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Here is the famed second issue of my newsletter. It’s been an active week. I discovered that I had a massive tax bill, prompting questions of how I was going to make money. But this week tutoring has picked up, so things look rosier. I’ve also learned how to write web pages, so that’s something interesting to know. If I get good enough at it, maybe I can make some money on the Internet designing web pages. That’s what every other writer/starving artist does on the Internet. There must be a demand.
Once again, let me know if there are problems with the newsletter, or even if there aren’t. And if you know others who I should email this to, let me know that also. I’m always looking to increase my reading public.
Maybe this doesn’t mean anything, but I’ve noticed something strange happening at the bank. Now when I go to the bank, and get in line with all the other customers, we form one all-purpose line, rather than making multiple lines at each teller. And then when a teller becomes open the first person in the single line goes to that teller. It’s simple and efficient, and fair. But I wonder where it comes from? There is a similar situation at our post office, but that has been forced on us with posts and ropes by some Director of Efficiency. Here at the bank, it just happened of our own free will. I don’t know what would cause people to change their line-forming habits all of a sudden. If I remember correctly, as a kid people made separate lines at each teller, just like they did at the supermarket. You were forced to put your money on one teller, and hope that they were going to get the job done. Sometimes, even if you were first in the bank, you got stuck behind the person who wants traveler checks, or has to close their account.
Now that era is over at the bank. It continues at the grocery store and WalMart, but for how long? Who knows what strange turns human habit will take when we can’t even predict or understand this line thing. Is there some economic reason for this? Is it because of the breakdown of the family? Or the influence of Eastern thinking on the Western intellect? What creeping forces make us change our ways? Are our explanations just rationalizing after the fact, or are there things in the air that lead us, like ants follow their chemical orders?
Will anthropologists and sociologists look back at this as a change in American thinking? Who knows. Who knew how the assembly line would change us, or people’s decisions to live in cities? If we could only master these little steps could we master our fate? Maybe so, but who could’ve known that we’d decide to form one line. All I know is I’m going to get to the supermarket early, and see if I can’t make some changes in this world.
It’s lucky for me that music is widely accepted as an art form in this world. Lately I spend a lot of my time dealing with music, especially trading concert tapes. It takes a lot of effort to do that right, but I justify the time spent because I’m collecting MUSIC, one of the finer things in life. Music is thought of as something that elevates humans to a higher life. But I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m just taking advantage of this belief to maintain a vice.
I’m sorry to say that I’m not very knowledgeable about music. For all know I’m tone deaf, but I don’t know enough about music to be able to tell. I watch those kids on tv learning to understand classical music, but I still can’t identify all those themes they talk about. I think classical music is beautiful, but I can’t follow along with it.
I certainly enjoy music, but I’m not sure that it’s taking me to the spiritual realm it’s supposed to. I find it easy to shift music to the background, and I feel I often listen to it more for recreation than enlightenment. If I spent all this time collecting comic books, I might have as much fun, but I certainly wouldn’t receive the same acceptance. I’d have a hard time justifying spending my time on ‘fluff’, rather than something that enriches me. There is a definite social difference between these activities. But I’m not sure that there is one in my mind. What makes something enriching? I’m not sure. I’d like to say the music makes me ponder, wonder about meaning, think about human capabilities and frailties, wonder about legend and poetry, and feel the throb of emotions. And it does all that. But in the end, it’s just music: it’s not making a living, or helping someone out, or learning, or making dinner, or planning for the future. Just music. Then again, as one musician said: “It’s alright Ma, it’s life and life only.”
Gee, another year filled with amazing presidential candidates. These ones are a particular breed, they all seemed to miss the part of history class that dealt with the ‘80’s. They are all disciples of Reagan’s economic plans; plans that I thought were universally accepted to have bitten the big one. Reagan’s idea was that if we cut everybody’s taxes, people would spend all the money they saved on revving up the economy, therefore nullifying the tax cut. Well what that did is give us a gigantic debt. People can push as much money as they want in to the economy, but that’s not going to pay the government’s bills. That’s what taxes are for, and there is no way that government is going to reap the benefit of those tax cuts, unless everyone decides to donate their extra money to the U.S. anyway. If the government takes in less money, they are going to have to spend less money or else we will have a deficit. That’s how it works.
Now come along Forbes and the other Republican candidates (where are the democrats? Isn’t anyone running against Clinton?), who are all proponents of this supply-side economics. It stinks. The rich guys get a tax cut, and they go buy a new yacht. They don’t build new factories and hire new workers, that’s crap. Even if they did, the government would still be making less money, and the deficit still grows. The government’s expenses are separate from how much money the economy grows, but we don’t seem able to understand that. Our only choice at this point is to raise revenue, cut expenses, and start saving. Don’t give me a tax cut, I’ll pay for the mess we’re in. Just don’t go making a bigger one.
Speaking of politics, I hope some real loonies run for president so I can vote for them. I would vote for anyone on this planet as long as they weren’t a politician. To me, being a successful politician means that you’ve sacrificed your principles and ability to think, in order to raise funds and garner votes. It means you’re some empty-headed suit, who has enough money and charisma to impress the party leaders and media. It’s possible that one of these politicians could be a capable leader, but I see no reason to expect it. Our election process does not select those who are principled, who understand the issues or have great ideas. It selects those who are good at being elected: who talk big, look good, and sound tough. Theoretically you could find someone who fit in both camps, but I feel that the two are usually mutually exclusive.
Look at it this way. Look at all the presidential candidates. Look at a picture of them all. Do you see anyone but wealthy, white, middle-aged men in business suits? They are all the same. It’s a factory, a politician factory. Look around you, at the people you know and work and live with. Do they all look the same? Could any of them become president, no matter how brilliant? Only if you hang around with a lot of old white rich guys. Oh yeah, and they have to wear suits too.
I’ll vote for anyone different. Give me someone in blue jeans, or a muumuu. Someone who’s young or old; Asian or female; anti-tax or pro electronic town hall. I’ll trust in dumb luck, because I think there’s a better chance of finding a suitable leader anywhere in America other than a convention hall.