Reminder about your invitation from Jean Lemeau

2011-05-31T02:59:00.001-07:00

This is a reminder that on May 22, Jean Lemeau sent you an invitation to become part of his or her professional network at LinkedIn.

Follow this link to accept Jean Lemeau's invitation.

https://www.linkedin.com/e/-m573bj-gocoe7m2-2q/doi/2962883530/oU4N38Hx/gir_599405648_1/EML-inv_17_rem/

Signing up is free and takes less than a minute.

On May 22, Jean Lemeau wrote:

> To: [jean.lemeau.ithink@blogger.com]
> From: Jean Lemeau [jean.lemeau@gmail.com]
> Subject: Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

> I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.
>
> - Jean

The only way to get access to Jean Lemeau's professional network on LinkedIn is through the following link:

https://www.linkedin.com/e/-m573bj-gocoe7m2-2q/doi/2962883530/oU4N38Hx/gir_599405648_1/EML-inv_17_rem/

You can remove yourself from Jean Lemeau's network at any time.

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Reminder about your invitation from Jean Lemeau

2011-05-25T01:25:00.001-07:00

This is a reminder that on May 22, Jean Lemeau sent you an invitation to become part of his or her professional network at LinkedIn.

Follow this link to accept Jean Lemeau's invitation.

https://www.linkedin.com/e/-m573bj-go40e5oi-10/doi/2962883530/oU4N38Hx/gir_599405648_0/EML-inv_17_rem/

Signing up is free and takes less than a minute.

The only way to get access to Jean Lemeau's professional network on LinkedIn is through the following link:

https://www.linkedin.com/e/-m573bj-go40e5oi-10/doi/2962883530/oU4N38Hx/gir_599405648_0/EML-inv_17_rem/

You can remove yourself from Jean Lemeau's network at any time.

--------------

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

2011-05-22T15:48:00.001-07:00

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Jean

Jean Lemeau
2011 Alumni of Andrews University
Benton Harbor, Michigan Area

Confirm that you know Jean

Want Your Materials Returned?

2011-01-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Please let me know ASAP if you'd like your materials - papers, projects, etc. - returned to you. If so, I'll leave them in the Honors office. Thanks!

Interested In An Internship?

2010-12-23T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hello All! I hope you are having safe travels and are looking forward to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A consulting client is developing plans to offer several internships in 2011. The organization is a well-known not-for-profit operating in the health care and chronic disease space. Chicago/West Loop location.

Many details remain to be worked out, but duties would focus on website redesign and on developing a social media and marketing strategy to help the organization build customer relationships and prepare for the impact of health reform.

Please e-mail me if you are interested in learning more details as they become available.

Finally a place were self sustenance comes without a loan

2010-12-09T20:37:00.000-08:00

Unlike many of my peers, I focused on the economic and social challenges that communities face rather than the environmental and emotional aspects. I am sure that many people today are living in communities that have seen a steady decline at the aid of loans from other communities. For those who wish to truly live in an environment in which the word independent is in the air that they breathe I would suggest they live here. Do not misunderstand this as a prejudice place or one that is native only. This is mainly for those who wish to thrive in a commonwealth that can be proud of its achievements and the lack of ties or enslavement to the wills of other places.

2010-12-08T05:47:00.000-08:00

NOTE: I am in Chicago this morning (Dec 8) for meetings and may be late getting back for the "final exam." Feel free to e-mail your documents to me (steve@t1resources.com). Or, turn them in at Dr. Pittman's office and I'll pick them up. Or, wait for me in the classroom. I'll be there, just probably a little late. Pass the word. Thanks!

How Then Shall I Live…

2010-12-08T03:39:00.001-08:00

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I would take this well-known statement and tweak it a little: “Don’t judge a class by your friends’ experiences.” At the beginning of the year, I did not have high expectations for this class. Many of my friends warned me about it, even suggested that I drop the class and take a different Honors elective, but a part of me wanted to see what was the cause of all the discontentment. I can now say that it was well worth it to stay in the class; many of the lessons that I learned this year came from this course.
Many of the topics covered in class were interesting and applicable, but the one that impacted me the most was the video by Randy Pausch. I believe that as we grow older, we tend to complicate things. Money, love, fame, status, all these things skew our dreams; when we are younger, our dreams are unaffected by these materialistic things. With our naïve, innocent natures, many of the goals that we have are, in essence, selfless. If we want to be doctors, it’s because it looks cool or we want to save the lives of our dolls; if we want to be mailmen, it’s because we get along with dogs and enjoy walking around; from the small to the big, our decisions and desire are unmarred by the typical acquisitive mindset.
Ask most teenagers what they want to do and the answer will come back tinged with a desire to gain money and status or the desire to be nonconformist. Gone is the desire to change the world: instead of asking what they can do for others, they ask what others can do for them (borrowing from the JFK speech). I know that it is said that children are selfish because they don’t know better, but sometimes it seems like they know more. As we grow older, we take the very simple and change it to the very obscure. To change the world, we must first change ourselves.
To even change ourselves, we must know who we are. As Veblen states, “we are social animals”. A lot of our value and personal definition comes from the way we are perceived by others. Many of our actions are done with the questions: “will others see me doing this?” and “what will they think?” resounding in our minds. One of the most important, yet hardest, changes to make is to the way that we think.
I believe that in order to realize this balance between achieving our dreams and helping others, we need to accept the contradictions that might arise. I am of the firm conviction that a person who is doing what they are passionate about, be it collecting trash, cleaning the sewer, performing neurosurgery, or teaching a room full of bratty college students, if they are passionate, they will make a more lasting and meaningful mark than if they are doing it for ulterior motives.
When I was little, I loved watching the show E.R. My sister was addicted to the show, so by default (I enjoyed mimicking my sisters, down to their likes and dislikes), I was addicted to the show as well. I loved watching the doctors. Blood, open wounds, vomit, these things did not scare me. The more I saw, the more I wanted to be a doctor. I guess I had a hero complex; I wanted to save lives, I wanted to help families, I wanted to know that every day was a success.
As I got older, when people asked me what I wanted to do and I told them doctor, their immediate response was to say, “Oh, that’s a good profession. You’ll make a lot of money.” The first time that I heard that was from my aunt. When she told me that, I responded, “Really? I’ll make a lot of money?” The idea was foreign to me. Since no one in my family was a doctor, I did not know of the status or money that comes with the profession. After a while, I found myself explaining to people that I didn’t want to be a doctor because of the money or status that I would get with the title, but because I was truly passionate about helping people and knowing that I made an impact on someone’s life. One of the reasons that I want to be a Pediatrician is so I can get back in touch with the child in me. They approach many of the biggest problems with an unbiased opinion. My hope is that the time spent with them will help me see the world through less tainted glasses.
Maybe this is a naïve thought, but I believe that if we are more satisfied with who we are and what we are doing, then we won’t feel the need to buy everything that is in sight. We could befuddle advertisers, stop escaping our reality by watching “reality” shows, and actually spend time with our families. It feels like the children these days are deprived of the fondest memories that I have, such as running around during the summer, jumping through sprinklers, actually knowing the neighbors, family dinners, and much more. In ten years, when we ask the 7-12 year olds of right now what they remember about their childhood, all they will see is a big, fat T.V. screen/iPod/Wii.
So how will I live? I am still not quite sure how my life will unfold, but I want to be remembered for my passion, for my love, and for my desire to help others. I don’t want my name to be known by a lot of people. My dad is known throughout the Romanian Seventh-Day Adventist community, and while that may not sound like it is a big deal, there are a lot more Romanian Adventists than you think there really are.
I have seen how frustrating it can be to have people constantly approaching him with questions, asking him to break up disputes, and even say that my father is not fit to be a pastor. I feel as though being known is not so much a blessing as it is a burden. If I am to be known, I would prefer being known intimately by few people, but I want the influence that I have on them to cause them to be in influence on others. Just like the movie “Pay It Forward”, every little action has a resounding effect.
In context with what we’ve learned in class, I want to live in such a way that the Earth does not remember me for what I’ve done to it. It is a matter of making small changes that have a large cumulative impact. By simply unplugging what I’m not using, turning off unnecessary lights, and using mass transportation when I’m at home in New York City, I can help reduce some of the burden that is being put on our planet.
After what we learned about in this class concerning advertising, I felt a little used by the system. The manipulative nature of the business is nothing new, but find out how impressionable we truly are is somewhat concerning. I hope that by knowing myself, who I really am, and knowing what I need and want, I will be able to avoid the consumerism that engulfs this country. Maybe the solution to our problems is just that simple: knowing who we really are, what we really want, and how to find the balance between what we need and want. But simple as these words may sound, it will take a lifetime to actually get an answer to these questions. That is how I shall live: I shall live striving to know myself and to use that knowledge to help others.

2010-12-02T11:07:00.001-08:00

Class Is Cancelled Today

2010-11-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Class is canceled today (Monday the 29th.) Sorry, I can't get a flight back until tomorrow. See you Wednesday.

We'll plan on making the project presentations more like 2-3 minutes each, so plan accordingly.

Please pass the word. Thanks!

Living the Life

2010-11-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

What separates my ideal community from most is its relative size. My utopia will be relatively small. This will help in making everything within walking or biking distance as well as uniting the community. What is most important about my utopian community is the emphasis on unity. My community will not just be a group of people living within the same vicinity, it is an establishment of people working together for the greater good. While this may sound cliche at first, one will find that my community is one in which all find happiness and security. A normal neighborhood is full of mutual strangers. No one takes the time to get to know each other on a personal level. Very few neighbors can actually consider themselves friends. In my community everyone will know each other. Every weekend there is a community activity in which all community members get to know each other and enjoy some relaxation to further build bonds. On the first Monday of every month, there is a community board meeting in which issues are brought to the attention of the board by the members of the community. This allows everyone's voice to be heard if some local problems or disputes arise between members. Interestingly enough, advertisement of my community will not be entirely necessary. The best form of advertisement is word-of-mouth. It is not only free, but it is the most credible because it is coming from a friend.

Besides the strong emphasis on unity within the community, an emphasis will also be put on amenities and landscape. Landscaping will not be uniform for each house, as in a subdivision. Rather, each home owner will be allowed to design their landscape according to their own tastes. It will not have the bland monotony of a normal subdivision. Several playgrounds and pools will be available to members, as well as a fitness center within walking distance. A community center will have stores, shops, and entertainment facilities.

More important than the amenities is the ethical practices which will be applied to all aspects of the community. My utopia will be one of principle, emphasizing ethical business practices and respect for community members. Thus, the law enforcement will be minimal in my community, however it will be present in case of emergency situations.

The Life You Shouldn't Live Without

2010-11-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone seems to long for an “escape from reality”. My community makes that escape from reality, a reality. The aspect of my community that will first grab your attention is the aesthetic aspect. Let’s be honest, we all like things that look good. Somewhere between my communities luscious greenery, litter-free streets, refreshingly pure air, and friendly atmosphere you’ll find yourself feeling that your current community is a tad inferior. But the real selling point of my community is that it goes beyond surface appeal. In the midst of economic turmoil, we manage to isolate ourselves as much as possible from the outside world and we are able to maintain an steady, semi-independent, economy. Grocery stores are provided for by in-community resources. We have our own factories, manufactories, agriculture, and so on. These resources not only provide jobs for our community members (and our community members only), but they also allow us to control our own prices. Only community members are given special community prices. Outsiders that stop by to shop in our out-of-community shops only further benefit our economy.

The biggest problem convincing people to live in my community is the extensive application process. You see, in this community there is virtually no crime or murder. In order to maintain these standards there are extensive background checks done on each individual that applies to be a member of the community. We only want to be sure that we can provide the safest environment for our members to raise their children in. The thing is, once someone sees what my community has to offer, they usually find that the benefits far outweigh all else. Also, we don't need to advertise our community; word of mouth takes care of that for us.

-Phil Giddings

Pleasantville

2010-11-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Think back to the movie Pleasantville. The world seemed perfect. There were firemen who never had to put out a fire, the basketball team never missed a basket, and no matter how much butter there was on the pancakes they never gained a pound. When you look past the superficial layer of the town, there was one thing about that neighborhood that everyone watching the movie longed for, and that was a sense of community. In the movie, as people would walk down the street it was certain that they would see someone they knew. There was never a worry because there was always someone looking out for you.

Now think back to your current neighborhood. Do you sometimes feel like your neighbors decide to turn their music up around the time you decide to go to sleep? Maybe your neighborhood is quiet, but you do not know the people walking past you every morning? For those of you who do know your neighbors do you feel like there are not activities that bring the community together? The recently established Brownsville addresses these issues and more. Realizing that this is the 21^st century and people like to have their personal space, the homes in the neighborhood are not close together. There is a large amount or lawn space allowing you to either sit and enjoy the scenery or invite your neighbors over. The center of the town is in the midst of all the houses. The park, schools, stores and offices are within walking distance of each other. This not only encourages people to interact with each other, but it also lessen the amount or carbon produced by cars. When the day is all said and done you are able to retreat to your homes with your families or go to the park to hear a concert with a few friends. Of course each community would have its problems and that is why we’ve set up a town hall forum that is in the center if the town so that if someone has a problem they can go to the town hall to discuss it. If the problem is within a smaller group such a block of homes, there is a block association that would be able to help solve the problem. If there is a problem with your children at school, we have staff available to meet with you when it best fits you so that our children can get the best of their education.

Think back on men such as Ben Carson and Thomas Aquinas. When Ben Carson was younger he did not do well in school, in fact many of his teachers wrote him off as stupid. However, Ben went on to go to Yale and became a well-known neurosurgeon. The same for Thomas Aquinas, when he was in the university, he never answered any of his teachers’ questions. His nickname was the Dumb Ox. However, whenever someone misspoke about a particular philosophy, Thomas Aquinas was the first to correct them. Aquinas became known as one of the most influential theologians of the Church. All great things have a rough beginning and that is why we have programs set up to help ease the transition as the community gets built up even stronger.

Spreading the good news.... for some

2010-11-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

When ideal meets reality, conflict inevitably arises. It is not difficult to dream up an ideal community. But it becomes a nearly impossible task when we try to make it work. The first challenge that I had was deciding how open my community should be. I don’t want my community to be some sort of an exclusive club. But In order for my ideal community to work, I need people who would want to live by the ideal of my community. And in order to keep our community ideal, I would need to screen out people who do not fit. My community cannot grow indefinitely. So, rather than advertising about the physical place, I want to spread the way of life that my community embraces. People can adopt the philosophies and ideals of my community and start their own, and my community will serve as a model to which other communities can learn and immediate.

Adopting the philosophies of my community requires a change in heart. As I write it, I don’t know if I could fit into this community. The ideal of helping others and sharing may be intellectually sound but really desiring to live in the community is a different matter. Also, voluntary participation is hard to achieve. I don’t want to have any laws in my community. I want people to do what is right for themselves and their neighbors. All these require people becoming selfless, which would literally be going against human nature and is impossible. To convince people to live in my community or live like our community, I first need to persuade people to be less selfish and that spending their lives trying to accumulate wealth is futile. I also need people to be thankful in small things and find happiness in life itself.

For people who are fully satisfied with the way they live, my “advertisement” would not mean much. But for people who have experienced dissatisfaction and emptiness in the way we live, my message will be a good news. Whether my place will be better than typical American community is depended on one’s standard. For people who enjoy buying lavish things and have no interest in a communal way of living, my community will probably the worst place to live. But for people who know how to be appreciative of small things and enjoy interaction with neighbors, my community will be the ideal for them as well.

As I was writing my plan, I realized that I’m sort of copying what God did. Christianity is all about community, and God wanted humans to live in a certain way. Israel, although with many flaws, was chosen to be the ideal that other nations could see and follow. It wasn’t so much their geographical location that made this community special. It was the relationship this community had with God, and through that relationship, the relationship between people became special. Moses was a visionary who preached the way a community of God should live. But for some Israelites, the concept was hard to grasp and some preferred the way they lived as slaves. In a way, we are becoming a slave to large companies and the system we created. Through constant advertisements, we are being trained to spend more money and be dissatisfied. We are in this continual cycle where we work hard to buy something and work even harder to buy something else. This doesn’t necessary have to be the way we live. We can change it and we should change it.

Cool Tactics, Not Scare Tactics

2010-11-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

Live in an environmentally sustainable community—a community that thrives on the ideas and practices that surround the act of lowering carbon dioxide emissions. Live in a community that lives exactly as that—a community: one that values history, community, fellowship, its responsibility to the earth, and its “coolness factor”. Live in a community that believes and practices the phrases “re-use” and “re-purpose” without sacrificing aesthetics.

Many environmentalists use scary, “Armageddon-like” descriptions of our future world and explain how our environmental irresponsibility will destroy us. However true these descriptions might be, what if we used a different way to convince people to care and to change. Could we make an environmentally sustainable life attractive, or even “cool”?

My community would be one that attracts its members through “buzz”. If “buzz” works for so many other products—why not use it to work for a radically different way of life? Exploring the benefits of my community through the different areas of media would be the typical way to create a following or a fan base. However, my community would first be marketed to a niche group of individuals with a sure-fire belief in my community’s standards of living. As with most “cool” things—it would be important to create a lifestyle that would cause a stir and a significant amount of intrigue. By narrowing to a niche group, a form of exclusivity would be created and, in turn, that exclusivity factor would generate want. The next step would be to appeal to the masses in a slow, calculated way that would convince them that they, too, could live the life offered in a community such as mine.

As with anything being sold or advertised, my community must be seen as better than what is already in place. If I can convince people to live a better life, why not do it using cool tactics and not scare tactics?

Do you want your children to be the last generation of human race on Earth?

2010-11-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

It cannot be denied that the activity of Human species on Earth has greatly upset the equilibrium in the delicate ecology of our planet. Al Gore had made it plain in his lecture "An Inconvenient Truth" that our actions are greatly responsible for most of the anomalies of the planet's climate. In this sense, each and every one individual is responsible for preserving the environment in which we exist. We do not need anymore apocalyptic movies to remind us of the consequence of our overlooking the problems we are facing, nor do we need to actually endure one to learn the lesson. Our would is at a brink of destruction due to our actions, and the inconvenient data presented by environmental scientists are not mere applications for someone's business model to increase revenue.

In fact, the slogan of Going Green must not be just another actualization of some clever business model to increase private corporations' profit. It must be an awareness for every individual member in the Homo Sapiens species. As the crises is imminent, it takes more than a small change in our lifestyle to preserve our environment. As such, I have envisioned a community that will live according to the ideal of preserving the planet and will train our future generation to act responsibly.

This community is designed with welfare of human beings in mind, by promoting a healthy and environmentally responsible lifestyle. The premise of the community is intentionally designed to be inaccessible for non-essential vehicles, to encourage a healthy amount of exercise and at the same time to ensure the safety for children within. The facilities will be constructed with environmentally friendly materials and methods. The local economy will be one that does not put stress upon the land.

It is essential for each human beings to understand that we have owed much to our landlord, and we must take up responsibility to pay the debt. Choosing to live in this community is a tremendous commitment to repay our debt, which everyone of us is entitled to. In doing so, our landlord may choose to renew the lease, to grant us our continual existence.

Attracting People to My Community

2010-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

I would first like to remind people what my community entails. It is a place where people have to live on enough land to provide food for themselves in the event of an economic crisis rendering it impossible for them to purchase goods of nutritional sustenance. This society also seeks to find renewable sources for energy. In the short-term, the residents would use fossil fuels but would then transition to power made available through other resources as they become available (assuming that these individuals have not yet made the change in energy source themselves). I would also encourage those living in this settlement to have efficient heating systems given that our settlement occupies the latitudes of New England (i.e. modern and efficient wood stoves that could provide heat to emanate throughout the house). The community is part of an already-established municipality with a government that utilizes town hall meetings and offers opportunities for civic engagement. My community is also Christian in nature. Thus, it is a place where people resolve their disputes with their neighbors using the principles found in Matthew 18.

How would I attract people to this settlement? I would begin by purchasing a large plot of land, informing the municipality of my intention to convert it into a residential area governed by the principles that I outlined. The first people I would seek to attract would be my family and friends; they know who I am, share similar principles, and might actually desire to live in this sort of community. I would then seek to find others who are ecologically-friendly and Christian who would be attracted to this way of life. To do this, I would advertise that the community has the potential for being self-sustaining in agricultural production and that it is actively seeking alternative energy sources. I also think it would be prudent to invite the members of the town to our community to have a meet-and-greet. Perhaps I can promote my community on this occasion. One thing people will be looking at is the attractiveness of the homes that are in the settlement. I would want the architectural designs to be somewhat uniform to denote the fact that these are private residences that are somehow linked together.

Another question I must address is the possibility that my ideas may not work in practice. What would happen if nobody desired to be a part of my community? I would have to sell the purchased land and try another idea. I cannot account for all possible problems that may arise. However, as in the case of Thomas Edison inventing the lightbulb, success is not always achieved right away. It takes work. When we speak of these utopian communities, we must remember that change in society can be seen as the cumulative actions of individuals.

