The importance of fiction

     I've really been enjoying some of the books I've been reading lately and that had me wondering why I don't read these kind of books all the time. I've read quite a bit for the last 5 or 6 years or so with a few breaks in there along the way. My opinions on the types of books that are worth reading has evolved throughout the few years that I have realized I like to read. I thought I'd write a blog about what my opinions used to be and what they have become today.

     When I was young I actually couldn't stand reading. Reading was something that they made us do in school and I viewed it as work and not a leisure activity. Even though I enjoyed a few of the books I read as a child such as "The Hatchet" or "Island of the Blue Dolphins" it was kind of like finishing a cool science project, "Yeah, now that it's done it's pretty cool but not nearly cool enough to justify the time and effort needed to complete it." That was the opinion of my childhood self of course, now that I'm older I can really appreciate the knowledge and insight that can be gleaned from books. There were a few key books and a few key people that brought me to this realization. One key person was my brother-in-law, John Spencer. I don't know how he did it back then but he convinced me to read a few books like "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis and "The Jesus I Never Knew" by Phillip Yancey. These books probably changed my life forever, not only because they contained knowledge that I enjoyed reading about but because they changed my opinion of reading altogether. This was the first baby step to my love of books.

     One of the struggles I've gone through in my life is that sometimes I have trouble looking at things from other peoples point of view. I draw hard conclusions when I feel like they can be backed up by reason. One of the hard conclusions that I drew about books was that I thought non-fiction books were the only ones worth reading. I can remember a conversation with my friends mom, DonEtta, when I told her, "Reading fiction is stupid, if I wanted a story I'd go backpacking or go do something fun and exciting to make my own. Why would I want to read about somebody else's made up world?" I really believed that gaining knowledge was the only purpose for reading and I couldn't figure out why so many people wasted their time by reading meaningless stories. Now that I'm older I can look back and realize how small minded I was being. I still have a tendency to draw hard conclusions when I feel like they can be backed up by reason but I think I get to those conclusions a whole lot slower and with more thought than I used to and if it's not an important issue, I try to avoid it altogether.

     I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started dating my girlfriend, Renee, a couple years ago. It is her that I have to thank for making me pick up books again and start reading them. I had gotten a little bit burned out with the books I was reading and hadn't been at it for quite a while. She bought me a copy of "The Hobbit" by Tolkien and I read it all during a short vacation in Hawaii with my mom. "The Hobbit" completely changed my misconception about fiction and I went on a fiction rampage after that. I read all of the Lord of The Rings trilogy and a couple other books by Tolkien, all of the Chronicles of Narnia, all of the Harry Potter books, and a long 10 book series by Vince Flynn about Mitch Rapp, a CIA Operative. There were a few other books here and there in the middle but for the most part, I ditched non-fiction for awhile and ate up the fantasy worlds created by those talented authors. Looking back, I can tell that even though these books weren't the types of books I thought could teach a person something, I ended up taking some very important things away.

     "The Hobbit" and the other books by Tolkien taught me how much I desire a simple life. Even though it was all made up in Tolkien's mind, reading about hobbits made me want to be like them. They just live simply, eat, drink and are happy and there isn't anything that they do that's not possible in real life. It reminded me of my brother-in-laws' favorite verse in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 2:24&25 "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him who could eat or find enjoyment." Reading those books changed my life for the better because it made me realize that the goals we have in society don't have to be accepted by everyone. Happiness and contentment can be a priority over money and materialism.

     "The Chronicles of Narnia" taught me aspects about certain virtues such as justice, mercy, bravery and Love as well as others.

     The Harry Potter books made me appreciate the benefits of friendship. I think they made me think consciously about the type of friend I want to be for other people and to always be willing to forgive and be empathetic to other peoples situations.

     The Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn were a different animal. Although they were really fun to read, I've never seen such a miserable protagonist as Mitch Rapp. It was hard to disagree with everything he did in the book because he always seemed to be stuck between a rock and a hard place and had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Even though, in theory, I didn't disagree with what he did, it was hard to agree as well. It was almost like watching a fight at a bar, it seemed really easy to tell who was right and who was wrong but when you think about it, it would probably be better if the people fighting just didn't hang out in bars. What I took away from those books was this, a life well lived avoids conflict whenever possible.

