The True Legacy of J.D. Salinger

catcher-in-the-rye-covers

By now anyone with a heartbeat knows that J.D. Salinger passed on, last week.   The death of the controversial author of “Catcher in the Rye” was certainly a news event, bringing out the deferential and the snarky.   There were reviews and reminiscences, lengthy and brief accountings of his place in literature and his place in American and even world culture.   It was in one spontaneous moment a reminder that even the pop minded, celebrity inundated  America sometimes remembers its true artists and its literary lions.   A nice touch for a country with a memory of its history that is equivalent to a dog.

Salinger only published four books.  The first is “The Catcher” in the Rye, published in 1951.  He also published “Nine Stores,”  “Franny and Zooey,” and “Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenter.”   This is a modest literary output but significant on so many levels.   To read Salinger is in some way to follow the trajectory of the American family and with it American Culture.  At once it is intensely personal.   We derive an intimate knowledge of the fictional Glass family, fashioned after Salinger’s own Irish-American Heritage.   But we also derive a sense of the dissolution and reformation of the American family.

In Salinger’s intimacy, we find a universal world, a changing sequence of family life that has left us somewhat bewildered in the 21st century.    We see how in “Catcher,” the questioning of the system. the realization that even the more exalted visions of success and supremacy are artificial, or “phony,” as protagonist Holden Caulfield, pronounces throughout the book.  We see in the complete published work the splintering of the family, with its doubts and second thoughts, idiosyncrasies,  and its conflicting impulses to survive or destroy itself as the characters hang on for dear life or take leave of themselves.

This was America of the fifties and sixties.  Holden Caulfield is maybe dated now to some extent.  He, like the protest movements that grew out of the fifties and sixties,  is maybe a an inglorious monument to a slice of modern history.     He is quaint  in his evaluations of society, as the system he faces has in its ongoing metamorphosis  worked to co-opt us all.   His cause, which was personal cause, aimless and misdirected rebellion,  may now be seen as no cause at all.  In a world where mood elevators, the Prozacs and  Zolofts relieve us  from actually realizing the dreadful impact of meaningless and often nonsensical social behavior,  we tend to bury our inner Holden Caulfied’s.  We bury them where they can’t rise up, ask questions.   Start trouble.

Nevertheless, Caulfield lives on.  For Salinger, like Bob Dylan and a number of others cannot merely be judged by their artistic creations.    They must also be regarded for the impact they had on society itself.   Millions have read “The Catcher in the Rye.”   We know it is not a story rife with sex and celebrity, gratuitous violence, and all the other elements that drive the train of pop consciousness these days.   It is a story of perceptions and idea, told with with and humor.

Yet  “The Catcher in the Rye,” was banned from schools and libraries around the countries.  The usual reactionary pundits held up this slim fictional volume as emblematic of the moral and social decay.   It was, after all, an attack against artifice and shallow values.  It was a perception of society that gave vision to ourselves in a way we were horrified to recognize.   Rather than examine its point of view, like all things different, it was judged subversive and shouted down.

But millions of us read it.  And millions of us found our heads turned and our thinking changed.   We no longer put as much faith in our institutions.  We no longer accepted our society and its social mores without question.   What was fed to us and to be accepted on face value was questioned, criticized, and ultimately rebelled against.   “The Catcher in the Rye” was the seed, the first implant that rewired the nation.   From that seed, there came social disruption.   Society though still manacled to lockstep ideology and systems not of our making, had still felt the impact of changes in its sexual values, civil rights, and our outlook to those that hired us, those who governed us, and the wars they committed to on our behalf.
The cure of this problem is done in two ways, both of which free cialis can benefit men hugely. It does so by prices of viagra allowing more blood flow into the penis to achieve and maintain an erection during sexual intercourse. It is whole body acidity with the medical name buying levitra online for when the sphincter malfunctions and can cause many disorders to the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. This viagra on line is a very invasive procedure that can be performed in a number of different ways.
“The Catcher in the Rye,” was more than a book.   It was a de facto instruction manual for how to see things outside the institutional perspective.   I should add here that there are good stories and then there is good literature.   While good stories, the big, sweeping blockbusters, must by their nature be story driven, this is not necessarily the case with good literature.   With a good blockbuster, you must start at the beginning and finish at the end.  A page turner.  The same may hold true for good literature.   But there is a difference.

