Journal Entry Type #142: Are Solutions Really as Easy as People Think?

Posted on 07/31/2022 by Pisaries Creator

You know the phrase “Why can’t we all just get along?” as if that is all it will take for the world to be a better place. Yes, it is true that getting along is better than not getting along with someone. Forgiving someone is better than not forgiving someone in many ways. You don’t hold onto the transgression. You don’t let it fester, let it overwhelm you, let it eat keep you up at night. I recently watched a show about how state lines got their edges on a map so to speak. It’s an older show from History channel that only had two seasons and the second one is cut in half in each episode. I hurriedly watched it as the first season was going off Amazon until 7/31 which is today. I’m curious to see the episode in season two about the blue and red states or as much as can be discussed in twenty minutes. Many were split up for religious or natural reasons but many times it was because a certain territory pissed off the U.S. federal government and so they gave a small, certain area of a territory to one state over another. That’s how NV got its point at the southern end, making the Colorado River in NV and not AZ, and therefore the Hoover Dam in NV not AZ. By the way, Nevada is pronounced Ne-vad-a not Ne-va-da. I guess I’ve been saying it wrong all along until I moved here. Shame on me.

The consensus at the end of season one from the host, Brian Unger, was he was amazed the states are still together with all the skirmishes and differences they’ve had over the centuries within the state and between states. I agree after watching the show because while the territories were originally occupied by indigenous peoples that had differences and power struggles of their own, the European immigrants certainly made it more convoluted. It’s easier and better for chaos to believe the falsehood the McCoys are still feuding with the Hatfields. It’s harder to find constructive solutions and bring together varying mindsets to work together for the common good because the human population has evolved and fractured to not know what “common good” means. I’m not even talking politically here. I’m talking in a general sense. It takes many people to make the world a better place. It also takes many people to bring a functioning society into a burning building without any water. In a way, that is what’s going on with the environment right now. No one in any country should feel the repercussions of an action especially if it doesn’t violate something a normal person would and should do. A good example is traveling somewhere even if it is a place where certain principles are one sided and favoring only a certain pocket of people. Travel should be viewed as a good thing where you learn about other cultures, people, and experience something you’ve never had before. Yet, there are political and societal ramifications today if you travel in a certain part of the world or take part in something viewed as belonging to the “other” group. I know this is a loaded question. I know there’s so much that can be dissected in the answer.

Problems in this world are in layers. This is the best way for me to explain this. On one hand, you have the complexity of the U.S. government or any government for that matter. On the other hand, you have a smaller scale of people interacting with others and making an impact. I recently heard Chelsea Clinton speak of contributing in your own way in politics if that is what you want to do. She said running for city council or being part of PTA is important too. I also think it’s good to have some humor in life. I recently watched Jackass on Shark Week (past Shark Week). It gave me the idea (not that I’m going to do it) of a movie called the Bride of Jaws like Bride of Chucky. It should definitely be a comedy and maybe an animation. If it ever gets made into a movie, I want some kind of recognition. This points me to my intent of reviewing some old TV shows I’ve watched months ago and wanted to do reviews. I’m not sure if I’m going to follow through because the drive and motivation to do it has waned. Either way, now having access to Discovery+ app and finding a few shows on HBO I wouldn’t mind watching, my Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon accounts feels neglected. I’ve had a hell of a week having to wait another day for my car to be fixed after two weeks of not having it and still getting used to learning a new position at work.

I’m ending my weekend with having more gelato. This time with way too much chocolate chips and having to spit half of them into a napkin. I should’ve stuck to my original plan of getting a fruity flavor. It’s freaking me out in a way how students 300 years from now will read and look at our current politicians as we do with George Washington and the Founding Fathers. I’m sure many will read the short paragraph and maybe a page in a history book about the Obama, Trump, and Biden presidencies and think that seemed like a screwed-up time. There are solutions to any kind of problem. It’s matter of if people who have the power to enact the solution work with others from all walks of life to make it accessible and better for as many people as possible. It’s a matter of if people who don’t have as much power as the others to not remain bitter and stubborn to the point paralyzing fear and having a negative outlook. Words can be powerful, but they can also just be words. If you are hungry and you read the word “food” in a book or write the word “food” on a piece of paper or envision “food” in your stomach (when there clearly isn’t as it is growling from hunger), the actual meal is the best. Words are a starting block as in conversation and discussion. In some ways, solutions arrive quicker when a few people are involved compared to many involved. In other ways, highly intelligent people can easily turn un-intelligent and stalemate when egos and power are challenged. To answer my own question, some solutions are very easy, and others take more time. It seems now another layer needs to be more considered and that is when old solutions no longer make sense and openness to change is needed.