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The Tale of Two Americas

January 24, 2017 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

The American two-party political system has been the impetus for societal division for as long as I can remember.

Nevertheless, despite that fact, we’ve somehow managed to get along pretty well…

until now.

What happened?

In a word…well, two…Donald Trump.

We’ve now entered into a world in which two very distinct Americas exist. There has never been a time, at least not during my lifetime, when the tale of two Americas has been more pronounced, exaggerated and dangerous.

America is at war, ideologically.

The tale of two Americas has the battle camps divided along the lines of the exclusionary and the inclusionary.

You have the forces of Trump, the exclusionary ones. They are the America First’ers. They eschew diversity and embrace homogeneity. They want everyone to march to the lockstep of nativism. Their idea is that only the true-blood Americans, those born and bred, or legalized, on American soil, deserve to take part in its great dream.

But it goes even deeper. They want you to embrace capitalism run amok, fear all “outsiders”, and place god and country above science and common sense. Only those willing to accept that creed are worthy of being considered part of their team.

It’s not so much about what color you are on the outside as your color on the inside…and that sure as hell better be red, white and blue!

On the other side of the battle line are arrayed the inclusionary forces of the progressive mindset. They’re a younger crowd. They fear for their future. They accept wild-eyed ideas like science and secularism. They believe that government should work for all people, not just people who hate government.

They’re considered by the exclusionary forces to be grossly immoral and lacking in any traceable levels of intelligence.

The inclusionary forces adopt a different attitude about faith and spirituality. They view those concepts as highly personal concerns that should never, ever, exert an iota of influence over civic matters. This is an area where the exclusionary and inclusionary dramatically experience a parting of ways.

The exclusionary yearn for theocracy. The inclusionary clamor for secularism and humanism as the guiding forces of a government that is of, by and for people and planet.

It appears that “war” is inevitable. The exclusionary forces have the upper hand in that regard for they’re far more warlike. They are more than willing to force their ideology on those who oppose it with the slap of a bible, or at the point of a bayonet, or gun.

The picture I’ve painted above is hopefully only a metaphorical one. I don’t want to see American society torn asunder. Who wants that?

Do you?

But unfortunately, the tale of two Americas points to that as the direction we seem to be headed in.

And Donald J. Trump appears more than willing to lead us all directly over and into that abyss.

God help us all.

Wealth Inequality Run Amok

January 18, 2017 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I recently read with horror the 2017 wealth inequality run amok review by Oxfam, entitled, An Economy for the 99%.

Oxfam is an organization that fights against world-wide poverty. They are the ones that Christoper McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) donated his Harvard tuition to before he set out for the wilds of Alaska in the incredible movie (and true story), Into the Wild.

The most salient fact in the report is that 8 of the world’s richest human beings now own as much wealth as the poorest 50% of all humans. That’s right…8 own as much wealth as 3.5+ billion.

That’s not the 1%, that’s the .00000023%.

That degree of wealth concentration has increased greatly over just the last few years. The last time Oxfam reported the figure it was 62 of the richest owned more than 1/2. So, it’s evident that wealth inequality is rising rapidly and exponentially in similar fashion to global warming. Together these are the twin threats that might just do us in once and for all as a species.

I read an interesting article on Vox (Ezra Klein’s blog) this morning written by an entrepreneur, who, despite the fact that he had done well, refused to take full credit for it. In fact, far from it. He attributed his well-doing primarily to privilege (and luck). It was refreshing to read about someone admitting as much, as opposed to grandiose boasting about bootstrapping his way to success.

The fact is that our entire economy is largely based on a privileged class of capital-hoarders-cum-job-creators who exploit the less fortunate and thereby amass increasing levels of concentrated wealth and power that pass from privileged generation to privileged generation. That’s our “American” neoliberal-infused style of capitalism run amok folks.

And we just elected the poster man-child of this f’ed up system as president of the United States!

I was watching one of those CNN “town-halls” the other day where they had good-ole Bernie Sanders answering questions from the crowd. This Trump supporter stood up and lofted what he thought was a doosey at Bernie. You see, he was a “small business owner” who hated regulations. So he asked Bernie, what about that?…what about guys like him drowning in the regulatory tsunami? Bernie asked him very plainly what particular regulations he was referring to.

Most of the time, they are referring to the tax code, which is, admittedly, ridiculous. But do you know why it is that way? Because of guys like Donald Trump.

Yea, that’s right, Donald Trump!

