Two Things: Practical Wisdom and Practical Compassion

9 March 2019

I will always be something of a selfish fool, but I can try to be better. Wisdom and compassion are universal virtues that I've pursued through Zen Buddhism for the past three years. Wisdom is discernment of the essential nature of reality and the ultimate goal of existence. Compassion is the desire to remove harm and suffering from others. Attaining wisdom and compassion requires effort, so I try to meditate every day and to carry my koan, an unanswerable existential question, with me through my daily life. I believe I'm on the right track with Zen, but it's slow going and I'm also looking for shortcuts. That is, I'm searching for practical wisdom and compassion, perhaps not perfect or religiously satisfying, but bits that I can experience easily.

How can I achieve practical wisdom? First, let's entertain the possibility that wisdom is overrated. I've often been happy as a fool, and, looking around, lack of wisdom doesn't always hinder material or political success. On the other hand, I've suffered from anger, despair, meanness, and prejudice, which in hindsight were unnecessary and stupid. I can experience lack of wisdom in my body: poor posture, tightened breathing, and restricted vision. In the world, lack of wisdom results in war, poverty, injustice, and environmental degradation. So, yes, we need wisdom to avoid such afflictions. In search of vision and understanding in daily life, I consulted an ancient text, the Boy Scout Handbook, and  realized the pithiest summary of practical wisdom I seek is the Scout motto, "Be prepared". Not necessarily as in having a full pack ready to tromp into the woods, but rather to actively be aware, to look for what needs to be done. So, in addition to my Zen koan, I've tried to carry the Scout motto with me every day. Does it help? I've seen hints of success in my behavior. I'm earlier to bed, drinking less, and tidier. Internally, I find myself in a relaxed way attending more to my thoughts, my surroundings, and the people in my life.

As for compassion, I can occasionally be mean, yell at my wife, neglect my kids. As with wisdom, it's clear from examining my shortcomings and from reading the news that we all need more compassion. As with wisdom, I'd like a shortcut while I work towards enlightenment. I want to be more sympathetic and empathetic, and to help more often. Again referring to the venerable Scout Handbook, the answer is "Do a good turn daily". I'm helpful in various ways to friends and family, but a good turn involves aid above and beyond what's expected of you. Does it help? Last week I picked up dog poop not from my dogs. I helped a stranger on the bus who was looking for directions to his destination.

I'm getting there in my quest for wisdom and compassion. I do wonder sometimes if these shortcuts distract from the religious aims. So far, however, they seem effective and complementary to Buddhist practice.

Haiku: Eyes down

21 Feb 2019

Eyes down in crosswalk

So much admirable faith

In humanity!

On the Road: All Transportation Issues Solved!

(c) 2018      17 December 2018     Madison, Wisconsin

Transportation presents little problems and big ones. Here are some solutions using nerdy math-based reasoning and compassion. Take car horns. Please! In Madison, where the drivers are among the safest in the country, this may not be a big deal, but it is a pet peeve of mine. The sound of the car horn is appropriately obnoxious. So, in addition to helpfully pointing out your fellow driver's error in judgment, it distracts and stresses the rest of us. Do the math! How often does the responsible driver need to use their horn "as a reasonable warning"? I think once a year is more than enough. Here's the binary solution: horns should be single-use, like air bags. After you toot your horn, it wouldn't work again until it's reset at the shop.

Where do you stand on the "Idaho stop"? I love to drive, burn gasoline, contribute to global warming, and so on, but most of my commuting in good weather is by bicycle. So I think about the ethics and physics of stop signs for bicyclists. We should obey stop signs - it's the law, but it's hard to restart a bicycle from a stop. Do the math! Bicycling against rolling friction and wind resistance takes about 30 Watts of power at 10 MPH. Accelerating from 0 to 10 MPH in 10 seconds requires, as you may recall, power = energy/time =  1/2 mv² / t  = 120 Watts. When I'm driving, if I stop and start, I burn a little more gas and hasten the climate apocalypse, but it's not as personally meaningful a calculation. In Idaho some stop signs are equivalent to yield signs for bikes. If no other vehicles are present, a bicyclist reaching a stop sign can legally proceed with caution, but not a full stop. There are potential downsides: intersections are the most dangerous spots for bikes and it might degrade the car driving habits of bicyclists. Still, the Idaho stop may start a national trend. It's now the law in Delaware as well.

