I have to laugh.... right next to the e-mail you sent me, was an e-mail from "Michelle Obama," wondering if I would take the time to wish Barack a happy Father's Day. I won't bother to hit the "yes" button, knowing the next step is a screen asking how much I'd like to donate.
Yes, why aren't you a tea partier? Like everything else, it's all genetics, right? Thanks to your genes, I'd say you are temperamentally conservative. Conservative in the meaning of the word that is talking about being moderate, cautious, somewhat adverse to risk and novelty/craziness, and also interested in conserving elements of the past and of nature. A "saver." The tea-partiers call themselves conservative, but it's a whole different thing, in some ways they're almost the opposite of that meaning of conservative. They wouldn't admit it, but they're more radicals than conservatives, like some kind of barbarian tribe, bent on destroying civilization. So, actually, if your description of yourself as a selfish beast -- I remember your family used to call you "Beast" ... was that short for "Selfish Beast?" -- is accurate, then it all makes sense. When you were young and forward moving and hoping to be a accumulator who was going to amass a successful material life then make sure it was sheltered and secure, then political conservatism made perfect sense. Now that you're more on the fringes of society, no longer a person who is actively working at raking together a hoard of wealth, and fending off any hungry mother fuckers who might try to challenge you for it, it makes sense that you'd be politically left leaning. You are being consistent.... a true sign of a conservative. The ones who aren't being consistent are the uneducated, futureless morons who have been duped into thinking that if only government was abolished, they would rise to the top like helium balloons, and once again enjoy the benefits of being Americans, destined by God to be like the New York Yankees -- always dominant, happy and free.
Back to what that French guy said, which you never commented on: "I think it's not possible to be happy without being generous to other people." This guy is not religious, by the way. France is considered a "Catholic" country, but very few French people believe in god, mostly just the older ones that are dying off. Anyway, if that statement of his were true, then a truly selfish person would need to find a away to be generous to others. Otherwise, he'd end up making himself miserable.
Yeah, it's too bad Jane and Paul were into these GM and Chrysler trucks. It's kind of a mini-tragedy to be responsible about careful maintenance and all that stuff, but to start out with a vehicle that is essentially rotten to begin with. What a lesson it gives to people, when most stuff is shoddy and disposable -- there's no point in taking care of anything. Just throw it away when it's broken, and buy a replacement.
I have to admit, I'm not at excited about Obama as I once was. I think part of it is that I'm psychologically withdrawing a bit, to prepare myself for not being devastated if he loses. It would be a different story if he was out there making a difference, but right now he just seems like a guy who knows he's been stalemated in chess, and he's only moving the pieces around so it seems like he's still trying. But I'll still vote for him, since his opponent is high-school bully boy Romney.
--edward
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