Is the USA Twerking its future away?

Like many others who have commented on Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance this past weekend I too have some deep concerns; however, those concerns do not run in the same vein as the supposed news mavens, YouTube gurus and etiquette pundits. What currently passes for “expert” opinion on Ms. Cyrus’ performance is devoted to the “how could such a good girl go so wrong?” school of criticism technique.  After all, she was a “Disney product”, pure as “Ivory soap”.  Did you see those hip movements?  They were so sexually suggestive! The dancing; wait a minute!, what dancing? That was exhibitionism!  Miley found a way to out Madonna Madonna! Who does she think she is, prancing around in her underwear?  And the people in the audience, did you see them, with mouths gapping wide.... a true OMG moment! Did your kids see this?  What are we to tell them now? Fourteen and fifteen year olds grew up wanting to be just like Hannah Montana.   Oh, woe are we!

I have a few choice questions and comments for those who have offered their surface criticism of Miley Cyrus over the past week: Where the heck have you people been for the last 20 years?  What rock have you been sleeping under that you could not see the potential of such a performance as was given by Miley on the MTV, VMA Awards show? Have you not heard of popular music stars such as Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, etc.?  Relative to modern day video music selections of the same hip hop genre, what in Ms Cyrus' performance or the performances of those who danced and sang with her surprised you?  Have you no awareness of the depths to which American music, culture and character has sunk?  How many of you have gone to a dance featuring songs with far worse lyrics and grinded the night away?  If we are all so oblivious to the world around us how could a “hit song” by Lady Gaga called “Pokerface” get over 162 million hits on YouTube? What a bunch of hypocrites we are becoming! If we were to hold a mirror up in the face of our society would we see the strong faces that made this nation? Or the loving ones who helped to raise us and thought we held such promise?  Or even the person we once were who dreamed great things, held inside hoping for that one break or wonderful moment when we could let our light shine?

On August the 27^th, the day after the real firestorm surrounding the Miley Cyrus VMA performance hit, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an Op-Ed piece by journalist Juan Williams at the bottom of page A15.  The article was entitled: “Songs of the Summer of 1963 …and 2013”

( http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324619504579028691595414868.html) The article juxtaposed the aura of those folk songs so filled with hope, longing for justice and faith in the future, surrounding and accompanying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech held on August 28, 1963 with the current genre of hip-hop selections that are filled with sex, violence, bigotry and greed. For examples of the lyrics of the time in 1963, Mr. Williams refers to the songs of Bob dylan, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield and the vocal group Peter, Paul and Mary.  The WSJ  Op-Ed article is well worth reading if you have not already done so.  And, it goes a long way to explaining how far we have come from that day in 1963 to this past weekend when Miley Cyrus was led into a production for the VMAs that was at once both an affront to common decency and the epitome of the “the best” that our egocentric,  jaded,  entertainment-driven culture is capable of producing.   We have become a nation of schizophrenics fully aware of the damage we do through our base treatments of others yet craving all the more excess and hyperbole.   That is why the same pundits that castigate Miley Cyrus for her actions at the VMA show this year will probably find themselves at some nightspot this weekend grinding the night away to the sound of Lil Wayne as he croons about “hoes” and bitches”.  That is also why we all need to seriously rethink the direction of our culture and our society. 

Rescuing Alice from the Labyrinth

Today, I am just "venting".

