Article: Enlightened Self-Interest

Consider this: A small group of smart fanatics with a baker's dozen SA7 or Stinger missiles, bringing down airliners in an unpredictable, random pattern could bring the whole airline industry, and a great deal of businesses, to a screeching halt.
Or how about this: A tactical nuke going off in a US seaport would bring international commerce to a standstill...and it wouldn't even have to make it through customs, which admittedly would only give it a less than 1% chance of being detected anyway. Strategic oil reserves would dry up in a few short months without drastic, forced usage curtailments which could easily bring the economy to its knees. Not to mention what is probably the worst part: The confidence crisis, the psychological repercussions in the global marketplace.
There are literally hundreds of scenarios like this, and after having spent the entire 20th century perfecting instruments of death and arming ourselves to the teeth with them (and millions of Cold War proxy-warriors) , having one play out is really only a matter of the people with the will making the right deal with people who have the means.
I've long sense realized that the only solution to the mess we humans have made for ourselves is a clear and preeminent policy of enlightened self-interest that mitigates the hopelessness of poverty throughout the world that is the breeding ground for future militant mindsets. Ultimately, only compassion on an epic scale, embraced as the primary strategy of our world leaders, will bring this crisis to a point of realistic manageability.
Sadly, it would seem that we're too sophisticated these days to entertain such lofty, idealistic thoughts or we feel that "being nice" doesn't project the proper dominant image. (i.e. the "Don't Love Us, Fear Us" mentality)
Ever notice the rich maniac never does the actual suicide missions? Where does he find the fodder to do his bidding? Where do the Islamofacists recruit? How many hopeful optimists strap bombs to themselves? The fact is, those without hope will follow anyone who promises something better - right now only the well-financed radical Islamists are attending to the people.
The madrasas in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are the only opportunity for education for the average person in those countries. They are funded and run by Wahabist radicals. They choose the message their students learn. There is no counterbalance. No counter message. There is no evidence that the West gives a good goddamn about them.
Yes, there will always be a radical or two in the woodpile, but the question is: Will we allow them to have the hearts and minds of the masses by default?
What I find frustrating is how difficult it is to express this "strategy" to others without being immediately written off like a bleeding-heart, which begs the question: How did we get conditioned to the point where someone who suggests possible solutions that involve proactive compassion over reactive violence is dismissed as being weak, starry-eyed, hopelessly idealistic and therefore not worth listening to? To me the clear path to lasting peace is to start with peace wherever and whenever you can.
At the risk of sounding apologist, the fact is that we (the rich countries of the world) haven't even come close to committing ourselves to ending the crushing poverty, misery and senseless death that defines the daily lives of our brothers and sisters in the third world. We know this! And with modern technology, now "they" know this as well. Whereas they once lived in ignorance that there were those with the means to help that simply refused or lived in denial, now the "have-nots" are well aware of how the other half lives, and in this century, they will finally begin to demand their right simply to LIVE. Let me assure you, we steep ourselves in careless ignorance to the sufferings of our species at our own peril.
You can cast this as a complex type of extortion if you will, and it might be somewhat accurate, technically speaking. But it is important to realize that this is a simple fact of human nature that plays itself out over and over throughout history - whenever those that have either actively or passively deny those that have not from obtaining a basic level of equality, an inherently unstable environment evolves and inevitably ends in open revolt. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Now, a just and equitable world may seem far fetched - its not. The statistics on those living in poverty have become progressively better over the last half-century. Keep in mind, true "equality", in a quasi-Marxist sense is not the goal here - simply an equality of opportunity and "justice for all" as the old line goes. And statistically speaking, we truly are headed in the right direction.
I would simply argue that the pace is just not fast enough. Our lack of sincere engagement with the developing world has left millions of minds open to the influence of those who would see us utterly destroyed. We must work swiftly to counter the decades of neglect and indoctrination. But most importantly, it is time for our generation to make our great contribution to mankind. We must demonstrate to the world our generosity and sincerity by unleashing our unparalleled economic and intellectual resources on a desperate world and make an undeniable, rapid improvement to the human condition. We can, and we must.
We must, because we are the only ones who can.