I am convinced that the growth of my settlement will depend on shared values and a town's willingness to have the existence of this enclave in their territory of land. I believe that if social mingling is encouraged, good relations between my community and the municipality of its location would be possible.

Written by Bradley Sica

Community within a community

2010-11-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

Since my community is really a community within a community (being as it is just one apartment building in the middle of a large city; think NYC or London), the best way to advertise it will be to become involved with those outside the apartment building. A lot of these communities run the risk of being so insulated from the rest of the world that reality becomes distorted. Although I understand escapist tendencies and admit that residing in an insulated utopia sounds much more enticing (and certainly easier) than trying to change our existing superstructure, my community's goal of sustainability is inherently interested in the greater good and stems from a desire to be connected with the larger global community and the environment. Thus, my "ideal" apartment building community in the city - with its solar panels and vegetable garden on the roof - will involve itself heavily in the city life around it in an attempt to include, educate, and inspire the citizenry.

This larger community involvement will consist of things like open house days, free urban gardening classes, and hosting for community events such as art galleries and poetry readings in our large street-level lobby. Through inviting the larger community into our small community, we will surely create enough interest that people will want to move in; those who cannot will be given the tools to implement some of our practices in their own homes and apartments. It's not hard to teach people about the environment, and how to make small changes like cutting water and electricity use. If they are really inspired and seem dedicated to environmentally sustainable life, they may apply for an apartment in our building. I like to think that there will be a waiting list. You may sneer, but believe me. There will be a waiting list.

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential. "
Barack Obama

Change That We Must Believe In

2010-11-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

Based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, after acquiring physiological and safety needs, humans desire social needs. After achieving these basics needs, we then go on to acquire our needs of self-esteem and self-actualization. The average community today overemphasizes physiological and safety needs and avoids confronting the social and personal aspects of life in a community. In my ideal community, all 5 levels of needs will be achieved. It will be a place where family relationships will be the foundation--where people will feel a sense of belonging and protection; where the comfort of a stable, social environment will produce individuals with high self-esteem, confidence, and knowledge. The reason people in my community will prosper is because they will be dependent on each other to motivate and to support. Individuals will occasionally sacrifice their own interests to help with the advancement of others because they know that by helping others, they are improving the state of the whole community. Recycling, reducing waste, car-pooling, etc. will all be activities that families will participate in because they are mindful of the choices that their present actions will make on the future generation. Out of familial love, the young will respect their elders, and elders will do their best to brighten the future for their children.

American society in its current state is obsessed with the present--how can we change things right now? How will it make my life better? My community focuses in on the larger scope--how will we manage carbon emissions, how can we educate our children to be eco-friendly? We will focus on decreasing emissions, therefore lowering utility costs. Also, by having families drive together and eat meals together (locally) a more intimate family bond will form (lowering costs for food and fuel).

The difficult aspect is to make people change their mindset. To be part of a community that actually cares about the future of their planet, and their children, many sacrifices must be made. Although these sacrifices will improve the over all condition of communities, in truth, they are still sacrifices, and people must be willing to make them. Just look at the state of our economy. People remain upset because immediate changes have not been made. Approval ratings for the Obama Administration have declined; people are giving up on change because it is not immediate. Leaders like Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. struggled convincing people to participate in civil disobedience. Having people accept a new idea or a new mindset will always be difficult. However, if a small tribe of people who passionately believe in the future of their idea stick to it, change is always possible.

A Sustainable Community

2010-11-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

When asked to design my ideal community, the first characteristic that came to mind was sustainability. Ever since I heard Henning Sehmsdorf describe his farm where he practices biodynamic and sustainable farming, the idea has fascinated me. I have always been interested in farming, but it just didn’t seem practical in the modern world. Yet here was a university professor telling me that he runs a sustainable, debt-free farm that produces everything his family needs except for toilet paper, which they pay for from the sale of farm produce. I have dreamed of going and learning how to run a sustainable farm, but what would be even better would be a sustainable community.

There are many benefits to living in a sustainable community. On the top of the list would be improved health resulting from higher quality food and increased exercise. The community would also dramatically reduce its impact on the environment and the farming techniques would improve the land. There would also be an increase in a sense connectedness due to neighbors helping each other farm. All these factors taken together would increase the community members’ levels of satisfaction.

While this community may sound great in my head or on paper, making it a reality is taking it to a whole new level. That is something that I can’t do myself, which may lead me to give up on the idea. However, according to Seth Godin, if I can build a tribe around my idea, than anything is possible. I don’t need to convince the world that my community is the answer to its problems; I simply need to convince 1000 people.

So how do I create a tribe around my idea? Godin proposes four steps that I have seen to be effective for leaders of various movements. The first is to tell a story to people who want to hear it. This step is what I’ve already begun to do in writing this blog. The key is to find 10 people with whom I can share and further cultivate my passion for sustainable farming. These 10 will find another 10 who will in turn find another 10 and voilà, 1000 individuals with a common interest that can link them together. The second step is then to connect these individuals into a tribe based on their desire to practice sustainable farming. How convenient that farming requires teamwork. Humans seek community. We want a place to belong. The idea is to make a tribe that satisfies that desire.

Now this tribe needs a leader. This sounded the most daunting to me at first. Telling a story about my passion to people who want to hear it naturally brings people together, but now to lead a movement, that is scary to me. The problem is my concept of leadership. I don’t have to know all the answers or possess all the skills to lead. Rather, I can actually be a more effective leader by recognizing my inadequacies and finding others who excel in those areas. By helping each person to find his or her niche, the area where he or she can shine, I can strengthen the tribe. Now we are ready to take the final step, to make a change.

Change is not easy. In fact, overcoming people’s fear of change would be one of the biggest obstacles to making my community a reality. In order to form this community, the members of the tribe would have to reject old unsustainable habits and embrace new, sustainable ones. This would involve learning new skills. They would also have to give up some of the luxuries that we take for granted without considering the environmental consequences of their production. All of the above is possible if one decides that the outcome, a sustainable community, is what they want.

There would also be the difficulty of maintaining the community by building a strong internal structure because as the community grows, more and more challenges will present themselves. For this I would rely heavily on talented individuals in the tribe for leadership and support. However, for now my task is to build that tribe and become acquainted with the various strengths of the members.

the ideal community.

2010-11-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

there is no such thing as an "ideal community."

unless this community was one where anyone could dream of whatever they wanted, but then again people wouldn't live in perfect harmony because people's dreams would clash. one person's wants would interfere with another person's wants. the only such thing as an "ideal community" would be one where everyone lives in their own world. because no matter how ideal a community is. one person is bound to complain about something.

However, most of us dream of a community where we would have nothing to complain about. but if this were the case, then the ideal community would only be suitable to that one person. this is the problem with an "ideal community," because there is no way that one community could meet anyone's and everyone's ideals. this would mean that everyone is the same person, and that everyone has the same standards, which is bogus.

the truth is, we're all selfish people and we aren't willing to make compromises for other people. a good community would meet everyone's needs and wants, but people don't know what they need, but they only get what they want, and they want it now. communities are supposed to support and motivate each other, but what kind of community would it be if everyone is only inwardly focused?

not to say that i've never been part of a good community, there are, in fact, great communities in this world. but it's in human nature to only care about oneself more than someone else. "what's in it for me?" is the question universally asked when someone goes out of they way to make someone else comfortable. this just goes back to what i had turned in for my midterm. we don't need an ideal community. we only want it. and the only reason we want it so bad is so that we can move higher up the ladder; so we can make a name for ourselves.

A Community of Change

2010-11-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

Although my ideal community has intriguing innovations why would you want to live there? One of the most important reasons is that your voice will matter. Your input will be used to shape and form the community as it grows. This not only allows you to suggest new and innovative ideas but also allows for ideas that are not working to be revised or disbanded.

Another important reason to join my community is because it will save you time, money, and resources. By having a community power grid that is fueled by alternative energy sources your energy costs will decrease. This will occur because the power grid production will be shared equally between members of the community. In addition, because the power grid is dispersed among many small units it will reduce the amount of money that is invested when a power source needs to be replaced or upgraded. The water system used in the community will also cut costs because it will ensure that less water is used among its members. This will reduce the amount of water that has to be processed at treatment plants and will prevents public money from being siphoned off to fund new and larger wastewater treatment projects that can cost millions of dollars. The public transportation system will also save you money because you will no longer have to pay for a car, mechanical repairs, or insurance. In addition, the public transportation system will save you time because you will be able to get from point A to point B without waiting in heavy traffic or at stop lights.

Although the above items of my community will help you keep more money and waste less time what else does it have to offer? Even more important than money is your health and the relationships you develop. Because of this my community offers an ideal environment for improving both of these. Your health will improve because walking will be encouraged by having a pedestrian “chip” which allows you to get across busy streets without waiting. In addition, community meetings and person-to-person interaction will encourage healthier relationship as you walk around town or ride the public transportation.

The above commentary on my community outlines the advantages of living there. However, how easy would it be for me to convince people to live there and what difficulties would I encounter. I feel that one of the major hurdles I would have to overcome would be people’s independence. People in America are fiercely independent and convincing them to give some of it up to join my community would prove difficult. I think one of the hardest things to ask people to leave behind would be their car. Not only does a car function as a symbol of independence but it also allows people to go where they want when they want. Thus, having people join my community where personal cars are discouraged could be very difficult. Another aspect of my community that I believe would be difficult to sell would be the water restrictions. This aspect also deals with independence because it limits how much water can be used each day. Finally, I believe that community meetings could be another obstacle for people joining my community. Because people have a vast spectrum of opinions I feel that community meetings could put a strain on the members who are not as agreeable. Thus, I feel that there are some tough issues that I would have to address in order to convince people to join my community. However, I also realize that the struggle to convince society to accept innovative ideas is not a recent phenomenon. People before me have also struggled. Mahatma Gandhi faced these difficulties when he was trying to advocate for the independence of India. Martin Luther King Jr. faced these difficulties when he tried to convince the United States to legislate equal rights for people of color. Jesus also faced these difficulties when He came to earth and advocated for a society in which the least were the greatest. Visionaries have always faced opposition. Because their ideas are different people are wary of accepting them. However, I feel that it is only through new ideas that change can truly happen.

Subliminal Coercion

2010-11-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

My ideal community was built in such a way that the most convenient way of doing something was also the ‘ideal’ way. Such as making walking more convenient than driving between home and school, or work.

If people can live more environmentally friendly, or use local goods and services rather than imports, without going out of their way then the goal of my community has been achieved. Thus to get people to do this is less about directly convincing the people, and more about providing the resources and layout of a community that fosters the desired way of life. For example, to convince people to increase their socially connections and to interact with their friends more is a hard concept to implement, but if you give them the technologies of Facebook, Twitter, or SMS, the populace embraces these and your result is achieved, albeit in a somewhat different form.

So in order to have people remember to turn off their lights for example, convince them to install a smart system that, through their cell phone’s GPS or some other tracking device, will automatically turn off house lights when they are not in the vicinity. Mapping programs that will suggest walking as a good option to get from point A to point B, and websites like WHERE.COM that help people become more aware of their local surroundings are all technologies that I believe have potential to change the masses. As an individual in a community, I can help foster others, by writing reviews and rating different local services and outlets in my community on websites where others in the community will be able to see and be influenced by my contributions.

As an engineer, I hope to assist in developing technologies that will allow people to be more environmentally friendly, locally supportive and globally aware. Coming up with ideas for change is relatively easy. The challenge is implementing in such a way that it sticks and grows without being a burden on the community.

By combining well-though community design, and the implementation of appropriate technologies, it is possible, I believe, to create certain changes without ever publicly expressing the desired change. Through this and similar techniques, a community can be formed, over time, into one that is growing more environmentally friendly, locally supportive, and globally aware.

You Know You Want To...

2010-11-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

"Are you tired of seeing others around you suffer?

Are you tired of always being there to support your friends and then when you need them they're nowhere to be found? Do you want to belong to a community that knows you and supports you?

Come live with us!! Everyone belongs with us, there is always a place for you here."

*This is not for those who enjoy constant solitude and being an outsider.

My community is not one that immediately appeals to people. It's one of those things that you think you're not going to like, but then when you get there and you're actually doing it, you don't want to leave. It's one of those things that you might not realize that you are missing until you have it. Helping people to realize their inner most desires and attractions would not be the easiest task, but the end result would not be something that they regretted. Although I admit that the initial attraction might seem small or non-rewarding, their newfound sense of belonging and confidence would soon assure their stay in the community.

I would start with the church communities because I know that they would be (should be) the quickest to respond and want to join in, but I would include a short disclaimer that this is no 10 day trip, it's a way of life and they shouldn't be in it if they are not in it wholeheartedly. Secondly, I would start by advertising to the poor and homeless, they would have an immediate interest in the benefits of the community for them, but I would again include a disclaimer that this would not be a place where they just receive and receive, they would also have some part in giving, that's what a community is. After a first couple of people joined the community, their testimony would be advertisement enough; from those two groups of people I think that the numbers would increase as word got out and people started to hear how belonging to a community makes one feel.

The most difficult part would be the initial convincing and transition into the community. I feel that some would turn away if they didn't stick with it for a couple of days until they really began to understand it and fully embrace it. There are two people that come to mind that had difficulty convincing others of their causes: Jesus and Socrates. Two people completely different, but many people did not take them or their ideas seriously until they were able to experience it and sample it for themselves. They were in their days "weird" and no one had any desire to listen to them, but when they fully understood what they were talking about, they couldn't get enough of it!

2010-11-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Want to reduce your energy bill? Sick of keeping the kids in the house all day? Craving the small-town life? Then look no further!

Our community offers all of these, plus much more. One of our community goals is to lower our carbon footprint on the planet, so we offer a unique compensation packet for those who are environmentally friendly. Our studies have shown that those who participate in this program reduce the amount of energy used and have a LOWER energy bill. Not only that, but our community is one of the safest localities in the United States! With crime non-existent, kids have the freedom to spend time outdoors with their friends without worrying their parents. Due to this, we have also been rated as one of the healthiest communities, offering various after-school programs for children, ranging from athletics to art to academics. The range of activities that the community offers makes it impossible for someone to not be involved! The regular instrumental recitals, spelling bees, and football games allow us to develop a sense of community and belonging while also forming relationships between neighbors.

This community is the perfect size! The housing is luxurious and affordable! The people are welcoming and friendly! Why not leave your crowded, busy city or your lonely, separated town and come to this spot that people cannot stop talking about.
"One of the best decisions I ever made" says Rosie.
"Phenomenal people, phenomenal place, phenomenal life" exclaims Michael.
And you can join in with them!

I know, I know, this sounds like a typical infomercial, but there is a reason that they make infomercials: they work. I think that many some of the hardest things to "sell" for the community include attracting those from the city and the country. Many people who live in the city are content with where they are and the enjoy the benefits of living in a heavily populated area, especially the convenience and diversity. Many people who live in the country enjoy their seclusion and privacy. However, everyone wants what they can't have. It is a matter of taking what they don't have and playing it up; for those in the country, it would be the intimacy that comes with community while for those in the city, it would be the quiet, more laid back atmosphere. The hardest population to target would be those who already live in a community of similar size. Another problem that would probably hinder some people from choosing this community is the Stepford Wives feel that the community has. Many people stay clear of communities for fear of becoming a cookie-cutter person, a copy of their neighbor. Individualism needs to be stressed and proven to make people feel more comfortable with moving into this community.
Someone that I believe struggled with this, though it might sound cliche, was Jesus. He was trying to start a movement, but many even nowadays think that it means we are all copies of each other, walking around like zombies with no identity. Nonetheless, Jesus' movement was much more monumental than the community project. There have been many people throughout history who have tried to change the community around them, but most of the time they have been labeled as crazy and ostracized. Maybe that's because they are the only ones who made the headlines, people like David Koresh and the Mormon pioneers. One of the biggest challenges facing the community would probably be exclusion; a balance needs to be found, at least initially, between the old and the new. Once the community is established and validated could the newer changes truly take hold.

A "No Worries" Community

2010-11-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

The central idea that flows through my creation of an ideal community is the idea of relaxation. Without saying anything more than that, I think I could already capture a very large amount of people into my community. The idea of relaxation brings to mind many different things to many different people, depending on what is considered labor and pleasure in their mind. Relaxation suggests vacation, resorts, sunshine, warm beaches, a hobby, or ultimate serenity. While these things are not quite how I organized my community, I did base it on a stress-free, or stress-limited, environment. And who wouldn't want that?

I suppose one efficient way to promote my community would be to set up a blog or a forum where people who live in my community will be able to write about their daily happinesses. My community will be reasonably priced so that it is not necessary to have a high-paying job to live there. This will quickly bring in a few people to be the testers. These people will live their daily lives, just like everyone else, but without all the pressures of a career and homework. Without these pressures, people won't be so uptight and their constant directions and goals in life will be a little less focused on future outcomes and bit more centered around life in the present and spending time with those you love and even those you've never met. Life in my community promotes friendships because survival through a good career is not a top priority. As my testers write about their positive changes, outsiders will read their posts during their lunch breaks at work and wish they could have the same care-free life, not having to return to another six+ hours of work (yes, humans in America are far too overworked). If people are skeptical of joining my community, they are always welcome to come stay in the home of a community member (cost-free) to try out a life that could be theirs.

The main struggle that I see resulting from my community is laziness. The less people work, the more they don't want to at all. However, an easy fix to this is the encouragement of voluntary community service. Through this work environment, people will not only be accomplishing things, but they will leave knowing that they benefitted someone's life. Hopefully this feeling will drive them to continue to participate, and laziness will never set in.

My community may sound too perfect and peachy keen. But if it did exist and was that easy to attain, would you honestly not want to be a part of it?

Change the World!

2010-11-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

Or at least your neighborhood!

Architect (and Andrews graduate) Jeff Sommers will be our guest speaker on November 22, discussing his dream for a reformation in urban residential design.

Here is a link to an article in Green Bean Chicago about Jeff's current project: a prefabricated, urban home meeting the criteria for LEED Platinum certification. Meaning: really green and quite cool.

Please review these links:

Square Root Architecture + Design on Facebook. Check out the videos of the modules being built in a factory near South Bend.
Square Root Architecture's blog.
Project photos from Curbed Chicago.
Article describing the project's long journey from the Chicago Tribune.
A link to the Urban-C3 micro-site.

The Self-Advertising Community

2010-11-11T06:57:00.002-08:00

At the risk of sounding arrogant (though I promise I'm not), the community I’m proposing would be so self-sufficient, earth friendly, and economically ideal for everyone that I think the community would almost advertise itself. Of course that is likely the case for all of the communities that have been designed.

I would create a tribe of followers by having a sort of “test group” to attest to the true advantages of living in a completely self sufficient community like mine that helps to fulfills the dreams of everyone who chooses to join it. They would be a living testament to the advantages my community has and their personal appeals to potential residents would include the benefits they personally have enjoyed, including: freedom from poverty, all of their needs provided for, jobs and careers they love, an outstanding education system for their kids, energy sources that are practical yet natural like solar energy, food that is organic and free of all human interferences, and more. As the community grows more jobs would be available as needs increase, so families could move and start their dream job in a supporting community. I think everyone could find an improvement above their current life in any number of these features of my community.

I think the struggle would be easing the skeptical minds of any hidden problems that my community might not be advertising to them. The ideal, though, is that the community is free of undesirable defects. I would simply present my community to them in a way that doesn’t give off a salesmen aura but rather appeals to their reasoning powers and leaves the decision up to them pressure-free. I would simply describe all the benefits like the ones listed above.

For Sale: A Dictatorship

2010-11-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

The ideal community that I created was invented under the notion that I would have control of the entire world and that the whole world would do as I said. That being said, if this were truly the case, I would not have to sell my community at all--I could simply force it on people in a militaristic manner. However, as it comes to how I would have "taken over the world", the only way of creating a tribe of people who agree with me is, essentially, to lie. Having done that and gained control, it would be easy enough to implement my true plans and learn to live with the hate mail, death threats, and constant grumbling. I can only think of a few people who would voluntarily give up their freedoms for the welfare of the planet and the human race if my community were presented to them as it truly is. In order to "sell' it at all, only the positive points must be mentioned. First, there is a freedom to choose occupation and a standard salary for any occupation. Housing and public sanitation are provided, and all of life's conveniences are within easy walking/bicycling distance.There is a very strong social network, no tolerance for crime, and benefits for supporting/aiding the city including a better form of social security. We will work to eliminate the overpopulation problem by providing adequate birth control, and most of the hassles of our current society would be done away with. If you do not care to live in big cities, you may choose to live outside of the city and help care for the city's food supply and be granted special benefits for your contributions. I am sure that many vegans would appreciate the fact that I would close down meat companies (butcheries, farms, production lots, processing plants, etc), but I am positive that many meat eaters would want to put me on the grill.

Using these notions as an appeal to any human's desire for paradise, it might be simple enough to gain a tribe. However, as soon as freedoms began disappearing, or the government began poking its nose in places many people feel it doesn't belong, it would be nearly impossible to keep the tribe I had gained. It is very similar to the current story of President Obama. All of the world hailed him as a savior, but once the changes began being made, people stopped caring for him altogether and are now looking forward to the 2012 elections.

