the Affordable Care Act is a boondoggle. The pessimist believes American government is accelerating its move toward tyranny. A realist suggests the Affordable Care Act is Democracy in action.

THE ARC OF JUSTICE Even in these troubled times, the messiness of American Democracy bends toward a resolution of intractable social ills.

The momentum for health reform, ecological balance, and equal rights is unstoppable. No singularly elected American politician will change the direction of that momentum.

TRAUMA’S EFFECTS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

Written by: Bessel van der Kolk, MD

Narration by: Sean Pratt

BESSEL van der KOLK (DUTCH PSYCHIATRIST, SPECIALIZING IN ATTACHMENT, NEROBIOLOGY, AND DEVLOPMENTAL ASPECTS OF TRAUMA’S EFFECTS ON PEOPLE)

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk argues that trauma has a neurological connection between mind, body, and time. Kolk offers numerous examples of patients who suffer from the trauma of war, rape, accident, and childhood experience to support a belief that “The Body Keeps the Score” and human consciousness pays the price.

In a limited sense, Kolk’s argument is convincing. The limited sense is in one’s definition of trauma. Trauma that clinically demonstrates disconnection between mind, body, and time, as proposed by Kolk, is a credible argument. However, Steven Pinker suggests a part of Kolk’s argument seems overdrawn. Steven Pinker is an American psychologist, cognitive scientist, and linguist. He is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University.

Steven Pinker is an American psychologist, cognitive scientist, and linguist. He is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University.

Pinker argues that human beings become who they are from genetics and life experience, largely exclusive of parenting. In contrast, Kolk suggests parenting plays a significant role in a child’s consciousness as a mature adult. Kolk argues that the trauma of parental abuse, neglect, and egoistic child’ indulgence form mind-body-time’ disconnects that profoundly affect mature adults. Kolk’s parenting arguments fly in the face of studies cited by Pinker that suggest less than one percent of a parent’s upbringing makes a difference in a child’s adulthood.

This may be a distinction without a difference if one accepts Kolk’s references to experience and sociological studies that show juvenile delinquency is credibly correlated with childhood trauma from incest, neglect of basic human needs like food or water, or hyper-vigilant (smothering) parental attention to children who sometimes just want to be left alone. Presumably, children in that type of hostile environment do not represent the general population.

What Kolk argues is that trauma often becomes an imprinted mind /body’ experience that disconnects from time. Modern acceptance of PTSD in veterans of combat offers evidence for Kolk’s argument. The generally accepted definition of PTSD by the American Psychological Association “…is an anxiety problem that develops in some people after extremely traumatic events, such as combat, crime, an accident or natural disaster.”

This broad definition is expanded by Kolk in two significant ways. One, those suffering from PTSD are riven with anxiety by a trauma that is stuck in time, i.e., time that stands still. Kolk explains that a PTSD sufferer recalls a past trauma as though it is happening now, and his/her body reacts in the same way it did when the trauma first occurred. The body’s chemical and hormonal reaction is the same as though the past trauma is happening now.

CHILD SOLDIERS OF MEXICO'S DRUG GANGS — CHILD SOLDIERS OF MEXICO’S DRUG GANGS (Kolk’s second significant expansion is belief that children experience the equivalent of PTSD from parents’ psychological and physical abuse during their children’s childhood.)

Kolk’s second significant expansion is belief that children experience the equivalent of PTSD from parents’ psychological and physical abuse during their children’s childhood. A child’s chemical and hormonal response to recalled childhood trauma repeats itself. In some, time stands still when trauma is recalled, and the body repeats its physiological response. However, evidence is more anecdotal than scientifically measurable.

MASS MURDERERS-Psychiatric interviews rely on patients’ remembrance of things past which are historically unreliable. Sociological surveys cannot be done without the bias of a person or group that designs the questions that are to be asked of the person that answers the survey.

Kolk infers that the psychological maladies of adults can be significantly reduced by better parenting. The difficulty one has in accepting this argument is that documentary proof is in anecdotal evidence from psychiatrist interviews of patients and sociological surveys of defined populations, both of which are inherently biased. Psychiatric interviews rely on patients’ remembrance of things past which are historically unreliable. Sociological surveys cannot be done without the bias of a person or group that designs the questions that are to be asked of the person that answers the survey.

