i really wish that eliot spitzer's last name rhymed with something so that i could come up with a clever title for this first-official-post of my blog re-birth. like lester, the last name of my older sister's nightmare theology professor. i think it went something like, "lester, lester, the grade point molester, the man who gave jesus a C." but i am sick to death of this topic, anyway. if you know me, you should skip down to the next paragraph, as i do not want to repeat a rant you have surely heard on more than one occasion.....why are people so obsessed with the private lives of public officials that a sex scandal is the worst/biggest thing that could happen to a politician's career? the only thing that initiates the word impeachment? dont get me wrong, im thinking the same thing you are: why wouldnt he have an affair with a woman of good social standing, like his more-honest, classier peers? i mean, really. a prostitute? as socially acceptable as adultery is, this man really has no excuse. still, i do think that for this scandal to be the buzz, like so many sex scandals of officials who have had notable (good or bad) political careers, is sadly very telling of our priorities as a nation. it is as if we are crying out, "entertain us! give us something to react to that is basic enough that we dont have to open a dictionary or think about to understand! keep the act going so we can eat more!" nevermind that we have a war criminal as a leader. the fun stuff is gay, married republicans' sex scandals & the rapist democrats. harper's quoted spitzer (aka client 9) as saying on tape, "...would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe." when are people in america going to realize that the size of the porn industry
isnt normal or simply a product of non-christians? that madonna was on to something other than marketing? can you imagine what would happen if a political party existed that represented secularity- reeeeaaaaal secularity? secularity that doesnt compromise on topics of sexual education or fundamentalist funding? wow, that would be revolutionary.
it is amazing how complicated things are outside of the realm of school, curriculum, definitions, theories. i was reading through a paper i wrote my junior year, comparing collective anarchism & libertarian socialism. that was funny. absolutely OFF topic to anything but a good wine-induced conversation or daydream. certainly not a book or an in-office referendum. & then you have noam chomsky. yes, you will hear his name quite often. because he is one of the smartest people i have ever read. i would want to be just like him if i were old, cynical & too smart to communicate with humans or believe in religion. but what good would it do? what good is it doing noam? people read his work, are stunned by it- not inspired- stunned. perhaps they write a stupid blog that no one will read & spend their time away from his words ranting to their annoyed friends & family. maybe they write a book that provokes a similar reaction. but sitting on a hill only helps the guru. & those crazy fast food eating couch potatoes need noam's help. who is the (productive) middle man & what does she do? no, im not gonna kill caesar. im not high enough on the hill & because i am a libertarian socialist, i dont even believe in the hill. but after seeing a magnificent play this week with brian dennehy (oh my god he is GOOD), i am thinking more and more about brutus' (speculated) point.
ok, enough of a rant for now......stay tuned for the first episode of Tex&theCity.
5 comments:
it i was a B, but anyway...
i'm going to read the rest of the blog - you know i'm going to have to comment on this one!
okay, again - not sure i'm smart enough to comment on this blog, but hey, i'm family.
anyway, let me turn my mommy brain off for a minute & try & digest your words.
i TOTALLY hear you on the sex scandal thing - so sick of hearing about this crap. & seriously, a prostitute - you've got to be kidding me. & what in God's name is wrong with all of us that we've got to hear about all of it? we're totally obsessed w/ who's getting in who's pants - it's sick.
maybe it's because we're not getting enough sleep & so we're not having enough "bedroom time" of our own (seriously - i saw it on 60 minutes - yes, i LOVE 60 minutes) & so we're obsessed w/ everyone else's sex lives!
so okay, but where do you go from here? i don't want to hear about anymore ridiculous sex scandals, but i also feel like i have a right to know if my elected official is breaking the law - especially like this. i know, i know, we all have dirty laundry & i'm not about judging him. it does make me sick that he was visiting a prostitute w/ a wife @ home & 2 teenaged daughters, but i know we don't know the circumstances of his life, marriage, etc... nor do we need to know these ins & outs. but call me crazy, i'm one of those idiots who does think that a person's private life affects their public service. in this case, anyway. i mean i'm not claiming he's a dirty dog - i don't know the man, but if his inward compass says, "hey, getting with a prostitute is cool.", then do we really want to rely on that compass to make the decisions that govern our state (okay, your state - have you changed your driver's liscence yet?)? i'm just saying a compass is a compass - private or public & it matters. anyway, i'm not really aiming this stuff @ you, johnna, just the world! i'm not sure how we deal with it. got some suggestions?
and if you need more to write about, tell us more about this secularist view. i'm really curious. how can we have a collective morality? i dont' really mean this in a religious sense, i mean morality in the sense of the "compass" - what tells us what is right & wrong. i think the future of our country depends in part on this question.
