The Subtle Art of Making Ourselves Crazy

                Where can we find the incessant flow of information, with varying degrees of truthfulness, without turning on the TV to a news channel? I think the answer is very easy: social media. I’ve brought up this point before, in a similar manner, but through the course of COVID-19 my thinking has been stronger and taken a slightly different stance. We need to put down the phones and get away from social media. Social media serves good purposes, but also gets taken advantage of by users.

                Let’s take a step back and think about the mechanics of social media. The longest amount of time devoted to making a post on social media is actually deciding what picture, video, or thought you want to post. The technology has made it so incredibly easy to post, share, and view content. The advancements made by social media companies make it so easy to interact that we are slowly but surely beginning to forget how to even think. Remember Nick Sandmann, the high schooler who was lambasted by CNN and many, many others (including normal people who we all know in our own lives). What appeared at first to be a snot-nose kid in a silent aggression towards an old Native American man was spread far and wide and super quickly. Immediately, something should have seemed funny to EVERYONE about the video. Sure enough, a few days later, the context of the video comes out to show that CNN and every armchair social justice warrior was tormenting and hating a minor who was more or less the “victim” in the exchange, as opposed to the aggressor.

                What kind of world do we live in when we are so fast to condemn others who we do not know about events that we are still in the dark about? Why do we jump on any video as soon as it comes out, instead of sitting back and waiting for the full story? Maybe it’s an inner need for attention: if I can be the first one who shares a video about some apparent travesty, then people will think I am super smart or “woke”! Unfortunately, we have to remember we can both wait and get the full story and also still be proponents of positive change in our societies. If only I had a dollar for the times I’ve seen folks go back on a previous post, or be proven wrong or uninformed by simple patience and Google-searching…

                The other problem with social media is the mob mentality we subject ourselves to. Certainly we all have varied friend groups who come from different backgrounds and provide a small amount of diversity. That being said, we are friends with our friends generally because of similarities and shared experiences. Our mindsets are not completely diverse. Then, there are the different pages we subscribe or follow. Pages that focus on our interests generally make up the entirety of this extra content. I think it stands to reason that the echo chambers that we put ourselves in will continue to distort our own views and dig bigger trenches between to sides of an issue.

                The last thing I’ll talk about is the minutiae of importance relative to the amount of visibility. We are becoming wrapped up in the lives of others that we forget to live our own lives and pay attention. We have to pull out a camera instead of enjoying views with our own lives. We pay attention to which singer is pregnant or which celebrity couple is breaking up, as if we know them personally and actually care about what happens. I almost threw my phone this morning when I read that the American Idol winner from Louisiana came down with the coronavirus. Are we so dependent on “news” that we need these updates that are probably really personal to the people being affected? On the other hand, if the celebrities themselves are sharing this stuff, why do we care? Why do we need to know about it? This mindless stream of small stuff no one should care much about is probably harmful in the long run.

                Anyway. Don’t forget to like and share my page on FaceBook.

Sources:

https://www.katc.com/news/covering-louisiana/laine-hardy-says-hes-positive-for-covid-19

A Year Ago, the Media Mangled the Covington Catholic Story. What Happened Next Was Even Worse.

Stop, Collaborate and Listen

                As I sit here, listening to my good friend and trusted contributor, Yardley, we realize that the best writing we do is through the power of teamwork. In listening to him, I realize that the best we have done so far is when he is writing with me as coauthors of the Bayou Observant. In hearing his tales about nefarious professors at our university, I do remember something that has been apparent to me from years past: the power of collaboration is strong, and in our case, very useful.

                Jump back to three months ago, when Yardley and I were also speaking with another entrepreneurial spirit named Jacob, we realized both the potential we had and the lack of funds to follow up. Jacob, as explorative as he is, gave us the great idea and, sadly, the opposing view of a podcast based around this blog site. (Thank you, Yardley, for helping my diction). We decided, as collaborators, that a podcast is not in our wheelhouse, yet. We realized the medium of our content did not matter, we have some thing to say and we will say it the best we know how. After all, we are writers first, and a spoken word version is not quite in our realm yet.

