Masochistic Perceptions, Trials and Truths

These are my cyberfied cerebral synapses ricocheting off reality as I perceive it: thoughts, opinions, passions, rants, art and poetry...

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

It Is Written…


I’ve been doing a lot of book talk with friends as of late, particularly pertaining to social prophesises. I’m amazed of how people will take vague Biblical translations and apply it to events in our world where we have in our common possession works of literature that seem far more exact and appropriate. I would attach a far more divine nature to Orwell’s 1984 or Huxley’s A Brave New World than I would to the Book of Revelations.

Perhaps what is most frightening is the display of faith demonstrated by people. This is the problem I have always had with religion in that simply “having faith” in those things I do not understand or that may not seem quite right to me just does not jive with the cynic that exists within my cognitive realm. Just as people give blind obedience and trust to religion, so too do they to their governments and media in Western nations. The hypothesis I have made based on years of education and social observation is that, here in the West, everything is set up to maintain the status quo. In doing so, people might grumble, but, overall, seem relatively content with their lot in life, dulling their senses with pop culture to the extent that they arrive at some form of inertia.

This inertia is both a physical and developmental/action embodiment. The physical inertia is certainly evident in the rise of obesity in both adults and children in Western nations.

The latter developmental/action inertia is evident in people’s unwillingness to think or take action on those things necessary. In Canada, we don’t act unless it’s choreographed first by the media or embarked upon by the Government. To quote Noam Chomsky: “States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions.” This imposition is largely absent from our world as can been seen clearly in our priorities. For example, how much do we spend on things like cable/satellite television, cell phones and other conveniences versus donations to organisations dedicated to fighting poverty, provide education and clean drinking water in the Third World, etc.?

Then there is our blindness to the impositions that these institutions are putting on us here in the West. Certainly look to novels like A Brave New World and how citizens took soma to escape psychological doldrums and tell me that we aren’t seeing this in our growing dependants on anti-depressants. I’m personally a victim of the drug Paxil which I was prescribed for anxiety causing insomnia. Now I continue with the medication because (a) the withdrawal process is horrendous and (b) when off the drug for three months I fall into a deep depression (and I never suffered from depression prior to this). Also, while on this medication, you are deprived from the highs and lows of a normal person. The result: total even keel = status quo.

Next, read 1984 and tell me that this has not come to be the standard of our present day society. Look at how everything is electronically marked – all your banking and personal information is tracked on a hard drive somewhere. Two way security devices in our homes. Security cameras on popular streets. News reports reflecting the proprietor’s perspective instead of objectivity (i.e. listen to the CBC and tell me that this is not the world according to the petit boogies Central Canadian high brow Art and Opera crowd). People are having their children and pets micro chipped so that they may be located at any time. Sure, this is a great effort in making our world safer, but it can also be utilised to darker ends. Read Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale for a picture of a society where “freedom from” supersedes the “freedom to”. It’s all there in literature, but to quote Karl Marx: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.”

Jean-Paul Sartre told us that “Man is condemned to be free”, and he was correct in saying so. Whether or not we exercise this freedom is really up to us (pardon the irony of saying so) – that is our freedom. Perhaps to go through life not making waves is simple enough and without the stress off many of the lies accepted by the masses. I certainly would begrudge someone for wanting to simply be with friends, chill and do the things that you like to do – fair play. But was not Jane Addams not correct in stating that “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life”?

Friday, August 25, 2006

Last Shift


I worked my last shift as a Correctional Officer at a men’s federal maximum security prison yesterday. Sitting in my vehicle out in the parking lot before driving away, my thoughts went back to the first time I pulled in to the parking lot of the Institution. It was early 2001 and I had been contracted as a substitute teacher for the inmates. I remember sitting there asking myself “what the hell are you doing” as I stared toward the double fences garnished in razor wire and flanked by towers. A few months afterward, I found myself swapping my pen and textbooks for the uniform of an Officer.