Kolk may be correct but there is enough reservation in the Psychiatric community to deny Kolk’s request for a psychiatric diagnosis of Developmental Trauma Disorder for children.

This is a frustrating issue because there are unquestionably millions of children that are abused and neglected in the world. These children are often not treated for their psychological problems because insurance is not available for un-diagnosed patients. If Kolk is correct, a diagnosis would be a first step in developing a course of medical treatment that is at least partially covered by insurance.

There is also the tangential argument made by psychologists like Steven Pinker that do not believe parenting has much to do with how children grow into adults. Nevertheless, one’s heart goes out to those children that are abused by their parents or are deprived of the basic needs of life.

POWER OF IDEAS

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Written by: Scott L. Montgomery, Daniel Chirot

Narration by: Stephen McLaughlin

SCOTT L. MONGOMERY (AUTHOR, AMERICAN GEOLOGIST, AFFILIATE FACULTY MEMBER UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON)

DANIEL CHIROT (AUTHOR, PROFESSOR OF RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN STUDIES @ UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.)

“The Shape of the New” is about the power of ideas. Scott L. Montgomery (a geologist and professor) and Daniel Chirot (a winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship for Social Sciences) write about three ideas rarely argued in polite conversation; e.g. economics, politics, and religion.

Montgomery and Chirot capsulize the importance of their subject by paraphrasing Victor Hugo’s line in “Les Miserable”. “One can defeat an army but not an idea”. (The actual quote is: “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.)

The essence of the author’s augment is that Smith’s, Marx’s, and Darwin’s ideas are seminal beliefs that define the modern world.

Among others, Montgomery and Chirot profile the ideas of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Jerry Falwell, and Sayyid Qutb. Each represents ideas that are part of modern world socioeconomic and religious thought. Smith’s, Marx’s, and Darwin’s ideas largely standalone, but Hamilton, Jefferson, Falwell and Qutb rest on the shoulders of others.

Adam Smith (1723-1790, Scottish economist)

KARL MARX (BORN TRIER, GERMANY 1818-DIED LONDON, ENGLAND 1883)

Marx’s dialectic suggests capitalism is just a phase in an economic cycle that will evolve into communism.

CHARLES DARWIN (1809-1882) FOUNDER OF THE THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES.

Hamilton grasps the importance of centralized control of money and national debt to support mercantilism, and free enterprise. Jefferson tempers Hamilton’s nationalist control with arguments for states’ rights that reflect on concerns raised by Smith, and then Marx, about unregulated economic power.

JERRY FALWELL (1933-2007, AMERICAN EVANGELICAL SOUTHER BAPTIST PASTOR, FOUNDER OF THE MORAL MAJORITY)

Jerry Falwell begins the evangelical Moral Majority that decries homosexuality and abortion, and posits belief in salvation only through faith in a Christian God.

SAYYID QUTB (1906-1966, EGYPTIAN AUTHOR,EDUCATOR,ISLAMIC THEORIST,POET,AND LEADING MEMBER OF THE MUSLIM BROTHEHOOD)

SAYYID QUTB (1906-1966, EGYPTIAN AUTHOR,EDUCATOR,ISLAMIC THEORIST,POET,AND LEADING MEMBER OF THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD) Qutb (pronounced “kootube), like Falwell and Christianity, believes only in his faith, a Mohammedan God.

Smith’s, Marx’s, and Darwin’s ideas play out in religions and nation-states that deeply influence the modern world.

Hamilton, Jefferson, Falwell, Qutb, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and other leaders adopt, adapt, and distort Smith’s, Marx’s, and Darwin’s ideas; figuratively leading humanity to heaven and hell.

What Montgomery and Chirot do is return to original texts of Smith, Marx, and Darwin to show how their ideas penetrate Hamilton’s, Jefferson’s, Falwell’s, and Qutb’s thoughts and actions. As Smith’s ideas are more widely disseminated and read, America’s economic policy changes. The world’s economy evolves.

Falwell and Qutb reflect on unleashed sectarian beliefs consequent to Darwin’s idea of evolution. If there is no God, then what in life is not permitted? Qutb disapproves of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s westernization of Egypt because it violates the Quran and Muslim Arab identity.