                Who is to say what is missed through the lack of collaboration? I would surmise that it is quite a lot. Wasted intellect, wasted time, worthless partners, et cetera. As this document is being written, aided by the hand of Anheuser-Busch, we are discerning such topics. The conclusion came to us as clear as day: we are better together than alone. With two people writing this article, there is an even amount of ideas created as there are mistakes corrected.

                The creativity of collaboration cannot be discredited. The greatest benefit to collaborating is the expansion of creativity. Though each of us are creative in our own way, we are nonetheless confined to our own creativity. When we collaborate and bring our minds together, we allow new ideas and perspectives to broaden our horizons and free us from our intellectual cage. In the process of writing this article, we have come up with a thousand ideas of which 0.01% make it to print. Can anyone imagine the potential of collaboration directed in a different field? A different hobby?  

                The good, bad, and ugly, unfortunately, all go hand in hand. Luckily, through the powers of collaboration, we have been able to determine those ideas which we deem bad and ugly. We invite you to open your mind to the powers of collaboration that we have put forth. If you have read this far and still disagree, we hope you will experiment with collaborating before writing it off.

                If you do not accept our message at first, please consider the words of famed rapper Vanilla Ice:

                “Stop! Collaborate and listen!”

Why Don’t You Stay (at Home) A Little Longer?

                Recently, Governor Edwards extended the Stay-At-Home order for another two weeks in Louisiana, ending on May 15. This certainly brings bad news, good news, and hopefully continued opportunity. While many of us may be stuck at home and itching to get back to work, let’s not forget to find the silver lining in the new order.

                Bad news, is of course that everything is going to remain almost the same for a little bit longer (except for the three changes that will be instated). For those who are struggling to get by financially, for our sick and lonely friends and family, and for those in abusive households, this is not necessarily the best news. Hopefully, all of these situations are being mitigated and will come to a happy end soon. These people should be kept in our thoughts, prayers, and potential charitable actions.  

                The good news is that everything is going to remain almost the same for a little bit longer. Those who are at risk may be breathing a sigh of relief and feel comfort in a sense of security due to the extension. Those who are enjoying a lightened work load or the long mental break will be able to continue to enjoy it for another two weeks. Those who are taking extra time to “smell the flowers,” so to speak, will be able to do so for longer. Hopefully, these people who have been able to really enjoy the Stay-At-Home period will come back to full society as a brighter presence in their own communities.

                Lastly, the window of opportunity just opened up a little bit more. For those who are staying at home, the perfect time for self enrichment or community productivity just received a two week extension. To those who may have wasted a little more time than planned, such time has been replaced. Use it wisely. How about those who may have run out of things to do? Well, cleaning up the community can be a social-distancing event. Charitable donations are always received warmly, and could sure be helpful to many. If you are tired of working on yourself, you can always work on the community from a safe distance.

                These trying times will soon be over. But trying times don’t necessarily have to be “bad” times. We can all find ways to grow in some form during the next two weeks. The choice to be bored, miserable, sad, etc. is up to us. The mindset we choose to have will affect how we finish up the SaH order. When it’s over, and it will be, we can continue to grow through positive habits, new knowledge, or even community engagement.

                As a small side note, how weird has this year been? Worldwide pandemic, sports cancelled everywhere, Roger Goodell seemingly drunk or otherwise intoxicated during the first round of the NFL draft in his basement, oil prices going to negative (and pretty deep in the negatives at that), the United States government releasing videos regarding UFOs, and more. And we aren’t even half way through.

Finding Non-Essential Silver Linings

                In a world of uncertainty, where people simultaneously are losing work as others pick up, we have found ourselves in a unique situation to broaden horizons and better ourselves. Stay-At-Home orders are a dime a dozen throughout our country, and the end may or may not yet be in sight. That could lead us in a trap of complacency and laziness under the guise of waiting. Complacency and laziness are often much more dangerous than they appear, unfortunately, and should be warded off as fiercely as possible.