In short, it is hard to be honest about one's intentions and keep a "tribe"--especially with an ever increasingly fickle market of followers to choose from.

2010-11-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

Please read this for Monday: "4 Ways Advertising Gets Tricky and Wacky."

the american dream.

2010-11-10T09:40:00.000-08:00

"Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth"

We live in the United States, which has now coined a term that we all love to hear: The American Dream. This "dream" can be achieved by a motto that says "If you want success, you can get success." In one way or another, we all live in some sort of facilitated "American Dream." We all want to be successful, so why deny that we want to be a part of it? "Follow your heart, follow your dreams, follow your passions..." These are all statements that fall under the American Dream. It's become so popular that it's the ideal that anyone would want to reach, as if you reach this point, you will achieve true happiness, true wealth, and true success. But success for who?

This is all focused inwardly. I want success. I want wealth. I want fame. I want attention. I want it. It's as if they have no regard for what others want or need. No matter what one does, it's just a means for them to climb up the ladder.

So to that I say this.

Screw the American Dream.

It's just become another boring cliche. No one cares about anything anymore except for themselves. Celebrities only join non-profit organizations and donate millions of dollars to poor children because they know it would be good PR for them. They don't care about who they're helping, because they only help themselves. The same can be said about anyone, anywhere today.

People only want to be heard and people only want to put in their two cents because they want to make a name for themselves. That's the reality of today's world, and it's ugly. Success is only achieved selfishly, and most of the time it's not even looked at as a bad thing. We look at successful people and say "I want that for myself." Successful people, in turn, only make for more selfish people.

What's in store for me? That is the question we all ask, no matter how much we give. That's our human condition. But I find that most people are successful not because of how much wealth they acquire and give away. More successful people are people who genuinely forget about themselves and their fame and their wealth and their own names even. And give that success to someone else.

But then, we are in a conundrum. Because that successful person will help someone to be successful, and in turn they could either grow up to be genuinely successful, or live the cliche "American Dream."

Success is failure.

-a

How YOU Doin'?

2010-11-08T08:17:00.000-08:00

Please send me an e-mail this week (steve@t1resources.com) telling me what grade you would assign yourself so far for our in-class discussions. Remember, class participation counts toward your grade and can be a key factor in bumping you up (or down) to the next grade level.

Tell me what YOU think you deserve, were the semester to end this week. If you're not happy with the result, tell me how you'll improve. Thanks!

Blog Post for Friday, Nov 12th

2010-11-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

In the midterm, you outlined your ideal community based on the concepts you found important in our readings thus far.

Now spell out how you would galvanize others around YOUR community. Why should I want to live there? Why and how would it better than where I am now? Using Seth Godin's notion, how would you create a 'tribe' of fellow believers? Sell it!

What difficulties might you encounter in convincing others of your utopian vision? Can you think of other visionaries who struggled in this way?

More About The Project

2010-11-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Several of you have asked for clarification on the major project which I've titled the "Influencing and Persuading" project. In previous iterations of this class, students were asked to visit a local mall and analyze the shopping experience. You are free to do that, but in this day and age so much of our shopping and exposure to brands occurs in settings other than malls and thus the analysis should follow where the brands lead.

I see the assignment rolling out as follows:

Pick a company, brand, political campaign or issue.
Analyze the basic underlying message. A good way to structure your thinking is through a so-called audience analysis:
Analyze: Who is the audience?
Understand: What is the audience's knowledge of the subject?
Demographics: What is their age, gender, income level, etc.?
Interest- Why might they pay attention to the message?
Environment- Where will this message be sent/viewed?
Needs- What are the audience's needs associated with the message topic?
Expectations- What action does the sender wish the audience to take? Buying, obviously, but anything else?

I hope this is helpful. We'll go through an analysis in class so you have an opportunity to work through an example.

2010-11-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it."
Ellen Goodman (1941 - )

Productive Work and the Accumulation of Wealth

2010-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

What are the consequences for our everyday definitions of success of the following quote from Veblen: "Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth"

I begin my answer of this question by conveying my assumptions that my understanding of human perception of productivity is different from Veblen. In order to agree with Veblen, I would have to assume that people are basically narcissistic and are in need of getting attention and acclaim for their lifestyle. Since I do not believe that Veblen's underlying premise is correct, I can only surmise that his view of society would lead to the conclusion that people would not care about saving money and would spend money at all costs to "keep up with the Joneses." However, Veblen might also suggest that the accumulation of wealth could be displayed at a later time, like retirement, with everybody knowing all the details of someone's whereabouts.

What are the benefits that result from working? The result is a sustained lifestyle for themselves and their families comprised of mainly food and shelter. Any remaining income that remains after these necessary expenditures are made could be used for things that bring readily accessible gratification to the person possessing the money. However, people cannot help but think about their plans for the future. From personal interactions with people who are no longer in school but are in the work force, the common goal among them is to eventually retire. This does not mean that these people dislike what they do, but it does reflect an idea that the individual should usher in a later stage of life that involves freed-up time to engage in additional leisurely activities. "'Leisure'... does not connote indolence or quiescence," (Veblen 33). I use the word "additional" in the previous sentence, because I think one can make time to engage in activities that are not productive in one's spare time. While people can use their wages (or borrowed money) to flaunt how successful they are in experiencing what it means to accumulate wealth through the purchase of any sort of widget, I do not think this is a primary motivation on the part of people. I believe it would be more advantageous to have people save their money for the long-term goal of retirement than to spend an entire paycheck on things that can only bring short-term gratification. While some might try to say that retirement could be a sign of wealth that could be flaunted, I believe that there are many (such as myself) who would prefer to retire without disclosing their friends and former co-workers every detail of their actions. This is the reason that I, up to now, do not have Facebook. I prefer the face-to-face interactions that I have with people while in an environment of academia. Using Veblen's model to make predictions, I would think that those who save their money for retirement would use it for the intended purpose but with a big announcement to everyone they know what they plan to do while retired and then give frequent updates once retired on how the new way of life is going.

Veblen, Thorstein. Ed. Martha Banton The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

-- Brad Sica

So much for the invidious distinction

2010-10-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

In one chapter of the book "The Theory of Leisure Class," Vablen briefly summarised how pecuniary accumulation came to be the index of one's esteem. In a predatory environment possessions were symbols of one groups environmental fitness over another, and then it came to symbolise the rulers' superiority. An the society move from predatory to industrial, opportunities for individuals were open and now the accumulation of wealth becomes the basis of one's esteem not only for the self, but for the community. It's not about sustenance anymore, as research shows happiness does not increase proportionally with the accumulation of wealth, but instead establishing one's superiority by displaying that one has "more."

I came across this news earlier, and interesting enough this properly illustrated the consequences of such paradigm, in the face of economic crisis. This article mentioned how after the recession luxury cars were left all over the Dubai, whose owners, unable to sustain the extravagant lifestyle in the earlier boom, defaulted on loans, abandoned their possessions, and fled the country. Not surprisingly, a large proportion of abandoned vehicles were left in the airport parking lot, as the owners typically drove to the airport as fast as they could, before the law is able to catch them, and catch the first flight home, leaving behind them the luxurious possessions. This example serves as the most recent consequence of such social paradigm, and, would perhaps lead to more complicated social chaos.

I Wanna Be A Billionaire So Frickin' Bad...

2010-10-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

I guess its a part of human nature to always want to improve your life. However, in the 21st century, it's no longer good enough to have a roof over your head and food on your table. If you want to be successful, your roof ought to have 5 extra rooms under it- one for the television, one for the children, one for your office, one for your pool table, and one just because you want an extra room- and your table must be furnished with Tiffany's newest set. Every aspect of our lives have become centered around making money. When you turn on the television, you see that the Desperate House Wives of Laguna Beach have moved to Jersey Shore in hopes of joining the Bad Girls Club because they Want To Be Millionaires. Every show is a get rich quick scheme. Even on the wholesome channel of Food Network you no longer have to go through years of training to become a culinary artist. Now, you just have to be able to create the best meal out of the worst ingredients under the toughest time constraints.
I remember a discussion a group of my high school classmates and I were having right before we graduated. We were discussing how corrupt business had become. What disappointed me the most was that many of them acknowledged that the business men's actions were corrupt, but they believed that their motive was justified by the means. One girl argued that she can not be happy in life helping those less fortunate than her if it prevented her from augmenting her bank account. For me, as long as I have my basic needs, I'm fine. Of course if I get the chance to get something extra I will; however, I would not throw someone under the bus so that I could stand on top.
Even in terms of education, its all about money. The more you pay for your education, the more money you'll make. When I was telling my teachers about my decision to go to Andrews University, many of them were disappointed. Many of them thought that I should accept Brown University's offer, despite the $120,000 debt I would be in after graduation, because my high paying job would pay off my loans in a few years.
Living in this mindset of needing more money and letting the world know that you have money, tears communities apart. For instance, on the show Gossip Girl, Blair is willing to compromise her friendship with her best friend in order to remain the Queen-B in the group. These affects can also be seen in the news. Bernie Madoff stole millions of dollars from people to improve his lavished life style. In turn, this caused some people to commit suicide because they felt their life had reached its lowest point because they no longer had money. Even in the recent oil spill, the underhanded actions of BP led to faulty oil mines being built and millions of gallons of oil to disrupt the homes of natures finest.
No one ever wants to feel as if he or she is not good enough. So when a society builds its values on how much money you have, people move their focus from the community to self. Everyone ends up singing "I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin bad..." and doing all they can to fulfill that dream.

iSucceed

2010-10-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Why is it that as one gets older, the definition of success changes? As a child, success can be defined as eating all the vegetables of of your plate. As one gets older, success begins to mean different things, until one becomes an adult, and society's view of success takes over. For the most part, society considers success to be synonymous with wealth. If one has the most money, and the most possessions, then that person is successful. How many times have you ever walked by a trailer park and said to yourself, "The people living in those trailers must be very successful." Now, is there anything wrong with living in a trailer? Of course not. In fact, most people living in trailer parks are probably content with their life and not struggling in any fashion whatsoever; however, society would assume that if you are successful, you shouldn't be living in a trailer park. For some reason, the postmodern world has broken away from its normally subjective stance and developed and objective view of the idea of success. I am surprised that at this point in our society, we have not developed an app for measuring how successful of a life we lead. All you would have to do is enter your annual income, and iSucceed would tell who how successful you are on the success scale.

While I am very opposed to the idea of success as defined by society, it is interesting how drawn I am to meeting that definition. As much as I hate to admit, I want to be successful in society's eyes. Now, of course that is just a result of human nature, but nonetheless, my feelings remain. It is a trap that everyone falls into at some point in time. People wish to be accepted in others eyes, and they believe that the way to obtain acceptance is through wealth and possessions. I believe this mentality needs to change, unfortunately it never will. I challenge someone to give me a solution to this problem. It is IMPOSSIBLE to change the mentality of an entire world. It is sad, but true. Even if a solution could be found, it would never catch on.

Its ridiculous to measure success primarily off of wealth and possessions. Success is something that varies from person to person. Success for me is living a life in which I am satisfied with what I surround myself with. If I am happy with my job, I have a family which I love, few financial struggles, I can say I am successful. Wealth has very little to do with how successful I become. Of course, it is impossible to eliminate wealth from the equation, but it certainly should not have as strong of a weight. In the end, success is about satisfaction. If one is satisfied with where they are at in their life, in respect to where they have come, then that person can is a success in my book.

Success and Self-Worth

2010-10-29T16:02:00.001-07:00

Recently, I confessed to my mother that I don’t know if I want to go to med-school anymore. She panicked and asked me about my “plan B”. I told her that I would love to continue my education, go to graduate school for art, and pursue a career in the creative field. She broke into a frenzied slew of questions: “You need to choose a successful career, one that adds to society. How will you afford nice things? I gave you a better life than I had, so now it’s your turn to do the same for your children. How will you afford to send them to Adventist schools?” I wavered in my thought-process and wondered if I would be a loser forever if I didn't go to med-school, get my luxury condo and matching car. I decided my self-esteem would survive if the foundations of my success were fulfillment, happiness, and the luxury of spending time with my loved ones. Then, I tuned her out and thought about the life my parents had given to me. It was wonderful, yes, and the summer vacations were nice, but what about how she worked long hard nights as a registered nurse in order to afford “the best”? Why didn’t she criticize my father’s career? As a pastor, he makes a pile of beans each paycheck. Why was his job honorable despite the lack of monetary success?

You see, success is a tricky thing. Our American society tells us that it’s not just the things we have, but it is who sees them that’s important. Success is also the status that you achieve. So much of our society’s values come from ephemeral, material, status-building things—both tangible and intangible. The job you land, the car you buy, the house you live in and the area in which it’s located, your annual income, the size of your disposable income—it’s all crucially important, says our society. According to Veblen, pecuniary strength is directly related to success, which is fundamental to a person’s self-esteem. For my parents, pecuniary strength comes from a good education, and an honorable career choice that allows you to provide a comfortable lifestyle where you can have “the best” of everything. The best being: luxury cars, safe neighborhoods with active homeowner associations, and cruises in the summer.

So I ask myself, where is our concept of self-worth and success? It very well may be in the things we own and how wealthy we feel.

The Role of Public Success in Society

2010-10-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

In his book The Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblen writes the following: “Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more credible showing of accumulated wealth” (pg 34). To put this in modern language, meaningful work is that which builds visible wealth. This prevalent concept of success has consequences, both good and bad. One of the positive results can be an increased motivation to work. This is shown in that over the course of history as man has invented more efficient means to accomplish time-consuming tasks, society has continued to work just as hard, if not harder. This reflects the above concept of success and the work drive that it leads to. Work is elevated in importance because it provides a means to become rich, and visible wealth is equated to success because it is something tangible that even one’s enemies can’t refute. This concept of success can then have positive results if it supplies a lazy person with motivation to work.

In investigating the personal consequences of this definition of success, I want to consider the implications of the need for the wealth to be visible. In today’s society, it is possible to buy expensive items on credit. This means that people can live a lifestyle that suggests that they are rich, even though they don’t really possess as much wealth as it appears. They can drive fancy cars, go on exotic vacations, live in luxurious houses, all without owning any of it because it is all on credit. To the observer, they are rich, and therefore, they are successful. However, the individual knows that it is all a charade. They are being crushed by the debt that is to their name, knowing that at some point it will catch up to them.

This way of living doesn’t result in satisfaction, but rather in worry and stress. And once one has bought into this concept of success, it is hard to find a way out. Peer pressure to “stay on top” so to speak leads to extreme competition. As material wealth becomes the basis for one’s value, his or her identity and self-worth become unstable because the standard for wealth is always in flux. Success then becomes relative to everyone else’s levels of success as measured by visible wealth. The consequences of this selfish mindset are manifested in families and communities, which suffer because each individual values him or herself above the community.

So how do we manage to keep the positive corollary to this definition of success, such as industriousness, while rejecting the negative repercussions on the individual, family, and community? I propose that we both modify our definition of success and that we stop deriving our value from success because as long as we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we will never consider ourselves truly successful. We all fail at some point in our lives, but we don’t have to choose to let that failure define who we are, but that is most often the result when we allow success to define who we are.

Displaying Wealth

2010-10-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

The measure of success is not by the wealth a person has accumulated, but by the display of that wealth. Displaying wealth has become rather an art. It needs to be subtle, yet obvious enough to show that what you have is better. Also you need to be consistent in your displaying of wealth. You need to buy right things at right time. Otherwise, you become a source of criticism or even worse, a laughingstock. A lady who bought a dress that is out of fashion will not likely be envied no matter how expensive that dress was. As it is apparent, displaying wealth takes a considerable effort. We often read about ridiculous and unnecessarily expensive items and people who are stupid enough to buy them. Here I’m talking about things such as a million dollar hello kitty doll covered in diamonds that does nothing. We can all point finger at people like that and make fun of them, but displaying wealth in such way has bigger social consequences. If you ask children to draw an image of successful person, they will probably draw a guy in suit with a nice car and a big house. Why isn’t that we don’t associate successful life with happy family in a modestly sized home? Why is our notion of successful life depended upon wealth?
This idea of success seems to be the driving force in today’s society. Our society needs people to be envious. We need people to build new things, buy new things, and want better things. Therefore in order to encourage spending, companies bombard us with the images of superfluous lifestyle. The obvious down side is that it makes people generally unsatisfied and unhappy. People work hard and spend more time working to get there, but less on enjoying life.
By accumulating wealth, people want to increase their value, and feel good about themselves for what they’ve accumulated. Many people base their self value in comparison with their neighbors. If I live in a bigger house, I must be making more money than my neighbors, and therefore more valuable than them. The easiest and the cruelest way to assess a person is by his appearance. These hints do give some information about a person’s status, but nothing about a person standing when everything else is removed from him.
We have hard time accepting that we are all humans. We can easily equate ourselves with people who seem to be better off than us. But it is difficult to think that I and a drug addict on the street are both children of God. It is unlikely that people will stop judging others by wealth, and focus their lives on other aspects of life. I also don’t think it can be changed because it is so deeply rooted in human selfishness and the desire to be superior. Real changing of heart and desire can only be accomplished by the grace of God.

I'm so paid

2010-10-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid I remember trying to sort out all of the why's. I wanted to know why I had to wake up at six o'clock every day, make a lunch, and carpool to school. I wanted to know why it mattered that I went to school. "You go to school," adults told me, "so you can go to middle school and then high school and then, if you have good grades, you can go to college." College? Oh, there's a reason for that too. College, of course, is for gaining an education that will allow you to get into graduate school. And graduate school is supposed to help you get a "good" job. Why do I need a job? Oh, so you can earn enough money to buy the big house in the cul-de-sac and have a dog and a spouse and three kids and a minivan. So that those kids can go to school and get jobs and get dogs and minivans. It all just seemed so circular to me then. And, sometimes, it does now too.

I'm not trying to say that we're all wasting our time here, and that educating ourselves in order to secure decent jobs in order to live comfortably is totally ridiculous. But it begins to sound a little stale. If I drop out of college today and move into my parents' garage, society will most likely label me a failure. But if I finish my degree and land a really great job that pays so well that I am able to buy every new piece of Apple technology as it becomes available and vacation in Barbados every couple years, I will be successful. I will be successful because I have the ability to buy things I want. But what if I do move into my parents' garage and don't have a job to support my spending habit? No big deal. Just get a credit card. Or two. With credit, I can maintain all appearances of success when I'm around my friends: I can drive a cute new car and buy $5 lattes at Starbucks every day. This culture of consumerism has become so much a part of the American Dream that we seem to value stuff more than people. The other extreme would be if I did get that incredible job, but I worked so much in order to advance my position in the company that I never had time for people. In that case, I would appear successful, driving around in that cute car that I can afford, but at what cost? Would I be happy? Does happiness matter?

Success or nothing

2010-10-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ask yourself all of the things you wish to have, and calculate the bill. I think its fair to assume that your bill is over one million dollars without the addition of gratuity yet. Every time we turn on our television or look at our browser homepage there is a new product on the market that usually requires us to extend beyond our budgets to purchase them. If you travel backward, from primary school days I'm sure many may recall playing the game MASH which everyone wanted their luck to fall on "M" which meant that they would live in a mansion; house (H) was satisfying however landing on the "S' was never an option as it meant you would reside in a shack. Fast forward a little to high school when it was time to explore career options. Often times, speaking from personal experiences, we disregard our passion for practicality. For example, many young Bahamians would disregard the desire to study art or social work in college because these are the careers that are not "successful." Of course by successful, we simply imply that they do not achieve the net six figure salary that is needed to acquire the house, much less the mansion. Therefore, one consequence of success' definition today is the deterrence it becomes to pursuing true passions in careers.

As humans we seem to have an ever growing void that increases because we try to fill it in with the world. With this is mind, doesn't the definition of success tend to shift as we draw closer to its previous definition? One of today's most popular rappers, Drake, hit song entitled "Successful" brings one of the clearest definitions possible. He plainly states "I want the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes, I suppose, I just wanna be... successful." On that note material possessions now become the next method by which we gauge success. But at what cost to ourselves and those around us? We are no longer satisfied by a car that takes us from point A to point B without being killed by excess carbon monoxide or hypothermia. Sincere apologies to the poor chap who did not realize that we live in an era in which our cars must be voice automated, able to make phone calls and change the song currently playing through the stereo. Do not mistake me for believing that we should not enjoy the "finer things in life" however, are they really necessary? Why should the car we drive determine our level of success rather than the difference we made in the life of another human being? We have become so success driven that we have been blinded to one of the essential messages throughout Jesus' entire ministry. I say this especially because we as Seventh Day Adventists, more often than not, read the same dictionary in the library of the world than we would wish to admit. Nevertheless, we have become selfish and inconsiderate people subconsciously. Although we may not be the primary cause behind poverty and hunger in our societies, we must ask ourselves when was the last time we tried to assist in its alleviation.