With good literature, or I should say a test of good literature, is to be able to start anywhere in the book and moving forward or backward glean insights and understanding from what is written on the pages.   You can turn to the middle and not care, really, how the book was started and how it will end.   In good literature, wherever you start, you can read something that will move you in some way, that will turn your head around.    This is the case with Salinger’s works.  Start anywhere and there is something to gain.

As for Salinger himself, he stands in vivid defiance of our modern, celebrity saturated times.   He at first may have wanted his fame and attention, but soon tired of it to retreat to his ninety-odd acres in New Hampshire.  He was famous for being a recluse, which while not altogether new is remarkably edifying in a world where the desperate want to be publicly vaunted for some insipid act.    It may be fleeting fame, but it is fame.   Having eight kids and once and you are the OctoMom, gracing the tabloids and the six o’ clock news.   Make some outrageous claim in defiance of all things scientific, and your are considered Presidential material.   Have sex with the right person, and you get to tell your story and write a book.

Yet here was Salinger who backed away from it all.  The presumption was that he had stopped writing.  This apparently is not the case.   While he may have engaged in what we call eccentric behavior, Jerry Salinger, still lived a long and fulfilling life.   He was able to explore metaphysics, homeopathy, and other pursuits that would have given cause to deem him an oddity, had he been under the social microscope.  He came and went, had people for dinner, had sex with people of his choosing, mostly out of the public view.   He engaged in his intellectual pursuits outside the public eye, so people couldn’t judge him or hash out their half baked theories on what he was up  to.   Although, even when they lacked a clue as to what he was up to, theories bubbled like farts to the media surface every now and then.

Salinger was a living example, melding as best he could his real life with his written word.   Maybe we will see more of those words in time as some of the alleged books and stories he had been writing all these years emerge in the public light.  If they do, a lot of people will have a lot to say.   And we will be forced to listen to theories, conjecture from the pompous and mindless to fill up the air time.  To be fair, more knowledgeable souls will chime in with their thoughts, and from them their may be nuggets worth pocketing.  Or not.

But all of it in the end means little or nothing, compared what the author has ultimately put on paper.   As for Jerry Salinger, whatever he had to say about this human condition, we can be grateful, he has said it already.

In Praise of the B-52 Bomber

b52_04

Somewhere recently I read that the B-52 Bomber will be in service at least until 2040.   That would be mean this plane, or at least its current model, would be helping to to defend this country for nearly a century.  One hundred years for an airplane.  This is more than remarkable, it is nearly unimaginable.  Yet here it is.

For those that don’t know the B-52 or its venerable history, this is a long range sub-sonic bomber that was developed shortly after the Second World War.  It made its first flight in 1952 and was officially put into service in 1955.   This was the essential post-Nazi/Cold War Bomber.   Among others who perceived its need was Air Force General Curtis LeMay.  LeMay was brilliant on certain levels and nutty in others.   To short hand LeMay, one only need to watch  Stanley Kubrick’s “Doctor Strangelove.”   The George C. Scott character, General Buck Turgidson, which was a satire of the real General LeMay

Nevertheless, LeMay and other Strategic Air Command (SAC) strategists saw the urgent need for a high altitude, long range bomber that could carry a hefty 5 tons of  nuclear weapons in its bomb bay.     The purpose of this long range bomber was two fold.  First it was to service as a deterrent to any foreseeable Russian aggression.  And secondly, if there was any such aggression, the B-52 would retaliate for that aggression by assuring destruction of the Russian homeland.

The Russians or no one else in this world took the threat of the B-52 all too lightly.   SAC made it clear that a given amount of B-52’s were always in the air and should the enemy decided to get frisky, the B-52’s were given what was called “the go code.”   They were on their way and beyond a certain part, no one could call them back.   That point was called the “Fail Safe” point.  Novels were written about it dramatizing the what if scenarios.   But, by far, the best rendition was the darkly hysterical “Dr. Strangelove.”