                What to do between online classes and grocery store visits? Everyone should first take some time to enjoy the break, as stressful as it may be. Worrying all day, every day, is not good for anyone. Enjoy the outdoors, enjoy phone calls with friends and family, and enjoy the little things you missed when everything was normal. The mental break from stress is ultimately beneficial, and will better prepare you to shift back into normalcy.

                So you have walked around the park and smelled the flowers you usually pass by, but what next? Take some time to better yourself! If you ever wanted to learn a new language, improve on a skill that you know you may be lacking in, pick up a healthy habit or work to drop an unhealthy one. The options are almost limitless! Which is why the new social restrictions can be made into a blessing in disguise.

                I speak on this often, but it is true: we have a plethora of resources at our finger tips to learn, grow, and improve ourselves and our communities. Such resources can be easy to squander or ignore. Beware of these temptations! That is the call back to complacency and laziness, which is a hole that can be difficult to get out of. We can all find productivity in time that may otherwise be wasted in front of a TV or phone screen (though I will give you a pass if you are using your screen time to read my articles). In tough times, the creative and resourceful flourish in many ways. Don’t look back on the times of the Coronavirus and remember not doing anything.

                I have been blessed as an essential employee, and I know I am lucky to continue to work. That being said, in different circumstances I would love to be afforded the time to work on something new or hone an old skill. Such times actually led me to create this website. While I know my site is not the biggest new blog or some such like, I do enjoy the pride I feel when I can write, or look at the people that helped me build the site, and those who continue to support and improve when possible.

                We all have choices we can make during these times. To find the silver linings or to wallow in self pity is a big one. I choose to do the former, and I encourage you all to do so as well. The best thing we can all do to come roaring back is to be better than we were before. We all have the potential to do so. I will continue to work on my laundry list of improvements. And if this article inspires you to come up with the next million dollar idea, well, I will look forward to receiving my check in the mail.

CORONA: Trade Your Fears for a Couple Beers

I’d like to begin this article with a small disclaimer: I AM NOT A HEALTH CARE EXPERT OR PROFESSIONAL. The only difference between myself and the average joe is I took the time to read a few articles, watch some videos, and put it all into a nice little bundle of information easily accessible to the uninformed masses. Though I can assure you all of what will be said in this article has been confirmed as well as suggested by professionals, please do not misinterpret this article as an attempt to provide professional medical advice, it is simply a source of information. In this article I’m going to lay out some basic information in order to provide you, the reader, with a surface level understanding of the disease as well as symptoms and preventative measures we should all be taking to help curb the spread of the disease.

Now, let’s begin. 

For those of you who have been living under a rock lately; CoVid-19, 19-nCoV, or most commonly known to the public simply as “coronavirus”, is a viral disease quickly spreading across the globe with cases being discovered in all E.U. member nations as well as the United States. Coronavirus is actually a classification of virus and is the cause of diseases such as CoVid-19. A coronavirus is a specific type of virus that concentrates its attack on the respiratory system of its host, mainly the lungs. Some well-known diseases caused by coronaviruses would include the SARs-CoV and the MERS-CoV. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they originate in animals and are then transferred to humans. The leading theory of how this new kind of coronavirus entered a human host is that it was contracted at a fish and wildlife market in Wuhan, China. Although many of these zoonotic corona viruses are not able to move from human to human, there are a few that are including, CoVid-19. As of March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of CoVid-19 to be a world wide pandemic.

Do not be concerned, dear reader! Yes, the disease is spreading quickly and a lot of the fear and panic associated with it is due to its novelty. This disease is in fact rather mild, with only about 20% of cases leading to hospitalization and 16% of cases leading to serious illness. The most vulnerable to these serious conditions would be the elderly and those who already have other serious health conditions. With that being said, it is still of paramount importance that we all take a few personal steps and actions to help prevent ourselves from contracting and next spreading the disease. For starters, quarantine is no longer a viable option to prevent the spread. This disease has been shown to lie dormant and show no symptoms for up to 24 days after contraction. There could be many people walking among us who are carriers and have absolutely no way of knowing so. 

