The Frustration Factor

It seems as if there was once a time when the right and good, the moral and just were guiding principles for the United States. It may be that it was never as true as it appeared, but at least it seemed as if it were truer than not. That may be little more than wishful nostalgia, more fantasy than reality. Even so, it's easy to consider the daily news and conclude that morality and ethics have nothing to do with how decisions are made, how resources are distributed, how the public's business is conducted.

Let's play a little mind game. It's sort of like playing musical chairs. The population of all of Central America is only slightly more than the population of California: about forty million. Let's suppose that people concluded that California is no longer a fit place to stay and raise a family. Staying is just not possible. Let's further assume that the only reasonable decision is to close California. The migration into the rest of the United States would be extremely disruptive for a while; but if we look ahead five years, the population of California would be absorbed, and life would go on.

Okay, closing all of California may be a bit excessive. Let's suppose that It's only necessary to close Berkeley. Now we only need to assimilate about one hundred and twenty thousand people. That sounds a lot more manageable. It may be that none of them has to actually leave California.

Sure, we're back to discussing the border with Mexico. That's the border that is about the same distance as it is from Chicago to Los Angeles. President Trump is threatening to close the border, letting no one into the United States by way of that border. His only announced goal that I have heard is to prevent an influx of criminals and hooligans. But here is the problem with that. The current border policy is probably reducing but not eliminating the influx of criminals and hooligans. That would be a good thing were it not for the reality that it is also preventing thousands of law-abiding adults and children from peacefully entering the United States.

Just as the rest of California does not want Berkeley's criminals and hooligans, we don't want those from Central America. But just as accommodation would be made for Berkeley's law-abiding adults and children when Berkeley is closed, most of the people fleeing from Central America could be accommodated with the aid of appropriate Federal policy and assistance. It may actually be less costly and certainly would be more humane to help them than it is to keep them out.

That brings us back to right and wrong, just and unjust, moral and immoral. What should our Federal government be doing about the hope of thousands of people from Central America to leave their homes and come to the United States? It is certainly a security question. It is certainly an economic question. Let's hope that our government understands that it is also a moral question, a question of our collective ethics.

What does your conscience tell you about what our collective position should be? What is the right thing to do?

Elvis Presley had a thought to focus us. "When your intelligence don't tell you something ain't right, your conscience gives you a tap on the shoulder and says ‘Hold on.' If it don't, you're a snake."

As one might expect, Carl Jung expressed Presley's folk wisdom in somewhat more formal language; but the idea is the same, "Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, 'Something is out of tune.'" Christopher Reeve also heard that inner voice, "I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do."

You likely heard that the Federal government is partially shut-down. It's not like a private company shutting down part of its operation and laying off some of its employees. For those employees, it's no job, no pay. For the Federal employees who are off work for now, it's no job but you most likely get paid later.

It's not so harm-free for private contractors and all of the businesses who depend on the thousands of Federal employees to shop and buy. The point is that the partial government shut-down is causing real problems for thousands of real people.

All of those Federal employees who are off work had real jobs and provided real services that many people, businesses and organizations depend on to function. The result of the partial government shut-down is that there is major disruption that is seriously interfering with the economic and transactional life of the country. And the longer the partial shut-down continues, the more harmful the disruption.

Why is the Federal government partially shut-down? That's an easy question to answer. It's a tried-and-true negotiating strategy. President Trump wants to build a wall long enough to run from Chicago to Los Angeles but built along the border with Mexico. The final cost of his wall would likely be ten million dollars a mile, but a less expensive wall might be acceptable. Maybe two and a half million dollars a mile would work for him. We can call that solution 1.

The opposition will not agree to the wall but may be fine with a technological barrier that is yet to be clearly explained. We don't know how much that type of barrier would cost but it would presumably be less than two and a half million dollars a mile. We can call that solution 2.