The guy who won’t even release his tax returns to the public. The guy who we know used a yuuuuge net operating loss carryover to wipe out years of taxes. The guy who, despite his billions, pays no taxes! So who does pay them? Joe Blow small business owner who’s standing there trying to trip Bernie up, that’s who.

Guys like Donald Trump pay millions upon millions to lobbyists who little by little, layer after layer, convince the Federal government to turn the U.S. tax code into the morass of complexity that it has become. They do so for a reason, to benefit themselves at the expense of YOU.

The result, they keep getting richer, while the rest of us keep getting poorer. And the worldwide effect of that is exactly what Oxfam is reporting.

It is amusing and alarming to me that there are so many Joe Blow small business owners out there who actually think Donald J. Trump is the solution to their problems, when, in reality, he is the cause of them!

What’s the solution to wealth inequality run amok? Well, this entire blog, with its message of impact mindfulness, I believe qualifies as an idea to combat the problem. The Oxfam report certainly lays out similar ideas pretty well. You can read a summary of those here. In fact, I would consider it “required reading” for any fan of this blog.

The next 4 years may be our final wake-up call. The impending failure of the Donald Trump presidency might just be the lesson we were destined to learn…the one we desperately need to learn.

Perhaps that’s the one good thing that can come out of this fiasco.

That, I’m afraid, is my best hope for the near future.

The Politics of Political Expression

November 30, 2016 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

Isn’t it true that we tend to live our lives in the “grey areas”, while we express ourselves politically in stark black or white terms?

Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because politics, in the U.S. and in other countries throughout the world, is like a team sport.

Think about it. Political parties market themselves much like sports teams…with colors, logos, slogans, heroes and such.

It would seem that the explosion of Donald Trump onto the political scene has only increased that “team” aspect.

And we like being part of a team, don’t we?

That need for “team” solidarity is embedded in our DNA. We feel secure as part of a team. There is strength in numbers, right? We like the popularity we experience with other team members. We like the solace of being part of a like-thinking tribe.

We believe it increases our chances of winning.

Even so, in the reality of our day-to-day lives we live shoulder to shoulder with opposing team members. And so far, we’ve been doing a pretty good job of it. Your co-workers aren’t all team members, are they? And yet you get along with them…at least well enough to get the job done…right?

But all that “kumbaya” is quickly tossed out the window as soon as politics enters the discussion and the polarization of team membership kicks in.

It seems that so far we’ve done a pretty good job at separating real life from politics. We’ve been managing the politics of political expression fairly well in the hum-drum of daily life.

Now, that’s actually a semi-facetious statement, since our real lives are governed to a large extent by what transpires, or fails to transpire, in politics. Nevertheless, the point is that we normally get through Thanksgiving Dinner without throwing a turkey leg at uncle so-and-so.

Of course, politicians on opposing teams hardly ever get along. And that often renders them basically ineffective. But we can’t live our lives that way…can we? If we did, boy what a mess that would be!

However, it also seems more and more these days that political expression is seeping into our day-to-day lives. That might be largely due to the time we spend living them on social media…don’t you think?

And perhaps for too many people, the politics of political expression translates into spending too much time posting polarizing memes on Facebook, or “mean tweeting” insults about the opposing team.

What happens when this polarization becomes such a predominant aspect of our lives that we as a society can no longer get along?

Can society survive that? Is it sustainable? What does it mean for future generations if society suffers complete breakdown as a result of the politics of political expression?

Kind of a scary scenario, isn’t it?

We could be headed in that direction. There are some strong indications that we are.

My message this morning is only this: maybe we should give that some serious thought.

The Impact Blinder of Black or White

November 29, 2016 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

This has been quite the month in the life of one David Scott Bowers (aka Costa Rica Guy)…

For starters, my most ardent supporter, and defender, for the last 55 years passed away at the beginning of it…my mom.

Right on the heels of that came the election of my “platonic” arch-nemesis, Donald Trump, as President of the U.S. Now I realize that’s not a good use of the adjective, but I use it only in the sense that, thankfully, we don’t have any actual relationship (never met the man). Otherwise, I’d surely be the subject of some seriously spiteful tweetings.

Finally, just in the last week, we’ve seen the passing of a larger than life figure who cast a shadow on all 55 years of my life on planet earth. I’m speaking of the passing of Fidel Castro.

