dieting is selecting, not diminishing
We may not be “overloaded” as a whole, but we are overloaded individually. Each of us, for the most part, places ourselves beyond capacity because we are all performing redundant oversight. Each of us is trying to field the issues of the whole country, the whole planet. Yeah, “thinking globally” and “acting globally” is all well and good, but can we really micromanage and micromanage ourselves to that degree? NO, we cannot! Are you insane. Nor can we live under rocks all week. No answer? NO! Are you insane? Be selective. Really sit down with yourselves and boil down what issues are the most essential to you. For example, mine are education, art, and writing. Why don’t I focus on healthcare, xenophobia, bigotry, sexism, fascism, criminal justice, social justice, and environmental justice? I do, but I do it in my own ways and on my own time through those efforts. Plus, it is my belief that Art, Writing, and Education all address those issues the best and they do so the more we invest in them. I can’t tell students what to think or believe. It’s not ethical, and it’s not effective. I can suggest what topics they focus on and how best to evaluate the sources they turn to. Double standards don’t support education. Anything that is degenerate (like bigotry, sexism, etc.) will be revealed as such when readers and thinkers have well honed critical thinking skills. There are really no shortcuts. We must have a vital understanding of fascism inside and out. Take The Wall, for example, both the album and the film, both by Pink Floyd, the film directed by Alan Parker. It’s not just another far-out musical trip from The Floyd. It takes the protagonist, and by extension the audience (viewer/listeners) into the self-defeating mindset that ultimately becomes fascism. His turning inward became a kind of xenophobia of reality. He cut off all ties. This, by chance, brings us back to my opening. When we overload ourselves, we must turn inward from time to time, but when do we get ruthless about what we feed our brains? If we don’t get ruthless with our time and mental diets, then we will find ourselves becoming ruthless with people, the real people who mean the most to us, our coworkers, who should be companions in this bewildering life that’s the only one we have to live. I love my coworkers, as it turns out. I’d say each of them reads quite a lot--real reading, books and whatnot, not pablum from the innernet. I may not have properly expressed what fine human beings each of them truly is, but the appreciation is there. And what I should emulate is that they are dedicated readers of whatever they have chosen as their focus. They know those subjects better than they might know the history of Spain or Keynesian economics, but some of them may still be fairly conversant in those subjects too. Anyhow, we can’t know everything about everything, and trying to be Jacks of all trades is not feasible for most people. We are not obliged to anyone to “stay in our lanes,” but it’s still good to specialize. This goes for our hobbies, our political activism, our academics, reading list, and even social connections. Education is vitally important to me, my community, the country in which I live, the world, and probably the universe. It should be important to most, if not all, of my friends. At the same time, we should feel wholly welcome to critique the education systems around us. Not allowing criticism is fascistic, sycophantic, and pusillanimous. Pick your things voraciously and with veracity. And while you’re at it, please consider choosing your things with regard for your community/communities. “How do I make this better for my neighbors, for the people who share this life with me?” If we’re not seeking to improve ourselves, this world, and this life, then what is it all for?Â
