To all my faithful readers out there, I am unfortunately taking a slight hiatus on posting to the blog. I have been using what little free time I have to create a simple website from which I can provide information about myself to potential employers. It is still in Beta stage, but if you’d like to see what we have thus far, here’s the link www.teamthronson.com/eric.html. Please check back regularly as I finish up this site and then will be able to turn my attention once again to my blog. Thank you for your patience!
Monthly Archives: January 2008
I don’t know about you, but sometimes (especially on cold, rainy days) I get the distinct feeling that this country is crumbling around us. I know it is an inevitability that all empires come to an end eventually, but personally, I would rather not have to live through it (or make my children do so). People say that every generation has their doomsayers and things will be fine, but I would like to give my list of the top five factors that I think contribute to the approaching demise of our great country.
5. Apathetic voting participation - Sure, there are experts that say it is fine to have only 20 to 30 percent of Americans voting in local elections; this is just an indication that most people are happy with the way things are going. However, with such small minorities making such important decisions it is easier for interest groups to have their way to the detriment of the public good. This is a public bad. And I know people are “just too busy” to educate themselves on the issues and vote, but they don’t seem too busy to discuss at work or vote for the next American Idol…
4. “Politics as Usual” - Our political system is broken, most people would acknowledge that the power is no longer in the hands of the people but instead held by powerful interest groups and lobbyists. Too many politicians are bought and paid for, and too few people vote in elections to get an independent, populist candidate elected. This may change someday, however. One positive in my mind is the traction Ron Paul is getting across the political spectrum. Perhaps it is not yet time for a candidate that doesn’t do the typical money dance to win, but his success may be a harbinger of change to come.
3. The Media - Of course at least half the reason “politics as usual” continues to reign despite its ineffectiveness is the way the media play their games. And for those of you who insist the media is unbiased, take a closer look. One simple example, the American-Statesman ran an article on the front page of their metro section a few weeks ago about a new coalition of progressive, environmental, anti-development groups to put pressure on City Hall. This is fine, something that should certainly be covered, but the headline for the continuation of the article inside the section read “JOIN: Interest Group to Fight for Change at City Hall”. Nowhere in the article was there a discussion of joining the effort, only a description of the group’s interests. There were any number of other “connection” words the headline writer could have chosen, but “JOIN” neither made any sense nor seemed unbiased in the least. What is wrong with our media today? Do they not realize they are driving us into the ground?
2. Public education system - On either side of the argument over our public schools you find the wrong problems being addressed. Some people insist that if we paid teachers better, and threw more money at schools, we could have the high-achieving marks we desire. Others say we spend too much money on schools already and no studies link improvement with dollars spent. But everyone is missing the point - kids just don’t want to learn anymore. No “pie in the sky” talk about someday, if you work hard enough and study, you too can be a middle manager of some company earning enough to pay the interest on your bills but never get ahead will get these kids to pick up a book. As long as it isn’t “cool” to do well in school, and peer pressure is so ridiculously powerful that kids feel like walking around shooting their classmates, then we aren’t going to have high-achieving classes. I don’t care how much we pay our teachers, unless Snoop Dog or Jay-Z tells kids to quit being stupid and start studying, very little is going to get better.
1. Low interest rates - Sure, the Fed lowering interest rates is good for the economy because it encourages businesses to invest and create jobs and whatnot. That’s good. But low interest rates also encourages consumers to spend, and borrow, and spend what they borrow. Using low interest rates to avoid a recession is really only borrowing against time; all that debt people rack up, even low interest debt, comes due someday. Meanwhile someone (he or she that has money) gets richer and those that borrow diminish their net worth. Also, this cheap borrowing power encourages consumerism as religion, and it is really no surprise that we as a population are so deep in debt. Go to the mall on a Sunday - people look like they are in their church worshipping what truly makes them happiest - the almighty cash register. But this purchase of things cannot and will not ever completely fill that void inside these people, so they are compelled to continue to want, and spend, and bury themselves deeper into debt. So many lost souls to this dangerous trap, and it is ruining our country, rotting it from the inside out.
Well, this has been a fun-filled time, hasn’t it? Tune in next time when we discuss the best ways to end it all, or perhaps the worst moments of my life, something as uplifting as this topic. But in all seriousness, if we don’t think about these problems and consider ways to address them, then we are complicit in the destruction of our country. And I love this place too much to let that happen without a fight. Join me, lets start doing something about this right now. Let me know if you have any thoughts, I am always open to criticism (and praise!). Until next time…
Because I forgot to post my top five list last Friday, I will push the envelope and write a top TEN list of the books I have read. This is not a list of best books ever written as decided by experts, but instead is my personal opinion that these are all gems for one reason or another. Feel free to contribute your own if the topic calls to you.
1. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad - The best book ever written, hands down. Writing in the seventh language he learned, Conrad was a master of the English language and the layers of subtle meaning almost overshadow the deeply moving story. I read this for four different classes in high school and college, and every time it got better. I continue to read it for pure enjoyment.
2. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte - Another great nineteenth century novel that some try to peg as a chick’s story, but I think it really illuminates the dark side of obsession, longing and revenge. Heathcliff is one messed character, and the literary apparatus used to tell the story mostly makes up for the hokey ending.
3. Dracula, Bram Stoker - Rounding out the nineteenth century novels (when authors really knew how to write), this tale has endured in the collective imagination, as ageless as the monster himself. What is it about the invasion of a foreign enemy that no amount of modern English science and know-how can defeat that captures us so fully? A pretty amazing, well-written story too.
4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Tolkien - I had to count these as one because otherwise this would be a much shorter list. I read these when I was young, read them again in college, and then more recently, and they never lose their charm. The movies are great too, but the books are irreplaceable. I think these stories bring out a little bit of hero in all of us.
5. Richard III, Shakespeare - My favorite Shakespearean play, by far. “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York,” begins the tale of another obsessed character, this one completely mad for power. Shakespeare was a phenomenal writer, and any number of his plays could be in this top ten list, but I am particularly fond of Richard and his conniving tale.
6. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike - I love Updike’s voice, and believe he is one of the greatest short fiction writers ever. His Rabbit series is wonderful and rich, and in them he deals with American life in such an honest and myopic way that I can’t help but include this one on my list.
7. Lord of the Flies, William Golding - Is man born pure and good, and those that fall in sin are just victims of their environment, or is man born evil with nothing but civilization to keep us in line? This is the question dealt with in this wonderful novel in which the boys are separated from civilization and set free to follow their base impulses. Guess which side of the coin Golding falls on.
8. Beloved, Toni Morrison - Eloquent, disturbing, a wonderfully told story that is troubling to read but makes an impression in your mind and in your heart that can never be removed. What better compliment could be given a piece of fiction?
9. Once A Runner, John L Parker, Jr - Not on many classic literature lists, this tale is the most accurately described running story I have ever read. In perfect detail Parker is able to capture the desire, the pain, the ideal imagination of a high-performance distance runner better than my own memory can serve. If you want to have some idea of what people like Cameron and I went through in college, read this book (if you can find it. It’s been out of print for years and goes for hundreds of dollars online).
10. Freakanomics, Stephen Levitt - I know, this non-fiction piece doesn’t seem to fit on the list of an English major, but reading this book opened my eyes to the amazing world of statistics and economic theory applied to the everyday world. Outside the classroom and hypothetical realm of academia, these applications are intensely useful and help us analyze problems in new ways.
So that’s it. One final observation that just came to me as I survey my list of favorite books - many of them seem to explore the theme of obsession. I wonder if that’s a coincidence? Perhaps pater I will write more about this, it is an odd observation to be sure. Let me know what you think.
After seeing the movie, I am Legend, I was struck by a very strange thought. I must admit ignorance of the original novel, or any older versions of this movie, so my reaction is based entirely on the 2007 version with Will Smith. What seemed rather odd to me was that, in his video diary after his encounter with the hive, Dr. Neville describes his observations and states that “all human characteristics are gone” from the dark seekers, or something of that sort.
That struck me as an odd observation as they seemed to exhibit a number of human traits. They were organized in a community, they knew their limits (stayed out of the sunlight), and the leader showed defiance and pride. These qualities manifested themselves more fully as the movie went on, as well as others. First, the dark seekers could learn - they used the same trap to catch Dr. Neville that he used to catch one of them. They were highly organized and calculating in their attacks on the doctor, and followed the leader explicitly. These qualities seemed innately human and unlike other zombie movies in which the monsters seem aimless and unorganized.
This got me to thinking, what if this new breed of human is not the enemy, or some degenerative version of us. What if the “dark seekers” are just the next evolutionary step for Homo Sapiens? They are stronger, faster, more resilient and clearly harder to kill. Sure, they can’t stand the daylight, and seem to have no appreciation for art, but so what? There are plenty of things that our current evolutionary stage does that makes no sense, and who knows that the next step can’t learn to appreciate art? Civilization as we know it couldn’t possibly be the pinnacle, could it? When Tara and I visited the History of Natural Science in New York, one point that really stuck with me was how presumptuous and narcissistic it is for is to believe we are the culmination of human evolution.
So, if it is the case that the dark seekers are our evolutionary progeny, and Dr. Neville is a lone stand out of the old ways, then could you see the new history written sometime in the future? Neville wouldn’t be the hero, he wouldn’t be “Legend”. He’d be the enemy, a veritable Sasquatch, a villain bent on holding us back. Suddenly this story takes on entirely new meaning, and even causes me to question my own existence and goals in life. Who’s to say my dreams for tomorrow aren’t just the antitheses of a better world than I can imagine? Getting in deep here, and will leave the rest up to you to think about.