As we see, both sides agree that some type of enhanced barrier should be put in place. The Federal government is shut down because the two sides can't agree about the type of barrier and how much it should cost. There is no disagreement about the need for an enhanced barrier nor that it will be expensive. How expensive? It will cost about as much as it costs to fund the Federal government for thirty seconds. President Trump wants about forty-five seconds and the opposition is offering only fifteen. The Federal government is partially shut-down over about thirty seconds of disputed funding.

It's pretty clear that the partial Federal government shut-down is not actually about funding. It seems most unlikely that either side would take such drastic action over thirty seconds of government funding. The sticking point is most likely only about the type of enhanced barrier to be put in place. This despite the reality that there is no assurance that either President Trumps wall or the opposition's electronics and drones will totally fortify the border. Either will likely reduce the number of criminals and hoodlums illegally crossing the border but neither will completely stop their passage.

Let's consider this. It seems quite unlikely that either President Trump or the opposition are experts on border security. They both want good border security but thinking that they know how to best achieve it is unrealistic. Alternatively, there are certainly people who are experts. Those experts are the best source of advice and guidance. It does not seem unreasonable to assume that they would recommend some mix of security measures along the two-thousand-mile border. It is fair to conclude that neither a wall nor advanced technology alone is the best solution, and neither will completely stop the influx of criminals and hooligans.

Here is what may be the surprising conclusion. The federal government is not partially shut-down over either the cost of enhanced security or over the type of security needed. It is partially shut-down over both sides digging in and holding their ground by insisting that it is either their way or no way.

I have been trying to avoid spending any time thinking about politics, economics and the current state of things in the United States. Despite my sincere effort, I keep drifting back into the morass of commentators and politicians. It makes me wonder about how any of us can distinguish the true from the fake, the actual from snake oil.

My thought process seems to be more than random but less than objective. I am somehow pulled and pushed in ways that are confusing and hard to track. The border with Mexico is a prime example. Is it merely a boundary between two countries, the door to opportunity for many of our southern neighbors, the dividing line between us and them or the entry portal for criminals and hooligans? My rational self thinks the border is a mix of all of these. The political jousting tends to focus on the criminals and hooligans, of which there are certainly some. Nearly everyone agrees that keeping them out is a very good idea. We definitely do not want more criminals and hooligans to add to the home-grown variety we already have.

According to the Google guy, the US Mexico border is just short of two thousand miles. It's about the same as the distance from Cleveland in Ohio to Las Vegas in Nevada; or about the same as from Chicago to Los Angeles. With that perspective, imagine building and maintaining a thirty-foot-high wall or a shorter fence for the full two thousand miles. Additionally, you need to make sure no one breaches the barrier.

President Trump and those on Team Trump tell us that the only way to keep the criminals and hooligans out is to build and maintain the two-thousand-mile wall. Our fear of the invading criminals and hooligans should be a sufficient motivation to build it now. The opposition team tells us that there are better and less expensive ways of keeping the criminals and hooligans out, although so far, I haven't heard much about what those better and less expensive ways are. They seem to have something to do with electronics and drones.

My rational self tells me that either approach would probably work equally well. Either the old-style wall or the new-style technology would likely stop most but not all of the illegal border crossing. Either would be particularly effective at stopping children and families. The real issue is how well either would be at stopping criminals and hooligans. I suspect either approach would slow down the influx of criminals and hooligans but many if not most determined criminals and hooligans would be up to the challenge of either type of barrier. I doubt that either approach would actually reduce the number of criminals and hooligans all that much who get from there to here. Even so, either approach would likely reduce the number of good people looking for a better life who make the passage.

There is another confusing element in all of this. How many people currently cross the border illegally each year? It matters since that is the number that either the President's wall or the oppositions technology is expected to reduce. I haven't heard even an estimate of how many. Further, I haven't heard how much reduction we should expect using either people stopping approach. Focusing specifically on criminals and hooligans, how many bad people illegally cross the border each year and how much will that number reduce by way of the wall or advanced technology?