I have a running love-hate relationship with the financial community. It is the same sort as that Lewis Carroll's Alice experienced with the Mad Hatter whose presence was necessary in her travels through the labyrinth but whose intentions were not completely pure. My frustration of the moment stems from the hassle encountered in approval of a loan. You see, our family was one those that had to resort to a short sale of its home during the recent "Great Recession". Some statistics indicate that as many as 30% of all home sales between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2013 were either auctioned homes from foreclosures or short sales. Homes that had been valued in the high six figures and that had depreciated in value by as much as 20% of their 2007 appraisal value by late 2008 were selling for as much as another 39% below their new valuation in foreclosure sales and as much as another 23% if sold through short sales, according to RealtyTrac^tm (http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/28/real_estate/short-sales/index.html) Great swaths of America were negatively impacted and areas from California and Arizona through the southwest to the central Great Lakes of Michigan, Illinois and Ohio to the Middle Atlantic states of New Jersey and New York to the Southeast states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Literally hundreds of thousands of sales were involved and millions of people were affected.  Most of those affected were good, hard-working people who were caught in the “perfect storm” of financial circumstances that resulted in the “Great Recession” And most, like us, are doing the best they can to turn the corner and contribute positively to the growth of a stronger American economy. Yet, like us, they are continually frustrated by new challenges in the form of revamped bank credit restrictions and credit bureaus that use antiquated algorithms that were suited for the more stable financial world that existed before the Great Recession.  The result has been a “chicken and egg” driven economy.  Which comes first: the chicken or the egg?  The economy needs buyers (70% of America’s GDP is from personal purchases) who depend upon credit to make their purchases but who are stymied by the new banking regulations and the old algorithms used by the three major credit bureaus.  It has gotten so crazy that, even if you have a nearly 30 year  perfect history of making payments but you are one of those whose home was sold as a short sale you are to be considered a  “bad credit risk”.  Interestingly, economists scratch their heads and wonder why the economy is not healing faster.  It just seems to be sputtering along, stuck in perpetual second gear.  Well, it seems to me that greater effort needs to be expended to help those with historically good credit histories get back into the purchasing and income generating economies as quickly as possible.  That’s not an easy task in today’s economic and political climate. Neither is anywhere close to what they were 30 years ago.  Thirty years ago most of that 70% of American GDP was taking place on “main street USA” – not so today.  Thirty years ago there was still a consensus of opinion that what was good for America was of greater importance than what was good for the Democratic or the Republican parties – not so today.  Our economy is more restricted and is influenced to a far greater degree by forces beyond our own borders.  Our political parties have turned their every four year battle for the right to dictate policy into siege campaigns hell-bent on proving the other party wrong or tripping the other party up regardless to the cost in economic progress, human suffering or national prestige. The end result is that money flows away from main street and away from the people whose purchases and credit could help to heal and rebuild a stronger American infrastructure.  And while everyone is fixated upon whether the Queen of Hearts or the Queen of Clubs will win their campaign for dominance there is the very real potential that “Alice” will be forever lost in the labyrinth.

Bring Back the Past to Fuel the Future

I share no really dramatic comment today - just a renewed commitment to more faithfully communicate the thoughts and opinions on where we’ve been, where we are at present and where we are headed based upon current patterns and trends.

To paraphrase a monologue by Anthony Hopkins, from the movie Amistad, in his role as John Q. Adams: “[I]… have come to understand and to embrace the understanding that who we are is who we were.”  With the rearing I had and my love of History and Philosophy, it should not have taken me so long to reach such an obvious conclusion.  But as Bobby Burns once said: "...the best laid schemes of mice and men, oft go astray..." and it seems as though, from the lyrics of an old Beatles's song, I have managed to follow a "...long and winding road" for a bit further than anticipated.

I have long been a believer that all experience whether positive or negative can lead to the greater good and growth of the individual and so it must be in this case.  The move of our family in 2012 that required the loss of my teaching position left me pretty much emotionally and intellectually adrift as I  contemplated the how, when and where of "next career". Although demands of establishing the new residence and following through on extended family obligations has kept me busy, for the most part, there has been a feeling of "tasks left unfinished".

One of those aforementioned "tasks left unfinished" is the regular posting to my "Hayman's History Blog" and my absence was surely not without any national or international areas to comment on.  The past year has brought significant challenges to personal liberty, national sovereignty and international stability.  Additionally, there have been cultural, economic, technological, religious/philosophical and environmental forces that added significantly to the stress level of most peoples of these United States of America and of the greater world.  So, beginning today, I hope to have daily postings on the issues of most importance to me and I hope to you too. Feel free to share your comments and, together, perhaps we can make a positive difference to make America and the greater world better for all of us and our progeny.

I was recently struck as to how much of our lives is being reduced to 2-minute segments.  Want to schedule an appointment, book a train, leave a phone message, look up some piece of information on Google, get back to that program you really wanted to see before the commercial interrupted you... It usually takes about 2 minutes!  Any message that is longer has usually lost our attention or, if we are the source, has lost the attention of others.  I find this to be interesting; although, at times, unsettling. I remember the hours spent on my grandparents' front porch seeking the answers to life, conquering my fears of the unknown, making great plans for "saving the world".  I wonder when my 17-year old son confronts me with his questions if I will be granted more than 2 minutes to give my response.  Guess my 2 minutes is about up....