In the terrible plot written film of 2009 "Drag me to Hell," a young bank worker had the option to extend the mortgage period for a single elderly woman or reject the extension, save the bank excess money and be promoted to assistant branch manager. The decision she made is quite obvious from the film's title as she was cursed and the movie goes on. More importantly, this is a blatant example of what I find to be the most prevalent consequence of today's definition of success and namely its correspondence with wealth as Veblen describes. This situation may seem similar to making the choice between purchasing a new purse to add to your collection or purchasing can goods to donate to the local salvation army. However, the difference comes in the fact that even when we are given an obvious chance to help someone else we do what we assume is best for our own preservation. But what are we really preserving other than our greed and materialism? In other words, because we want to be, as Drake said, "successful" there is no other alternative in life than to do just that. It is quite alarming when we begin to ponder about our very own ideas about success and realize that we may be leaning towards the very same things we claim as Christians to despise. Honestly, who wants nothing when they can have success? :/

True Success

2010-10-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

During out reading of Veblen over the past couple of weeks I have been struck with how closely he describes the society we live in today. We are driven by money. Much of the world is completely engrossed in accumulating more and more “stuff” so that they can be happy. However, as we talked about earlier in McKibben happiness does not seem to come, at least statistically, from money. So why do we keep pursuing it? If we have our basic needs met why do we need more? I believe that one of the reasons is due to our self worth. If we do not feel satisfied with ourselves then we think that accumulating money and material possessions will help us feel more confident and successful. I have seen this phenomenon occur in myself and in those around me. During my teenage years I felt insecure and as a result of those feelings tried to fit in with my peers. One of my worst fears was that I would be classified as “different” or “unique”. In order to avoid this fear I tried to fit in by purchasing specific types of clothes. However, I soon realized that this did not increase my success or my self worth. I, like many others, fell into the trap that Veblen talks about in his book—invidious consumption.

One of the consequences of falling into this trap is that it rarely brings true success or self worth. This is due to the fact that there is always something better, newer, or greater that can be attained. Society claims that the more wealth you attain the more successful you become. However, I believe that this can lead to dire consequences. If you use this mantra as the backbone of your life, God is unnecessary. In fact, his principles for success seem to go against those held closely by the world. The principles of kindness, gentleness, and self-control all differ from what many hold as principles vital to success. Instead the world says to work hard, play hard, sleep less, and be kind to only those who help increase your wealth. These principles have been shown to increase wealth but are they purposeful effort? Do they make you feel more successful? I do not believe they do. In contrast, I feel that purposeful effort and success come from doing things for others. As a volunteer at Andrews University Outreach I have found that success does not come from your net worth. Instead, it comes from doing things for people in your community. Thinking about some of the “pillars” in our word’s history I can name several that had little net worth but great success. Mother Teresa lacked wealth but if you were to ask the people she served they would tell you of her success. Martin Luther King Jr. also lacked wealth but the civil rights movement he started is still a success today. I believe that these examples help remind me that success comes from helping others and promoting a cause worth living for. If our society would take this principle to heart I feel that more people would attain true success from their efforts and avoid the trap of invidious consumption.

Success vs. Success

2010-10-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

We pray that God will lead us to influence someone's life, and in reality, we all affect those around us without even knowing it. The roll of peers in each others' lives has increased profoundly; our mentality success is no longer tabulated against the standards of one's own personal best, but has shifted to the values of those around us. When Veblen says we want to result "in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth," he is cutting to the chase on the inner most desires that each individual will face, and then will choose whether to follow or take another path. Success is now known as a destination, not the journey. There are many individuals who would immediately back away from their hard work and effort if they were informed that all the "creditable showing" waiting at the end would not be there. No matter how nice or naive a person may seem, everyone has that streak within them to desire acknowledgment or recognition for something.

One of the consequences I thought of from Veblen's definition of success can be found today. We are already seeing the effects of this mentality: people are losing trust within one another. Technology, knowledge, and more avenues of ranking has catapulted our society into a "competitive war." From advertisements to slogans, all have the same underlying theme that bigger/more is better! We will begin to lose the significant value in the individual if we keep trying to compare the individual to the community. Everything starts to be labeled black and white, yours or mine, and the spirit of unity and teamwork so prevalently displayed in history's stories will begin to fade until our society becomes "every-man-for-himself."

Personally, I don't think it is bad to aim for success even when one knows the "creditable showings" that will come out of it; I feel that what brings the sense of nobility is if an individual would be willing to put another individual above himself, if it means otherwise having to "step on him." Moral tests for cases like this don't come around too often, but when they do, it is so easy to see different individuals mentality on their approach to success.

Filling the Void

2010-10-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

The concept that ‘purposeful effort’ means working towards more wealth really describes the human condition quite well. This is true assuming we don’t hold a terribly tight definition on wealth, but think of it as more than what I had earlier or more than he or she has. This loose definition of wealth is really at the crux of most activities.

I try to live my life to make a positive difference in the world and help other people. If I tell myself that this is the only reason I am loosing sleep to finish up all that work, I am not being entirely truthful. In reality, a lot of what I do, and I would guess the majority of Americans, is aimed at making myself look and/or feel better, or to bring pleasure to my living experience. If through this I can improve the lives of other people it comes as an added bonus. Although I may not be explicitly flaunting the things I have in what I do, the underlying reason, although several rationales distant, can often be brought back to a prime objective of ‘make me better’. So we then ask, “How do I make myself better? With this question we start looking for answers. The world provides so many options that we get lost in trying them all. The bible is possibly the greatest positive source at showing us that there is much more beyond the present state of being. This sort of longing for more I believe is wired into human nature. God programmed us to long for Him.

The problem that so much of the world faces is that they long for God, but substitute other gods/things which are not capable of fulfilling the longing. Thus we need more in our attempt to fill the void that only God can fill.

Where we are wired with this longing, it is natural that we purpose to fill the void with the wrong things, namely stuff and material wealth. Global economies and marketing departments help by providing all sorts of things to throw into this void. None of these solutions lasts, since filling a void that an infinite God fits in, is impossible without that God.

I realize that this idea may not directly address the topic from the perspective that Veblen wished. It does, I believe, help me see why people who really know Jesus and have God in their hearts seem to be really happy and satisfied people even though they don’t have much stuff. If the ‘God void’ in one’s life actually has God, then one can stop trying to satisfy the void and look around at others and genuinely help them out. On the other hand though, if there is a gaping hole in one’s life, most of one’s purposeful effort will be directed at filling the hole, which usually amounts to ‘a more credible showing of accumulated wealth’ just as Veblen said.

What Does Your Measuring Stick Look Like?

2010-10-29T04:37:00.000-07:00

Whether it be monetary wealth, wealth of intelligence and knowledge, wealth of friends and family or wealth in leisure, abundance is our measuring stick for success. It's a cycle that never ends, sucking in everyone and everything along its path. As a part of today's society, everyone of us longs to be successful and every time we think we've reached success, someone else trumps us, putting us back into the race to fight some more only to be disappointed all over again. We are aware of the consequences of our actions and the likelihood that we will never be the best or the most of anything, but we continue on through the blood, sweat and tears.

Why then is it so hard for us to give up? Why is it so unpopular to sit back, relax, let it go and measure our success by other standards?

In the Christian life we are asked to think in the opposite direction. Christ directs us to go against the grain, to not conform to the ways of the world and to not adapt to their ways of thinking, all of which seem to point towards a hopeless cause. But it doesn't have to be if our goals are based on other foundations. Success is not abundance in the way that the world refers to it, but an unseen heavenly abundance. When we break out of the worldly cycle, we focus less on ourselves and our achievements and more on Christ and the blessings that we receive from Him, to no credit of our own.

Why then is this seemingly 'easy' plan so difficult to follow? Because as we take a hold of this concept and force our way through the crowd, with every step we are confronted and challenged, told to turn around and go with the flow. But if we turn our eyes upon the one who knows what success truly is, we will get through all of the pushing, shoving and suggesting of others and end up on the other side with something that is immeasurable.

A values centered life, in a world that is constantly measuring us, is one founded on Jesus Christ.

"Getting There"

2010-10-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

Last semester, one of our family friends passed away from pancreatic cancer. He had just gotten married a few years prior, become a theology professor at Pacific Union College and fathered a beautiful baby boy. Everything changed, however, when he was told he had less than 4 months to live. Being a goal-orientated, driven person, I was so bothered by the idea that Dr. Ha was being stripped away from everything he had ever worked for. It just wasn’t fair. What was the point of his life? I thought. Why was his life cut short? He never even got to indulge in his successes. Did his life even serve a purpose?

Whoa, hold on! Since when did our society (and myself) become so focused on “getting there” that we question the value of an individual’s life based on what he gained or who she became—to the point that our lives are not worthwhile unless we can prove with some tangible items that we are significant? According to Veblen, success is materialistic; it is something to show off like status, career, wealth, family, leisure, etc. But what happens once you gain everything? Or, in Dr. Ha’s case, when your life is cut short? So much of our focus is set on “getting there” and too little emphasis is placed on the days we live in right NOW. Upon hearing of Dr. Ha’s death, these words ran through my mind: if we don’t enjoy the whole process of being college students, finding someone to marry, becoming career professionals, etc., we still won’t be happy when these dreams come true. We must label our own personal success and not let others manipulate our definitions of a successful life.

Life is momentary. So why waste time buying the newest generation Iphone, designing the biggest house on the block, or focusing on other materialistic things to determine our success. We need to be happy with our lives and accomplishments as if we were dying the next day. Because today is the day we were worrying about yesterday.

Success that will Last

2010-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Veblen's quote, to me, essentially shows that our value in today's society is determined by the things that we stock up or have the best of. While this seems shallow, unfortunately, we are the ones who have created this a standard of measuring one's worth. To evaluate this, I'd like to trace the motives for such behavior back to where they were born. I feel that our desire to accumulate material things comes from a lack of appreciation for one's inner self. We feel empty inside because we don't possess all of the good qualities that we would like to. So, to fill the void, we purchase things to dissolve our unhappiness and drown the areas in which we fall short because that is just the easiest thing to do. We are too lazy to try to change ourselves into better people, so we buy things to increase our outward status and conceal our inward shortcomings. If you have the latest gadgets and wear the latest fashion, you are somehow envied even if you are not a very nice person.

The consequences of these warped definitions of success are not difficult to discover. I am sure anyone can say that the more things one has, the more static one's happiness remains. In severe cases, one may even become more unhappy because he or she eventually realizes that the money spent has only created clutter. It is so easy to fall into the trap of consumption. No one wants to be viewed by other people as unstylish or not cool enough. But, as Christians, we must remember that Jesus was never the popular one. Ironically, He has surpassed perfection. Going by His example, we can see that people's views have nothing to do with our true worth. Nothing we buy is going to come with us to heaven; if we cannot let go of those things, then we cannot go either. God is the only one who is able to rightfully pass judgment on us. His standards are the only ones we should be eager to achieve because His standards are truly attainable...His standards never change.

Less is More

2010-10-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

I find, like many others, that this quote portrays a disturbing mentality. This mentality, however, is pervasive throughout the world. While many of us, including myself, believe that there is more to life beyond the number on the bank statement, we find ourselves in the struggle to make more, accumulate more, and show it off more. The word 'more' has become ingrained in our very beings. The country that we live in has become the epitome of this quote. People immigrate to America from other countries with the 'American Dream' fresh in their minds. This the land of opportunity, and opportunity mostly means money.

In his quote, Veblen proposes that the accumulation of money should be the primary goal and the definition of success. Success is now measured by the square footage of a house, the brand that encases your feet, the amount of the down payment for a car, and how many zeros appear on a payment. In our mad scramble to acquire more, or to become more successful, we have lost sight of the things that make successful worthwhile. What is the point of having a large house if there is no one to fill it with? What is the point of a nice car if we have no where to go to? As the saying goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover". We cannot look at someone and say that they are leading a successful, fulfilled life simply based on their outside, the wrapping of their life. What lies within is what truly matters. Just as there is no purpose in an empty box that is wrapped beautifully, but nonetheless is empty, there is little purpose in a money-driven existence that is void.

This "showing of accumulated wealth" has affected every aspect of our lives, usually in a negative manner, yet we have yet to turn back from this blind pursuit of material happiness. We are told that a certain face cream, a name brand, a car, or some other object will bring us happiness. We trick ourselves into thinking that we will be content once we get that "one last thing", yet find ourselves growing bored with our possessions. Many have sacrificed family, friends, and health to become successful only to find success rather unsatisfying.

The definition of success requires a change before many of the problems that society is facing are going to be fixed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that having money is a bad thing. There are many things that can only get accomplished with money, but it should not be the focus. Once we can learn to content ourselves with less, we will truly feel as though we have more.

Success for Dummies

2010-10-28T17:04:00.002-07:00

According to Veblen success equates nothing more than mere wealth. In this case he is talking about material wealth, or to be simple about things; money. Veblen is implying that success in life is basically having a lot of money. Although money, in my personal opinion, will make life better, and probably more enjoyable, it doesn't serve as the measuring stick of success. I take that back, it shouldn’t serve as success’ measuring stick. Veblen does a good job of describing society today. For people in this day and age, money is success. The problem I find with this idea is that it is limiting. If money is success, does that mean nothing else can make us successful? The Western culture has on one-track mind, so to speak. Our lives are focused around money. When all we strive for is economic success we so easily look past life’s simple successes.

To better illustrate what I’m trying to say I’ll give an example. Let’s say there are two families, the Foster’s and the Lane’s. In the Foster family both parents work full time; the father is a lawyer, mother a financial advisor. They make the big bucks; therefore they are successful, right? Now let’s take a look closer. Jake and Samantha, their two teenaged children, wish they had a family life. Dad is always at work, mom is always too busy. It’s rare to ever even have all four members of the family at home at the same time, and the few times everyone is together an argument or fight of some sort seems to be the entertainment for the night. But this family is successful because they have money, of course. Now let’s look at the Lane family. Mr. Lane lost his job a year ago due to the struggling economy. He has been searching since but he can find nothing. Mrs. Lane struggles to maintain a part-time job as a substitute teacher. Their two children go to school during the day and work at the local Taco Bell most nights just so the family can get by. In Veblen’s opinion, this family is unsuccessful. However, the bond this family has is simply amazing. They have learned to support each other throughout the toughest times, and the atmosphere at home is always warm and loving. Although this family is struggling to keep themselves above the poverty line, they are happy. You tell me, which of these families is truly “successful”? To me the choice is clear. Money is not the measure of success—well, at least not the only one.

-Phil Giddings

Keeping Up With the Joneses

2010-10-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

Frankly, I find the quote from Veblen offensive and yet utterly true for the majority of the population. This is an "ought" versus "is" situation and I don't honestly think that society will change simply because a few self-sacrificing individuals decide to break the consumeristic chain.

I think that by living to accumulate "stuff", we lose sight of what is important in life, and ultimately, of the meaning of life in general. This can be seen frequently in our ever-increasingly postmodern society. The idea that accumulated wealth is the only objective which requires purposeful effort requires humans to take their eyes off of themselves and focus on others in a negative way. Instead of achieving some form of self-actualization, we consistently compare ourselves to others (because "enough" isn't enough to live on, "enough" is more than everyone else). This idea of success is pervasive and depressing because the standard is constantly in motion. Culturally, accumulated wealth may be viewed as "success", but I suggest that on the personal level, happiness is a better gauge of "success". If we are to ever break this cycle of continually "keeping up with the Joneses", we must establish a better measure than "who is the most consumeristic".

I also feel that, for the Christian population, this idea of accumulated wealth is extremely poisonous. Jesus had advised that people not store up treasures for themselves here on earth, but rather to lay up treasure in heaven (corruptible, temporary treasure vs. eternal treasure and happiness). Everyday success should be a measure of how much a person loves, lives, gives, and grows--not how much money they can rake in. Personally, when I think of this, all that truly comes to mind is the Casting Crowns song "American Dreams". The line "who's to say whoever dies with the most toys wins? But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end?" speaks especially to this situation--even if one does not believe in God, it is easy enough to watch prominent businessmen lose their souls to the company they create. What does this actually gain us? Nothing in particular. Brief feelings of self-accomplishment. There must be more to life than that.

Succession Digression

2010-10-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

In the Christian background I have grown up in, Veblen's quote seems objectionably "worldly" and narrow-minded, and that's because it really is. Success measured by what "treasures we store on earth" is probably the standard depiction of success in society, at least in our materialistic society. Therefore, his comment really affirms the majority view on the topic of success. Everything that is done, in the eyes of countless individuals, is for the sole purpose of getting more and more as we go along.

This probably won't always take the form of an arrogant individual who buys the latest sports cars, technologies, and lives his life to make some sort of impression on others that he is better than others. This definition influences more normal people as well. A normal person may just buy a car every few years or a new laptop more frequently than they need to. They can't quite afford to do it as frequently as the arrogant guy mentioned before, but the normal girl is driven by the same ideal but operates at a more limited income. Chances are, she wants to do the same thing as the arrogant guy mentioned above but can't, so she does what she can. She doesn't really need the newest iPod, but she gets it because she wants to be the first in her group of friends to have it.

Whatever false sense of superiority is gained by such philosophies and practices, success, I pray, is nothing like Veblen describes it to be. It only reinforces a stereotypical definition that is just waiting to be killed, and most people would be glad to see it go even though the majority may measure success by accumulated treasures. Perhaps our definition of success could be informed by more noble aspirations, such as achieving true happiness and peace in life. That in itself will be a reward far greater reward than the supposed imposter perception of success will ever be.

2010-10-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

From the Chicago Tribune: A new urbanist community design.

"According to experts, the pillars of New Urbanism are walkability to home and work, a pedestrian-friendly street design, a mixed use of shops, offices, apartments and various sizes of homes, and high quality architecture and urban design."

Blog Post #3

2010-10-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

First Midterm Exam

2010-10-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

Three very simple-yet-complicated, multi-layered questions:

What idea in Sachs do you find the most important and relevant? Why? (1 page)
What idea in McKibben do you find the most important and relevant? Why? (1 page)
Using your answers to #1 and #2, and whatever process suits you, invent YOUR ideal community. (2-3 pages) Compare that ideal to the reality you see every day.

Need help with the thought and design processes? See Wikipedia's entry on Design Thinking, for example.

2010-09-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

How are brands related to religion? Read the article from Fast Company.

Please read for Monday Oct. 4

2010-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

A Better Choosing Experience, from the consultants at Booz & Co.

China's Urbanization and Aid to Developing Countries

2010-09-25T19:22:00.001-07:00

The two articles that I have chosen to write about are about China's urbanization and the foreign assistance being pledged by developed countries for developing countries.

The article on China demonstrated the division that exists between the urban and rural parts of the country that has accompanied economic growth. I was intrigued to see that the Chinese are experiencing characteristics that I have generally associated as being prevalent in the developed countries; these are a displacement of unskilled workers and the increased usage of technology. As I see the situation, this could be a sign that China will join the ranks of the other developed countries some day. If this happens, many of the products made in China may be made in other developing countries. Jeffrey Sachs speaks about sub-Saharan Africa being caught in a "poverty trap" because of their geographical location (Sachs 18, 50). However, one thing that came to my mind is the idea that manufacturing is an economic sector that could succeed if the necessary infrastructure was installed (i.e. roads, rail lines, and airports) to export goods. Maybe China's urban transition could be seen as sub-Saharan Africa's opportunity.

The information on the foreign assistance pledges made a few days ago shows how the Obama administration is committed to giving aid for developing countries and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. However, I thought it was noteworthy that the President said, "Our focus on assistance has saved lives in the short term, but it hasn?t [sic] always improved those societies over the long term." I agree with the concept articulated by President Obama. Developing nations should be asked to contribute to the betterment of their country.

References:

"China's urbanization transition causes growing anxiety," City Mayors, last modified November 27, 2008, accessed September 25, 2010 http://www.citymayors.com/habitat/habitat08-china.html.

Sachs, Jeffrey. Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (New York: Penguin, 2008).

"UN summit ends with pledges and lingering pessimism," AFP, accessed September 25, 2010, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOwm3l1tKEF1bUYUORixIdnn4Uxg.

Note: Since I already had a blog, the submission of this post resulted in the username of "Oxford Conservative" popping up. It should say "BSica."

The China problem

2010-09-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/09/the-china-dream.html

As China thrives and begins to challenge the economic supremacy of the US, a reaction formation can now be seen. A 8/9/2010 NewsWeek article, written by Ioannis Gatsiounis, portrays this well. The article outlines how China seems to be threatening America's place as the largest economic body in the globe, and proceeds to cite evidence to confirm [frantically] that the US is still in the lead, that China still has a long way to go to be able replace America as the supreme economic body.

As citizens of a neighboring country to this rising superpower, we have mixed feelings toward its recent development. Taiwan, a self-governing region which mainland Chinese government officials like to regard as a break-away province, has a complicated tie with the mainland. In the late 19th century, China fell victim of western imperialistic colonist, and was reduced to, as Dr. Sun Yet-sun promptly put, a "sub-colony." Western powers infiltrated the Chines territories, and exploited natural as well as human resources blatantly, right under the government's nose. The regime at the time, after two hundred years of isolation, was technologically inadequate therefore powerless to defend itself. Had there not been the Open Door Policy, it would have fallen the same fate as india. At the turn of century, Dr. Sun Yet-sun led a revolution that overthrew the imperial government and established a democratic republic, led by the Nationalists' Party. In the next four decades, however, the Communist Party rose and drove the Nationalist government to Taiwan, but failed, fortunately, to "liberate" it.

