What Would Elsa Do?

**If you haven't watched Frozen several times, you will not get anything out of this**

My daughter identifies with Elsa, to the point of completely ignoring Anna. Anna is sweet and goofy; fun and engaging. Elsa is a flawed badass who struggles through her own problems. A risk taker. If Elsa existed in a temperate climate today, she would be a biker. She'd trade in the braid for a brain bucket and the dress for some leathers and hit the road. Sure it's dangerous, but it's a fulfilling way to live. You learn a lot about yourself when you make your decisions less than six inches above pavement racing by at seventy miles per hour. Usually you find out that you aren't quite the badass you thought, but so be it. Knowledge is power.

In other news, I read today about New York State's program to buy out residents of Staten Island, who's homes were damaged in Hurricane Sandy. The article was interesting, and mildly nuanced, but the comments on the story were not. So much, "taxpayers subsidizing rich risk takers etc." I know little about coastal New York, but we are equally besmirched here in Dare County, NC. Few people who don't know this will read this blog, but, I must say: Emergency disaster relief is not flood insurance. And disaster relief usually comes in the form of subsidized loans. So, in the world of bail-outs, flood insurance and FEMA aren't really bailing anyone out. (They are spending money, but that is another issue.) Another interesting fact: flood insurance only covers loss above base flood elevation. So accepting grandfathered, repetitive loss properties(which are the minority), no one is really behaving irresponsibly--at least in Dare County NC, which is all I can speak about.

Do we take a risk living here? Certainly, risk that is typically borne by ourselves. Why do we admire Elsa, the badass, ice-flinging, self styled risk taking princes. But then we are more than happy to disparage those who choose to pay ridiculous insurance premiums and endure astronomical cost of living, to live by the sea. If you asked an insurance adjuster about a person riding a motorcycle or living by the sea--and she answered honestly--she'd tell you that those persons are a potential gold mine. All that agent could tell you is that someone who chose to do both of those things would be a real cash cow for the old company.

Risk is a bitch, but it makes the world go round. It makes us money and it makes us interesting. You win some, you lose some. I get that. When someone is taking different risks than you, it's pretty easy to ridicule their decision making process. As you can learn a lot about yourself near the pavement, you can learn just as much near the sea. Ask yourself: "What would Elsa Do?"

Sand Spurs, The Little Prince, and The Compound

Compound members are delighted to welcome a new member, plus one!. My brother, and soon to be compound neighbor (Lord willing by December-when his house is supposed to be finished), is now betrothed. This will bring the total compound population to seven adults, one child, three dogs, and three cats, in less than a year. This will be on less than one acre of land.

Recently we were visiting a friend on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She and her husband live in a wonderful big old house on maybe five acres. They are surrounded on all sides by farm land-creating a sense of borderless bucolic bliss. The social dynamic of the compound was called into question on occasion-gently, but sincerely. I value the opinion of this friend and so I've pondered the possibility of difficulties.

I will at this moment take responsibility for all of this. I want the compound, and I'm excited about it. I wouldn't say I've coerced anyone. I've laid out practical reasoning at every turn. But, I must admit, without me, the compound would not be. Because I've solicited and secured input and consent, the success of the compound will be a shared success. Because the compound could not have happened without my motivation (or harping depending on who you ask), I will be blamed completely for its failure.

So I take each question to heart, as I try to answer sincerely. But the truth is, I don't know if it will work out, or how really. I know what it can be, and I know what I hope for it. But the compound is a family, and at the end of the day they work, or they don't. Some work well. Some work satisfactorily. My immediate family has always worked well. I figure the compound will at least come off satisfactorily.

I've been reading The Little Prince to my daughter lately. That little guy had a serious opinion about harmful plants. He uprooted every baobab tree on his tiny planet in an effort to save it from certain destruction. His planet was, by his description, a sphere with about as much square footage as we have on the compound. (There I go talking in numbers.) The fact the he and his flower could not see fit to live there in harmony does give me pause. But alas, they were intense individuals…. His key to relative success was to remove problem trees before they became an insurmountable problem.

As I was mowing my lawn today, I came upon a patch of sand spurs. These are a species of grass that grows like most, by root, by runner, and by seed. The only problem is that their seeds are covered in a spiky husk. They look like a Lord of The Rings version of the worst kidney stone you can imagine. I have worked diligently to rid my lawn of this scourge. However, I've been busy with the building of the brother's portion of the compound. Obviously I've been forfeiting territory. Allowed a foothold they will spread like wildfire. They are well suited for our dry sandy little island. As I was pulling them, I could not help but think of The Little Prince. I thought, what a splendid metaphor! I will blog about this. All you nay sayers! The compound will work. We will weed out problems early and thoroughly.

