From you friends at Occupy Wall Street -- A good question

I'm flying to Madrid in a couple of days to give talks at Universidad Complutense and participate in a  round table discussion with philosophers, a lawyer and activists in the 15-May and subsequent movements.  I've also been invited to Patio Marvillas, a squatted building that serves as a community center, to share my thoughts on Occupy Wall Street.

Another wonderful community center in the city, Tabacalera, an old tobacco factory dating back to the 18th century, is the subject of an interesting piece, "Fuera de Lugar," by publisher/public intellectual,  Amador Fernández-Savater.  The background here is that the future of Tabacalera, a place alive with social movements, is under a cloud because the conservative Partido Popular is likely to win the upcoming elections and withdraw any funding for the center. 

As I've noted before in these pages, a very easy way to translate articles from Spanish (or any language) into English in rough but readable versions, is to use Google Chrome and its built-in translation program.  When people complain that the translations are not perfect, I respond: "Give me a break!" (or something a little more obscene).

                                                                   
                                                                
                                             

Vast majority of Americans bored with their jobs

While the big concern these days is unemployment and lack of any significant job creation, a simmering problem in our society is the fact that most people who are lucky to have a job at all are simply bored out of their minds while at work.  A recent Gallup poll found that 71% of employees are either "not engaged" or "actively disengaged" in their work.

Another astonishing result of the survey is that people who've had some college education, including those who've gone on for post graduate degrees, are among those least engaged in their jobs.  So much for the idea that higher education leads to more interesting, stimulating, creative life pursuits.  In fact, those most "engaged" with their jobs are people who've had only a high school education, 34%. 

Given the jobs and income panic in the U.S. right now, I doubt that this problem will attract much attention or concern for the time being.  But think of all the intelligence and concern that psychologists, organization theorists, managers, and business school gurus have lavished over the decades on such topics as "self actualization" and all those wonderful steps employees take as they ascend Maslow's pyramid. What happened to all of that?

Even if basic numerical trends in employment start to improve, it appears that our economy will  remain rotten at much deeper levels. 
                                                             
                                                                     
   

Occupy Albany meets winter weather

Well, here's citizen Langdon at an Occupy Albany demonstration on October 15, disguised in  coat and tie to fool the cops and media.  I told the crowd that they didn't need advice from anyone about their goals, messages and actions.  But I did take note of an important fact, namely that winter is coming on that the temptation would be to say "It's too cold and wet to get out to marches and meetings." 

So I offered a story about the year my family and I spent in Norway some years back. 

We noticed that the Norwegians were always outside, regardless of weather conditions.  They walk, they skii, they picnic, and do whatever comes to mind, all year round, including the dead of winter.  Even small children frolic in outdoor neighborhood "barna" parks, the year round including the wet, freezing winter!  After a time I asked some friends in Oslo how such flagrant disregard for rain, snow, sleet, and bitter cold was possible.  They explained that there were historical reasons for this ways of life (too complicated to summarize here) and then shared a favorite Norwegian saying:  

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!

Since that time I've made it a practice to get outdoors more often.  Just wear a good warm coat and hat,  buy boots that keep one's feet dry, and take sensible steps necessary to meet Mother Nature on friendly terms.  This is good advice for political activists as well.  Don't yield to stupid excuses about why you can't stay involved during the winter months.