Its All About "ME" Syndrome

n. the condition of being or feeling of being of overinflated importance to the continued workings of the universe despite being truly only a small, insignificant bit player in the entire grand scheme of things.

In recent weeks there seems to have been an inordinate amount of cases of Its All About "Me" syndrome especially among the members and apologists for the mainstream media. While i fully appreciate their positions, i am reminded that no matter how hard we wish for something not to be happening or not to be true ... 99.999999% of the time it is.

Old line media took another hit this week with the resignation of Eason Jordan, over the remarks he made at a symposium in Davos and also over similar comments and statements he made all without supporting or substantiating collaborative facts or evidence. The facts surrounding the case are well established at Hugh Hewitt's site, Michelle Malkin's site and Captain's Quarters among many others including the aptly names but soon-to be-needing a rename www.easonjordangate.com.

Needless to say the old line media are a bit flomuxed regarding all this. The greatest cry from most quarters of their ranks being either the infamous fingers and hands clasped tightly over the eyes and ears so as not to see or hear what was going on or the other favorite trick of the "victim" classification the loud screaming "ITS NOT FAIR"!!!!

For those who have not yet enjoyed the rich and wondrously enlightening "Blog" by Hugh Hewitt which will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about the important and almost instantaneous change in the information superstructure, it is highly recommended that you DO NOTHING ELSE until you have read, devoured, and assimilated all its treasures ... even if you are not a Blogger, but are only a consumer of news, information, and evertyhing else that is LIFE on planet earth, this book will help you to understand how the information superhighway has changed and continues to change right before your very eyes -- and how you are and can play a vital role in those changes.

If you are a Blogger or thinking about starting one, a businessperson, a user of the internet, or you just want to know how things in today's world are operating and you have not read it yet ... DO NOTHING ELSE UNTIL YOU READ IT.!!

For those people who just cant stand the thought of buying a book by such an out in the open and proud of it conservative member of the center-right you can still get the gist of Hugh's book regarding the rapid change taking place in almost -real time by taking a first read or perhaps a re-read of the great book on change by Spencer Johnson ... "Who Moved my Cheese". Although i must sound a note of caution to the obvious suffers of Its All About "ME" syndrome ... its all about change and adapting to it not about food.

It too, is a great read and again filled with terrific insights on adapting to changes in life, work, family, whatever it is you are involved in. Change is inevitable in our world and only those who can quickly adapt to changes around them and anticipate where they might be leading will in the end be secure, happy and contented.

In an ever-changing and challenging era of instant communications around the world, the adage that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result" is more true now than ever.

Some will complain that the rise of instant communication will also cause a rise in instant condemnation or in the calculated attempt to "get" those you don't agree with by searching and publicizing every indiscretion no matter how petty and small it might be in order to make your case for ruination of your intended target and therefore will mean that less and less people will dare to speak out.

I could not disagree more .... in fact that part of communication (the multitudinous amount of individual and personal opinion on every subject under the sun) is i believe the only part not to change. Even before the advent of the internet and blogging, people were free to talk -- agree, disagree, hotly contest anything and everything spoken, sang, written in every form of communication known to man.

My maternal grandfather, Leon Gardner was a man of very well known and well advocated positions on every subject and there was nothing he liked more than "discussing" them with everyone around him ... if you agreed or disagreed with him it didn't matter ... what mattered was the free exchange of ideas.

Now grandfather also thought that many of his "discussion" partners were, well to be charitable, he called them "ninnys"; but that never stopped him from allowing the discussion of their opinions to take place ... when the discussion was over he would merely say ... well even a fool is allowed to have his opinion of things no matter how stupid or wrong they might be.

In fact my grandfather loved "discussions" so much that there were many times when i personally witnessed him argue both sides of the issue ... switching back and forth as well in the arguments ... especially if he thought that his discussion "partner" didn't know a hill of beans about the subject. He was never one to simply roll over on someone or crush them needlessly ... it wasn't so much about wining (although he cared deeply about that as well) ... but i believe the greatest joy he received was from the experience of the "arena" the act of open discussion ... of putting forth ideas and defending them -- in other words the wondrous-ness of the argument.

