Social Responsibility

In 1970 The New York Times Magazine published an article titled “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits”. The article, written by the Nobel Laureate economist and advocate of economic liberalism, Milton Friedman, exemplifies the modern capitalist’s understanding of corporate politics: It is the corporate executive’s soul purpose, as the business owners’ and stock holders’ employee, to increase profits. He does not have free agency to make socially responsible decisions to “restrain inflation, improve the environment, fight poverty and so on and on.” The corporate executive is elected by Stockholders “as an agent serving the interests of his principal,” and in the corporate system of checks and balances, he is not permitted then to impose his own taxes on revenue and in turn “spend the proceeds for ‘social’ purposes.” He acts, essentially, as a profit-increasing automaton.

To ensure social responsibility within the US borders, we have our own system of checks and balances. We’ve put in place our own rules—our own instruments of regulation, legislation, and jurisdiction. For the most part, the American people and our natural environment are safe and free from exploitation. But as a result of globalization, the American economy transcends porous national borders and has lasting effects on virtually every region around the globe. If not the businesses, who, then, is left responsible for social welfare?

Getting Called Out

I'm just gonna try to do this in chronological order but starting with #1 . . . here we go:

Working part-time at Senor Froggy while I was in high school, my friend JC and I used to have contests to see who could drink black coffee (#1) the fastest. Neither of us really liked the stuff, but it gave us a little buzz and we liked embodying that "coffee drinker" image. Today I'm still drinking the stuff and actually liking it now--mission accomplished.

It was in the 9th grade that I realized I didn't want to be a Christian (#2) only because, up until that point, I'd been raised a one. Discovering agnosticism for the first time, I proudly declared to my mother that there may not, in fact, be any God and that there was nothing she could do about it. Shortly after kicking Christ to the curb, I took my nose out of the bible and bought my first David Sedaris (#25) book. I was reluctant at first to continue reading when I noticed Sedaris, a man, wrote often about his boyfriend because as it was, the only textual description of homosexuality I'd been exposed to was the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Of course by now the subject has lightened up and just a few weeks ago, buying his latest title, I'm a proud owner of every book Sedaris has published. Whoopee!

Once I gave up Christianity, I was really able to expand my horizons (and this is where I start getting really white). I stopped listening to Christian music and dove into the Indie (#41) genre. I began to interest myself in politics, initially via John Stewart and The Daily Show (#35). Later on I spent my evenings listening to NPR (#44) broadcasts despite at the time calling myself a conservative.

I've come a long way. I'm married now, for one, and my wife and I like to talk about pop culture and our favorite new shows on DVD: Californication, The Office, Arrested Development (#38) . We talk about how the next car we buy should be a hybrid, a Prius (#60) maybe. We have these conversations at Ocean Sushi (#42) or one of the many diners in Monterey where we like to wake up and eat breakfast (#36) on the weekends while I scroll through New York Times (#46) on my blackberry.

Since moving to Monterey last summer the nearest grocery store happens to be Whole Foods (#48). It takes me no more than five minutes to get there on the new bicycle I bought (#61) a couple months ago from REI, where I occasionally buy some great outdoor apparel (#87) from clothing manufacturers (#82) like the North Face. Surprisingly, I have no link for REI. Naturally, shopping at Whole Foods, I'm more inclined to buy organic (#6), you know, that or just go down to the Farmer's Market (#5) on Alvarado St every Tuesday after class.

Speaking of class, did I mention that while living by the water (#51) in Monterey, I'm studying Arabic, Islam, and the Middle East(#20), and because I hope to study abroad (#72) next summer in Yemen, Arabic is just not enough; I'm also taking a few extra classes while I'm here: Environmental Science (#64), Politics of the Developing Countries (#62), and Statistics. And let's not forget worrying about whether or not I should have used that last comma (#99).

And so on . . . I can't take it anymore. That's not even all of it. I also listen to Mos Def, tote around an aluminum water bottle, own lots of sweaters and some IKEA furniture, a dog, the movie Juno, drink wine, support Barack Obama, plan on going to grad school, and occasionally spend more than what's reasonable for a sandwich.

All these characteristic make me white. That is according to Christian Lander, the author of Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions and his blog, Stuff White People Like.

I can't tell if I'm being called out as a conformists or if Lander, being white himself, is using the junior-high method of pointing out his own personal characteristics to avoid hearing any comments of ridicule. It's fool-proof: you can't be made-fun-of for something you openly admit. I will agree that the satire is funny, but I can't deny feeling a little out of place being stereotyped as a white guy and realizing--holy shit--I fit this stereotype so well.

بي بي سي إكسترا

Just a quick note to any Arabic students who read this. This is a link to the Arabic BBC podcast, "the flagship daily 2 hour live magazine programme on BBC Arabic, driving social and human interest issues onto the main news agenda of the Arabic Service."

The most current topics have been: human trafficking, obesity, the earthquake in China, and family planning. Last week I listened to a topic about handwriting and calligraphy. There's a good mix of social affairs, the arts and literature.Check it out.