Gamal Abdel Nasser 1918-1970 (Egyptian politician, 2nd President of Egypt 1954-1970).

Montgomery and Chirot note that much of the religious right is reactionary. The religious right challenges the socioeconomic belief of Smith’s sectarian vision of the invisible hand. To a Christian, the invisible hand can only be God’s hand. Marx and Darwin’s science only has relevance if it fits God’s plan.

To Qutb, the true path for humankind is through the word of the Koran. The authors question the good works of the evangelical movement when it infringes on human freedom and ignores scientific evidence. On the other hand, the authors note that religion plays an important role in the history of morality. Many question the direction of evangelicals but religions continue to shape morality in good and bad ways.

China’s rapid advance may not be exactly what Marx predicts but it is a kind of capitalist evolution that incorporates some of the tenants of communist centralized control.

Just as Deng’s and Xi’s interpretation of Marxism distorts communism, Keynes’ and Hayek’s belief in free enterprise distorts Smith’s economics.

Darwin’s view of evolution is morphing into arguments for genetic manipulation to create more perfect human beings. One questions whether this is a step toward Nazism or nirvana.

As Victor Hugo notes, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” Montgomery and Chirot have written an informative and interesting history of “..Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World”.

In the end, “The Shape of the New” is a tribute to the importance of a liberal education. One may be a genius, but without a liberal education genius is often so narrowly focused, it leads to societal destruction.

EISENHOWER

The “Wall Street Journal” calls the Eisenhower monument, “Monumentally Mediocre”. Jean Smith’s interesting biography suggests otherwise.

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

Eisenhower in War and Peace

Written by: Jean Edward Smith

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

JEAN EDWARD SMITH (AUTHOR, JOHN MARSHALL PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT MARSHALL UNIVERSITY & PROFESSOR EMERITUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO)

Jean Edward Smith’s biography of Dwight Eisenhower defines the meaning of political leadership. Smith does not show Eisenhower to be a great intellect or military genius. Smith suggests Eisenhower is similar to Ulysses Grant in having come from a modest family to rise to the office of President of the United States.

Like Grant, Eisenhower is shown to be a consummate leader who politically manages and develops people who understand how to get things done. Unlike Grant, Smith shows Eisenhower to be a better President than battlefield commander.

The newly revealed Eisenhower monument in Washington D.C. shows Eisenhower in command of others. It correctly infers Eisenhower is a leader who trusts others to be the best they can be. Eisenhower is not a doer but a manager of others who do.

Eisenhower leads Allied forces on D-Day by using the best battlefield generals of WWII. Smith implies–without the Allied generals’ experience in battle, Eisenhower would likely have failed on D-Day.

Smith notes that Eisenhower had minimal combat experience. The one time Eisenhower directly manages a battle is in Sicily. If it had not been for superior manpower and material, Smith argues Eisenhower would have been defeated. Smith goes on to suggest that British Field General Montgomery is unjustly scapegoated for Eisenhower’s Italian campaign mistakes.

FIELD MARSHAL BERNARD MONTGOMERY (1887-1976, ENGLISH FIELD MARSHAL THAT MATCHED WITS WITH GERMAN FIELD MARSHAL ERWIN ROMMEL)

Smith also notes Montgomery’s role in D-Day is unfairly characterized. Montgomery argues for concentrated forces at critical points in German defenses; while Eisenhower demands a broad frontal attack along the entire front. Eisenhower’s tactics, in some generals’ opinions, prolong the end of the war by six months; i.e. increasing the casualty count and stalling Montgomery’s advance on Omaha Beach.

However, Smith’s biography of Eisenhower shows that military successes and failures make him a perfect political leader.

Smith reveals an inner moral compass that defines Eisenhower’s beliefs and decisions. Eisenhower uses that moral compass to become Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in WWII; and later, President of the United States.

Smith infers, despite tactical failures as a battlefield commander, Eisenhower’s innate ability to get things done through other people make him one of the great twentieth century American Presidents.

EISENHOWER AND SOMERSBY — Eisenhower is no saint. His power as Allied forces’ general leads to the Somersby affair even as Eisenhower professes a deep need and affection for his wife, Mamie.