As I said, I like to drive, but when the weather is poor, I usually commute by bus. This sometimes gives me the opportunity to observe our lovely city ... through windows covered by bus wrap advertising! Don't get me wrong: I am grateful for the subsidies I receive as a bus rider. Do the math! Metro provides 13 million rides per year with a budget of $58 million, so a ride actually costs about $4, double the $2 fare. On top of that, my employer chips in so I get an annual bus pass for close to nothing. Bus wrap advertising brings in about $600k, contributing a nickel towards the cost of a ride. Although it's designed to let light in, from the inside the wrap is somewhat opaque and depressing. More of us should ride the bus for the sake of the environment. This would also get more cars off the road and thereby reduce the damned honking. So we should try to make the ride more pleasant. Less of the dark dungeon and more delicious sunshine. As a compromise perhaps Metro could only sell "partial wrap" advertising, which earns less revenue but leaves the windows clear.

Finally, let's talk about the gas tax. Hold on to your calculators ladies and gentlemen. There's a lot of noise about the state of the roads and the size of the gas tax. Do the math! According to AAA, it costs you 60 cents per mile to own and operate a new car. It's about half that for an old car with more repairs but lower depreciation. The federal and Wisconsin gas taxes of 18 and 33 cents per gallon work out to 0.6 and 1.1 cents per mile for a car getting 30 miles per gallon. By comparison, the additional operating costs due to bad roads - repairs and depreciation - are 6 cents per mile. As I noted earlier, you subsidize my bus riding, but you also subsidize my driving to the tune of about 3 cents per mile through property taxes and federal income taxes used for road construction and repair. Finally there's the cost to society of the coming climate apocalypse, which will amount to approximately one gazillion cents per mile. So, what should we pay for the gas tax? Indexing the Wisconsin gas tax to inflation ended in 2006. If indexing were still in place, we'd pay an extra 10 cents per gallon or 0.3 cents per mile. Let's pay it and fix the roads! Also, a recently proposed greenhouse gas tax of $40 per ton of carbon dioxide works out to about 1.2 cents per mile. Let's pay that also and try to avoid the climate apocalypse! I can put up with the honking.

(see http:... for sources and calculations)

Sources and Calculations

Horns

https://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/americas-best-drivers.aspx

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/347/III/38/1

Idaho Stop

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/03/27/why-its-illegal-to-roll-through-stop-signs-on-your-bike-for-now

Energy consumption:

https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/bicycling

De Groot et al. 1994 Power, muscular work, and external forces in cycling Ergonomics 37:31-42

            air friction Fa = 0.2 v^2 rolling friction Fr = 4N at 10mph = 4.5 m/s, Fa = 0.2*4.5^2= 4.0 N. F = Fa + Fr = 4N + 4N = 8N. P = Fv = 8N*4.5m/s = 36 W

Energy to accelerate from 0 to v in time t, P = (Ef-Ei)/t = 1/2mv^2/t = 1/2*100kg*(5m/s)^2/10s = 125 kg m2/s3 ,

Bus wrap advertising

https://madison.com/news/madison-will-keep-bus-wraps-despite-complaints-advertising-that-covers/article_19299da8-a56f-55ef-aac3-ef9d38556448.html

https://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/about/advertise.cfm

20181105 Personal communication from Mick Rusch, Madison: 2017 bus wrap ad revenue: $632k

Gas Tax

https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2018/05/22/the-facts-on-gasoline-prices

            4/1/2018 US avg 52.1 (fed + state), WI 51.3 cents

fed: 18.4 cpg / 30 mpg = 0.6 cpm WI: 32.9 / 30 mpg = 1.1 cpm

http://www.tripnet.org/docs/WI_Transportation_by_the_Numbers_TRIP_Report_2018.pdf

            Madison  costs of deficient roads: ~$2,000/yr / 15000 mi/year = 13 cpm 

            vehicle operating costs: $910/yr/15000mi/year = 6 cpm

https://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/18-0090_2018-Your-Driving-Costs-Brochure_FNL-Lo-5-2.pdf

approx 60 cpm

https://www.moneyunder30.com/true-cost-of-owning-a-car:

                        yr 1: $11.8k, yr 5: $7.5k, yr 6: $5.9k

indexing: https://www.wpr.org/gas-tax-indexing-how-bipartisan-idea-ended-bipartisan-unraveling

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/opinion/climate-change-fee-carbon-dioxide.html

http://www.rff.org/blog/2017/calculating-various-fuel-prices-under-carbon-tax

$40/ton CO2 = $0.36/gallon  = 36/30 = 1.2 cpm at 30 mpg

https://frontiergroup.org/reports/fg/who-pays-roads (2015)

Aside from gas taxes and individuals’ expenditures for their own driving, U.S. households bear on average an additional burden of more than $1,100 per year in taxes and other costs imposed by driving.  Including: An estimated $597 per U.S. household per year in general tax revenue dedicated to road construction and repair.

https://nhts.ornl.gov/

total  vehicle miles: 2,105,882 million. total households: 118,208,251: 17816 miles/household (2017)

so $597/household / 17816 miles/household = 3 cpm)

