Warning for the weak at heart, there will be some political stuff, but it isn’t petty… or is it?

I dissent with arm chair quarterbacks, general managers, and fans who think they know more than anyone else. I love my team the Washington Nationals. I wear their colors and logos proudly. You will not see me second guessing the manager or the front office as they evaluate their employees. I will not criticize a line up decision as I do not see the body of work behind the scenes. I may criticize a player’s lack of work ethic during a game, or comment on mental lapses and such. That’s about it. I don’t have the data or the unseen tangible evidence to make any such judgement.

I stopped listening to sports radio or watching sports commentary television shows for this very reason. The commentators make irrational statements based on limited evidence. These statements are not just innocent remarks. They can destroy the mindset of the player. Is it fair? Is it kind? Is it appropriate? Is it entertainment? I think it is a lot of talking head Dunning Kruger biased bullshit. Every one of these athletes have sacrificed and worked their tails off to even get a sniff of the big show. As fans and as sports reporters let’s just enjoy the show and report on what actually happens rather than making up a lot of horseshit to fill three hours of dead airtime. I just want to watch the games, learn about these young men and women, and enjoy their body of work. The season is a journey. Yes, we want victories, but losing is a part of the process too!! I apologize for the language, but I feel it needs to be read.

Another dissent… Political ads paid for by interest groups that ask you to call the representative and thank them for their work. Why? Unless the representative has done something to make my neighbors lives and my life better there is no reason to call. If they are feeling under appreciated, then maybe they should actually listen to what we write and say. Political service is a not a popularity contest. It is a serve the people process. This form of gas lighting is disrespectful… especially if you have millions of dollars to spend.

Furthermore… I dissent with political attack ads that only present a distorted perspective of the candidate. Here in Iowa, our crooked state legislator passed a law preventing the state auditor from doing their job effectively. Lo and behold millions of dollars was misused, misappropriated, and stolen by the very crooks who passed the law. Now the crooks’ political action committee are attacking the auditor for missing the misappropriation since this auditor is running for governor now. This sort of projection (blaming their evil deeds on another) is another form of gaslighting that we can do without. I’m tired of the rich playing the freedom of speech card for themselves, and denying it for others. This double standard has to go.

I recently read a study that actually learning how to write by hand engages more of the brain than typing with technology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389277851_The_Neuroscience_Behind_Writing_Handwriting_vs_Typing-Who_Wins_the_Battle This study changes my mind. I have always advocated for technology. My writing improved greatly, thanks to the benefits of technology. When I used to write by hand, I could hardly read it. My cursive handwriting was sloppy. My printing is better, but still messy. I obviously used this bias to justify my advocacy. After much reflection, I feel my handwriting was a product of being too young (a year early) to be writing with the cursive method. If I started school a year later, I may have been more adept with my motor coordination. My dissent is not with the study. My dissent is with the academic community who will ignore this study in favor of the capitalist paradigm of technology in the classroom. The other dissent will be to recognize the research, but cave to the public’s desire for the easy way in education. Studies like these need to be considered when making decisions regarding curriculum and brain development. Oh, what about the studies that say children need more play time and social interaction to develop personal interaction skills? That doesn’t work within the 50 years of education discrediting Republicans have used to pass their for profit charter school, and school voucher initiatives.

I dissent with deregulation at all levels of governance. We need regulation on economic, technological, environmental, health, labor, and food safety. Why? To protect the populace. When deregulation or no regulation is in place industries (the wealthy) will take the short cut to the fastest way of gaining wealth at the expense of the people. Artificial Intelligence is growing faster than we can accommodate it. The data centers for computer processing require enormous amounts of energy and resources to operate. This will place enormous burdens on existing infrastructure and possibly drain vast resources (fresh water) from the citizens in the communities these data centers occupy. Regulation slows the processes of development down in order to properly advance them without harming the environment or the people. I hate to sound like Ralph Nader, but he has always been right with his consumer protection spiels.

I dissent with the commercialization of everything. Why does everything have to be advertised excessively. Have we become so possessed with stuff? Seeing a young woman do an advertisement for an application by showing $500 worth of perfume purchases is a bit outlandish. Watching young men doing the same over trading cards is amusing. I don’t think I have used $500 of any cologne in my entire life. Trading cards are only interesting to me if they are hall of fame baseball players. I can’t afford them… so that interest is waning.

These are few of my recent dissents. I am finding myself in the same philosophical spot as Kurt Vonnegut was as he was writing Player Piano. Vonnegut’s 1952 rumination about machines and the wealthy making the common man feel less worthy has really been on my mind as I watch human after human reduce themselves to a digital footprint (content creator) as technology encroaches on our very being. Everyone is searching for who they are, or validation for who they are through social media. Where is the creativity, the writing, the composing, the constructing, the art? This dystopia is happening in real time metaphorically… or has it happened, and we just can’t see it? Sometimes it feels like meta-fiction, and other times it feels real. Regardless… so it goes…