Posts Tagged ‘nationalism’

Blood Makes the Grass Grow at the Olympics

Posted: July 29, 2012 by Dave B. in Government, Life
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Georgia upset to win a Gold in Judo this year. Perhaps a symbol of the country’s spirit as they are a contested and embattled nation.  Photo Courtesy:  NBC

It hasn’t been until recently that I have enough context to appreciate the Olympics.  As I grew up, it was just sports. Most of the time boring sports, without the wild commercialism that we, as Americans, enjoy in professional sports.

History though, tells a different story.  It’s more than sports.

Let’s take for instance the tensions that remain with Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan.  Russia invaded Georgia just a few years ago, ethnic division and border tensions exist today.

When they meet on the wrestling mat, isn’t there a heightened significance? A Georgian Officer once told me that the pages of his country’s history are wet with blood, the Russian Minister of Defense calls Georgia, “Their archenemy.”

Will Croatia and Serbia face off in a bloody handball match or just continue their historic strife? The hatred goes back way before the US was even a twinkle in the eye of Great Britain.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/16/world/the-serbs-and-croats-so-much-in-common-including-hate.html

Will Turkey and Armenia square off?  The Turks still reject any notion of a genocide while the Armenians demand acknowledgement for their 1.5 Million slaughtered.

We learned what North Korea thinks about the South Korean flag hanging at their games.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/north-korean-womens-soccer-team-back-in-seclusion-after-flag-mix-up-organizers-apologize/2012/07/26/gJQAsVnJBX_story.html

Israel and anyone?  According to some Iranian officials all Israelis are dogs (or is it pigs?) and they should be destroyed.

With context, the Olympics are a little more exciting and interesting.  In the span of the history of the world, our country is just a baby.  We are a new kid on the block; blood runs deep but not as deep as many.

Some of the countries that will compete in London have lost generations of men over and again due to the deep, indelible feuds they continue; its more than just soccer….or, futbol.

The Making of America: True Story

Posted: July 17, 2012 by Dave B. in Leadership, Life
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Are you willing to work?

True Story:

A large area immediately outside my office had to be excavated due to some kind of underground HVAC flooding problem.

The first day was pretty hot.  The guys started to clear the stones then cut into the dirt with a shovel.  It was getting hotter.  A few guys worked on it at first, then as the job expanded the guys had other duties to do and one guy was left to dig.  It was hot.  The man dug and dug.  It was apparent at this point that the shovel he was given was inadequate for the job.  He was in jeans that didn’t fit well and an old t shirt, he just kept digging.

The next day, another guy was on the job.  He was younger, tall and slender.  He dug some when he first arrived but the heat came quick.  He dug a little, stopped for a smoke. Dug a little more, did some texting then his buddy showed up.  He sat on the side of the hole for a bit, smoked and talked then dug a little more.  Someone brought over some Gatorade and a sandwich.  He left earlier in the day than the guy from yesterday.

It rained heavily that night.

The next day the first guy showed up again.  Since it had rained the job site was a bit of a mess.  The hole no longer had perfect edges, it was sloppy and eroded.  The dirt pile was flattened and some was falling back into the hole.  The man did what he could to shovel it out.  He wasn’t having much success.  He grabbed a nearby plastic cup from a fast food restaurant (the big kind that are against the law in NY) that was littered from the past.  The man began using the cup to throw the water out of the hole.  He had to throw it some distance as to avoid it from receding back.  He did this for several hours, even as it started to rain again.

The final day an excavator showed up, now with space to expand the hole.  In a few days, the entire job was finished.  It was covered nicely with new gravel, looking better than when it had started.

I didn’t see Juan or Steve again.

The Golden Feedbag and the Chocolate Muzzle

Posted: June 20, 2012 by Dave B. in Health and Fitness, Life
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So I’m reading the third book of the Hunger Games, its a pretty good depiction of a government gone mad.  There is a segment of the population who are the favored group, the well bred.  They are kept “happy,” drunk with gluttony.

I’m reminded of one scene where these people are at a party gorging themselves with the best foods and drink.  On an adjacent table, are small glasses filled with some type of formula to allow you to safely vomit in order to go back to enjoying the food.  In other words, they are no longer limited at the buffet by what they can eat, they can now eat as much and as long as they want.  This, while the rest of the population is starving.

That brings me to this:

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This is Golden Corral’s chocolate tower, streaming thing.  It was available at breakfast, notice the cotton candy adjacent to it.

I met at Golden Corral today for a morning class.  First time I’ve been there in years.  Prior to going, my friends joked that we were meeting at the Golden Feedbag and made other references to the absurdity of it all. One thing I didn’t quite expect though, was this.

I’m not saying we’re like to people in Hunger Games, but doesn’t stuff like this ever beg the question?  Do we have too much convenience?  Can we?  How can we send our men and women to two wars with minimal effect on the population like we did over the past 10 years?  Why aren’t more people involved?  Who votes these days?

Maybe a chocolate fountain is the answer.

In Hunger Games the oppressive government kept the people clueless and happy so they wouldn’t ask questions, so they would never ‘want.’

I’ll paraphrase the flyer here, “Join the fun at our never ending cascade of delicious dipping chocolate.  It’s all on our legendary endless buffet.”

Decide for yourself.  Join the heard, watch endless TV, drink, spend and be merry, eat at endless buffets or do something worthwhile - Contribute, make a difference.

I for one, well….um….OK.  See you at the feedbag.  The Banana Pudding was great.

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