Category Archives: psychology

Social Class.

contemplative essays, human behavior, psychology, relationships, social commentary, sociology, , , , , , , ,

 

The United States has been a “young” country long enough.

For a couple centuries, our society has tried to hide its foibles and national offenses behind the disclaimer of youth. Still developing; not enough “history”; plenty to learn.

But, that argument is getting old.

The globe is now flat. Any culture is within reach; anybody can see, hear, taste, connect. There are no more excuses.

So, what haven’t we learned, yet?

We’re almost up to speed with regard to early childhood education, but still nowhere near the Asians though we have, at long last, taken their lead. The way we do business has rendered our collective skill regressive. The monied have bought out power, and with it, authority.

But, most importantly, we still have no respect for our elders.

We don’t honor our founding fathers, we abuse our ancestors, and we surely don’t even recognize the wisdom of age. Rather, we’re stuck, in arrested development, like an adolescent addict.

In countries like China, the oldest person in the room still gets the greatest degree of attention. And, it doesn’t matter the level of education, or wealth; the only factor is years lived. In such societies, age is the only quality that equates with entitlement.

Oh; but, not in the good ole’ USA.

Here, the older you get, the less anybody even listens to you. Old people are nothing but a burden to the eager and clamoring. They move too slowly; they get in the way. Entire institutions, from within all professional disciplines and created by their up and coming, are firmly in place to deal with the aging by committing them into collective isolation.

The funny thing is, the brain alone has proved capable of something about which youth knows little. By middle age, the capacity for merely absorbing new information is displaced by an ability to integrate data, and that across multiple disciplines. In short, the older person is far more likely to cross reference, from both factual and experiential material, connecting even seemingly disparate pieces and bits to draw conclusions that used to be termed “wise”.

Wisdom isn’t all that rare. It’s just rare among the young. There are some things, yea most, that require time to learn.

And, it’s definitely time.

Take a lesson, America. The older have cultivated the long view; they embody insight. Quality of life is best gleaned from the voice of experience. If you just stopped long enough to actually listen, there might be one right nearby.

Lean in.

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© Ruth Ann Scanzillo 9/12/16    All rights those of the author, whose name appears above this line. Thank you for your respect.

littlebarefeetblog.com

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary.

classical music, family history, gratitude, healing, memorials, mystical experiences, nostalgia, psychology, sociology, , , , ,

August 14.

It’s always somebody’s birthday.

And, I think I often forget that.

Today was also the wedding anniversary of R.A. and Paul. Paul was a really fun traveling companion, full of energy and optimistic anticipation. Loved birds, and trails, and fishing and hunting. Took this body all the way up Mt Washington, on foot, in spite of itself. Always eager to face a new day.

Poor thing got stuck married to the wrong woman. Yeah. It happens. People do things, especially when they crack 35 years old. He played the oboe like a pro, with no college degree in music; but, that still never meant that he should be with me.

So, this would have been our 25th anniversary. Maybe there would have been a couple kids. Hopefully, not unhappy, neurotic kids, but there might have been one or two. And, maybe we would have finally gone to Montreal, today, like we should have on our honeymoon. But, life has moved along and Montreal, last I checked, was still intact.

People say single women should just travel alone. There’s a whole world still waiting to be experienced from that singular point of view. And, according to a couple I know who have already been around the globe, there’s a cruise line they take that always has at least one of us on board. To the pure, all things are pure; not my place to question why.

Sigh. Maybe it’s time to plan a sea faring wardrobe. Today could be a really sad day. But, given the number of people who think I have it made, might be time to prove that to them. Or, to myself.

Happy Anniversary. Happy Birthday. Happy Day.

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© Ruth Ann Scanzillo  8/14/16   All rights those of the [single, female] author, whose story it is, and whose name appears above this line. Thank you for your deference.

littlebarefeetblog.com

The Altar Call.

Christian fundamentalism, Christianity, civic commentary, commentary, drama, human behavior, political commentary, psychology, social commentary, sociology, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Well.

Woody Allen is a brilliant storyteller, screenwriter, and director.
And, he’s probably, on some level, a criminal.
Yet, I still love the body of his creative work.
(I mean, seriously. His insights, into American character and human relationship ?) …there is none like him, no; not one.

And, I cannot justify that love. Not with law. Not with anything.
It’s unjustifiable.

Likewise, Hillary Clinton may be guilty. Of many things. So, also, might Donald Trump. Who am I to say?

Speaking only for myself, I must acknowledge that I cannot know.

I can, however, acknowledge that, across all systems in this world of marketing and promotion, there is a level of player, in an anonymous strata, that stops at nothing. It stops at nothing, in the act of promoting its figurehead, grasping, in the hopes of some reward or recompense or even personal advancement. And, through that window of possibility, greed and corruption drop their fecalith. And, in that hardened piece of excrement, a seed is carried. That seed finds soil, and takes root. And, what grows can defy both expectation and imagination.

Now, I also grew up bathed in the shimmer and aura of the Gospel preacher. I learned to believe that the words which poured from the mouth of the great orator were practically inspired by God. I learned to fear the presence of the Holy Spirit, descending upon the throng. And, I learned to shudder, deep within my soul, at the power of the words themselves.

As Americans we’ve all, if our minds were truly unbiased and open, heard the two political gospels this month: the gospel of Trump, and the gospel of Clinton. And, all the little henchpeople, exploited or no, in between. I just hope that God preserves our individual capacities for comprehension, reason, and clarity of thought long enough for us to make our very powerful decisions, each of us distinctly, when the time appointed arrives. May we consider all of our choices both wisely, and informatively, with prudence, humility, and internal calm, for the next rightful leader of the free world. And, if we cannot, then I pray God Almighty makes the next move on our behalf. Lord knows, we’ve never needed Providence like we do now.

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© Ruth Ann Scanzillo  7/29/16    All rights those of the author, whose commentary it is, and whose name appears above this line. Thank you for your respect.

littlebarefeetblog.com