Hello from Bloomsburg,
It is the first week of October, and fall is upon North Central Pennsylvania. After an abnormally dry end of the summer, the last week has been cloudy, with intermittent showers, and the colors. which have some significant changing are muted a bit with the lack of sunshine. There is a possible break in the persistent clouds today and tomorrow should offer a bit more clement day. If that occurs, I will be out taking pictures of what I anticipate to be quite splendid. I do love the changing (in spite of what follows, which I do not like quite as much, though there is beauty there also) seasons and the different requirements of maintaining comfort. The first fire in a fireplace, the falling leaves, the trick-or-treaters, and the rustling leaves are all part of that experience for me.
As I consider the tone and atmosphere of this election year, I find myself pondering the change that seems to be indicative of what has occurred in the first quarter of a 21st century. As a history student in my undergraduate work, as well as the historical aspect of my PhD, I am well aware of times in our national history where we seemed to be irreparably divided, and the first time was not the Civil War, but earlier in the struggle between States’ Rights vs. Federalism. I am quite sure there was a significant lack of decorum and civility at those times. The other thing that mystifies me in how power was managed, brokered, if you will, or exercised. What is power? I believe it is integrally related to control. And while I believe this to always be part of the equation it is related to capital (money). And yet, I am also interested in how this change is action (e.g. civil discourse, thoughtful analysis, critical thought, and basic decorum) affects the implementation of power.
Certainly, history demonstrates how power can be used, understood, implemented as well as how that exercise of power has profound consequence. As I have noted in previous posts, Dr. Thomas Wartenberg, professor emeritus and author of the book, The Forms of Power: From Domination to Transformation, offers a profound examination of how power functions. Wartenberg considers the positive qualities of power, reminding his reader that the social construct of power is complex and something worth considering. For me the simple idea of agency is the most basic form of power. Individual agency is central to our acceptance of the belief that we have free will. And yet, when and to what degree does our ability to exercise agency occur independently? My interest in this comes in part as I find myself navigating the beginning weeks of retirement. There is a freedom in my ability to manage or control my schedule. That is the first thing apparent. I can choose more completely both what I will do and when I will do it than even a couple of months ago. Schedule and time constraint has an entirely different feel since mid-August. And yet, I find myself increasingly dependent on agents outside myself, so do I feel more powerless? I must say, “I do not.” Perhaps the reason is a different sense of time and what is necessary (required, commanded, mandated). This is not to say there are no requirements. The amount of mail I receive from the State of Pennsylvania, from my heath care, or from the Social Security Administration is almost overwhelming, but I do not find myself stressing about it. The requests from others has not been something I find annoying or unreasonable, and certainly, as I have worked on a project, the things (and there are a number of them) that have occurred unexpectedly, changing my daily plans, perhaps my weekly, and now into what might be a monthly plan have manifested themselves almost daily. And yet, there seems to be no real feelings of consternation or vexation. And this is a change in my own demeanor. I must be honest about that.
I am quickly realizing that most of what I will do on my project is dependent on a number of external factors, factors over which I have no influence. In the past week, the two most significant bus processes to complete before leaving Bloomsburg have run into issues. The unexpected process of getting a transmission is now more complicated because the transmission company in Florida sent the wrong transmission. This necessitates sending it back, getting it rebuilt (they will tear it down and begin again), and then sending it back to the Ford dealer. On a more positive note, I found other things I believe need to be managed before heading out like re-clamping the entire exhaust system. Not what I wanted, and at moments feeling like I should have been more judicious. And yet these things will be helpful and make my eventual traipsing around smoother. The second significant element is the windows, and I received an email yesterday that they are being shipped. However, they will not be here by the date I had with the installer, so that will need to be rescheduled for a later date. I am anticipating the transmission and the windows will now overlap. Then when I was in Wilkes Barre a couple of weeks ago, a person backed into the Beetle. That will go in for repair the same week all this is happening, so both vehicles will be in the shop. That is not a problem except I have a wedding to officiate at the end of that same week, so I need to consider what other transportation options might be needed. Additionally, I will have to load up the bus. At one point, I would have been overwhelmed, frustrated, perhaps angry, and how much would that change what I wanted? Not one bit. So where is my agency, my power, in all of that? It is what I can do or how I can respond. What I choose to do with all of these variables is where my agency lies. This is not where I have always been in my response. I do believe some of that roll-with-the-tide attitude is because I am older, and yet, some of it is realizing I have options. There is no problem with a change as long as I communicate that with other people. I merely need to work with everyone and be on the same page. Again, my power is in how, I respond.
If I move this idea from my individual self to the more social construct that Wartenberg considers, how might issues of agency, control, and power work in our present morass of a world that envelops us daily? From what is happening in Lebanon or Gaza, what has occurred from Hurricane Helene, that there is a significant strike of Longshoremen, the continuing military conflict in Ukraine, how much power do we have to change any of this? Little to none if we are to be honest. Furthermore, if we are to focus on the things that seem to demonstrate our powerlessness, what are the consequences? It would be easy to feel disillusioned, perhaps despondent, and even despairing, but when we allow for such an emotional toil, again, we give up agency. I have learned that agency is foundational to contentment. We spend much of our lives being controlled by those around us (and some are not people, but things): parents, bosses, teachers, money, location, stature. What allows us to be the infamous captain of our ship, the decider of our destiny? I think it is easier to answer than we might think. We have to choose to take control of what we can reasonably manage. I am compelled to ask why this is such a difficult lesson for us to learn. I have noted to others often if you have not control over it to not waste time obsessing about it. it is only know that I believe I have made progress in accomplishing that skill. Is it our need for being in control of things, including ourselves? Is it because we are afraid of how others perceive us? It is because we feel a need to be perfect? I think it is some of all of these things. Once again, what do I actually have control of? What I think and how I respond, and honestly not much more. It might be easy to feel rather powerless, but I think it is actually the opposite. When we choose both our ability of how we think about an issue we affect more than what we will do. We affect how it affects us. We have the ability to minimize the stress and anxiety something can cause. That might be the most significant thing to happen. The unpredictability of our world is a given, and it seems that is even more apt to be the case presently.
I am surprised how retirement has changed my perception of the things that occur around me. It is as hectic, topsy-turvy, and ridiculous as always, but seem to be less affected. Is that what not having a schedule does? Is seems so. There is a simplicity to my life, even in the chaos of what others do. One of my favorite bands as noted on my Facebook page of late is Lynyrd Skynyrd. While I appreciate a lot of their music, I know that I would struggle with the Southern Boy, red-nikin’, give-me-back-my-bullets, philosophy. However their song Simple Man is a message I appreciate. This is the brother of Ronnie Van Zant, the original lead vocalist, but a life rendition from their hometown: being a simple man.
Thanks as always for reading.
Michael
thewritingprofessor55 