Knowing the historical oppression by the western powers, we were glad to finally see the rise of our own people. Yet, Taiwan was able to remain intact from communist invasion due to the US' economical inhibition to China. As we see the inevitable change of balance, we have to really be worried. This coincides well with Sach's claim that our biggest problem is our inability to cooperate.

One Earth, Two Worlds

2010-09-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer; a saying we’ve all heard but it may hold more validity than we think. In the book Common Wealth Jeffrey Sachs addresses this issue with discussion of the economic growth and decline of several countries. Over the last few hundred years, prosperous countries such as the United Kingdom and America have continued to grow economically while economically weak countries such as sub-Saharan Africa have continued to suffer.

An article published in the mid 1990s in Green Left magazine addresses this issue. This article talks about America specifically and its economic situation. The global economic tendencies as described by Sachs are illustrated on a smaller scale when we take a look at America’s economy. America’s pre twenty-first century economy was on the rise. The reason attributed to this economic expansion was essentially the need of the lower-class citizens. The poor were willing to do any job, just in an effort to get by. Their minimum wage jobs provided the opportunity for the rich to prosper even more and although their work benefited the economy overall, the poor remained stuck in the same rut.

If we do not take care to fix this problem of economic dissonance between the rich and the poor, it won’t fix itself, it will just continue to become worse and worse. Now, looking at this issue from a global perspective gives us even a better picture of what is going on. It is not rare to see a commercial or stumble across a webside that tells us of how our five dollar donation a month can feed 20 starving children in Africa. When I take a moment to think about how significant my small donation is to people living in these underprivileged countries I realize how truly great the difference is in wealth. If this problem isn’t fixed I foresee two, separate worlds. There will be a world with food, money, education and life. And there will be a separate world filled with hunger, disease, and ultimately death. If we don’t take the time now to help our “neighbors” we will only become more and more separated from them until one day we won’t regard their existence at all. We are aware of the situation our world is in; my vote is that we make an effort to fix this—now.

-Phil Giddings

Should Americans be Concerned about Water?

2010-09-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Water is one of the most important natural resources; we literally can’t live without it. We use it everyday. In fact, the average American uses 101 gallons of water each day. Where does all this water come from? Well, of the approximately 333 million cubic miles of water on earth, 97% is found the oceans, 2% is locked up in glaciers and polar ice caps, and only 1% is accessible to us as freshwater found in rivers, lakes, and as groundwater. However, these reservoirs are being depleted at an alarming rate.

As Americans, it can be easy to ignore this issue, especially if you live in one of the states with high precipitation levels. We find it difficult to identify with the 884 million people in the world who don’t have access to safe drinking water. The majority of the nation’s population doesn’t know what it means to depend on rain so that they can eat and make a living. Contrarily, they most likely view rain as a nuisance that disrupted their plans for a weekend at the beach.

Still, there are many reasons for us to be concerned. Signs of water stress are visible in the United States, as those from California and Florida can testify. Major rivers, such as the Rio Grande and the Colorado are low, no longer flowing to their final destinations. As global citizens, we have reason to be interested in the conditions of our home, planet Earth. From an ethical perspective, this means that we should be concerned regarding the welfare of our fellow citizens, including those in Africa and the Middle East who are dying as a result of infection and diseases acquired from drinking contaminated water. From a practical perspective, there is a finite amount of water on this planet that we all have to share. It is tempting to then choose to act in a way such as to collect as much water for ourselves, leaving as little as possible for the others. However, such a mindset may end up backfiring because if the world’s population continues to grow at its exponential rate, all the water may be used up. Jeffery D. Sachs, in his book Common Wealth, describes the relationship between water scarcity and war. Not only does water scarcity lead to conflicts within unstable countries, but it could also very easily develop into war between multiple countries that are competing for the same reservoir. They need water, not only for human consumption, but also for crop irrigation. In fact, 70% of water usage is devoted to agriculture.

No one can predict what will happen in future years, but that is no reason to stop us from taking conservative measures now to improve water management in an effort to stabilize water usage. As Americans, we like to be independent, we don’t like having someone tell us when we can wash our car or water our lawn. However, the reality is that as living beings, we have an impact on our environment, and we can choose today to either move towards sustainability or away from it.

sachs on water stress and conflict

2010-09-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Before engaging on this topic, I would just like to say that Sachs seems to make very bold statements and seems that he has much confidence in his plans and ideas to fix many of today's world problems. I for one, would like to see these plans in action. His statements all have factual evidence that prove the point he is trying to make. His observation and remedy to the rise of water stress, for instance, is a very good example.

Sachs takes all viewpoints and situations into perspective and tries to come up with the best solution to solve this problem. A rise in water stress, he says, combined with other pressures, will worsen food security. He goes on to mention a colleague of his who said that "drops in rainfall [in Africa] are associated with significantly more conflict...There is strong evidence that better rainfall makes conflict less likely in Africa." Pretty bold statement, no? The issue here isn't the fact that there is no water. Look around us, our earth is 70% ocean. However, there are places in the world that are either landlocked and/or dried out, and they have no means possible to retrieve clean water for their villages/towns. If any poverty-stricken places do have access to water, they most likely don't have any access to filter systems or any such device to clean all of the parasites and bacteria that live in them. Therefore the issue is always one of those two; either no water at all, or no clean water.

Sachs feels that "countries need to develop holistic plans of action" which address these 5 areas:

-Safe drinking water and sanitation for all

-Increased water efficiency in agriculture, including the development of drought-resistant seed varieties and new irrigation strategies

-Increased attention to droughts through improved water storage

-Reduced economic risks through rainfall insurance

-Economic diversification and international trade to reduce the dependency of livelihoods on rainfall

A lack of water brings up many issues, as you can see. As it one thing happens, it creates a sort of domino effect and negatively impacting something else. For example, if a farmer is experiencing a drought in his land, he can't grow crops. Because he can't grow crops, he can't profit off of anything, and he'll start losing customers to buy/sell/trade with. And with no profit, he can't support his family. For any instance, one general water problem will cause many problems with that as well. Sach's solutions like physical infrastructure (producing clean water from seawater), and rainfall insurance are great solutions to our water problems. Like I said, look around, there's water everywhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13water.html

This article shares a story of a woman from Charlestown, VA who complains of problems with tap water in her home. This is also problematic because the whole town has access to the water, but many complain of their skin burning, rashing, and even eating away at their teeth because of lead, barium and other toxic wastes that don't get properly filtered out in their water. So what would Sachs do in a situation like this, a town that has access to water and a filter system, but an obviously faulty one? Many organizations, such as UNICEF and EPA need to get involved and make changes so that more people, even local people, can have access to cleaner water.

In a global perspective, this could be accomplished by more holistic plans and actions, and with effort from everyone. The issue here isn't saving water, but finding a way for people to use it for all that it can be used for.

-Aaron Suh

The Poorest Billion: Why pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps doesn't work

2010-09-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

In the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, two young boys, ages 8 and 5, work every day, transporting goats to slaughter houses simply to provide food for their family to survive. This kind of job is no place for children, however, many mothers encourage their children to work and provide income for their families. Police try to "help" the problem by arresting 20-50 kids per month rather than targeting the business owners. The issue remains because as soon as the kids are let go, they return right back to work. Another example of a poverty trap is in India. Recently the Indian government is trying to pay cash to couples who wait at least 2 years before having their first child. Since a majority of the world's poorest population comes from India, lowering the birthrate average from 2.6 to 2.1 per household will significantly change the dynamics of the countries poverty issues. The problem is that many of the poorest nations have the highest birthrates, usually 4 per household, while wealthier & more educated nations' averages are below two. The introduction of birth control and planned parenting are essential to these people living in the "poorest billion trap." As the article says, "an educated girl is your best contraception."

So, why can't the poor just stop having children, get an education, a career, and help themselves? Because they are in a trap, as economist Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion puts states. He suggests that the traps are due to conflicts, bad neighboring countries, lack of natural resources and bad government. Many people say the poor are poor and will remain poor until they are educated. But these people do not have the choice of education. There is no hope for them; they must fight to simply make it alive to the next day. Many countries in this trap are in civil war, with no development, communication, or transportation. This is why countries like India are paying people to decrease family size; why wealthier countries reach out with aid in the form of food and education. Organizations like Save the Children know how to empower these people: education. They focus on giving hope by educating the young generation, giving them the chance at a better life because, on their own, it would be nearly impossible. Impossible, because you could spending your entire life working and only be making less than $0.50 a day to feed your family. As for bad governments who do not wish goodwill to their own people (North Korea, for example), influence and aid must come from outside, from other developed countries. But what can average people like you and me do? Become aware. Educate yourself because you can. And if there is a cause you wish to donate to, help. Be proactive.

Erica Evans

Urbanization: Upside and Downside

2010-09-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Sachs addresses several trends in our economy, the Urban Century being one of them. Urbanization seems to be making its way quickly across the country. Of course, as with anything, there are positive and negative affects to this advancement. Each of the two articles I found speak mainly on one of those options. The article promoting urbanization points out different states, like North Carolina, New York City, and California, and shows how each place is striving for a more individual-based community. It is mentioned how broad areas of land take away from the close friendships with neighbors. Cities, where houses and apartments are closer together, allow people to see more faces throughout the day and give a better sense of community. A Massachusetts resident, I am not sure I completely agree with this statement, as I have walked the streets of Boston many times and have not felt personally connected with the people I am passing. Cities have a "rushed" atmosphere and are very career oriented. Most of the people you see on the sidewalks are not walking for leisure, but instead to get somewhere important. Everyone has a destination, and I do not get the sense of peace and community that some are hoping to achieve. However, that brings up another point. With limited walking distances from place to place in cities, there is less usage of gas and automobiles. It is becoming regular for people to bike to work, and bicycle lanes are rising in number across the country.

Still, there are side affects to these seemingly wonderful economic changes. The second article I found addresses an issue that many people would be quick to oversee. Considering ourselves the most important species, when it comes to other creatures, we are not so compassionate. Animals are a very important part of life on this earth, and while they may not have the ability to speak and reason and have moral choices, like humans, they are still God's creations, and it is important to watch after them when we are able. Increase in urbanization is threatening a decrease in genetic diversity. Urban barriers make it difficult, if not impossible, for animals to cross over to different areas. This forces them to inbreed, therefore losing relation with other species and causes them to be severely isolated. While this may not seem like a major issue for some people, it seems to me that the more we change as a people, the more we negatively affect everything around us. While we may be benefitting ourselves, we need to realize that we are not the only occupants of this planet. I am not saying that I think urbanization is a horrible idea and we need to save all the animals. However, I do think that we all, as individuals, need to take into consideration the effects on the entire planet because of our decisions, and not just the effects on ourselves. In doing so, we are able to create a truer and deeper sense of community.

The Asian Century

2010-09-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

The United States has been seen as a superpower for a while now—but not for long. Several scholars claim that the rise of economic power and population growth in Asia (Asia mostly meaning China, but also including India and Japan) will soon turn into domination of the world market.

According to the article, “The Asian Century”, written by Doug Bandow, “China has started from a low economic and military base and faces enormous social challenges as it develops, but is not inclined to passively accept U.S. hegemony along its border or elsewhere.” Bandow also claims that the threat of Asian dominance is not against U.S. security. He also points out that many countries do not need rely on America for anything and that the United States should learn how to cooperatively work with the rising Asian powers. “No one especially America and China, can afford one, let alone two, wars to establish future their relationship”, writes Bandow. According to Jeffrey D. Sachs, in his Fortune Magazine article “Welcome to the Asian Century”, “American power rests mainly on advanced technology, which is increasingly available to the whole world.” Based on the population growth and income increase in China and India, Sachs believes that the world’s economic center of gravity will shift to Asia by 2050. He also believes that economically speaking, the Asian Century will benefit the United States. To Sachs, Asian products at cheap prices and Asian technology will improve the American quality of life. However, politically speaking, America will have to step back from the spotlight and relinquish its power to the Asian countries.

With China’s exponential population growth comes the problem of energy. What will the Asian Century mean to the Environmental/Energy Challenge? According to David Zweig and Bi Jianhai, “An unprecedented need for resources is now driving China’s foreign policy.” China’s share of the consumption of aluminum, copper, nickel, and iron ore has more than doubled in the past 10 years. According to the director for the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University, Justin Yifu Lin, China’s economy could grow at a rate of 9 percent per year for the next two decades. With the world already climbing the energy usage charts and depleting so many of our un-renewable resources, how will China’s appetite and need for energy be satiated?

What will the Asian Century mean to Americans? Will the world stop wanting the “American Dream”? According to Jeffrey Sachs, “Assuming Asia’s continued economic success, the 21^st century could well be a period of unprecedented prosperity and scientific advance, but one in which the U.S. will have to learn to be one of many successful economies rather than the world’s indispensable country.”

Could we survive that?

The Poverty Cycle

2010-09-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Throughout all history, poverty has been present. Whether it be the Hebrews who were enslaved by the Egyptians around 1500 BCE, or even during our current times. Today, there are more impoverish people then ever before. As Jeffrey Sachs estimates in Common Wealth, approximately 1/6 of the world's population, is considered to be living in poverty. This amounts to around one billion people. Living in the United States can be very limiting at times because it gives you the idea that everyone in the world lives like you do. In all reality, even the poorest people in the United States aren't considered impoverish on a global standard. The poorest people in the world often live in the most unstable countries. They are surrounded by constant political instability, war and violent conflicts, and little resources. In order to survive these conditions, impoverish people use their resources until they have none left and inevitably, poor living conditions lead to disease and death. This continues until someone intervenes. I call this the poverty cycle. The problem with this cycle is one that cannot be broken unless intervened upon by an outside force.

The question then must be asked, "How can one help?" or, "Who needs help the most?" We give money when hurricanes hit or earthquakes strike, but how do we actually make a difference? By giving money to charitable companies we quell our inner guilt, satisfying our conscience and continuing about our daily lives. Lives which include clean water, shelter, and food. However, should we really even feel guilty? Maybe instead, we should just feel blessed that we are not in a similar situation. The bottom line is that there is a multitude of poor people in this world. Unfortunately, there is not enough resources to help everyone. No matter how hard we try, there will always be people who need help. Undoubtably, the percentage of population living in poverty will only increase; UNLESS, the world as a whole realizes the importance of helping others.

The Rise of China

2010-09-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

The rise of China is not an accident that occurred overnight. China’s population is over 1.3 billion which constitutes 20% of the world’s population. This means that one in every five people on the earth lives in China. Just from that fact, the rapid growth seems to have been inevitable. Dr.Albert Keidel predicts that Chinese economy will surpass that of United State by 2035, and be twice its size by midcentury. This rapid growth will be based on enormous domestic demand not on exports. The growing economic power of China will shift the center of world’s power to the East. This shift has huge implications for the West and the rest of the world. The last time a new power emerged, the world was very violent. As China’s economy grows, more people will be living in cities, and adopt western life style. The demand for energy therefore will grow exponentially, and with limited resources, economical and political conflicts seem inevitable. The more U.S government tries to hold on to their dominance in Asia, the greater the conflict will likely be. According to the study done by Robert Sutter, there are different opinions on the effects of rising China on the United States. At the one end of the spectrum, there are people who predict that Chinese government will try to marginalize US influence in Asia using their economic power. On the other end, some believe that China will try to find ways to work with US to maintain political stability and further develop their economy. However, Chinese people’ suspicion over U.S. intentions still remains. China continues to invest heavily on developing weapons and running ballistic missile programs that are targeted at U.S. According to Sutter, China is the “only large power in the world preparing to shoot Americans”. The tension and rivalry between the U.S. and China will rise and intensify. As Sachs mentions, I think the best way to avoid unnecessary injustice caused by two superpowers it to build a new kind of global politic based on cooperation across the world. That would mean U.S. and China not abusing their power, which is difficult, but not impossible, especially in the era of global community.

There are also environmental problems to consider. More power plants will be built to meet the energy demand, and they will pollute the earth’s atmosphere and water even more. It seems like China is aware of this issue and is committed to reduce energy intensity by investing heavily in new technologies and infrastructures. According to the New York Times article, China’s cabinet passed measures that would help reduce energy use, including closing thousands of factories with outdated equipment. Although these measures are admirable, I’m curious to see how Chinese government will act when its environmental policies come in the way of economical development. Would they stand firm and pass laws that would prohibit energy intensive practices? I guess the question is whether their environmental policy be “enough”. This is the question that we need to ask ourselves first because we are not doing that great either.

Ultimately, it comes down to what we want and our attitude toward the environment. People who have a close relationship and some sort of emotional attachment to nature tend to appreciate it more. These people are more likely to be more conscious about the environmental issues and act on them. Changing people’s attitude toward the environment will not be successful by throwing numbers at them. People are unlikely to change unless the problems directly affect them, in which point it is too late. We need to start early and help our children to form a good relationship with nature. This cannot be done through textbooks and videos but by encouraging kids to touch and feel, and have fun with nature.

The poorest billion

2010-09-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

In the book “Common Wealth,” by Jeffrey D. Sachs, the issue of the “poorest billion” and the “poverty trap” is briefly dealt with. However, I felt that the solutions Sachs gave for the problem were too broad. Thus, the two articles I found for the assignment this week further delved into Sachs discussion of the “poorest billion.” In his book, Sachs, admonishes that overcoming the “poverty trap” will require, “special policies and global efforts” (Sachs 31). Because of this statement I decided to search for articles that dealt with some of the “global efforts” that are being done to help countries escape the “poverty trap.” One of these I discovered was a CNN article entitled, “Fighting poverty $1 at a time.” This article discussed the efforts that have been going on in India to supply “micro-credit” to small business owners in order to help them start or maintain small business enterprises. An example of this concept given in the article was of a woman in India who made “sweets” but could not afford to buy the milk to produce them. However, after receiving a small loan to buy a cow her business grew exponentially enabling her to afford food and clothing for her family. While reading this article I couldn’t help but remember my experience as a student missionary in Peru. While in the country I was working with an organization that was trying to start small industries to help educate some of the poorest people in the region. The idea was that students would come and learn a trade while working in exchange for their tuition and board. After graduating they would have a marketable skill, which could be used to start a small business in order to support them and their family. I believe this concept that I encountered in Peru along with the “micro-credit” example in the article are two practical examples that can help people to escape the “poverty trap. However, I also found from my search that there are other methods that can be used to eliminate the poverty gap.

One of these was suggested in the second article I read entitled, “Africa’s Poverty Trap”, which was written in the Wall Street Journal. In it the author discussed some of the reasons behind the poverty found in certain regions of Africa. He argued that one of these is due to the way that economics have been used in the country. For example, he lamented that economists in Africa had “undervalued free markets” and instead enabled “state direction by the states least able to direct” (Easterly A.11). In addition he showed throughout the article that many people in Africa are ready to start small businesses yet lack the “free market” to do so. I felt that this article was insightful for me because many times I hear in the media that Africa is failing because of a lack of resources. However, from this article I learned that the people of Africa have powerful plans and ideas that could be enacted if they would have the opportunity to work in a “free market.”

Although these articles on poverty were insightful I feel that there is more to be learned on the topic. In addition, I feel that a smaller scale approach to many of these issues could be more effective. For example, the “micro-credit” loans that are given out in India are done at a local scale. There is not a national bank that distributes them but instead a local banker down the street. I believe this is more effective than a large international project because transactions are performed at a smaller scale that enables bankers to have a personal interest in the people they are lending to. In addition, this small-scale method is more sustainable because already available resources can be used.

Though I believe that many of the solutions to ending the “poverty trap” involve small-scale efforts I also feel that I must not simply stand on the outside and criticize those who are actually doing something to solve the problem. Instead, I feel that as a human being and more importantly as a Christian that I have an obligation to help in the effort. Whether it was serving as a student missionary for a year in Peru or serving people with a medical career in the future I believe that one of the most important ways I can help people escape the “poverty trap” is by personally taking an interest in them and finding out their needs. I feel that if I use Christ as my guide I will be able to discover new and innovative ways to help empower people on this planet to be freed from the burden of poverty.

The Rich can stay rich, as for the poor.....