I am very troubled by the Canadian Criminal Justice System based on my years of service in the trenches, and even more disturbed by media portrayals of prison. On my first point, there is no justice – full stop. Ours is a system which empowers offenders and fails completely in both the mandates of protecting society and reintegrating Offenders into the community as law abiding citizens.

Regarding my latter point, and in defence of my former colleagues, the media has insulted some very wonderful and professional individuals by sensationalising a few bad apples. Just look at films like “The Longest Yard” where the audience cheers on the convicts over the Officers. Then there is how we glorify the “urban” voices of hip hop and the whole narcissistic culture of gangbanging, sex and greed. Correctional Officers walk through hell and an environment of human despair that is so strong that one would be hard pressed to hyperbolise it. In my near five years of being an Officer I had been through riots, assaulted, walked through water ankle deep with blood, urine and feces, had my life threatened on several occasions, twice had warning shots fired within feet of me, done a high risk takedown with a helicopter, seen countless severe beatings, and inmate murdered, a colleague taken hostage, inmates mutilating themselves with razorblades – all of this in addition to the daily tasks and stresses of running a secure environment inhabited by people with nothing left to lose. My point is, when you doff your cap to the peacekeepers in the Armed Forces, Firefighters and Police Officers (and rightfully so!), make certain you include Correctional Officers in your tribute.

And so I sat there in the parking lot yesterday, reflecting. In a large way, I feel like I’ve left part of me behind those fences, just as certain that I know that there are images and experiences that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and that have changed me beyond the shadow of a doubt. All my memories aren’t bad as there have been friendships and bonds forged through dire circumstances that will last a lifetime. Though part of me feels like I’m deserting my colleagues, I know that I was ready and happy to drive away.

Friday, August 11, 2006

The Plane Truth


As I watched the media coverage last night over the alleged plan to blow up several trans Atlantic flights, I could only shake my head. It is so sad to see things taken to such extremes, not to mention how naïve the attempts to prevent such attacks are.

The world is in a sad state. This is an understatement. Calling the recent events in Lebanon as a prime example, I see bombs tearing apart the lives of thousands of innocent people in an attempts to neutralise a handful of insurgence. Having traveled extensively and having lived in several foreign countries, I have observed a common denominator. The average citizen has a point of view, but, for the most part, is concerned with the rigours of day to day life, friends and family. Take our attitudes in the West as an example: If we are so committed to the war on terror, then why aren’t we joining the military in droves? We aren’t. We are concerned with paying our mortgages, car payments and lining up a group to watch Monday Night Football. Certainly if bombs were hitting our homes, we might approach the issue with a lot more fever. I would certainly scream for revenge if my family or circle of friends was brutalised or attacked. Guaranteed the Israeli bombings in Lebanon are creating a whole new crop of suicide bombers and people who despise Israel and the West.

Next there is our ignorance or naivety when it comes to plotting to stop the bombing of airplanes. So, we make people empty all their water bottles, perfume, toothpaste, hair gel, etc. and run people through metal scanners with their shoes off. Excellent. I have worked in a maximum security prison for going on five years and can tell you that people are far more resourceful. If I wanted to smuggle a liquid explosive onto a plane, there are several manners in which to conceal it. People planning to murder thousands wouldn’t think twice about concealing things in various body cavities – you’d be amazed to see what people can “hoop”. There’s babies diapers. A woman in a dress/skirt could easily strap bags of liquid the size of I.V. bags to their legs, breasts, waist, etc. The only thing close to working would be to fully strip search, x-ray and use sniffer dogs on passengers to successfully catch anything of this nature getting onto an airplane.

I don’t know what the answer is. Fundamentalism can not be reasoned with and confrontation only makes for a stronger resolve. Sadly, my hopes for peace are as likely to come true as my hopes that the media would ignore Paris Hilton. We are such dangerously silly beings.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Life Truly Is What You Make It


Reality is one’s perception of existence. Existence is the fabrication of nothingness into being. Nothing implies no-thing and, therefore, some-thing. Thus everything is an echo.

