Insanity

Not exactly a question i received today but it was a thought that i recently had. History Channel has been airing a show called, America, the Story of Us. It is a show that just as poetically titled as it's theme is catching. Just the opening alone makes you lean forward in awe and think about just how far we've come (i usually think about how far we've spiraled down this dark, bleak hole).

I am something of a history buff. For the last year, i have read everything that i could get my hands on, scrounging up dollar after dollar to buy books that i have been able to read in one sitting. I have found that when books and television take history and place a human spin on it, they can open doors that most people my age find boring or shadowed in cobwebs of 6th grade memory. Some books can really make history fun and exciting and it can make you think again about what you once knew. They can bring you back to a time when you had to be by the phone to receive a phone call and even further back to when you would have had to ride a horse into town to buy goods (with gold i might add).

And this show did it. It gave a personal spin on Washington and Hamilton and all of the big names in history. But sadly, it failed desperately short.

I was surprised to see the truth in one episode that featured George Washington's real trials and tribulations during the American Revolution but it fell at the very end. Personally, i think that Washington was a substandard general. I think that a lot of people could have done the job of First President better than General Washington. If you take a moment to read, Washington's Secret War, you too might stumble onto this discovery.

I remember after i read the book, someone asked me what i thought of Washington after i read it. I know what i answered and i know what my brain was screaming and i still went with the response that years of public school implanted in me. I stammered in an unconvincing voice that he had done well at Valley Forge and that all great leaders have stumbling points and blah blah blah.

But i knew that i was wrong. I have been in a military situation and i can say from experience that he would have destroyed his army had it not been for a genius military leader from France. He didn't know what to do. It seemed that every 'noble' thing he did was in total panic and he made several wrong decisions.

Of course, the only thing that they had to say about the Whiskey Rebellion was that it was a brilliant move on Washington's part. I think it was a terrible one. He raided a state, a sovereign state, that was using whiskey as currency and he raided it with an Army! First of all, how dare he raid a state with the military! Secondly, how dare he interfere in a state that wasn't breaking any laws what so ever!

To put it bluntly, before i start to get angry and explode, every episode was like this. They glance over titillating information and plow straight into a shameful, "look-at-how-wonderful-our-empirical-government-has become-thanks-to-so-and-so" diatribe.

Over and over again, i watched every episode that aired and shuddered at almost everything that they said. They praised FDR in a light that was almost Godly. They did admit that Lincoln had done terrible things but they praised him still for saving the Union.

He didn't save the Union. He caused the deaths of over 600,000 people! That's right! He started a war with another country (the South had already seceded) and pitted brother against father and in some cases *cough* General Sherman *cough* he destroyed whole towns. Women and children included and i believe in some cases targeted.

That's right! Beloved Lincoln, champion of civil rights, had full knowledge of Sherman's murderous march and not only allowed him to commit these terrible crimes, but exalted him for it! General Sherman burned whole cities and killed wantonly. His men took whatever they wanted and burned the rest. This is the great leader that we have enshrined on our nations doorstep? We should be thanking God or whoever you believe in that he is gone and we should be promising to never commit these crimes again.

The whole day i was consumed in lies that generated from the T.V. It was like a watching a beautiful tornado destroy a helpless town. Some parts of episodes made me want to cheer their innovation at making true points of history come alive. Other parts made me want to readjust the high end on my Bull-Shit-O'Meter.

And so i came to this conclusion. I can't believe even what i see on T.V. But most importantly, i glimpsed again what i had once believed about history and just how wrong i was.

Try this... check out a book that doesn't take the beaten path and see what you believe. Pick up The Constitution in Exile, Hamilton's Curse, An Honest President, A Nation of Sheep, Legacy of Ashes, How Capitalism Saved America, Bourbon for Breakfast, A Case Against the Fed, What they Fought For, FDR's Folly, The Real Lincoln, Lincoln Unmasked, Lies my Teacher Told Me, or Lies Across America (just to name a handful of the books that i've read) and tell me that these books don't teach you more than you have learned in years of public school and government teaching programs. Tell me that they don't ring a bell. Better yet, tell me that they don't make something inside of you click into place and make you think that everything you have learned might be wrong.

"Pittbulls are Dangerous!"

