This Morning 10/19/12 Good Grief

I'm borrowing the title - Good Grief - from the famous Charlie Brown character,  and more recently, from an episode of Private Practice.  (I don't have a TV, but watch shows I like on Hulu.com, which I think is one of the most useful websites going!)

Charlie Brown himself seems very dated, but his famous exclamatory - "Good Grief!" - has timeless value.

"Good grief" is, first, a very effectively benign but satisfyingly sarcastic response.  It expresses disapproval and exasperation without the offense of something like, "what an idiot!"   It basically depersonalizes the behavior from the person doing it.  It's a nice way to imply very impolite thoughts!  I approve of "good grief" and recommend it as a way to lighten up the anger mechanism.  People use "other than vulgar" language all the time to express themselves.  Why not "good grief?"  It has a triple entendre, as well.

Good grief, as a noun expression (person, place, or thing), combines two very unlikely words - good and grief.  These are antonyms.  Yet, the sum of their parts infers something potentially positive within a generally negative experience.  That is the way Charlie Brown used the words, and Charlie's inventor, Charles Schultz, meant them.  There can always be found something useful within the most difficult experiences.

The concept of good grief is its third application.  I am grieving right now.  Grieving the loss of some relationships, some long-held beliefs, and my role in life for 30 years.  It's necessary grief.  Not to be avoided or cut short, or denied.  The good part of it is my commitment to continue staying clear by writing, by singing, and by praying.  There is no way to go forward through grief except by committing to the forward motion.  Otherwise, it would sweep us under the rug.

Charlie Brown, for all his low-energy, downtrodden sulkiness, always expected that things would be better.  He never gave up.  He put the good back in grief!

This Morning 10/17/12 In Consideration of Zombies

          If there were ever a right time to consider the relevant questions presented in Daniel Drezner’s condensed and cogent book, Theories of International Politics and Zombies, the time is now.  With hundreds of references spanning the scholarly (Kenneth Waltz’s Man, the State and War) to the ridiculous (Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide), Drezner explores varied theories in international relations by positing the potential responses of each were humankind attacked by an army of Zombies.

            Drezner’s light-hearted treatment of this scenario lends itself to consideration of myriad philosophical as well as political options such an invasion would entreat.   For example, upon deliberation of a liberalist response to a Zombie incursion, would the trend toward institutionalism inherent in liberalist agenda spawn Zombie Rights Watch or other pro-Zombie organizations in the efforts to adhere to its ideology?   Would a neo-conservative reaction along the lines of “aggressive and militarized response” tend to deter a globally-based coalition necessary in this scenario since the Zombies are not culturally exclusionary?  Drezner’s metaphor is sweeping.

            Issues of cooperation between cultures and containment of global threats are relevant as humans are collectively faced with bio-terrorism, climate change, media manipulation, economic meltdowns, the extensive reach of religious fanaticism, and many “unknown unknowns” inferred by Drezner’s tome.   Exploring what-if scenarios can inform remedies laying groundwork for empirical data, but Drezner doesn’t always hit the mark.  Invoking the organizational bureaucracy’s ability to use network technology to foster rapid response communication in times of impending peril, Drezner forgets that dependable information is only technically obtainable when networks are 100% secure; an unlikely situation in a state of emergency.

            Through his media references, Drezner illustrates how arts and humanities explore questions of species survival, fear, denial, and immortality.  Utilizing international relations theory to address the same issues appears trivial at first glance, but the end result provides fodder to reconsider not only one’s personal place in a world of international Zombies, but whether becoming friends with the Zombie across the street isn’t a good idea after all.