Article: Cynicism, Our Social Crisis

Its hard to not be cynical in this day and age. Every genuine and sincere expression has been co-opted and stolen by a voracious marketing machine - turned around on us, used against us- preying on our need to belong in order to sell us things that we don’t need. Every message aimed at us reinforces that concept – that we must be good consumers. Did you ever notice how we're no longer referred to as ‘citizens’ but as ‘consumers’? We have been instructed since birth to buy. Raised on television, each of us is subjected to tens of thousands of hours, billions of dollars of advertising throughout our formative years. We live in a world where skepticism has become a survival instinct and cynicism a celebrated virtue.
In Decline?
We no longer discuss the great philosophical works, rather we have been relegated to quoting pop-culture references. Those of us who profess to be mentally ‘free’ revel in ridiculous conspiracy theories that extinguish honest, thoughtful debate and further dilute our legitimacy and relevance. Our attention is diverted from the serious issues of our time to trifles and trivia. And we spend a great deal of our time in search of the next diversion. Karl Marx in the 19th century said that religion was the ‘opiate of the masses’. I would say that religion has been supplanted. Sports and entertainment have become the new opiate. Our entertainments include dramatizations of the last generation’s attempt at obtaining a sense of purpose as cynically re-framed accounts of well-meaning but naïve baby-boomers that ultimately sold out and became the core of the 80’s ‘Me generation’. The message: “Idealism is childish. Grow up and get a job…(and buy stuff).”
Unfortunately, this sense of "realism" often serve to undermine our natural desires to rise above the frailties of our heritage, turning our natural skepticism against us – making us cynical toward our own altruistic impulses. As a result we often betray our own inner voices. This should be no surprise as we have been trained since youth to ignore them; to focus our attentions on material accumulation with the promise that somehow this will satisfy that emptiness we feel in our hearts. Think about it, we are the generation that has indulged itself to the point of having redefined the term, yet we are certainly not any more empirically ‘happier’ than any generation before us. In fact, pharmaceutical sales statistics would indicate that we're more nervous, less secure and much more fearful than ever before. Would it not be reasonable to consider that we have let ourselves be deceived? That we have been diverted from the reality of what the true human condition?
“…to defend the ‘American Way of Life’.”
Consider this: Ask yourself what is the definition of the ‘American Dream’? Think about it for a while. What was the first thing that came into your thoughts? A list of stuff, right? Houses, white picket fences, new cars, etc, etc... These are just things. They’re not the foundations of America’s virtues. They’re just things. Deep down we know this is true, yet we have hundreds of billions of dollars worth of advertising that we’ve been exposed to throughout our lives to disrupt this intuition.
The ‘American Way of Life’ has nothing to do with shopping…has nothing to do with possessions. This country was founded on the concept of free will for human beings. Our traditional values have nothing to do with material goods, comfort or even safety. These are concepts that have been sold to us. America’s historical heroes chose not material possessions, comfort and safety. In most cases they chose the antithesis of those things. Our heroes followed their impulses toward freedom, adventure and passion.
Our generation suffers from a pandemic of cynicism that threatens to paralyzed our aspirations of a better world. We have grown up witnessing our political process exploited by corporate interest. We have been made to distrust our natural instincts – to discount them as clichés. We’ve witnessed everything genuine, everything original and pure that resonates with us, be twisted and devaluated into a sales pitch. The half-life of a truly inspirational, original thought or idea has becoming haltingly short - hunted down, captured and enslaved in the latest clever ad campaign. True, creative expression is an endangered species. In many cases, our humanity itself has been corrupted - our emotions manipulated to traumatize us into compliance. One has only to turn on the evening news for a quick lesson in fear-based economics.
Is it any wonder its so hard to believe in anything when everything worthy of believing in has eventually been used to sell us more things we do not need?
Consent of the Governed
The real tragedy is how this "educated" cynicism works against us. For instance, we don’t vote anymore because we all ‘know’ that politics is a game for the very rich and powerful. We have been taught to take that fact for granted. It has apparently worked! Voter turnout rates in ‘Generation X’ are eclipsed in their utter dismalness only by those of ‘Generation Y’. We no longer have thoughtful, healthy discussions about the issues that affect our daily lives…they have been replaced with conspiracy theories and cynical rhetoric – the devices of the powerless. We have taught ourselves to give up on the idea of assuming what was (and still is) our birthright – self-determination; electing leadership that represents the desires of the people.
Perhaps all of this was simply an unintentional, yet ill-fated side-effect of the free-market, industrial economy unleashed on an unsuspecting, previously-agrarian society. And to attempt to blame our own personal attitudes and collective behaviors on the deliberate machinations of a secretive, elite and malevolent ruling class is useless and unhealthy as it serves only to further disempower us - to relegate us all to the role of mere sheep or worse, informed but complacent sheep.(tbc)...