The B-52 has gone through a number of incarnations.   The first  production models back when were the B-52 B’s and were slated for nuclear weapons only.  Later, different models of the B-52’s were equipped with conventional bombs.   B-52’s flew combat missions during the Vietnam War, resulting in approximately thirty of the planes being shot down, mostly from Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs).   The last models to be put in service were the B-52 Hs,

During Operation Desert Storm the B-52’s were again brought into service.     Their ability to carpet bomb is devastating.   The sound is incomprehensible and the ground shakes for miles around.    It feels like the world is coming to an end.  Their missions during Desert Storm resulted in hundreds of Iraqi soldiers quitting their bunkers to surrender to the advancing Allied Troops.   When asked,  the Iraqis confessed that it was far too nerve wracking and they couldn’t take it anymore.

Over the years the B-52’s have been modified and upgraded.   The Air Force has installed new electronics systems, jamming systems, and has modernized their effectiveness by fitting them with anywhere from ten to a eighteen cruise missiles per plane.   This give the B-52’s the ability to stand off out of harm’s way and still be a lethal platform in the time of crisis.

Affirmations are often used to challenge and replace find these guys levitra professional negative subconscious beliefs with more positive, self-nurturing ones. The herbs sildenafil canada used in the capsule are all very useful. My aim should be to attempt and aid your maintain moving when prolonged resting, so that you just can ne’er find viagra pills wholesale out how to drive? Do not let this issue be a hindrance to your learning expertise. On http://www.fundacionvision.org.pa/viagra-1034.html india online cialis the other hand, it influences the sexual desire. that is why wholesome lifestyle and normal exercising play a critical function in preserving you far away from sexual issues. The B-52’s have regarded has sturdy, deadly, and durable.   They can take a hit and still go on to complete their mission.    As a Boomer kid back in the Stone Age era, I remember reading one of those bubble gum trading cards where it depicted the B-52 in flight and commented that its 185 foot wingspan was approximately the same length as the Wright Brothers first air flight, at Kittyhawk, N.C.   That has stuck in my mind.   Long since, I have seen B-52’s in the air and on the ground.   Either way, the B-52 is one big plane.

But more than that, the B-52 represents more than its purpose.   It is an icon, for sure, but a symbolic emblem of security during an era when mutually assured nuclear annihilation was always a distinct possibility.   While pundits warn about the wanton destruction at the hands of terrorists and rogue nations, we with so little sense of history are prone to forget how any mistake had the potential for a nuclear holocaust.   As one who once studied just what devastation 50 and 100 megaton bombs would wreak upon this planet, the results fortunately for all of us have remained as conjecture.

The B-52 did its job back then in the Cold War Era.   It warned our enemies not to mess with us.   It reminded  our enemies of the destruction we would cause them, regardless of whether they struck us first.    This single plane, perhaps more than any other weapon, until the age of the ICBM, made it clear that we would never waiver in our determination to survive.   And no one dared to test that premise.

The B-52 also represents a time in America that when we built something we built it to last.    This was the plane where we as kids went to bed knowing it was in our skies and its pilots were protecting us.   There was a sense of security in an insecure world.   Whether it was all real or not, it’s tough to say.   But most of us believe it, and that was often enough.

Sure, technology changes and the weapons change along with it.  There are new needs to face new threats and the wars we may have to fight.   There are changes everywhere.   But here in the B-52, we found a plane that  offered endurance and could be modified to at least help meet those needs and continue to assist in defending this nation.   In the years when most of us are pondering our retirement, this is a plane that can still  bring hell to our enemies.   It’s silhouette over their skies is something no enemy ever wants to see.

It is a plane, whether we meant to or not, that was built to last 100 years.  A century.   In this day and age that is hard to believe.   But like others have said, when the last B-1 flies its last mission, it’s pilots will probably be picked up and flown home in  a B-52.   That’s amazing.

Time to Reinstitute the Military Draft

uncle-sam-wants-you_small

It is time to consider reinstituting the military draft in the United States.   Despite the brilliance of the American volunteer and therefore very professional army, clearly our troops have been exhausted with multiple tours of duty.  The National Guard, which is just that, has been called up into active duty, and that has put a tremendous burden on the Guard itself as well as their families.

The levels of emotional and financial drain have been reported by key military personnel for the past number of years.  It has been reported we have drained the resources of our military personnel by committing them to protracted wars.  We have overburdened their equipment and have depleted our physical resources.  Because of the financial outlay and our need to borrow money to fight this war from nations like China, different military weapons projects have been cut out or reduced substantially.   None of this is any good.