I submit that the instantaneous-ness of available mass communication will greatly increase the size and scope of an informed populace ... and yes i do have rather a lot more faith in my fellow humans than many on the liberal left (and yes to be completely fair many of those on the conservative right as well) who will try to claim that those who are of the other end of the spectrum will only read those sites and such information as they agree with (while subliminally saying that they are better then that because they will read everything and still make an informed decision to maintain their "open-ness" of beliefs despite the inordinately huge amount of bias and disinformation being bandied about).

There are two things that i believe in so passionately that it would take mountains and mountains of information and evidence well beyond merely a reasonable doubt to the contrary to make me change my mind about them:

The first is that young people (12-20) are inherently smarter and more aware of events, their personal belief systems, circumstances, and happenings all around them and are also much better prepared to deal with them (and in fact already are dealing with them better) than we adults will ever give them credit for being.

The second thing is that every human being WANTS and DESIRES as a natural part of being a human to be informed; to make for one's own self the determination about what and who they are and what and how they will believe. And i believe that the great majority of them want also and desire more than anything to succeed at that goal of self-determination and self-awareness that no matter how many left, right, center or impossibly out in the far reaches of the universe sources of information they read most, if not all, will find that they believe some, disbelieve others but that all are at least worth listening to or reading or at least understanding for the simple point of keeping your own tightly held beliefs current and defensible.

Yes, i admit i do read lots of information from all across the left-center-right spectrum and i still carry on proudly the family tradition handed down by my grandfather of never finding a discussion i didn't want to be a part of no matter my views or even the views of the others in the discussion or the subject matter for that matter. The trick is not to get such an inflated idea about your own importance or indispensability that you lose all perspective.

There are far too many celebrities (and many such more politicians and would-be politicians) who wrongly think that because they are who they are, that they are somehow more important; or that because they played a certain character in a play or movie or have written songs about such things that they are then EXPERTS in those ideas, or situations the character was in. Does this mean they automatically are not experts though ... NO. They are simply one more voice in the discussion, no more an expert on the subject naturally then the people who went to watch them play or act or write.

Every one of us in an expert only in their own experiences (and then again maybe we still are not experts) ... perhaps we are merely bit players even in our own personal drama known as "life as we know it and experience it."

In the end i believe that the writer known as "The Preacher" hit the nail on the head when he examined life and found that it was "vanity of vanities, all is vanity ... indeed all is vanity and grasping for the wind."

None of us is so important and so indispensable that we will not suffer what is our lot in life -- to whither as the "grass which is here today and tomorrow is cast on the fire."

Bloggers (no matter their belief system), i believe, have a much better grasp of that reality as it touches on the theater of the mind and in the thoughts and processes of our beliefs and ideas and dreams than those of old line media because we have not been told from day one that we were special.

We, as normal humans living our mostly satisfying yet unremarkable lives, know that we are all just as equal as others .... only those for whom life has been one endless "god-like" existence will have trouble learning to become equal.

I am reminded of the great commandments written by the newly freed inhabitants of George Orwell's brilliant book "Animal Farm"

as they were originally spelled out:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

and how, due to their own self-importance and their desire to ensure their superiority, the leaders and elites of that supposedly "equal" society changed them at will and whim until eventually all that remained was one which read:

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

No one should presume that they have all the answers or that all their answers are the one true correct answer (ESPECIALLY ME) ...

Yes, each of us should strive to give their best to the edification and education of everyone else by thought word deed and example but never by force of will or of any other kind. We should rather, as another great writer, the Apostle Paul, explained to his audience in Philippi "have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."


The Geek File Blog Military Units of Recognition:

United States Air Force - 55th Wing, Offutt AFB, Nebraska

United States Coast Guard - USCG Cutter Katmai Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

United States Marine Corps - Marine Air Control Squadron 2, Detachment Bravo, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina

United States Army - 44th Medical Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

United States Navy - US Naval Hospital Sigonella, Italy

offhand mumblings .... on Super Sunday

rhetorical mumblings mostly ....

is it just me or were there a lot more shots of President Clinton than there were of President Bush in today's super bowl?

why is it that today is the day everyone had huge projects around the house which always seem to happen just on super sunday?