     At the end of my fiction rampage I didn't have another series to read so I picked a book up off my shelf called "Sages and Lunatics, recovering what we lost from factory education" by John Spencer. I enjoyed reading this book very much and when I was done I picked another book up off my shelf called "The Mystery of Capital" by Hernando De Soto. This was one of the best books I have ever read and I have blogged about it previously. Right now I am in the middle of a book called "The paradox of choice" by Barry Schwartz. This is another book that I am really enjoying. These last three non-fiction books have been so much fun to read I started to remember that old thought I used to have that gaining knowledge is the only purpose for reading. This time I'm not being so closed minded and I think I'm better off for it. Looking back at what I've read and  learned and the thoughts I've pondered as a result makes me realize that nothing can be bad as long as it's analyzed and examined properly. I think I will forever be a reader of fiction as well as non-fiction and I have learned and will continue to learn a lot about myself and the way I want to live in the process.

Aristotle Quotes

I was looking for a quote yesterday that I thought was from Aristotle. The quote was "Music bypasses the gatekeeper of reason and enters the soul." I never did find out if it was one of his or not but some of the other quotes that I came across were great.

How 'bout this one - "Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime." Aristotle was a philosopher or in case people don't know what that means, a lover of wisdom. I think this is a wise quote and I wish that elites in todays society would recognize this kind of wisdom and realize that it is in their best interest to alleviate poverty and create opportunity for the poor.

There was one other quote that sent my mind off on a tangent as well. It was "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Although I don't have a college degree, I do consider myself an educated person. I went to college for 4 years and then stopped in order to go into business for myself. In January I will have been in business for 4 years and it has worked out to be exceptionally beneficial for me so far. During my years in business I have not stopped thinking or educating myself and one important realization I have come to is that education and wisdom are free or at least almost free if you count the minimal costs associated with buying used books or paying late fees at the library. I feel like self education can be more beneficial than a traditional education because an individual can navigate their mind wherever their interests take them. During the course of my own thoughts and readings I have entertained many thoughts that I do not accept, which is one reason why I not only liked this quote but was a little flattered by it. Not having a degree sometimes makes me feel a little inferior to other friends of mine who are educated but it is nice to think that a man as wise as Aristotle might have considered me educated.

I have, in my mind, thoughts that I don't know if I should accept or not. I spend much of my time thinking about how to rescue the poor from their suffering. I know it sounds cheesy but, as a Christian man, I believe that loving the poor is a way for me to love God. There have been times in my life when I've tried to feel a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart for God because I think church taught me that loving God was supposed to lead to that kind of feeling. To be honest, whether I'm right or wrong, I'm not sure if I've ever really felt that way but I'm not convinced that Love is something that you feel more than it is something that you do. I'm not very outwardly religious but loving the poor is something that I want to do and think about constantly even if it's only in my mind. The thoughts that I don't know whether or not I should accept deal with alleviating the suffering of the poor. It's almost as if I've come up with a plan that could fix the worlds problems but I'm hesitant to share it because even I'm not convinced that it's not crazy. Sometimes I feel like writing a book and laying it all out there but I feel like I would be crushed under the criticism that I know it would receive or maybe I'd feel even more crushed if everyone that read it thought it was stupid and it never even caught traction which is actually a much more likely scenario. Alleviating the suffering of the poor would be tremendously difficult without the consent of the rich and those people scare me even though it's hard to deny that I am one of them, at least during this time in my life.

Book Report - "The mystery of Capital" by Hernando de Soto

I finished the book "The Mystery of Capital" by Hernando de Soto a couple days ago so I thought I'd write another blog about what I want to take away from the experience. 

> I learned that sometimes when a situation is very complicated the best way to gather enough information about it is to get your hands dirty and go out into the real world and make observations. Yesterday I was talking to a work associate of mine and we were debating politics and the topic of immigration came up. He was talking about how it's the norm for "Illegals" to come here and get put in a house with 50 other people where they are treated inhumanely and held ransom until their families can come up with $10,000 to procure their release. I am fortunate enough to have several friends that are not documented American citizens and can attest from personal experience that this is not the norm. I know bad things happen but I have plenty of friends who came here by way of kyotes, paid their fee and were fine. Point is that media is extremely biased and the best way to get a grip on the situation is to make some friends in south Phoenix and ask them what really goes on. You'll find that plenty of "Kyotes" who are vilified in the media are actually decent people that are just trying to get paid for providing a service in the black market because they aren't allowed to work legally. Some do it better than others but the fact is that people talk and they have a reputation to maintain. If it's the norm that they treat people poorly their business would suffer because there are others who don't and people within those communities know who can be trusted and who can't.

