I took a "Utopia and the Landscape" seminar in graduate school. Not something explicitly practical from a scientific perspective, but it has been incredibly informative in the way I look at manifesto, mass media and geopolitical trends. I want to discuss the timelessness of utopias and then draw parallels with that and some contemporary trends I've noticed.
Utopias without Time
One of the most interesting things I learned in this Utopia seminar is that utopias are by definition timeless. One cannot have a perfect society in time. There cannot be a history or future. History would make it seem like there is something to learn from. History would show stupid decisions at best and horrors at worst. This cannot be in a utopia! And what about the future? Forget it! There is nothing to build and nothing to aspire to. Avant Garde - beggone! Everything is already perfect. Utopia, in the classic sense, exists as a static moment. Honestly, if you really think about it, utopia (and perfection) can be downright hellish.
Utopia in Time
But as humans, we're always looking to create utopia. (Yes, this can be argued.) So what happens if we hypothetically reached utopia at some point and then went past this point of perfection? I'd argue you'd get today's USA. Now let me qualify, I don't actually believe there ever was a point when all people, irrespective of race and social class had a perfect life. Especially not in the USA. But I believe we came close enough... and have since spiraled away. So what trends do I see pointing back to a near-utopian moment?
First, I see suburban sprawl. This is the physical manifestation of the perfect balance of community and open space.... gone out of control. The volume of suburbs we have in America is not sustainable. Suburban land use patterns are hugely inefficient at providing basic services (hospital, water, social, fire and police). Let's not forget the infrastructure maintenance, and oil and automobile dependence either. Suburbs aren't inherently bad, but when they destroy farmland and hollow out cities, something is out of balance.
Secondly, there is the food we eat. Our farm policies in the US are crafted to provide us with plenty of food. We spend less of our income on food than any generation prior. Perfect right? Well, this food has little-to-no nutrient value. We have a generation raised on sugar, caffeine and fat. This has created an obesity "epidemic" which is leading to huge problems with diabetes and heart disease. But, isn't this abundance?
Thirdly, we have access to perfect information. The internet and our technology does an amazing job of keeping us all in the loop. But a lot of that information can be wrong. And who remembers Enron? That company profited through the manipulation of information only to collapse under its own delusion. Sadly, most of the information we access is meaningless.
Fourthly, our collective apathy. I'm being a little polemic in my language with this one, but as a culture, we no longer seem to remember the past or think about the future. We rack up huge debts on credit without thinking on the long term implications. We build in flood plains and in the path of hurricanes. To me, all of these things shout that, as a culture, we have little concept of what happened in the past or care about what will happen in the future. We are living as if we are in a utopia.
Time will march forward. These systems and trends will either collapse, or reinvent themselves. But people, we don't live in a utopia. We can't expect things to stay the same.
(I'm sure there are other trends out there and I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this.)
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Christmas Traditions
I love Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There are some traditions that my family would do every year and some we would switch out. In either event, there is a rhythm to those days which remain little changed from my childhood.
Christmas Eve
Sometimes my family would go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. This was always at some nice fancy place, kind of a quiet evening with my family. Those were special, but the real fun happened when we could have Christmas Dinner at Aunt A's house. She would have meatballs, lasagna, breaded clams, calamari, pizzelle, struffoli... The works. This wasn't just for my small nuclear family, but for the larger Italian side of my family. And that is a lot of people. On my father's branch along, I've got seven brothers and sisters. I'm an uncle 15 times over. I am also a great-uncle twice over! And likely my Aunt A's branch is probably even larger. Granted, most of my father's branch doesn't show up, but I think I am conveying the point.
Sometimes that night, we could go to midnight mass. Growing up we would go to the Dutch Reformed Church down the street. As my one brother and I got older, we stopped going. None of us were particularly religions. Just spending time together at home had more meaning for us. We would relax, unwind and have some eggnog. Now as a teenager, I tried implementing this "open one present on Christmas Eve night" tradition. Alas, that one did not stick!