When will Terry Bradshaw do us all a favor and follow Dan Rather into the retirement home? or is it just me that finds him totally annoying?

Will Super Bowl XL be 6 hours long like this one or does it just seem to increase time-wise by 30 minutes or so every year? or will they really go long because it is a "Zero" year celebration?

and what is it with this reluctance to have a defensive MVP .... surely Rodney Harrison had more to do with the Patriot win .....

and speaking of Birds how many people around the US are eating TONS of crow regarding the effectiveness of Terrell Owens??

A personal note to Freddie Mitchell .... "dude .... remember its always best to boast AFTER the game not before ...." Also a note to Al Davis .... TAKE NOTES!!!!

Congratulations to both Fox and the city of Jacksonville on the great show .... even my mother was pleased and she rates the Halftime shows very strictly.... (It really is the only part she cares about) ... this is the first in a long time that she liked so GREAT JOB on behalf of my mother Roberta ...

Also just a note to whoever planned the National Anthem portion of the Pre-game show .... TOTALLY AWESOME .... i thought the selection of honorees from WWII and also the salute to today's heroes in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Southeast Asia Tsunami Relief efforts was superbly done and most appreciated by myself and the two other veterans i was watching the game with. VERY WELL DONE.

as a further tribute to the men and women of our armed services i offer this thanks to the following units ....

US Air Force - 124th Wing (ANG), Boise, Idaho

US Army - HHSB 1-190th Field Artillery Battalion (NG), Billings, Montana

US Navy - USNS Indominitable, NAB, Little Creek, Virginia

US Marine Corps - 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, Camp Pendleton, California

US Coast Guard - USCG Cutter Cimarron (WLR-65502), Buchanan, Texas

God Bless ... Keep the Faith ... Lest WE Forget ....

Conversation with The President ....

Thirty years ago a young boy in California became interested in politics, world events and most importantly in writing down not just his own thoughts and beliefs but also in trying to discover what others thought ... especially others already involved in politics, policy making and governmental affairs.

Thus began a journey which would see him write letter after letter to senators, representatives, presidents cabinet members and other political and government leaders. In his letters he would ask what their views on subjects ranging from the then Vietnam War to health care, from personal questions regarding their free-time activities to their thoughts about sports, music, movies and almost every aspect of life in America.

In all the years between 1969 and 1979 he learned all he could and in fact he was at one point in his life nick-named "The Senator" (among others not to be mentioned here) due to his intense interest in all things political and of course his stated occupational goal of one day being an elected official.

In 1980 he entered the military service and for the next 10 years, 4 months and 2 days served on active duty in the United States Air Force ... much of that time spent serving in foreign countries.

Even through those years he still maintained an intense interest in political events and affairs ... and an interest that he still lives and breathes to this very day.

He has also been throughout his entire life an avid student of history... the history of mankind; the history of people ... especially in how people relate to each other ... to their governments ... and how those governments relate in turn with each other and with every person as well.

As i have grown from that young boy into my now middle-aged hood, the greatest change i have found in all that time is the attitudinal change that has taken place in the people whose job it is to keep all of us informed of the important things, the surprising things, and even simple and mundane things ... the journalist.

After giving this subject a great deal of thought i have come up with the answer i believe fits the question of who is to blame for the shift in focus and attitude among so many members of the American press corps towards their own government, their own country ... the country from where they derive not only their living but also the only country that guarantees complete and total freedom for them to do their jobs ...

The answer is .... Richard M. Nixon.

Yes ... i believe it all comes back to rest on his drooped yet uplifted (with hands in the ever-famous twin "V for Victory" wave) shoulders.

