Category: Uncategorized

“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards”.       – Aldous Huxley

 Few would argue that the countless technological advances made over the centuries have improved and propelled the condition of mankind.  Most of us no longer live a survival existence.  We live longer.  And we certainly know and understand more about the world and the universe we inhabit.  The comforts and conveniences created have enabled us to turn our attention to increasingly higher forms of expression through Engineering, Science and the Arts.

This post addresses the rapid advancement and spread of digital technology that in just a few short years has, for good or ill, changed the very fabric of our society, while rendering most of us totally dependent upon it.

Two of the more obvious examples of this revolution are the explosion of the internet and the omnipresent smartphone.

As technology continues to advance, driven by brilliant IT scientists and engineers, the rest of humanity (which is most of us) are becoming more and more reliant upon these devices for our everyday existence.

• ATM Machines that instantly access our bank accounts
• GPS devices that tell us where we are and spoon feed us directions
• Smart – appliances that run themselves
• “Apps” that can do virtually anything and everything for us
• Non-stop entertainment through our computers, Smart-TV’s and phones

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, technology hasn’t yet developed an effortless method for physical fitness.  This is likely why we are facing an epidemic of obesity in many western cultures – but that is the subject for another post.

Most if not all of these developments have significant value, but one cannot help consider that an over-reliance on technology creates a dependency which ultimately leads to a diminishing of the basic skills we once took for granted.

Man has always been trapped between his/her two natures; the first trait forged thru evolution, is a need to avoid pain and to seek comfort.  But at the same time, we humans have been hardwired with the aspiration to Achieve, Accomplish, and Contribute to the collective good.  These two competing sides of human nature are fundamental and self-evident.  Modern technology, it appears, is extremely effective at satisfying the first, while denying us the latter.

I have written previously about Mahatma Gandhi’s “7 Things That Will Destroy Us”.  Number one on his list is: “Wealth without Work”.

“Wealth without work” speaks to the basic human principle that we should earn what we have, yet advancing technology is making it harder and harder to strike a balance in that equation.

We live in a world that just few generations ago would have been considered inconceivable.  With just the push of a button, or request to our “Virtual Assistant”, we can have practically anything delivered to our front door within 24 hours.  We can “Google” any piece of information without ever trying to figure it out for ourselves.  We can have our directions plotted and recited to us without ever looking at a map.

Despite these miraculous services, people are increasingly reporting dissatisfaction with modern life, describing themselves as “unfulfilled” in unprecedented numbers.  According to recently published data by the Bureau of Business Statistics, money spent on the “self-help” industry which includes books, websites, seminars, courses, etc. is at a staggering $10 billion per year and growing

The result of our constant use of and reliance upon technology, is a clouding of the primary tenet; “Wealth without Work”.  It is also weakening of our basic skill set and more specifically our capacity for critical thinking.  Need proof? Just look at the current investigations into Russia’s interference of the 2016 Presidential Election.  Much of the evidence and focus is on the public’s acceptance of “Fake News” posted on websites like Facebook and Twitter.  Still not convinced? How do you explain the traction gained by a story that purported Hilary Clinton was running a child prostitution ring out of a D.C. area Pizza Parlor?

A people who cannot do or think for themselves or worse, do not make the effort to think critically for themselves will ultimately lose their freedom.

I’m not trying to come across as an alarmist, but some of the brightest minds in Science and Technology, have been warning us about the dangers of rapidly advancing technology for some time.   Elon Musk (the Man behind Telsa and SpaceX), Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft and the World’s richest Man) and Stephen Hawking (Nobel Laureate and widely considered as the smartest Man on the Planet) have each warned of the growing risk of ceding more and higher human functions to machines.

Societal changes forced by modernization have for some time been leading us away from the traditional roles, jobs and skills that have defined our identity and purpose for decades.  Taking leave with them is the sense of competence and contribution so necessary to our human experience.  No matter how comfortable or placated we may feel at any particular moment, our nature compels us to strive for competency and accomplishment.

So what is the answer? Is there an answer?  Yes and it’s fairly simple.  Turn off your screen, put down your smart phone and go DO.  I’m not suggesting you join an Amish clan and reject all modern conveniences.  But at least a few times per week, do something with your hands, go figure something out, do something with your mind that involves no technology or digital input.  Read a real newspaper – in print.  If you can’t think of anything else, go for a walk in the woods (with no phone) I promise you will be happy you did.  Next and most importantly; question things.  Question everything.  Avoid the urge to simply absorb what’s spoon fed to you incessantly on-line.  Don’t believe something until it makes sense to you. Challenge yourself.  Heed that old adage; “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is”.

This is a modest start, or perhaps you think it overly burdensome. The alternative is a continuing decent into a comfortable, unquestioning existence that no longer strives for the competence and contribution that we are unquestionably intended to seek.

