New Jersey loves its shore.
That wondrous place where the sand is kissed by the Atlantic Ocean Songs have been written about it, movies made around it and until recently a great place to visit.
If you live in New Jersey or have followed the national news, you are familiar with the state’s budget battle. The battle resulted in government, including several state parks, being shut down during the Fourth of July weekend. One such state park was Island Beach State Park.
This park in particular became a flash point. It became “the” example of political arrogance. It showed we deserve to be powerless.
Island Beach State Park contains a vacation residence for the governor. Did our esteemed governor, Chris Christie, stand in solidarity with others that could not use the park? Did he even understand their frustration? Most worked all week and looked forward to a long weekend. Several, like me, had to work part of the weekend and maybe only had one day off. Now, the ocean was off limits. No frolicking in the waves. No playing in the sand. No reading a book to the melody of the ocean.
For all of New Jersey, except the Christie and family, the entrance to Island Beach State Park was barricaded by highway cones. Three rangers turned people away. The park was closed. The ocean was off limits.
So how did Governor Christie connect with the people he represents? He and his family used their vacation residence. They had the entire park to themselves.
The media soon circulated photos of a sunbathing Christie adorned in his oversized beach outfit. He was surrounded by smiling family and no one else. When asked if this was unfair, the Governor looked up from his straining beach chair and glibly told us:
“The governor has a residence at Island Beach. Others don’t. That’s the way it goes. Run for governor and you can have the residence.”
Soon social media was abuzz. On Facebook, a few media outlets were posting live video feeds with the governor’s statement. Angry New Jerseyians soon took to posting their live comments online.
My first thought was, “What a bunch of sheep; teach the guy a lesson.” The logistics were simple. Island Beach would normally have been filled to capacity on a holiday weekend. Thousand of people would have been in attendance. So it seemed simple. I almost posted a comment,
“Go use the State Park despite the shut down. There is no way three rangers can turn away thousands of people. Don’t sit on Facebook complaining, its your state park, use it as is your right as a resident.”
Then reason took hold of my thoughts. “Bad idea.”
Notwithstanding that the governor’s political arrogance need to be called out, it would be chaos to defy the governor in such a way. I understood there was one reason people could not defy the governor. They could not use the park in defiance of his closing. It was simple. People did not know kata.
Since people did not know kata, they “deserved” to have the park closed. Had they known kata, they could have swam in the ocean, played in the sand and otherwise relaxed. Without kata this was (voluntarily) lost to them. Even if only martial artists used the park, it would still be problematic. Most martial artists do not sufficiently understand kata so as to make this act of defiance feasible The truth is not enough people understand my saying that “Life is a kata.” ©
For now I’m going to let that hang in the air a bit. Think about it and see if you can figure out what I mean. If not, further along I’ll post my thoughts on the idea that Kata can be a solution to political arrogance.
In the meantime, I wish the governor well with his on going political battles, including his battle with his bulging persona and ego.
Until next time, I’m out and about. Riding my motorcycle to anywhere I please. Always, my kata is packed with me. For me and a few select others, our motto is “Kata – Anybody, anyplace, anytime.” ©
This weeks video features Sanchin Kata during a motorcycle ride alongside the cotton fields of San Tan Valley, Arizona (my home from 2004 to 2014).
Respectfully submitted
Sensei John Szmitkowski
For information on my “no-risk”, kata seminars, please visit the seminar page using this convenient link https://senseijohn.me/seminar-kata/
My seminars are the ONLY seminars that allow you to pay at the conclusion, thus insuring your complete satisfaction!
For a refreshing and innovative discourse on kata and bunkai, please feel free to visit Sensei John’s Kata Laboratory and “THINK * SWEAT * EXPERIMENT” using this convenient link: https://senseijohn.me/kata-lab/
© Copyright 2017 Issho Productions & John Szmitkowski, all rights reserved.
You may wish to view my other blogs –
my fishing blog which includes my fishing journals and the interrelationship between martial arts protocol to fishing http://flyfishingdojo.com
and
the Goshin-Do Karate blog at http://defeliceryu.com
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