How we deal with things says a lot...

I was just reading an article about Americans'
frustrations with many things, and there were
many interesting pieces in the article (Read
it for yourself).

However there were two particular things that
stood out for me.

The first was the following quote of Obama's
from Larry King:

"I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people. But that's not the job I was hired to do. My job is to solve this problem, and ultimately this isn't about me and how angry I am."

Say what you will about the President, and what
you think of how he is doing his job, however
recognize that this statement is a VERY powerful
one. He recognizes that being angry doesn't have
to correlate to what action he takes or doesn't
take and how he interacts with what he needs to
deal with.

Many times anger and other emotions will do a
great job of clouding and collapsing issues into
tangled threads that are difficult, if not
impossible, to un-knot. The most powerful place
we can come from is one that recognizes the
emotion, but doesn't give oneself over to it
blindly.

The other piece that stood out to me was the
following quote:

"It's hardly just about Obama. Many Americans, and people in other developed countries, too, have become accustomed to believing that technology and smart thinking can bring manmade calamities under control and help guide a nation's destiny."

For a while now something that gets to me is the
arrogance of human beings. I remember after
Katrina I was speaking with someone who is very
intelligent. He has several degrees, including
a Law Degree, and is certainly no dummy.

I was saying something to the effect that I
couldn't believe that New Orleans was being
rebuilt. What about the risks of another
storm? Wasn't there already enough of a
travesty for those involved? Enough damage?
Costs that go beyond measure?

His response was that they just build up the
levee walls bigger and stronger.

I didn't have it in me to dispute it at any
great length or depth. How do you argue with
someone who is determined to believe that a
human being is so smart as to be able to
overcome any obstacle?

Maybe a human being is...but at what cost?
Is it worth it? Sometimes I wonder about
the questions being asked. Might there be
better ones.

(Just for the record...I have never been to
New Orleans, but I hear it has been a great
city with an incredible culture. I am not
in any way suggesting that the culture be
wiped away without rebuilding. However even
with rebuilding there is no guarantee that
it will ever resemble its former self.

Putting that aside, I question more the
decision years ago that was made to create
a city under sea level, and in present day
any reactive measures that again put people
in possible harms way).

As always, just a lil sumthin' to think
about.

Have a great day!