2010-09-24T09:39:00.001-07:00

More often than not, during the period of a given society's transition to a more industrialized state there is an uneven distribution of finances. Simple put only a small portion of the total population "benefits" in every essence of the word. Immediately, I can recall the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. In History through the Eyes of Faith, Ronald Wells describe the conditions as " most brutal" and also noted the "many leading Christians reacted in horror to the appalling conditions of life and labor, and they demanded political action on behalf of the poor." Despite these effects that this period may have had on its laborers, from it we gained the liberal views of society we have come to know today. Moreover, the classic ladder of wealth distribution trickling from the business men, so to speak, down to the common workers and farmers in rural areas. Jeffrey Sachs seems so optimistic that with the inclining number of people large checkbooks the world itself will become more richer. Yet, I am not especially convinced with his theory as he further notes that the population of the world is steadily increasing thanks to the help of the poor. I will admit my ignorance to the state of the economy in many countries around the world. However, I will try to apply his theory to my country, The Bahamas. While we are a developing country, due to the costs of modernization and maintenance of buildings, roads, and other civil necessities, we are currently facing one of the greatest unemployment epidemics that our history can ever report. In the midst of all of this, there remains a great portion of my population who are unaffected, the rich. The working class and under are those who are seriously hurt by these changes. And once again, the majority of the population will come from the class of common laborers and those who have minimum wage jobs. Although there has been an increase in the income of some people, the majority of the population cannot bask in such blessings and they are the population of the Bahamas so to speak. I will agree with Sachs however, that this all comes as a result of the Age of Convergence, as we are trying to become as advanced as our neighboring countries, much to the financial disadvantage of the middle class and the poor man.

So sadly, the rich can stay rich (in the Bahamas at least), withdrawing their donations as they have recently, threatening the continuation of the Salvation Army, Humane Society and several children homes in my country, while the poor.... I believe you can finish the rest.

Africa's Poverty Trap: Future Plans, Millennium Goals, and What's Really Working

2010-09-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

     Jeffrey Sachs, the author of "Common Wealth" (which is currently being read for this class), has been actively involved in the case of the Sub-Saharan Poverty Trap. Writing articles for both the New York Times and Scientific American Magazine, he has discussed both the hypothetical means to raise Africa from it's destructive poverty and also the current measures being taken to fulfill said task.
     Sachs states that the main contributer to this cyclic poverty is geography--the lack of access to sea-based trade, poor and irregular rainfall, high disease burdens, and political struggle can often be traced back to the relative location of the impoverished community. Also, he notes how extreme poverty can raise political tensions in an area, and possibly increases the chance of violent conflict. These problems are what the Millennium Development Goals have sought to address through foreign funding, education, and health care. In the ten years since the Millennium Goals started working in Africa, cases of the measles have dropped by 90%, longevity has improved (as most AIDS victims are now on antiretroviral treatment), malaria is dropping decisively, school enrollment has risen 16%, the economy has gained speed, and extreme poverty is declining. All of this is made possible by the cooperation of foreign powers and local leaders.
      However, there is much more that can be done--of the $60 billion promised in aid to Africa, actual aid is only $45 billion. Africa faces many more threats to its progress such as: rampant population growth (which is fueled by the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in that area), corruption by large Asian or American corporations, lack of trade, human-induced climate change, and neglect. All of these problems will take time and immense amounts of worldwide cooperation to fix. There are five more years left to go on the Millennium Goals, but through the strategies proposed by Sachs, I think that an economical revolution in Africa is possible--it will most likely take longer than solely that five years, but I think Africa is off to a better start. Rather than funneling money to people at the top, he suggests investing in those at the bottom who cannot help themselves; it follows through with the old saying "catch a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life". This method of help will always have its setbacks, but it ultimately pays off. It is my hope and prayer that the multitude of problems in Africa will be addressed and solved, and that in another ten years Africa can be looked on as a nation that has moved forward out of its dark ages.

P O V E R T Y

2010-09-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

PRESENT:

In this world, poverty is the dilemma pushed way back into the furthest corner, but not eradicated simply because we wouldn't be able to cope with the guilt. In America alone, we generate enough food waste per year to weigh the equivalent of 74 Golden Gate Bridges! And yet there are those we know who don't have a meal for the next few days right down a few blocks. Why are there still poor people in this world when statistics have been spewed over and over to our faces over the past years? The answer is simple: selfishness. It is said that the past is our biggest asset, revealing to us what we should and shouldn't do again; however, when I look at myself and this generation, I can't help but feel we haven't made that large of a difference. The problem first boils down to individuals pointing their finger at themselves and asking, "Who? Me?!" Today, I feel as if individuals are beginning to lose the realization and inspiration to actually believe they can make a difference. Being the change has been rung so many times, for many it is just a cliche phrase; and when faced with the topic of poverty, I find myself thinking in the back of my head, "Ok, I'll go more to soup kitchen opportunities and let the government take care of the big picture." It is this apathy that allows us to accomplish hardly anything. Many people have found satisfaction in dumping problems onto the government, but even the government isn't doing much for poverty. Surprisingly, and maybe not, we are not too different from the government. As I read through one of my bookmarked articles on the government's role in poverty, I sensed that the government may not actually care about the poor on a personal level. To them, solving poverty would simply take off the pressure and guilt from their shoulders, as well as benefitting the country monetarily and environmentally.

FUTURE:

Will poverty be eliminated in the future? No. I believe that no matter what, poverty will always be there looking at us. Realistically, it is not possible to rally the entire world and end poverty. I do believe that there are enough resources, money, and food for the world to all comfortably get through life, but then that would involve sharing and major sacrifices from a LOT of people. The statistics predict that poverty numbers will in fact rise due to the link of higher populations and increase in monopolies. Sachs said that "the poverty trap is self-reinforcing, not self-correcting" (31). Poverty will not be eliminated, but that does not give us permission to fully sit back and relax. It is rather all the more challenge to defy the numbers and do the best we can to make this world just perhaps a little better of a place than it is now for a lot of people.

How To Deal With People

2010-09-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that..." the world population has had a rather drastic increase in the past two centuries. Not only has the population gone up, but there has been a rather large influx of people into cities. The lure of jobs, accessibility, and comfort is calling people from the country into the cities, causing havoc for the environment, the governments, and for other people.

The two articles that I found (delicious.com/idanci) deal with urbanization in China and Mexico and what effects it is having on the counties. China is planning on funneling 3.6 trillion dollars in the next ten years, which is an obscene amount of money in my eyes, into "urban infrastructure". Every aspect is going to be affected: roadways, water systems, residential buildings, power plants, the list goes on and on. In China, the urbanization that is occurring seems to only be having a negative effect on the economy and the environment. As Sachs mentions in his books, China is consuming tons upon tons of coal and they only have plans to add more factories. In the next ten years, it is projected that over 60% of the Chinese population will be living in cities.

Mexico is also experiencing what the article calls "intense urbanization". More and more people are moving to one of the eleven urban areas that Mexico has. This is putting a great stress on the environment and it is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to implement the "green plan" for the country. An interesting side note that the article makes is that the average age is rising, meaning that there are more people who are older in Mexico. This means that soon there will be less people looking for jobs, opening up the market for others. The writer posits that immigrants will start coming back home because it will be easier to find a job in Mexico than in America.

A common theme found whenever one talks about urbanization is the effect that it has on the environment. The amount of people crammed into a small area is bound to have some adverse affects, such as the one mentioned about China. There was a book that I read once in elementary school that dealt with the future. In the book, there was a boy who was running away from an orphanage and getting into trouble and such, but one of the details that I remember is a conversation that he had with a friend. They were discussing the setting sun and color it was; the remark went along the lines of "the color is pretty bad tonight. I guess this means that we won't be able to leave the house tomorrow since the air quality is going to be pretty bad." Despite the fact that it is sci-fi, it can become reality. We need to take care that urbanization does not cause us to the push the envelope and attempt to squeeze more people into an already-packed space. It would be sad if our actions caused us to be like the children in the book, unable to venture from the house because the events from the previous day made the air quality unsuitable for human life. I know, I know, this sounds rather dramatic, but the amount of people crammed in an apartment building in Manhattan or the number of people on a city street in China should be viewed as a dramatic problem that needs to be addressed.

America's Apathy

2010-09-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

We all know that global warming is a big problem. Right? And big problems usually necessitate action, correct? Indeed, Jeffrey Sachs spends a significant amount of energy seeking to convince us - policy makers, leaders, students, grandmothers - to do something. Or at least he insists that something should be done, and suggests a number of workable solutions. On page 97, he writes:

"To manage the carbon budget, we don't need to change everything about our society, but we do need to face head-on six important activities:
We must slow or stop deforestation
We must reduce emissions from electricity production
We must reduce emissions from automobiles
We must clean up industrial processes in a few major sectors (especially steel, cement, refineries, and petrochemicals).
We must economize on electricity use through more efficient motors, appliances, lighting, insulation, and other electrical demands.
We must convert point-source emissions in buildings (such as furnaces) into electricity-based systems powered by low-emission electricity"

Notice the imperative tone in all of these statements: we must. Who are we? Americans? You? Me?

I bookmarked two very different articles about climate change (at delicious.com/alaskagrown34). Both authors are aware of the threat our planet faces, and both would encourage us as citizens of the United States and of the world to do something. But while Jeff Goodell's Slate article seems full of optimistic promise in the face of developing geoengineering technology, Karlyn Bowman reports in Forbes that Americans are devastatingly apathetic about climate change. So who's telling the right story? Could they both be correct?

Goodell does note a certain skepticism in the press regarding geoengineering - "which the British Royal Society defines as "the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system, in order to moderate global warming"" - when he references speculative ideas about geoengineering as a new profit scheme, etc., but in general his article is quite positive. After reading it, one feels reassured that someone is doing something about climate change; that it's being discussed, policies are changing, and help is on the way. Indeed, the internet is thick with encouraging articles, blogs, and videos about developing green technologies (solar panels, biodegradable detergents, hybrid vehicles, you name it), and the general attitude seems optimistic. But are we all just reading the New York Times for columns about the latest green technology as a palliative? Oh, good, someone is doing something about this crisis, so I can continue going about my life. Sure, I'll recycle my plastic yogurt containers, but I'm too busy to do more. It's someone else's job.

This is what Bowman's depressing report about American apathy in the face of global warming seems to suggest. Listen to this: "The issue [of global warming] ranked dead last--20th of 20 issues--when the Pew Research Center asked respondents to list top priorities for President Obama and Congress." What's going on here? How can the media be plastered with "fight global warming" propaganda, which most of us probably claim to support, with no results? Further on in Bowman's article: "As a back-handed compliment to our system of representative democracy, we are content to let competing interest groups, political parties and others debate the next policy steps, reasonably confident that good policy will result from the clash of interests." We're all convinced that someone else is working to solve the problem. It's my senator's problem. Obama's problem. The UN's problem. So our nation is characterized not by a galvanized sense of duty to the environment, but by...apathy.

Impoverished

2010-09-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

The word 'poverty' means many different things to different people. The rich think it's preventable and the poor see no end in sight. Some feel that they are "poor" because they can't buy everything name-brand and others feel that they are poor because they struggle to feed themselves from day to day. Some come into poverty as the result of a bad drug habit, others loose their jobs as a result of the current economical situation and others are born into it. Upon hearing the word poverty, some think of the man from downtown that pushes around his worldly possessions in a shopping cart and others think of the commercials they see on T.V. about the malnourished children in Africa and other third-world countries. And then there are those that live in extreme poverty: those that every time it rains, have to rebuild their "house" because the rain washed the mud away; those who in order to survive must break every rule they've ever been taught and go against all of their morals and values on a daily basis; those that with jealously, watch their children die from curable or preventable diseases and wish that it was them instead because their physical pain is so unbearable.

When politicians and economists talk about poverty, who are they talking about? Solely the extreme cases or all levels of poverty? What is the standard that must be met in order to be considered one in poverty? Most importantly how do they plan to "solve" this problem?

All of these questions have been asked, discussed and debated time and time again, but the idea of poverty cannot be confined to such characteristics.

I have had the opportunity to interact with and live among people in extreme poverty in other countries and I have seen first hand the effects of poverty. In seeing and talking with these people face-to-face, it is difficult to judge them and put them into a category. Everyday more people die from lack of simple necessities such as food and clean water, two things that most people take for granted. In books such as Common Wealth where the "curing" of poverty is contemplated, I feel that the people themselves are forgotten. In order to save them from poverty, we must first know who they are. We as Americans or any other nationality, throw our money at them and expect it to all get better. We must interact with them, teach them, respect them and help them through the process side-by-side, "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien... If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you" (Leviticus 23:22; 25:35).

As Christians Christ has asked us to help the poor and serve others. While we should continue to work in this area until His coming, does that mean that one day the world will be rid of extreme poverty? Unfortunately, I do not think so. Is it possible? Yes. But is it probable? No. We may be able to help our national and international neighbors and lower the number of those plagued by poverty, but to completely eliminate it is not a likelihood. There are not enough people or local resources to be able to overcome such a thing. It is also the case that many people living in poverty, no matter how many times they are dug out of it, will stay consistent in their habits and not be able to be taught how to live otherwise.

From an economic point of view we also see that the time, people, resources and money that are available are not enough to make any significant difference. In order to have more resources available people around the world would have to get a lot more generous.

Mean while, we should not sit back and give up knowing that we can't singlehandedly save the world. We must continue to put forth effort and do what we can as individuals to fulfill the mandate of service set to us by Jesus Christ.

Convergence: More than Money

2010-09-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

One of the articles I bookmarked discussed convergence in a broader scope than Sachs deals with in 'Common Wealth'. The study suggests that many developing countries borrow technologies and process that have been optimized by developed countries. These technologies do not necessarily fit into the culture and create discord. The discord can be solved in one of two ways, either the technology is changed, or the culture adapts to meet the demands of the technology. The study shows that by absorbing the technology of developed countries to achieve a better global economic position the culture of the developed country is also brought in. So rather than just the economic per capita income converging towards that of the developed country, the cultural values are also becoming that of the developed nations.

I wonder what the implications of convergence of both economics (i.e. per capital income, etc) and other facets of society will have as the convergence becomes more widespread. Much of the design and innovation is still done in the developed countries while the technology that comes out of this research makes it's way around the globe. Once enough countries reach a certain level of development, many of them will begin creating their own technologies. As their dependence for the innovative technology of the developed countries begins to wain they will begin competing globally on all new levels. This, I would think, will have a remarkable global impact. I would guess that developed countries will, in an attempt to stay 'on top', develop ways to keep the developing countries always under their influence as long as possible.

This bring me to what I think is the greatest hindrance to global cooperation in enacting global change, and that is the self-centered nature of human beings. People are always looking for ways to make their own lives 'better', even at the detriment to others. The first step towards creating change is to instill a sense of responsibility and care for things other than oneself. This can be difficult even for Christians who have the best example of this. Once people develop a genuine Christ-like attitude, changes will begin all over out of sheer good will and care for others and the planet. I do realize that this concept is nearly as much of a pie-in-the-sky as all the other 'grand plans for global change' are, but I believe that the environmental or change for global sustainment are only a very small part of the benefits that sharing Christ will bring. If only we had a global convergence in attitude towards that of Christ.

Urbanization: A Brief Reflection

2010-09-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting trends of the 21st century is the rapid urbanization taking place in all parts of the globe. We have all probably heard that more than 50% of earth's population live in cities as of now, and that percentage is expected to grow more rapidly now than it has over the past few centuries. Urbanization is caused by several factors, but is most significantly because of more opportunities in the urban areas, which are home to more than half of all economic value in any given nation. In addition to these factors, birth rates are higher than death rates in urban areas, mostly a result of better health care methods.

Some harsh details about urbanization include the fact that the slums of major third world cities are expanding as much as 11 times more than more suitable living spaces. Nairobi, for instance, has 300 arrivals from the countryside, and that figure is three years old now. In the slums, disease is certainly more rampant, and conditions may sometimes making eve having the bare necessities in life impossible. More "luxurious" amenities such as education, safety, employment, and social services are lacking in these slum areas. Unfortunately, as the urban poor increase in numbers, developmental relief agencies have not been following as quickly, remaining behind to help rural communities.

As mentioned before, birth rates are higher than death rates due to better health care methods. However, health conditions in the slums are horrendous and only getting worse. Lack of sanitation and access to fresh water only promotes these terrible conditions. In one city, Harare, Zimbabwe, 1,300 people share only 6 communal toilets. Other disadvantages, such as increased exposure to natural disasters and an increase in crime, only further the negative impact of urbanization.

I feel like urbanization is good because it represents a mass migration of people to the city to find more opportunity and will lead to greater stimulation of the economy as population increases, as well as more opportunities for formerly rural families that may have never experienced opportunities available to them in an urban context had they remained in rural living conditions. It is of deep concern, however, that many people, at least in third world countries, may face conditions like the ones listed above while pursuing these aspirations. I believe that adequate effort should be made to ensure proper living conditions and especially for a sustainable future for people.

The Urban Century Institute, an American effort that has implemented programs to develop green neighborhoods and SMART parks in cities like Chattanooga, has caught my attention because it is an effort being made that tries to make urbanization a purely positive fact of life and one that can be used for the advantage of urban centers. More efforts like these need to be made, especially in urban centers where slums exist.

Efforts like the one mentioned above only highlight the fact that urbanization is an important factor and trend in our world today. It should be embraced and supported in ways that will create a sustainable future for humanity. The provision of jobs, education, proper living conditions, and the provision of the necessities of life will be necessary for making urbanization a helpful trend, rather than a seriously harmful side effect of the population explosion.

September 13 Lecture Presentation

2010-09-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

September122010

View more presentations from Steve Davis.

The Wilderness experience - the two that treaded the road less traveled

2010-09-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.delicious.com/hsu912174

Steve Jobs, funder and CEO of Apple Inc., and Bill Gates, funder of Microsoft are perhaps the two most essential figures that gave rise to our digital age. Though being arch-rivals to each other, the two had a starkly similar past. Neither of them completed his bachelors degree, while both of them took on the Personal Computer industry at its rudimentary stage, and transformed it to become the industry that affects the human race vastly.

The two, on the other hand, are very different in one fundamental aspect. While Jobs is an artist, Gates is an engineer. Being a Mac user I like to think that Jobs shaped the computer industry with his vision, and Gates set his foothold by taking the bits of Jobs vision and spreading to the world. In a documentary of this history, Pirates of Silicon Valley, the actor who played Steve Wozniak, the co-funder of Apple, commented that Jobs has definitely been to weird places, and seen different things. In his commencement speech to the Stanford University graduation 2005, Jobs recounted briefly of that history. In the three stories he shared, he told the major events in his life. While the first story revolve largely about how Apple came to be (and briefly, his resentment to Gates and his gang), the second and third story resembles closely the points brought up in Ecclesiastes. Jobs funded Apple in early 80s, but at a certain point the visions in the company diverged, and he was fired from Apple by the board. To him, it was a traumatic time, in which he lost his bearing, and suddenly felt like being hit by a brick in the head. That event, however, made clear to him what is really important. The rest, as Qoholet insightfully wrote, are all vanity. He held to his his vision, accepting the world as it is, and proceeded to create NeXT and Pixar, with the former now core of Apple's technologies and the latter the most successful computer animation company in the world.

Gates, on the other hand, has not been known to have gone through that tribulation. However, an article "Bill Gates' eleven lesson to life addressed to High School students", attributed to him has been circulating for years. Though it was eventually confirmed as an urban legend, it is worth noting for its resemblance to the central message in the book of Ecclesiastes. Life is as such, and there's nothing new about it as long as it's under the sun. Get used to it.

The Price of Peace

2010-09-10T17:04:00.001-07:00

We live busy lives. As a young person growing up in modern America it is almost impossible to avoid the hustle and bustle that comes along with everyday life. Somewhere between school, work, relationships and recreation it is easy to get caught up in the world. However, when we take a step back from our busy lives and separate ourselves a little from society, it’s amazing what we can discover.

Matthew West, a Christian songwriter whose work I enjoy is one that has illustrated this process. For his upcoming album he decided to escape the world, and go to live in a cabin, alone, for a few months writing songs to the glory of God. He shares with us some of his experiences in a blog written during these months. One thing Matthew noted about his stay in the wilderness was how much easier it was to be close to God. He said that his life in the cabin was an “intensive, daily opportunity” for him to follow through with the longing for a closeness to God.

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge is a book that immediately came to mind when I thought about this topic. For those of you who haven’t read this book, you can classify it as one of those “finding yourself” books. John tells his readers about many of his wanderings in the wilderness, both literal and not. He says that his time in the wilderness was the time he felt closest to God, the times he felt most at peace. He even goes as far as to say that God communicates with us best through His creation. Both of these instances point out that the best way to live involves living through the simplicity of life. As Ecclesiastes suggests, there is nothing more to life that to live happily and enjoy our lives as long as we can (Ecclesiastes 3:12) If this means giving up the world so I can be at peace with my life and maybe even find a little meaning to it along it way; I’m all in.

-Phil Giddings

Examples of Ecclesiastes in the Lives of Two People

2010-09-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

For the first blog post, I decided to write about two individuals who realized they did not have God in their lives. They are George W. Bush and John Newton.

George W. Bush was a man who came from an influential family, was educated, was married and had children, etc. However, there was one thing that prevented him from having a life with more meaning--alcohol. Shortly after celebrating his fortieth birthday with alcohol (in 1986), he decided that his life needed to change. He vowed to give up drinking. He fulfilled his goal, and he gives God the credit. To make a long story short, his life improved. In 2000, he was elected President of the United States.

