I keep hearing this new catch phrase: You’re so Fire. Or, that’s so Fire. My first time was the Liberty National Insurance commercial where the two men are knitting and one refers to the other’s matching sneakers to the knitted onesie suit as “dude, that’s so fire.”

At first I thought it was ridiculous. But then I realized that maybe it wasn’t. The flame has been an icon of creative brilliance for some time; especially those who consider themselves Burners* (*those who attend the Burning Man event). Why? Because, it’s about inspired passion.

That’s so Fire is respect for an idea that has come to fruition. Someone took a risk. Someone put a thought into motion. Someone put time and effort to create something new. That’s FIRE.

RADICAL SELF RELIANCE

Burning Man also promotes radical self-reliance – creativity and self-reliance. What does that mean? I suppose it means something different to each of us.

Let’s take the recent shortage of baby food in the USA. The nightly news shows empty shelves where we have come to expect the many choices of baby food to be well stocked. In fact, over these past few years there have been many shortages of the products we often assume will be readily available.

Our expectations demand that someone be responsible to have those shelves stocked. Who is to be responsible? And, why? It’s not just our food supply. Its oil and gas. It’s road maintenance, bridge repair, electricity. We assume someone is looking after these things. But, what happens when there isn’t or the person we are depending on fails to provide? What happens when a system fails or is disrupted? What can we do other than complain?

Should we be teaching ourselves more of the things we’ve forgotten – basic medical skills, gardening? Isn’t it time we stopped taking these things for granted? If there was no baby food to be had, what do you do?

EXPECTATIONS WILL BITE YOU IN THE ASS

When cars were first introduced, they were a luxury. Now, they are a necessity to most. It is the same with our phones and our internet.  How angry we get with the slightest inconvenience, yet, oh so easy to start casting blame. Sometimes that blame is targeted in a correct direction but most often, it’s not.

Gas prices are so high in part because we haven’t diminished our demand. People are ready to complain but still planning to take that road trip.  And why are they driving? Fear of cancelled flights! People are disgusted with the disappointing service of the airlines. Remember when flying was a luxury?

People around the world have been paying these high gas prices for years. Americans are gluttons for “muchness” and expect it cheap. We spend half of our lives accumulating so much shit that we spend the second half trying to get rid of it. When do we, as a country, say Enough?

HEY, AMERICA – TIME TO SAY ENOUGH

Covid taught us many things. One was the unfairness of the treatment of black people in America. We all watched George Floyd murdered in front of our eyes. We couldn’t turn away at how often it continued to happen. We, as a country, finally said, “Enough!”

Uvalde. The inane ridiculousness of no background checks, easier to purchase an automatic rifle than it is to rent a car, and to ignore mental illness when purchasing a weapon. These are common sense solutions that can be agreed on by anti-gun groups and proud gun owners. Gun ownership should come with responsibility, just like a car. Finally, our country is saying, “Enough!”

Since COVID, I can now understand how this country escalated into a Civil War. I can understand how the Nazi’s were able to gain power. How people, feeling helpless, stood by and did nothing to stop it.

So many people are angry. Very angry. People that attacked the Capitol on January 6^th felt they were doing the right thing. People watching the angry people attack the Capitol were angry too.

Violence is an extreme response. I believe people are basically good. At the end of the day, we all want pretty much want the same things… to be needed, to be safe and opportunity for growth.

Why do we feel so disconnected on fundamental issues? There’s more than one answer to the questions being asked. Maybe we need to revise the question.

It’s time we ignited our passions to create solutions.  It’s time to say “Enough” to the blame-game and contribute ideas that are so Fire!