Living honorably is not easy, it is often not comfortable, but it will keep you on the path that leads to truthfulness and fulfillment.

  “Knowing a great deal is not the same thing as being smart; intelligence is not information alone but also judgement, the manner in which information is collected and used.”              – Carl Sagan

I started a blog earlier this year on the advice that writing about what you feel strongly about helps focus the mind and gives order to your priorities.  Additionally, having something positive to contribute remains a worthwhile endeavor.  After the first 4 or 5 posts, I found myself having trouble coming up with the next topic.  It seemed that I could not find a subject that kindled my interest sufficiently to write about.  Moreover, I was fighting a daily battle (unsuccessfully) to avoid the overload of news / opinions / editorials and general “we’re going to hell in a hand-basket” prognostications gushing non-stop from the media.

It got to the point that I found myself feeling much like Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi, captured in an NFL Films video clip, standing on the sidelines of a game, in angry bewilderment shouting, “what the hell’s going on out here!”

I proceeded to draft several posts (Rants actually) on the sad state of affairs in Washington DC, in American politics and America in general.  But ultimately I could not bring myself to post any of them for several reasons.

First, my intent for this blog is to publish positive information with the hope that it can assist others in their pursuing a better path.  Coupled with the faith that there is strength in numbers as we seek to improve together (might as well aim high right?).  Complaining doesn’t do that.  Second, despite its many problems this is my Country, and despite those problems America remains a beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world.  Lastly, it is the country my youngest son will soon be fighting for.

So my dilemma became how to deal with the outrage and dissatisfaction, in a constructive way.  I do not plan to run for office, nor organize protest or counter-protest marches. So the answer for me, at least, is to focus on the things I can control as I strive to make my small slice of the universe better.  And when necessary, write to my Congressman or Senator.

The non-stop barrage of disappointing news and commentary is difficult to avoid, and even more difficult to rise above.  When taken together, perhaps they are signs of the decline of western civilization, or of the coming apocalypse.  Maybe it is just a blip on the pages of history.  Or perhaps it is a test.

At times all of us are confronted with doubt, times when the odds seem overwhelming, times when you ask yourself if it’s worth it.

When the outcome is certain it’s easy to follow through, when you see the finish line just up ahead it’s easy to keep going.  But staying the course when there’s reason to doubt takes grit, it takes courage, and that is what I want to pursue.

Living honorably rests squarely on a foundation of justice and the universal human truths (Karma, if you like), it does not however, follow a timetable.  Therefore, an element of faith is part and parcel of doing the right thing.  And on that often difficult path, you will find your strength and freedom.

The goals of Honorable Living are as timeless as they are purposeful.

For me this means; Train hard, be positive, be grateful, live with courage, meet your commitments, serve.

Though I know there will be days I channel my inner Vince Lombardi

There is an ancient tale of a King who called together his most scholarly advisers and charged them with collecting all the world’s knowledge so that his Kingdom would possess all there was to know.  So off the scholars went into world to collect this knowledge.  They were gone for many years.  When they returned their volumes filled a long caravan of wagons.  The King upon seeing how many books it took to hold the world’s knowledge realized it would take many life times to read them all.  So he recalled his advisers and told them to condense the information into a shortened account.  This, the scholars realized would be even more challenging than the first task, and once again it took many years to complete.  They returned with 10 tomes to present to the King.  By now the King had grown quite old and so he told them to shorten if further to just one Chapter.  The scholars feared this was not possible, but being loyal subjects they went off to fulfill their King’s command. When they returned with one chapter, the King could no longer see well enough to read and so he instructed them to condense all the world’s knowledge and wisdom into one sentence which they could recite to him before he died.  After many days and weeks of hand wringing, sweat and inspiration the scholars returned to the King, now on his death bed.  “Well” the King said “what is the sentence you have for me that contains all the world’s wisdom”, they replied “There is No Free Lunch”.

This entertaining story captures a simple and powerful truth.  We must earn what we get in this life.

Most everyone has known the feelings of satisfaction and pleasure that come from working hard at something to accomplish your goal.  Conversely, and just as universally true, the less effort or sacrifice something costs us the less value we’re likely to attach to it.  But in the modern world, with its endless collection of conveniences and services virtually at our finger tips, we’ve become comfortable talking ourselves out of expending effort to achieve something, and even better at avoiding discomfort.  We can easily convince ourselves that its ok; to sleep late instead of getting up and exercising, to watch TV instead of reading a book, or to internet binge instead of interacting with our family.

As the late comic George Carlin once pointed out, we’d have an easier time going a week without food and water than a day without a rationalization.

It seems our nature has two opposing forces; the desire for comfort and avoidance of pain and the need to accomplish and contribute.  Often the former wins out.