Christmas Day
Obviously, as a child, this was dominated by presents. However, this was soon replaced by Christmas Breakfast. One traditional food that we would make every year was "pizza friet" which, as I understand it, means "fried pizza dough" in Italian. My brother and I would form a pizza friet team. One would cut the dough into interesting shapes, the other would watch the fry pan, flipping and taking out the friet as necessary. My mom would make this really interesting egg and cheese souffle, and sometimes we'd have this cinnamon balls baked together in a bundt pan. All this food definitely became more important than presents.
After we had a huge brunch, we'd then saunter over to the living room and tree. Hudson, my brother's dog was actually the most excited about presents. This dog knows which presents are his (by the scent) and can actually unwrap most presents. It's an amazing thing to watch. One person would be "Santa" and dole out the presents, and we'd make sure everyone got equal shares. As our family grew (with spouses) this part of the day would take up more and more time. We've since agreed to a reduced present load, but somehow we all violate it and go over.
After unwraping presents we'd usually all retreat to our own spaces and rummage through our new hoard of goodies. The afternoon would pass with us relaxing and having some down time.
Christmas dinner was on of two things. When I was smaller, we'd have a ham or turkey for dinner that my mom spent the afternoon cooking. But as I got older, my friends' parents would have my family over for Christmas dinner. These parents, by the way, owned a award-winner, internationally acclaimed pastry shop. So yeah, good food and all my friends were there with all our parents. My friends and I would compare note about presents and hang out. It was good times.
Two days of traditions and non-stop awesomeness with friends and family. That is why I love Christmas time.
Christmas Eve
Sometimes my family would go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. This was always at some nice fancy place, kind of a quiet evening with my family. Those were special, but the real fun happened when we could have Christmas Dinner at Aunt A's house. She would have meatballs, lasagna, breaded clams, calamari, pizzelle, struffoli... The works. This wasn't just for my small nuclear family, but for the larger Italian side of my family. And that is a lot of people. On my father's branch along, I've got seven brothers and sisters. I'm an uncle 15 times over. I am also a great-uncle twice over! And likely my Aunt A's branch is probably even larger. Granted, most of my father's branch doesn't show up, but I think I am conveying the point.
Sometimes that night, we could go to midnight mass. Growing up we would go to the Dutch Reformed Church down the street. As my one brother and I got older, we stopped going. None of us were particularly religions. Just spending time together at home had more meaning for us. We would relax, unwind and have some eggnog. Now as a teenager, I tried implementing this "open one present on Christmas Eve night" tradition. Alas, that one did not stick!
Christmas Day
Obviously, as a child, this was dominated by presents. However, this was soon replaced by Christmas Breakfast. One traditional food that we would make every year was "pizza friet" which, as I understand it, means "fried pizza dough" in Italian. My brother and I would form a pizza friet team. One would cut the dough into interesting shapes, the other would watch the fry pan, flipping and taking out the friet as necessary. My mom would make this really interesting egg and cheese souffle, and sometimes we'd have this cinnamon balls baked together in a bundt pan. All this food definitely became more important than presents.
After we had a huge brunch, we'd then saunter over to the living room and tree. Hudson, my brother's dog was actually the most excited about presents. This dog knows which presents are his (by the scent) and can actually unwrap most presents. It's an amazing thing to watch. One person would be "Santa" and dole out the presents, and we'd make sure everyone got equal shares. As our family grew (with spouses) this part of the day would take up more and more time. We've since agreed to a reduced present load, but somehow we all violate it and go over.
After unwraping presents we'd usually all retreat to our own spaces and rummage through our new hoard of goodies. The afternoon would pass with us relaxing and having some down time.
Christmas dinner was on of two things. When I was smaller, we'd have a ham or turkey for dinner that my mom spent the afternoon cooking. But as I got older, my friends' parents would have my family over for Christmas dinner. These parents, by the way, owned a award-winner, internationally acclaimed pastry shop. So yeah, good food and all my friends were there with all our parents. My friends and I would compare note about presents and hang out. It was good times.
