In Search of Ignorance

 IN SEARCH OF IGNORANCE

A strange title indeed, at least for those who might read this piece.  Ignorance is not something you search for, it is something to avoid, to make an effort not to be such.  Not so, I'm afraid; ignorance is relentlessly sought by vast numbers of people.

Not only is it sought, it is a matter of pride to not know anything.  We all know people who are profoundly ignorant with pride; for some it is status within their circle of acquaintances.  "Hey, I'm more ignorant than you and I can prove it."  And it happens early.

There are those who gave up reading for content in 2nd grade; you probably sat by several throughout your years of k-12 who had no interest in being where they were merely taking up time that they could have used to watch tv at home.   These children had an instinct for ignorance; they certainly couldn't articulate it at the time, but it was there and active.

The parents, those who were the children referenced above, have now found the answer; the answer to ensure a continuing massive ignorance in their numerous children:  home school.  There just are things that they don't want their children to know; it's not good for them; it causes unnecessary problems, and they are not going to be allowed to know these things if it can be helped.

Being a criminal defense attorney, I deal with the maximally ignorant so am somewhat influenced by what I see in my daily activities dealing with people charged with criminal conduct.  There are those who can't help it, I admit.  These people have always been with us and always will be.  Having a populace that can sign their name along with a vocabulary of 500 words  doesn't speak for much.  And again, for those who are reading this, the level of ignorance may be something you have heard about or seen in your own effort not to be ignorant but find it difficult to grasp the actual level of ignorance in the general public.  The people who reflect this vast ignorance really do appear to be much of the public.  But it can happen to any of us in a given situation and we will realize our own ignorance about something specific and make an attempt to alleviate the condition.   

As an example of ignorance in high places - - none of us are immune - - our Supreme Court promulgated a written guilty plea form of eleven pages with the pronouncement that each and every defendant pleading guilty and using the form to do so must either read or have it read to him or her and understand it.  It is difficult to determine how the Supreme Court could come to the conclusion that the typical defendant would actually read something and  understand what he or she was reading or being read to or cared.  Talking with a defendant who is facing a probation violation, on inquiry of his original sentence, can not tell you what his or her sentence actually was, just that it wasn't jail.

Wherever possible, I and many others, use the old plea form of two pages where the defendant says he did it and what he did and pleads guilty so he can be done and allowed to go about his normal daily routine:  the end.  It is a very simple process and one that is repeated thousands of times daily.  The only real issue is that most of these people are allowed to vote and have guns, not that they understand what they plead to.

Unfortunately, the more the human species knows as a unit, the more ignorant we as individuals become.  We can't know much of what there is to know.  So, we are all to some degree ignorant.  But let's agree on one thing:  some of us make an effort not to be while others insist on it.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

The Great Irony

  THE GREAT IRONY

One does not conclude that one's dog, cat, or other human companion is stupid when it does something seemingly irrational, careless, dangerous, or whatever.  It simply doesn't occur to us that our animal companion has given it any thought as opposed to simply reacting in a manner consistent with their nature.

We humans, on the other hand, pride ourselves on our brain and the ability to transcend pure reaction and instinct.  This pride is justified in much that has been accomplished over our history.  HOWEVER.  The fact is that our intelligence is co-existent with stupidity.  With intelligence comes stupidity.  They go hand in hand and cannot be separated.

The ability to think gives us the ability to be stupid.  It is indeed the great irony.  Without a brain such as ours, stupidity would be non-existent.  A day will not go by when we, during the course of our daily activities, do not come across a statement, an act, a resolution of another human being that we do not consider stupid.  It is invariably true that we encounter daily activities and statements which to us are deemed just plain nonsense:  not to the purpose, irrelevant, counterproductive, etc.  The adjectives denoting stupidity are practically endless.

It follows necessarily, that we, the human species, have a self-regard that is unwarranted.  We think we are pretty special.  Our religions, our societal norms, our therapists all either presuppose our specialness or encourage the belief in it.  As much intelligence as is exhibited on a certain day, as much or more stupidity is exhibited  with it.  If one were to have any awareness at all, one can not deny this aspect of our lives here on planet earth.  We do stupid things as readily as we do intelligent things as we have always done and will always do.  There is no future where intelligence will rule over stupidity; they are of equal durability.  