Article: The Pentagon's New Map

Many of my friends and family members have asked me just what has happened to me that I would essentially quit (or at least put on long-term hold) a successful, nine-year career in software to enlist in the Army Reserve, even forgoing an officer's commission for an enlistment as a Civil Affairs specialist, and all at the age of 32. Inside jokes about the software development industry being so banal as to make getting shot at seem like a pleasant respite aside, the true answer was obviously pretty complex. In fact, I started this website in order to structure the myriad of sociological, cultural, spiritual and psychological thought processes into a cogent vision that others might find useful.
However, I have recently discovered, read and re-read a truly amazing new book by Thomas P. M. Barnett a former professor at Harvard now at the U.S. Naval War College and former Director of the New Rule Sets Project at the Pentagon. I'm thrilled to say that I now have my shorthand answer: Read this book!
I joined the Army, and more specifically, I joined as a Civil Affairs specialist, because I share Mr. Barnett's vision and believe that is exactly what must and will happen. The raison d'tere of the United States Military is domestic security and in our age this increasingly implies global security by extension. I won't attempt to summarize Mr. Barnett's entire thesis here as I would encourage you to read his own summation in the link provided (and then the book), but in essence he sees the rising global discord a result of disconnectedness and the desire of some minority interests (read: terrorists) to maintain a cultural apartheid between the functioning, modern and economically integrated "Core" and an increasingly desperate and disconnected "Gap". The existence of this sociological dichotomy has given rise to the need for two separate and distinct "Rule Sets" to govern security operations within each. While the functioning "Core" becomes increasingly reliant on legislative remedies to settle disputes among its members, the "Gap" will require an radically new invasive, yet profoundly more humane approach that will required two very different roles to be assumed by our men and women in uniform. The first he calls the "Leviathan" is the more traditional military fighting force will provide for a secure operational environment, while the other, referred to often as the "System Administrator" will take on the task of building the infrastructure and economic and political stability necessary to attract foreign investment and thereby bring connectivity to otherwise non-communicative peoples and nations.
My intuition leads me to believe that Civil Affairs and the rest of the United States Army Special Operation Command will be the chip off the block that will ultimately fulfill the System Administrator role that, with the occasional assistance of the more traditional force-projection military will finally harness the immense potential of this country to change the world for the better - permanently.
It is critical that we begin to understand the importance of preventative, pro-active use of our military power to implement a more enlightened, long-term national interest. More specifically, a semi-demilitarized branch of the military whose mandate is a generations-long series of "soft-interventions" to rehabilitate at-risk states before they fail will be instrumental in order to prevent future enemies from ever becoming thus by enhancing connectivity - both cultural and economic.
The most important aspect of this initiative will be to reinstate a collective sense of purpose to America - to re-invigorate us all with a new vision of true equality of opportunity for all mankind. I ask you to imagine an America where those who aspire to help there fellow humans build a better world have an outlet with the fiscal capacity of the U.S. military to avail themselves of. Imagine if they were extended the same prestige and importance as given to those that choose the more traditional military roles, receiving the same life-long VA benefits, have songs written about their courage and integrity and have recruiters spending the DoD’s advertising dollars to find the best and brightest to join them.
Many Americans like myself have suffered from a crisis of cynicism and guilt. We don’t see the “American Way of Life” in its conventional definition so much as a blessing, but as a blessing squandered in an exceptionalist, isolationist mindset that is mostly indifferent to the suffering of the outside world. Those of us who haven’t drowned out the voice of empathy in our heads with self-indulgent thoughts of incessant material gratification and personal status are painfully aware of how blessed we are, and of the responsibilities those blessings entail. We know that love and hope are universal human qualities that have no borders or nationality. It is my hope that we, the privileged sons and daughters of the West have begun to awaken from the old American Dream defined by its material comforts, its fears and insecurities and are rediscovering the pioneering spirit that made this country great. We will blaze trails in the new frontier of the human heart. We can and we will bear a light of hope that will indeed someday bring peace and hope to all peoples of the world.
I hope to see a day where my children seek a new definition of success in their lives that is measured in how many others they have positively affected.Perhaps you find these thoughts challenging; even frightening. Perhaps you think I’m wrong and its possible, I may be wrong. But I for one am betting the rest of my days that I’m right because if I’m not, I'm not sure I'd want to be here anymore anyway. And if you’re betting against people like me, it might be a revealing exercise to ask yourself why.

