more bitching

while enjoying a beach experience recently, it occurred to me that those who rail about government, against government never seem to get it right on their bitching. what are they angry about? it does seem that when they get into some sort of trouble, then they are angry that the government does not do something about their particular issue. once again, Libertarians trouble me on their absurd ideas when it comes to government and governance.

back to the beach. had it not been for a State Park (read government), it would have been far and away tougher to enjoy a pristine beach. if the private enterprisers had their way, the beach would have been littered with high rise condos, a private golf course and absolutely no access to the place by those with lesser means. the same might be said for Yellowstone National Park where you would have to sneak onto the land because Ted Turner owned it and that was that. were it not for government, we would hardly have drinkable water available to all or electricity to rural areas. no decent roads except for a few and pricey toll roads. no bridges and so on and so forth. government can get big things done in a big way. and were it not for the big roads courtesy of government, the private car dealer would be unable to interest anyone in the junk they sell. there is enough private enterprise around to still adequately screw 'joe citizen'. does anyone really believe car makers would have installed seat belts of their own accord? or airbags? or decent tires for that matter. the anti-government types get plenty of help from the government either directly or indirectly to make their tidy sums.

there was an important line from the movie MASTER AND COMMANDER which Russell Crowe spoke to his doctor friend who was constantly whining about the injustices of the navy life. the line goes something like this, "men must be governed, sometimes poorly admittedly, but they must be governed". can this be denied? what Libertarians want is to be left alone by government until such time as their house is on fire. volunteer fire departments are notoriously less efficient than government operated ones.

would less government in the US of A benefit anyone to any magnitude? there is no one who has gotten to a position of wealth apart from help from the government directly or indirectly. i think those who yearn for total freedom are those who quite likely are pretty much amoral in their affections for their fellowman. it would be well to remember that history is mostly about nations that thrived off the backs of their citizens so that a relative few could enjoy the "good life". Greece and Rome lived off of slave labor. Russian Communists lived well off the labor of the other 95% of the population. pick a nation state and the same pretty much holds true. ironically, it is government that controls the unwashed masses as they labor to support the upper crust. the same is true for America the beautiful except that the government tends to level playing fields vis-a-vis law and cash distribution. American government has by and large worked pretty well within the Constitution. what do Libertarians want to change?

i would rather opt for government than opt for abject slavery to some weaselly white guy who owns a car dealership.

Rethinking the Important Stuff

rethinking? i do that all the time but know that for me, there are no measurable results. i cannot say that i am happier or less happy or content. what is the standard? i don't know.

for me, i find no answers in church. i don't find the authenticity that is so popular today. things are about as shallow there as anywhere else. perhaps relationships are more real in a smoke filled bar though liberals are closing out smoking so that they can live to be a 105. for what?

i think we take life pretty much for granted until we discover that there is a limit to it. it is much like taking erections for granted when you can have them rather easily. when the day comes in which an erection is unusual, if possible, then you can really appreciate a working member. that might sound a bit crude, but for normal males, good erections are important.

that to say this, the measure of a rich life is not taking for granted important parts of it. not everything is important. i do think many important aspects relate to comfort. a hot shower, a good bowel movement, clean sheets and the like are important. need i say sex? those are individual things. communal important items would include laughing with others, perhaps crying though that is not an approved part of american culture unless it is faux weeping at the right thing the media decides should be wept over.

unimportant things outnumber the important but the unimportant are given more weight by society. unimportant things would include silly patriotism. dying for your country in an absurd war is the ultimate act of unimportance. we can dress up that pig all we want but it is still a pig. anything that is a fad is unimportant and that list is too extensive to bother with the time. reading a particular book because the New York Times thinks it is worthwhile is very unimportant. only books which bring pleasure are worth a read. for me that is mostly sci fi from the 50s and 60s. social commentary is a wasted effort unless you are from another planet. if anyone has to read a book on their social environment to have a clue, then that person is a moron anyway. books on art are an abuse of energy resources.

the most important thing is the luxury of being left alone as much as possible. others devour time which cannot be given back. every moment spent in a waiting area is time robbed. someone who sticks a gun in your face and demands your wallet will take up less of your time than a doctor or faculty adviser or most of society. therefore, carry little money and no credit cards in your wallet. save your life.

time, time, time. tick, tick, tick. time is not standard. it speeds up a little every birthday. it doubles its speed every decade of life. when you turn 60, you can feel it moving. nothing you can do will slow it let alone turn it back for a second.

every moment given to the unimportant is gone from you. the question is what is important?

This is a test post to my blog.