“Anomy, Anomaly and Atrophy”

“ANOMY”    [Webster’s says: Anomie, or Anomy, means a condition of an individual or of society characterized by a breakdown or absence of norms and values or a sense of dislocation and alienation.] 

“ANOMALY”  [Webster’s says:  Anomaly means a deviation from the common type, rule, arrangement or form; irregularity; abnormality; an unexpected, unusual, or strange condition, situation, or quality.] 

"ATROPHY" [Webster's says: Atrophy means a wasting away of a body or part; degeneration or decline]            



                  At the Ghost Town Mall, 1+1 always equalling 2 is an opinion. 
                         (Words Don't Matter and Common Purpose Disregarded)                 
                                                         

Where what we got is what you'll want....We'll use a  sliding scale.  We'll open up our hearts each day and close at the same time.
We'll tell the world that you been shopping at The Ghost Town Mall.

Compound Indifference begets Compound Failures.  Tails can carry weight ONLY at
 Ghost Town Malls.

How can we present a body of work that addresses “denial” and the“evaluation” of
information that matters to effectively/functionally maintain proper balance in
individuals and societies? Is there a communicable connection between denial and
poor evaluation of available information? IF true, when is it newsworthy?


Denial of consequences with respect to addictive individual  behavior:
 
In the making of Addicts, individuals are led to 12-Step Programs. Much has been
  written about the self-defeating effects of denial. Often what is needed most
  is addressed in The Serenity Prayer: 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the
things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to
know the difference.

                 
Denial of consequences with respect to government work:

In the making of Lot 9A, government agents led a process involving an applicant for
a wetlands permit, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch (COE), the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Alaska's Fish and Game (ADF&G),
Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), and the Municipality
of Anchorage (MOA).


Prior
  to applying, COE told applicant that permits would not be issued for
  speculative projects. Applicant applied to build an office, retail, warehouse facility. 


After applying, government agents asked the applicant to withdraw the application.
Government workers did not inform applicant that anything would affect the
status of the application, but that Alaska’s Department of Transportation
(AKDOT), who the agents had spoken with, REQUIRED the withdrawal before they
could make any purchase offer.

 
Government agents did not tell the applicant that “preservation credits” existed on the
development site or that there had been a recent sale of “preservation credits”
for expansion at the Anchorage airport. The price paid was in excess to $100,000
for each credit. The applicant's property, unknown to him, had more than three
such credits. The Municipality of Anchorage assessed value of the land was
$105,000, at that time.

AKDOT made no offer. 

THREE YEARS LATER, COE issued a permit for speculative use. WIN-WIN-WIN
became LOSS-LOSS-LOSS. Applicant was astounded, disregarded, and left stranded.
No elected leaders challenged the poor work or the bad behavior. The agencies
"put a fork" in the applicant and the so-called threatened wetlands and nobody
cared.

 Applicant was needlessly detained. Site was needlessly cut into Lot 9A and Lot 9B. Lot 9B
is a conservation easement and Lot 9A is a used car lot. Trust was needlessly
lost. Time, money and energy were needlessly wasted. COE called it a success.
So it was called; so it was accepted; so it became Good Enough for Government Work!

 Does this behavior "sound
  familiar" to what is in the news with respect to government work? Unfortunately, Tails
  CALLED Legs are abundant throughout the infrastructure of
  government. It is a scary truth that can't be denied. In comparison, our roads
  and bridges need no repair at all!

Denial was/is government’s answer. The deeply imbedded flaws that made Lot 9A must be
recognized, acknowledged, and fully examined before the“BIG FORK” can be
expected to stop hovering over the American Experiment.

Government workers must learn to properly evaluate available information. A 12-Step Program
may be appropriate, but the source of their general dysfunctional can be learned
only by studying The Making of Lot 9A. We can't really blame government workers
for doing what was "called"appropriate
behavior, can we....but, to restore trust, we MUST point their faces directly
toward the many messes.

The necessity for recognition and
acknowledgement of multiple foundational mistakes is often tedious and not any
fun at all, but 1+1 ALWAYS = 2. It NEVER requires subjectivity. Ignoring or
denying simple mistakes can lead only to compound structural collapse. Compound
Indifference has begotten Compound Failures. When it doesn't matter, you may as
well stick a fork in the American Experiment.

“Calling a tail a leg will  never make it true.” (Abe Lincoln)

It will take a lot of courage (due to
individual and widespread embarrassment) to study The Making of Lot 9A in order
to look closely at the things we ALL know we should and can change. What is the
difference, then, between the denial of doing the same thing and expecting
different results and incorrectly evaluating all the available information?


Godspeed.