Hello from the kitchen counter,
It is nice to experience new things, visit new places, imagine different possibilities, and then again, it is nice to be back in my own place, in the quiet of my home. As I return to Bloomsburg, my little town of 12,000 residents, it seems so removed from the world I have just traveled. It is like any place, people go about their lives, managing their daily tasks, but how often do they (or even do I) ponder the larger world around them. The demands of daily living consume our immediate attention, pushing aside the issues that should, perhaps, demand a much greater level of concern. During the past week some of those areas might include a continuing frequency of catastrophic weather events, the debating of individuals and powers at the NATO meetings in Vilnius, or daily shootings throughout the United States, regardless size or city, location within the city, or seeming irrational reason to shoot-first-ask-questions-later mentality that has become the country norm.
And yet, in spite of my raising these concerns, I too feel helpless in believing I can make much difference. And yet, I contemplate these things because of relationships, because of actual experiences in those places, and because I do have more of a gestalt understanding (thanks Thomas) of our world than I perhaps realize. For me there is both a clarity and a complexity that dialectically pulls me, like stretching my arms in two opposite directions, all the time trying to figure out which side will win. Or more likely will my body simply ache from the duress? While I was in Scandinavia, it was impossible to not feel the sort of contentment that permeates daily life. Denmark was just again voted as the happiest place on the planet. The commitment of the Norwegians to EV was stunning; I observed that many of the same brands of vehicles on the American roads are in Norway as EVs. I do realize that you are not comparing apples to apples when you are speaking about 375 million people to 6 million, but I learned about how the Norwegian government created the Government Pension Fund in 1990. Take the time to look it up on Wikipedia and see what it has done. Think if we might do such a thing here. Again, I am speaking conceptually, but might it turn our debt around, giving our children a stronger footing for their futures? The point of this is to consider the long-term viability of our world, of our country, and yes, of our individual existence.
There is an irony that the investment in or use of a petroleum asset could be something to help us out of the very thing that petroleum has created: climate change, and I can appreciate some much get disagree, but if you speak to many of my students they raise two significant concerns more readily than other. Climate change is one and our polarization as a country being a second. As someone who studies argumentation, I believe in diverse opinions; I welcome spirited debate; and I yearn for consensus. There is common ground, always, but finding it requires listening as well as speaking. Consensus is never about one side winning; it is about both sides making some progress, thereby believing and feeling some sense of accomplishment. Polarization, acrimony, and stubbornness, simply because one can has little to do with progress or working for the people. Somewhere in the midst of our current disharmonious atmosphere, it is possible we could find one clear voice, a John, the Baptist, crying in the wilderness of our broken country? What might that voice sound like or how might it effectively call out so people of all persuasions might listen? These are things I ruminate on, lay awake at night considering. I do not believe this is some simple idealism, but rather it is a matter of necessity, particularly if we are to create a more sustainable world for those who follow us.,
I do believe in progress, in the human spirit of ingenuity, but if all progress or creativity is first about the money, we have little change of sustaining an inhabitable planet. And before you think I am simply naive or foolish, let me offer an example. When I was in graduate school, I took an incredibly insightful class titled “Business and the Environment” from a brilliant professor named Dr. Christa Walck. I researched the recycling processes and costs incurred by that recycling in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. I traced collection, the transfer, and the monetary remuneration of various recyclables. What I learned was at the point of monies received, some recycling actually lost money. To be sure, that was not the case across the board, but much like various stocks on one’s portfolio, not everything ends up in the black. What I was forced to consider from my research was simple: is money the only factor to consider when deciding what to do? Too often this is what we focus upon, the free enterprise philosophy that looks to be profitable at every turn. If profit is always the first consideration, or more likely the only consideration, it seems the clear voice that shines through, in spite of our disregard, in spite of our avoidance, is greed. How much can we make versus what are the consequences of our actions. As I have pondered this post over the past week, the war in Ukraine continues to rage, and Russia has pulled out of the UN negotiated grain deal. Politics is about power; war is about power; and certainly, economics is about power; as noted in the lyrics of the Linkin Park song, “Hands Held High,” – “when the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.” This has always been the case. Even now, in spite of our National (and for the most part global) position, many of those dying on either side of this Eastern European conflict are ordinary people. The platitudes of patriotism, and assertion of those who talk about sacrifice for the cause, or the idea of giving all – each has their rationale and their apropos place, but behind that there is a wife, a husband, a parent, a sister, a brother who mourns that loss of life. There are the questions of did it have to happen? Did that death make a difference to the cause? There is no clear singular voice able to answer those wails or cries asking for an answer. Patriotism has its place, but seldom is the pain of loss easily replaced by some belief that the end of life, the absence of one loved is validated by a sense of a meaningful death. And I say all of this as a veteran.
