rethinking 'progress'

This is a, well, it's a reply to myself in this post the 'nakedness'. http://krisdenoyer.blogspot.com/2009/03/nakedness.html

The more I've been reading and even seeing during my past travels (hearing and seeing some people talk about MI). I've been seeing certain things that I thought 'progress' was good for. Like my progress forward in faith, intelligence, common sense, love... those things. Progress states you find a meaning, you move forward in your understanding of the meaning at this point inlife or time. Also, the meaning of where technology stands in progress, political progress, economical progress... etc. We make steps to show where progress stands and then you see this boomerang effect. It comes back, statistics show it in the book 'Hope in troubled times' (evidence cited in book).

So gun-ho on progress, perhaps it's our idea of progress in correlation to living (living in society) that's the problem. Instead of just living, we see things in a step form or a graph form (statistical form?).

Charles Chaplin stated, "What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning." Which has validity to it, maybe life is a set of desires. Desires to help, desires for love, to show love and to be loved, and even the desire to be successful and good at what we do. You have a set progress towards meaning and understanding. We should have a movement forward of desires, healthy desires (who defines healthy?, I ask myself this.). So maybe desires is a bad way to put it, not quite sure a different way to state it at the moment. I'm still working forward through this. As a Christian I have a purpose of living like Christ, not a progress of living like Christ but just plain out seeking, sowing and serving... like Christ and finding the ultimate reality, God (you can tell I've been re-reading velvet elvis).

Back to this boomerang effect of progress, bills are passed politically to help economically. These are passed and even in our boarders we seem some effect years down the line. Trying to help people buy homes during the carter era, opened up changes and manipulation to the credit card companies (during the clintons presidency). Which people bought homes who couldn't afford them (which continued into the bush terms, which we saw more of the repricussion at the end and beginning of obama), which banks were giving out money they wouldn’t be able to get back... by now everyone should know this story. We give out money to correct the economy (it's a 50/50 chance to work or fail. it failed in Japan, could work for us). I'm not gonna argue the decisions economically, just the idea of progress. This will effect car companies (the world, everything really. a breaking point), our idea of progress is kind of odd. To have things, homeless raised after bills were passed to help homeless people (sorry to be vauge... really vauge). At first it could work, but later on things change and progress doesn't change with the times. We had that step taken care of, the times move and the effect comes around needing another progession forward. Another step.

(basically, the boomerang effect... bills are passed to help a country, community. Wherever, it helps for a short time period but after a while, the poverty rate normally jumps in that area.)

Technologically move forward to help, leaves a lacking of understanding besides that machine that isn't working... I need to fix it to continue this progress. Instead of, if that machine breaks I can just continue where it left off myself. Easier said than done. I understand. Maybe I went all over place with this train of thought, perhaps I didn't. I'll come down to one thing. A personal help in hand, one on one or group to group... people to people. Economically, socially... etc. pass the bills, politics can move on. But, people helping people... the church being the church.

The boomerang effect can be more crushing in one huge movement, but one person or group at a time... personally helping one another. It's no longer a progress, it's a movement forward that has the advantage to change with the times.