Smith offers a comprehensive picture of Eisenhower. Eisenhower is no moral saint. His power as Allied forces’ general leads to the Somersby affair even as Eisenhower professes a deep need and affection for his wife, Mamie.

Somersby appears to have been loved by Eisenhower, but she is unceremoniously dumped in a “Dear John” letter when Eisenhower is ordered back to the United States. On the one hand, Smith is showing Eisenhower is human; on the other, Smith is showing the perfidy of men in power positions.

Smith explains Eisenhower’s path to the presidency. A part of that trail is festooned with Eisenhower’s sense of duty, but it is also tainted by the power and glory of high office. Eisenhower is solicited by both Democratic and Republican parties. In the end, the Republican platform more closely adheres to Eisenhower’s belief in fiscal conservatism.

However, Smith shows Eisenhower to be a domestic social liberal. Eisenhower is no ideologue. The inner compass that directs Eisenhower’s life recognizes the cruelty of poverty, the shallowness of red-baiting exemplified by Joseph McCarthy, and the importance of patience when dealing with international and domestic affairs.

Eisenhower resists the hawkish tendencies of his Republican colleagues. He insists on withdrawal from the Korean conflict. Eisenhower abjures any suggestion that nuclear bombs should be used to attack American enemies. He forthrightly confronts Governor Faubus when the governor refuses to integrate schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.

MOHAMMAD MOSADDEGH (1882-1967) — MOHAMMAD MOSADDEGH Though Eisenhower initially rejects a British assassination plot against Mosadegh in Iran, he changes his mind when he begins to believe oil availability is more important than one human life. (1882-1967)

On the other hand, Eisenhower succumbs to the machinations of his defense department and several covert plans to overthrow foreign governments. Though Eisenhower initially rejects a British assassination plot against Mossadegh in Iran, he changes his mind when he begins to believe oil availability is more important than one human life.

Though Mossadegh dies from natural causes, America supports a military junta that overthrows Iran’s government. Eisenhower’s support of the overthrow is based on British settlement of an Iranian oil agreement with Iran, and Iranian oil availability in the United States.

Eisenhower also mistakenly establishes the domino theory of communist infiltration. Though he refuses to support the French in Indochina, he believes the fall of Vietnam will expand communism in Southeast Asia. Eisenhower sets the table for Kennedy’s and Johnson’s mistakes in Vietnam.

Eisenhower is well-known for his opposition to the military/industrial complex growing in America. He insists on balancing the budget by reducing military expenditure. He reduces financing for American military forces while strengthening Air Force capability as a more modern military deterrent. Eisenhower faces down numerous military commanders that insist on expanding conventional forces that can intercede in foreign conflicts without employing weapons of mass destruction (an argument that is being made by today’s military establishment).

COMMUNIST DOMINO THEORY — Eisenhower mistakenly establishes the domino theory of communist infiltration.

recruiter — Eisenhower faces down numerous military commanders that insist on expanding conventional forces that can intercede in foreign conflicts without employing weapons of mass destruction (an argument that is being made by today’s military establishment).

Smith shows that Eisenhower refuses to balance the budget by cutting domestic programs that serve the poor and aged. Eisenhower presses unsuccessfully for increases in medical services for the American public (quite different from today’s Republican President).

Smith offers a balanced picture of Dwight Eisenhower. America benefited from Eisenhower’s political acumen. He may not rank with Washington and Lincoln, but he drew from an inner moral compass that makes human beings as good as they are capable of being.

In contrast to America’s current President, Eisenhower made one proud to be an American. (This review was written when Trump was President of the United States.)

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.

WORLD CITIZEN

Audio-book Review
By Chet Yarbrough

(Blog:awalkingdelight)
Website: chetyarbrough.blog

The Sympathizer

Written by: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Narration by: Francois Chau

“The Sympathizer” defines the idea of a world citizen. It is the first novel of Viet Thanh Nguyen. In the beginning, “The Sympathizer”, Nguyen’s fictional hero, seems like another version of a war Americans would like to forget. Chugging through the story a listener nearly derails but the denouement spectacularly realigns one’s senses.

As widely acknowledged, America’s abandonment of Vietnam in 1973 left thousands of South Vietnamese soldiers in peril. (A scenario that may repeat itself in 2021 with America’s departure from Afghanistan, but that is another story).