We have had the military draft, or conscription, with us in different occasions.  Initially, during the colonial days, we relied on militias.  Militias were too small and inconsequential to be utilized for the larger and more deadly wars that would follow with the modernization and growth of American into an industrial nation.   Enter the draft so that Armies of both the Confederacy and the Union could furnish enough troops for the now legendary battlefields where between one and two million Americans would die.  Later came conscription for the First World War and then again in the Second World War.

But we were a different nation then.  If we went to war then we called up our forces and manufactured mass weaponry to meet the challenges.  Come peacetime we would reduce our forces substantially and not really modernize our weaponry until the next crisis came upon us.      We did so during the First World War and then again in World War Two.   In World War Two, where the threat to the nation was hardly and abstract we built a military and produced weapons with speed and efficiency that surpassed most imaginations, certainly those of our enemies.

We had become the “Arsenal of Democracy.”   This is no small title and assuredly no small task.   Come the end of the Second World War we realized the world had changed.   We could no longer stand down our military and allow that military to rely on weapons systems that would soon be obsolete.   We had to not only develop new weaponry but to continue to do this so we would not only have parity against any nation’s military but we would in fact be the dominate force.   We learned that in the new world to protect our interests on a global level we had to project our military on a global level.   This meant the continued development of the military and the weapons it would use.

By 1948, just a few years after the end of World War Two, it was evident to protect our interests through military force, when necessary, we would have to establish a peacetime draft.  Essentially, the draft was continued through most of the Vietnam War until 1968 when then President Richard Nixon opted for an all volunteer army.   This was part of the new concept, a military built around technology and professionalism.     This all volunteer army would relieve the burden of  public service.

The volunteer military can be problematic on several levels.    As I mentioned before the all volunteer military is smaller  and in theory more professional.   As a smaller force it doesn’t require the funding of a larger army.   This has allowed us to shut down military bases around the country and in parts of the world.   All good, so far.  In theory.  Reality is a bit different.

But  now we are faced with a military force near exhaustion.  Whether you believe either the Iraqi War or the War in Afghanistan is justified or not there is no denying that are troops have been stretched thin and worn out over time.  Repeated tours have proved hazardous and overwhelming.   Equipment has been overused and spare parts are at a minimum.   Should the United States get into a truly serious conflict, meaning that where the enemy is in possession of advanced weaponry and is consequently much more formidable than Iraq or Afghanistan,  we may be confronting some very serious problems.   We may lack the resources that would assure victory.

Couple this with the growing trend toward the infusion of fundamental religion in the military.   There are reports about evangelical proselytizing  in the Army, Navy, and at places like the Air Force Academy.   Evangelicals have brought pressure to bear on the less religious members of the military or those of a different faith.  They have invoked methods and practices that could be considered coercion.  They have brought to our military an element infused with the Christian Crusade, which is hardly in keeping with the standards and traditions of our military.   This is neither the precepts found in the militia or our civvilian armies of our past.

With regard to history, there are repeated examples where the volunteer army becomes a mercenary army and follows those who either pay it or give it orders.   Mind you, I am not saying this is the looming case with our all volunteer military, but the historic examples are enough to take measure.   Consider also, that the shortage of troops has initiated the expanded use of mercenaries in groups like Blackwater, where the rank and file is loyal to its leadership and carries with it the inherent evangelical element of religious fundamentalists.

Blackwater is a private army.  And because it is a private army we pay its troops a lot more salary, nearly four times the salary, in fact, of our regular forces.  This creates resentment within our regular forces who have to risk their necks for a quarter the money.   This also raises questions of loyalty and issues of oversight, where the private army does not necessarily subscribe to normal military standards of conduct.   There are numerous reports that such mercenary groups as Blackwater do not adhere to the established rules of engagement.   This is already proving worrisome to American citizens and to not only members of this government but to members of governments where this private army is engaged.
This tablet is manufactured by an Indian based pharmaceutical, known as cialis purchase online Ajanta Pharmacy. Also, viagra prices australia is approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration), it has proved to be one of the best ways of getting reliable sources for curing erectile dysfunctions. The main function of pfizer viagra this vital ingredient involves blood stimulation, vessels dilatation, muscle relaxation and proper blood supply towards the penile organ. Sex after 60 is a bit difficult- Can you maintain the newness of a cloth for ten years which is worn regularly? You answer will absolutely be no. viagra store usa
Clearly, the American all volunteer military  is no longer able to function alone, but must be supplemented with a private mercenary force.   In our democracy, this is hardly the precedent we want to establish.