I’ve long been inspired by the story of Fidel Castro, the revolutionary. You know the Cuban revolutionary misfit who, along with a ragtag group of around 80 men, set sail from Mexico to Cuba on the leaky yacht, the Granma. There was also a guy onboard named Ernest “Che” Guevara. I’ve written quite a lot about Che Guevara in this blog.

They were ambushed upon arrival to Cuban shores and out of the 80 some odd men that originally set sail, only around 18 made it up to the Sierra Maestra mountains in the interior of the island. From there they spent two years amassing a revolutionary force of peasant farmers who were successful in taking control of the island country and resting it from the hands of the U.S. backed and brutal dictator, Fulgencio Batista.

The revolutionary government of Fidel Castro started out pretty good, with laudable aims. Some of those were actually accomplished. For instance, did you know Cuba has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and that it produces more doctors than any other country of its size? It also is quick to come to the aid of other developing countries, as was witnessed recently with the Ebola epidemic in West Africa a few years ago.

But we also know that Castro gradually morphed from revolutionary hero to oppressive dictator. He suppressed the free speech of the Cuban people and jailed thousands as political prisoners.

What’s for sure is that Castro’s death is showcasing the tendency for us to think in black or white terms when it comes to anything politically tinged. I believe that’s not only true in the U.S., but throughout the world. If you’re a democrat, then all republicans and their ideas are bad…and vice versa. For people whose passions have been inflamed by Castro’s passing, he was either a monster or a saint.

However, the truth is that we don’t live our lives in those stark black or white terms. We rather tend to live them in the grey areas.

Thinking in this polarized way is at the root of many of the problems we face in American society and throughout our world. The election of Donald Trump certainly seems to have exacerbated this type of thinking.

I would call this mode of thought the impact blinder of black or white. It blinds us from the truth. The real truth is rarely found in the black or white of political propaganda, lately expressed in mean tweets and non-factual Facebook memes, but in the grey areas of actual facts.

So, a lesson we can and should learn from these momentous events of the month of November 2016 is this: always step back and ask, what are the facts? What is the truth?

The truth is that Castro did some good stuff and he did some bad stuff. He did stand up courageously against the imperial inclinations of the world’s greatest superpower. He also failed miserably in the human rights department, especially in terms of upholding the rights of his own people.

We will get along with one another and progress as a society when we stop thinking in terms of the black or white nature of political propaganda and instead embrace the actual truth. The truth that applies across the board.

You see, the truth is the truth and facts are facts. They bear no political or ideological affiliation. They are not democrat or republican, capitalist or socialist.

Why not remove the impact blinder of black or white thinking and instead wilfully embrace facts and truth?

The Fabric of Society is Torn

November 5, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Most of us have probably had the experience of taking off in an airplane in stormy weather. It’s a bit disconcerting isn’t it?

And just when you have convinced and braced yourself for the ensuing fiery crash, the clouds part and sunshine and blue sky appears. That’s always a very good feeling isn’t it?

Well, right now I’m in the clouds, convinced and braced for the ensuing fiery crash.

Oh for sure, I’ve been through dark clouds before. But, not quite like this.

Not with the experience of my mom passing…something that only happens once in a lifetime…like birth and death.

Not with the experience of seriously not knowing where my next meal will come from.

Not with the experience of failing at just about everything.

And not with the experience of feeling as if the fabric of society is torn…

I’ve never experienced anything like this in my lifetime. I didn’t live through the Civil War, or the Great Depression. Perhaps those tumultuous events were similarly disconcerting. And of course, the 60’s were a decade of societal upheaval. I was a bit too young to really be able to say I “lived through them.”

But the 60’s, in many ways, made us better. Will that be the case…this time?

I don’t know.

We all want to cast blame for all that is happening. And we now have the platform of social media in which to do so in a very public way.

We want to say it’s the fault of the democrats, or the republicans, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, the minions of either, the military-industrial complex, neoliberalism (guilty!), and so on…

But the real truth is that the “one” who’s at fault is…

US.

We are at fault and perhaps the prime reason is our stubborn unwillingness to listen to each other…and really try to understand one another.

You see, people do what they do and think what they think for deeply personal reasons. And that even applies to deplorable mindsets like racism, or sexism.

I’m not implying that we should accept these ways of thinking. The ideas themselves should be roundly condemned. But we shouldn’t be so quick to accuse, judge, and condemn others who we think might harbor them. Rather we should try to understand why.

As Steven Covey wrote long ago in his famous 7 habits book, “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Taking to Facebook and insulting those who think differently is not the way to mend the fabric of society. And right now the fabric of society is torn and frayed. I believe this hyper-media culture that has formed around us, and that is being technologically propelled to ever more intrusive levels, is only making it worse.