But then, as I realized that the battle with the spurs would never be won on my effort alone, I began to think in grand communal terms. I actually had a vision of all compound members stooped over ridding our Eden of spiny nuisance. Then I realized, what if my brother and wife are sharing a spur that I don't even know about? What if my dog upsets my sister-in-law's dog, thus upsetting her with me. What if my brother and dad are sharing a conflict that I am not privy to? What then? The sand spur is a real bitch, but at least they are transparent. They wave in the fall breeze and seem to stare up at you saying, "Hey man, I'm here to wreck your yard, you got time to pull me out, because I literally have all the time in the world." What if the issues that might undermine the compound are not so forthright in with their intent to ruin.

I'll admit, this has me a little freaked out, but the potential rewards still outweigh the potential downfalls. I guess because the success of the compound has a little more to offer than a sweet lawn.

What Barack Obama, and Jax Teller Have In Common.

Everyone knows President Obama, so I'll elaborate on the other individual in my title first. I watch a program called Sons of Anarchy. It's been called a soap opera for men. It has it's weak moments, but it focuses on a theme that I find interesting--power and violence. Actually, I obsess about it. In fact, I'd say that I think this theme cuts to the core of our existence.

Sons of Anarchy is a series about a biker gang, modeled loosely on the Hells Angels, that vascilates between its dual purposes as a social organization, and a criminal enterprise. This seems like a silly premise, but as a guy who likes to ride motorcycles and hates working, it seems completely reasonable to me--about one eighth of the time. Without belaboring the point, the tension in the program is derived entirely from the motorcycle club's need to dominate as a criminal organization, and the realization of this end. Put simply, if people or organizations undermine the motorcycle gang's, superiority or business interests, the gang must react. The tension and interesting plot points are generated by mistaken identifications of aggressors, or underestimations of the aggressors capabilities. And so, the audience, knowing all, finds it extremely frustrating when poor, or misinformed decision making leads the club into turmoil. Jax Teller is the unreasonably handsome, charismatic leader of that organization.

Barack Obama is the unreasonably handsome, charismatic leader of the free world. I think the American public seems to be behaving like an unruly motorcycle club. Until two months ago, we were war weary. Over it! Bring them home, even though most of us couldn't name one man or woman that was fighting on our behalf. Now however, we've become motivated. Two journalists have been beheaded and paraded on You Tube for the world to see. I do not want to minimize the loss of those two men. They sacrificed greatly, to show us the struggle of other humans, a world away. They have been disgraced, desecrated, and as members of our clan/club, the crime against them is a violation of us. Something must be done.

Two days ago, we commemorated the anniversary of the September Eleventh Attacks. We were violated, and we reacted. If it had been a season of Sons of Anarchy, the fans would have been anguished when the club president, George W. Bush went after the wrong guy. In the ridiculous world of Sons of Anarchy, the characters are forever misidentifying the actual aggressor, and starting gang wars that result in unfortunate losses of members and operating capital. I would argue that we, as Americans, did the same in Iraq. The expenditure in hardware not withstanding, the September Eleventh Attacks cost approximately three thousand lives. If you add to that the first responders that are still suffering and dying, that number rises to four and a half thousand. To date four thousand four hundred eighty six American soldiers have died in Iraq. Over two thousand one hundred seventy five american soldiers have died in Afghanistan. This does not consider coalition forces, or indigenous individuals loyal to the United States. I'll let you do the math, but if you take any hardware costs into account, it seems unlikely that even the most creative accountant could say we came out on top.

I'm not suggesting that any legitimate leader can allow or permit aggression against their organization. The critical path to success lies in meeting out vengeance in the most efficient, judicious, and meaningful way. That can be a tall order for any organization, or State. An effective response depends on three elements: Resources, Capability, and Resolve. The United States Armed Forces have the capability and resources to spare. The resolve comes from the American people, and it is in short supply. At this moment, we, as Americans are angry. We have the resolve to defeat the Islamic State. It won't last. Precisely for the reason we've become so united. We want to see action-vengeance for the murder of two journalists. With air strikes, we can mete out the vengeance we want. Then we will lose interest. As we should. We should return to work, building our economy, our capability. The strength of our economy is the strength of our army.

Our long term defeat of ISIL, or whatever you want to call it will not come on the battlefield. It will come in the workplace, and more importantly, on the highway. ISIL is financed almost completely by oil revenue. Defeating ISIL on the ground would require an open ended time commitment, and an acceptance of their terms. They ascribe little value to human life. We do not accept this term, but if we try to engage them on the ground we will be subject to it. In the end, resources win wars. We as a nation need to focus on that. Our leaders need to focus on convincing, or coercing our Arab allies into confronting this problem on the ground. I do not doubt that we have the capability or resources to defeat ISIL on the ground, I just doubt we have the stomach for it.