However, if you do in fact start to show symptoms (which include fever, coughing, respiratory issues, and difficulty breathing) you should definitely remove yourself from society and get in touch with your doctor! However, simple daily actions such as washing your hands multiple times throughout the day, sanitizing your cell phone, coughing or sneezing into a sleeve rather than your hand, and NOT TOUCHING YOUR FACE can help protect you from becoming sick and from spreading the disease as well. For any additional information and for updates on the current outbreak, refer to the World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

https://youtu.be/Fqw-9yMV0sI

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html

Farce to Be Reckoned With

                Let’s be honest here, anytime a big election comes around, the best and worst come out to show support or run for office. The 2016 election certainly had its own highlights and bloopers on both sides (thanks Jeb Bush for all you did). This year, of course, most newsworthy stories are coming from the Democratic camp. With all the recent drop outs, can the left find a good candidate that will provide an actual challenge to President Trump?

                Let’s take a look at who has risen to the top: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Joe Biden stands out as the only viable Democratic candidate, due to his political experience and somewhat moderate ideals. Bernie Sanders is somehow still around, which is incredible if you ask me. Who would have ever thought that a Democratic-Socialist candidate would make any sort of progress in a presidential election? Why would he make a legitimate candidate? Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of him and President Trump. One successful business man who was able to take advantage of his earnings vs. someone who believes that such wealth should be redistributed. Such a radical idea is certainly strange, and even more so when taken in context.

                Bernie Sanders is reported to be worth around $2 million, which is fine. Good for him to be able to amass such a nice financial cushion. Makes you scratch your head, though, seeing as his big deal has been redistributing wealth en masse. I would be interested in learning how much Bernie Sanders gives in charitable acts. Not as a quantifying measure, necessarily, but to show in good faith that he actually believes in his ideas. To use a wildly different example, you wouldn’t trust someone who says that Italian food is the best when all they eat is Chinese, right? You would want to trust someone who can show in their own lifestyle why their idea is the best.

                Then there is Uncle Joe, who had direct ties to the impeachment happenings. Let’s take a step back and refocus on that circus. Joe Biden and his son Hunter were at the center of what President Trump was trying to get a closer look at. While some may argue that President Trump was using his position to influence the election, others say that he was honestly trying to root out corruption. Imagine Joe Biden wins the election. How strange would it be that the new President of the United States has direct ties to a corruption investigation in a foreign country. Would you rather someone be investigated for having corrupt associations within their family, or the most powerful person in the country actually have those same associations? I think that’s a point that a lot of people missed, and one that is important.

                So when it comes November, who do you vote for? I would stay away from the left. We have had real, meaningful progress in the last 3 years, and I would be happy to see another 4 starting in 2021. Progress for the sake of calling something “progress” is not necessarily good. Let’s leave the Farce to be Reckoned With behind, and continue to hope and pray for our leaders to do right by our laws and for our collective good. Hopefully, the candidates that will run for office in the future will continue to learn and become better quality leaders for all of our sake.

Life and Death of a People

As all current and former residents of Louisiana and parts of the Gulf Coast know, February means one thing: Mardi Gras. I’m partial to the traditional celebrations in small communities such as Church Point and Mamou, but everyone has their favorites. I am not gonna try to convince you that my favorites are better than those in other parts of the state. I enjoy this time more than most because it is a showcase of our culture.

Of course, I am not saying that Mardi Gras is the be all, end all look into Cajun and Creole culture. Luckily, that’s not the case, but could you imagine if that’s all we had? That would be quite a sad time, especially for us that have grown up seeing and knowing that there is more to our culture. Unfortunately, I think that could be a real danger in some of our larger communities in the future.