الموت في الجسر

اليوم زرت جسر "بيكسبي" مع صديقي و كلبتي كانت زيارة ممتازة على الرغم من ذلك عندما وصلت الى الشاطئ كان هناك شرطيان.
كنت اتكلم معهما لمدة قصيرة.
قلت - ماذا تفعلا؟ تخذ صور المناظر؟ ماشاءالله الطقس اليوم جميل جدا و مشمس ما رايك؟

قال الشرطي. - هذا صحيح. مشمس ولكن ليلة امس كانت ليلة سيئة

قلت - لماذا قلت ذلك. كان الطقس جميل ماذا حدث؟

قال الشرطي - قي الصباح مباكرا كانا يمشيان زوجان و وجدا جسم رجل الذي قابل موته في منتصف ليلة امس إذاً يجب عليك ان تذهب الان امش


. . . بعد الفاصل

Bouvier Des Flandres

I have a seventy-five-pound dog. A few weeks ago I was walking her on the sidewalk while a young married couple walked on the same sidewalk toward me. Nearly five feet from me, as they approached, the women stopped in her tracks, staring at the dog. Thinking she was scared, I pulled my dog in close to ease the women's nerves. "Don't worry. She's real nice."

"Oh, I wasn't worrying. I love dogs, and she's so cute."

I smiled. The lady took a few steps toward my dog and squatted down almost eye-level to pet her. "Hey, cutie. You're just so precious, aren't you? Yeah, little cutie. What kind of dog are you?"

God, I hate that. "Actually--um--she doesn't speak."

"Well, of course she doesn't. I was asking you."

"I'm not a dog," I said, and then she took a shit.

Trying My Hand at Calligraphy

A Picture I Took . . .

from my classroom window, and its 15 minutes of fame.

Stop Smoking!

The Ashtray of History. A story of how, for centuries, we've banned tobacco use, hated life without it, and then consequentially lifted the bans. Anyone see this happening in Washington or California?

Arabic in Spokane, WA

Everyone was hungry when the bars closed at two, so the designated (less drunk) drivers took us to the Pita Pit. I wanted a tuna. When we arrived Nehemiah was trying to close up and get home early because, it being the Holidays, most of the Gonzaga students who eat at the Pita Pit when the bars close were back in their suburb homes of LA, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. They only get a few stragglers here and there because there are only a few Gonzaga students who stay in Spokane through the holidays, and they’re from Saudi Arabia.

So I walked inside the Pita Pit with Travis while some guy, way too drunk for his own good, was outside peeing on the store-front window. He was pissed because Nehemiah had kicked him out. “We’re closed, man. Go Home. Fucking asshole, go home.” Travis and I weaseled our way in and I was trying to convince Nehemiah that he should stay open and feed me. Just then Yaz walked in.

Nehemiah had been telling me about these Arabs who come in the Pita Pit wearing spendy threads and driving kick ass cars. He calls them the Persian Princes, and then I ask Nehemiah where they’re from.

“They’re from Saudi Arabia.”
“Well then they’re not Persians, they’re Arabs. Big difference.”
“Whatever. Middle East.”
“Yeah. Middle East.”

Anyway, I’d been telling Nehemiah that I’d love to run into these guys so I can practice my Arabic and next time they come in he should ring me. But that night, drunk and craving a tuna pita, pissed off because Nehemiah wouldn’t make one for me, I saw a couple young men with dark skin walk through the front door. And there was only about a five and a half percent chance of that happening according to the 2000 census. So my eyes lit up. They’re not Mexican, no way.

Marhaban. Ahlan wa sahlan. Hello. Welcome.
Ahlan wa sahlan. Hello.
Kaif al hal? How are you?
Al hamdu lillah. I’m well, praise God.
Al hamdu lillah. Praise God

We went outside and chatted for twenty minutes, in Arabic. They asked me where I’m from and I told them I grew up a few blocks away. No way, they told me. “Your Arabic is beautiful. Al-fus-ha. The Classical. Better than ours.” We chat about their studies at Gonzaga: Engineering, Law. They ask how long I’ve been studying Arabic and where. I tell them five months and they object. “You are a native speaker.” They tell me I must be from Lebanon to have such light skin and speak their language so well. They tell me my English is excellent, and I say of course, I’m a native English speaker. They don’t believe me, but I insist.

This was my first time speaking Arabic with Arabs outside class. And the joy it gave me I cannot express in either language. To study a foreign language ten hours a day, five days a week, and for months is gruesome, but the beauty when the effort, the struggle, and the persistence is finally validated and affirmed is practically indescribable. When I speak Arabic among my family and friends, they’re a little impressed at first, and then, very quickly, it becomes annoying. “Ok, Matt, shut up. I don’t understand a word.” But to speak with Arabs, to see their faces light up at the sight of mine, at the sound of my voice, is exactly what I needed now, a third of the way into learning Arabic in Monterey. Just enough to remind me that I love what I do. Al hamdu lillah.

After Tonight's Debates in New Hampshire

I want to applaud a presidential candidate who won't get my vote but maybe deserves it, the formerly obese, Mike Huckabee, for his comments tonight on Healthcare in America. He says that “our real problem is that our model, both the insurance model and the healthcare model, waits until people are catastrophically ill until it intervenes. And we really have to change the concept to a preventive focus rather than an intervention focus.”

And what’s the best way to do that? A national health plan. Of course most conservatives will say that if you socialize health care in anyway, its quality deteriorates and healthcare in America suddenly becomes crap, like the healthcare in Canada. I don’t think we should throw out private healthcare in America. Of course not. But if only we could provide options to the working poor. Can you imagine if every kid could have a medical checkup bi-annually without cost? Then little Johnny’s testicular cancer is discovered at premature levels and can be taken care of at a low cost, which I’m willing to contribute toward paying. Isn’t that better than Johnny’s cancer incubating in his parent’s inability to provide him healthcare, therefore spreading into a more-dangerous, more-expensive, life-threatening cancer throughout his body?

Huckabee is right: “We really don’t have a healthcare system. We have a disease care system.”