*Which* Action Day?

It was not long after I made a post about Blog Action Day that events in Burma* stole a little bit of thunder. Blog Action Day, an experiment to see what kind of impact a unified, blogospheric focus on a particular subject might have – in the case of Blog Action Day, the subject is the environment. Well, it seems that regardless of happens on October 15^th, it is clearly evident that the internet, and blogs in particular, can have a tremendous impact on public awareness. Whether it is a global issues such as the environment or human rights abuse or a more localized concern, we are in the early throes understanding this very powerful form of communication.

Despite a subsequent blackout on information coming out of Burma, what did arrive on the international “news” scene before the plug was pulled, was both unstoppable and historic. The distribution of news occurred at light speed and there is no way these ruthless oppressors will ever be able to squelch the evidence – no matter how hard they might try to claim shooting Kenji Nagai, a Japanese journalist, was an accident. What is historic about this event is that this was a major piece of evidence that even though it is not being reported by professional journals, the international community shares a common watchdog notification system. Connect the eyes on the ground to the internet and no violation can be hidden from the rest of the world.**

I said we are in the early throes of understanding how this medium can be used. Some might argue that we are already aware and in many respects we are – we know that we can get information out to the public very quickly and it’s replication makes it impossible to destroy. However, what we have now in it’s current manifestation can be equated to the very first few printing presses – solitary, one-way, mechanical devices for materializing printed ‘information’. However, what we have not achieved is the leap between Gutenberg’s printing press of 1450 to the desktop publisher of the 1990’s. Carrying my analogy into the science-fiction predictive model, it is not just an 12page per minute, collating laser printer on the desk of a home office, rather, it is that printer churning out pages in a place which is half Quaker meeting house, half Roman forum.

In the present case of Burma, and potentially countless violations to human rights occurring around the world, we are serving as a watchdog against bad behaviour. However, not all is doom and gloom and I predict – or at least I hope – that as we learn to harness this medium, we will begin be more proactive about situations around the world so that university students no longer need to be run down by tanks before someone steps up and says “Hey, that’s not right!”.***

In my dream, sometime and I hope not to far from now, my congressional representative will begin to expose their choices, their issues, their goals openly in their politi-blog and soliciting their constituents opinions. Eventually, maybe through this type of medium, we may actually see democracy… real democracy… occur. Or call it something else?

Naturally, there are challenges to this. Not everyone has computers. Not everyone is interested. Not everyone can form an intelligent decision when presented with the facts. However, whatever challenges may be before us, the sacrifices and silenced voices of the Burmese monks should be saluted, not only for their bravery to benefit themselves and fellow countrymen, but the remarkable step of progress for humankind.

*I call it Burma because it is Burma – Myanmar? I’ve yet to meet a Burmese person who calls themselves Myanmar-anese.

**There are plenty of cases already where internet-distributed information has either been squelched, confiscated and/or censured. However, the days are not many when people will realize this is not right – how would you feel if your government came and took all the Post-It notes off your refrigerator?

*** The situation in Burma is NOT a domestic issue. Beating monks, shooting journalists, and planting evidence of weapons in a monastary is an international issue. If the UN is too insipid to apply pressure, it is up to the people of the world to stop buying Burmese teak and heroin until the junta is ousted and the legally elected National League for Democracy Party is given their elected due.

Free Market Mirage

A colleague of mine and I have lost touch for the past year an a half while I have been in Southeast Asia. The other day, I noticed him on Facebook and added him as a friend. My reasoning for wanting to stay in touch with him is twofold. First, I consider him a friend; a person who I respect immensely for both his professional acumen as well as being a man of impeccably good character. Second, I want to stay in touch with him because, professionally, we share the same ideology of enthusiasm, integrity and an inquisitive nature – hence, there is potential for us to enter into mutually beneficial business relationships. (As an additional note, Naisan’s capacity for light-speed synapse inspired many advanced educational techniques I developed between 2003 and 2006)

Looking into his current endeavors, I noticed he has a blog at www.naisan.net\blog. His latest entry dealt with the death of capitalism. I found it very interesting to read his short post and move my mind back to the conditions of the USA while I have been immersed in a very different situation here in Laos.

As capitalism dies from the insidious workings of the omniscient “them” back in the USA (and in most of the globe), I am watching Laos go through the painful birthing of it’s own form of one-party capitalism. Laos, in an attempt to sustain itself as a sovereign nation and free itself from least developed nation status by 2020, has entered into a free market economy. It’s not like there is much choice for Laos. After decades of solidarity with the Soviet Union, once big brother conceded that great philosophical mind-plays are not always sustainable socio-economic methods, Laos had to enter into the global market.

How will that work? I wonder. How will a country who has sustained itself in a vacuum outside the free market since 1975, transfer it’s ideology to a free market mindset while at the same time the world free market seems to be collapsing under the weight of the likes of Cheney, Bush, GE, Haliburton and the rest of the behemoths? Will this birth into free market become a stillborn lark – too little, too late – or will Laos’ expertise learned from decades of corruption, lobbying and special interests be boon to its role in the soon coming free market mirage?

DISCLAIMER: Of course, what I write here is merely off-the-cuff, personal pontifications. I certainly do not claim to be an expert on capitalism, communism, socialism or the current state of affairs on the global economy – or even the Peoples Democratic Republic of Lao, for that matter. I shudder at the thought that any harm would come to the nation of Laos – a country I love immensely and for which I have great respect for the perseverance of it’s people and leaders.

By the way… beggar count today: 22 individuals in 90 minutes. Four adults, 18 children. Akiki is taking the day off, I guess.

Emotion Education

I read a headline the other day where a new government initiative requires students learn how do deal with their emotions. It made me think of my own primary education experience.

