Reflections From a Murky Pond

Aptly called man’s best friend, the dog has been an invaluable helpmate to Man for thousands of years. Whether they are hunting dogs, working dogs, or companion animals, they’ve been a boon to us.

Range Me. Good Dog, Very Good Dog 😀

It’s actually amazing just how much and what sorts of help dogs can provide their two-footed friends. We’ve worked with shepherds, pointers, retrievers, and setters…and now we have the spotter. 😆

In America the federal government demands that warning labels be put on all beers. These labels warn of the potential hazards that drinking too much beer can cause and were forced upon breweries by the The Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act (ABLA)

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) ACCORDING TO THE SURGEON GENERAL, WOMEN SHOULD NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING PREGNANCY BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS. (2) CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE A CAR OR OPERATE MACHINERY, AND MAY CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS.

The required warning makes it very clear to everyone exactly what the US government is concerned about.

Before & After – Gentlemen Beware

The Rinkuškiai Brewery in the Biržai region of Lithuania, while not required by their government to put such warning labels on the beers, chose to provide very practical warnings anyway on bottles of their Beers.

I don’t know about you, but I think that Rinkuškiai’s warning looks to carry a lot more weight with drinkers than what the US government requires. 😉

Gentlemen, drink responsibly or you may face some ugly consequences.

Many Americans focus upon all the malicious harm that the government could wreak upon we, the People and I’m certainly as guilty of that as anyone else is. It’s stems from planning for the worst case scenario even if one is hoping and praying for the best case scenario.

So let’s take a look at that best case scenario regarding America’s government. Let’s assume for the moment that Big Gov loves we, the People and wants to make us happy.

I’ll Hug Him And Pet Him And Squeeze Him…

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the best case scenario.

A not-so-gentle reminder of one of life’s fundamental truths…

Freedom Is Assured Through Arms & The Willingness To Employ Them

It is important for Americans to remember that our freedoms are only maintained through force and the threat of force.

No politician and no governing body made up of them can ever be long trusted to work in the best interest of we, the People unless they live and work under the implied threat of harm to them and their kin and no threat is meaningful or credible unless they are convinced of our conviction and determination to do that harm and to carry it out with extreme prejudice as no mercy or restraint.

This is not a pleasant truth but it is a truth. All that ever changes is how direct and how widespread the threat has to be in order to keep the enemies at bay and/or under our control.

According to a recently published study by The Frontier Lab the odd, filthy, and criminal behaviors of the slacker of the OWS “movement” can be better explained as “occupational therapy” than as politically motivated protests.  According to this study, for the foot soldiers of OWS it’s about community, belonging, identity, and control.

This explains a great deal of their behavior and also explains the diffuse and disjointed nature of their surface motivation. It especially explains their pathological need to “Occupy” as opposed to engaging in normal, legal protests.

It makes a certain sad and pathetic sense that the the rank-and-file occupiers, who feel isolated in their existences, and seemingly lack basic community ties such as those provided by participation in clubs, churches, and strong families, would sublimate their loss, longing, and despondency into the desire to carve out a “new home” for themselves and to surround themselves with others of their sort as some sort of support group.

Before discounting this or claiming the source, The Frontier Lab, is tainted simply read the following excerpt from December 18, 2011 statement from Occupy Wall St.’s “Organizational” website:

It hurts to be holding GA’s here in an empty park. It hurts to stand here in the cold, fighting for nothing. I do not mean that we don’t stand for principles.

I mean that we don’t have a physical home.

There is nothing here. There are no structures. There is no sign of our community. There is no life. Yes, we are here. But we have become tourists. We visit the park, we do not occupy it.

— Christina Daniel
Buy-Out Buy-In – Proposal for GA

That certainly seems to bear out or, at least, lend weight to the “Occupational Therapy” hypothesis about the real motivations of the rabble in OWS.

The Frontier Lab report describes these rank-and-file Occupiers as “Communitarians.”

A Communitarian remarked that, upon waking each morning in the Tent City, he was struck by an overwhelming feeling of being part of a family. When queried about their formal religiosity, this segment indicated that they had grown up in largely non-religious households. One interview subject indicated that while he had grown up in a religious family, he had felt estranged due to his sexual orientation.

The Communitarians may have expressed their satisfaction at being “proactive” to correct injustices, but the value behind this satisfaction is “Security.” Security to Communitarians means reasserting some control over their futures. The rocky job market and economic outlook mean that they feel more adrift and unsure of their life plans, but for them the Occupy protests serve to translate malaise and fear into action, with a result that is both calming and empowering.

They then applied Means-Ends Theory and Laddering to map from concrete behaviors (Attributes) to emotional feedback (Consequences) to underlying values and/or beliefs (Values).

 

Means-Ends Theory: Attributes → Consequences → Values
 

When The Frontier Lab interviewed a series of high intensity occupiers in New York and Chicago they applied this Means-Ends Theory to derive insights into the occupiers’ psyches and motivations.

It boils down to the idea that the average slacker in OWS is desperately in needs of community, fellowship, and self-validation and is seeking these things in the now-defunct OWS camps. In other words, it’s “Occupational Therapy” for them.