President Nixon was the first president i ever wrote to and from 1969 to 1975 i sent many letters his way asking all sorts of questions and he always had a letter sent back .... i admired him for his opening of China back then and also for his handling of the Soviet Union ... BUT it is still HIS FAULT that we have the situation we have now.

Mr. Nixon was many things to many people and not all of them were good. Even at the young age of 10 as i was in 1971 i knew that he could be charming and yet he also had this unequaled ability to attract the scathing wrath and ire of a journalist as easy as a dog attracts fleas. in general they hated him and he of course hated them right back ... in fact i think he hated them even more than they did him and i know from watching him interact with them and from some of my personal questions to him that it was always a point of honor with him to NEVER back away ... NEVER give in ... and NEVER EVER let them EVER think they had won or beat him down.

My personal favorite president also had his share of "bad press" ... as a young man growing up in Northern California i knew a lot about Ronald Reagan even before he made himself a household name in the mid-seventies ...

It was my very great privilege to not only serve in the military under his presidency but also to personally meet him on numerous occasions both personal and business. He was an extremely good listener ... and questioner ... and on those occasions when it was a personal chat you could tell that he truly was interested in YOUR thoughts and ideas ... and the press hated him as well.

It always pained me to read or hear or see so many American journalists belittle, ridicule and demean him both behind his back and also to his face. and yet he never quit doing what it was he felt was the right thing to do ... the right things for America ... for our future and even for those who despised him so vehemently.

Today as i write this i wish it to be a message of hope to our latest "hated" President

Mr. President ... i know you probably get a lot of advice from folks who write you and i also know that a lot of it is probably stuff you already know or already heard but as my wise father once said to me ... "Son ... you can never hear good advice too many times" and so i wish to give you what i think is good advice.

The first piece of advice is a quote from another president who also spoke at great lengths regarding freedom and liberty and doing the right thing no matter the obstacles:

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." - Abraham Lincoln

Secondly i would ask you to remember the words of the one man who in my humble opinion saved all of humanity by sheer force of will during World War Two ... British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill .... in a speech to the students at his alma mater, the Harrow School in 1941 ...

"Never give in, never give in, --never, never, never, never,-- in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. "

and later at the ending of that same speech ...

"Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days -- the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must thank God that we hace been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race."

and while he was speaking to the British people then, i firmly believe that these words are just as true ... just as accurate ... and just as appropriate to be spoken of we the American people in the year 2005.

The third piece of advice i would like to give you Mr. President is this:

"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have." -- Ronald Reagan

The fourth piece of advice comes from the man i consider to be the wisest of all i have ever known ... my father Franklin L. Hicks, Senior, who always reminded me that "you can never go wrong if you always do the right thing.".

In closing Mr. President, i leave you with a few thoughts and words of my own ...

Doing the right thing may never be popular, and there will always be lots and lots of other people who will not like you no matter what you do or how you do it ... the thing to remember about all that is that -- it really just doesn't matter if they do or if they don't ...

As long as you can look those who depend on you to do the right thing squarely in the eye and say as did the aspotle Paul "i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith" you will always be a winner.

Freedom and liberty are not free gifts ... someone must struggle and fight and bleed and die on occasion to ensure that others may live to enjoy those things ... It was my greatest joy in life to be a member of the United States Air Force for 10 years .... to serve alongside some of the best human beings ever born ... and i know that today despite all our shortcomings that our best, brightest, and bravest still serve ... proudly standing on the lonely outposts guarding and protecting our way of life ... our liberty and our pursuit of happiness ...

today's special thanks to our military go out to:

United States Air Force - 6th Air Mobility Wing, MacDill AFB, Florida

United States Marine Corps - Communications (G6) Division, HQ, Marine Corps Forces South, Miami, Florida

United States Coast Guard - USCG Cutter George Cobb, San Pedro, California

United States Army - 492nd Transportation Company, 24th Battalion, 7th Transportation Group, Fort Eustis, Virginia

United States Navy - USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) ... congratulations and welcome to the fleet.

God bless all of you ... and may we at home do everything in our power to ensure that their sacrifice is not made in vain.