Being consumed by irresponsible consumerism

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. On this college graduation weekend there is one thing not obvious as we watch the graduates walk across the stage waving to mama. Many have irresponsible debts that their earning potential will not support comfortably. They do not seem to be worried about the mountain of debt into which they have gotten themselves. We might call this “Irresponsible consumerism” or “Dysfunctional consumerism.” I would not want to cast a disapproving eye at what another person buys, tattoos aside. It is not the purchase of momentary items that bothers me as much as going into debt for those things using resources that should be used to secure an education. Continue Reading

Stock up before the hoarders get it

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “No matter how many centuries of culture have preceded, the new man always finds himself standing on the brink of chaos, always in a crisis. Can anybody remember when the times were not hard, and money not scarce?” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1870 Throughout my lifetime there have always been doomsayers forecasting that our nation was going to Hades in a hand basket. Sigmund Freud wrote an interesting article in 1925 about our brain’s inability to deal well with negative images. As people shooting free throws to win a game know, negative images are dysfunctional. I find it odd that our society is so inundated with negative images from the media. Continue Reading

Who to blame for the price of gas

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.” Walt Kelly, 1952 In 1970 Walt Kelly condensed the quote to, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” I was thinking of that quote while filling up this week. Fuel prices are up dramatically. Americans are staring at the pump prices with alarm and wondering, “Gas should not cost that much. Who can we blame?” Blame all of us. It was not easy to get oil to $120 per barrel, but with incredible determination and stupidity, we Americans have done our part. Continue Reading

Really sustainable power for our world

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait ‘til oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” – Thomas Edison, 1931 Edison recognized that oil and coal were not sustainable energy solutions in the long run. They would work for many decades, but their utility was finite. At some point the stockpile of oil resources must dwindle while the competition for it increases. Continue Reading

Taking a long-term view of projects

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. At the coffee shop the other day, someone asked why elected officials never tackle tough, long-term projects. A friend asked, “Who did these things?” He listed several projects that people are happy we have in our area. “Gosh, I don’t know,” was the answer. “Exactly,” said my friend, “In each of these important projects some elected official put their political capital on the line to get them done. Now, no one remembers them and what they did. Continue Reading

Bad to the bone by design

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “We do not have a money problem in America. We have a values and priorities problem.” – Marian Wright Edelman Edelman is right, but the real question is, why do we have a values and priorities problem in the first place? Why are we not using our wealth and enlightenment to make society better? Because politics does not reward it. Our government is bad to the bone by design. Continue Reading

I like my president to be likeable

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© 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. I got this question from a reader: “About two months ago I received an e-mail picture showing Obama not singing or holding his hand over his heart while they were playing the national anthem. Clinton and Edwards were. A footnote also said Obama would not salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance. Is that true?” I do not know if it is true, nor do I care if people act patriotic. Rather, I care about whether they are patriotic. Continue Reading

Peace at any cost will not lead to peace

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“Our enemies are peaceful when they’re weak, are ruthless when they’re strong, demand mercy when they’re losing, show no mercy when they’re winning. … This is a total war.” – Newt Gingrich © 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. The American peace movement is gaining strength in our country. I do not question the sincerity of their beliefs. But in the name of peace they are fueling the next global war. Winston Churchill wrote of the 1930s peace movement, “…the zealous advocacy of peace led to war, not peace. Continue Reading

Don’t forget the other branches of government

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© 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. I am weary of the question, “What will happen if (name a candidate) is elected our next president?” If it is Barack, more Americans will learn to spell his name. Someone will be elected and do things I like and some I will not, as was the case with George W. Bush. The 24-hour news channels shout like there is a daily crash of a 747 when describing the presidential election. While I have a personal preference, nothing really bad will happen regardless of who is elected because we have three branches of government. This balance keeps one branch from having an overwhelmingly bad effect on the entire government. Continue Reading

How early is too early?

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© 2008 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. There was an interesting article last week in the online Wall Street Journal, “What makes Finnish kids so smart?” The Finns excel in the Program for International Assessment competitions that test 15 year olds. People can come up with many reasons for their success. One thing Finns do caught my eye. They do not send their students to school until they are seven years old. They have day care, but not formal school, before that. Continue Reading

Racial blend will mend our world

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’ – the human race – and that we are all members of it.” – Margaret Atwood Something is happening in our society unspoken of by the media, like the metaphor of an elephant in the living room that no one mentions. Young people might not see it but to the rest of us there has been a societal change worthy of note involving the ability to identify a person’s race as one and only one category. Our society has an antiquated attitude about racial identity, where race is neatly tied into categories checked on an “either this or that” form. Someone with a blended ancestry must choose one descriptor. People of different races are producing children of blended race. Continue Reading

Our national need for greed

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interests.” – Adam Smith, 1776 We are a nation lost on the road of good life, having lived so well for so long that we do not see our bounty. We live much better than our ancestors, yet are constantly discontent and envious of others who have more than us. Despite our blessings, we want to punish the “greedy rich.” Some believe all business is theft, that profits and greed are a scourge upon our society. They reject Adam Smith’s ideas in the above quote, contending that the butcher, brewer and baker are harming us with their greedy self-interest in profits. Otherwise they could sell for less. Continue Reading

A border policy bordering on insanity

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “The idea that the United States can’t guard its own border is silly. It’s a sign that we’re not serious about this.” – Newt Gingrich, then-speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1995 Our nation treats its borders unlike every other nation in the world. Mexico condemns us for wanting to do on our southern border exactly what it does on its southern border. In Mexico, sneak-in people have no legal status, no driver’s licenses, etc. We have a de facto open-border policy because our politicians have been and are paralyzed by political exigencies. Continue Reading

Doing the wrong thing to find out it is wrong

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free.” – P.J. O’Rourke, 1993. Regardless of the winner in the presidential election, it is likely Americans will soon be forced into nationalized health care. It is all that is left for the left to give Americans for their votes. Many candidates talk about “free” cradle-to-grave health care as an American right. If we get in the business of providing free health care, what will it cost? Continue Reading

This advance auction in stolen goods

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© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. “Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods.” – H.L. Mencken Super Tuesday is upon us. As soon as we have the two major-party presidential nominees, we will get a war of words between them daily until the election in November. It will be like going to the dentist every day for eight months to have the same tooth filled. That does not distress me as much as the promises each candidate makes to plunder from some Americans to buy the votes of others. Each is selling what they can do for you with someone else’s money. Continue Reading