THIS CITY-JOURNAL's NUMBER ONE JOB!
(A glimpse at the Master Strategy)
From: USA.gov
Subj: Emergency Tech-Readiness
According to The American Red Cross, the Internet - including online news sites and social media platforms - is the third most popular way for Americans to gather emergency information and let their loved ones know they are safe. Make sure you are tech ready during an emergency with these tips from FEMA. You can also get text messages from FEMA sent to your phone. To sign up, text PREPARE to 43362 (4FEMA). You can unsubscribe at any time by texting STOP to 43362 (4FEMA). Text messaging and data rates apply to this service. End of message MISSION AREA #1 -- PRESERVATION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM: THE HEART -- Where else? Element 1: OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY AND DISASTER READINESS REALM 1. Over the months of its existence, this City-Journal (the PCJ) has published a lot (but not nearly enough, YET) of invaluable information to help us prepare for those ABSOLUTELY INEVITABLE moments when life takes those sudden, serious, unfavorable turns -- which it surely WILL, as it always has done -- resulting from acts and omissions by humans and by nature -- in an imperfect world. 2. You can find much of this vital information scattered throughout, by using this blog's search box and/or the disappearing black tool bar, which hovers at the right scroll bar, by selecting the key words: "Emergency" and "Disaster." I hope you will take a look, with pen and paper nearby -- and a determined commitment to take the material seriously. FAST APPROACHING 3. In future months, as Version 2.0 of the PCJ and it's spin-off systems develop, the information will no longer be scattered. The whole idea of the PCJ is to gather sufficient practical and interesting information (of all types), all in one convenient, enduring place -- so that you can get to it easily and reliably, exactly when wanted -- AND HELP US MONITOR AND DEAL WITH CHANGES (favorable and unfavorable) IN THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT. The Internet blessing offers enormous hope that we humans will finally adjust, to greatest advantage, our ages-long inter-personal fragmentation -- which so impedes our functioning as a singular, fully optimized living species. A UNIVERSAL, SUPPORTING TRUTH? 5. Surely, all reasonable people want such as this -- it seems impossible that they wouldn't -- if they understand it -- since you can't do much better for a society (and oneself) than to get all its members pulling together in reasonable, agreeable, and complementary directions. Who can seriously deny this? But such a course is hard to see (if it even exists on a wide scale, yet -- which seems not to be the typical case), much less pursue, without it being brought together and presented as a workable, "personalizable" system -- thrown wide open to whatever fine-tuning is needed, by anyone, to make the thing work in their unique situations. Even if we throw the system out, we can use the lessons learned to create something better, for all eyes will be looking at the same opening door and all minds concentrated on the same task. PUSHING THIS BOULDER UPHILL 6. This is just a beginning. We're still in start-up -- and a life-long dream is finally coming to pass. I've encountered surprising, disruptive, disappointing obstacles, but so far, none that I can't overcome (I believe). It saddens me that the often unnecessary delays mean that I can't move as quickly as I feel I need to. But, fate has its own agenda, which often proves wiser than my own -- and that will have to do. "That's life in the big city," as they say. And, I suspect that, while troubling and unpleasant, these are, somehow tempering me for the tasks that remain. Both my doctors and my much beloved wife are forcing me to slow down for a month or so, but I don't think you'll notice -- though every delay is a serious cost and risk. At my stage of life, one often becomes extremely conscious of their own mortality -- which induces an added sense of urgency to get things done in time -- especially when failure may be costly to many. Time is often the best doctor, but the patient always dies in the end. And for me, in my twilight years, all of this is a "now or never" proposition -- and the project is of a nature which MUST be performed and tested in public -- even though it's quite uncomfortable to expose one's soul and most cherished beliefs to the rough handling and testing this journey promises -- for it renders the serenity, which is so essential to concentration, into a scarce and elusive thing. But, everyone bears a "cross." This happens to be mine -- so who's complaining? ON A WIDER LEVEL 7. We are all busy doing our best to achieve whatever life has "assigned" and equipped us to do. I know this to be true, in the cases where reason prevails -- as it usually does, when freedom is present -- and where good will, reliable information, and adequate resources are available -- as they often are. The beauty of the whole thing (in my opinion) is that, by working -- individually and together -- AND METHODICALLY -- to make the best of ourselves and our circumstances, we automatically help the whole grand scheme of things. I find a lot of truth in Adam Smith's beautiful "invisible hand" concept. THE POWER IN OUR GRASP -- UNITY OF SPIRIT 8. We need for each and every individual, family, neighborhood, business (profit-seeking and non), government level, society, civilization and humankind, as a whole, to do their parts. None of us can go it alone for very long -- nor should we even waste ourselves in the attempt. WE ARE ALL INDISPENSABLE PARTS OF ONE GREAT INTERRELATED THING -- fundamental system-units in a powerful system-of-systems -- pursuing the greatest good. GOOD SEEDS, FERTILE SOIL 9. In my experience, it seems that the greatest rewards in this life stem from doing good service for others -- and surely, the greatest happiness stems from seeing to the happiness in others. It further seems reasonable to posit that the greatest level of security is only attainable when ALL are secure. And, I think that's absolutely grand. Therefore, it also seems reasonable to suggest to all (self included), to:
PRACTICALITIES -- TURNING THEORY INTO ACTION But, it would never do to merely suggest all of this without offering carefully thought-out, practical, adaptable, and easily do-able methods and systems for actually doing so -- to be constantly refined in light of ever-growing collective knowledge and wisdom -- and those methods and systems are coming -- using the PCJ (and spin-off systems) as the development and delivery vehicles -- as the system-building tools!!! The Entire-Lifetime Management Systems (ELMS) Under Construction: The Mentor Enterprises / ELMS Unless fate is playing terrible tricks on me, I believe that the TOTAL circumstances of my 6.4 decades on this earth have positioned me to see a vision of what truly can be and have equipped me to make a serious attempt at bringing it to pass -- or, at least, to get this particular chain-reaction started. Not alone, but as a catalyst, among many catalysts. I believe that, with this PCJ (and quite a few other things coming into play, faster and faster) as a beginning, I/WE can (and, therefore MUST) do much to help individuals, families, and neighborhoods to mobilize and sustain an effective, happy, and fruitful partnership with EACH OTHER and with ALL the other social systems that are doing so much, already -- for the best of possible outcomes. I believe that there has long existed a "structural gap" between us, at the grass roots, and the rest of the social systems that have built-up through much blood, sweat, and tears, into daunting, yet brilliant, complexity. It's time to close that gap, and I believe I see a way FOR US to do it. The Internet was the missing ingredient. It has changed the entire ball game. We truly do stand on the shoulders of all who came before -- greatly aided by those, of good will, who are moving us all forward, even now -- as we and they write our own chapter of human history. I will explain more, as I tame the enormous complexities involved, to try to give you a cogent, thorough, defensible, and convincing (I hope) statement (and demonstration) which will reveal to your eyes and hearts what is so clear to my own. Stand by. Respectfully yours, David Nelson Unattainable perfection is not the main thing. Earnest pursuit of it is. For this is what makes the most sense toward the truest, surest betterment of a flawed, yet priceless existence. I seek to be superior to NO fellow human -- only to what I was, yesterday -- and to help leave this fabulous world and life adventure even better than we found them. All Original Content © 2013 , The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved -- BUT, I hereby suspend those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along, if you think it will do some good -- as long as it's free of charge, unchanged, and you include this statement. |
