Who am I?

I am a relatively liberal person.  I'm married.  Male.  I work in a service field caring for others.  I am white.  Upper middle class.  Educated.  I am religious and spiritual.  I'm a democrat.  I voted for Obama. I care about thing deeply.  I am passionate and get into trouble for articulating my passions.  I am loving.  I am kind.  I love dogs and appreciate cats.  I think deeply.

This is why I wanted to write this blog.  I want to think deeply about where we are as an American, 21st century culture.  I wanted to think about what we hold dear and to question the assumptions of my identity, my race, my culture, my society.  I want to think about where we are, where we've been, where we might be going.  I don't want to be afraid of what I think, or what other people think of what I think.

I am wrong.  But, I might be getting closer to something that might be important (or might not).

I want to think about the end of the Western Golden Age.  The end of Pax Americana.  The end of the world.  I think we're a lot closer than we'd like to believe.  Here is an outline (today's version) of why I think this.

I think there are four trends in Western culture over the past century.

1) Increased social complexity - this includes larger numbers of people, greater interconnectedness, larger inter-cultural interaction, more complex rules of interpersonal engagement, greater tension among people who view these rules differently.

2) Higher concentration of wealth with less enlightened self-interest

3) The imposition and variable enforcement of, at time arbitrary legal rules of higher and higher complexity (and less and less sense)

4) The growing rift we have between humanity and nature

These are today's version of what it causing things to break down.  They are pretty general, and not all that well thought out.  I guess, that's why I'm writing.  There are probably a lot of people writing about the same thing I am about to.  They are probably doing it to rant, or to convince, to complain or to dissuade.  I am doing it so I can think better and more deeply.  You, whomever is reading this, yeah... write to me and disagree.  Hopefully I will write it in such a way as to make you want to keep reading.  If not, that's ok.  I would welcome dialogue.  I would ask that you think (and feel when appropriate) with me.

Thank you!