In Praise of American Youth

There are many who decry the current state of American youth. They see these young people as self-absorbed, lacking in “social graces” and totally unaware or uncaring of the larger world around them. I do not see this attitude to be true or, in the least bit, representative of the youth I have been privileged to be associated with as an educator within my history classes. I have found them to be inquisitive, insightful and very caring. Nearly all are truly looking for their place in the world, for a fuller understanding of their talents and the “clues” that will give them insight as to how they might make a difference in the world. My “proof” for my comments is contained in the following YouTube file that was the top place submission for a class project during the fourth marking period of the 2010-2011 academic year. The students had been tasked with selecting a theme of history and the development of a multimedia presentation that would show the patterns and trends over time from 1945 to the present day. They were graded by their fellow students and by a select group of school faculty in addition to my assessment.
The top submission focused upon the impact of humans upon their environment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqHBsN_noxQ
When the classes held project review sessions at the end of the project, it was revealed that the top submission took over 60 hours to create and the average time for all of the 10 separate group submissions was 30 hours. Personally, I was humbled by what had taken place. All of the submissions showed quality development, pride in individual accomplishment and deep caring for the world they lived within. From my personal experience, I believe the future looks very bright with the capabilities of youth on such positive display.

The "King" Wears No Clothes!

It should come as no surprise to Americans that our economic recovery is waffling; yet, we continue to listen to the drivel that daily ushers forth from the financial houses of our once great republic. “The economy is getting better.” “Consumers are starting to spend again and consumers represent 70% of the financial growth of America.” “The unemployment numbers are going down” (thank God that so many have given up looking for work, have expended their 99 weeks or have used their college degrees to secure a job in the local McDonald’stm, Burger Kingtm or WalMarttm). And the granddaddy of all of the lies: “All we have to do is raise the debt ceiling and our economy can get back to paying its debts and creating jobs” (doesn’t anybody recognize that “expanding the debt ceiling” is “expanding the debt”? and that, eventually, [this comment is not “G rated”] someone is going to have to pay the larger debt.). In spite of all of the happy talk of the beginning of good times to come and “surviving the “great Recession”, the stock market continues to flounder, the value of American homes continues to erode, the cost of basic necessities (i.e. Groceries, gas and health care) continues to skyrocket and the average American business or family finds itself unable to keep up; so, they are reduced to cutting back on “expansion plans”.
But wait! Don’t many of the American businesses and families have good credit ratings? Why don’t they borrow money, invest and expand? Wouldn’t that help the economy to grow? I’m sure that there are enough families and business that need or would like to have new buildings, new transportation, and new infrastructure items. A check with one of the major lending agencies reveals just why expansion is not taking place. A good credit rating is nice but the real driver these days in the minds of the banks is the “debt to equity ratio”. You see, it really no longer matters if you have a record of good on-time payments (aka: “credit rating”) for the “credit rating” of today is a whole amalgam of financial data of which the debt to equity ratio is the most important. Seems like the only lesson the banks learned from the recent financial debacle of 2008 is that “if you never lend the money, you never have to worry about getting it back”. So, by setting up Draconian litmus tests for granting credit, the banks never have to worry about the chance that a tipping point will be reached in market sector over speculation. Home loan rates are low but few loans are approved. Credit on credit cards is available but rates are over 20% (what we used to refer to as “loan shark rates”). Unfortunately, all of the new rules and regulations are terribly unfair to three important sectors of the economy: the young college graduate, the middle-income worker and the retiree within the society. All three of these sectors have reduced their expenditures dramatically to the point where expansion is not an option and just maintaining a personal financial balance is the only choice.
Who is to blame for this mess? While it seems to be the recent American passion to bash the president, the president is not the source of our troubles. And, while I would love to point the finger at the banks, I have to be sensitive to the fact that they have been given conflicting messages by the Congress as to how they are to help America to recover from the Great recession of 2008. No, the “King” in this kingdom is the Congress that has it within its power to force the banks to eliminate their Draconian user requirements and rates, change the tax code of the country in ways that would stimulate business, help middle-income families to afford either the new home or the new refrigerator, etc they would like for their older home, make the necessary adjustments to our aged entitlement programs that more accurately reflect modern living standards and employment environments, provide for greater educational access for more Americans and approve the massive peacetime projects that would further stimulate the national economy and reduce the unemployment rolls. It’s about time that the “King” stop talking and start enacting the legislation that is necessary to insure national success in recovery from the Great Recession of 2008. Eventually, it will not matter the political party of “the King” One “king” without clothes looks pretty much like any other!