Two days of traditions and non-stop awesomeness with friends and family. That is why I love Christmas time.
Growing Up
I think I'm growing up. I am not longer quite as excited to visit my mom's house for Christmas. Now, let me preface this a bit. I grew up without my biological father. Family, and family traditions are of extreme importance to be because I was keenly aware of how delicate family life can sometimes be. To this end, I always looked forward to the two weeks around Christmas. My mother is a teacher and she would have those weeks off. My brother would either return from college, or have those weeks off (he's got an awesome boss). The three of us would all be together. It was so special for me. The friends I grew up with would be around. I felt known. I felt understood. I felt like I was surrounded by family.
Now, I have my own house. I am married and have my own family. Granted we don't have kids yet, but hopefully someday. We do have our needy cat though. It's a hassle to leave our house and find someone to water the plants and watch the cat. We have our own tree and our own holiday decorations. My brother has a wife now too. They have their own tree. My mom has even remarried.
So times has changed and I feel like I'm grasping at this romantic notion of my past. I still love my family and I still feel close with them. I can't imagine spending Christmas somewhere else. But I no longer hang around for two weeks. One week is the most I manage now and often times that seems like more than enough.
Now, I have my own house. I am married and have my own family. Granted we don't have kids yet, but hopefully someday. We do have our needy cat though. It's a hassle to leave our house and find someone to water the plants and watch the cat. We have our own tree and our own holiday decorations. My brother has a wife now too. They have their own tree. My mom has even remarried.
So times has changed and I feel like I'm grasping at this romantic notion of my past. I still love my family and I still feel close with them. I can't imagine spending Christmas somewhere else. But I no longer hang around for two weeks. One week is the most I manage now and often times that seems like more than enough.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Tax Exempt
I've heard a lot of talk about how the Mormon Church, upon pumping millions of dollars into Proposition 8 should have its tax exempt status revoked. Personally, I don't see why ANY church should be tax-exempt. I can understand not getting taxed based on your income from tithes. These are essentially donations, and I think donations should be tax exempt. But people, churches don't have to pay taxes for ANYTHING. My big beef with this is with regard to cities. (Of course it is.)
Cities have a dwindling tax base. Yes, this is largely due to population loss from white flight. However, the number of tax-exempt buildings within most cities is ASTOUNDING. Here's a list off the top of my head of tax-exempt institutions:
Now, universities are good things to have. Assuming there isn't a walled campus, universities have help cities out tremendously. They bring in young, creative people. They foster new ideas. They give a city a sense of place. Some people even seem to get excited about their athletic programs. Though their grounds are tax-exempt there is a lot of spin off value that is generated.
Government buildings are good to have in cities too. Being located in the urban core means more people have access to the building. Given that governments are technically about all people (not just the rich) this should be a deciding factor. However, it is tough on a city when the municipality hosts not just city hall, but also the county seat, various federal buildings and branches of state offices. Those buildings add up, however they create a stable base of employment which supports various weekday spin-off activities (like lunch spots).
Hospitals. These are definitely important to have in a highly accessible (ie, urban) environment. It doesn't help anyone if by the time they get to the hospital, they are dead. Also, like government buildings and universities, hospitals and generate spin-off income for cities. Bed and breakfasts for families staying near a loved one in the hospital. Restaurants for families. Near-by medical offices.
Now churches. What do churches provide? What do they generate for the civic good? (Note: I am not questioning their spiritual efficacy, but am keeping this to the material body) A single preacher / pastor does not generate much spin off income. One does not see businesses appearing around churches. In fact, in many urban communities, churches spring up everywhere. I know of some parts of my city where there are multiple churches on a block. Keep in mind this is a de-populating rust belt city. Do the few remaining residents really need that many churches? And what happens when the church closes?
In short, get those church off the tax extempt status. Make them pay property tax like any other corporate business. Oh wait.... corporate businesses don't pay taxes either.
Ugh, I'll have to save that for another post....