In the clutter of our current world it is difficult to find a quiet space where we can listen to that singular voice, the clear and simple declaration of direction. As I consider my life, there are many times I wished for that time when somehow clarity would ring forth, telling me what path to choose. Seldom, if ever, has that happened, and yet I must ask why? It is because I could not hear it or is it because I did not take the time to listen? I am not sure I have an answer, and it seems too simple to believe it is some of both. As social media permeates every nook and cranny of our lives, and as the daily concerns of AI push us to question if anything is real, where might we turn for that voice? I believe we all have that inner voice; it is the voice of self-preservation. I remember my cousin, Jim, looking at me earnestly and lovingly, admonishing me, “Take care of Michael.” He would say this to me daily. I was separated at the time, eventually to divorce, but I struggled at every turn because I still loved my wife. In spite of my failures, my missteps, I wanted to make things work. I did not blame her in spite of anything she did or said. Regardless her responses, I tried to make excuses he said. At that point, he was the voice I needed to hear. Most of my life the voice I heard were words that easily blamed myself. Indeed, I deserved some blame, but I was willing to shoulder more than was mine to carry. It seems that it often takes me a quarter of a century to figure some things out. It takes a persistence from both my world and beyond to realize how most of my life is connected by a couple of significant events. Those events have created a person who is resilient, primarily optimistic, and yet tempered by a degree of melancholy. Sometimes those voices combat each other, but it is that battle that has created the person I am. Perhaps I simply need to slow down and listen as the voices work through their ideas, their concerns, or their hopes. Can I find that one clear voice? It seems that somehow I generally do. Perhaps Peter Cetera has it figured out better than I imagined.
Thanks for reading,
Michael
thewritingprofessor55 
Dr. Martin,
This post specifically stuck out to me, because I related to a lot of the concerns and thoughts you have expressed.
I have also been all over this summer, and returning to Mansfield has been a big shift. While my home is in a large town in the suburbs of Philadelphia, I spent almost all of my summer living in Oakland in the city of Pittsburgh. I loved the experience of living in the city, so the transition back to rural Mansfield was very extreme. Additionally, I was able to complete my first solo trip this summer. It was also my first time visiting the west coast of the United States, and my first time visiting a National Park (Glacier, specifically). All of these adventures and new experiences really opened my eyes to the larger world around us. Luckily, I feel like I have been exposed to a variety of viewpoints from a young age and have always looked to stay up to date on world events. But even then, it can grow exhausting when things feel hopeless. I have been working on learning how to care for myself while also caring about the world around me. It is easy to get swept up in the world and it is important to take time to connect to what is around you.
I looked into the Government Pension Fund in Norway because it is something I had not heard about before. I see what you mean by the profits of something generally negative (burning of oil) being used towards the positives of supporting the country. One concern I had is wondering what they will do when they run out of oil. However, I found that they have plans of diversifying investment in a variety of different industries. If this was possible in the United States, I think it could have a major impact for future generations. I know that currently our national debt is over 31 trillion and continues to rise. Any fiscal planning and investment would help support social programs that many people rely on.