John Newton, who is famous for writing "Amazing Grace" among other hymns, also came to the realization that he needed God in his life. As a child, his mother taught him about God. However, she died while he was still young. His life was without God after he read Shaftesbury. He began to have a change of heart after reading Thomas a Kempis and facing a near-death experience while at sea. Once he was reconverted to Christianity, he became a part of the clergy and wrote hymns.

What I find interesting is that Bush and Newton experienced the success that brought fame after they established a connection with God.

References:

Hymnary.org. Newton, John. http://www.hymnary.org/person/Newton_J (retrieved Sept. 2010). This website drew John Jullian's entry in the "Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)" and Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.

Romano, Lois and George Lardner. Bush's Life-Changing Year (1999). Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm (retrieved Sept. 2010).

Written by BSica

What Goes Up Has a Very Good Chance of Coming Down

2010-09-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author discovers that the meaning of life isn’t hidden in success, money, lust, or anything material. He wrestles with his thoughts on what life’s all about. At some point in every human’s life, questions about life’s meaning are asked. Some may need to hit rock bottom to ask those questions and others may need to rise to the top. Through the smoke and fog of our lives, there’s a moment of clarity where a person can choose to change directions, search for something better, or choose not to change at all.

DJ Adam Goldstein (also known as DJ AM) struggled with drugs for most of his life. According to People Magazine, “a critical turning point in his life came in 1997, when Goldstein considered suicide. After a night of doing cocaine, Goldstein, 24 at the time, sat before a mirror and ‘could not move away from staring at myself,’ he said. He put a gun in his mouth and, sobbing, said, ‘God, please help me.’ The trigger jammed and Goldstein didn’t succeed in committing suicide; he vowed to never do drugs again. In the 11 years of sobriety that followed, DJ AM made it his personal mission to help those who shared his struggles with drugs. His MTV series, Gone Too Far, was his way of giving other addicts a ray of hope. Unfortunately, DJ AM didn’t stay on the figurative “mountain”; he died of an accidental drug overdose on August 28, 2009.

Mason Betha (aka Ma$e or Murda Mase), formerly a rapper on Bad Boy Records, also had a turning point in his life. As a rapper on Bad Boy Records, Ma$e led the typical hip-hop lifestyle with rappers like Notorious B.I.G and P. Diddy. However, in 1999 Betha renounced his lifestyle and decided to become a Christian pastor. He claimed that he needed to undo the damage that his secular music inflicted on the music industry. According to Betha, “Being a prophet is not much different than being a rapper. They're just serving a different master. In rap, you serve the devil and the money, and things are your god.” He wanted to reach the hip-hop audience to show them that, they too, could live a changed life. However, just like DJ AM, Mason Betha couldn’t stay away from his previous lifestyle for long. He came back to the “scene” with a new name (Murda Mase) and the same lifestyle as before. He didn’t stay on the “mountain” either.

We can search for meaning, we can change our surroundings, but we can’t change our human nature alone. Just like with DJ AM and Ma$e, our human nature will try its best to pull us back down to where we came from. Both DJ AM and Ma$e found that life’s meaning wasn’t in drugs, flashing lights, or gold chains. They tried to change and change others as well. Unfortunately, they didn’t stay changed. What we have to realize is that it is a choice to change, but it is also a choice to stay changed. Without God as the source of meaning, what goes up has a very good chance of coming down.

Matter Doesn't Matter

2010-09-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

Okay. Just so we're on the same page -- these are not stories about people who wandered in the wilderness and found meaning there. I found such tales difficult to come by, although this probably means I was looking in the wrong places. The content I did find, however, comes from two very different men, both of whom explore the themes of Ecclesiastes and come to similar conclusions as that book's author did.

Both of my tags are TED videos - find them at http://www.delicious.com/alaskagrown34.

The first video is by David Hoffman, a successful filmmaker whose talk is about losing everything in a house fire. As he speaks, the background plays a slide show of the destroyed items from his home - collector records, photographs, awards, sentimental letters from family - in essence, the things one man collected over a lifetime to surround himself with. It is reasonable to assume that these things brought him pleasure, either for aesthetic, sentimental, or career-related reasons. This is what we do, isn't it? We collect things. We collect things that make us happy; or at least we think they will bring happiness. For David Hoffman, it's clear that he isn't thrilled about the disaster that devastated his stuff. But he's surprisingly unemotional about it. His attitude is, "Bah, it's just stuff", and he is willing to move on without it. In fact, he plans to turn the disaster into a new project.

This parallels nicely with what Ecclesiastes' author seems to be saying every time he repeats the mantra, "everything is meaningless". Both men are pointing out that everything we work for, everything we collect, everything that we think lends meaning to our lives - is meaningless.

The second talk is given by Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the Karmapa of Tibetan Buddhism. Although his talk is less about his life story than I expected it might be, it probes some of the same themes that Ecclesiastes does. Indeed, the Karmapa is interested in "how we live in the world", just as the author of Ecclesiastes is. At the beginning of his speech, the religious leader tells how he was selected as a child to become the next Karmapa. He says, when they asked him, he "thought it would be fun and there would be more things to play with." Wait. Doesn't that sound just like Ecclesiastes? When he became king, the biblical writer thought he would find satisfaction in material pleasures - wealth, wine, women, etc. You kind of know what he's going to say next, right? Whenever someone begins a story with the sentence, "I thought it would be like this....", you expect the "but...." to come soon. For the Karmapa, the "but" was that being a highly revered religious leader was a lot more work than he had expected. Not quite what our Ecclesiastical writer had to say about life, but true nonetheless.

Later in his talk, the Karmapa spoke of the incident in which some precious Buddha idols were destroyed in Afghanistan by a Muslim group. Such an act would seemingly incite anger in a man who holds the Buddha in high esteem, but his answer was generous. He pointed out that the only thing that was really destroyed in the Buddha smashing incident was matter. The phrase he used was "deterioration of matter". Basically, he's just saying, it's just stuff! In essence, one could say that he is reiterating Ecclesiastes' idea that things are meaningless. It's just matter, and matter doesn't matter.

One more thing from the Karmapa's talk. Listen to this: "Whatever you're doing right now, sink into that." Sink into it. Sounds a little bit like Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might".

In the end, according to both David Hoffman and the Karmapa, what matters isn't stuff, it's people. To me, that sounds a lot like Ecclesiastes.

Experience Our Teacher

2010-09-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

It has been said that experience is the best teacher. Interestingly, it is often the experiences that we don’t choose that teach us the most, for they tend to change our perspective. Heinrich Harrer, a famous Austrian mountaineer, was changed by one such unwelcome experience. After being part of the first team to successfully summit the 25,000 Naga Parbat, Harrer was imprisoned in a British internment camp. He later escaped and walked across the Himalayas to get to Tibet, where he spent seven years. While he didn’t choose the experiences he had, they changed him. The film made from his book, Seven Years in Tibet, is a powerful portrayal of that change. In the beginning, he is arrogant, stubborn, and selfish, caring about little other than his own dreams and aspirations. But he is a different man at the end of the film because he has learned to value people.

In his book, he describes what he called “wasted years”, time he spent chasing too many things at once. Yet when he finally attained his selfish goals, he found himself dissatisfied, rather than fulfilled. Like the author of Ecclesiastes, he found that neither money nor fame could fill the emptiness that was inside him. It was only after being a prisoner that he could truly understand what it meant to be free. On arrival, Tibet was simply a new place to explore for Harrer, but when he left, it was a culture and a people with value that should be preserved.

Let’s shift gears now and see what we can learn from the experience of Bigwig, one of the main characters in Richard Adam’s Watership Down, which tells the story of the flight of a group of rabbits from their warren in response to a perceived danger and of their many adventures in their quest for a new home. An experienced officer of unusual size and strength, Bigwig has more than enough confidence to take on the world. He often achieves what he wants through bullying other rabbits, both physically and verbally. However, over the course of the journey, a change is gradually wrought in Bigwig. First of all, he learns that everyone is valuable, even the “weak”. Each rabbit in the group contributes something, be it leadership, speed, wit, prophecy, optimism, loyalty, or story-telling abilities, and they learn that they must stick together, pooling all these qualities in order to survive. After many experiences, he becomes a humble rabbit who cares for those who are worse off then him. He learns the importance of befriending the helpless, and the principle found in Eccl. 11:1-2 which says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again…” is demonstrated multiple times in the story. Bigwig goes from the mentality of “everyone for himself” to being willing to give his life in the effort to save the lives of the other rabbits.

The book of Ecclesiastes accounts the lessons learned by a certain teacher over the course of his life, most likely gathered from various experiences. Over the course of the teacher’s reflections, two counsels appear repeatedly: to live one’s live to the fullest, doing everything to one’s best ability (Eccl. 9:10) and to be content with what you have been given (Eccl. 2:24, 9:9). Interestingly, the rabbits in Watership Down seem to live by these two principles. They never do anything halfway, and they never complain to their god. They accept their lot in life and do the best with what they have. They do give their god credit for helping them, but never blamed him when the future looked hopeless.

Wilderness and Meaninglessness

2010-09-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

Of the many themes in the book of Ecclesiastes, the one that is most talked out is the theme of meaninglessness. I have questioned this theme because I am not sure I fully understand which direction this "meaninglessness" points to. The main idea is that life is meaningless--all is vanity. I have asked myself, "but is life really meaningless?" Doesn't it still matter to be a good person and live for God?

I found stories on two public figures who have found themselves living in the bowels of life's greatness. A Super Bowl champion, Thomas Henderson had high hopes of becoming an exceptional NFL player. Unfortunately, this dream was shattered after developing a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol. Henderson was also accused of sexual assault. The resulting consequences of his chosen life led to 28 months in jail. Another public figure, actor Tim Allen, had a problem with drugs and alcohol. He was arrested for drunk driving and also injured a senior citizen. Having his own father die from a drunk driver when he was a child, one would think he would not want to liken his actions to the reason for his father's death. Sadly, his life choices showed otherwise.

Fortunately, both Henderson and Allen realized the danger of their actions. Henderson has made a complete turnaround and has been sober for over 25 years. He has dedicated his life to being a motivational speaker and philanthropist. He also written a book about his life experiences. Allen has also made a difference in his life. He is sorry for his past and is grateful to have a forgiving family. After finding a new reason for living, he has restored his relationship with his daughter, claiming that this new relationship fills the gap left behind from his father's death.

From reading the experiences of these two people, you can see that life is not completely meaningless. Life is defined by what you choose to fill it with; tomorrow always gives hope for changing what you did today. I think if you live a wasted life without God, only then does it become meaningless. Maybe instead we should say the things--material things--in life are meaningless; but life in itself is very important. After all, it is all we have to make ourselves worthy for eternity.

Music From the Wilderness

2010-09-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, has significance purpose in the world today. It is packed with sayings and proverbs. It deals with the life of Solomon, specifically the mistakes that he made in his life. His search for worldly possessions and power and happiness in meaningless things brought him a lot of grief and a lot of trouble in his life. He would like us to not make the same mistakes that he made in his past also gives us insight of how to come over the trouble in his life. Hos story is very similar to Nebuchadnezzar who cared about power. God had to show also that all that he had was due to the grace and love of God and it meant nothing and that he would have nothing without God.

Donnie McClurkin is known for his countless songs that inspire and bring worship into the lives and homes of many people. His music has been played on secular radio programs and religious radio programs. His life today is not what it was years ago when he had to deal with many issues, such as rape, sexual abuse, leukemia, drug addiction and alcoholism. At the age of 8 he was being molested by male relatives. To suppress these things, it leads him into alcoholism and drugs. People also questioned his sexuality. This was an issue as he began to sing. It was through singing that he was able to find Jesus and lead a Christian life. An extraordinary thing about his signing is that his vocal chords only work when sings but sound horrible when speaking. He is a modern day example that many know of who struggled with drugs and homosexuality but now preaches the message of Christ.

Another example is Curtis James Jackson III. His struggles in life include drugs and violence but on the opposite end of where Donnie McClurkin struggled. Curtis, also known as 50 cent, a now A list celebrity, rapper, and actor is known for his days as a “gangsta”. His life included a lot of violence, stealing, and selling of drugs. His love of money and fame lead him through this life style. It wasn’t until years after he started rapping that he began to build some credibility in the rap world. He is most known for the life changing experience when he was shot 9 times in NY. Soon after his album, “Get rich or die trying”, he became more famous.

The similarities between these two stories are that Donnie’s issues came to him of no fault of his own. Only his decisions to suppress them are his at his consent. Curtis in the same way group in a society with not to many options and routs and the only way of life that made since was selling drugs, like his mother did. Both are artist that inspire the world today with their music. There are though obvious differences. It is in my opinion that Donnie’s music works for the glory of God while 50 cents music works against it. Both of their music teaches completely different messages. Also, 50 cent put himself in situations to run into trouble, he sold the drugs, and committed the crime and made the enemies that he made. I would only suggest to finding Jesus, like Donnie did but I would never suggest a path through drugs first and violence. They both tell their stories for two different reasons also. Curtis tells his story to show others that hard work and sacrifice through crime can pay off because he made it. Donnie tell his story to show others that the decisions made in our lives that we control and not control can ultimately be flipped when Christ is introduced into one’s life.

Music from the Wilderness

2010-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

File s attached

--
Jean W. Lemeau Jr.

Andrews University

Student-Undergrad

C (203) 273-7239

"Wilderness" Experiences

2010-09-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

For this weeks assignment I decided to focus on two examples from books that I have read in the past few years. One of them, called “The Richest Caveman,” tells the story of Doug Batchelor who lived in a cave and found Jesus. The second, called “Into the Wild,” describes the story of Christopher McCandless who trekked into the wilderness to find himself. I feel that both stories give incredible insight into what is truly important in life. In addition, I believe that both stories have remarkable similarities to some of the conclusions made in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Doug Batchelor and Christopher McCandless led similar lives. Both were born to affluent parents. Both attended some of the best schools. And both had a “wilderness” experience. To many people on the outside it probably seemed that they “had it all”. However, in the end one of the only differences that separated them was how they responded to their encounter with the elements.

Batchelor started out on his wilderness experience after a history of drugs and school suspensions. Because of his bleak circumstances he decided to go up into the mountains of California and get away from it all. However, his life took a dramatic turn when he found a small Bible while living in a cave. Over the course of many months and numerous hours of reading Batchelor began to feel a need for God in his life. Finally after much study and prayer he ended up being led by God to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Because of his “wilderness” experience Batchelor became a powerful preacher and speaker of Bible truths.

In contrast, Christopher McCandless started his “wilderness” journey not because of dire circumstances but instead due to a desire to find meaning in life. After graduating from college McCandless felt a desire to travel and see the country around him. He ended up traveling across the US spending the majority of his time on the west coast. During his travels he read many books about people who also struggled to find meaning in their lives. Because of these books and other experiences he decided to go to Alaska in order to have a true “wilderness” experience. Upon reaching his destination he decided to live off the land which he successfully did until a pot of seeds that he gathered ended up killing him. He went to find meaning for his life, yet unlike Batchelor he was never able to share with others what he found.

It is interesting to note the similarities of the lives of Batchelor and McCandless to the book of Ecclesiastes. In their teenage years both seemed to have everything. They had experienced the pleasures of the world: wealth, possessions, and knowledge. However, they were unhappy. I believe that they would have agreed with the writer of Ecclesiastes who after delving into the pleasures of the world exclaimed, “All is vanity”. They like the writer had to go on a journey to find meaning for their lives. However, only one of them found the answer he was looking for. Batchelor went looking for meaning and found God. The writer of Ecclesiastes also found that life was vanity and that it only contained meaning when God was the center of it. In contrast, McCandless also went to find meaning but he didn’t find God. Instead, he died in the wilderness. The examples of both Batchelor and McCandless is a striking comparison to Ecclesiastes because the writer at the end of the book concludes that life is only worth leaving if you “fear God and keep His commandments”.

Though the outcomes of the “wilderness” experiences of Batchelor and McCandless differ I believe that important lessons can be taken from both. Batchelor’s experience emphasizes the point that live is only worth living with God at the center of it. Not only this but also his encounter shows that people who seem to have everything in reality are missing much. Without God they are as Ecclesiastes puts it, “grasping for the wind”. This is an interesting dichotomy to me because as I have gone through life I have seen people with much and very little. Yet it strikes me that the people with little are generally more satisfied than those who appear to have everything. Although this is generalization I believe the reason for this phenomenon is that people with less seem to value the more important things in life such as God, family, and friends. Thus, I feel that the example of Batchelor should be emulated because his life is a testimony to what occurs when a person finds true meaning. In contrast, the life of McCandless didn’t appear to amount to much. He was just a young man who had contributed little to the world when he died. However, I feel that his example gives a clear picture of what can happen when we go to find meaning yet fail to realize were it truly comes from.

The examples of Batchelor, McCandless, and Ecclesiastes have helped refresh in my mind not only where true meaning comes from but also how to find it. Many times in the stresses of life I forget that much of what the world views as important is truly meaningless. However, I feel comforted to know that one mantra holds true: “Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all”.

A Lesson About Money

2010-09-10T07:55:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we have to pay a great price to learn a valuable life lesson. When it comes to money, the lesson could be very costly.

That certainly seems to be the case with formal NBA player David Vaughn, who once lived a life of many people’s dream. But after a few disappointing seasons he lost his passion for basketball, and everything went down the slope from that moment. After living in his car and streets for a year, Vaughn ended up in a hospital from multiple spider bites. Here is a quote from Vaughn in the article that I linked on Delicious.com:

“I went from the pinnacle of having it all, to the pits of having absolutely nothing, and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel,''

Like the author of Ecclesiastes, Vaughn had too many things for himself without knowing the purpose of having all. But when he lost everything, he learned a very valuable lesson: happiness doesn’t come with money.

Another good lesson about money could be learned from lottery winners who lost their fortune. Whenever I see a big sign that says $120 million, I’m tempted to buy (and I sometimes do) a lottery ticket even though I know how depressing the chances are. Just imagining myself being happy with the winning ticket in hand makes me happy, at least until the numbers are drawn. But, for many reasons, many lottery winners testify that the life after winning lottery is not as they dreamed it to be. Many people expect money to solve all of their problems but often, money itself brings more problems.

It is natural for us to envy and desire things that we don’t have. But we shouldn’t let envy to consume our lives because we will never be satisfied. Rich people have problems of their own, and if we can’t be happy with what we have now, we won’t be happy when we have more. The source of dissatisfaction and unhappiness is internal rather than external, and it cost a few million dollars for Vaughn and many lottery winners to learn this lesson. This rather seems counterintuitive because we have been told by the society from very early on in life that material goods make us happy. This argument is well structured because if we find ourselves becoming dissatisfied with something, the society tells us that what we have is not good enough. It will truly be a nightmare for big corporations if people suddenly become satisfied with their lives. But why is it difficult to be happy with what we have? I think we are not satisfied because we adapt to things very quickly and get bored easily. So we look for more things that stimulate us. And that stimulus has to be greater than the previous one otherwise, it won’t work. This stimulus that we get from material goods is quick and easy because it doesn’t require a long commitment or self-sacrifice like friendship does. But such feeling of satisfaction is short-lived and we go back our unhappy state.

Writing about money and happiness reminded me of a quote from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.”,

and another quote from Ecclesiastes,

“whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).

Money has become a god for many people. And dissatisfaction will continue as long as people believe money will bring salvation from our corrupted state. Real change of heart can only come when our faith in money is replaced by faith in Christ.

How Pain Found Peace

2010-09-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

There are two results for wanderers: to leave or to return. Wanderers choose to return to square one when they realize that their initial circumstance was the best to begin with. Others, like Dave Pelzer and Cheri Peters learn that they must leave their current position and find alternate sources of peace or freedom.

Dave Pelzer is a survivor of one of the worst cases of child abuse in California. As a young boy, Pelzer was starved, beaten, neglected, stabbed, and burnt by his alcoholic mother. At the age of twelve, upon going to school with a stab wound from his mother, the school nurse notified the police despite Pelzer's "explanations." Consequently, Pelzer lived in many foster homes and eventually joined the Air Force at 18. Alone and confused about the world, Pelzer wandered and struggled with the effects of his childhood until he eventually found peace by returning home to forgive his mother. He decided, like Qoheleth, to seek the things of true value in his life. To stop the vicious cycle of abuse, Pelzer forgave and began writing to help other abuse victims, authoring 7 books. He has become a best-selling author, was nominated for the Pulizter prize, and was awarded "Outstanding Person of the World" in 1994.

Cheri Peters has become famous among Christians for her radical conversion story-- her escape from drugs, gang involvement, sex, and abuse. Peters, a barroom/x-rated dancer (& much more), was, by the grace of God, "plucked" out of her immoral lifestyle by an old couple who chose to reach out and help. She had to finally learn to trust God and pull out the visible, human relationships and tangible, materialistic things that once was her foundation. She, like the author of Ecclesiastes finally realizes the vanity and meaninglessness of all the "pleasures" of the world. After first hand experience of the damage that pleasure-seeking causes, Peters, like Qoholeth, commits to live her life according to God's commandments. Ecclesiastes also suggests us to live "good" lives, to reach out and help as far as our abilities allow. In both of my references, it is eye-awakening to see how small, helping actions can produce life changing results in others. A school nurse reporting an abuse case or allowing a woman of questionable reputation to stay in your home--simple actions that transformed lives of the receiver. We must realize how much God can bless our efforts to give aid to those around us.