If we are going to continue to serve our national interests by projecting military force then we need to reinstitute the civilian army.  A civilian army will augment the professionals within the service and will help dilute the religious fervor and proselytizing that has proven controversial and disturbing.   There will be less of a crusade mentality as a civilian army will be more eager to get the job done than endure a protracted crusade.      The lack of this religious fervor will enable conscripted  members of other religions and ethnicity to participate without encumbrances.  The civilian army will better understand that its loyalty remains first and always with the American people.

While there may be some difficulty in maintaining the streamlined professionalism of our current forces, this will be augmented by talented civilians who ordinarily would not have served.   These recruits can possess  insight and skill sets in psychology and technology  that may not be as prominent in a smaller force.    They can bring a better cultural understand of our enemies, speak their languages  and interpret for forces on the group.   There is in the end a lot to be said for greater numbers.

I believe we would be a lot less prone to commit ourselves to questionable wars if we had a civilian army.  Surely, we did just that during the Vietnam conflict.   We drafted tens of thousands of kids and sent them off to yet one more questionable war that four decades later has produced little but the revelation of our own foolishness.  It is no small irony that in modern times we  are expanding trade and partnership with the same government we battled for close to a decade.

But we have learned from that mistake.  We have learned because the parents of kids are more willing to question the validity of a war when their kids are involved.  Even the chicken hawks, those that are all for war as long as it doesn’t involve their own children, may reconsider before throwing their support toward conflict.    Simply put, more would be at stake with a civilian army.   We wouldn’t be only sending someone else’s kids to war, we would also be sending our own.

If this were a civilian army, certain things would have happened by now.   Our National Guard and volunteer force would not be overburdened with repeated tours.  They wouldn’t have financial problems, psychological problems, difficulty finding jobs again upon their return from a war they were sent to under specious circumstances.   It is questionable if fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is truly the role of a National Guard.

We who were once the recruits for Vietnam are now the parents and grandparents of young people who would be going off to war, if we still had a civilian army.  With our own kids invested and our own blood on the line, and not just that of someone else’s kid we would reconsider committing our troops and national economy to this type of battle.    We would wonder a lot more about what the hell we were doing and why.  We would think rather than take refuge in the fact that our lethargy and inability to question resides in some form of patriotism.     In short, this war would have been over long ago.  If it ever got started to begin with.

If we do institute another round of conscription, should everyone go?  No.   Everyone would not have to go into the military, anyway.  Those who were uncomfortable could commit to other forms of public service without the deliberations of being conscientious objectors.   They could work in nation building, our nation instead of someone else’s.   They could work on rebuilding the infrastructure or working for a two year commitment in some form of public service.  They could use their education and skill sets for rebuilding this nation.  They would get to know in their work in recreating the infrastructure or teaching or working in underclass neighborhoods how rest of the country lives.   Nothing wrong with that exposure.

Yes, we would have a larger army, which would incur to some degree a greater expense.  But that expense would be mitigated by public discretion.   A public with their own kids at stake will not be as willing to spend either the money or the lives of its citizens for any war that is not clearly defined as in our national interest.     All around, it would be a bargain.

Kindle Posts Minstrel’s Alley Book, The Guys Who Spied for China

(Los Angeles) “The Guys Who Spied for China,” by Gordon Basichis has just been posted on Kindle, Amazon’s EBook publishing arm.   The novel is based on his real life experiences uncovering Chinese Espionage Networks operating in the United States in the eighties and nineties.

“The Guys Who Spied for China,” is being published by Minstrel’s Alley, an independent publishing and media group.   This is the company’s first effort.   The book was also released as a trade paperback and is available through Amazon, Baker and Taylor and is available in bookstores around the country.

“We are very excited about the publication of “The Guys Who Spied for China,” said M.J. Hammond, publisher and president of Minstrel’s Alley.    We are excited to see the book listed on Kindle as we believe E-Publishing is the wave of the future.”

“The Guys Who Spied for China,” is our first published offering, so we naturally wish to oversee every stage of our marketing effort.  The novel should draw not only from spy freaks but from a wider, more literary readership as well.

“This roman a clef is a most unusual spy book as it breaks the mold for this genre.  It tells the story of what it is like to be suddenly thrust into the world of espionage.”

