Anger: Decision or Emotion

But Kim, anger isn't a decision, it's an emotion. Taking action from anger is a decision, but that is not synonymous with the raw emotion. I think a person who never gets angry is either someone who has become enlightened, or else is someone who doesn't know or admit to their anger. Every human swims in the same pool of raw emotions, and I hear that enlightened beings once did too. I think that pretending, avoiding or debating whether or not to be angry is also part of being human. But it's not going to get us into heaven (wink). That's mental activity trying to decide something good or bad about human nature. I think. :)

But the main point for me is what's underneath. In my experience, sadness & fear are under or coupled with anger, so I say it's even practical to listen to the anger. It's a matter of care, to notice the fear, discover the connection, and take action that will help. After all, we aren't striving to be robots, it's an open heart we want more of. I think that making good decisions that effect life on Earth can only come from having the capacity to feel all the feelings, because raw emotions are our barometers that direct us in life, whether we know it or not.—Ginger

Decisions seem to come from the conscious mind, while emotions from the unconscious. Yet we read that several seconds before we make conscious decisions the outcome can be predicted from unconscious activity of the brain.

One question to me is whether we can do anything consciously. Can we make decisions? Can we control our anger... or our love?

Sometimes we are waiting for a parking space and someone sneaks into an open space that we've patiently had our eye upon. Some will be furious. Some will even say something rude to the space stealer. Some might try to give them a black eye. This would definitively be taking action from anger.

And some won't be angry at all. They will just say to themselves, "time to find a new space."

How did those people get that way? Good parenting? Good teachers? Smarts?

Probably a combination. I don't think the person is necessarily "repressed." They may realize, like my GPS often does, that it is time to recalculate.

Angry about the pollution

A friend wrote me that reading about pollution made her angry. I know I've written many times before about anger, but I'll do it again.

What struck me, as I though about her anger, is that two things have happened. One is that there is mercury in the ocean that has become part of the fish that we eat. I first became aware of the effects of mercury from the Minamata photos by Eugene Smith. The second thing that has happened is that someone is angry because there is mercury in the ocean.

Many say that the anger is good because it leads to attempts to clean up the environment. But who cleans up the anger, which is a kind of pollution itself? Is it necessary to be angry to act? You see a speeding car coming toward a kid in the street. Do you need to be angry to pull the kid from its path?

Here's a good link on anger, with quotes from the Buddha and the Bible.

Seafood Watch

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a website that lets you know what seafood you should eat. The two issues seem to be the sustainability of the fisheries, and the mercury in the fish.

Environmental Defense Fund has issued a consumption advisory for longline-caught albacore tuna due to elevated levels of mercury. No consumption advisories are listed for troll- or pole-caught albacore as these methods catch younger tuna with lower mercury levels.

This sounded much easier than I thought until I started looking for Pacific Sardines. Word from Monterey is that you should only get Pacific sardines, because the Atlantic fisheries are eliminating the sardines by catching too many of them. And guess which ones cost more. At Costco, good sardines are a little more than a $1 a can, but they are from Morocco which is a no no. So I passed them by, and went to three groceries before I found some from the Pacific. $3.78 a can!

So what did I do? Quit eating sardines. The same with tuna... after I finish the three cans that I already have.

There was an artist, Mr. Otis, who would only sell his paintings for cans of sardines. Since he was from the Pacific Northwest, I'm hoping that his sardines were the good kind.

So what would you do if you liked sardines? Eat your wallet, or the Atlantic sardines?

Banks aren't the culprit.

I read something the other day about banks.  (click on link to read article). It has bothered me since I read it because I don't believe banks are doing the wrong thing by investing money rather than lending money.

At the beginning of the article Stiglitz talks about the bailout. He says that we did it because we were told that the American economy couldn't function without the overnight lending. I don't know if this is true, but if it is, it indicates how, after years of any service, we become a slave to that service provider.

Then he says that the banks used some of their money for bonuses. This suggests that we gave them too much, and/or that they didn't need as much as they said they did. I hope that they lose some credibility over this. You give your kid your car keys... and the car doesn't ever come home. You then hesitate the next time they ask for the keys.

He speaks of the lending rate being close to zero. This was done so the government could borrow lots of money, and also so the government wouldn't have to pay lots of interest. But for the average Joe, it didn't mean easy money. Not for buying a house. Mortgages are still hard to get. Car loans are easier and cheaper. That is because the car companies know that they won't sell cars unless they can entice people with low interest and low downpayment. Cars can be repossessed easier than houses (esp. with used cars being sold at a premium), so it is good business to loan money on them. House mortgages are a risky investment for banks. Why should banks take chances for a low rate of return?

Stiglitz admonishes the banks. He says they aren't doing their job. I think they are. They are making a profit for their stockholders (as their charters suggest). It isn't their job to be charities. And if we criticize them for not engaging in risky investments, as home mortgages are (especially at low rates), aren't we really contradicting what we accused them of in the past... of engaging in practices that are too risky. How can they win?

This is not to say that people don't need mortgages. It is just that the price of mortgages is artificially low, so that banks (rightfully) don't want to do them.

People pay much higher interest on their credit cards. At some cost, maybe someone would start to loan more money on houses. But I don't think we should point at the banks as the culprit.

Seven Old Images

My wife, looking for old photos of waterfalls and geysers for Stephanie, found six negatives and one postcard. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

This was taken in "Habana, Cuba" in 1941. My uncle Elvin
and my aunt Virginia are 2nd and 3rd from the right.

My sister Sandy, and the niece (Janis)
and nephew of our neighbor, Von Adams.
I think this and the ones below were taken in 1957.

