Mr. D. Goes to Washington: Luck
Is there anything that more directly impacts all of our lives than luck? I don't think so.
This may end up being one of three separate videos. And instead of a partisan attack (of which I will do more — sorry, or you're welcome), this video represents a starting point from which I begin to think about, not just political issues, but really everything regarding the treatment of other creatures on the planet — including YOU!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me be so lucky!!!
Comments (23)
I have the humility to see what luck has served me. I was 6 years old and wondering how it was I was born to what I was born. My brother Georgie was by a twist of fate and by the twist of his umbilical cord doomed to a life as a brain damaged person confined to a wheel chair. Dumb luck, he was in a white family, with a Dad who earned good money, with a stay-at-home mother, and who held to Christian compassion.
Stephen Coonts in his novels agrees with your sense about luck!
And never mind gender!
Well said!
Loved this!
Exceptional piece, Mr. D, and I thank you for it. Looking forward to sharing it when the time is ripe!
It's good to see others have discovered the secret to life (luck), accepted it and moved on : )
Merchandising opportunity! T-shirts with "There, but for dumb luck, Go I" I'd buy one or six!
Right on! (And Write on!)
Lots to think about. Thank you for that.
This video really sums up my view of the world, too. Oh, and @David C Tyler, I thought the ferret was drugged--not even a trained ferret would want to sit *there* for so long!
I resemble your remarks LOL
Thank you for expressing what I have come to realize. I found the book "Free Will" by Sam Harris enlightening about just how little control we have over our lives even given favorable circumstances. It is unfortunate that many people who have done well have a sense of entitlement. It is now fashionable in this group to set things up to make the lives of the less fortunate even worse to encourage them to "work" harder. For example take an orange man with a trained ferret on his head.
As far as I know, bad teeth are a thing only since the advent of agriculture. Otherwise, perfect.
Bad teeth due to decay is primarily a bacterial infection. The availability of more carbohydrate rich foods will accelerate the process of decay but fruits, nuts and roots will do the job just fine if you are infected with the wrong bugs.
Of course luck is a huge thing in one's life, but to dwell on it overly can engender a sense of fatalism or even overwhelming guilt. These are emotions that can weaponized by those who learn to prey upon them. Accordingly it is wise in my estimation to build a sense of self that, while accepting of the reality of variance, tempers it with an ability to evaluate one's own decisions and actions and ascribe them with the proper amount of esteem and criticality with the intention of keeping oneself on a path towards increasing education, judgement, achievement and fulfillment. Life is not fair, but at least I can strive to be fair with myself.
Sure. That's all good. But this was more about the basic context of all our lives and keeping that in perspective. Of course we have to strive in our own lives and hope fate is with us. That's all we can do if we want to get ahead. But we also have to recognize that some have striven (is that a word) far harder than we have with much less success. That must always be kept in mind. That keeps us humble and grateful and willing to help those behind us. But your point is well-taken.
Bullseye! I always cringe at the very American myth that "you can become whatever you want if you just work hard enough." Yeah, right. That "bootstrap" fantasy conveniently forgets that we are not just a product of nurture, but also nature.
Cool. Let me know.
Can I buy you a beer while you are in DC?
Sure. When I come back to DC. But it will have to be something else. I don't drink.
Spot on!
I like to refer to this dumb luck thingy as the work of the Great Cosmic Equaliser and I reckon my account with the GCE has me in big debt, having been raised in upper middle class Australia. (Australia having one of the highest standards of living and offering quality of life that's off the scale. Not that it's without an underclass). Alas, the GCE is not an Alex Smith (aka Needlemeyer) original concept, but, I can live with that; very comfortably as it turns out. Oh, and I should add: I'm a white male, so I really owe the GCE a massive shitload (for the privilege it's bestowed upon me, not my race & gender, per se). Cheers, Alex.