You know, i used to think so too. I used to think that anything with those broad shoulders and massive head had to be labeled as dangerous.

But i was wrong.

I used to think a lot of things. I used to think that the police force was as much as we could ask for. That the lines at the post office were just as the lines at the DMV. I used to think that there was a place for everything and everything had a place yada-yada-yada...

And then one day, i turned on the T.V and i saw a calm, submissive, happy, pittbull terrier named Daddy. I learned as i watched the show, The Dog Whisperer, that i was wrong. That this dog was an amazing dog and that everything i had ever known was upside down and backwards. I began to read everything that i could get my hands on about Cesar Millan and i knew that i was on a path that i had never traveled.

The path of nature.

No, i don't hug trees, though i have a deep respect for ecologists. And i do not value an animals life over my own, but there is a spot in my heart for this late dog. He has taught me that to act against nature is to do a disservice to everything that you are... and that Occam's Razor applies to us all, animal or human.

Daddy made me open my mind and explore new alternatives to everything in life, including politics and government. And true, it was my history teacher that changed my life in a way that i will never forget, but i doubt he'll ever know that it was a rednosed pittbull that built the base for it all.

So i go off the beaten path tonight with my post. It's not politics or government or even a conspiracy. It's not a speach about empire or it's faults. It's just a tribute to from one creature to another. A small light in this dark world that signifies that not everything is what it seems...

Tonight, and honestly every night, i toast you, Daddy. For showing me, not that i was right, but that i was wrong.

Men...

I knew it would come to this. Of all the complaints i hear every day, this one is at the top. Women will always complain about men when no men are around. And i am sure that it's always been this way. Don't take it personal, though. It's impossible to try and keep us all happy at the same time.

Don't worry, i'm going somewhere with this.

Not that long ago i ran across an old picture of my grandfather. He was strolling down the street with a few friends of his. They were wearing smartly colored fedoras and creased pants. I could see the shadow of pocket watches (something that all three of them had) hanging from their crisp vests that buttoned all the way to pressed ties. They had their jackets buttoned as well (and i have been told by officers in the military that gentlemen unbutton their jackets when they sit and button them again when they stand).

To put it bluntly, they looked the way men should look.

They looked sharp and sophisticated. They seemed to be the very embodiment of manliness and grace all rolled into one finely pressed package. There was no arrogance in their eyes, no suave move to attract a lady. This was simply the way that they looked.

Some men have an innate ability to project this kind of confidence. They need to only walk into a room and the whole world seems their oyster. But to those who do not have this ability to stop a room from moving, fear no more! All it takes is to put your shoulders back, check the collar of your shirt, and tighten that tie!

I don't care what kind of woman you speak with. Nothing is more seductive than a confident man in a handsome suit.

What does this have to do with government or politics? Nothing really. Just a small insight.

"He's hurting those poor dogs!"

Ahhh... Cesar Millan. You know, i really don't care much for most personalities. They appear almost as blank and lifeless as my potted plant (which is been declared dead as it rots on my front porch). Many people on T.V. seem as interchangeable as car parts and it's difficult to even remotely care about what they are telling you or what is happening to them.

Cesar Millan is another story.

I am no dog trainer. Or, to do justice to Cesar (as he doesn't train dogs) i am no dog expert. The functions and thought processes are so foreign that it's almost impossible for me to consider what life would be like as a dog. I can no more predict what life is like for my cats and my lizard than i can a dog (or hell a shark for that matter)! But i do know that dogs do not care if you get fired. They could care even less if you were broke or ugly or drove a crappy car. They don't really seem to care...about anything. Well, not the way that we care about things. We say that we love things, and that we will never forget them. But animals live for that moment. If they do love, it's in a way we could never imagine; completely and straightforwardly, without complexities or pride...without asking how, or why, or from where. They simply....are.

Here is a man who has a genuine gift. He has a seemingly innate ability to register the energy of a single dog or even a pack of 50. This is apparent when he addresses dogs. He doesn't look at them, he moves forward. He doesn't pet them and kiss them (well, not to the extreme of 90% of the population). He doesn't say "good boy!" in an overly excited ambitious voice. He doesn't let them run and jump on him. Actually, he never lets his pack get away with anything that is out of line or different from what he wants. By understanding the nature of his pack, he has learned to become the leader of it and in return, he gives his dogs lives that are truly and completely full until they take their last breaths on this earth.

