No industry or government should be built by coning its citizens. And yet, we let banks, industry and government squelch our ineffable spirit; succumb to their marketing and believe its entertainment; buy whatever they’re selling to feel good and to feel good about ourselves…and we are so full of ourselves; we think we have choices.

It’s not a matter of turning a blind eye to truth; but our trying to do differently is like climbing Mount Everest! We don’t just put off our dreams, we don’t recognize them. And, Industry and financial institutions wants to keep it that way!

Who Deserves a Bail Out?

Industry and financial institutions wants the government to bail them out. Why? Does it have anything to do with their poor choices? And what about the workers? They’re just trying to pay for their home, feed and send their kids to school…and escape the injustice they see all around!Tin! The CEO wants same thing, only they want to go ‘First Class All The Way‘; like checking into a $14,000-a-night hotel; the Marie Antoinette for instance. Well, hey, why not?

CBS News

On Sunday, October 12, 2008, in the last five minutes of a CBS News, Face the Nation broadcast, Bob Schieffer talked about Edward Bernays. I was shocked to see the story aired on prime time television.The coincidence amazed me; as I was writing about the same story for this post.

Womens’ Emancipation

It was March 1929. Women had just won the right to vote: Governors who died in office were succeeded by their wives in such states as Texas and Wyoming. More women were attending college and entering the workforce; women were making great head way in certain areas of society. However, socially women were not treated equally. For instance, it was taboo for women to smoke in public, if they smoked socially, they were considered to be harlots and loose. Women were permitted to smoke in their homes behind closed doors, but if caught in public, they were arrested. Legislation did not permit women to have this same freedom as their male counterpart.Puff the Magic Dragon

Cigarette tobacco in the mid-1920s was popular, the tobacco industry was thriving. However, the American Tobacco company realized a huge part of what could be their market was not being tapped. Women. They hired a infamous propaganda and public relations man by the name of Edward L. Bernays. The American Tobacco industry wanted Bernays to create a campaign that would entice more women to smoke and make it acceptable to the general population.

“It is impossible to fundamentally grasp the social, political, economic and cultural developments of the past 100 years without some understanding of Bernays and his professional heirs in the public relations industry. PR is a 20th century phenomenon, and Bernays–widely eulogized as the “father of public relations” at the time of his death in 1995–played a major role in defining the industry’s philosophy and methods.”

-Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch.Org

Brill Sheds Light

Bernays consulted with Abraham Arden Brill, an American psychiatrist, with regard to women smoking. Brill advised that cigarettes should be thought of as ‘torches of freedom’, a theme which Bernays exploited.

Bernays went over the campaign plan with his secretary, Bertha Hunt. Miss Hunt released statements to the media stating that a group of women would be marching in New York City’s Easter Parade and lighting ‘torches of freedom’ to celebrate the emancipation of women.

New York City Easter Parade

So, on March 31, 1929, at New York City’s Easter Parade; the press, having been forewarned, were there in full force to capture the event…and when Bertha Hunt and her friends stepped into the parade, on Fifth Avenue, and lighted their ‘torches of freedom’, they created a sensation! The event caused a national stir and stories appeared in newspapers throughout the country. What the press did not know was that the American Tobacco Company had paid a hefty sum to Edward Bernays to accomplish this, and that Miss Hunt was his secretary! Though not entirely doing away with the taboo, Bernays’s efforts had a lasting effect on women smoking.

“What a Con it Was”!

“Today one fifth of all American women still smoke and have come full circle as in most places they can only smoke outdoors and the young of both sexes crowd the sidewalks of our big cities; the heartening thing of course is that smoking is not nearly as popular as it once was and most of us have figured it out. Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death, that the third of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking. But what a con it was, and what saps we were to buy it for so long.”

- Bob Schieffer, CBS News, Face the Nation

Keep on trekking. Travel some trails you haven’t trekked before…see where they take you.

Happy Trails!

Finding Our Space in Time

I’m watching ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ for the second or third time. The timelessness of the film brings thoughts of my mother and our life together.

As I watch the film, I’m hoping my mother and dad had laughter…strong and loud; just as Robert and Francisca did during the kitchen dinner scene, that first day. I hope they had the kind of passion Francisca and Robert experienced: The kind that takes your breath away!

Every Minute of Every Day

What is the Passion that takes my breath away? How will I meet and fulfill my passion? As my ‘day job’ comes to an end…Isn’t it amazing how we just skip over the words ‘day job’. Surely, you’ve thought about how much time your ‘day job’ takes away from fulfilling your dreams? Did you know there are eighty seven hundred and thirty (8,736) six hours in a year? I spend 2,580 waking hours a year going to and from and at my ‘day job’. I spend approximately 2,912 hours sleeping; which has left me with 3,874 waking hours to do with what I want. Precious hours to fulfill my dreams! How exciting to think soon I can do what I want with every minute of every day!

Defining Who We Are

How I spend every hour of each day defines who I am and is relevant. Do we ever disconnect from our dreams? No. If you think that you do; you are incorrect. Our dreams are as much apart of us as an arm or a leg. Disconnection is futile. It can not be done. Do you think trying to disconnect from your dreams has anything to do with disease and dying; for yourself or the planet? What do you think? Trying to disconnect from what we really want to do and be is like trying to swim up stream…you will wear yourself out; become weak and drown.

Living the Dream

My dream is that our development stops creeping in on wildlife. My dream is that we continually expand spaces that acknowledge our inter-connectedness with nature and wildlife. My dream is for spaces that celebrate this connectedness; exciting and joyful places; places were bird songs, babbling brooks and the winds through the trees supply much of the entertainment we crave.

My dream is that the Office of Economic Development and Public Finance offer environmental incentives that have an extremely high tax break for people and business that want to move here and NOT drain our resources; wildlife and natural habitats. Wildlife does not understand the ‘concrete jungle’ that keeps crumbling the land.

Happy Environmental Trails