eat cake, b*tches.

adding to the long list of poor decisions being made by the now-dominant right in the name of ideology, we have this gem... deny people food stamps!

sure, it wouldn't really save us much money and would wind up costing us more than we save, economically (there is a multiplyer effect with programs like this were every dollar spent by the gov't almost doubles in impact as it moves across the economic food-chain) but it makes our conservative hearts feel all warm and fuzzy inside. that's a sound basis for policy, right?

(NYT oped here)

I'm just wondering, who will the right blame once it is done decimating all its rhetorical bogeymen? At this rate, labor unions, planned parenthood and any form of social welfare will be all but non-existent come the next election. (forgive the hyperbole, its just how I roll.)

If they were smart, they'd let liberals open the borders and legalize gay marriage in all 50 states. at least then they'd have a platform. Until today's right wing movements find something to stand FOR, they will need a new cast of things to be against. and standing for something is not exactly the road most traveled of late.

1am philosophizing

just now I was brushing my teeth and, as often happens during this activity, my mind began to wander. I found myself thinking about my colloquium, as I do from time to time (probably because when people you respect ask you questions you can't answer fully they tend to stick with you until you can solve them. either that, or I need a new hobby.) and I somehow wound up back at Socrates.

the thought that specifically sent me running back to the computer was that what Socrates really understood and we seem to have lost is the importance of understanding for the polis. not this sort of narrow, overly-rational understanding of our personal self-interest as defined for us by parties and politicans whereby we as voters are supposed to choose almost automatically the platform that will best fill our bank accounts or defend our borders or restore morality or something along those lines. calling such A plus B equals C thinking 'understanding' seems to stretch, if not dishonor, the meaning of the word.

No the understanding Socrates wanted to give birth to in others was something broader, deeper, more fluid and alive. Understanding transgresses boundaries and escapes the limits of rationality, utilitarianism and even the self. Understanding dares to ask not just "which is best?" but "what is the good?" Understanding means asking questions without answers. It is ceaseless and exhausting and will yield no political platform or program of governance. It produces no tangible results or marketable skills.

And yet,

and yet without understanding all our rational choices and good intentions and polling and platforms and political maneuverings are all useless. I look at the political scene and I find my self wondering how this could possibly be happening. How can people believe and act the way they do?

Sometimes its an honest disagreement about values and priorities, and that I can accept. However, I think much of the nonsense we hear is allowed to dominate only because we lack a certain fundamental understanding. We do not understand the world, or our role within it. We do not understant those around us or the complex web of interdependence we inhabit together. We do not even understand the role of government in our lives; what we should demand from it and what we should never allow it to do.

So, I'm going to keep at this philosopy thing for as long as I can. Giving up on understanding just feels too much like giving up on the world.

photoautomat

Berlin indulges my love of the photobooth.
(as do Anna and JoEllen. thanks ladies!)

고맙다

On the bus from Berlin back to Prague, eating gummy bears and sipping a Becks. In other words, as I watch the lanscape roll past my window I'm feeling incredibly thankful. Thankful for the sunshine in the trees, the pictuesque clouds in the sky, above all just thankful to be alive. Why should a landscape lift my spirits or the view from my window elicit gratitude? Who knows? I like it though. :)

choose one...

Suddenly I find myself wondering, why is it so hard to tell the difference between treading water and getting somewhere?

I'm rather restless these days. Unsure if its growing pains or boredom. To je jedna? (perhaps its all the same?)

Maybe the trouble with having a wide open path for your life is, its impossible to know if you are actually getting anywhere. Is the place I'm heading somewhere worth going? And how on earth does one measure progress in that respect anyway?

힘들어.힘들어. Growing up is more difficult than I thought. *sigh*