okay - mommy brain back on - gotta wake the little guy.
thanks for the comments! first of all, please note that this blog is one hundred percent accurate- always. and that sarcasm is never used. now, to address your points:
i completely agree that societys obsession with celebrity is a problem, one that could have much to do with a need for escapism (which is sad but not surprising, given the oppression that the most people experience on a daily basis). and yes, 60 minutes IS amazing. also, i definitely think that spitzer needed to be held accountable for, not only for breaking the law, but breaking one he worked fairly diligently to maintain, strengthen & specify. i absolutely do not think he should have stayed in office. but i also dont think we should live in a society where, not only is he cleared of charges for simply resigning, but the prostitute in question is given a million dollars to pose in penthouse, given immunity (you may have heard of it- it is this thing in the courts that is much like on reality shows, where she won this challenge) & her recently recorded single is a hit on the radio. eh, what can ya do? you are right- we should know what our elected officials (& candidates for election) are up to. i personally do not think that monogamy is the most logical choice for everyone, but the way he went about it was illegal & the public should be aware of that & he should resign. done. right? oh, wait....i remember now, the reason i am really pissed off is because this man is part of a very established, long running occurrence involving many high ranking public officials & corporate ceos. it is no secret that people like spitzer use prostitutes & shell companies to move money around illegally. he just got caught. & his resignation threw the public & the whistle blowers enough bones to get off the backs of the bigger dogs involved. just another way of keeping the "democracy" in the hands of the puppet masters. lets go back to talking, talking, talking about obamas personality & hillarys experience- WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP ACTUAL POLICY OUT OF THE CONVERSATION & keep people thinking that senators sit on the floor of the senate (when they actually attend) & say YES or NO to GOOD or BAD things. therefore, making a voting record real, hard evidence. hmmmmm....it looks like shit. smells like shit. maybe it is a golden passage to actual freedom! ok, so spitzer was a scapegoat. in some ways it is a shame, because of all the donkeys in the show, he actually did some good. but an ass is an ass, so in the end, are we better off? eh? as far as the compass thing. i dont quite know what to say. mrs white, my third grade teacher, assured me that we, the american people were the compass & that people like spitzer were the expert boy scout. i guess that makes me so far out of the loop that my opinion doesnt matter. i dont think that it is simple, at all, to find a moral majority. but it is necessary to try! & we havent even done that, have we? our government seemingly swings back & forth from representing the top of the ladder to those holding it up. but that isnt even true. not only do they skip over the middle pretty much ALWAYS, but they falsely represent those holding up the ladder, because they are on top, & what human being ever really doesnt look out for themselves first & foremost? even airline attendants tell us to give ourselves oxygen before our children. the sad truth is that those oxygen tanks are empty.
in all seriousness, though, this blog is more of a page where i can throw all of the things i think, experience, read, hear in a day & have people (like you) express their thoughts on & make all of us think about....i certainly do not claim to have any answers. i just have cynical opinions. but i have become completely intolerant of self-imposed ignorance in our communities. & i am just as guilty of it as anyone. so let us start talking & T H I N K I N G. for ourselves & those around us. why put our livelihood & future in the hands of such power hungry, hypocritical shitheads. & if it has to, let it start here. let's continue the conversation.
here are my questions - maybe you can blog about them...
what do you see as the typical oppressions most people live with every day?
are you serious about 60 minutes, or are you being sarcastic? how can i ever really know???
i hear you talking about suppression of the middle class - are you into lou dobbs now? (this is me being sarcastic.)
as i think on mrs. white's theory on compasses & boy scouts, my conviction of smaller government is strongly confirmed because even if you don't think they're the expert boy scout, your elected officials really are taking you where they want to go. however, the problem of smaller government is that more responsiblity falls on the shoulders of "community pillars" - company owners, teachers, policemen... and something tells me we all have the ability to be a spitzer. maybe you just need to tell us more about that anarchy stuff...
blog more on moral majority.
don't worry, this isn't another long comment on what i think you should blog about...!
i was just thinking about your writing on noam - don't know him, never read him, but i think i get the jist (geist???) of what you're saying. there are the prophets that go around proclaiming Truth (w/ a capital T), sleeping in the street for a year, or burying a loin cloth (elijah, isaiah - i don't know??) anyway generally "out there", & then there's us. what do we do? b/c the truth is, wwjd doesn't really work - would jesus buy house? no, actually he wouldn't - he lived as a carpenter/rabbi who had no home & traveled around when he wasn't at home w/ mama. anyway he lived in ancient judea, so how can we even compare? the point is, there is no wwjd or even wwnd (wwnoamdo) b/c they're the messengers - we have to decided how to take what they say & live it out, huh? i think you're right - but it's hard.
just what i'm thinking today...
kelly
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