Crime and Argument

(c) 2018         28 December 2018      Madison, Wisconsin

Lately I've been nudged to think some about crime, pacifism, and policy. Although overall arrest rates and police calls in Madison have been relatively stable in the last few years, there's been a disturbing rash of armed robberies in recent weeks. There has also been controversy surrounding the placement of cops in the city's high schools. The police chief complained last month about the "unrelenting toxicity of the incessant criticism and scapegoating of the police for society's complex issues" driving up resignations and pushing down recruitment of new officers. Then, I walked into my favorite cafe the other day as the owner was talking to a cop. The tip jar had been grabbed 30 minutes prior, which somehow led to a weird argument with a friend about pacifism.

I grew up steeped in pacifism. My dad was a conscientious objector during World War II - the good war. He served in camps mostly with religious conscientious objectors, Mennonites and Quakers. As an atheist, his pacifism was reasoned. It came from learning of the senseless horrors of World War I and knowledge that leaders could cynically shape public opinion to justify and use war to their advantage. On the other hand, as has been pointed out by George Orwell and others, totalitarian regimes tend not to practice pacifism. My mom was Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust. I grew up hating nazis. I asked my dad once about the need to confront evil. He noted that there will always be more than enough voices shouting for war. It's better to err on the side of peace. It's a somewhat extreme view, but, as Martin Luther King wrote, "Was not Jesus an extremist in love? -- Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you." Did I become pacifist? I was never truly tested, but in 1980 Jimmy Carter reinstated registration for the military draft in my freshman year of college. This was in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but it looked like we might be sent to El Salvador to fight for the oligarchy against the people in the name of anti-communism. Many of my classmates protested by not registering. I registered and wrote a youtfully indiscreet letter to the Selective Service claiming that I would accept military training but wouldn't promise how I might use it. War and crime are different. War, for instance in Afghanistan today, can be far away and abstract if you don't have a loved one there or dilligently follow the news. Crime is local and harder to ignore. Maybe that's why the argument with my friend in the cafe raised a lot of emotion. I was bullied a couple of times in high school, and I've been scared a couple of times since then by drunks, but generally untouched by violence. So I'm wary of my smug self-assurance of the need to forgive, love, and respond with non-violence. A conservative is a liberal who's been mugged goes the joke.

I have a couple of challenging hobbies that keep my self esteem in check and teach me humility. I play soccer, badly. I play the alto sax, badly. I also practice aikido, a Japanese martial art that emphasizes compassion for your attacker. In other arts the goal may be to disable your attacker, but in aikido one should blend with the attacker's energy and, to the extent possible, protect the attacker. It's interesting to look at our policy choices from this point of view. At the federal level, you can consider military and diplomatic expenditures. Compared to $700 billion per year for the Department of Defense, $40 billion for the combined Department of State and Agency for International Development budget seems low. As for the city of Madison, You could compare the police budget of around $75 million against $12 million for community development, but that's too simplistic. It ignores the $330 million for schools and additional infrastructure expenses that promote harmony.

 Despite Jesus' instruction to turn the other cheek, I think it's justified to prevent, avoid, and respond to attacks. But how much should that dominate our orientation? I don't know much, but I believe we should blend with the attacker's energy. We shouldn't necessarily agree with them, but we should see the world from their point of view. We should try to engage positively with our city and fellow citizens at least as much as we fear for our safety and guard ourselves. I think my conscientious objector father might have said this: as animals, we've evolved over hundreds of millions of years to fight, and our instinct is to counterpunch. However, yielding too easily to this urge can do more harm than good. You can see how this instinct has recently overtaken what should be patient and rational political discussion.

Sources

Madison crime statistics

https://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/bjia/ucr-offense-and-arrest-data-agency

https://www.cityofmadison.com/police/documents/annualReport2017.pdf

Madison Police

http://www.cityofmadison.com/police/chief/blog/?Id=17343

https://board.madison.k12.wi.us/files/boe/uploads/ero_ad_hoc_report_final_10.4.18.pdf

Martin Luther King

Letter from Birmingham Jail, The Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88. (per https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Letter_Birmingham_Jail.pdf)

Jesus

Matthew 5:43-48,  King James Version (per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5)

Selective Service

https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/proclamations/04771.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/12/dirty-hands/377364/

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/central-america-carter

US Budget

https://www.state.gov/r/pa/pl/2017/271029.htm

https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1438798/dod-releases-fiscal-year-2019-budget-proposal/

Madison Budget

https://www.cityofmadison.com/budget/2018/adopted-operating

https://budget.madison.k12.wi.us/files/bpa/uploads/2018-19_budget_book_07-05-2018.pdf