But reward without effort eventually loses its appeal and does not fulfill us.  This can push us further away from our true path or worse lead us to pursue even easier comforts and reward (say thru alcohol or drugs).

This is not to suggest we must live a life of endless labor and toil, but rather that there must be a natural balance between effort and reward.  We may intuitively know that we cannot reap if we do not sow, but knowing and doing seldom come together without effort.

But most importantly, we have been given the human capacity and gift to choose, and that is where personal responsibility and discipline come in.

In his seminal work Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl points out:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Exercising our power to choose and summoning the discipline to follow through provides a tremendous sense of freedom through an ownership of, and control over the circumstances our lives.

In his book Extreme Ownership and through his weekly podcasts, retired SEAL Commander Jocko Willink extolls his personal philosophy regarding the benefits of discipline and personal responsibility in an entertaining and characteristically blunt manner.   His popular mantra, “Discipline equals Freedom” captures the essence of a message that has been given by enlightened minds for ages.

The late Dr. Stephen Covey, world renowned Author and Educator makes a similar observation in his bestselling book; The 8^th Habit, stating:  “only the disciplined are truly free, the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”.

So it is that discipline provides us with a sense of freedom and control over our lives.  Conversely, disregarding our power to choose combined with an absence of personal discipline leads to a constant feeling of being buffeted by the winds of fate and chance, or worse consigns us to a sense of victim-ism.

Is making the choice to live our lives with discipline easy? No isn’t.  Is it worth it? I believe it has never been more worthwhile or more needed.

I’ll close with no less a revered and historical figure than Mahatma Gandhi and his “Seven Principles of Things that will Destroy Us”.

1. Wealth without Work
2. Pleasure without Conscience
3. Knowledge without Character
4. Commerce without Morality
5. Science without Humanity
6. Worship without Sacrifice
7. Politics without Principle

While I wouldn’t quite define the term Business Ethics as an oxymoron, what passes for ethics in business these days would hardly be recognizable to Aristotle or Plato as principled, honorable conduct.

Back when I was in graduate school, I talked my adviser into letting me take a class in Business Ethics for Engineers, believing I should understand the topic before I moved into the business world after earning my degree.  To my disappointment the class was essentially a list rules and regulations, with a few: “engineers should do this” or “never do that’s” thrown in for good measure, most of which had to do with billing and contract practices and seemingly nothing to do with “ethics”.

After having been in the business world for a number of years, it is apparent why the course was taught the way it was, the term Business Ethics is really a description of business law.

Consequently, today’s Business Ethics boil down to two main schools of thought; one – if it’s not illegal, it’s ethical (or perhaps more cynically- if you don’t get caught it’s not unethical) and two – as long as you’re aligned with maximizing profits you’re good.

Now I am not naive nor am I a “democratic socialist”.  I believe capitalism is the world’s best and only chance to lift itself to a better standard of living.  Further I believe men and women need their efforts and extra-efforts to be recognized and rewarded.  More pragmatically, a business needs to be profitable (a.k.a. make money) to be sustainable and in the most concrete terms validate its usefulness.  Unfortunately our current system has degenerated into; to quote Pope Francis, “Savage Capitalism”.

Many a questionable act is proudly justified as “maximizing shareholder value” or as simply being “legal”.  Think Donald Trump bragging about not paying his taxes, or the NFL being paid by the Pentagon to promote patriotism and soldier heroes.

As we have come to recognize however, there exist universal truths that drive human motivation and conscience.  Universal actions that we inherently know to be good; Fairness, Kindness, Respect, Honesty, Contribution, or conversely, to be harmful; Cruelty, Dishonesty and Neglect.  Therefore and for example, an act that takes advantage of a weaker or unknowing party is not made ethical or in alignment with these universal truths, simply because it generates a profit or is legal.

The fallout is a common refrain we here today from people who have a successful job, earn a comfortable living, support their families and yet are unhappy and unfulfilled.  In fact this condition is so pervasive; an entire industry has sprung up to assist people in getting out of their current job to earn a living doing something they enjoy.  I don’t disparage this notion, just the opposite; the more you enjoy what you do; the more engaged you are, the better you will be at it and the more you will contribute to those around you.  Unfortunately it seems being unhappy in your job has become an epidemic.

I offer this simple hypothesis; perhaps it’s not what we’re doing, but how we’re doing it that’s the problem.  If we are working at a job whose sole purpose is to maximize shareholder return, with the only caveat being it be “legal” – the likely result will be a lack of intrinsic value in the performance of that job.  If you agree with the precept that a fundamental human need is to contribute to the collective good, then how do we get this sense of contribution from a job not in alignment with these principles?  Quite simply we can’t, and there-in lies a large part of the problem.