Self-help gurus, psychologists and teachers often dwell on the necessity of cultivating a positive and optimistic attitude. This is not often, especially under times of duress when becoming an eternal fatalist seems the much easier road. Still, we must train our minds just the same way as we train our bodies for sport. Attitude is truly everything.

Life is an echo that we take in and view through our mind’s lens. How we view these echoes relies in our general attitudes that we develop over life. De Bono uses a wonderful example of our problem solving mechanisms to be like a giant mound of jell-o. Pour hot water on the mound and it will etch channels much like water flowing over a land mass, eventually forming established routes, rivers and lakes. Water, always seeking the path of least resistance, will inevitably follow the established routes as more and more comes to pass, etching the gullies even deeper. Such is experience. As we learn behaviour and deal with things, we also establish the method in how we deal with them. This refines itself as we mature to a degree, but the origins of how we see the world and deal with things comes at a very early stage of our cognitive development.

I was drawn to Buddhism and the theories of Jung some years ago as they both encapsulated positive ways of viewing life. For example: death. Very few of us ever want to die as we are attached to life and relationships. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. We must all acknowledge death and the emotions losing a loved one can bring forth. However, we must also accept death as we are all of the nature to die and there is no avoiding it. Therefore, live a healthy, positive life and remember that death is simply another stage of life. Translated: don’t sweat the stuff you can not change.

Failure is often something we find hard to take as a positive. G.B. Shaw wrote that “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing”. Mistakes are our greatest teaching tool as it presents us with an anatomy of a situation with a working understanding. Truly refusing to try is the only real failure in life.

In conclusion, re-assess your attitude and remember that yours is only one perception in a mosaic of billions. View life through positive lenses, attempt to see all three sides of the coin, challenge your assumptions, learn from your mistakes, meditate and visualise success.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Harping on Personal Enrichment


In spite of a life of left leaning when it comes to politics, I must say that I have been impressed by some of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’spolicies for the people”. In the lead up to the last federal election, Harper bantered around the concept of making things like gym memberships tax deductible. More recently, it would appear that Harper’s government is moving toward allowing Canadian parents to claim $500 annually for sports registration fees for their children, though it is vague in terms of what will be covered (i.e. Soccer and Hockey = YES, Ballet, Martial Arts = ???). Personally, I’d like to see a “personal enrichment” tax credit that would allow people to claim up to $2000 per year for things like sports equipment, art supplies, courses of all sorts, etc.

Regardless of what develops, again, this initiative needs to be both commended and supported. I think that overall such policies would have so many benefits to the overall health and productivity of Canadians. I would love to take up rock climbing, for example, for myself, my wife and my daughter. We just couldn’t afford it. A family membership to a local rock climbing gym would cost $700 or so per year and that’s before equipment and instruction. Martial Arts for your child could run from $300/year at a non-profit club to $1000+ in other schools. If you are a runner, running shoes will cost you at least $100. If you run with any seriousness, you’re looking at 2-3 pairs of shoes per year. Gym memberships are $400-$1000 per year and that’s before any additional things like buying powder to make protein shakes! Have you looked at the price of Bikes these days? Acrylic paints, canvas’s and brushes? Irish dance classes? XC or downhill skis? Certainly many of these things can be bought used, but will still cost you a nice chunk of change. The fact is, with gas prices tripling over the past five years, electricity rates going up and additional life expenses and home maintenance, any break from the government would be a nice one.

So, whether you live in Canada or not, what I ask of you is this: Write your MP’s, Congressmen, etc. and lobby for a personal enrichment tax break (an Art allowance and Single Malt Scotch stipend are also excellent ideas too!). People need to be creative and play. Fun in life is what makes life fun. Pro-activity and passion is the key to healthy and happy societies (…and not religious fundamentalism!). And, most importantly of all, KILL YOUR TELEVISION!

Photo: Putting the passion of paddling in our daughter, Enya, as early as possible!