Ordinary Amy

Amy Winehouse was a singular talent, or so we have been told repeatedly since the news of her death broke a few days ago. Talented? Certainly. Singular? Certainly not. There are other musical artists who speak from as dark a place as she did. There are others who, tragically, died young as well. (The internet is abuzz with all the bright lights who were extinguished at 27, go ahead, add her to the list, but NO, it’s not a government conspiracy…) Ms. Winehouse reportedly even died of the same disease that killed most of her fellow 27s. And that makes her anything BUT singular.

Most estimates put about 10% of the US population into the category of alcohol or drug dependent, and I believe it was quite evident to anyone with the barest knowledge of Ms. Winehouse that she shared this addiction. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know she was British). Reading public commentary, however, gives one a different impression. While many cite Winehouse’s addiction, few know quite what to make of it. Most seem to at least imply, if not outright state, that she chose to die in this way. It would appear that the general public knows more about celebrity lifestyles than they do common disease.

Make no mistake, addiction is a disease. Only someone who has never personally suffered addiction could say otherwise. NO ONE chooses addiction. It is a devastatingly insidious disease with no cure, and no absolute treatment. Yes, there is treatment, but it doesn’t always work. And the reason it doesn’t work isn’t a lack of effort or desire. Any addict can tell you, will tell you, how many times they’ve tried to quit. They can tell you all the different tactics they’ve tried. And failed. Twelve-Step programs are known for some success, but there are many who will tell you that they were only able to come to terms with their addictions once they gave up on a higher power and took responsibility for their own lives, as well as those who’ve stepped and stepped and never did get sober.

So if there is a lesson to be learned from Amy’s passing, it is this: Addiction kills. And more often than not, there is shit-all you can do about it. RIP, Amy. Peace.

–s

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Bye Bye, Borders

There’s not too much to say about the demise of Borders that many of you haven’t already said. It was a wonderful place to work. Many wonderful memories and lifelong friends.
For quite a few of us, it was, literally, life-changing. Some of us discovered hidden talents and skills we may have never known we possessed. And some lucky few of us even had the outrageous fortune to meet the one with whom we choose to spend the rest of our lives.
While much can be said for how the company got to this point, there is no need. I know that for me personally, I am so much richer for my experiences and absolutely wealthy in my friends because of my decade there. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Much Love.
–s

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New York, New York

While I certainly found myself moved by watching the results from the New York State House last night, I am also oddly unsettled. I do believe that a celebration is in order; I also believe that there is much work to do.

The last 150 years have shown us that each time a minority group takes a step forward, there is inevitably someone waiting to push them back. Of course, when I say ‘them’ I really mean ‘us‘. As much as the majority group likes to rage about ‘taking the country back’ and about the ‘moral decay of society’, at some point we have to realize that freedom is not a zero-sum game. Giving freedom to others (and I’ll get to that phrase straight on) does not diminish our own. There is a tremendous difference between freedom and power. Yes, just like those players who are studs at  6-man find out once they hit college, the more people you bring into the game, the less time you get to spend with the ball. However, when you have a larger team, you also have more people to carry the load and not every member has to be a stud on every game day.

Now, as to giving others freedom…is that really ours to give? Since when are we the cosmic gatekeepers? Arguably the most famous sentence in American History states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

Now, I don’t really want to parse the word “men”, and I ain’t about to get into an argument over the word ‘Creator’. I’ll be happy to leave that up to each individual’s conscience, as the Founders did. But I’m fair certain that ‘Liberty’ has a standard, acceptable, black and white, no-grey-areas-here, dictionary definition on which all parties can agree. And even if we will never agree on who or what that Creator is or isn’t, if we’ve established such that that entity endowed us all, then why does anyone have to be given freedom by mere mortals? Why does anyone have to “fight for their rights“?

According to TJ, we’re born with all the rights we’ll ever need. I’d like all of mine right now, please. No, you say? Well, why not? In my mind, it always goes back to power. If we all are instantaneously granted all of our rights, all of our freedoms, all of our Liberty, what then happens to the power that controls us? Or if we really want to dig, the question becomes, “Why does anyone feel the need to exercise such power?”

So yes, I’m happy that marriage equality is moving forward. But the real work lies ahead. We must convince those that shout the loudest about freedom that it’s high time everyone got to enjoy it.

Peace

–s

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Water from Icebergs?

In a recent Time Magazine article, “Just Thaw and Serve”, 23 May 2011, researchers have shown the viability, via 3-D modelling, of tugging icebergs southward to alleviate European water shortages.

The work, conducted by French engineer, Georges Mougin, over the last 40 years, would indicate that one could tow a multi-ton iceberg, one of 15,000 that calve off of Greenland each year, as far as the Canary Islands, while losing an acceptable amount to melting, and make it fuel-efficient by using ocean currents as power.

This sounds like an ingenious way to solve the water shortage, but at what cost? I’m no scientist, but if we remove the bergs, doesn’t that result in warmer water around Greenland? Thus resulting in more loss of the ice shelf? Thus warming the seas more, resulting in even more calving, all leading to the disastrous rise in ocean levels that we’ve been warned about for decades?

The article addresses none of this, and until we have those answers, I’d say lets hold off the celebration…

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‘Graceland is safe. And we would charge hell with a water pistol to keep it that way, and I’d be willing to lead the charge.’–Bob Nations, Jr., director of the Shelby County office of Preparedness in Tennessee, regarding the near-record flooding in and around Memphis from the swollen Mississippi River. Quoted in Time Magazine, 23 May 2011.

Public Servant of the Day
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