Random Thoughts From the Morning Paper on July 22, 2011

The following items are thoughts from my reading of this morning’s New York Times (Vol. CLX…No. 55,474)

Re: Obama Closes in on Deal for Cuts in Boehner Talks (page A1 and A12)
There is a real struggle over the size and appropriate function of government fueling the disagreements between Republicans (inclusive of their “Tea Party” faction) and Democrats that imperils the current budget discussions. Were the implications not so serious it would almost be farcical that the party that refers to Jefferson as one of its founding fathers favors larger, more intrusive governmental actions with preservation of federal entitlement programs and higher taxes and the party of Lincoln seeks smaller central government and greater authority for local and state governments with what amounts to a “scorched earth policy” to deny the party in power the resources it needs to address social, environmental and international policy issues.


Re: Shuttle Ends Its Final Voyage and an Era in Space (page A3)
I would hope that, in the absence of a large national space initiative America does not lose sight of the importance of national programs that can fuel the imagination of youth and stimulate both the educational and business sectors of the economy. Private efforts (NY Times; In a Private Race to the Moon, Flights of Fancy Are in the Air pages A1 and A3) are all well and good; however, their impact on the larger population will be minimal. Indeed, they may accelerate the growing chasm between the highly educated, financially wealthy, “empowered” segments of our republic and those millions who lack the access and resources to participate in private efforts. Space exploration is still very much in its infancy. Accountability within national efforts is to the populace; however, there is no parallel requirement for accountability among those who would seek to exploit space travel for their own corporate objectives in the face of competition with other private contractors. The great marketing mill of the world will turn private efforts into non-stop opportunities to attract investment and we have recently been treated to the bitter taste of the fare that attracts the financial markets. One of America’s real needs is a new and very public space initiative. There will be the naysayers who will state that our urban infrastructure and road systems are so much in need of repair that we cannot afford such and effort now. To those people I would submit that since 1955 the United States has added the interstate highway system, most of the urban infrastructure that exists today and 150 million people to its population in addition to successfully completing the Explorer I, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs.
Most of my childhood was bracketed by America’s commitment to successfully place a man-made satellite into orbit and to land a man of the moon. I was the first kid on my block with a model of a Saturn V rocket that towered nearly three feet high in my bed room! My childhood days were filled in conversations with friends about the flights of Alan Shepard and John Glenn and, later, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) programs: Mercury, Gemini and Apollo rekindled our link with the history for the foundations of Western culture while providing a moniker to attach our hopes for future achievement in a mission that was bigger than any ever accomplished in human history. I am aware that all of these required the input of private contractors but the focus upon a national (not corporate) objective was paramount.
Late in the evening of July 20, 1969, I stood behind my grandfather’s chair in the little North Carolina town of Southport looking at a small black and white television screen as Neil Armstrong took his “…one giant leap for mankind”. The family oral history was that my grandfather’s father had been the head of the Kitty Hawk, NC lifesaving station whose crew had helped the Wright brothers to carry their plane to the top of a sand dune at Kill Devil Hills. I could feel “goose bumps” along my body in the realization that the aged man in front of me was witnessing the culmination of the journey that had begun on that cool December day in 1903. For me it was a moment of joy, reassurance and rededication to set lofty goals in the hopes that, through great effort, some day they might be realized. My nation had experienced many failures along the way but had never given up the ultimate goal. As a child I had learned two valuable lessons from our space efforts. The first was to set high standards and goals. The second was to treat failure as an opportunity to learn how not to do something so as to gain greater insight as to do the right thing that would help me to accomplish the goal. Not once did I think of any commercial concern and the only patches and logos on the space craft and the uniforms of the participants read: “United States of America”!