This election could be a turning point, or it could mark the complete unraveling of society as we’ve known it.

It will only be the former if we stop insulting one another on Facebook and Twitter and start trying to understand and cooperate with one another, despite our differences.

As the great English philosopher, Bertrand Russell, once said…

Love is wise, hatred is foolish…

In this world, which is getting more and more connected,
we have to learn to tolerate one another.

We have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like.

We can only live together in that way. And if we are to live together and not die together…

We must learn the kind of charity and tolerance that is absolutely essential to the continuation of human life on this planet.

Yes, the fabric of society is torn.

But it can be mended…

The question is, will we?

Sorry for my metaphorical mixing in this, admittedly, platitudinal post. But to end it I will say that I’m completely confident that the clouds will part for me personally…the sunshine and blue sky will finally appear…

I can only hope the same clearing will occur for “US.”

image credit: ChantelSchmitt Flickr via Compfight cc

The Rise and Fall of Donald Trump

October 8, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

I’ve been highly critical of Donald Trump, both the man and the candidate. But, believe it or not, there was a time when I admired him.

Like many people, I read The Art of the Deal…a long time ago. I was inspired by that famous line, where he passes a homeless guy in the street and says (paraphrasing)…”See that guy? He’s worth $999 million more than me.” It was inspiring to me that he clawed his way back despite serious setbacks. Of course, I now know that he did so in ways that hurt others.

Donald Trump has created a brand that supposedly personifies success. The underlying theme of his candidacy is “make America great again”…or, make Americans successful again…successful like him. He tells his followers that they’re going to win like they’ve never won before.

And we all want to be winners, right? We all want to be “successful.”

But can we also admit that there are varying definitions of that word, success?

That is, success can mean different things to different people, can it not?

What does it mean for Donald Trump and his followers?

Well, obviously it means having a lot of money and the power that money imparts. Trump likes to flaunt that power, whether in saying “you’re fired”, or, as we’ve recently heard, claiming that he can do anything he wants with any woman he wants.

So, it’s not so much that people want the money that Donald Trump-style success brings, but the power. People want power because power feeds the ego. The more power Trump has, the larger his ego grows. And his seeking the presidency is the greatest ego-feeding power grab of his career.

His followers are not that different. They want to win too. They want power. And their support of his candidacy for president is the greatest ego-feeding power grab of their adult lives.

Donald Trump promises to give America back to those who feel it has been stolen from them. Stolen by government and handed over to the undeserving…the immigrants, the welfare queens, the dependency class, the powerless who’ve been unjustly empowered at the expense of white male middle-class America.

White, male, middle-class Americans want their ego back! They want to feel great again.

However, the latest Trump revelation could very well end up being the pin-prick that let’s all the air out of his candidacy…his ego…and the hope they’ve placed in him.

But isn’t that the problem with ego? After all, it’s not even real or tangible. It’s just a bunch of air that fills the vacuum of an empty soul. The air can puff you up and make you appear larger than life, but life has a way of deflating the ego, sooner or later. We’re seeing that happen right now to Donald Trump. The rise and fall of Donald Trump is happening very publicly. Perhaps we can learn from it.

Back when I admired Donald Trump my ego was pretty puffed up, I’ll admit. These days, however, life has me feeling fairly deflated. I really don’t have much of anything to be puffed up about. But, you know what, that’s a good thing. That’s been good for me. It’s enabled me to get a better grip on who I really am.

Perhaps Donald Trump can do the same. Maybe he can finally get a grip on who he really is. If he’s able to do that, it could change him the way it changed me.

You see Donald, in life there really are no winners and losers, just players. We’re all players in this game called life. And you know what else? We’re all on the same team…the human team. It’s not necessary to win, Donald, or to feed the ego by doing so. That’s really not what life is about.

It is, however, necessary to cooperate.

The rise and fall of Donald Trump and his colossal ego could be a great event for America. It could bring about the realization that what makes America great is not winning, or the power and ego-inflation that winning imparts. It’s the cooperation that comes from celebrating our differences and moving forward, together, despite them.

The rise and fall of Donald Trump could, potentially, be the pin-prick that deflates the collective ego that drives much of the division in America.

And that could be a very good thing.

I talk a lot about these topics in my new book, The Impact Revolution. I talk a lot about the Big US and about moving forward, together, to create a better world.

You can get it on Amazon from the link below…