The stated purpose of education, training, socialization, etc. is to encourage intelligence and decrease stupidity.  Unfortunately, the more highly educated, the more highly trained a person becomes, the greater likelihood of stupidity.  One simply can not have intelligence free of stupidity.  It can't happen.  You can not have one without the other; they are co-existent.

It seems to me that maybe, just maybe, we ought to not think so highly of ourselves; a little humility might be beneficial knowing that doing stupid things is inevitable and we will do them.

Richard E H Phelps II

CAN'T YOU JUST SENSE IT?

 CAN'T YOU JUST SENSE IT?

Can't you just sense it - the world spiraling out of control.  The Israelis killing 50,000 Palestinians in retaliation for the killing of a hundred Israelis and visitors; Russia continuing its invasion of Ukraine with thousands of casualties and destruction; various Islamic groups in Africa indiscriminately killing thousands of non-combants.  The human race continues doing what it has done since written history and before.  

Here we thought we were better: more civilized, kinder, more tolerant.  Not so.  We, here in the United States, are also seeing a return of intolerance with the attack on what is called DEI.  None of us are sure what we are objecting to, or complaining about, but obviously we need to find somebody to persecute.  It's not only the American way, it is the human way.

It doesn't take much historical knowledge to understand that the human race is not a kind and gentle race.  It is a murderous race and always has been.  How do you think we got where we are?  The United States, contrary to what may be the prevailing concept of "us", has been as brutal as any other place on the planet.  We wiped out the Indians, we enslaved and tortured millions of black people, and we killed hundreds of thousands of our own in what we call the Civil War, half of whom were fighting to be able to continue enslaving and torturing black people.

Maybe capitalism will be the answer; maybe the pursuit of comfort and wealth through the capitalist system we have created will be enough.  No longer will we kill other people to get what we want, we will simply make stuff that makes our lives easier.  An air conditioner, stove, refrigerator, and heater will keep us mellow and satisfied with our lot and don't forget the thousand dollar sneakers.  Well, apparently that won't work.

One can not argue with the premise that the reason homo sapiens have been successful is for the reason that we kill any other life form that becomes an issue.  Isn't it said we are the epitome of creation, all other life forms are to serve us humans.   Our major religions have always condoned killing other humans; it is an established practice and if not currently universally observed always ready to surface.

The headlines on Sunday the 22nd of June say we bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran.  It doesn't say, nor is it important, how many people we killed, people with families, with children, with houses and mortgages and other such stuff of daily life.  The headlines say we bombed nuclear facilities; our president says we bombed nuclear facilities.  We certainly did.

The day that Hamas killed and kidnapped those people on the border of Israel, one knew it would not end well.  It has not ended and one does not know how it will end; but it will not end well.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

An Accomplishment

 

AN ACCOMPLISHMENT

I have been following as closely as I can the deportation efforts underway in this country.  It is quite an effort, or at least one is led to believe so.  Some people show up and take other people away just like that - - no warning, no allowance to get your affairs in order - - just like that you, the deportee, are whisked away to places unknown.

What I have been asking myself is "What is being accomplished by whisking people away without warning, without a hearing, without judicial notice, without anything?" All due to  some person, some organization having studied the information available and has targeted you to disappear.   The only similar situation, to my knowledge, is exactly how the Jews were disappeared in Germany.  The Gestapo or whomever, showed up one night and took you away and no one knew whereto.

But my question is "What is being accomplished?" From what I can gather nothing other than making life miserable for the people being disappeared.  I mean nothing ascertainable.  People are being disappeared who have been here for years, working, buying things, raising their children, paying into social security on which they will never get a return.  Legal or illegal, the vast majority of people coming to the United States are coming here for the same reason that people have always come here, for a new start.  That's why your ancestors came here.