Article: Catharsis or Persuasion? Thoughts on Effective Writing

I do a lot of reading and contributing to various blogs in the blogosphere. Through those various reads and discussions I've made a few observations about the tendencies of professional and novice writers alike to appeal to the point of view of an already-receptive audience and spend little time addressing the counter-argument's often valid, or at least persuasive points. To have an argument, there must be at least two sides and each side, one would expect, would feel equally strong in the validity of their position. What I find that tends to happen is that rather than attempting to persuade, many writers tend to engage in hyperbole and ad homonym screeds targeted only to a preexisting, sympathetic audience. The obvious question is: "What good does that do?"
The whole point of discourse is to share differing thoughts and opinions, attempt to persuade with a progression of logic and appeal to the other's intellect. Its the difference between a dialogue and a middle-school pep-rally. If one truly feels he is engaging with idiots, then it would seem the only intelligent move is disengagement lest your time be wasted. If you honestly believe that your position is so far superior to the opposition's then it should be a very simple matter to convince them of their folly. But that is rarely the case is it? The fact is that even self-described intellectuals these days can't help but demonize and belittle their detractors in long-winded screeds and diatribes that do little if any actual persuading.
Most of the stuff I read these days seems more like catharsis than rhetoric. And that is unfortunate, because it surrenders perhaps the most effective weapon in a writers arsenal. Conceding the legitimate points of one’s dissenters not only allows the writer to address flaws in their logic, but the acknowledgement of differing opinions is an effective means of demonstrating the thoroughness of the writer’s own thought processes. When writing a persuasive piece, there is no opportunity for questions posed by the reader to be addressed. The writer’s objective is best served anticipating the more learned queries that might be posed by a prospective reader and addressing them within the text. Obviously, not every question can be properly answered, but the more pivotal points can be reinforced substantially by this rhetorical method.What is fascinating is the conspicuous lack of use of these devices in current methods of mass-persuasion, such as the newspaper op-eds and the pernicious diatribes of the perennial punditry. There appears to be a general unwillingness to acknowledge the validity of the counter-argument, possibly stemming from a baseless fear of detracting from the writer/speaker’s own point. However, used properly, it should impress upon the audience the depth of consideration employed in the message they are interpreting. Furthermore, since the purpose of writing/speaking is ostensibly to persuade, and one cannot persuade without being heard, this tactic can be tremendously effective in communicating a message of understanding and respect for the opposing viewpoint. In other words, it can also be a useful tool to reach out to the minds of the opposition and acknowledge their validity and relevance. A gesture of understanding that each side simply desires the best possible outcome, but that you respectfully feel your approach to be more sound. Its not just simply civil, but extremely effective.

The Story So Far Pt. 2

For the past two years or so I’ve been going through an interesting personal transformation. Up until that point I was still fully vested in the life that I had envisioned for myself since early adulthood, or perhaps its more accurate to call it the life that I thought everyone expected me to live. And although there have been moments of mild anxiety, self-doubt and disillusion, its thus far been an overwhelmingly peaceful and cogent progression. I’ve come to the realization that I have been on a sort of auto-pilot my entire adult life - entrenched in the everyday fears and concerns of modern, middle-America. All this time I had been basing my sense of self-worth and personal accomplishment according to our society's misguided definition of success and not my own.
The problem with conformity is inertial in nature. Our incremental gains bring with them the comforts that provide a sense of stability. Its so easy to succumb to the Siren's song of the myriad of modern luxuries available for zero down and no payments 'til next year. And with every acquisition, every vacation there comes the promise of another even better - a planned obsolescence of our possessions and experience keep us yearning toward the promise of perfection just over the horizon.
This by itself is a spiritually bankrupt existence and most of us are able to acknowledge this on some intellectual level. However, the pervasive messages from advertisements and entertainment reinforce that promise of salvation-through-consumption and shift our reference groups (those we compare ourselves to) in unhealthy, unrealistic directions. Its not about keeping up with the Joneses anymore. Now we're to keep up with the parade of celebrities and the obscenely rich that are showcased to us nightly in our living rooms.
Is it realistic to believe we could ever actually reach "enough" given the existing value structure? Unlike some, I don't attribute a sinister intent behind these cultural phenomena, regardless however, the end result is a sad, fearful and ultimately destructive pandemic of self-obsession and self-loathing. We are creating a world of squandered potential. We face a Progress Paradox in the West: A time of unprecedented affluence, and equally unprecedented unhappiness. All-the-while our real reference group, the average human being, is still predominately concerned with his baseline survival needs. Understanding and internalizing that simple fact, and thereby putting our own life situation in the proper context is the essential first step in our own personal awakening.
There are those of us who do reach a point where we feel an impulse of self-actualization, but then convince themselves it has come "too late". It seems that at some point we tend to shift our hopes and dreams of a meaningful existence for ourselves to our children, in a cyclical, inter-generational cop-out in which we resign to our own ennui, convinced our progeny will make the breakthrough that we could dare not, as long as we work hard to provide them with all of the "things" we didn't have. The truth, I believe is not a matter of what advantages we provide our children with, but the roles we model for them and the values that we instill.
It is these thoughts that have allowed me to move beyond the roles and definitions that have governed and guided me for most of my life, and into the uncharted territory of my own, less restricted existence. It is my hope that by sharing these thoughts, it will resonate with others and that together we can work towards re-instilling a sense of purpose into ourselves, our families and our culture at large. Our society provides for us many things, but it lacks one critical component: A collective direction.I chose the name "fortunate son" for my website because it expresses the pervasive thought in my mind: That I am truly a fortunate son of the world, and with that understanding comes an implicit acknowledgement of the responsibilities I [we] have to work and to fight to secure a hopeful future for all members of mankind. For in the end, we will all either succeed or suffer together.

