Security

Ask folks what they want, and there are varied standard answers. Fame, fortune, health top the list for most. Friends, family, purpose fit in there somewhere. I suggest the most subconscious thing most of us crave is basic security. We like to know what we know, we hope what worked for us yesterday will still work for us tomorrow .

“Oh that’s silly” you will say. If things are bad we want a change. True, but only a change we can anticipate or accept. We always fear change for the worse. Sometimes we would rather realize a pattern than escape it. As Dylan Thomas wrote “there must, be praised, some certainty, if not of loving well, then not, …”

Gamblers seek excitement, but they not only think they know the odds, but securely believe they can always gamble again. Adventurers plan to return from their expeditions. These are bumps in the general security of their times .

Examine all social systems. The most stable tend to be exactly those where people are secure about what they do. Even if what they do is to start something new and different or to take a risk. Nobody wants to wake up in a jumbled inscrutable environment each day .

To some extent, that seems to be this society which is developing around us. It’s often scary. And no, I do not feel any more secure in simply recognizing that fact .

Micro Placebo

We believe in the massive effects of the tiny. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” One vote can change an election. One dollar off a pound of meat will help our finances. “For want of a nail …” Eating a bit more of this or less of that will make us healthier .

After all, we live in a culture of microtolerance. A random raindrop can destroy a cell phone. A rogue cell can begin a fatal cancer tumor. Split seconds win or lose contests. Every little thing counts .

Perhaps it’s a reaction to our true powerlessness. Rationally, we are well aware that a single vote is symbolic. Most of the time micro-effects are frankly swamped by macro situations. A single step does not mean much on a thousand mile trip. After all, everything we do (except maybe jumping off a building) depends on an ongoing series of decisions .

It’s easy to forget in an era of science that glorifies the small, and in which experiments at the most miniscule level breathlessly report a new discovery or linkage. But most actions taken are placebos. The smaller the initial impulse, the tinier its action on a large scale unless something also (such as our mindset) provides a good result .

Unfortunately, microscience is often wrong in a complex real world which continues to adjust and change itself. An awful lot of recent health results are not repeatable. We ping pong from avoiding eggs to eating many, and piously think we have taken off on a better path. 

Comparison

Physicians, psychologists, and philosophers seem to think we exist on some absolute scales of being. Are you happy or sad? How happy or sad are you? And where are you positioned on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? Also scientifically simplified. In fact, most of the time, an awful lot of our internal evaluation is based not on some abstract absolute, but on comparisons and reference .

Reference is required to narrow the question to some manageable slice of being. Am I sad about what, exactly. Why am I nervous or happy. Are we talking about the delightful taste of chocolate or that nagging toothache? And so on .

Even more important is constant comparison. “Compared to what?” We judge the world in terms of an infinite number of half empty or half full glasses. And our evaluation is strongly influenced by how we regard the contents of others’ glasses. Not merely to keep up with the Joneses but to place myself in proper perspective.

The wisest know it is a great game of illusions. Am I happy compared to that poor beggar on the corner? Am I content compared to that millionaire ballplayer? How about my neighbor? We can choose our medicine or our poison to change our outlook and mood in a flash .

Another amazing ability of survival consciousness that we just take for granted .

Oligarchs, Thugs, Victims

Oligarchs have taken control of the United States. They may enforce their power by buying elections, but they pick candidates and tell the winners what to do. They may claim to follow a “rule of law” but since they control laws, application of law, and exceptions to law this is little different than mafia Dons following a “code of conduct” .

Oligarchy hollows out bureaucracy, and replaces “civil servants”  (who believed they worked for the public good) with thugs who know they must only please their boss. They serve at the whim of the wealthy aristocrats, and they shape actions and twist words to make any action “legal”. Whether the final social results are gentle or not, former citizens become a mass of victims. Speaking out is punished, acting against orders is punished severely. We’ve seen it before in countless dictatorships .

Finally, most oligarchs prefer to rule through figureheads. The puppet masters would rather not be seen, not even noticed. It’s easy enough to buy dupes and direct them. Much less aggravating or dangerous .

Oligarchs are not merely wealthy, nor even ultra wealthy. They tend to be megalomaniacs who are certain they know what is right for everyone else. They have limitless power and need not “cling” to it – they are in control, they know it, and they will remain so forever more .

Jphn Marin

Essays need titles. But this discussion is more about fashion, criticism, and personal preference than about a painter who was unique, very good at what he tried to do, successful commercially, and still admired .

Those new to art assume criticism is eternal. The judgment of the ages is inviolate. There are geniuses, great masters, derivatives, and incompetents. Each nailed down firmly in critical art history, once and for all .

That is a lie. 

Beyond such illusion, individual perception can disagree. For example, as a person perhaps jaded by photographs and movies, I find a lot of Renaissance and (especially) rococo painting quite boring .

However, I am free to revise attitude. I once thought Marin quite a shallow lightweight. Thin pictures, rough technique. Yet now I enjoy most of them as beautifully constructed gateways to aesthetic and natural contemplation. Obviously, the paintings remain the same. On the other hand, my mind not so much.

The joy we find in almost anything boils down to how it increases our enchantment with existence. Please note _ NOT our understanding of existence. Lately, I find my enchantment quota quite elevated by Marin’s seemingly crude colorful splashes on watercolor paper. In contrast to how they failed to inspire me years ago .

Make of that what you will. I find it encouraging – even enchanting – that I am privileged to be flexible enough to change my mind .

Overprep

We each have at one time or another encountered the phenomenon known as beginner’s luck. A naive person tries something for the first time and succeeds beyond the dreams of the more experienced. And then, the luck mysteriously goes away .

On the other side of the curve, suave experts can suddenly lose their magic. A baseball pitcher can’t find the strike zone. A musician can’t craft a salable tune. Usually, such events are short-lived, but unnerving .

Ours is a culture of perfectability, where everyone likes to believe that with hard work they can do anything. For that reason overpreparation is almost a disease. If a certain behavior is good, more training should make it better .

Except – often it doesn’t. There is a golden patch for anyone doing anything, beyond which extra exertion yields actively declining results. The mood can quickly turn to frustration and anger (and in these times, blame) .

I’ve often tried to invoke the counter-mantra of “just good enough”. That used to suit American pioneers. Not more and more perfect, but adequate to accomplish the task. Anything beyond, however elegant or pretty, would be superfluous waste of time and energy. It fit nicely with my other belief that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” .

Nice to call it a philosophy. Honestly, more likely just innate laziness