I recently watched the Republican presidential candidate debate. While I do not agree with the ideals of the party personally, I think it is important to understand the beliefs of both sides. Plus, I love debates. One thing that connected your post to this event was the section in which you talked about profit being the first consideration of most people in power. When some candidates were asked about the climate crisis, they said that the bigger concern was our economic state. One candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, went as far as saying that the climate crisis is not real and that our next steps should be to drill, frack, and burn coal. Luckily, the other candidates were disgusted by this response. Personally, I think our number one concern should be handling this crisis, because if we do not then nothing else matters. However, I understand the need to balance the economic gains and losses with our contribution.
The last paragraph of this post is what stuck out to me the most. While I cannot quite relate to the length of a quarter of a century since I have not yet been alive that long, I felt the sentiment deeply. I saw this quote once, “Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.” I tend to view this as mental claw marks, rehashing memories and going over things way beyond the amount of time you should. Like you said about things taking time to figure out, it is always difficult to look back when you have the answer and realize all the ways in which you could have done something differently. That is where the taking care of yourself happens, because coming to terms with realizing there is nothing you can do to change the past is the only way to move forward.
I enjoyed reading this post, I thought it was very insightful and thought-provoking. It definitely had me considering a lot of things that I have not taken the time to since I have been back at college and I liked the change in pace it offered.
– Bella Folino
I agree that there is so much to experience in this world. Life does have the tendency to demand attention for daily tasks and immediate thinking. The idea of the “bigger picture” tends to be neglected by many people. This blog’s perception of the world talks about the way an individual lives their life. One could live with the goal of being a hero by joining the military and going to war, though life has more layers than “being a hero.” How does one become a hero? For some, it is risking their life for what they believe to be the “greater good.” For others, it is raising and caring for children, whether it be their own or students or daycare kids.
I, for one, would love to be a foster parent. Children in foster care have experienced trauma. Although their situation that led to them being in foster care is never a good one, I want to be a strong and trustworthy adult figure in the lives of people who may be struggling with being a person, whatever that struggle may be. Going back to the point you made about “the voice [you] needed to hear,” although the context may be different, I believe children/minors are often invalidated in their struggles. It is difficult to feel genuinely validated when the adult figures in one’s life are either unstable (as in their previous living situation) or professionals (who are or will be numbed to these children’s traumatic experiences). Part of this lack of genuine validation stems from lack of genuine attention. When foster children tell their stories and experiences, it is often to a professional who is doing their job. Although there are so many genuinely caring professionals who strive to better the lives of these children, there is a disconnect between the child and the professional. As somebody who has been in a psychiatric ward, speaking to nurses on duty feels more like an obligation on their part rather than an authentic conversation about one’s trauma. For this reason, many traumatized individuals simply do not talk about their experiences (and for this, I recommend a licensed therapist, which, in my experience, can be a very different experience from the crisis professionals previously described). This is why I want to be a safe space for these children. I want them to feel comfortable enough to talk to me about their issues and feel as though they finally have somebody to listen to them and empathize with them. This is a lonely world, and I would love nothing more than to make it a little less lonely for those who need it.
Dr. Martin,
Getting the opportunity to travel and experience life in other parts of the world is some of the most insightful and fulfilling investments a person can do to better fulfill and complete their own lives. Just as well, the experience of living somewhere drastically different from where someone grew up and what they had known for their entire life up until the moment they decided to travel will irreversibly change their perception. While living in Bloomsburg was definitely an adjustment after living in my hometown of Downingtown for 18 years, it wasn’t until this past summer when I moved to Wilmington, NC for an internship that I really got to experience a new way of living. I completely expected to experience some form of culture shock from such a drastic and rapid life adjustment, but never in my mind did I expect the shock to happen when I left Wilmington to go back to Bloomsburg. Looking at the town from a new lens made me realize really how isolated the minds of most of the citizens, and to an extent some of the student population was from unique experiences the rest of the world has to offer. It was upsetting to talk to certain other students about how their summers consisted of the same old routine they’ve repeated every summer before, instead of getting to hear amazing stories of new places ventured, people met, and wisdom grown.
