How Would One Define "Social Realism" Today?

It has been documented that "Social Realism developed as a reaction against idealism and the exaggerated ego encouraged by Romanticism. Consequences of the Industrial Revolution became apparent; urban centers grew, slums proliferated on a new scale contrasting with the display of wealth of the upper classes. With a new sense of social consciousness, the Social Realists pledged to “fight the beautiful art”, any style which appealed to the eye or emotions. They focused on the ugly realities of contemporary life and sympathized with working-class people, particularly the poor. They recorded what they saw (“as it existed”) in a dispassionate manner. The public was outraged by Social Realism, in part, because they didn't know how to look at it or what to do with it." Kathleen Grisham

"The Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita economic growth in capitalist economies." Robert Lucas.

"The Second Industrial Revolution, also known as the Technological Revolution, was a phase of the larger Industrial Revolution corresponding to the latter half of the 19th century until World War I. It is considered to have begun with Bessemer steel in the 1860s and culminated in mass production and the production line." Wikipedia

Economic historians are in agreement that the onset of the Industrial Revolution is the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals and plants."Deidre McCloskey

Today: "The Digital Revolution is the change from analog mechanical and electronic technology to digital technology that has taken place since c. 1980 and continues to the present day.[1] Implicitly, the term also refers to the sweeping changes brought about by digital computing and communication technology during the latter half of the 20th century. Analogous to the Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution, the Digital Revolution marked the beginning of the Information Age.

Central to this revolution is the mass production and widespread use of digital logic circuits, and its derived technologies, including the computer, digital cellular phone, and fax machine." Wikipedia.

So, here, I have given you the documented historical background. Today, 2011, the nation is $14 Trillion in debt. Information accessibility is not limited to the upper class and entitlement is the norm. The Digital Revolution and the establishment of numerous government funded agencies has redefined the classes. We no longer divide the populous into "the haves and have nots". And what is the upper class today? At all levels the world community survives off of handouts and living off of other people's money. Equality is not achieved through a balance of work and output, but rather through government programs and indebtedness.

I wrote the following in October of 2009 and realized it would fall on deaf ears, however, I share it now in hopes that this forum will be more receptive:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: U.S. Welfare System: Giving Back

Dear Sir:

Those receiving benefits from the U.S. Welfare System should be required to give back based upon what they received, thus contributing to the cost of their aid.

Both the elderly and the impoverished utilize the current welfare system. Many of the elderly have already given by paying taxes and contributing to Social Security. They have contributed through channels already in place.

The impoverished should have similar requirements. Perhaps utilizing the current model of Federal Work-Study and Federal and Private Student Loans is sufficient in order to achieve this goal. The model I am suggesting takes into account the current guidelines cited at http://www.welfareinfo.org/
“Eligibility Requirements for State Welfare Program
Eligibility for a Welfare program depends on numerous factors. Eligibility is determined using gross and net income, size of the family, and any crisis situation such as medical emergencies, pregnancy, homelessness or unemployment. A case worker is assigned to those applying for aid. They will gather all the necessary information to determine the amount and type of benefits that an individual is eligible for.
The Federal government provides assistance through TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). TANF is a grant given to each state to run their own welfare program. To help overcome the former problem of unemployment due to reliance on the welfare system, the TANF grant requires that all recipients of welfare aid must find work within two years of receiving aid, including single parents who are required to work at least 30 hours per week opposed to 35 or 55 required by two parent families. Failure to comply with work requirements could result in loss of benefits.”
I am suggesting a compliance program effective at the onset of receiving assistance or subsistence and continuing when employment occurs after receiving aid.

Compliance Program:

TWO PHASES:

RECEIVING SUBSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

First of all welfare recipients should be required to perform services in order to receive subsistence. Just because they are unemployed or not able to work does not mean that they cannot contribute in other ways. They need to be accountable and responsible in order to receive assistance. For example: volunteering time at a homeless shelter or food kitchen, collecting recyclables, volunteering at their child’s school/or in their classroom, taking others without transportation, or who need assistance on public transportation, to doctor’s appointments, picking up liter (even if they use a stick with a nail on the end of it if wheelchair confined), leading reading groups for children or adults at local libraries, attending such groups, assisting others with required program submissions. A simple submission program should be installed on all associated government computers (i.e. FDIC banks, U.S. Post Offices, State Welfare Offices, etc.). In addition, a link on the welfare.org website for those who are computer literate and have their own access or public computer access, which allows for submission of this documentation. Those receiving aid must submit the documentation, to include a standard submission form, (i.e. Form WAF-1), just like a tax form, every 3 months to a receptacle at any one of the authorized locations, (i.e. FDIC banks, U.S. Post Offices, State Welfare Offices, etc.). Alternatively, they must scan it into a computer if they are computer literate and send it to an assigned email address for this purpose. Each authorized location should process the documents submitted to the receptacles. (We all know that FDIC banks, U.S. Post Offices, and State offices have time during the middle of the month to attend to these tasks. Tellers, government window employees all experience periods of slack time. Documentations of these activities should include receipts or signatures from approved service organizations and submitted in order to continue to collect their benefits. Again, recipients must be required to exhibit accountability and responsibility equal to actions associated with employment. Automation within the computer programs records the submission immediately, like a bank deposit, and a report listing those who are non-compliant, is available every three (3) months.