I say that as someone who misses a chance he never had. Who misses a part of life that he never lived. I would love to have grown up fluent in Cajun as well as English. And don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to blame my parents or extended family for my being functionally monolingual. I’m well aware of the history of Cajun as the primary language down here and how that reflected on the way children were raised. This article is not my pity party (I’ll be sending out private invitations for that). All I am saying is that I’m sure I am not the only one who feels like something is slipping away. But is there anything that can be done to make significant changes?

Absolutely! We are lucky that we are growing up in a time where anyone can take the time and learn a new language. We can spend time focusing on cultural aspects that may be at risk of dying out due to apathy or lack of teachers. We have resources to help people learn to speak Cajun, or play Cajun and Zydeco music. We have so many events throughout the year that bring into perspective something that has shaped our culture and livelihoods throughout the years. Examples of such events would consist of almost (if not every) festival that is hosted each year all over the state. Really, if you cannot find some way to enrich yourself or celebrate our culture, then you are not trying at all.

Let’s also not forget all the other cultures present in our area. Again, it’s a part of life that makes us so unique. I wouldn’t want to eliminate other cultures for the sake of bringing the Cajun and Creole cultures to the forefront. Ignoring other cultures is an ignorant and dangerous move which would jeopardize those cultures. All should be celebrated, and lived through current members of those cultures!

The responsibility of keeping cultures alive falls to the members of the culture who are alive. Participating, teaching, sharing, living the culture is what gives life to the culture. I encourage anyone reading this to take a look into your culture, figure out what you can do to keep it alive, and do it. So if you see or hear me speaking or singing poor Cajun French, please help me out, it sure would be appreciated. Merci, mon amis!

Failure Paves the Road to Success

Failure
In our American society the word “failure” has an aura of negativity surrounding it. The very thought of failing makes many people cringe. Think back to your school days for example. If you ever had the displeasure of failing an assignment, test, or (God forbid) an entire class, the first thought in your mind is “oh no, (insert parental figure here) is going to KILL me.” This feeling was not dampened, and quite possibly even exacerbated by those in authority, be it parents or teachers. This failure, like all things in life, came with consequences; most likely the loss of certain freedoms and a crack down on how you spent your free time.
Ramifications
But wasn’t this horrible feeling and loss of freedoms meant to motivate them to strive for greatness? If they feel enough shame and regret for their poor performance will they not try harder to succeed in the future? Whether that was the intention or not, the fact of the matter is these kinds of reactions toward failure do quite the opposite. Upon failure, punishment is dealt and the only lesson learned is “if I don’t succeed from the start, then I am a failure and will be punished”. Side effects of these punishments would include: learned helplessness, lack of resilience and perseverance in even the simplest tasks, and overall minimal self-confidence and agency (agency being one’s ability to make a choice and act with certain intentions or outcomes to be achieved).
Paving the road to success
The reality is that our failures are not the end of the world, nor our reputation as smart and capable people. In fact, our failures are what make us both smart and capable as well as well-rounded characters. When punishment is used in response to failure, the true lesson to be learned will be completely missed. Whatever issue, situation, or circumstance that had led to the failure is the most important lesson. And this lesson should be brought to light by those in a position to teach, not shrouded in shame and punishment for doing something that literally everyone who has ever lived has done. However, this responsibility to teach is not exclusive to authority figures. It is extremely beneficial to any society that one’s friends and peers would help them learn from their failures.
Therefore:
We should not only welcome adversity and failure but take it one step further and celebrate our failure. This by no means suggests we reward ourselves, or others, for their failures. Though instead of punishment and shame, we should realize that every failure is really just a lesson, an opportunity to learn and another step in paving the road to success. Through shame and punishment the only thing we guarantee is lowered self confidence, a less resilient spirit, and increased dependence on others. Instead, when mistakes are made and failures occur, we should analyze the situation, find where things went wrong, and decide what to do differently on the next attempt. In the days to come, let us rid ourselves of the stigma of failure and help each other through edification as we continue to strive for a better, more successful tomorrow.

