Some Incomplete Essays
Hoping That Publishing These Will Motivate Me
Competition: What Is It Good For?
Absolutely Nothing!
First, my bona fides: I am the middle son of a very accomplished amateur athlete. My father was an All-American lacrosse player in college, and was chosen to captain the 1947 US National hockey team, an opportunity he turned down, no doubt under extreme duress, so he would be present for the birth of my older brother in May of that year.
My mother was a better than average golf player, and remained active in the sport as well as in tennis for many years. In fact, she introduced the old man to golf, then watched him become a scratch handicapper, at which point he became the giver of advice. Yeah, I know, right? Sheesh.
Anyway, as you might suspect, competition was held in high regard in the Stuckey household. All three sons played Division I college hockey, and the youngest went on to a stellar 20-year professional career in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. OK, enough bragging about the family.
I have learned many lessons during my 6+ decades as a competitor, both about myself and about ‘group dynamics.’ The most important and meaningful are related to ‘competition’ and what that term means, or should mean. Let’s look at where it (supposedly) reigns supreme, the USA.
America is a capitalist country. The theory is that competition is what makes capitalism work, makes it the best economic system ever devised by man. How that idea became a myth is well beyond both my economics training and the scope of this essay, but it’s clear that the theory has proven false.
Competition was supposed to keep prices low. Now that a handful of corporations, some not even based in the US, control every major industry they don’t compete in prices. They compete in the world of advertising, or in the amount of subsidies they get from the government; the people they bought and got elected or bought after their election. But let’s not wade into those weeds. Suffice it to say that genuine competition disappeared from our economy a long, long time ago.
Except in one area, the pursuit of jobs. This process has become a massive arena, where we, the gladiators, fight each other to the delight and amusement of the emperors, or Captains of Industry. Finding ‘gainful employment,’ from the lowliest of grinds to the loftiest levels of ‘professional’ positions has become one of the activities where those Captains bring out their favorite weapon, Divide and Conquer.
As it happens (another swamp we won’t enter), White men are all but a few of those Captains, and anyone else must go an extra mile or more to prove that they are worthy. In today’s world, dominated by the scourge of Identity Politics, the number of battles have multiplied a hundred fold.
The Man makes hiring decisions, and then endless cries of ‘Foul!’ are heard. Often, those cries are correct, but instead of questioning the system itself, the gladiators accept their fate and continue to battle their fellows, while the bosses laugh all the way to the bank.
Divide and Conquer has won, again. Competition has proven to be the enemy of the overwhelming majority. If our economy was geared toward solving problems, easing pain and suffering, protecting our environment…..there would be more than enough work for every capable citizen.
So on a society-wide level, competition has proven to be a complete disaster for everyone except the lucky few at the top. But
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Another Look At Complexity
Why It May Be The Death Of Us
In other essays*, we have looked at the question of complexity, especially at ways we have imposed it on ourselves.
Review and Introduction
General view of technology
Science as a series of steps with no conclusion
Valero Houston Refinery
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On Our Search For Connection
Can We Achieve It & How Will We know?
As I sit at my computer to type these musings, “It’s the end of the World, as we know it…”, but I most definitely do not feel ‘fine.’ I do, however, cling to a sliver of hope, even as I watch my fellow citizens
So, let’s leave all of that behind, and look at the truly ‘Big Picture.’
All across the globe, people of every possible description are looking for ‘connection,’ a feeling of belonging to something greater than themselves. The forms that search is taking are as numerous as the seekers themselves. As we see in the news every day, we remain far from any agreement on what we need to do to establish that sense of togetherness, of a shared fate.
Full disclosure: I am among a relatively small group of people who think the ‘answer’ can only come from an understanding of our most primal (primitive) selves. Our species survived for all but the last 10-30 thousand years relying on our natural instincts, and the strategies that allowed us to adapt to drastically changed environments, including a few Ice Ages.
While it seems obvious, as we sit on the precipice of the 6th mass extinction, that we have not handled the development of ‘civilization’ very well, I am not suggesting we return to being hunter/gatherers, although that ‘choice’ may soon be made for us. OK, relax and stay with me.
Some of my most recent readings have included the following books, which I will add to a short bibliography at the end: The Evolved Nest; The Continuum Concept; Restoring the Kinship World View; Evolution, Creationism and other Modern Myths; Tribe; and The Comfort Crisis. There are more, but these jumped out at me as I considered writing this essay.
There are two related, common themes running through all of them: We, as social animals, NEED to have a sense of connection, of shared experiences, expectations, and social norms. And we must instinctively understand those needs. We did, until Civilization, the species’ ‘noble experiment,’ led us astray.
And so the ultimate challenge presents itself. Can we regain enough of that connection to stave off the completion of the 6th mass extinction? Well, let’s begin with a look at how far off course we have wandered.
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On Finding Peace Of Mind
It Has Nothing To Do With The Usual Crap
I want to be crystal clear about my motivation for writing this essay. It is an attempt to move through the 3-step process I have described in earlier essays*, a process that, if followed, minimizes the disappointments in one’s life.
It is not a lament, even though it reflects deep disappointment. While the specific details are from my life, I write this in the belief that I am not alone in facing the issues, questions, doubts I will raise, here. So maybe something I say will help a few of you, or at least provide a different way of looking at your own situation.
Introduction: Not a personal lament
The Comfort Crisis
Documentary - Happy
Autobiography - the material stuff
Autobiography - the brokenness
Retirement & the not-so-golden years
Transformation over the past few years
Where I want to be is ‘impossible’
Accept - Embrace - Deal
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And finally:
On Having A Purpose
The Roots Are Infinitely Complicated
For the past few months, I have been really struggling to finish an essay. At this moment, I have 5 in my home drive, and a jumbled head that looks at them, maybe makes a short addition/correction, and then I close it, feeling frustrated. It’s definitely a reflection of my overall mental/emotional state. This is an attempt to sort at least some of it out.
The thought that keeps popping into my head is that ‘complexity’ is at the root of the problem. It seems like every day, life becomes more difficult for me to navigate, and there is no question that technology is the primary cause. Here’s an example. During COVID, I entered a doctor’s office to make an appointment, only to be told that I had to do it on my phone.
While that kind of nonsense has disappeared, mostly( ?), there have been any number of similar developments since.
Complexity is through the roof - partial reason for my writing paralysis?
Technology
The Culture Wars, Trumpism & Empire
Motivations are a scrambled mess
Don’t retreat, push through like you are ‘supposed’ to be there