Cities have a dwindling tax base. Yes, this is largely due to population loss from white flight. However, the number of tax-exempt buildings within most cities is ASTOUNDING. Here's a list off the top of my head of tax-exempt institutions:
- Universities
- Government Buildings
- Hospitals
- Churches
Now, universities are good things to have. Assuming there isn't a walled campus, universities have help cities out tremendously. They bring in young, creative people. They foster new ideas. They give a city a sense of place. Some people even seem to get excited about their athletic programs. Though their grounds are tax-exempt there is a lot of spin off value that is generated.
Government buildings are good to have in cities too. Being located in the urban core means more people have access to the building. Given that governments are technically about all people (not just the rich) this should be a deciding factor. However, it is tough on a city when the municipality hosts not just city hall, but also the county seat, various federal buildings and branches of state offices. Those buildings add up, however they create a stable base of employment which supports various weekday spin-off activities (like lunch spots).
Hospitals. These are definitely important to have in a highly accessible (ie, urban) environment. It doesn't help anyone if by the time they get to the hospital, they are dead. Also, like government buildings and universities, hospitals and generate spin-off income for cities. Bed and breakfasts for families staying near a loved one in the hospital. Restaurants for families. Near-by medical offices.
Now churches. What do churches provide? What do they generate for the civic good? (Note: I am not questioning their spiritual efficacy, but am keeping this to the material body) A single preacher / pastor does not generate much spin off income. One does not see businesses appearing around churches. In fact, in many urban communities, churches spring up everywhere. I know of some parts of my city where there are multiple churches on a block. Keep in mind this is a de-populating rust belt city. Do the few remaining residents really need that many churches? And what happens when the church closes?
In short, get those church off the tax extempt status. Make them pay property tax like any other corporate business. Oh wait.... corporate businesses don't pay taxes either.
Ugh, I'll have to save that for another post....
Life Updates
Slow Food is moving along nicely. I just have one more piece to fit together before sending out the chapter application. I also need to contact L about getting her web expertise which was so generous that I haven't even been able to respond to her offer. Lame of me, I know.
Wedding Planning is also moving along nicely. We have almost fleshed out our address list. Mike also came up with an awesome idea for our reception location. We received our "save-the-dates" and need to start distributing them. I just wonder if at this point, I should focus more on sending out the actual invitations. Hm.
Music is not moving. I realized that I may have to drop this entirely this year. I would like to go hang out at some jam sessions just to meet the people and take in the music. Unfortunately, I will not realistically be able to dedicate the time to learning a new instrument. On the plus side, I realize I should first learn guitar, that basic instrument, before moving on to more complex instruments, such as a mandolin.
Fraternity is unfortunately moving. I still have three fraternity commitments and one of them is taking up an unhealthy amount of my time. I am beginning to extricate myself from the responsibility of this task. However, this is a very important task and I will not just drop it. It will still take some substantial effort to responsibly pass this task on to another.
Path is slowly moving. Unlike music, which was also supposed to be a stress reliever, Path is actually functioning as a pleasant distraction. I've done more work to craft this work as my own original place and have fleshed out a one-shot adventure highlighting some of Path's unique features.
A business? Hah! I've been so busy with other things I haven't even contemplated it. This is one task that I definitely have put to bed for the time being. Thank goodness!
Wedding Planning is also moving along nicely. We have almost fleshed out our address list. Mike also came up with an awesome idea for our reception location. We received our "save-the-dates" and need to start distributing them. I just wonder if at this point, I should focus more on sending out the actual invitations. Hm.
Music is not moving. I realized that I may have to drop this entirely this year. I would like to go hang out at some jam sessions just to meet the people and take in the music. Unfortunately, I will not realistically be able to dedicate the time to learning a new instrument. On the plus side, I realize I should first learn guitar, that basic instrument, before moving on to more complex instruments, such as a mandolin.
Fraternity is unfortunately moving. I still have three fraternity commitments and one of them is taking up an unhealthy amount of my time. I am beginning to extricate myself from the responsibility of this task. However, this is a very important task and I will not just drop it. It will still take some substantial effort to responsibly pass this task on to another.