The Story So Far (Pt. 1)

If we are truly fortunate. If we are among the truly blessed, we will reach a point in our lives where we are happy. Genuinely happy. Not rich. Not famous. Happy.
Growing up in a lower-middle class home in America in the age of television, I learned the same definition of the American Dream that most of us do – to exceed your parents’ means, to accumulate wealth and possessions, and through this become a ‘success’. As could be expected, I spent the first 30 years of my life living that version of the American Dream.
Around the time I turned 18, the Berlin wall came down and the enemy I had known all my life, and that my father had known all his life, had conceded defeat and, overnight, was now a friend – in need. The Cold War was over. Now we could finally get to the task of spreading our evangelical message of a better life through democracy and free-market commerce to the whole world! Of course there was so much work left to be done. Of course there were billions left in the world who had yet an opportunity to enjoy the prosperity of the free world, but it was a new day! America had been reborn – unencumbered by the diversions of a bipolar power balance – reaffirmed in the desert sands of Kuwait as the undisputed, singular superpower.
Technological innovations ushered in a new, economic golden age. Trade liberalization promised jobs for the Third World and cheaper products here at home. It seemed just about everyone was upwardly mobile and e-commerce had created this century’s gold rush. The government was promising a ‘peace dividend’ and we all basked in the promise of a better tomorrow for everyone.
When I graduated from college, I was 23 years old. I had many job offers and took the highest paying one because that’s what its all about, not to mention I had to pay back $20,000 in student loans. I went to work in the booming tech industry – will train, no experience required – and thus started a promising career in software development. I traveled the world, my salary kept going up. I met the girl of my dreams, got married, bought a house, got a dog and sat back to enjoy my status as an American ‘success’.For the first six years of my professional life I lived in relative contentment with only a subtle yet ever-present nagging just below the surface…(tbc)

One Decisive Moment

The unprecedented speed and ubiquity of technology has brought about a convergence of ideologies and cultures that would have been unimaginable just a generation ago. As we herald this dawning of the ‘Information Age’, we wrestle with the nagging thought that we may have been caught unprepared for so much communication so soon in our social evolution.
What we are experiencing are the growing pains of a species in transcendence of itself. For only the last ten years, satellite television and the internet have provided for a real-time global conversation. The world is starting to understand itself better day-by-day. This new understanding is profound, wonderful and at the same time extremely volatile. As we are learning to see each other as brothers and sisters, we are forced to find common ground amongst our most fundamental differences. No longer do we enjoy the insular comfort and ignorance of distance. The other side of the world is just a millisecond away and we have the ability to destroy it, and ourselves completely.
We are each in our own way coming to terms with this ‘Brave New World’. Some embrace it wholeheartedly with courage and faith in humanity, others live in mortal fear of what it might mean to the only way of life they have ever known and instead chose to live their lives between diversions and within the confines of a voluntary ignorance.

The human race has reached a critical focal point and regardless of whether we are prepared for it, the moment has come...