Now I,  being a criminal defense attorney, am aware of the population of this country who do not work or if they do, under the table for a few bucks to get something to eat, the population who spend most of their time being high, getting high, finding the drugs to get them high or are otherwise simply dysfunctional.  These people are American citizens who can not be deported and who contribute nothing to the society in which they live; they have a negative value.  And yet, we want to deport people who work, pay their bills, and actually contribute.  To my way of thinking the current efforts are counter productive.

Now we, the people, seemingly have always needed a scapegoat, a group who one is required to dislike and be rid of.  For years now, we have heard that these illegal immigrants are bad, do bad things, and are otherwise undesirable.  This has been the mating call of the Republican Party for years  and as with many things to our uninformed citizenry, you hear it often enough it becomes factual.

And, it's just nonsense.

Richard E H Phelps II

                                Mingo

It's Simply Motivational

 IT'S SIMPLY MOTIVATIONAL

It truly is wonderful to see.  We all have heard of, or attempted to read, or discussed with colleagues the issue of motivation.  It has gone through various life  forms in the business schools of the country, it is always a topic of wonder in schools of psychology and other forms of the social sciences, historians often discuss it in the guise of historical figures and events.  It is a marvelous topic of conversation and always raises disputes as to its source. 

What we have currently though is motivation in its simplest form:  personal animosity.  Not many people either historically or currently have the ability to act, to be motivated, by personal animosity.  It is a wondrous thing to see.  And what is so great about it is we can view it on display daily in the guise of the current president of the United States.  As one example, look at the misfits and yahoos who he has appointed and who have been confirmed by the Senate.

When one actually listens to Trump's pronouncements of actions to be taken or not taken, two things rise to the surface:  One is pure whim and the other is personal animosity.  Whim has no motivation, but is simply that - whim.  Personal animosity, though, can and does allow for motivation in those with the power to exercise it.

From what I can gather from a lifetime of reading, it takes a society such as Rome a significant period to gather together in one place the power necessary for personal animosity and whim to rule.  You suppose the Egyptians came to the same?  It's as conceivable as any other demise.  We, the United States, meaning us, have had a relatively short duration in which to accumulate the power necessary for personal animosity and whim to rule the dictates of the man in charge; but we have, much to  our surprise.  We've always said that it can't happen here.  Well it has.  We have a president of the United States whose ignorance is unparalleled and whose decisions are dictated purely by whim and personal animosity.  We haven't reached the level of Caligula, but we have a man as president whose actions are either unpredictable as pure whimsy or very predictable as pure personal animosity.

Folks, we apparently have reached a stage in our evolution as a country and society which signifies the beginning of the end.  This beginning may be a very long beginning, but it is a beginning.  It is a situation where nothing but the personal controls the decisions that affect us all as a participant in an empire; you can't call us a country simply.  As the Roman emperors squabbled and fought, the empire kept building roads and amphitheaters - - for a while - -  just as we keep building skyscrapers, palatial estates on the coast, and aircraft carriers.  But it came to an end as we shall.

It is hard to witness - - the level of malfunction and misdirection existing in our leadership.  It is more sad to see the acceptance given to this man who calls himself president.  It is not just Trump.  The people of this country are apparently ready for such a leader and they have him. Our politicians have realized this and parrot the public sentiment.  If one were to give this some thought however, a seemingly difficult thing to do, one must be extremely pessimistic. It's one thing to get rid of a president, quite another to change the public who supports him.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

We Support Them

 

WE SUPPORT THEM

Representative Miller-Meeks has made further pronouncements in which she is in favor of law and order and for that reason fully supports the people employed in law enforcement who believe in keeping us safe, i. e. the police.  Let me say immediately, that police and other law enforcement are necessary components of any modern society.  If someone breaks into your house, you want someone to at least attempt to find out who did it.  Or if you get beat up on a street corner, it would be gratifying to know the person was arrested.  Technically speaking, police do not "fight crime", they punish those who commit it.  There is no such thing as "fighting crime"; "crime" is what people do when they do things that have been deemed criminal by a legislature. We have currently the view that police are good and that's that - - end of analysis. This is why we, in this state, are being rid of our municipal police oversight commissions.  Our legislature is of the opinion that police are good and that is the end of it.  We don't need any oversight.