-Erica Evans

To Have Nothing Going For You and STILL Succeed

2010-09-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

For me, nothing astounds me more than a story of someone who came from nothing and made something of themselves. To have absolutely nothing going for you at all and still find a way to succeed. There is nothing I admire more. Two stories that I am particularly touched by are that of Michael Oher and Ruth McBride.

Michael Oher was a completely destitute teenager growing up in the wrong part of Memphis. With no prominent adult figures in his life, he basically lived on the streets by himself. All this at the age of 16! His father dead, and his mother addicted to drugs, there was no one in his life he could turn to for support or for basic emotional needs. So how did this young man who was destined for nothing, turn himself around and become an NFL starting left tackle? It was a combination of luck and talent. He somehow was accepted into a private high school which gave him a tremendous opportunity. This however was not enough. Although he was now in a prestigious high school he was still living on the street and was more or less illiterate. What really turned him around was the support of a local family in the area, the Tuohy's. They housed him, got his grades up, got him a position on the football team, and then pushed him to be the best he could be. With his new adopted family's help, he would eventually turn into the NFL star he has become.

The story of Ruth McBride is quite different. Her story is told by her award winning author and musician son, James McBride. It is truly a story of pure heart and will. Ruth McBride grew up in a Jewish family in Poland, eventually immigrating to the United States. Her father was a despicable person. He constantly sexually, physically, and emotionally abused Ruth and her mother. Eventually he would leave her mother for a fat widow who lived down the street. Because of the discrimination she was subjected to by the white people in her community she began to have close relationships with the black community. She would eventually marry two black men and have 12 children. Raising the family in the projects with very little resources was her biggest obstacle. For several years she would even have to raise them on her own after the death of both of her husbands. Even with all of these problems she faced, she put every single one of her kids through college and most even through graduate school. A mother anyone would be proud of.

These stories are both inspirational, but the reasons for their success are very different. In the case of Michael Oher, he was simply in the right place at the right time. Had he not been adopted by a wealthy family he would have most likely become a nobody. Yes his talent comes into play, but that would become irrelevant without the opportunity he was given. Ruth McBride was not your average inspiring story. She did not eventually become insanely rich or even well known. She simply lived her life the right way. She fought through her adversity and raised 12 children to become successful members of society. She clung to her faith and used will power to be successful. Just as Ecclesiastes speaks of being diligent in chapter 11, these two people were diligent in their own life. With diligence, few obstacles cannot be overcome. One thing both of these people have in common however, is that they are true success stories; showing that success can come in many different ways as long as one is diligent. In the end however, both Michael and Ruth took their success into their own hands, and that is the only way anyone can have a true success story.

Modern Day Ecclesiastes

2010-09-10T06:19:00.000-07:00

(Posted by Steve Davis on behalf of Doneva Walker)

Ecclesiastes; such a wonderful book of the Bible. To be honest whenever I read my Bible I always skip it…that along with Numbers. I’ve just recently read it in its entirety. Ecclesiastes seems like one big contradiction but once I realized that the author is just trying to make a point I relaxed. Then I said “wait a minute” because now it seems like the most depressing piece of writing I have ever read. By this point I’ve already read it from beginning to end and I’m angry that I wasted time that could have been used to procrastinate. But if you just look a little bit closer, the book of Ecclesiastes is a warning to which we must take heed.

The purpose of Ecclesiastes is to bring a person closer to God. With God in your life everything falls into place and everything begins to have meaning. There is no longer a need to find things to fill the gap because with God every purpose is fulfilled. Many people go searching for something to fill this void. Sometimes they end up doing good for others. Sometimes their plans for a sense of satisfaction crash and burn. At no time do they truly succeed if they do not stop searching in vain and start searching for God.

Immortalized, Christopher McCandless made such an impact on people’s lives that there are articles, a book, and a movie all about him and his journey. In 1990 McCandless donated $24,000 to a charity and embarked on various adventures such as hiking and backpacking. He prided himself in not carrying the necessary equipment needed for trips such as these. IN 1992 McCandless set out on his “Alaskan Odyssey” where he planned to live a life that was more spiritually enriched. With little knowledge of the Alaskan wilderness he died of starvation after 112 days.

Why then are people in awe of this man? Why do the laud him as a saint? “He gave so much” people say. Sure he gave money to charities and loved helping others but what good is it now that he’s dead?

The sentiments of Ecclesiastes can be found in many songs but they usually don’t have the hope that Ecclesiastes offers. Many songs are so depressing they cause you to stare at the wall thinking to yourself “Why?!?!” Linkin Park’s “song “In the End” describes the feeling of everything being futile. The lead singer screams “I've put my trust in you/Pushed as far as I can go/for all this…I tried so hard/and got so far/But in the end/It doesn’t even matter” The person in the song has put their heart and soul into everything they do but at the end of the day they conclude that nothing they did was worth it. The main problem was them trusting in someone other than God and expecting favorable results. It always comes back to making God the center of your life.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having God in your life. I’m not saying that all your troubles will disappear or that you will suddenly be perfect but through all the trials and adversity there is no question of your actions worth.

Finding the Fork in the Road of Life

2010-09-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

The contemporary Christian music group FFH is an example of examining one’s life and finding that it is not what is best. The very successful band composed of Jeromy and Jennifer Deibler and several others toured for ten years running until Jeromy and Jennifer decided that all the touring, concerts and fame was hurting them individually as well as their marriage. They decided it was time for a break and as soon as they had fulfilled their commitments for that touring season they moved to a small town in South Africa. Upon arriving they went through some radical changes, and a humbling process.

Upon returning from Africa they had no intent for reviving FFH, but after a series of events and the call of God, they began to produce music again. This time it was a lot different. Their touring schedule is a lot more relaxed. They have time to be a family, and use their concerts to share their story. Their music has a different message now that conveys their changed perspective on life.

As Ecclesiastes suggests, the Deibler’s found that being famous and having the world is not all it is often cut out to be. Living simply and real is far more rewarding if it is intentional and not trying to be something that is not real. Also as the Deibler’s found out, following the will of God can be a trying task, but in the end brings the best results.

The other story I found is that of Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. These two men were heading places with their professional baseball careers, but became wound up in alcoholism and drugs. With lots of money and material pleasures their inward desires were still not being met, so they progress on towards more ‘exciting’ pleasures such as cocaine and alcohol. They attempted to hide their problems from the league, but it showed, both in their performance, attitude and most definitively in urine testing. When suspended from the games or not allowed to play the problem would perpetuate as they drowned their sorrows in alcohol or blew them away with drugs. Though they went through rehab and some lifestyle changes to overcome their issues, for a while these efforts were half-hearted and fairly unsuccessful. The lives of these men whose careers started out with such promise, but have had a downward spiral ever since reminds me of the hopelessness that Ecclesiastes discusses. Both of these men have looked to the material for satisfaction, where Ecclesiastes definitely states it will not be found. It is only through looking to God and trusting in his promises that one will be satisfied. Other methods of finding happiness are all mirages and will never provide the satisfaction searched for.

-jf

Links:
http://ffh.net/bio/
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006263/1/index.htm

... a time to throw away

2010-09-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

We hear so many stories and personal testimonies of someone coming to their senses and turning their life around or someone finding their way out of turmoil and starting a new life. Some stories are dramatic, some are more subtle; we find that we can easily relate to some stories and others not so much. Overall, no matter how long, short, theatrical or dull a testimony may be, we still find ourselves coming back for more. We never seem to get tired of these stories that have been told to us so many times. Part of each and everyone of us holds on to that darkness portrayed in the stories and we cling to it, wanting our own life-changing, fairytale endings.

The author of Ecclesiastes is an example of someone was searching for such an ending. As far as he could tell everything under the sun, no matter how big or how small was "utterly meaningless"(Ecc 1:2). Two modern examples of this are found in two men from different sides of the world, John James and Nicky Cruz.

John James was much like the author of Ecclesiastes, he had it all. He was a co-founder and the lead singer of one of the fastest growing contemporary Christian bands in the world, the Newsboys. With sold-out concerts, performing in front of thousands every night, number one hits, photo shoots, sky-high record sales, screaming fans and money pouring in, John James had everything that he ever wanted, or so he thought. The fame began to set in and he soon developed an unquenchable thirst for more. In the beginning, no one noticed, they were a Christian band, so their main focus was spreading the gospel to others through music, how could you go wrong with that? As fame increased so did photo shoots, autographs and interviews causing John James' head to grow all that much larger only allowing more space for the devil to come in and take over. John started drinking, performing drunk, watching porn, didn't care about his wife and child and all the while thought that it was ok, because he had just won a grammy. His fellow band members asked him to step down from the band which accelerated his downward spiral deeper into drugs, alcohol and nothingness. It wasn't until he was at the point of suicide that he was able to accept the life changing power of Jesus back into his life once and for all. He understood that there is "a time to throw away" (Ecc. 3:6) and that's what he did. He threw away his old lifestyle and decided to "lean not on [his] own understanding" (Prov. 3:5) but that of Jesus Christ.

The second example is a man by the name of Nicky Cruz. Nicky Cruz was the son of two Puerto Rican witches. From the very beginning Nicky was witness to evil. He grew up in an abusive, love-less home where the only way to get attention was through acting out. After his move to New York City, Nicky was desperate for a 'real' family and for acceptance. He was able to find this sense of belonging among a street gang, The Mau-Maus. It didn't take long for the Mau-Maus to rise in power. With Nicky as their new leader, they were soon the most feared and most dangerous gang of New York City. This was life, this was what Nicky knew. His only life experiences had taught him violence and hatred. One brave young pastor told Nicky that God loved him. This resulted in a slap in the face and death threats. The pastor insisted and once again told Nicky of God's undying love. Again the results were negative, another slap in the face and a threat to chop up the pastor's body, but the preacher was insistent. Cruz decided to teach the preacher a lesson and decided to crash the evangelistic series that was going on. But upon their arrival at the evangelistic series the Holy Spirit began working and a short time later the many gang members, including Nicky, were converted. Nicky and his fellow gang members chose "to throw away" (Ecc. 3:6) the old and accept the new and to lean on Jesus Christ.

Both these men had control and power over their lives, but even when they were able to have everything that they wanted, nothing satisfied them until they fully surrendered to the transforming love of God.

these stories may not have happy endings...

2010-09-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1113383/index.htm

This is the story of current NBA star, Chris Andersen. Standing at 6'10'', he averages 6 rebounds and 6 points a game. Not impressive, but his ability to soar and dunk has deemed him the nickname "Birdman". Fans all flap their wings when he enters into the game, all excited to see him in action. His childhood was not one would consider normal; his parents were very neglectful, so he grew up in an orphanage. As he went into his teenage years he was heavily involved in drugs, and many times found himself lost. But he slowly rose out of the ashes as a star NBA player, currently playing for the Denver Nuggets. This did not mean, however, that all of his problems were left aside. In 2007, he was charged with drug usage and was suspended from the NBA. On top of that, his home in New Orleans was destroyed by Katrina. His drug problem lasted throughout the first part of his career. He eventually went into rehab and since then has been clean. "I'm back in charge of my life, brother" he says.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_Smith

This is a short biography of one of my favorite musicians, Elliott Smith. Smith, like many musicians, grew up in a tough home. He was sexually abused by his step-mother and neglected by both his real and step-parents. This led to an early history of drug use, starting at age 14. It was throughout his childhood that he was introduced to music, the one thing that made sense to him. He started off his musical career in a band called Heatmiser, and eventually left to pursue solo endeavors. His drug problem did not affect him until his later life. He released CDs such as Self-Titled, Roman Candle, and Either/Or which all received national attention. He was nominated for an Academy award for his song Miss Misery, and many times hit the top of the UK album charts. His angst-filled acoustic lullabies were a big hit. However, towards the end of his life, he started experiencing paranoia and more heavy drug and alcohol use. His life was a series of ups and downs, with hits songs acquiring him much attention in his middle ages, but then eventually died in the middle of one of his paranoic and angry spells. To this day no one knows if he was killed or committed suicide. This is and example of a life turned around, but not so much a happy ending...

-a

Bittersweet From Start to Finish

2010-09-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

      In the American culture, a person that has experimented and wandered away from what is right is considered "experienced" or "knowledgeable". However, these titles are only granted to those that wander and eventually return. There is no gold medal for knowing the truth and never veering from a righteous path, but the media is filled with stories of those that fell and triumphantly rose again. The examples I have to give are less triumphant than they are bittersweet. These people wandered and returned, but the struggle they endured and the life they lost during their wanderings serves as a warning for others.

     To me, the most obvious example of someone who had fallen from former glory and innocence in the public view was Britney Spears. I grew up listening to her music and slowly watched her transform from a girl into, what Rolling Stone called "raunchiness without coyness". She had everything--a promising career in the music and dance industry, money, beauty--but through several terrible choices she made regarding her personal life she jeopardized all of it. She was married and divorced within three days. She later remarried, had two children, divorced again, began struggling with drug abuse, and lost her parental rights because of her party habits. She spent several months in and out of rehab and psychiatric wards while the media had a field day destroying her name. By the time she had her personal life back in order, her career was considered a joke. She has pressed on and released several more albums with accompanying world tours, and for all intents and purposes has "risen from the ashes". However, it can be seen from her uncharacteristically quiet behavior recently that there is still more to work out, and ever still more scars to heal.

      It may seem cliche to refer to Bill Clinton as someone who has "wandered", but truth be told, he wandered once (and what's worse, he wandered publicly) and has never fully recovered from it. Bill Clinton's future was extremely bright when he went from being the Governor of Arkansas to the President of the United States. He instigated positive changes in the government, was heralded as a peacemaker, was re-elected for a second term as president, and then had an affair and destroyed the public's opinion of him. His affair was enough to prove displeasing to voters--what was far worse, however, was his continuous denial that it happened (until faced with incriminating evidence). He was the second president to be impeached (after Nixon) and later acquitted. After this stream of embarrassing events, Clinton has managed to stay in the public view without eliciting negative responses. His wife ran for the Democratic vote in the 2008 elections leaving Bill entirely out of the limelight. Recently, he has founded several philanthropic organizations and until 2007 was a special envoy for the U.N. aiding in disaster relief efforts. In the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake he was appointed as en envoy for Haiti by the U.N. to oversee reconstruction and aid efforts. Despite Clinton's recent achievements and progress, he will forever have a black mark on his name due to the affair he had while in office. Clinton has also "risen from the ashes", but he will never regain that credibility and political standing that was lost when he fell.
     Some things that are lost can never be regained. Especially when life is lived in the view of the public at every moment.

Book Review: "Common Wealth."

2010-09-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the NY Times' review of Jeffrey Sachs' "Common Wealth."

Radical Changes

2010-09-08T23:16:00.000-07:00

Change is inevitable; it will happen whether we consciously choose to change or it infiltrates us without knowing it. These changes can be small, like hair color or food preference, or they can have a bigger impact, like changing a major or moving to another country. While a change can be difficult, the choices leading up to the change are most challenging to make.

The Ghetto Preacher, aka Willy Ramos, was a member of a gang until he met Jesus. In the years that he spent with the gang, he saw people get beat up, shunned, even killed, all for the sake of a gang's honor. His life had become so barren that he stood one night with a loaded gun in his hand, ready to take his own life. That was a pivotal moment in his life where he decided to make a change. After that night, Willy began to study the Bible and got to know Jesus. Convinced that what he found was true, he left the gang (not without certain difficulties, such as being stabbed multiple times) and pursued a career in evangelism. Willy took a life that was in precarious circumstances and turned it around to the glorification of God and the advancement of the good word. I find it truly inspirational how someone can turn their life around so radically, going from a drug-taking, woman-chasing, gang member to a God-fearing and morally-driven man.

The second person that I chose to write about is Robert Downey, Jr. His struggle with a drug addiction is a well-documented story that circulated in the tabloids. Downey says that his problem started from the tender age of 8 when his own father, also an addict, gave him drugs. From that moment forward, it was a downhill slide into a world of getting a fix and surviving to the next one. Despite being caught repeatedly with drugs, being arrested, spending months in jail, and being sent to rehab, Downey continued on his downward spiral into oblivion. In 2001, Downey says that he had an epiphany where he realized that if he did not put effort into recovering, he never would. He said in an interview with Oprah that "It's not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems...what's hard is to decide to actually do it." After Downey finished his rehab, he worked his way to becoming an internationally acclaimed actor in the movie Iron Man.

These two men not only produced a change in their lives, but they were brave enough to make a conscious decision to bring about that change. These changes not only brought them out of the miserable life conditions they were living in, but allowed them to thrive in their environments and stand as role models for others around them.

180° Life Turns

2010-09-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone secretly struggles with something in their lives. For some, it may be an addiction to drugs, to others, perhaps a problem with controlling a hot temper. I will make myself vulnerable by saying this, but I often find myself hyping up a person's "180° life change" when it is someone with fame or wealth up on a fancy podium speaking to congregations of millions. I tagged a youtube clip that I was introduced to a while back for a Friday night's vesper. A small church had created what is now known as "cardboard testimonies," where individuals go up and reveal his/her secret struggle, and then later show what God has done for them on the opposite side of the cardboard. These people have had uncontrollable addictions, the dirtiest habits, and secrets that some would deem not appropriate for even testimonial times. It is so easy to dismiss these individuals and not truly appreciate and applaud their changed life, just because we don't know them or view them as unimpressive, compared to those who are in the spotlights in front of crowds. Some individual's life may change 40°, someone else's maybe 180°; regardless, who are we to overlook and focus on an elite few with dramatic life changes? It all boils down to realizing that lives are changing right around us. The individuals behind this clip could quite possibly be a man you see at the grocery store or the lady you pass by in the mall. Every life is a wondrous miracle and blessing; a life changed for the better, is simply the outward evidence of the miracle that was always within them.

The usual life changing story is of an individual being completely immersed in darkness, and then stepping out and remaining in the light for the rest of his/her life; however, Bernie Anderson's story was quite unique from the rest. Bernie Anderson was a full-time Seventh-Day Adventist pastor, husband, father, and mentor. What no one knew was that he was struggling with a deep addiction to pornography. Here was a man, living two lives, who tried to make light and darkness coincide. As I have yet to read the entire book, it is evident that by God's amazing grace and power, Pastor Anderson found the strength to break his bonds of addiction, and step forward with his testimony, trying to prevent others who may perhaps be struggling with the same issue. I love Bernie Anderson's story in that it is uniquely refreshing and encouraging. A 180° life change doesn't mean a person must be perfect from that point out. Bernie Anderson, a pastor, had a major slip-up; yet, he was still able to find peace and refuge in Christ. Some may think that Bernie had left God during those times of his life; however, I think God was right there next to him, and for him, when he was both struggling with his addiction and up on the pulpit. With God, there are no second-chances because he will always give you another try. All you have to do is believe and accept.

[ Kristin Chung ]

Materialism & Idealism

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Finally a place were self sustenance comes without a loan

How Then Shall I Live…

Class Is Cancelled Today

Living the Life

The Life You Shouldn't Live Without

Pleasantville

Spreading the good news.... for some

Cool Tactics, Not Scare Tactics

Do you want your children to be the last generation of human race on Earth?

Attracting People to My Community

Community within a community

Change That We Must Believe In

A Sustainable Community

the ideal community.

A Community of Change

Subliminal Coercion

You Know You Want To...

A "No Worries" Community

Change the World!

The Self-Advertising Community

For Sale: A Dictatorship

the american dream.

How YOU Doin'?

Blog Post for Friday, Nov 12th

More About The Project

Productive Work and the Accumulation of Wealth

So much for the invidious distinction

I Wanna Be A Billionaire So Frickin' Bad...

iSucceed

Success and Self-Worth

The Role of Public Success in Society

Displaying Wealth

I'm so paid

Success or nothing

True Success

Success vs. Success

Filling the Void

What Does Your Measuring Stick Look Like?

"Getting There"

Success that will Last

Less is More

Success for Dummies

Keeping Up With the Joneses

Succession Digression

Blog Post #3

First Midterm Exam

Please read for Monday Oct. 4

China's Urbanization and Aid to Developing Countries

The China problem

One Earth, Two Worlds

Should Americans be Concerned about Water?

sachs on water stress and conflict

The Poorest Billion: Why pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps doesn't work

Urbanization: Upside and Downside

The Asian Century

The Poverty Cycle

The Rise of China

The poorest billion

The Rich can stay rich, as for the poor.....

Africa's Poverty Trap: Future Plans, Millennium Goals, and What's Really Working

P O V E R T Y

How To Deal With People

America's Apathy

Impoverished

Convergence: More than Money

Urbanization: A Brief Reflection

September 13 Lecture Presentation

The Wilderness experience - the two that treaded the road less traveled

The Price of Peace

Examples of Ecclesiastes in the Lives of Two People

What Goes Up Has a Very Good Chance of Coming Down