Seeing Progress in Action

                Among all the issues in this world which we could all dwell upon, one big one is the cost of attending colleges and universities. How can you determine what to change and how to change it? Inefficiencies run deep in these entities and pointing that out can be hard, especially if there is no transparency to see where exactly these inefficiencies are.

                Enter the Student Government Association at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The executives of the SGA have been working to provide a better look at how much money is collected and how it is spent. This is a great starting point to tackling the issue of how to make college more affordable. After all, how does anyone expect to effectively make change unless they know what it is they are arguing against? The new system that they have set up shows an itemized list for each student assessed fee, including what was collected on each semester and the different amounts of spending from those funds.

                The metaphorical veil has been lifted, and the transparency is becoming more and more apparent. Students who pay their own way or parents who pay their children’s way through school can now see what is happening with money being collected. It gives everyone a little more insight into the crazy bills people receive for their higher education. Have you ever paid more in miscellaneous fees than the tuition itself? Isn’t that absolutely bonkers? Now you can finally take a good gander and see why that is.  

                What does this mean for Lafayette? This shows that the school is continuing a trend of progress among peers, a trend which has been seen at UL for over 60 years. UL Lafayette is the first public white-only university to admit black students in the deep south back in 1954. Now, with respect to those pioneers, the desegregation of the school was surely not an easy and painless event. That being said, much has changed since 1954, and with a more unified student body in the current day and age we can continue to advocate for effective and meaningful progress.

                If the trend of progress continues carrying on the change of the finances at UL, how does that affect the future of our students and our community? Ideally, the actions taking place can lead to a butterfly effect of, at the very least, inspiration or motivation amongst others who desire progress. Imagine if students with little to no capital to make change can in fact make change grew up to be leaders in their communities with actual capital backing and an education? The forefronts of local businesses and politics keep their fighting spirit and continue to make this city (or wherever they end up) a better place for everyone involved.

                Change can start small, like a policy change at a school or transparency regarding finances. They can snowball to larger to changes amongst the university system, local and state governments, and more. Granted, most of this sentiment can be considered wishful thinking. But when I was 16, skipping school and travelling the world sounded like a dream; now we have this Greta Thunberg running around doing the same thing under the guise of being an activist. So who knows, right?

Sources:

https://sga.louisiana.edu/node/184

https://louisiana.edu/news-events/news/20040901/50-years-later-desegregation-sli

https://search.proquest.com/openview/6895edcd4aa168fe91459095088cf0c6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

2020: The Year of Doing

What’s worse than a New Year’s Resolution? You hear about it all the time, and maybe you have made some yourself, but how often do they stick? Do you ever look forward to the day that you quit a resolution?

I’m not one to make a big deal about stuff like that. I don’t think sharing motivational pictures on Facebook is a great way going about succeeding in a resolution. Success comes from action. You can look at all the great quotes you want, but if you don’t get to work on making changes and sticking to habits, then you can go ahead and start planning for what you won’t do next year.

Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, I propose a New Year’s Action. Don’t just resolve to do something, but start by taking real and meaningful steps to your goal. Find the fire within yourself. Drive yourself towards a goal. Make use of any kind of support system you can find. As long as you continue to act, your resolution will keep itself.

My New Year’s Action was started a little early, in December of 2019. In fact, it is this very website. My New Year’s Action is to build something new. Something fun. And I can’t wait to see how this Action progresses.

The best thing about an Action (or even a Resolution) is that it does not have to start on New Year’s Day. Your Action or Resolution can be a February 3rd Resolution or a July 8th Resolution or any other of the 364 variants (2020 is a Leap Year).

Speaking of Leap Years, maybe the Leap Day a great date to do it. February 29th won’t be around for another 4 years. Congrats procrastinators, you’ve got an extended deadline for your Resolution.