In 1975, the last American marine leaves the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon. Nguyen’s novel begins with hard decisions made by South Vietnamese commanders to identify native supporters, and their families, who would or would not be saved by American military transport. Nguyen’s main fictional character is chosen to be one of the lucky evacuees. The irony of that selection is that he is a communist sympathizer, a spy.

LEAVING SAIGON — In 1975, the last American marine leaves the roof of the American Embassy in Saigon.

Nguyen’s spy is a Vietnamese outcast. He is one of the “children of the dust” noted in the musical “Miss Saigon”. He is a bastard son of a white American priest who seduces his teenage mother. As a sympathizer, he becomes an undercover agent working for a committed South Vietnamese general. It appears this communist sympathizer has gained the trust of the General by being the go-between for the murder of North Vietnam collaborators.

WHO SHOULD STAY-WHO SHOULD LEAVE — When evacuation from Saigon is imminent, the General asks the sympathizer to choose who should join them on their flight to America.

When evacuation from Saigon is imminent, the General asks the sympathizer to choose who should join them on their flight to America. The sympathizer has two close friends. One friend is a communist; the other is not. The three are “blood-oath” brothers, characterized as “The Three Musketeers”. The two friends are chosen by the sympathizer to go on the journey to America. The communist friend declines and stays in Vietnam to be the sympathizer’s handler; the other friend agrees to leave when his wife and son become collateral damage in the war. His communist friend tells the sympathizer to never come back to Vietnam. The significance of that statement becomes clear at the end of the story.

Most of the novel is about the sympathizer’s experience in America. He experiences a degree of freedom and independence never felt before. But he still reports to the General. His close non-communist friend is an assassin for actions demanded by the General. The sympathizer is the go-between when orders are given.

The obvious irony is that this communist sympathizer carries out orders to kill suspected communist sympathizers in America when he is the penultimate sympathizer.

The General is planning an insurgent action to be organized in Thailand to attack communists in Vietnam. The sympathizer’s best friend is selected as one of the people to go to participate in the insurgency. The sympathizer asks the General to let him go. However, his primary reason for going is to protect his friend. The General initially says no but recants when another suspected spy is targeted.

The General advises the go-between sympathizer that he does not feel he is qualified for the Thailand mission because he has never killed anyone himself. If he can murder the newly suspected spy, the General will let him go on the Thailand mission.

SLEEP DEPRIVATION TORTURE — The sympathizer, upon returning to Vietnam, is protected by his friend by using sleep deprivation to make him understand something he knows but cannot remember; the other is left to be physically tortured by camp rules, but not killed because of the camp commander’s orders.

The sympathizer haphazardly murders a suspected spy and goes to Thailand. The valued meaning of the story becomes clearer.

The sympathizer and his friend are caught by a communist cadre. The cadre is led by the communist friend (the third musketeer) that told the sympathizer to never come back to Vietnam.

Both the sympathizer and the non-communist friend are imprisoned, under the command of their communist friend. Under the guise of communist re-education, the communist friend protects his two blood-brothers. The sympathizer is protected by his friend by using sleep deprivation to make him understand something he knows but cannot remember; the other is left to be physically tortured by camp rules, but not killed because of the camp commander’s orders.

While many escaped death from America’s abandonment of the South Vietnamese, the communist friend who stayed is severely wounded from an American napalm attack. His experience from the severe wounds and life under communist rule appears to have taught him an indelible lesson.

NAPALM USED IN THE VIETNAM WAR — While many escaped death from America’s abandonment of the South Vietnamese, the communist friend who stayed is severely wounded from an American napalm attack.

The communist friend asks the sympathizer what is most important about being either a citizen of America or of Vietnam. After many days of sleep deprivation, the sympathizer says it is freedom and independence. Wrong says the friend. After more sleepless days, the sympathizer says death. Wrong again. Finally, after more wakeful nights, the sympathizer answers the question correctly.

CITIZEN OF THE WORLD — All people are citizens of the world.

The answer is a seven letter word–nothing. The answer cuts through political ideology. All people are human beings; subject to the sins of being human. All people are citizens of the world.

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.

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