Opus 2019-045: Stealth Citizens

Are there any pockets of livability in Venezuela?  Of course I mean outside of the elite socialists running the country for the good of the people.  Two things socialist countries have in common.  They all have the masses of people living in poverty.  They are equal and poor.  At the top of the pile you have the anointed leaders who are living in luxury.  Venezuela is in lock step with that model.

Are there any quiet little groups outside the elites that have managed to have enough to eat?  Are there people that keep off the radar, living in seclusion, who have a stable life in the midst of chaos?  If there are I would like to know how they did it.

I  wonder because it looks to me like the progressives in education, government and the media have managed to brainwash a sizable portion of the young people approaching voting age.  With the fascist executives of the social media giants doing everything they can to control information there is little hope for the masses.  More and more of the young generation are being seduced by the siren call of socialism.  They think that redistribution of income and equality across the board will raise everyone’s boat to a comfortable level.  They think that you grow wealthy by printing more money.

I use “fascist” advisably.  Fascism is not the same as communism.  One of the things that is distinctive about fascism is that the government gets in bed with big business instead of destroying it.  Another word for it is crony capitalism.  Fascist dictators like Mussolini convinced the rich and powerful that if they would cooperate then they would rule.  Life at the top was good.

I also use “dictator” advisably.  What most people don’t understand it that dictators take power through due process.  They are elected by the masses or appointed by the elites.  They do not stage a military coup or a bloody revolution.  Often they use coercion and violence to make people insecure enough to vote for a strong man but in reality the population makes that decision.

I don’t know what the key is.  I don’t think it involves living totally off the grid.  Eventually you have to come to town for coffee and duct tape.  Then they get you.  I will keep looking and hoping that I am just being a cynic.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-044: Thanks Thoughts: The Self Made Man

As I was being thankful this morning it crossed my mind again how much has been prepared for me by the hands of others.  In the context of history I am living in unequaled luxury and wealth.  That is because of thousands, if not millions, of people who have done their part as they work to earn their daily bread.  I asked myself, “How many things that you can see could you have made yourself?”  At first the answer was, “None.”  I could not have even painted the walls as well as they are painted, let alone make the paint or brush.

I finally found something I could have made:  A coaster.  It would have been made of a chip of wood or a chunk of rock I ground down to semi-flatness.  It would not have been square or round.  It would not have a nice decoration on it.  An archeologist would wonder what it was but it would be a place where I could put my coffee cup in the morning.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to make a cup that will hold hot coffee and grow the coffee bushes after I figure out how to get clean water.

Thank you to all the hands that went into making my life good.  I thank the God who places each of us in our place.  I hope I have done my part in the Rube Goldberg plan of life.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-043: Firsts: Pandora

By now the bar for new music should be so high that very few new compositions are ever heard by the general population.  There would not be time to waste on most of it.  It is kind of like being on a diet with a limited number of calories in a day.  You are not going to waste your time eating unleavened bread when you have pizza available.

I had forgotten how much I have forgotten.  Recently my children got me going on Pandora.  Pandora is a music ap that lets you pick the type of music you want and tailors its selections to your preferences.  It has been an eye opener.  I started listening to oldies and I was shocked at how many great songs there were in the music libraries.  Song after song that I had not heard in twenty years touched my ears and a nerve at the same time. 

Then I tried a thread with hymns and found out how many recordings have been made by different genres of musicians and it was surprising how many of them were worth listening to.  I went to the topic of Praise Music and again, the good stuff keeps flowing. 

Why is it then that when I turn on the radio I get nothing but drivel?  Why is it when I go to church I get nothing but monotonous sap that was written by people with a limited grasp of theology and knew three chords on a guitar?  It is like going to Flemings and choosing to eat the saltines I brought with me.  I think the congregation puts up with it because it allows people to spend time on their phones without missing out on anything.

To those leading the “worship teams” of the world, get an I-Pad and download Pandora.  You might be shocked out of writing your next song as you bask in the geniuses of the past.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-042: Baby Talk: A Future Progressive

I continue to see a lot of similarities between the actions of my infant granddaughter and your typical liberal.

Infants have their physical ability and mental perception very much entwined.  I often wonder how much of the developing coordination is a problem of muscle development and how much is limited mental understanding.  As I watch my granddaughter I am struck by how many simple things she cannot seem to get done.  I was watching her try to unfold a paper she removed from my pocket.  She kept coming back to it but she never found success.  At one point she had the two parts divided in two hands.  All she needed to do was pull.  Instead she let go.  The difference between her infant mind and a liberal is that she learns from what she observes.  I expect that in a few weeks or months she will be able to do this and move on to other tasks.  Liberals keep being confronted by simple facts and can’t seem to grasp what they mean.