REPAYING SUBSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

When the recipient’s eligibility expires, with enforceable time limits so as not to encourage enablement, and after they are employed, which is a requirement for receiving aid, (see red text highlighted above) the former welfare recipient should be required to start paying back a percentage of what they received as assistance. The monthly or twice-a- month or weekly payments should come out of their paycheck as an automatic withdrawal and it should be a very small amount so as not to incur a hardship. The amount should be a reasonable percentage of their take home pay and equal to, say, 1% of their take home pay. Issue a tax consideration, upon filing income tax, for their compliance with this requirement in order to foster a positive motivation for complying. If they do not comply they must be put on probation until they are compliant and required to spend a percentage of their none working hours volunteering or contributing per the requirement to receive subsistence (see above) until they are compliant. If they are non-compliant at the end of a tax year, they should incur a penalty.

Currently all tax payers and contributors to Social Security directly accountable for the actions of welfare recipients and responsible for paying their way. Those paying taxes should see some efforts made by the welfare recipients to contribute to their own needs during and after receiving subsistence.

While the implementation of a program of this nature will require utilization of some funds already assigned, it also utilizes current resources without additional costs. Our government affiliated agencies, some mentioned above, have the capacity to assign additional tasks to current job descriptions without changing the pay structure. The positions will require the employees to be more productive within their shift time. For example, FDIC associated bank employees used to roll coins now we have coin rolling machines. FDIC associated bank employees used to prepare monthly statements with canceled checks for mailing. Many choose a paperless electronic statement delivery. FDIC bank tellers and customer service employees and State and Federal government customer service employees are assigned to be on duty at counter and window positions during specific hours during which there are times when no customers are present to receive assistance and all tasks are completed at their station. By law they have scheduled daily breaks and lunch breaks which allow personal time for non business activity. The processing of each submission should require seconds or a very few minutes. Only properly completed documents can be submitted. Wouldn't this service be more beneficial to the nation than the solicitation of credit cards?

Our fiscal health is declining each day with no end in sight. There are no permanent solutions, however, we must attempt to plug the hole in the bucket and hope for a better container.

Respectfully submitted,

So, how would you define/depict Social Realism today?

IS DEATH THE END? Experiments Suggest You Create Time

"Time and space are but the physiological colors which the eye maketh," said Ralph Waldo Emerson in his essay "Self-Reliance." "But the soul is light; where it is, is day; where it was, is night."

"Biocentrism" (co-authored with astronomer Bob Berman) lays out Robert Lanza's theory of everything.

Read about the author and his book at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-lanza/is-death-the-end-new-expe_b_774814.html

DANCE WITH DISHARMONY

Musical phrases take on a variety of melodious forms. While the average ear leans towards the comforting sound of harmonic major chords, discords cannot help but jar the ear and bring the listener back, quickly, from a harmonic lull.

Life is full of these inopportune, yet necessary reminders. Reminders that reality is full of pit falls and side roads. Not all of our journeys prove to be ones of reward and satisfaction. Some of our most interesting and important trips result from these unexpected blips in our time line of life. More often than not, we wonder why they happened and never think of them as important events or crossroads of significance.

Every event in life has a meaning. That is why each one of us has a unique dance. It is the singularity of these actions that makes our imprint non-replicable. No one can ever change places with us nor we with them. We can only try to understand each others process.

My life goes in and out of discord and harmony. Whose doesn't? Whether it is me or you, it still has the same feeling of instability. I think of particles in space colliding in mid-air at break-neck speeds, smashing themselves into smithereens. After some of these moments of discord we often feel as though we can never be whole again. But, some how the train-wrecked body and mind undergo a transformation and once again appear to be all together. It is only the spirit that continues to feel like the crushed ice in a snow cone.

When this happens it is time for a melt down. Truly, I mean that in a good and positive way. We have to let go. Stop making ice from water. Our tendency is to do more, not less. We need to stop trying. Put aside the things in our lives that are creating discord. If you do there will be room for harmony to return.

EXPRESSIONS OF MIRACLES

Fall in the Ouachita Mountain Region is spectacular! Brought my dad home from the Choctaw Nation Hospital in Talihina OK on the 22nd of October. The browns and greens and reds permeated the tree lined highway. Driving into the home place was even more beautiful as we made our way down the winding drive protected by a covering of splendor. Once inside I looked out through the floor to ceiling glassed vista onto the narrow deck that surrounds the wood framed house. Lying there were multicolored leaves of harvest hues more than a foot long! These gigantic reminders of the season gave me goose bumps! The seasons of life are truly expressions of miracles in action!

DANCING THROUGH LIFE

A professional dancer may take offense to my title, but the word and the application of it, succinctly express my view of how people navigate and interact in our world. There are many ways to approach my view: from the way people walk, to the way they banter back and forth in a conversation. Some people prefer to “dance” alone, and others can only “dance” with another or in a group. So let’s talk about “dancing”.

