Recently I had written an article about what I coined as the “Corruption of Lawfulness,” (I do not know if this is termed something else in some philosophical school-of-thought, made up prior by someone else quicker than I). This idea asserts (in brief) that: “smart criminals who have found ways to abuse the system of laws and not get caught, will want to upkeep the same system of laws as the wealthy elite. This system, like ancient Sparta, will spend money in politics to keep the system conservative (stagnant) even as the system itself deteriorates from bloat of added laws (and their expenses) and concentration of wealth, and that the rich (and clever criminals) will be able to afford better lawyers than the good man. It is only the good (often poor) man who is weighed down by following those laws as breaking them is far more prohibitive for him than the others.”

 I go into more detail in my previous article, which you can find on the Daily Record’s website in case you missed it under “Corruption of Lawfulness."

Though the argument itself is rather depressing, I found myself joyous when I saw in my inbox that someone from Omaha had replied to the article. Regardless of what was said, feedback to an author is gold. They, generally agreeing with what I had written, added however a comment that I have heard a whole lot recently in regard to many other things in the world today: “what is there to do about any of the depressing issues around us?” There is also the opposite side of the ask, which is those who I’ve debated or spoken to about current events whose answers to fixing the world or the nation are far too simple and often boil down to things like, "to fix the economy the government needs to stop printing money. That's it." or “to beat MAGA all we have to do is urge more Democrats to vote this time.”

And in reflection of these questions about how to fix what seems like terribly faulty institutions such as education, banks, foster care, healthcare, birthrates, immigration, political parties, undue wars, billionaire donors, the tax code among all the others which I am sure to have missed and even global social issues like the male-loneliness epidemic, religious zealotry, rising nationalism – I shall try to provide not answers, but focus.

When I was young and the horizon was still endless, when the mysteries of the earth were boundless before the mass distribution of cell phones, my mother would take me to one of my older sibling’s tennis matches or basketball games. My eyes would catch the majesty of a stone retaining wall and I would climb onto it and balance as I walked from end to end.

My mother used to say, “Austin, be safe."

Years later she told me that she was very conscious in her effort to never say, "Austin, don’t fall,” because then falling would be in my mind, when she would rather my imagination focus on the things I needed to do to be safe. For all the running around in strange neighborhoods in the 90’s that I did with my siblings while untethered by cellphones, how to stay safe was forefront in my mind even when I was conquering imaginary goblins in a creek bed, and leaping as safe as I could from rock to rock.

Focus is the directed angle, but it is stoic philosophers who provide us with the needed temperament to approach the “problems" of the world.

"Make the best of what is in your power.” – Seneca, and from Epictetus: "Freedom is won by disregarding things beyond our control.”

To give energy to the fact that a problem is a problem is already putting the thinker on the back foot when approaching it. There is only so much emotional investment any person can give out in any given day (and doom-scrolling sites like YouTube and Facebook only shorten emotional capacity). Give out your emotions to the victory of defeating an issue, rather than apprehension in its coming or one's inability to confront it.

Above, I highlighted the word "problem” because I dislike this word. It has seen an extreme amount of overuse, and (as an educator and journalist myself), it seems to invoke the idea in children and in articles I read daily, that there is a solution like a math problem. Example: In my roles of working with teachers and counselors over the past decade, it has been observed that children interact with each other less and less. This is an identifiable "problem,” and the often-suggested solution I have witnessed from the educators is that they come up with a game where they force even the non-social kids to participate. Thus when the non-social child does not want to participate, the child exhibits defiant and problematic behavior, which is a new problem that has arisen from the ‘solution’ of the game.

The solution to children not interacting was lousy, but I have seen it thousands of times over a decade.

Back when I was a camp counselor, the summer camp had a small fountain and pond, which was surrounded by boulders that could be sat on, and great shade from a large tree overhanging above. Its water kept the area cooler on scorching hot days, and the few ducks were cute enough that many children who were non-social would sit in the shade of that great tree and take out drawing pads and journals. If anywhere was like a shaded vale from a fairytale, it would have been there. Over two years, I witnessed many children make fast friends there at that pleasant and serene monument, at what was a beautiful and magnetic spot. 

But our schools, with their over-air-conditioned, square rooms and square commons areas and strict schedules? The (regular) “problem" is that the ‘immediate’ answer to socializing American children in schools by forcing them into social games is an answer, and often the immediate one. However, if we were to change the environment of schools (making magnetic locations), then there would be no adult-forced social interactions, and after two years of proof of witnessing such a location, I can say through experience that it would bring about more natural and regular connections.

The focus of the adults trying to solve the problem was (is) wrong (enough), as it directly creates social problems with children who expressly dislike being forced to do anything.

For those who are looking for answers to the depressing state of many things in the world, it must be realized that we are the fixers of them. Not your neighbor or even your mayor, who himself or herself has been assigned these problems, to believe that a problem will be fixed by another, even he or she who is assigned it, is the height of folly. After all, the state of the world speaks to just that point; the people who have been assigned these problems have all failed. I would urge that spending little emotional capital on what you cannot change is the next step, followed by a recognition of the issue and an observation of what others are doing to fix it, if you have so taken upon yourself the human responsibility to change it. If their answer does not solve the noticed problem and the issue isn’t shrinking, but growing? Then both the answer that has been provided and the focus that led to the solution are wrong, or are only half measures, and allow corruption into the system (like the child who gets in trouble for not participating).

At best, most of us will never have any top-down impact from places of office, to affect things with half a heart with a wave of our hand like some toga-garbed Roman bureaucrat, but we all do have the ability to affect change from a bottom-up level by recognizing the issues in our society and culture and approaching them with a clever and intending mind.

And when a youth is struggling with the oppression of all the mistakes of not only his life, but the mistakes of all the men who have come before, will you be his ancient Greek patron, to provide aid and focus?

And when you debate, is the focus of it to be right or to, even in a loss, slightly shift the opinion of a bigot towards clarity?

What is your temperament and focus when approaching these problems of the world? Hark: it should not be the same as all the failed answers that came before.

Austin Petak is an aspiring novelist and freelance journalist who loves seeking stories and the quiet passions of the soul. If you are interested in reaching out to him to cover a story, you may find him at austinpetak@gmail.com.

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