They have a faster absorption rate and take effect cialis viagra canada in as little as 15 minutes. All products at shoppharmarx.com are as effective as their Brand names, different laboratories are marketing their individual brands like the on line viagra in spite of the differences in their formation. Medical science is always trying to make those kinds of medicine that buy cialis professional is much workable and less costly. HGH is the growth hormone which brings best price viagra back vigor and vitality. Hammond describes the book as quirky and authentic with touches of dark humor that will engage the reader.   “If you are looking for more than the basic mainstream spy book , you are in for a pleasant surprise.   This tells a much richer story.  This is a timely book, given the ongoing headlines about Chinese Espionage and the growing tensions again between the United States and China.”

Gordon Basichis is the author of two previous books, “The Constant Travellers,” and “Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story.”   He is the co-founder of Corra Group, a Los Angeles based company that conducts employment background checks and corporate research for companies throughout the United States and around the world.

M.J. Hammond is a former entertainment industry executive who founded Minstrel’s Alley to publish popular books not found in mainstream publishing.

“Mainstream publishing has its purpose,” said Hammond.  But the industry’s focus on celebrity and genre based books has left readers wanting.  We hope to help bring a sense of adventure back to books and publishing.”

Background: Minstrel’s Alley is a Los Angeles based independent publisher that seeks to bring adventure back into the publishing industry by publishing books that have popular appeal but with more complexity than the standard mainstream fare.   The new publishing group distributes its books through Amazon, Kindle, and assorted Internet outlets as well as through bookstores around the country.    You can view Minstrel’s Alley at www.minstrelsalley.com

The Language Deficiencies of Jargon and Buzz Words

snowflake-icon-set

Language can be an art form.    It is the tool, the medium with which writers and orators work to define the human experience.   With the best of writing and, in fact, in the best or oratory and even casual conversation we use language to drill down on those experiences, to define a more precise description of our senses and emotions.   It is also the brick and mortar of societies and civilizations.

Language enables us to make distinctions in what we mean.  Through language we explore nuances and distinguish the severity of lack of it  between one sensation or emotion and another.   We organize our thoughts through language and can convey those thoughts and assign shadings of value to what is relatively the same experience.   Language gives us the psychic leverage to not only interpret experiences, emotions, and idea with greater precision, it creates the means for the access to an even broader understanding of the human condition.

So, after centuries of honing and refining language, what do we do?  We dumb it down.  We take these complex experiences, ideas, and events of the human condition  that have been passed on for generations and assign easy phrases and cheap jargon to cover the spectrum.   We communicate in broad strokes and then fail to understand why there is so little understanding.   Even our deeper emotions are communicated in sound bites and bytes and bits of phrases and jargon we employ for the general sensory experience.

And then we wonder why we screw up in romance, go to war, and can’t get across the complexity of social and political solutions.  In fact, we encourage generality.   We pretend to be distinctive, and issue buzz words like we are all unique in our own special way, we are like snow flakes, truly one of a kind.  Yet we bow down to the altar of  category and conformity.  It seems that any message or idea that requires actual thought is scorned upon.   We would rather have it short and sweet, even if in the end we find it confusing and unusable in our efforts to determine fact from fiction, to discern what someone is really trying to get at.

We encourage dumbing down in everything from our news programs to our entertainment.   Love stories are over simplified with easy buzz words of engagement, loss, alienation, and then re-engagement.  If only the world went like that.    We watch our supposed movie heroes stumbling awkwardly like pre-adolescents when confronting the opposite sex.   We find regal and entertainment that boys from the comedic boy groups don’t have the linguistic wherewithal to even ask girls out, yet along find ways to charm them into bed.  In a world of free sex and mutual sexual aggression on both sides of the gender aisle, the viewing and reading audience is supposed to find it a major victory when our young heroes actually do it.

Forget about the nuances of relationships, the involvement and complexities of actually living together, of getting to know one another and absorbing the related personality and psychological changes our mates realize over time and experience.   It would take far too many words to explain the vagaries of romance, as it does the vagaries of violence and the socio-political process, so we boil them down to simplistic jargon.

So in communication, when we try to communicate, even about our deepest emotions, we resort to buzz words and phrases.   We stammer and stumble, as it is awkward enough trying to explain ourselves, and more so because we try to do it in general and often impenetrable terms.   And when we try to explain concepts or issue forth on social, political and economic issues, we fear belaboring points and instead resort to sound bytes.   Sound bytes that are encouraged by the media.