If however we are engaged in a form of work that has an ethical basis of conduct in addition to being economically sustaining, there is a better chance we will satisfy our essential human need to contribute.  This is not the easy path, it will on occasion test us, requiring; honesty, discipline, sacrifice and courage, and perhaps at times a change of jobs – but it is, the Honorable path.

Expressed much more eloquently and succinctly by my father, an extremely astute and successful business man; “I’d rather be the man that bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the guy who sold it”.

Wikipedia defines Post Fact as follows:

Post-fact politics (also called post-truth politics) is a political culture in which debate is framed largely by appeals to emotion disconnected from the details of policy, and by the repeated assertion of talking points to which factual rebuttals are ignored. Post-truth differs from traditional contesting and falsifying of truth by rendering it of “secondary” importance. While this has been described as a contemporary problem, there is a possibility that it has long been a part of political life, but was less notable before the advent of the Internet.

In simpler terms, Post Fact is Bulls..t  (B.S.)  Keep in mind this is not referring to someone telling a tall tale, a teenager lying about where he or she was until 1:00 AM, or even an accountant cooking the books.  This term has been coined because of the continual B.S. streaming from our elected officials and political appointees at the highest levels of government.

To Live Honorably in a Post-Fact World, there are two questions we must ask ourselves.  First, do we ourselves practice Post Fact reality, and second, assuming we do not, how do we honorably function in a world that has not only accepted Post Fact conduct (B.S.) but actually given it a legitimate designation.

Disregard for facts is a dangerous exercise.  Facts are a saving grace, they give us direction and form the foundation on which we conduct our daily rational lives.

There are indisputable facts; such as gravity, the inevitability of death, or that the earth is round.  Then there are generally accepted truths; those things that while cannot be scientifically proven to an absolute degree, most believe to be true; George Washington is the Father of our country, man landed on the moon in 1969, and Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, or President Obama was born in the United States.

Any society, certainly a democratic society relies upon facts, just as surely as it depends on laws.  When there is intentional or even casual disregard for the facts, or worse when there are those who purposely seek to re-state the facts to suit their own ends, there results a major impact on society’s ability to function justly.

Just imagine if someone who for some reason didn’t like you, showed up at the police station one day to claim you stole their car.  You would certainly rely on the facts to prove your innocence.  A world where facts can be invented to suit our needs would be frightening indeed.

To a greater or lesser degree each of us is subject to the human weaknesses of ego and vanity.  To only hearing what we want to hear, to only listening to those who agree with us.  Advertisers, Marketers, Con-Men and Charlatans have been taking advantage of this aspect of human nature since the dawn of recorded history and probably well before.

While technological advances represent some of the greatest achievements in human history, they are also leading to a society that is becoming increasingly insulated and indifferent to events and views going on outside our own sphere of daily life.

It seems that Political “leaders” can offer any Post-Fact claims or “alternative facts” they wish, and in today’s digitally wired world they are given instant legitimacy.  But Post-Facts cannot exist, they have no merit, unless we allow them to take root.  Therefore, we must have the courage, the discipline, and the Honor, to acknowledge what is true and reject Post Facts (Bulls..t). Our indifference to this moral degradation leaves us just as guilty as those who seek to practice it.

“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”  …Plato

A central tenet of Living Honorably is to recognize and ultimately to strive to live in accordance with what I refer to as a set of Universal Truths of human existence.  These Truths are timeless and cut across all civilizations, continents and societies.

In his book, The 8^th Habit, Dr. Stephen Covey beautifully defines these truths (he refers to them as Principles) to include; fairness, kindness, respect, honesty, integrity, service and contribution. To this list I would add, effort and discipline.   Like gravity, these principles are constant and immutable.

Dr. Covey goes on to say, and again I’m paraphrasing, we are each born with a belief that we should behave in accordance with these principles, and while on a fundamental level, all people understand these principles, they do not always act in accordance with them.   This he points out, is the first and most important Human Gift – the Freedom to Choose.

When we live in harmony with the Universal Truths, or better stated, when we strive to live in harmony with these principles, a natural coherence and balance is created in our lives.  It is unspoken but felt just as surely as the pull of gravity, or the tug in our gut that tells us what is right and wrong.

If you believe as I do that “Karma Exists”, or as more eloquently described by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The arc of history bends towards justice”, then we have every incentive to endeavor to live in accordance with these simple and timeless Universal Truths.

We have the power and the human right to exercise that first and most important of human gifts; the Freedom to Choose.

In these posts, I will attempt to provide a voice to the struggle of living an Honorable and meaningful life in a modern world that bombards us with messages of ego-centrism, consumerism, easy comfort and quick-fixes all with little regard for truth.  

I believe together we can build momentum towards realizing our truer nature of; discipline, courage, strength, integrity, fairness, kindness, and contribution, in other words, Living Honorably.