My sister, Gail, on horse in Cannon Beach, Oregon.
I think that's Bobby (Janis's brother) on the right.
My sisters and I worked as guides at the stables, but at
this time I was too young, so I worked at the Burro rink
on the left. For 25¢
I'd put the kids on the burro
 and let them go around the rink 8 times.
The best part of the job was that girls would come and
talk to me... esp. Janice (not Janis, who I liked too). Janice
died in a car accident the day of her wedding.

My grandmother, Rebecca Tarlow. She was born
in Russia, raised in London, studied at the London
Conservatory of Music, and was always worried that
I was or wasn't eating right.

L to R: Rebecca Tarlow, Elvin Tarlow (her son and my uncle),
and Edmond Mosley (my dad) in Cannon Beach, Oregon. 

My cousin, Mark Kriss

My cousin, Mark Kriss

Kate's worries about the poor.

Kate: I just don’t understand how ‘improving the education system of the poor’ is different than 'giving money to the poor’ because you’re going to need money to improve the educational system. 

Kim: I think the difference relates to that saying, "Give a man a fish and he has food for the day. Teach him to fish and he has food for life."

Kate: Obama had a speech before he became president where he said, “When 2/3 of all new jobs require higher education or advanced training, knowledge is the most valuable skill you can sell.” I just want you to recognized that education is a commodity that is for sale. A person needs money to get the education. And a person needs an education to get out of poverty. So where does that money meant to improve education come from? The poors? They ain’t got money. 

Kim:  The average American works about 50% of the year to pay one tax or another. That is too much. But first, there is a question about whether money is key to improving education. In Washington, D.C. something like $24,600 is spent per student. And they have one of the worse educational systems in the US. Would more money make it better? I don't know. But if we really need more money I'd take it from one of many agencies that could be eliminated. 

Kate: Would you support or oppose a tax increase on wealthy people to support schools in an economically suppressed neighborhood (area where property values are low)? 

Kim: Though I wouldn't support any tax increase because I think we are taxed more than enough... and the wealthy do pay in many ways beyond "income tax," I'm not sure how taxed monies should be distributed. Maybe all schools in a city should get the same amount per student.

It is a tough one. If one city did that and the schools in the well-to-do neighborhoods went downhill, then parents would either move to another city, or send their kids to private schools.

Kate: Would you support or oppose a tax increase on wealthy people to support a school lunch program that feed students who’s parents make much less money?

Kim: Again, Uncle Sam taxes enough. If he taxes more, he'll just get bigger and there will be more waste. I like the school lunch program, esp. as in some places the meals are getting nutritious.

Kate: Would you support or oppose a tax increase on wealthy people to support a grant program that helps fund the education of people without a financial means to pay for college?

Kim: I think the best system is a loan program for all those who can't afford college. This way the least amount of money could put the most people through college. Since college increases life earnings, why not have the students give back (so other students can go to college as well)?

Kate: Did you read that article “If I were a poor black kid” that lots of people were up in arms about last week? The author of the article argues that if he were a poor black kid he would do everything he could to gain an education which would allow him to escape poverty. The backlash on that article was astounding ...  At least to me... My Facebook community had a whole lot to say about it.

Kim: As I read the article I kept thinking of Marie Antoinette saying, "let them eat cake." He is "out-of-touch" in many ways because the problems are so severe. Yet, there are places that are successfully educating the poor. I visited a school in Denver where students were learning trades. All the courses provided individualized instruction. Students could start any day of the year (except weekends and holidays, I guess). And they had babysitters for their kids. 90+% of the students succeeded. On the other hand, I saw many college students from North St. Louis who couldn't read at 4th grade level, who couldn't write a sentence, who didn't know that 1/2 is bigger than a 1/4. The problems are deep and it will take many generations to make progress.

Kate: I really don’t know if you are doing it on purpose or not, but your argument there sounds to me like that article that pissed so many people off so recently. If you didn’t know about that article before now, you should try to understand some of that backlash. If you did know about the article and wrote this with that understanding (to be controversial or what), just remember that you are what you pretend to be. 

Kim: I'm not trying to piss anyone off (though I know that happens... one of my first girlfriends unfriended me on FB). Morality is a scary proposition. Many things go quite well when people just try to make a buck. I had some great popcorn tofu tonight from our co-op grocery. I'm not sure the cook wanted to make the world better. Maybe he just wanted to pay his rent and buy a beer?

Did I answer all your questions?

Capitalism run by moral and ethical people of conscience

Herb wrote: "Perhaps a Capitalism run by moral and ethical people of conscience."

I'd run like a dog if everyone was moral and ethical people of conscience. I'd rather believe everyone is a crook, just thinking of themselves.

I think we've run into trouble believing that we can trust all those offering services to us—that they are moral and ethical people of conscience. Maybe it is safer to assume the opposite, that they have only self-interest. I'm shopping for insurance. Everyone wants to sell me their policy. I realize that and don't assume that everyone has my best interest in their heart. So I weigh one policy against the other, and hope for the best.

Imagine you go to buy birth-control whatever at the pharmacy. This ethical person of conscience says that since I am a 15 years old, they better notify my parents, because their morals tell them that 15 year-olds shouldn't be out there having sex. A clever 15 year-old might question each pharmacist, asking "are you moral and ethical?" and if they say yes, then they would question their morals and make sure that there was an "alignment of morals."

The beauty of self-interest is that it is a lot more dependable that morality. My father claimed that there is no morality... only the law (he was a lawyer). I was quite upset with his statement until I started to wonder, "what morality? whose morality?"