> I gained a lot of respect for the poor. It was really neat to read a book that talked about some of the amazing things that poor people in other countries have accomplished. He documents instances where shantytowns organized so well that property values were actually higher in the extralegal section of town than in the mainstream neighborhoods where people actually had legal title for the properties that they inhabit. There was even a case where the elected president was living in a home in which he did not have legal title because that was where the best living conditions were.

> I learned to focus on solutions rather than punishments. Administering justice is beneficial when it is based on reality but when it is not feasible the longer justice is pursued the more society will suffer on both ends because the fight over justice will become a greater problem than what it is attempting to resolve.

> Another thing that was interesting to me was how often societies had run into the same problems over and over again. It really drove home the saying that history repeats itself and it made me wish that people could look at history for guidance to a peaceful solution and avoid solutions that led to violence, bloody revolutions and oppression.

This book was one of the best books I've ever read. I would recommend that everyone take the time to read it.

Don't ask don't tell?

This has been a pretty hot button political issue lately. The military's don't ask don't tell policy about gay people openly serving in the military almost got repealed by the senate but the vote was blocked. It was an issue that really polarized the Republicans and the Democrats. This is one of those issues in which each side has some very valid points and i feel like nobody on either side calms down and remembers why the don't ask don't tell policy is there in the first place.

Gay rights isn't something that I spend much time thinking about because I really don't care that much to be honest. I'm not gay so I don't have a personal reason to care but I'm not homophobic either so I don't have any reason to fight against it. Of all political issues I'd have to say it ranks among the least important to me. However, because it's such a non-issue to me I think it's allowed me to see each argument clearly and make a pretty sound judgement on the issue.

This is, in a nutshell, what I think about the don't ask don't tell policy. It's already a fair compromise. Gays don't like it because they think they should be able to be themselves. Problem is that other people want to be themselves too. If gay people can be born gay, other people can be born a little weirded out by gay people and I don't think it's anything anyone needs to fight about. A gay person should be able to be themselves but a guy that's not gay shouldn't be made to strip naked and shower next to someone that he know's is attracted to his gender either, which is what happens in the military. Sure it's an inconvenience for gay's but it's an inconvenience for straight people if it's not there too. The compromise is don't ask don't tell. Everyone be themselves but don't go running your mouth about it. I don't know why everyone argues about this. The policy, even if it's not perfect, avoids more issues that it creates and is good for everyone.

Slippery slope arguments

A police officer in Phoenix, Arizona shot and killed a 29 year old man and the dog that lived at his residence on Tuesday while responding to a domestic violence call. There were 2 officers present at the time of the shooting. The other officer reported that the man was unarmed and that the dog was barking but was not threatening either one of the officers. The officer that shot the man was arrested on aggravated assault charges Tuesday evening. Prior to the shooting, the officer had put his gun to the temple of the man that was later shot and killed.

This really hit a nerve with me and I wanted to write about it. I've already read articles that make a slippery slope argument in favor of not charging the officer with murder. Basically, they say that police officers need to be confident in the face of danger and that convicting officers for shooting suspects will cause them to hesitate and the end result will be that the hesitation will put them in danger. I think that's bullshit. I understand that cops need to be confident while on the job but we as a society don't want them to be so confident that they think they can shoot unarmed men without the risk of prosecution. The slippery slope argument works on both sides of that mountain and in my opinion the side of the mountain that allows cops to murder unarmed citizens is much more dangerous.

 This is the way I see it. We are all very lucky that the other officer didn't cover for him or else he might have gotten away without a hitch. If this situation is as bad as it looks at first glance his blatant disregard for his actions says one of two things to me. Either he went crazy, in which we can all breathe a sigh of relief in knowing that it is probably an isolated incident, or he was completely competent at the time and just thought that he could get away with it. If the later is true, we have some serious reform measures we need to take in regard to our law enforcement. He was a nine year veteran of the police force and if in those nine years he became confident enough to think he could get away with what he did, we need to take a look at what goes on in the police force to allow that to happen. If indeed he did think he could get away with it, there have most likely been numerous events in which he has gotten away with more minor offenses as a result of having no accountability or rather having other officers (the presumed accountability) turn a blind eye. The fact that he even thought another officer would cover for him for something like this raises very valid concerns about the ethics of the entire force. I'm not saying the entire force is corrupt but I am saying that the concern is valid and needs to be investigated and addressed properly.

