May 10, 2004

• In a comment, krazykat5848 mentioned a book by Michael Parenti that describes Rome’s slip from a Republic into an Empire and the parallels with modern times. A couple times a week, strangeblackcat brings me the latest news and rumors which, when combined with what I am reading and hearing elsewhere, paints a picture of a bad situation getting worse daily.

  I feel like I’m faced with a choice: Hunker down and bunker up and get ready for bad times ahead or Stick the neck out and do what I can to make a better future (realistically still getting ready for bad times ahead).

  Ditch for Canada, Ireland, Germany, Costa Rica, or a couple dozen other places that may avoid the worst blows of the storm to come? Dive into politics and try and change the system from within? Distribute flyers and leaflets and try and inspire near or total revolution? Look for a good grassy knoll?

  Or should I just continue what I have been doing and bitch a bit but do very little beyond that. Continue gardening, working at a night club, and picking up the odd Web site work when I can get it.

  Sometimes, I envy those of faith. It would be a relief to believe, deep down, that no matter what I suffer in this life, as long as I work for what is right, I will be rewarded in the next one. It’d make it a little less scary to risk poverty, prison, or worse doing the right thing in this life (although, still not anywhere near easy). Unfortunately for me, to gain this courage would require taking a leap of faith that I have been unable to make.

  Sometimes, I envy those who believe what they’re told – who can go on day by day feeling that what the government tells them is the truth, that America is at the forefront of human ethics and achievement, that what they are doing with their life is what they should be doing with their life. Unfortunately for me, that cowardice is only available to those who refuse to recognize the truth around them. While drink and drugs can numb that awareness, they can not eliminate it and when used in an attempt to do so, only increase one’s feelings of shame.

  So. Just by looking at the questions I ask, it is pretty clear what the “right” answer is. (It is interesting to wonder where that sense of right and wrong comes from when one doesn’t have faith…)

  That leaves me with two new, very difficult questions to answer.

  First: What is the best way to proceed?

  After that is answered, I have to decide whether or not I can find the will to do so.

  So. Best way to proceed.

  The idea of running for office has occurred to me, but then, as I look at it, I realize that (as a general rule) to win an office, you need to be a Democrat or a Republican. To run as anything else, you get to choose from being ignored, being ridiculed, or being reviled by those who should be your allies as a “Spoiler”.

  While I like aspects of both, I don’t agree with enough of the Republican or the Democratic platforms to run as either without being a hypocrite. For that matter, I’m not sure I can be part of any hierarchical party without being a hypocrite. That leaves me with the Anarchists, and possibly the Greens or Libertarians.

  So it doesn’t look like its going to be a political office for me (although, I’d encourage everyone to keep their eye on strangeblackcat who though he may claim to Know Nothing may end up with some curious commentary on the subject).

  But, if not office, then what?

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  • 1:55 pm
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