In my early years of primary school, there were several initiatives to revamp and update the education system. This somewhat grass-roots movement didn’t target the education system directly, instead it focused on making improved educational materials ubiquitously available. The most prominent of these was the Children’s Television Network who provided Sesame Street and The Electric Company. In addition, there was the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program. RIF was literacy improvement campaign across the nation. It was throughout the school system and advertised on television. One of the most noticeable aspects of the RIF program was the Book Mobile.

I loved the Book Mobile. To me, it was a portable euphoria – a mobile oasis of words and thoughts. The day I saw my mom volunteering inside the book mobile, I thought I was having an out-of-body experience. The Book Mobile inspired my love of books the same way Easy Reader (played by Morgan Freeman) on Electric Company inspired my love of reading. The people working to create a better world through education dramatically shaped who I am today.

At the same time as the early days of Children’s Television Network and RIF, there was a television program which aired during school hours called Ripple. Ripple focused on questions of morality and ethics. It was designed to stimulate discussion. Teachers were provided with printed discussion prompters and it was made clear to the students that there was no right answer, only opinions. During the broadcast, there would be an intermission where teachers would ask the suggested questions and students would respond.

“How do you think Billy should handle this situation? How do you think Betty will feel if he doesn’t stop his bullying?” “Why?”

Then the show would continue. At the conclusion of the show, teachers again would follow the itinerary and ask additional questions. “Did Billy do the right thing? Should Betty continue to be Billy’s friend?” “Why?”

For me, and for many of my classmates, Ripple was a effective way of learning to consider our actions; learning to think in terms of ‘how would I feel?’ and ‘what would I do in that situation?’ and “Why?”.

The recent headline made me wonder about many questions. How does the U.K. plan to teach lessons in how to deal with our emotions? How have we learned from earlier experiments and influences in education? What progress has been made in regards to early education on the topics of emotions, ethics and morals? One would hope that the modern pioneers of the late sixties and early seventies had set solid foundations. One would think that a national endeavor to expose students to considering the consequences of their actions would have evolved naturally from those times. In many ways I think these positive progressions have been made. However, I have often wondered if the sticks attached to Kermit the Frog’s arms have been handled by the advertisers, media corporations and the politicians and not by Sir Saint Henson. (What???? Jim Henson isn’t a knight or a saint, yet?!!!”).

I really don’t know the full story on the state of education in America. I know some things – the vocabulary of the average Yank is a fraction of the average Brit’s vocabulary; without a digital cash register, giving correct change is impossible; many high school graduates are illiterate; nearly no one knows the location of Sumatra (not the bag of coffee at Starbucks, the island… or is it a country?); and quite a few people have their britches in a bunch over a moment of silence. In short, I think the education system is both doing great and sadly misaligned. I can’t help but fear much of the work done when I was a child was abandoned.

I know it’s not a simple subject. There are thousands of working pieces in finding a solution and scores of interested parties have to have their say. However, I think the “Just do it” approach is warranted. A delay based on the “better not because you might offend” approach is a waste of time. I can foresee the U.S.A. delaying indefinitely with endless derailed conversations on standardized training for ethical behaviour. I am hopeful for next wave of students. In the absence of something substantial, how will their sanitized education leave them equipped to handle an emotional experience.

Hitch’, Gates, Slim, Kumari

I never really knew much of Christopher Hitchens. I’ve heard his name a couple times but I’ve never considered much of what he has to say one way or the other. His book, God is Not Great, apparently is causing a bit of a stir.

I’ve never really knew much of Kumaris (literally translated from Nepali as ‘virgin’). I might have read about Sajani Shakya, the Kumari Devi of Bhaktapur, but I’ve never considered any form of worship for this current incarnation of Taleju. Apparently, Kumari Devi tainted her goddess blood by visiting the United States of America. She’s been dismissed.

I’ve heard of Gates and Buffet, but I’ve never heard of Carlos Slim, the richest man alive with a net worth of $67.8 billion. I don’t think very often of the net worth of these people – I’ve read books by and about them, mostly because I need to stay current, or at least sound like I have a foggy notion of who’s who. Apparently, someone has noticed that Carlos Slim wore a plastic watch.

People find things offensive. They fired Don Imus for opening his mouth one too many times, but no one surveyed radio listeners to find out how many people simply tuned into another channel, a channel more palatable to their own perspective. Is God great? Or is God not great? Is this a decision you want to leave to Mr. Hitchens? Has Taleju left the body of Sajani Shakya? Should faith in Taleju be suspended until a more submissive and less adventurous vessel is found? Should I pity myself – my poverty – because I can not spend an unjustified $9.7 million on a jet?

We have to make our own choices in this life. We have to accept the choices that others make. If a person wants to be an anti-theist, that is their prerogative. As a committed practitioner of my faith, I must accept other’s choices or I must abandon my own belief that the onus is on each individual to carve out their own position. If someone or something helps out along the way, so much the better.

If organized religion is deemed evil by your neighbor, allow them to avoid it – until they find a different viewpoint, it will indeed remain evil in their mind. If a goddess transgresses from the age-old way, maybe it is time to rethink the age old way and not the goddess. If a man, after 13 years of being the wealthiest becomes the second wealthiest, has anything changed? Has anything changed for you? Is your faith shaken? Stirred?

I once heard a story of the Buddha who taught that if you meet someone and they tell you your religion is inferior, you should agree with them, smile, and continue on your way.

In the Laos language there is an expression, Lao de jao. I hear it quite a bit. It means It’s up to you. It’s up to you, Mr. Hitchens, to decide what you want to do. As for me, I will make my own decisions.