Basically, I think we as a society need to raise the red flag here and publicly hold the system accountable during the due process that is going to ensue. We need to calmly stay informed while he is given his right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of his peers. If he is convicted of murder I think prosecution to the full extent of the law is very warranted in this case and I think we as a society need to cry out for justice. We cannot allow people in authority to murder unarmed citizens under the color of law. This is a very important issue and should not be neglected by the public.

Weight loss tip

I watched the movie Spanglish last night and I had a thought come to mind about why dieting doesn't work that I wanted to share.

In the movie a Mexican mother and her daughter immigrate to the United States and live in the barrio with family. The mother gets a job as a maid for a very wealthy American family. The plot of the movie unfolds as the two cultures collide and stereotypes are broken down. In the movie the issue of money comes up quite a bit because the Mexican family doesn't have much and the American family has more than they know what to do with. The way people think about money in the movie compared to the way our body's manage energy consumption is the metaphor I'd like to share.

There is a scene in the movie when the Mexican daughter and the two children of the American family are all sitting out on the patio that overlooks the beach with the American father. The father is making a piece of art (I think) and he needs weathered pieces of glass that can be found on the beach. He proceeds to tell all three children that if they go look for weathered pieces of glass on the beach he will give them a certain amount of money for each piece depending on the size and the color. The two American children don't really care to look because they know that they have enough money to meet their needs and pretty much do whatever they want. The Mexican child, however, sees this as an opportunity to make more money than she's ever had in her life. She scours the beach day and night in search for the weathered pieces of glass and ends up finding enough to make a small fortune. In the movie the father is a little taken back by the amount of money that he owes but he pony's up the dough anyway and then gets in trouble from the Mexican mother for meddling with her daughter. Anyway, I think something can be learned from this in regards to weight management.

You see, our body's need to do something with every bit of energy we consume whether it be use it to perform necessary functions or store it as fat. Just like people need to do things with every bit of money we acquire whether it be spend it or put it in the bank. When people go on a diet that is like living in the barrio. They consume less energy than their body needs and the result is weight loss because their body has to get that energy from somewhere and the result is that it taps into it's fat stores. When people stop a diet, however, that is like the little Mexican girl that is given the opportunity to make money when she wasn't able to while living in the barrio (on the diet). The result is that the body naturally holds on to all the energy that it can because it anticipates that it might need it at a later date.

This is why it's so important to maintain a healthy lifestyle when it comes to weight management. If you are struggling with weight and you keep moving back and forth between the barrio to the beach house you are going to confuse the shit out of your body and in turn be more unhealthy than you would be if you just maintained a consistent lifestyle.

So this is what I recommend. You need to find out (or at least make an educated guess) what your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is. This is the amount of energy that your body consumes at rest. It's kind of like an idling car, it still uses a little bit of gas but not as much as it would if you were going 60 mph. Knowing your RMR is important because then you can easily find out how much food you can eat in a day in order to either lose or at least maintain your weight. Once you have this knowledge you need to structure your lifestyle around the amount of food that you've determined works for you. It is very important, however, that this be a lifestyle change because, as we've discussed, the moving back and forth between diet and overeating confuses the body and hinders healthy living more than it helps.

Everything I've discussed thus far is only a foundation for weight management. Once you've determined the right amount of food your body needs to consume, anything you add to your new lifestyle can also help. Some healthy additions I would recommend are drinking more water than you need every day and exercising. The types of food you eat are also a factor. Cut back on things like desert and sugary drinks.

Above all, don't stop using your brain. A healthy lifestyle is incredibly simple if you take the time to think about it. You know what's good for you and what's not and you don't need a book or therapist to help you. It's not easy. If it was, everyone would be thin but you are smart enough to do it yourself. I think too many people place the responsibility on things outside of their immediate control - I need to read that book and then I'll know what to do - I need to get a personal trainer and they'll make sure I'm doing the right things. Problem is that at the end of the day, it's up to you. Every time you have the opportunity to put a cookie down or not buy a half gallon of ice cream at the store, those are decisions that you need to start making. They're different for everyone but you know what they are for you.

