A new breed

You know the more I read about the way the world is changing and the more I realize that not only is the economy radically shifting but the way in which expertise and experience are defined and utilized. Degrees and certifications and online manuals all have there respected places. I mean even being a soldier is changing, I think.

I have heard the wars overseas called the "Fed Ex" war simple because Adam wants a new book he orders it from amazon and it is delivered, either to me or to him. I send him pictures and expect them to arrive within 2 weeks. Heck I sent him a cheesecake (it didn't make it :( but I think I could have packed it better). Adam has the internet and talks to me sometimes everyday, but never more than 2 weeks with out hearing from him. and I can only imagine how much work it is to keep their networks secure, maybe the insurgents don't have the technology around the base to hack, but I bet that the army is ever vigilant to make sure that even if insurgents did, they couldn't hack. I mean at some point information is the most valuable currency. The base has a help line that Iraqis can call to report "suspicious" activity, and many do.

Dealing with 3rd world infrastructure has to be a great obstacle too. Bad roads, barely working cell towers, I have heard there are lots of new ones. You get this strange juxtaposition of war and poverty with barracks and web cams of home. With girlfriends eating breakfast and waving bye before they go to work, then to head back out on patrol with the oodles of gear. It must be like looking at an alien planet.

Back home things are changing as well. College was focused on how quickly can you find, assimilate, analyze, and draw conclusions. Little rote memorization, just enough to understand the context of what people are talking about, enough to give you a jumping point. People can vaguely check into things with resources like wikipedia and craigslist. I consider Firefox, Craigslist, Gmail (google accounts), and you tube so standard that when people don't know what theses things are they don't even blip on my radar of modern (though I don't think myspace and facebook fall into that category-- thats a whole other category). I mean on top of that things are so fluid, there are so many creative outlets: blogs and personal websites. Domain names are so easy to register and simple websites easy to build. ANYONE can build a website now a days. Even if you can't code there are site builders everywhere.

Even the way people work is changing. The way I work is going to change. I have a tendency to believe in certain stereotypes and I think that if I do some thing X it means I am Y and if i am Y I am obligated to do the other things in the stereotype. I am not. Being a "rancher" is a stereotype. Being a "horse trainer" is a stereotype. I throughly agree with people who think that people are going to be less and less defined by the type of work they do. "Well what do you do?" is no longer going to be answered by "I am a banker", or "I am an upper level administrator". Most people do define who they are by their job. I don't think that is who I am going to be. You know I used to think that the super long vacations that the Europeans take is counter productive, but I am not so sure anymore. I think there some important life value that we as Americans are missing and could stand to learn.

I mean ultimately, what are we working for in the end? Accountability to a boss? Lots and lots and lots of money? Freedom to do what ever we want? There are 2 books that I have read recently that have changed my perspective drastically recently. One is The World is Flat, which I am still reading. The other is the 4 hours work week. Even if you don't agree with his tactics and principals one thing about his book is terribly and 100% irrefutable. You have to figure out what is worth working for and work for it. There is a great parody in the book about this business man on vacation in Mexico and he goes to buy some fish and this guy caught a bunch of very nice large fish, the best in the market and was selling them and heading out. The business man asked what his life was like, he said,"I fish, make a little money, siesta, spend time with my wife and my kid, and enjoy the beach." The business man said to the fisherman, "You are so talented at fishing. You should buy some more fishing boats and have a fleet of fishing boats. Then you could have the largest fishing boat company in Mexico, then you could move your headquarters to New York or LA and have a international corporation and be CEO of the best and largest fishing company." The fisherman said, "Why would I do that?" The businessman said, "So you could earn lots and lots of money!" The fisherman says, "And what would I do with that?" The businessman says, "Well you could buy a little place in Mexico, fish, make a little money, siesta, spend time with your wife and your kid, and enjoy the beach."

I just feel like no one gets that. The quality of life and the humanity part of us that traps us into these little boxes of thinking there is only one way out. What I love about the United States is the creativity and the ability to adapt to the circumstance. With the economy on the brink of a major overhaul I have a feeling people who are trapped in the "credit game" believing that their credit is going to be worth a damn very soon, their precious credit they tried so hard to keep perfect, are going to be up a creek without a paddle.

The best thing about the new breed of the world: I have this idea that I am toying around with in my head, I can share it with others and they can tell me whether or not they see the world that way or think I am crazy....