For the business people among us, let's think about this. the current border security has been working fairly well for quite some time. Most but certainly not all illegal border crossing is already being prevented. Without any border security, let's say that the number of criminals and hooligans crossing the border illegally would be X. With the current security Y criminals and hooligans are prevented from crossing illegally. The number still crossing is then X minus Y criminals and hooligans.

Your mental health matters. It starts with being nice to yourself. Listen and hear how it is done.

There's not much else to say. This one is for listening. Press play and relax.

It seems fitting to initiate (compliments of www.QuoteGarden.com - edited for audio format) the conclusion of our Christmas wisdom with the thoughts of an anonymous philosopher who said, The message of Christmas is that the visible material world is bound to the invisible spiritual world.

Robert Lynd, who is admittedly not a philosopher said, Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life need be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive.

Pope John 23rd added, Mankind is a great, an immense family. This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.

Carolyn Wells is a little more down to Earth with her perspective on gifts, I love the Christmas-tide, and yet, I notice this, each year I live; I always like the gifts I get, But how I love the gifts I give!

She followed up on her wisdom with, 'Tis blessed to bestow, and yet, Could we bestow the gifts we get, And keep the ones we give away, How happy were our Christmas day!

P J O'Rourke lightens the discourse when he points out, There is a remarkable breakdown of taste and intelligence at Christmastime.  Mature, responsible grown men wear neck ties made of holly leaves and drink alcoholic beverages with raw egg yolks and cottage cheese in them.

Our 30th President, Calvin Coolidge was again a bit more philosophical, Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

Robert Kirby is a little more practical, No matter how carefully you stored the lights last year, they will be snarled again this Christmas.

Deborah Whipp's nostalgia definitely has that ring of truth, Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance — each beautiful, unique and too soon gone.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox knows about nostalgia as well, When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know.

Vanessa Grimaldi said, Santa Claus is believing in something greater, believing in something magical; but Dennis the Menace pointed out that the real question is whether Santa Claus believes in you.

Charles Dickens said, I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster agrees, At Christmas-tide the open hand Scatters its bounty o'er sea and land, And none are left to grieve alone, For Love is heaven and claims its own.

Erma Bombeck gets at the heart of it, There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

Louisa May Alcott hints at the magic, Are they Christmas fairies stealing Rows of little socks to fill? Are they angels floating hither With their message of good-will? What sweet spell are these elves weaving, As like larks they chirp and sing?

Neil deGrasse Tyson is here to make us smile, Santa knows Physics: Of all colors, Red Light penetrates fog best. That's why Benny the Blue-nosed reindeer never got the gig.

Once again, my dear people, Merry Christmas is here, With holly and mistletoe And its good will and cheer! With its joys and its heartaches, With its laughter and song, It comes as a reminder That time marches along. This reminder from Gertrude Tooley Buckingham likely gets a "Too True" from most of us.

This from Jay Leno should have perhaps been omitted but alas,

Let's start down the Christmas trail (again compliments of www.QuoteGarden.com - formatting omitted) with a tradition from Betsy Cañas Garmon's family. She sits with her husband in a room lit only by tree lights and wants us to remember that our blessings outnumber the lights. Happy Christmas to all.

Thomas Tusser also has advice for the season. At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.

Lenora Mattingly Weber is here as well to focus our perspective. Christmas is for children. But it is for grown-ups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.

Sing hey! Sing hey! For Christmas Day; Twine mistletoe and holly. For a friendship glows In winter snows, And so let's all be jolly! No one is quite sure who first said it but there's little doubt that we can all give it a hey! hey! of our own.

Gertrude Tooley Buckingham is joining in, Christmas is coming; it is almost here! With Santa and presents, good will and cheer! Now that may be even better than one of those Hey! heys!

In steps the realist to keep us from getting too carried away. Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money. It's not surprising that no one takes credit for that one.

