What Makes Us Tick.

Blogosphere sage Great White Bear posed a challenge to readers. The request was to list what we believe, and why. Read his post here . He posted the following:

We all pretty much know what we believe. But ever ask yourself why you believe what you do? Did you have an epiphany? Ever think about who might have influenced your thought process? Do you believe the things you do simply because it's what your parents believed? My challenge to you.... Tell me who you are, what you believe, why. Who influenced you, who you admire. Post it on your blog or in my comments (let me know if you blog it).

Here's my reply!

I am:
descended from a long line of clever problem solvers, inventors, fabricators and thinkers that were too busy earning a living to develop their gifts into value-added products. My family tree is littered with stories of half-baked inventions and brushes with greatness, yet it never seemed to manifest among my ancestors. Dads stayed at home, moms took care of the kids; it was traditional Americana. Ancestors fought in wars, great uncles died. They all were hard-core Catholics. None of them went to college. My grandfather and father was/is a potent engineer and scientist that developed their skills and applied them to practical real-world problems and honed their craft through hard work. Everyone lived modestly and saved too much crap. I like to think that I inherited their raw gifts, only I had the privilege of being the first one to attend college. I stuck around, did a masters, a PhD and 4 years of postdoc work. I’ve become un-well read with a horrible focus that permits me to remain marginally competitive in my underfunded field filled with complete geniuses and I have to compete with cleverness and hard work. I chose not to reproduce, but I have a kick-ass wonderful stunning wife that married me on Halloween in a county courthouse while she wore a latex rubber dress. Like Great White Bear I am an atheist that thinks Christ had a clue but nobody really follows his ideas, they just say that they do.

I love being a teacher and researcher and I am grateful for the opportunity to do what I do. I make a good living, but I'm thrifty, I drive a pickup truck that has not been once washed, and the Jones' can kiss my ass. I'm grateful. I'm a workaholic, I still put in a good 60 hour week and have done 60-100 hour weeks since college started in 1985. Often I can't sleep at night because I'm too excited about work. I like to rub my dog's little coconut. I can tune a musical instrument by ear with great precision. I've played guitar for 26 years and can make sounds come from it that nobody else can. This is not necessarily good. I am a contrarian, I swim against the current. I wear purple too often and prefer generic corn chips to the name brands. I buy cheap beer.

I get teary eyed when I say goodbye to the people I care about. I miss my friends and family in the Midwest, but the job here is fantastic. I am not afraid of anything, and was once arrested for beating a guy to a bloodied pulp when I found him stealing my car. One of my gifts is that I can taste any beverage and tell you what booze to add to make it a killer cocktail.

I believe:

--that people live life like it is dress rehearsal for the real thing

--it is impossible to simultaneously claim adherence to the ten commandments and support war

--That we should feel shame if one child dies of preventable disease or starvation when our nation has so much to waste.

-- that you should surround yourself with people that care about you and know CPR.

--in the philosophy of the Enlightenment and the Founding Fathers. I believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In free speech. In protecting the minority from the tyranny of the majority. That you can't have freedom without democracy, but you can have democracy without freedom. (GWB said it so eloquently that I just lifted it.. [NOTE ADDED IN PROOF at 8pm: GWB=Great White Bear and not GW Bush, but you likely could have figured that out with the word "eloquently"] )

--that it is better to regret something you did than to regret something you didn’t do.

-- that NOFX "War on Errorism" is one of the most important albums of all time.

-- if it’s stupid, and it works, its not stupid.

-- if everyone sought evidence and facts over the unchallenging chloroform of beliefs the world would be a much better place.

--that ideology and blind adherence to a corrupt two-party system will destroy this nation.

--children these days remain uninspired by the natural world and the wonderful feeling of discovery.

--Too much money goes to defense, and defense is really just offense, and we should never risk a soldier’s life on offense.

-- Good food can cure a lot of problems.

--Devo was right

--If we took the money we spent to wage war and instead fed, immunized and educated people throughout the world, it would be a lot cheaper and would save lives everywhere. We’d create a world that Jesus would approve of. We'd solve war by not engaging in it and set a historical precedent our nation would be proud of into perpetuity.

-- Growing up on punk rock, the "music of delinquents", was the most mind opening experience that made me the way I am now.

-- I am your best friend or your worst enemy, you pick. I will give you my heart, soul and possessions or I can gut your family with a rusty soup spoon and not give a shit. It all depends how you treat me and those I care about.

My epiphany came:
When a lot of people close to me died in a short span. They sometimes went in horrible ways that turned my fragile belief in a higher power into a solid belief in myself and my ability to contribute to a situation. Now I’m in charge. I make problems go away. I am kind, giving and moral, but I don’t do it for an invisible man in the clouds-- I do it for those that I care about.

Thanks for making me fill out the scorecard, GWB.