Sound bytes that are also encouraged by our friends and associates.   Everyone is overworked and the input from so many information sources has created an overload.   We can no longer focus and have witnessed a serious diminishing of attention spans.    We are easily distracted, and while time management skills are not always the best, we simply don’t have the time for deeper explanations.  We want it short, and we want it to the point.   Simple phrases for complex issues.  Who cares if we can’t understand?

Now there is a change and a need for change in communication forms.  Some years back people did have time, and they would belabor points, deliver laborious and useless preambles, before getting to the point.   We would sit and sigh, biting our tongues while they rambled on in tangential and desultory forms hoping there is a point to what they are saying.   Many people still resort to this as their principal measure of communications.  We roll our eyes as they try to decided what year the year took place–was it ’81 or ’83?– was it Sam or Steve?  And all this discourse is replete with ridiculous biographies and personal tidbits about people you know nothing a bout and don’t care to.
Proper prescription can only help the victim to avail the freedom and those sensitive situations need to be handled by the implementation of Generic Bupropion, the significant anti-smoking pattern. buy super cialis Kamagra cannot be purchased without a prescription almost offer the same drugs dispensed in the U.S. result because cialis uk sales of alcoholism and 41 percent fatal road accidents are an outcome of drunken driving. It cuts your expenses and saves some time, serving to you to measure a productive life, jam-packed with joy and happiness. martinblaser.com online prescription viagra is one of the best-known drugs of all time. Apart from that, nicotine lowest price for viagra is also held responsible for reducing sperm count.
But then on the other hand, when information is relevant and may strike a point where nuance is significant in distinguishing the elements of one idea or emotion from the next, or at least explore them on deeper levels, we find the person we are addressing issues for the summary “got it.”   They are telling us they full understand what they are saying.   They knew where we are going, so no need to continue the conversation.

But, in fact, the majority of the time they really don’t “got it.”  They got part of it.  The broad strokes.  And the broad strokes will only give you so much understanding.   When it comes to romantic relationships or going to war, innuendo and greater detail have special significance.   If we are to promote understanding and not just add to the confusion, the drilling down into greater explanation can make all the difference between war and peace or love and abandonment.  It can make the difference between the successful implementation of a program or action and its failure.

So for expedience we encourage the dumbing down and discussion in general terms.   We have texting now, which further encourages generality.   And so with countless sources for our information, feed lines for every subject, and all the modern technological delivery systems for that information, we are more confused about life and its experiences than maybe ever before.  We talk to people in messages created by Madison Avenue, or Wall Street, on populist pundits, or cable news.   Terms, jargon, buzz words to describe ridiculously complex situations and emotions.

Perhaps it is because all the technological advancements we are more exposed to the complexities of life and society, than ever in hisotry.   Perhaps this very exposure, especially on a global level, is so overwhelming, we are compelled to simplify.   In the face of our confusion we utilize jargon and buzz words as weapons to manage the world around us.      We wish for the easy answers, and believe that like the kid who finds horse manure in his Christmas stocking, there is a pony down there somewhere.

There is no pony.  Just horse manure.   Unless we teach our children to realize the world in complex terms and attempt to define it accordingly, we will continue to degrade our society and civilization.   This, of course, means education.   Not the education where for the convenience of teaching 97 kids to a classroom where we resort to simplistic terms to chronicle the events and lessons of world history and all the cultural attributes within.   No.

We need to teach them how to think on complex levels.   We need to show them how to absorb this information overload from all the reference channels and create from it the cognitive process that can best serve their expansion in the 21st century and beyond.   We need to teach them there isn’t just one way of approaching a subject, but there are many, and they all may have varying degrees of merit and credibility.   Most will warrant consideration, and in the end, despite our best intentions to live simply defined and well managed lives, there often isn’t the correct and incorrect approach.   There are only decisions to be made that are either prudent, effective or principled.

In other words, on communications levels, we have to attempt to keep them from making the same mistakes we are making.   We have to teach them that convenience is not necessarily expedient and the simplistic approach to the complex elements of life won’t make you happier or more uncomfortable.

We have to teach them the love for language.  And then, the few of use that still remember, have to show them how to use it.