You would think to accomplish this, Cesar Millan would have to resort to violence or a tyrannical overthrow of the pack itself. But once more, you would be wrong. He corrects his dogs with a swift touch and he follows through with his method of discipline. He doesn't hurt them or make them feel insecure. He simply does what any pack leader would do with a dog when they were out of line.

For example, we've all seen wolves on Discovery or Animal Planet. They roam for miles in a pack in search of food. It is easy to spot the alpha dog. He (or sometimes she) is always out front. The dogs are usually plowing through snow, following a herd of elk or stalking a young deer. They don't stop to use the bathroom or to bark up strange trees. They keep moving. They follow their leader and if they try to step out of line to say, chase a squirrel, they are quickly brought back into line with a touch that reflects the intensity needed. The offending dog usually backs down, lowers it's head, and then resumes it's hunt. The leader doesn't care that the dog disobeyed him or that he might step out of line again. He can't process this kind of complicated thought. He moves on, along with the rest of the pack.

To see any man take control of a pack in this way is simply amazing. It's impossible to think that this powerful and exacting man is only a few inches taller than me and that he seems to spend most of his life laughing and smiling. I can see him as a teacher walking into a class room and silencing the students with only a look. And like any good teacher, accomplishing this simple task looks as easy as breathing. (The best teachers are usually the ones that have this ability to take leadership and hold it for hours at a time)

People on his show hear the words over and over again (along with people watching), "you must become the pack leader," and something happens. You see people panic for a moment then you see them look at their dog as if to apologize for what they are about to do. The look is only there for an instant but i still see it. Do their thoughts turn to images of wolves fighting each other for pack leadership? Do they think of gnashing teeth and flying blood and fur?

What most people don't understand is that Cesar is working with nature instead of against it and that in reality, wolf packs rarely fight over leadership. Pack leadership can turn hands (or paws rather) in the fraction of a second and to the untrained eye it would be almost impossible to detect. It is the same for Cesar. His assertions of leadership are usually very fast and at the most may take a few hours (though total rehabilitation can take years). There may be some confrontation, but the majority of dogs are happy to let this responsibility go. The dogs even look happier and you could swear you see the smile that crosses their faces as if to thank Cesar for giving them the chance to be dogs again!

But, if he is to control a pack of dogs, he must think and behave like a pack leader. He has to let nature dictate what he can and can not do through careful observation and self determination.

It rings a bell that reminds me of the way that the free market works. You can not try to tame it or regulate it. You can not bind it or hope that it will bend. If you try and fight it or work against it, the results are disastrous in the best of cases and dangerous in the worst.

But if you work with it, learn it's language, and find out it's nature, the market can literally be a mans best friend.

Yet it's just as easy to misinterpret what is really happening. Criticism of Cesar Millan has grown along with his popularity. Why though? Does he mistreat his dogs? Does he not love them enough? Does he use outdated techniques and does treating the dog like a dog really cause unknown psychological harm?

Of course it doesn't! Why? Because he moves with the pack and follows the rules of being a good pack leader. His shoulders are back, his eyes are forward and he presents himself the way a leader of a powerful pack of dogs should. I have even read accounts of people who have met him who say that he's a force of nature and that it's impossible to not be impressed by his honest self confidence and love for his work. I have also read that he is humble, compassionate, and patient with all of the people that he works with and that his good humor is infectious to be around.

This doesn't sound or look like someone who is doing something wrong. It sounds like someone who is working with the nature of things and because of it, he's been able to capitalize on all of the good that he has done and not only in money but in life. Dog rehabilitation to him is what he knows and he's proven that he is good on several occasions. And even though most people who watch his show still hold on to the same skepticism that what he's doing is wrong, i can't help but to hope that they do see the honesty in the simplicity of it all.

It is the same for all aspects of life. To go against nature only results in frustration, loss of money, loss of independence, loss of freedom and private property. But if you flow with the real issue, and you start to work with the situation instead of regulating it, you too may find yourself with your shoulders back and your eyes forward.