Michael Janzen

We took Katie to the Sacramento Zoo this past weekend and while we had a good time, I came back with the general impression that we’re doing a terrible disservice to the animals there. Seeing the Orangutan, which translates from Malay to man of the forest, really pushed me over the top and convinced me that detaining animals for out amusement is really terribly wrong.

The Orangutan seemed more like a primitive early human to me than what one might call an animal. Later I read about a condition called Zoochosis that surfaces in animals kept in captivity. For some species the trauma caused by captivity is more obvious through their behavior but I suspect all animals in captivity suffer from some level of Zoochosis. This seems logical at least.

Humans in Voluntary Captivity

Then I began to noodle over my own captivity provided by our society. Everyday I sit incented to work at this desk in the captivity of my home office. The captivity is voluntary to a degree since my bills would not get paid if I left my desk. Since I want to live in society I must conform to a certain set of activities in order to maintain the protection this societal cage provides.

Then my thinking moves out to the other people in society and the unnatural environment we’ve constructed and wonder the same thing. Could we all be clinging to the imaginary bars of our cages wishing subconsciously that they would disappear, while at the same time working hard to maintain the system that makes them very real?

Waking Up

This would explain my own fascination with the freedom tiny houses represent and their growing popularity with the general public. When times are good and we’re well-fed our cage bars seem more like comforting protection than a trap. When times are tough the bars feel as if they close-in on us increasing the pressure and stress we feel.

Everyone reacts differently to stress. I think I’ve been observing two common reactions from humans in captivity. Some cling to the system and wish things improve so they can go back to their happiness inside the cage, so they keep up their normal routines as best they can. Others freak out a bit and work to escape as they realize the cage is really a trap, and begin to reject the system and attempt to reinvent it in another form.

Catch-22

The trouble with all of us animals, in and out of the zoo, is that our cages are part of a much bigger world. If the zoo animal escapes it will be recaptured or killed, depending on the danger it represents. If we escape and reject our society we are subject to living a dramatically different life or jailed, depending on the danger we represent.

So we’re all very much stuck in a catch-22 unless the entire system changes. I bet this is why there are so many people wishing-for and preparing-for civilization collapse. They’ve collapsed under the weight of society and their stress reaction is to see things that may or may not be there. Or you could look at from their perspective and say they’ve woken up to the lie the cage represents and see the looming systemic failure approaching.

In Search of Solutions

I’m always in search of ways to have my cake and eat it too, which may also be a problem because I’ll tend to cling to the old while seeking the new. For example extreme downsizing seems more and more like the right direction to move in but it’s just a smaller version of the societal cage we all live in now. But it also might be a point along the path to finding real freedom.

I’m also really beginning to believe that seeking a natural modern human environment might need to be part of my ultimate goal. I’m not sure what this is exactly, but I suspect it involves other like-minded people living tribally (for lack of a better word).

This last statement of course suggests a step backwards but I don’t know if that is really a requirement. We have definitely gone too far, but I doubt if going back to how we lived 10,000 years ago is the answer. It must be something in between.

So now you can clearly see that I think too much… or that I’m suffering from Zoochosis. LOL

Julia got this little interaction on video the other day. Katie is amazing… almost 3 years old. I can’t believe how time has flown by, and she just gets more fun everyday.

I’m am so lucky to be able to work-from-home. Katie came and reminded me it was lunch time when noon rolled around. She plopped herself in my chair when I stood up for a second with a book and started reading out-loud. Julia put some really cute pony tails in her hair today too.

Out of the mouths of babes… Katie just said, The Pigeon is Driving My Daddy as I chased her around the house. She is a very funny girl, and as you (and Mo Willems) can tell has definitely not missed the point.

Last Sunday we were working out in the front yard a little and Julia asked me to carve out some space in a some juniper bushes for Katie and a new fort. It was mostly an open little area so all I had to do was clean out the dead branches. Then just for fun I threw a pallet down, propped it up with some rocks and tossed a piece of plywood on top. I’ll build here a better little fort soon but it was cool watching her play. I’d like to built it out of pallet wood but to avoid splinters and improve safety I might just break down and buy some lumber when we build the real thing.

I snapped this photo of Katie yesterday morning… I asked her to smile but this expression popped out. I should be used to it by now because I get it a lot from a lot of people for all my seemingly hair-brained ideas. But now I’m getting it from my little girl. C’est la vie

While we were cooking dinner tonight I left Katie in my office with her books and YouTube. I forgot I left a Sharpie in my desk drawer and when I returned on one of my check-ins I found this… luckily my little girl wasn’t covered. In fact there was no ink anywhere except on these few keys. Looks like I lucked out huh?

Here’s my very smart two year old (actually almost two and a half!) on November 4th before the final election results came in.

Julia (mommy) made a little video with captions, sound effects, and everything on iMovie last night. It stars our daughter Katie and nephew Akash. Atashi, my sister-in-law had a big fund-raising event to host in San Francisco for Narkia the non-profit she runs and needed an overnight baby sitter. So… Akash came to play and sleep over! Katie loved having her little cousin visit.

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary and we took a trip with Katie, Grammie, and Pop to the pumpkin patch. Katie got her first pony ride and Mommy did a cool video.