One of the biggest problems in American politics and in American society generally is this notion of “winning“. Although Trump talked about working together last nite(State of the Union 2019) , he talks much more often and more convincingly about the importance of ”winning”.And it is not just Trump. The entire nation is obsessed with so-called winning.?” Whether in sports where Tom Brady is the most winning quarterback(arguably also the most boring!) or in elections or the adversarial legal process the key issue seems always to be “winning”. This is , of course, also true in academia(winning a place in the best university or having the highest grades there) or in business( having the most profit, the highest increase in stock value for the company) etc.,etc. This is a pathological social attitude that is creating stress and sickness right through the society! What ever happened to to the Christian idea that the first will be last. According to Christian history ( Muslims don’t accept that narrative) the biggest loser( what can be a worse loss than being crucified) is the biggest winner(saving humanity). So we need a major rethink on this issue. Clearly Trump is not the man for this job. He needs too much to keep “winning “ to bolster his fragile ego!
Category Archives: Modern Living
Podcast Introduction
BREAKING NEWS!
NEW PODCAST SERIES BEGINS!
Justice?!
- So according to most legal authorities, Robert Mueller , also known as special counsel,is the best of the best! Then the entire Justice system has broken down into a complex chess game( Mueller being the Gary Kasparov of the game or maybe more appropriately the Deep Blue computer lol)where the goal of winning is considerably more important than any sense of fairness. Real justice is about solving a specific crime and exercising the appropriate punishment. This process has as much to do with justice as prostitution has to do with Love!
Laminate Floors
- (Bottom line-Consumer Reports)”We have also published Ratings of prefinished solid-wood, vinyl, and tile floors; all are better choices (than laminate)when it comes to formaldehyde emissions.” Another epidemic of toxic products -laminate floors or as the marketers call them”floating floors” lol Ya, right -floating in cancerogenic chemicals!
Lying-the M.O. of Modern Societies
Breaking News! Shocking developments! Donald Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie! How could he lol?! Really? The entire legal,democratic political and advertising industry to boot is based on lying! Does the court not instruct witnesses to “tell the truth,the whole truth and nothing but the Truth”?Do the lawyers in preparing their clients not then train them on what to say,what not to say and how to say it?Is that not lying ?! Do the government and legal reports and Commission reports not have ridiculously large amounts of redactions? Is that not lying? When Monsanto tells us its pesticides are safe and when the cellphone companies tell us there is no danger from the emfs and microwaves coming from our phones and their towers, are They not lying.And when the hallowed Supreme Court of the U.S.A.says that billionaires being allowed to spend as much money as they want on campaign financing is consistent with democracy,are they too not lying?!This is outright hypocrisy! It is time for our entire society to come clean and admit that currently lying is endemic -even necessary for success! The real slogan here behind the scenes is:” Lie but don’t get caught”.And admittedly Trump is an incompetent liar.Obama and both Clintons were much better at it!
Statement of Purpose
I am convinced that I have the best product on the market-a lifestyle based on Islam as a religion, Sufism as s spiritual practice, an in-depth understanding of psychology and the sociology of modern time plus a practical approach to environmental and holistic medicine. What more can you ask for?! Yet I can’t sell this product to anyone-with one or possibly two exceptions. Help me out here! What is going on?!
Cleanliness is next to Godliness?!
Their hearts are full of greed and envy and resentment and self-centredness but their houses are impeccably clean. This is one of the shirks( idolatries) of the modern era . I can hear the naysayers already”But isn’t cleanliness important?Don’t the Christians say:’Cleanliness is close to Godliness’. Don’t the Muslims do wudu and avoid ‘najas’(dirty things)?”Yes, this is all true. But there are priorities and perspective that is needed. Seriously!
When I came back from a long sabbatical in the Middle East, I was astounded by what I saw. “There are only three virtues left here-punctuality, material cleanliness and not pushing into line”, I would say. I could add hard work in some cases. But that is a pitiful list of virtues, especially if one is trying to improve our relationship with our Creator ! We need to work on inner cleaning, big time. Otherwise we are sunk.
Amongst the more common complaints I heard from patients in my psychiatric practice was:”My mother was much more concerned with the house being clean than she was with my emotional state.I felt I didn’t really exist for her.” I heard that many times!
Climate Change?
The obsession with”climate change” and “global warming” has seriously obscured the environmental debate. The issue is not really “climate change” ! The real issue is human health, not global warming.
I’ll give you a couple of simple examples of what I mean. If you insulate your home in order to save energy, you are inevitably increasing the concentration of toxins in your home.(And for the more sophisticated nay-sayers amongst the readers,heat distribution units ,as recommended by certain construction norms,most often add in a new level of problems concerned with what grows in their ducts) Given that the concentration of toxins in indoor air is already ten times that in outdoor air, you can see that the potential for impacting human health is enormous.
Example two. If you install laminate floors now cleverly marketed as “ floating floors”( how comfy!)you have used much less wood than if you had installed proper hardwood floors. So you saved a few trees. And trees are good for the environment. They absorb CO2 and they produce O2. Great. But the laminate floors have a high quantity of glues and chemicals including formaldehyde! Formaldehyde is a known cancerogenic product and it off-gasses for years! So you have decreased the carbon emissions but you have contributed a serious hazard to human health!
Did you also know that those great solutions of solar and wind energy produce “dirty electricity” because of the intermittent currents generated? Dirty electricity is far more detrimental to human health than regular electricity! Oops!Thought we had the answer!
And that other great environmental solution-electrical cars- produce high levels of EMFs( electromagnetic fields) that are also known health risks. The last time I tested one with my Trifield meter , there was a reading off 100 Milligaus in the back sest! Above 3 milligaus there are known biological effects. Btw That specific spot in the back seat is exactly where your toddler would be sitting! And we wonder why there is so much cancer in children?!
PS If we seriously addressed human health,global warming would take care of itself as most of the carbon imprint is generated by toxic, cancerogenic chemicals like the byproducts of fossil fuel emissions.So beware! Most of the news you are getting is very partial and biased. It may not be “fake news”. But it is certainly “spun and filtered news”
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence: Ever had the experience of spinning your wheels trying to get something done on a website?It can be as simple as an address change or a request for information. Then you reach a person, admittedly after a substantial wait -no fault of your own-and the person at the other end of the line after a few annoying and mostly unnecessary security questions, resolved your problem in short order. Does that say anything to you about the infamous A. I. that will soon be taking over the world if it hasn’t already?! It’s s disaster! But who relies on experience and empirical evidence when they can rely on concepts and “tendences” as the French call it. The difference between concept and reality is THE most important factor of disturbance in the world. And nobody seems to be getting it!
Social Niceties-Perspective
(This represents the summary conclusion of an online discussion with a good friend) The”adabists”(fervent believers in social étiquette) have it all wrong.Although social niceties have their place in our daily lives they are no substitute for real virtue-like generosity,not bearing grudges and learning to set aside our emotional reactions and not be constantly acting them out.For the Muslims who may be reading this ,they should look at the meaning of the Prophet’s “sublime character”(akhlaq al atheem) mentionned in the Quran. He manifested much ,much more than superficial politeness.He demonstrated ALL of the virtues mentioned above.May Allah send His blessings down upon him sal and all of us through his transmission.Salaams,Ibrahim