This is about as simple as weight loss gets. Don't get distracted by all the stuff advertised on T.V. that makes weight loss look easy. Anyone who says it is easy to lose weight in a healthy way is trying to sell you something you don't need. The truth is that it takes a lot of work but the work isn't rocket science. You know what to do, you just need to start doing it, make a lifestyle out of it and not look back.

Oh yeah, and don't stress too much - that will kill you faster than food will ;) Hope you enjoyed this one.

Marijuana

Arizona is going to have the opportunity to vote on a medical marijuana proposition in the upcoming election in November. I've been thinking a little bit about the pro's and cons of legalizing marijuana and thought I'd write a blog about it.

I think I'll talk first about the pros for this proposition.

1. Marijuana has medicinal value for sick people. Some people disagree with this but I've got to say that they are flat out wrong if they think marijuana can't help for certain illnesses. If you're one of those people, consider this example - Cancer patients going through chemotherapy often have trouble with loss of appetite and nausea. If you've ever watched Harold and Kumar go to White Castle you know it's common knowledge that marijuana stimulates the appetite. It's not always the healthiest food you might be after but for a cancer patient who is having so much trouble keeping food down that they are experiencing weakness, it's hard to imagine not letting them make their own decision on the issue. You don't have to agree with the decision but can't you agree that it's their decision?

2. It's already widely used and, currently, drug cartels and the black market are reaping the financial benefits. Legalization would allow legitimate business to take over and would start to hurt the revenue streams of the drug cartels and the other various business components of the black market. Again, you don't have to agree with using marijuana but any reasonable person would at least concede this point as a benefit to legalization.

3. Marijuana is safe considered to other drugs that are legalized for their medicinal value. All kinds of opiates have been legally approved as ways to manage pain. Opiates are actually pretty dangerous compared to marijuana. It's pretty hard to argue against that. Who doesn't know someone they went to high school with who ended up overdosing on prescription pain killers and dying? I know I do. Does anyone know somebody who overdosed on marijuana and died? Some people say it's not possible. I don't know if it's ever actually happened, but I do know that not only have I never known anyone who overdosed on marijuana, I've never heard of it happening either. That being said, whatever your opinion is on this, I think it's safe to say that marijuana is much safer than other legal drugs prescribed to manage pain. So the question some medical marijuana proponents are asking is, "if opiates are legal, what's the problem with a little weed, dude?"

And the cons.

1. It's not easy to regulate. When a cop pulls someone over for driving drunk there are breathalysers and field sobriety tests to easily find out if they are driving under the influence. With marijuana, it's not so easy. Opponents say that medical marijuana users will drive under the influence without the threat of detection and make our roads more dangerous than they already are. Since this is a possibility, marijuana should remain illegal. (I'd say that's a problem for law enforcement. Why should a cancer patient not be able to use marijuana because cops are too stupid to find a way to prove if someone's high or not? Law enforcement can adapt if they try. It's really easy to take a blood sample onsite if someone is suspected of being impaired. And if a cop can't tell, then they're probably safe to drive anyway).

2. Kids will think it's okay to do drugs if they see adults using it. This is also a real possibility. Just like it's a real possibility for alcohol abuse or abuse of any other legal drug. Hey parents, get involved in your kids lives again. This isn't going to pose any problem that's not already out there, it's just with a different substance. Fact is that kids are just about 100% guaranteed to face these decisions in their lives, whether they are legal or not, and if they are educated with facts they will most likely make a responsible decision. And if they don't, they probably wouldn't have anyway.

3. It's not FDA approved and there are no federal studies to show that it has medicinal value. True, but have you ever asked yourself why there have been no federal studies to show that it has medicinal value? It is currently a schedule 1 drug, right up there with LSD and cocaine. The difference is that although it's a schedule 1 drug, it's nothing like other schedule 1 drugs. The FDA would have a hard time doing studies and administering a drug to a group that they said is as bad as LSD and cocaine. This has caused them not to research it which is why there is a lack of studies showing it's medicinal value. Kind of stupid if you ask me but nevertheless, it's what some opponents are saying.

Anyway, this kind of turned into a pro medical marijuana post. Wasn't really intending it to be like that but when I start thinking about it this is just where reason takes me. Hope you enjoyed it.