Fortunately, May Sarton is here to keep us on the Christmas rails, I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress.

Dinah Maria Mulock is also here for us and for are sense of good will, It is the Christmas time: And up and down 'twixt heaven and earth, In glorious grief and solemn mirth, The shining angels climb.

Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making. Thank you Leigh Hunt, that certainly brings the full spirit of Christmas into focus for us.

John Kendrick Bangs sharpens our focus as well, Whose heart doth hold the Christmas glow Hath little need of Mistletoe; Who bears a smiling grace of mien Need waste no time on wreaths of green; Whose lips have words of comfort spread Needs not the holly-berries red. His very presence scatters wide The spirit of the Christmastide.

You may think it was Charlie Brown who said, The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect! but it was actually Charles N Barnard. Even so, it's so true.

Let's give Edgar Guest a chance to get in his two cents worth, At Christmas a man is at his finest towards the finish of the year; He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here; Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before, And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for. He is less a selfish creature than at any other time; When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime.

Woops, that pesky author unknown is butting in again with another dose of reality, Christmas is the season when you buy this year's gifts with next year's money.

Eric Sevareid puts us back on track though, As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is.

Bob Hope expands on the point, When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things — not the great occasions — give off the greatest glow of happiness.

D D Monroe is also on board with the sentiment, It is the one season of the year when we can lay aside all gnawing worry, indulge in sentiment without censure, assume the carefree faith of childhood, and just plain "have fun."  Whether they call it Yuletide, Noel,

Let's get started (Compliments of www.QuoteGarden.com) with Louisa May Alcott who said, Very gay they were with snow and sleigh-bells, holly-boughs, and garlands below, and Christmas sunshine in the winter sky above. All faces shone, all

voices had a cheery ring, and everybody stepped briskly on errands of good-will.

Norman Vincent Peale joined in, Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Carol Nelson added, Christmas is a time when you get homesick — even when you're home.

Roy L Smith was there too, He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.

Of course, Charles Dickens brought his unique perspective, I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

W J Cameron was also along with a thought for careful consideration, Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year — and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority.

Burton Hillis makes us smile, The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree, the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

And along came Andy Rooney to remind us not to get in too much of a rush to clear the happy evidence, One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly.

Naturally Charles Dickens has more than one thought for the holiday, Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!

Lest we forget, W J Cameron reminds us, There has been only one Christmas, the rest are anniversaries.

Thanks go to Eric Sevareid for resetting our perspective when he pointed out that, Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves.

We can all agree with Laura Ingalls Wilder when she reminds us that, Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. Thank you Larry Wilde, it's too true.

Washington Irving is also here to remind us, Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.

Peg Bracken definitely gets it. We can only hope that we do too. She said, Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

Kate L Bosher said, Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for — I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times.

And Marjorie Holmes knows what we get so lonely for. She said, At Christmas, all roads lead home.

It may be sad but true that Francis C Farley is correct. He said, Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.

Sometimes it's nice just to sit back, relax and spend a few minutes thinking of Christmas. Please press play and join me.

Imagine that you are relaxing with a friend, perhaps sipping a bit of holiday cheer, and your friend says, “May you live all the days of your life. May God grant you many years to live, for sure He must be knowing the earth has angels all too few and Heaven is overflowing. May the devil chase you every day of your life and never catch you; and may you get to Heaven a half hour before the Devil knows you're dead.”

You savor the kind words as your friend continues, “May the sun shine, all day long, everything go right, and nothing wrong. May those you love bring love back to you and may all the wishes you wish come true! May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. May brooks and trees and singing hills join in the chorus too, and every gentle breeze that blows send happiness to you, a sunbeam to warm you, a moonbeam to charm you, a sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.”

“May you always have walls from the storm, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire. May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin or two. May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you. And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you. May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

Tip now your cup to the spirit of the holiday and may the jolly old man himself fill our special day with joy.