WHAT'S BROKEN? - 01.09.2021
January 9, 2021
I know something is broken. I watched it break. But, for the world of me, I can't put my finger on what it is.
Like many of you, I watched live the events as they unfolded in our Nations' Capital last Wednesday. My heart sunk as I saw our Country in a state of chaos. Why was this happening?
My gut tells me it's "tribalism" plus the concept of "truth is in the eye of the beholder." These two things combined with a shrinking world (global human population growth of 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.8 billion in 2020), forced immigration due to tribalism, and climate change makes for an almost impossible solution.
This morning I was reading an article that indicated the principal reason for tribalism is control. Each tribe wants to control or be the top dog. The principal method of taking control is running the government.
"She's not some blond-haired, blue-eyed privileged white lady." Really? These are Sharen H. Ghatan's words, a Beverly Hills attorney defending a lady of Puerto Rican and Vietnamese descent who accused and assaulted a Black person she thought stole her phone. Okay, Attorney Ghatan, let us defend prejudice by using prejudiced remarks. My client is innocent because she is not a wealthy white person. If that is the response that jumps into the mind of a trained litigator during a press conference, you can assume the same sort of thoughts occurs to much of the less educated public.
Maybe Ghatan words were used because the press had played the story up as a white person attacking a black person because of prejudice. Note the following press report, "The 22-year-old white woman at the center of the incident at the Arlo SoHo Hotel in New York, which the family believed was racially motivated." Then at a press conference, the woman makes it a point she was of a mixed-race.
By the way, Ghatan prides herself on using her sharp wit, intelligence, and comedic genius to get her clients what they want: victory. Apparently, she also likes using prejudiced rhetoric to achieve victory. It is the way one tribe views the other tribe. With prejudice. Is this what our society and legal system have come to? White vs. Black vs. Brown vs. Asian vs. Newborn Christian vs. Muslim vs. Old vs. Young . . . ? What happened to "just the facts ma'am, just the facts?" Without the colorization and other inflections.
Why do you think billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have taken such an interest in space? Because they see what is happening and believe our society needs a new frontier. Musk founded SpaceX two decades ago, setting his sights on the Moon and Mars. He aims to disrupt an industry deeply entrenched in the government with a private venture focused on human spaceflight.
My novel SKYWARD develops the concepts of tribalism, control, and the desire to colonize space.
In SKYWARD, my billionaire twin brother characters Norman and Chris Bowman's desire to colonize space is triggered by the problems they see on earth and believe are unfixable. The twins become part of a clique of five boys who, like them, are from wealthy families who live in San Francisco's Pacific Heights. They are all highly intelligent, and from the ages of 5 to 9 are homeschooled together at the Bowman Mansion. Here is the first draft of a SKYWARD chapter titled "The Lifestyle" that addresses the education that leads them to control space.
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Because of their lifestyle, which included frequent unplanned trips, Daniela decided to homeschool the twins. This concept expanded far beyond what would typically be considered homeschooling. She studied all of Norman and Chris's friends in the neighborhood. Then convinced the mothers of Gavin Nelson, Elon Harton, and Jeffery Chase to join in what they termed as personalized education for their sons.
The personalized education classes were held at the Bowman Mansion. Daniela acted as the headmaster and developed the lesson plans. The plans included a phase where each of the boys would be assigned a project or subject and would be required to learn about it and then teach it to the others. Tutors were hired to teach specific topics. And then there were the hands-on learning sessions. The boys with their mothers would travel on the Bowman jet to hands-on learning sites. These educational experiences included a trip to the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan. A tour of this facility was arranged with Daniela's friend William Clay Ford, Jr. Other learning trips included tours of Boulder Dam, the Grand Canyon, Jamestown, and the New York Stock Exchange. There was a two-week trip to Washington, D.C. The D.C. experience included visits to the Smithsonian Complex, a meeting with their San Francisco neighbor Senator Dianne Feinstein, and a private visit to the White House, where they met with President Bill Clinton.
The next post will give you a better idea of where I'm headed with SKYWARD.
Until next time.
Stay Safe.
Richard V. Rupp, Author