Chaos Theory
We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. - Walt Kelly
I am of an age to remember Garry Trudeau's predecessors, particularly the satirical cartoonists Walt Kelly and Al Capp.
Capp's fearlessness contrasts favorably to Kelly's conservative approach to satire. Kelly, by taking the safer route, survived longer, but arguably, had a lesser impact on public affairs.
I mention these legends of cartooning after logging on this morning and reading a reaction to the call to arms made in the last 36 hours by The New Albanian on his NA Confidential Web log.
The poster, who styles himself as emersonlives, and the posting induced in me first a quiver, then a twitch, and finally a full-blown knee jerk. "Em" contributes yeast to the loaf that is New Albany's most widely read blog by posing as an equal opportunity balloon-puncturer and his "view askew" is most appreciated.
But this morning's reading forces the judgment that his cynicism has, this time, overwhelmed his reasoning.
"Em" sees the Constituency for Progress as a movement marred by a "tincture of egalitarianism" and as a prime example "of tyranny of the intelligentsia."
Way to jump on the bandwagon, "Em!"
But first get your facts straight. Were the intelligentsia to join in this movement, they would be welcome. But the CFP is as working class a movement as you'll find in this post-industrial age.
I'm a merchant, toiling 14 hours a day in a job I enjoy and that rewards me in many ways beyond the norm. I am of a generation taught that even in one's work, one can find fulfillment. Our parents and grandparents would have found that premise laughable. Work, to them, was nothing more than a means to an end, a necessary evil to put bread on the table.
I know I am fortunate to have found a vocation I enjoy. But there is nothing in my background or belief system that merits dismissing my efforts as a tyranny of the intelligentsia.
I am a country boy, a scholarship kid, a confirmed member of that large fraternity known as GDI's in college, a scrambler for work however I could get it, including decades of working for myself before creating a small, independent bookstore in a small Indiana river city.
Neither I nor any of my friends, family, associates, or acquaintances have ever taken up a verbal cudgel to diminish the value of another, particularly because of a lack of education. Your frame is bent, "Em." Valuing knowledge and education is not an elitist enterprise. But devaluing it, treating anyone who has sought knowledge as being an elitist, is the domain of the demagogue.
Pick a side, "Em." I can't see being egalitarian as anything but a virtue.
Any place that anyone can learn something useful from someone with experience is an educational institution. - Al Capp
It is not good enough for things to be planned - they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation. - Walt Kelly
I am of an age to remember Garry Trudeau's predecessors, particularly the satirical cartoonists Walt Kelly and Al Capp.
Capp's fearlessness contrasts favorably to Kelly's conservative approach to satire. Kelly, by taking the safer route, survived longer, but arguably, had a lesser impact on public affairs.
I mention these legends of cartooning after logging on this morning and reading a reaction to the call to arms made in the last 36 hours by The New Albanian on his NA Confidential Web log.
The poster, who styles himself as emersonlives, and the posting induced in me first a quiver, then a twitch, and finally a full-blown knee jerk. "Em" contributes yeast to the loaf that is New Albany's most widely read blog by posing as an equal opportunity balloon-puncturer and his "view askew" is most appreciated.
But this morning's reading forces the judgment that his cynicism has, this time, overwhelmed his reasoning.
"Em" sees the Constituency for Progress as a movement marred by a "tincture of egalitarianism" and as a prime example "of tyranny of the intelligentsia."
Way to jump on the bandwagon, "Em!"
But first get your facts straight. Were the intelligentsia to join in this movement, they would be welcome. But the CFP is as working class a movement as you'll find in this post-industrial age.
I'm a merchant, toiling 14 hours a day in a job I enjoy and that rewards me in many ways beyond the norm. I am of a generation taught that even in one's work, one can find fulfillment. Our parents and grandparents would have found that premise laughable. Work, to them, was nothing more than a means to an end, a necessary evil to put bread on the table.
I know I am fortunate to have found a vocation I enjoy. But there is nothing in my background or belief system that merits dismissing my efforts as a tyranny of the intelligentsia.
I am a country boy, a scholarship kid, a confirmed member of that large fraternity known as GDI's in college, a scrambler for work however I could get it, including decades of working for myself before creating a small, independent bookstore in a small Indiana river city.
Neither I nor any of my friends, family, associates, or acquaintances have ever taken up a verbal cudgel to diminish the value of another, particularly because of a lack of education. Your frame is bent, "Em." Valuing knowledge and education is not an elitist enterprise. But devaluing it, treating anyone who has sought knowledge as being an elitist, is the domain of the demagogue.
Pick a side, "Em." I can't see being egalitarian as anything but a virtue.
Any place that anyone can learn something useful from someone with experience is an educational institution. - Al Capp
It is not good enough for things to be planned - they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation. - Walt Kelly
posted by All4Word at 12:08 AM
1 Comments:
It should be understood that Joe Emerson asks a pertinent question:
What is comfort as defined by the natives (Joe) and longtimers (Me)?
Actually, an efficiently run city that promotes progressivism and seeks not to devour its young should be very comfortable for law-abiding, working people, who in effect are being asked only to vote for a level regulatory playing field and allow the creative elements to raise property values and overall prosperity.
They don't have to lead, just vote for the good of all and continue doing just as before ... perhaps a bit more cleanly.
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