Welcome to Pizzaonia! Reflections from a different perspective --- Diverti Mento, John Frank Giovanni, Frank John Franco, Vera V. Veronica and all of the Pizza digogo DiVinci family invite you to join us - We discuss and share ideas that are relevant to our new emerging world. http://giovanniandfranco.com A division of the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network
A sense of humor helps when considering American politics. I heard on a talk show this morning that government was out of control because of the generous use of food stamps. I wonder how many of us remember why food stamps came into existence.
There was a time when we had in place most of the ideas' unflinching conservatives are advocating. Just for the record, they created hardship and financial collapse. Just in case no one remembers, I thought I would refresh our memories.
It seems my native country is always on the edge of extremes with its passing ideologies. Common sense and any review of history tell us we are at our best when the best of the liberal and conservative philosophies are blended together in moderation.
The problem is you cannot win elections anymore with cooperation and common goals as your motivation. In the process, we lost the art of governing and replaced it with constant nonstop,combative campaigning and demagoguery.
The good news is we have always survived, at least so far. There is an amazing resilience in the American people that allow us to survive our politicians. To some extent, we create our politicians, and we tolerate them until they run amok. This applies to both sides of the spectrum.
The entertainment will continue until the election, and then we will see if we can get back to governing. Our survival depends on the “great American middle” coming back to life and getting us back on course.
Pizzaonian National Flag - Courtesy of the Pizzaonian Art Institute, Abe Straction, curator
Many before have said it. Regardless, no one hears.
A job is a means to an end; your work or what you enjoy most is what your life is about. They are not mutually exclusive.
It is wonderful when your job, and your life’s work can be the same thing. However, let’s face it; the needs of this world are many and varied, and not all available jobs are a “laugh a minute.” The idea that your job should be your bliss is a notion that belongs to poets and philosophers.
In earlier times, factory workers, clerks and sundry service people were grateful they had jobs that could meet their responsibilities. Today, so much unhappiness exists because this truth is not accepted or understood.
People followed their bliss in their spare time. For some it was weekends, for others the occasional vacation. For the lucky ones, they found some time during each week to pursue what they enjoyed most. And, even if they didn’t, each worker maintained their dignity because they provided for those who counted on them.
And, if that was all they had, there was dignity and respect in meeting your responsibilities. It made for a life well spent.
Brother Franco for the Pizzaonian Newsertainment Network, Diverti Mento, editor
We seek the path of least resistance until we realize that path leads to oblivion.
So much of life is driven by the instinctive need for comfort. It is our human nature to seek safety and comfort. Unfortunately, we may find it necessary to leave our comfort to seek safety, and that is very hard to do since comfort always masks itself as safety.
Nothing shouts the triumph of we humans over nature more than our celebration of technology. There was a time when we celebrated in awe, and often in terror, the natural wonders of nature. Now, when nature and technology share the same place, technology wears the crown.
In the days of sailing ships, we cooperated with nature to function. Now we celebrate the behemoths that sail the seas with their complete self-containment to survive on their own. Humans simply have to pull the right levers or hit the right switch. You can find similar examples everywhere you look.
Do not construe this as a tirade against technology - it is not. Technology is making the world a better place. The problem is our human need for excess. We cannot seem to help ourselves.
That is why we need reminders – a Mount St. Helena, a tidal wave that we cannot stop or control, or a river that runs wild. And the greatest irony of them all, and perhaps the most disastrous, a human being that can defeat technology by stupidity.
The question is, do we learn - probably not. We have been given everything except the ability to control our arrogance.
Brother Giovanni, musing from Pizzaonia on the passing American scene.
Today we live in time when everyone seems familiar with everyone but actually knows no one. What a strange contradiction this is - never before have we been as void of empathy and the spirit of community as we now are. This sounds very contradictory, since we live in the digital world that gives us access to everyone and everything.
This is what makes this time so confusing. People seek what I call “easy community” wherever they can find it. Look at our professional sports teams as an example. People, live and die on how well “their” team does.
As spectators, we band together with strangers to share in a common purpose and pursuit. For a moment in time we are “one.” However, this is a strange kind of oneness. Most ironic is that this type of community requires no commitment. You can share an exciting moment together without any obligation.
The result: An emptiness that seems pervasive in so many people - and that is what makes this time so strange and different. How do we solve it? Stay tuned, the answer isn’t in yet.
Politics – the need to state what to do without the need to explain how to do it.
Does it not astonish you that the candidates running for office seem to have the solution for every problem? What is equally amazing is that they haven’t a clue as to how to do what they propose. Even more amazing is our news media never asks the basic question: “How are you going to do that?”
So what are we left with – grandiose solutions, often preposterous, but can sound so reasonable when you never have to actually do it. How is this for one preposterous idea? Reduce the federal tax code to three pages. Good luck with that one!
On being President and other stuff:
Can you imagine how ridiculous politicians running for the office of President must actually sound to either our existing president or to those who held the office? Campaign promises are the stuff of fantasy. Can you imagine a presidential candidate honestly saying? “This is what I would like to do, but honestly, I don’t know if it is possible? How many votes do you think a truthful response like that would get?
I have often imagined what the first day of being the President of the United States must be like. You are sitting in the oval office for the first time and a strange group of people show up all carrying briefcases that say - “Good day Mr. (Madam) President, now let us tell you what is really going on.”
On missing out on the “present” while immersing in the digital world of virtual reality.
For every moment, you spend on your “device” you are missing out on the world in front of you. I am sure many would say, “What’s wrong with that – there isn’t that much going on anyway?” Unfortunately, that may be true for a lot of people.
The problem is that there is a direct relationship in creating a quality reality and the time you are willing to invest it making it happen. This is the “secret” that everyone knows but is reluctant to admit.
Let’s face it – making life work is just hard work. It is much easier to retreat to your “device” and live in the less complicated world of “virtual reality.”
PS: Your device doesn’t necessarily have to be a smart phone … anything that allows you to retreat from actual reality will do.