Unfortunately, many of the people who live in Bloomsburg, will never get to travel and experience new places because everything they do in their day to day lives is a matter of their survival for them. Their monochrome and never-changing life routine forces them into a state of ignorance of wide world of possibilities that they could never have conceived of before, whether it’s by their own life choices or from starting their lives socially and economically disadvantaged. Even when given the opportunity to experience new pastures, many of these people are so comfortable and conditioned into a routine of surviving that they will not entertain the idea of ever leaving their monotonous cycle and commitments to their jobs, spouses, and children. It makes me grateful that I get the opportunity to explore and find new paths in life where others cannot.
Dr. Martin
I think that getting the opportunity to travel in your lifetime is very important. Everyone should experience being somewhere thats not home. When you travel you learn new things about different parts of the world. You can see how the lifestyle of different cultures is different than your own. I have lived in Bloomsburg my entire life. I try to find new things to do but after a while it gets old. Thats why traveling is so important. You get to try new things such as food, places and experiences. This past summer I went to Florida for the first time with my family. We all had a blast, there was so much to do. We went mini golfing with alligators, Swimming, went to the beach, the aquarium, beach shops, Disney, universal and so much more. I got to experience so many new things and I don’t regret any part of it.
Unfortunately, many people don’t get the chance to travel around the world. And I think it’s sad that they don’t get that chance because they won’t experience that feeling of excitement. I feel that most people who are the more fulfilled and well rounded are the ones who traveled at some point in their lives. I am forever grateful that I have the opportunity to travel and meet new people and experience new things.
Dr. Martin
I think the travel you’ve done in your life has been a very important part of finding yourself, and what you want to do. The thrills and the fears of being in an unknown area surely have had a big impact on the way you view the world, and shows us things about you.
The amount of travelling you do shows that you’re a very curious person about the world around you, and are eager to explore it all. It also shows that you are brave enough to go places and know nothing about the area even without knowing anyone.
Dr Martin,
I absolutely agree with several of the points you made. I believe that we as a society, tend to get caught up with the daily routine of life, where we often forget to try and find what makes us genuinely content. I am incredibly grateful that I was privileged enough to explore different parts of the world and discover what people and places from different countries had to offer. You gain a great amount of knowledge because of adapting to different cultures and traditions. I traveled to Egypt in 2016, and it truly felt like I was in a different world. The people, language, weather, food, etc., we’re all unique to what I was accustomed to, but it showed me how different ways people live and how you they were still full of joy. I truly recommend, for those who are capable, to go explore and find new things that make you content with this life, and try to understand more about the world we live in.
I’m intrigued with the point you made with the environment and how our greed as humans can have devastating outcomes to our society and environment around us. I believe we should mindfully watch our actions and decisions we make to ensure that we profit ourselves without the negative expense of our environment. Our goal should not solely be based upon the intention of making profit and financial gain, but to also have a greater responsibility on the impact on society.
I genuinely enjoyed reading this post, as it has opened my eyes even further and provided more of an insight on how we can better ourselves and learn more about the world around us. I am definitely left with thoughts and questions to ponder as I go throughout my everyday routine and as I grow as a person who can try and impact the world positively.
-Ziad Zakik
Dr Martin,
The ability travel out of the bubble known as a hometown and getting the experience to explore somewhere new learning or understanding different ways life is lived it really shows that there is more to life than a ordain life staying stagnant never seeing new opportunities. I used to live in a bubble never realizing what I could be doing until I decided to move to Bloomsburg campus, living in the dorms reaching out to new people, new lifestyle, and a new place that I would’ve never guessed was amazing. The life that I was content with living has not only changed but morphed into something amazing, I would have never been able to if I didn’t explore outside of my bubble and I’ll try my best to keep the way I’m living now fine with never going back to where I was as a person.
I wish anyone that if given the chance to have the experience I have hope that they take the opportunity but there are times when people are never offered that same chance of change which is saddening because they never get it due to situations of their hands and this article has helped me see this chance that I was given in life. Never being able to break the chains of normality and having the freedom I have now has given me another reason to be thankful of the position I’m currently in.
-Trey Schappert