Path is slowly moving. Unlike music, which was also supposed to be a stress reliever, Path is actually functioning as a pleasant distraction. I've done more work to craft this work as my own original place and have fleshed out a one-shot adventure highlighting some of Path's unique features.
A business? Hah! I've been so busy with other things I haven't even contemplated it. This is one task that I definitely have put to bed for the time being. Thank goodness!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Brotherhood
I am a Brother of Delta Lambda Phi. It's official tag line is that it is a fraternity "for gay, bisexual and progressive men" however, I like the tag line "founded by gay men for all men." I've been a Brother since 2001, but have been involved since December 0f 1998. That's ten years now.
During these ten years, I feel I've grown a lot as an individual. Until I decided to become involved in DLP I had never taken on a position of leadership. Now I have plenty of leadership experience. Heck, I speak and give presentations to the public as part of my job now. I am constantly starting projects (not always successfully but such is life). But what has DLP really given me? Would I have grown into a leadership role eventually? A network of Brothers around the county? The ability to help foster the next generation of leader?
Let me focus on this network of friends I can rely on. This is true in the abstract. Unfortunately, when I sit down and look at all of the brothers I've met over the years, I only feel I can really rely on 25 people in the fraternity (give or take). 25 people over 10 years? For an organization that purports to be about brotherhood, those are not the best statistics. Now don't get me wrong. Those 25 (give or take) people are all awesome people who have touched my life in so many ways. I have no regrets about meeting them. But do I regret the time I put in versus the effort I get out?
I believe in the ideals of brotherhood. I consider brothers people who are trustworthy and honest. People who don't just support someone, but who actively build up that person. However, over the many years, I've more often found people who belittle others in order to make themselves look bigger. I've found people who go back on their word. I've found people who are more interested in drinking and/or doing drugs than trying to get to know the person next to them.
Now I don't blame my fraternity. I honestly believe DLP is well intentioned fraternity founded with the best of ideals and principles. I just question if fraternities in general attract these negative types of people. I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't spent all my time on fraternity issues. What it would be like if I got involved in Slow Food ten years ago instead of my fraternity. But then I think about those 25 (give or take) people and I know that the grass will always be greener on the other side.
I've got plenty of years left in me to meet awesome people through Slow Foods.
... besides, I got a cool secret handshake out of the deal.
During these ten years, I feel I've grown a lot as an individual. Until I decided to become involved in DLP I had never taken on a position of leadership. Now I have plenty of leadership experience. Heck, I speak and give presentations to the public as part of my job now. I am constantly starting projects (not always successfully but such is life). But what has DLP really given me? Would I have grown into a leadership role eventually? A network of Brothers around the county? The ability to help foster the next generation of leader?
Let me focus on this network of friends I can rely on. This is true in the abstract. Unfortunately, when I sit down and look at all of the brothers I've met over the years, I only feel I can really rely on 25 people in the fraternity (give or take). 25 people over 10 years? For an organization that purports to be about brotherhood, those are not the best statistics. Now don't get me wrong. Those 25 (give or take) people are all awesome people who have touched my life in so many ways. I have no regrets about meeting them. But do I regret the time I put in versus the effort I get out?
I believe in the ideals of brotherhood. I consider brothers people who are trustworthy and honest. People who don't just support someone, but who actively build up that person. However, over the many years, I've more often found people who belittle others in order to make themselves look bigger. I've found people who go back on their word. I've found people who are more interested in drinking and/or doing drugs than trying to get to know the person next to them.
Now I don't blame my fraternity. I honestly believe DLP is well intentioned fraternity founded with the best of ideals and principles. I just question if fraternities in general attract these negative types of people. I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't spent all my time on fraternity issues. What it would be like if I got involved in Slow Food ten years ago instead of my fraternity. But then I think about those 25 (give or take) people and I know that the grass will always be greener on the other side.
I've got plenty of years left in me to meet awesome people through Slow Foods.
... besides, I got a cool secret handshake out of the deal.
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