At this stage our baby is not able to put anything back.  You  may have noticed this.  In adolescents it is demonstrated by the inability to clean up their room.  Grown men are often incapable of picking up their sox.  My daughter spends much of her time picking all the little parts up and putting them in bens and buckets.  In my early morning grandpa times I do the same thing.  The baby is quite capable when it comes to removing items but putting something in a container is beyond her.  Babies and liberals take but they cannot give.  They think there will always be someone to pick up after them, put money in their bank account for them, go to work for them, pay the utilities for them, etc.  Life is a never ending series of someone else being the adult.

Babies move it until it breaks.  This morning the focus was a mechanical scale I have in a corner.  The baby likes to climb up on it.  Today she discovered it would rock and when it does it makes a noise.  I was entertained by a baby rocking itself for an extended period of time.  Alas, like the typical liberal, she never rocked herself to sleep.  She seemed determined to keep it hitting the floor until something broke.  In this case the scale was stronger than she.  I used to watch this in middle school when a young man would rock back and forth on their desk until the welds would finally give up and the legs would collapse. 

I am confident that my granddaughter will not grow up to be a liberal.  The big question we must all face is, “Will there be enough non-liberals in the future to pick up after the babies that never grow up?”

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-041: New Laws: Putting the Rest Back in Restroom

I have found a new set of government regulations that we need to keep people secure in their personal lives.  We must establish some guidelines on public restrooms.  As I get older this is getting to be a bigger problem.  I am not referring to wondering which door to go through.  It is the fixtures that are messing with my mind.

I find myself having anxiety attacks because of all the variety I face.  Your first question is, “Will this flush itself?”  Even if it looks like it will, the wait for confirmation can be unsettling.  How long should I have to wait for the “whooosh”?  I would suggest a large federal grant to find the perfect pause for flushing.

Then there is the question of washing your hands.  Will it be sensor controlled or require active participation.  The sink it easy:  If there are no handles it is automatic.  What gets me is the soap dispenser.  Do I press a button or a lever?  Is the lever on the top, bottom or front?  Is it totally automatic?  Then you have the towel question.  Lever or sensor?  Some sort of standard is needed.  Maybe automatic could be green and manual red.  Perhaps we could have a requirement that everything be either automatic or manual and make a mandatory notice be posted at each entrance. 

The current situation makes me uneasy.  I need assurance and a safe space to do my business.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-040: Baby Talk: Learning by Rote

How many times does a baby have to drop something before it begins to understand the law of gravity.  I am watching my granddaughter as she plays with the various “toys” we have given her.  Right now her favorites are some measuring cups and spoons.  They are easy to grab and great for chewing.  I know that doesn’t make your day but watching her wave them around and pound on things is one of those great moments in life for an old man.

She looks so puzzled when she lets go and they fall to the ground.  You may have experienced the infant in a high chair that repeatedly drops something over the side and looks down wondering where it went.  You pick it up and return it and moments later it hits the ground again.  After a while it becomes a game and what is learned is manipulation of adults not the pull of gravity.  We try to draw a line between accidentally dropping and deliberately letting go.  Even a baby needs to learn cause and effect.  Even more important they need to learn that other animate objects are not there to fetch for them.

It is cute now.  It will not be cute when she gets to college age.  She has a lot of learning to do.  After gravity will come picking up sox and making a bed.

homo unius libri

Opus 2019-039: What Is Best for America

I just had some strong words for Venezuela.  The same goes for us here in the United States.  Various people have been quoted making the point that liberty must be reestablished in each generation.  At present we are coasting on the blood, sweat and tears of previous generations.  They built up a lot of equity and the current population is busy enjoying the fruit of their sacrifice. 

Americans are going to need to step up to the plate and be ready to take one for the team.  Part of that is a matter of self policing instead of expecting the government to regulate us.  When we cross the line with selfish behavior because we can get away with it we are pounding nails into our own coffin.  When we violate commonly understood standards of behavior because we don’t believe we will be caught we are on a slippery slope.  When we hire a lawyer to get out of paying for our violations when we get caught we are part of the problem. 

There comes a tipping point in our culture where it is too late to recover.  We are reaching that point.  It comes when there are so many people on the government dole that they can vote themselves everything they want.  Being on the dole includes working for the government.  It is not just limited to people on different forms of welfare or entitlement programs.  The only way to recover is for enough individuals to make the decision that they will be part of the solution even if they are the only one.  It is like the soldier that grabs the live grenade and smothers it with his body to protect his comrades.  All would die if one was not willing to pay the price.

Will America go the way of Venezuela?  Take a look at the feces covered streets of San Francisco.  Look at the homeless wastes of Los Angeles.  Recently I saw tent cities growing in the underpasses of Austin.  Rat souffle is just around the corner.

We won’t recover if we wait for the next guy.

homo unius libri