I, however, having practiced criminal law in this state for more years than I want to count, I say it's not so simple.  One can not argue with the proposition that there are capable lawyers and those not so capable; there are capable doctors and doctors not so capable, there are real estate agents that do good work and some not so good, there are pharmacists that are excellent and those not so excellent.  This is why we have established commissions or committees or bureaus, whatever you may call them, to make inquiry when they receive complaints about the services they have received from their doctor or their lawyer or their real estate agent or their pharmacist.

Representative Miller-Meeks has joined, if not a permanent member, of those who state that of all the occupations that can be thought of or exist, police are the one group of people who need no oversight.  These are the people who can put you in jail; these are the people who enforce the rules one needs to follow to get to work; these are the people who cost you money in the form of bail; these are the people who when they take you to jail force you to leave behind the family, the pets, the job, etc.  These are the people that can cause you damage, discomfort, loss of income, and serious inconvenience.  But they are the only profession that needs no oversight apparently. 

In addition, take a look at an officer or a deputy when you converse with them; take an inventory of the equipment they have on their person; take an inventory of the equipment they have in their squad car.   It is as if they have prepared for battle with the Taliban.  These are the people who need no oversight, but they are the one group of people who, at their fingertips, have the ability and equipment to do you serious harm.

I am not against the police and I am not against the deputies, but I do know good ones from bad ones.  They both exist just as they exist in every occupation.  Refusing to admit to this appears to be simply another pathetic effort to make public statements that get votes from people who have never given it a thought or who have never had an interaction with law enforcement.  Every function necessary for a successful society needs oversight.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo

Let's Talk Policy

 LET'S TALK POLICY

A favorite word of politicians - "policy".  Lately we have been informed that Biden's policies were disastrous and the current policies are beneficial and worth having.  If one were to look up and attempt to analyze the term "policy", one would come away with a jumble of explanations of what a policy is, who has policies, who should have policies, what are the characteristics of policies, what do policies do, etc.

A dislike is not a policy, nor is an approval.  Now if a person doesn't like something or doesn't approve of some behavior, a policy may indeed follow.  For instance, you don't like the fact that Haitians are coming to Iowa to work in our meat packing plants, therefore, you want the government to find ways to discourage them from coming.  Unfortunately, there are laws in existence that encourage these Haitians to come and work in meat packing plants.  What do we do about that?  We create a policy that makes it difficult for them to comply with whatever requirements are necessary for their entry.  The laws are still there, but not implemented in the manner intended.

What we do is,  we direct the people who are to implement current statutes to cease implementing them in a timely manner or in a manner that creates more difficulty for the people applying.  In other words, make it difficult to comply with the requirements that must be met by the people who need to meet them.  This would be a policy. A necessary element of a policy is organization.  Without an organization to either implement a policy or eliminate a policy, policies are simply unfulfilled wish-fulfillment.

A policy then, can be the effort made to either fulfill a legal requirement or to keep it from being implemented.  The current administration's policies appear to be the latter.  The proclamations coming from Washington appear unanimously to be of the type that are meant to inhibit the implementation of the laws as they currently exist.  For instance, when you have a policy of detaining an immigrant without a hearing or due process, because they have not met some minor requirement necessary to remain here legally, it is the implementation of a policy.

The executive branch of the United States government, and I will not stop to explain what that is, has immense power with or without particular policies.  And when the executive branch of the government has as a policy of delaying, obfuscating, or otherwise disabling the implementation of duly passed legislation as is occurring at present, you have an administration that feels free to do what it wants through policy.

So if one were to determine, for instance, that Biden encouraged immigration and Trump discourages immigration, one would get from that a difference in policy.  When you consider policy in this way, you have an executive branch of government which considers the actions of the legislative branch of government as simple suggestions, not legal requirements.  The legislature can pass a law requiring certain actions from the executive branch but if the leadership of the executive branch is not thrilled with a particular law, it will be very difficult to implement it - - because of policy contrary to its effective implementation.

So there you have it - - policy.  Sometimes official, sometimes unofficial, sometimes open, sometimes secret, but always influential.

Richard E H Phelps II

Mingo