Here is the general definition provided by Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance
Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement to virtuoso techniques. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive, or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

I entered several posts on January 3. All are the words of others, but point to topics that recently came across my mental desk for review. I put them out there for the rest of you to investigate, digest, ignore, or whatever. In any case they are pertinent to “dancing through life” through my eyes. This forthcoming dance of words is going to take on the form of a story: my story.

The concept of “dancing and how it applies to my life, and maybe yours” has been rolling around in my head since I first overheard the term from someone who was defining an interchange between two people. The person said, “Oh, it’s just your dance.” It was a random comment, but one that stuck with me. I am not an overly social person, but I had never heard this concept defined using the term “dance”. From that point forward, I started to pay attention to my interaction with people in general and people as individuals.

One of the beauties of young children is that they do not have facades. The adage “what you see is what you get” really applies. This reminder came home to me a few weeks ago, and on several occasions since then, during our weekly video calls with granddaughter number one. She is at a very expressive age and stage, 14-18 months, and our video chats are great for seeing expressions and actions relating to our queries and comments. Since her understanding of vocabulary is vast and her speaking of words is increasing, we are constantly encouraging a performance of her latest accomplishment or new vocabulary word. So, a few months ago, in an effort to have her demonstrate that she knew where her feet were and who they belonged to, we said, where are your feet”? Her response was an action. She put a very disgusting frown on her face and turned her back to us. Laugh all you want. We did. But, how would we react to this same response at age 4, 15, or even 50?

I was sharing via email with my best and oldest friend, recently. While I would opt for regular and timeless opportunities to engage in sharing with my friend, I am always slipping in emails here and there. It is rare that I just sit down and write an organized, well thought out, message.

My friend’s reply to my latest email has stayed with me since:

Processing....and lots to process....

“As I do that I will report to you that your emails often mirror an observation of mine about you, that you are quite adept at storing up any number of topics and holding them in suspension until you are prepared to discuss them; at which time sometimes you let them dribble out, and every now and then you let them come gushing out all together! The prerogative of royalty.”

Here is my reply:

“Just returned from the dentist. A crown is in order, but I have been privy to that knowledge since Thanksgiving. I have started to read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. I found this book among a stack that belongs to my son. Perhaps it will provide solutions to this ailing soul that oozes and gushes. ;-) “

This is our dance. I love our dance because I always come away with a smile and a challenge.

In keeping with my friend’s observation, I am going to suspend my story for now. I will pick it up in the next blog. Comments are welcome. The more dances and dancers the better!

The Relationship Dance Can Be With Anyone You Are Close To

The Relationship Dance - Are You Partly Responsible for Your Partner’s Behavior?

Your partner is so prickly with you! She is so ready to hear “control” in anything you ask her to do. Whatever you ask her to do, she does the opposite. Your partner reminds you of nothing so much as a rebellious adolescent.

How disagreeable of her! I sympathize. Have you ever considered, though, that she way she is with you might be partly because of how you are with her?

Let’s ask your partner about you. She says that you are overbearing, controlling, sometimes even threatening. She says that you act just like her father.

The rebellious adolescent and the parent: Whenever you see a couple stuck in interlocking roles like these, you can be virtually certain that, even though they may not know it, they are “dancing together” each influencing the behavior of the other.

How can you end the dance? You must stop blaming your partner for the way s/he is behaving long enough to self-focus and ask yourself the magic questions that can break the spell: “How is my behavior influencing his/hers? What is my part in this?”

When you see how your behavior influences your partner’s behavior, you can change yours. You can step away from the dance. Without your participation, the dance must end.

Making the Journey of Commitment
Dr. David Sanborn

Parenting Adult Children

BOOK SUMMARY
Don't Bite Your Tongue is about parenting adult children. It counters the popular belief that parents must let go of their adult children and silence themselves. The book focuses on the continually lengthening period when both parents and their children are relatively healthy adults. Through the use of vignettes, it reduces the fire and increases the works in their relationships by encouraging dialogue between the two generations. Its self-reflection exercises, film lists, and bibliography can be used alone, in groups, or with adult children. This book provides a guide to navigate the ambiguities and ever-changing realities of the lives of parents and their adult children.
CHAPTER TITLES

Introduction: Get Comfortable with Ambiguity
Don't Let Go, Don't Bite Your Tongue
Know Yourself
Say Goodbye to Fantasy and Hello to Reality
Emerging Adulthood
Refilling the Nest
Relationships
Weddings
Grandparenting
Money
Eternal Triangles
Communications Tips
Conclusion
Yours to Write
How to Start a Support Group
Further Readings
Films and Videos
Literature for Book Clubs
Notes, Bibliography, Index

Ruth Nemzoff, Ed.D.
Author of:
Don't Bite Your Tongue:
How to Foster Rewarding Relationships with Your Adult Children
Dr. Ruth Nemzoff has four adult children and is a popular speaker on the topic of parenting adult children and family dynamics. She is a resident scholar at Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center.