Looking back at pictures, my own journal, and friends blogs from my trip to Greece I am reminded of the phrase: “out of sight out of mind,” especially in respect to how the different cultures approach and address their problems. While there are many things that contribute to how an individual confronts their problems, I do believe there are some fundamental differences in the way that our cultures view, understand, and address their problems.
Strikes. I want us to think about that word for a second: Strikes. It bears repeating to make sure that the point gets across. Strike. I am not talking about baseball here, but instead the dreaded work stoppage that can seemingly strike (no pun intended) at any time in our modern world. In the United States strikes are almost exclusively thought about in regard to their relationship with entertainment and most specifically sports. It has become so commonplace these past few years that a strike is almost a certain stage in a business cycle for leagues such as the NFL and NBA. A forgone certainty for the NHL.
Due to the nature of sports the idea of and true reason behind a strike becomes skewed. Strikes are a workforce’s way of disrupting labor/the way of things to make sure that their needs are heard and addressed. In the U.S. though strikes have become synonymous with whining crybabies, specifically billionaire cry babies arguing over millions of dollars supported by a large constituent of people who will never earn a million dollars in their lifetime working 40 plus hour weeks. This is a problem, since strikes are meant to show us the imperfections of our society.
The reason I rag on our cultures adopted view of strikes is because of how it showcases how we address our problems. Within the U.S. protests are one of the few permissible ways to address change. Protesting has a long history of being about ideals instead of the rat race of business. We indulge protests as way to express one’s voice, well, we indulge it until it becomes inconvenient (I am talking about you Occupy Wallstreet). The problem here is that we have created a line between protests (permissible) and strikes (forbidden) because we associate one with civil rights and the other with Tebow, T.O.
These associations are unfortunate when you consider that strikes are the working classes way to express their voice. Strikes have done great things in this country from improving labor conditions to improving compensation. Many strikes occur for legitimate reasons that are disregarded by association. Strike is an evil word in our vocabulary and it does not have to be. When recognized, reported on, respected, and done properly strikes become a thing of beauty in doing what they were created to do.
During my time in Greece strikes were a part of the norm. Utility workers would strike leading to non-functional faucets and a lack of electricity. Cabbies and public transportation workers would strike in unison creating a day where the quickest way to get from point a to point b was your own two feet. Air traffic controllers would strike shutting down the airport for hours at a time, inconveniencing flights around the world while improving business at the docks. To most people this type of disruption, this type of intrusion into their everyday life would ruin their day. In Greece it is a part of life and an effective way to make a change.
I remember sitting in my math class waiting for the teacher the day the public transit went on strike. We all sat at attention as people straggled in. Some drove, others took cabs, many of us walked or rode bikes, in the end we all got there. Was it a pain: yes. Were we inconvenienced: yes. Annoyed: yes. Did it work: yes. In the end a compromise was reached, their problems heard. In the end their strike had meaning it had a purpose.
This is where the rubber truly hits the road for me. In our country (myself included) cancel the bus system, turn off the power, close down all the roads, we shut down, pack in the day, and wait for the norm to return. We do not like change or disruption which leads us to avoiding the true issues and talks that can make a difference. In Greece when someone had a problem they talked about it. They dealt with it, head on. Strikes, the butcher shop, protest about the austerity measures; to discussions about religion and politics were done with open arms. I can not tell you how many local people I talked to in Greece about issues that would be considered politically incorrect here.
All of this relates back to the statement: “out of sight out of mind” and is something we should meditate on for a second. When we want to deal with a problem most of us put it right in front of us, for everyone to see. We post our bills/debt on our fridge or weigh ourselves weekly while posting the results on facebook. This to me reminds me of Greece where issues were put on the front burner so they would get resolved. In the United States we ignore many of our problems because we do not want to inconvenience ourselves. More to the point it has become a part of our culture to shy away from from our problems, in favor of the status quo. When we do not like a jacket we put in the back of a closet, when we do not like a project it goes to the bottom of the pile. A work out video back in the case, our credit card in the freezer. We dissuade temptation and avoid our problems through abstinence and forgetting it, more so than dealing with the issue. We have become so good at procrastinating on our problems we have whole industries based on self help and attacking them head on. We spend billions on shrinks, work out gear, self help books, and other items all to tell us what we already know. To tell us that for something to change, for something to make a difference we must make note of it. We must confront it, acknowledge it
This is the issue as I see it and why I feel we really should try to avoid things becoming “out of sight, out of mind” Do not think that I hate shrinks or self help, I fully support many of their services and do believe them valuable, but I think we have lost something in our culture today. We have become so disconnected from our food that we allow pink slime to fill our burgers. Most of us, once we see a industrial slaughterhouse, would never eat meat again. If you could visit the island of trash floating in the gulf and off the pacific you would probably recycle everything you possibly could. It is funny because as I write this, even with knowledge of the problems I do not do all that I can to prevent it because it is an inconvenience and it is out of sight. To all of my readers I challenge you to take one of your problems that you have in your life and approach it like the Greeks. Do not put it aside or forget about it. Make it important and become connected to it. Once you do that I truly think you will find what most of the world already knows, something we forgot long ago. Problems are only problems when you are ignorant to the solution. Many times the solution though is not hidden or a riddle, no many times the solution is waiting to greet us. All we have to do is open our eyes to our problems and let the solutions in.
