Tangled Times: Unusual News and Views

Fundamentalism: The Ace of "Base"

Not too many five-syllable words make it on to the 10 o'clock news.  'Fundamentalist' has done that and then some, easily exceeding its alloted 15 minutes of fame.

The book I'm plodding through (Only Yesterday, by Frederick Allen) raises an interesting tidbit:

"Those who believed in the letter of the Bible and refused to accept any teaching, even of science, which seemed to conflict with it, began in 1921 to call themselves Fundamentalists."

Odds are, if you're reading this humble BLOG, you are NOT a fundamentalist.  I'll hazard a second guess that you don't know one personally. 

But why?

The 20th century brought with it massive changes in societal knowledge.  Science produced one revolution after another - enlightening the masses while casting once-thought certainties into complicated shades of gray.

The more a (rational) individual learns and experiences, the tougher it becomes to take a hard-line stance on most issues

In plain English - the more you know, the more you realize your potential for error or misjudgment.

The irony of life is - it's often the unwavering, unquestioning, unbending type who ends up leading.  And you can look at it two ways - positively (gee, she sure has some convictions) or negatively (dang, he's an imbecile). 

Whether you like it or not - fundamentalists always have - and always will rule societal groups.  From the Islamic variety blowing themselves up daily... to refined, polite politicians like George W. Bush.

A leader knows it takes a certain "one-sidedness" to mobilize his base - without which no man or woman can be voted into power.

Could I be wrong?  Perhaps.  But I'd challenge you to find the current leader of one major "world power" willing to admit any of his chief policies are amiss.

Are You Fascinated?

It was, perhaps, the most redundant headline of the weekend. 

"Blue Angel Pilot Fascinated With Flying, Speed"

Well, we should hope so!  The Blue Angels are the most famous flying troupe in the world. 

This week, the elite flying squad is mourning the loss of a young member.  32-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Davis crashed during a South Carolina air show.  He'll certainly be missed. 

So few of us get to live and die doing something we love.  It's not often you'll see headlines like these:

"Postal Worker Fascinated With Stamps, Mailboxes"

or "Accountant Thrilled by W-2 Forms, Tax Refunds"

Your 30 second assignment of the day... Think about what you're fascinated with and ask yourself, "Am I spending enough time doing what I love?"  Life gets so busy, many of us (including me!) are like automatons...sometimes going through the motions. 

Start small... and see if you can carve out an extra 10 minutes-a-day to get in touch with your passion and see where it takes you.  (Remember...it doesn't have to make front-page news... as long as it makes you smile!)

Ethanol, Missing Bees and the FDA

It's all about the fuel...

Three headlines from last week:

-Are Cell Phones Killing Off Honey Bees?

-Ethanol Demand Puts Squeeze on Corn Supplies, Drives Prices Up

-Imported Food Rarely Inspected

1.) A disturbing cycle seems to be emerging.  Across the nation, honey bees are disappearing.  At this point, we don't know why.  (Blame it on Cell Phones, Satellite Radio or Don Imus...)  The result?  Increased prices for produce, due to the law of supply and demand.  Fruit and vegetables that depend on cross-pollination have seen (or will see) falling crop yields. 

2.) Speaking of supply and demand.  This idiotic push for corn-based fuel is sending the price of corn skyrocketing.  As a result, farmers are cutting back.  They simply can't afford to feed their cattle.  Less livestock produced = increased prices for meat at your local supermarket.

3.) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects just 1.3% of imported fish, vegetables and fruit. According to USA Today, "the nation is vulnerable to harm from abroad, where rules and regulations governing food production are often more lax than they are at home."

Adding it all up...

What do you get when you cross diminishing domestic production with increased reliance on imported food and a lax, under-funded FDA?

Potential disaster... no need to sugar coat this.

Most Americans have no idea where their food comes from -- and they don't care.  In Baltimore, it costs $1 per apple for some of the worst tasting fruit imaginable.  Strawberries are $5-6 per case.  And a quarter pound of blueberries will set you back $6-7.  You may have also noticed the prices of ground beef and chicken breasts creeping up.

Why?

Our food supply is being flown in from greater and greater distances.  Food that's grown/raised in the USA costs more to produce and transport.  Those prices are passed on to consumers.

An unhealthy expectation for out-of-season produce creates a demand for imported food - which might as well not be regulated at all.

"Never before in history have we had the sort of system that we have now, meaning a globalization of the food supply," said Robert Brackett, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Take a wild guess what's going to happen next.  It ain't pretty.

What can you do?

Unfortunately, there's no catch-all solution to this predicament.  You'd be wise to shop for local produce at farmer's markets and orchards, if they're within reasonable driving distance.  Buying locally is not only healthy -- it sets a positive cycle of sustainable living in motion.  The less distance food has to travel between production and consumption, the better off we'll all be.

Quote Source: USA Today