Thursday, December 23, 2010
Interested In An Internship?
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.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Finally a place were self sustenance comes without a loan
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
How Then Shall I Live…
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.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Class Is Cancelled Today
We'll plan on making the project presentations more like 2-3 minutes each, so plan accordingly.
Please pass the word. Thanks!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Living the Life
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The Life You Shouldn't Live Without
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
Friday, November 12, 2010
Pleasantville
Spreading the good news.... for some
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
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?
Attracting People to My Community
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
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.
Barack Obama
Change That We Must Believe In
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
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.
the 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
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
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...
Thursday, November 11, 2010
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
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!
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
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.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
For Sale: A Dictatorship
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.
the american dream.
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
Monday, November 8, 2010
How YOU Doin'?
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
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?
Sunday, November 7, 2010
More About The Project
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.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Productive Work and the Accumulation of Wealth
Friday, October 29, 2010
So much for the invidious distinction
I Wanna Be A Billionaire So Frickin' Bad...
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
Success and Self-Worth
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.
The Role of Public Success in Society
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
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.