Strikes. I want us to think about that word for a second: Strikes. It bears repeating to make sure that the point gets across. Strike. I am not talking about baseball here, but instead the dreaded work stoppage that can seemingly strike (no pun intended) at any time in our modern world. In the United States strikes are almost exclusively thought about in regard to their relationship with entertainment and most specifically sports. It has become so commonplace these past few years that a strike is almost a certain stage in a business cycle for leagues such as the NFL and NBA. A forgone certainty for the NHL.
Due to the nature of sports the idea of and true reason behind a strike becomes skewed. Strikes are a workforce’s way of disrupting labor/the way of things to make sure that their needs are heard and addressed. In the U.S. though strikes have become synonymous with whining crybabies, specifically billionaire cry babies arguing over millions of dollars supported by a large constituent of people who will never earn a million dollars in their lifetime working 40 plus hour weeks. This is a problem, since strikes are meant to show us the imperfections of our society.
The reason I rag on our cultures adopted view of strikes is because of how it showcases how we address our problems. Within the U.S. protests are one of the few permissible ways to address change. Protesting has a long history of being about ideals instead of the rat race of business. We indulge protests as way to express one’s voice, well, we indulge it until it becomes inconvenient (I am talking about you Occupy Wallstreet). The problem here is that we have created a line between protests (permissible) and strikes (forbidden) because we associate one with civil rights and the other with Tebow, T.O.
These associations are unfortunate when you consider that strikes are the working classes way to express their voice. Strikes have done great things in this country from improving labor conditions to improving compensation. Many strikes occur for legitimate reasons that are disregarded by association. Strike is an evil word in our vocabulary and it does not have to be. When recognized, reported on, respected, and done properly strikes become a thing of beauty in doing what they were created to do.
During my time in Greece strikes were a part of the norm. Utility workers would strike leading to non-functional faucets and a lack of electricity. Cabbies and public transportation workers would strike in unison creating a day where the quickest way to get from point a to point b was your own two feet. Air traffic controllers would strike shutting down the airport for hours at a time, inconveniencing flights around the world while improving business at the docks. To most people this type of disruption, this type of intrusion into their everyday life would ruin their day. In Greece it is a part of life and an effective way to make a change.
I remember sitting in my math class waiting for the teacher the day the public transit went on strike. We all sat at attention as people straggled in. Some drove, others took cabs, many of us walked or rode bikes, in the end we all got there. Was it a pain: yes. Were we inconvenienced: yes. Annoyed: yes. Did it work: yes. In the end a compromise was reached, their problems heard. In the end their strike had meaning it had a purpose.
This is where the rubber truly hits the road for me. In our country (myself included) cancel the bus system, turn off the power, close down all the roads, we shut down, pack in the day, and wait for the norm to return. We do not like change or disruption which leads us to avoiding the true issues and talks that can make a difference. In Greece when someone had a problem they talked about it. They dealt with it, head on. Strikes, the butcher shop, protest about the austerity measures; to discussions about religion and politics were done with open arms. I can not tell you how many local people I talked to in Greece about issues that would be considered politically incorrect here.
All of this relates back to the statement: “out of sight out of mind” and is something we should meditate on for a second. When we want to deal with a problem most of us put it right in front of us, for everyone to see. We post our bills/debt on our fridge or weigh ourselves weekly while posting the results on facebook. This to me reminds me of Greece where issues were put on the front burner so they would get resolved. In the United States we ignore many of our problems because we do not want to inconvenience ourselves. More to the point it has become a part of our culture to shy away from from our problems, in favor of the status quo. When we do not like a jacket we put in the back of a closet, when we do not like a project it goes to the bottom of the pile. A work out video back in the case, our credit card in the freezer. We dissuade temptation and avoid our problems through abstinence and forgetting it, more so than dealing with the issue. We have become so good at procrastinating on our problems we have whole industries based on self help and attacking them head on. We spend billions on shrinks, work out gear, self help books, and other items all to tell us what we already know. To tell us that for something to change, for something to make a difference we must make note of it. We must confront it, acknowledge it
This is the issue as I see it and why I feel we really should try to avoid things becoming “out of sight, out of mind” Do not think that I hate shrinks or self help, I fully support many of their services and do believe them valuable, but I think we have lost something in our culture today. We have become so disconnected from our food that we allow pink slime to fill our burgers. Most of us, once we see a industrial slaughterhouse, would never eat meat again. If you could visit the island of trash floating in the gulf and off the pacific you would probably recycle everything you possibly could. It is funny because as I write this, even with knowledge of the problems I do not do all that I can to prevent it because it is an inconvenience and it is out of sight. To all of my readers I challenge you to take one of your problems that you have in your life and approach it like the Greeks. Do not put it aside or forget about it. Make it important and become connected to it. Once you do that I truly think you will find what most of the world already knows, something we forgot long ago. Problems are only problems when you are ignorant to the solution. Many times the solution though is not hidden or a riddle, no many times the solution is waiting to greet us. All we have to do is open our eyes to our problems and let the solutions in.
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