Ain’t What You Do

As the old song goes “ain’t what you do, it’s the way what you do it.” We have come to recognize the value of those lyrics in these days of a clumsy, brutalist federal government. Maybe what they are doing is not strictly “illegal” – although that is open to question – but the manner in which they carry out activities is simply awful and completely out of step with the traditions of this culture .

The president is a loose cannon. Taking outrageous positions, annoying or horrifying everyone, then forgetting what he was trying to do. His asymptotic hyperbole – anyone who disagrees with his current thinking is foul evil incarnate for a day or so. He must be stroked and praised or he throws a tantrum. We’re not used to that in the US .

And, of course, we have the focal point of ICE, a law enforcement body whose members have no resemblance in appearance nor deed to any police here in the past. To begin with they assume their target is guilty, violent, and vicious (with no evidence whatsoever) and pretend they are engaged in a dangerous heroic act as they haul away frightened men, women, and children whose only fault is to be around when a quota comes due .

There are, and were, civilized and less provocative ways to do this. We used to call it “rule of law” and “due process.” The appropriate terminology now might be “fear and awe”. Or simply “terror” .

“Founders”

Kings justified themselves by “divine right”. Dictators claim “the will of the people”. In an era that worships wealth, billionaires claim “merit,” They are, simply, the best and brightest .

There is no doubt that many wealthy people work quite hard. As did many kings and dictators. As does, really almost everybody. And it is fair to believe that some work is good for society, and some irrelevant. Most of us want to believe that our tribe is best, and those who help our tribe should be respected .

Modern economics has become a high risk game requiring great access to capital and power. Like any gamble, it does require knowledge and perseverance. But on the increasingly overweight fringes of the bell curve of wealth distribution, it appears that luck rains supreme .

I respect brilliant people who toil for social good. I am less excited by “capitalists” who shoot dice in often rigged casinos. I do not think a “founder” is a god-like “maker” who always benefits society. I think he/she is often an extremely fortunate son of a bitch who began with a lot of advantages, thought only about winning money, and ignored most of their common humanity. Very like bad kings and evil dictators .

I don’t worry too much about wealth inequality. I do worry about idiots (kings, dictators, billionaires) who believe they are right about everything and should be worshiped by the rest of us.

Lame Duck

Traditionally, “lame duck” has referred to a politician who for one reason or another cannot be reelected, but still remains in nominal power for the remainder of his term. It is a milder form of “dead man walking” .

Typically, it has been felt such people have lost most of their influence. Who will listen to them? And in this scenario (feared by everyone who grows old), the future seems less and less important, no need to care about consequences. So we have senile seniors living in a home filled with cats, for example. Or driving an automobile when addled on medication .

In politics, “lame duck” always implied impotence. But that was before the geriatrics took over. In an age of senile senior lame ducks, there is an increasing tendency for the official to “go rogue” and do anything, heedless of consequences, reputation, or advice .

This has,unfortunately, always been the pattern when emperors, dictators, or whatever have aged too much in office. But the US, until recently, was spared the antics of such as Tiberius, Stalin, or Mao. No longer .

It’s another effect of concentration of wealth. Wealth is power, power corrupts, and at some point a billionaire or trillionaire feels omnipotent, clever, and invincible and nobody can stop the madness .

An interesting phenomenon to observe, if one can stay out of the way .

“Broken Window” Rights

“Broken window policing” is well known. Its logic is that if you tightly punish miniscule crimes, big crimes will decrease dramatically. That approach has been seen to work in large cities, at least for a while .

A similar approach is now being taken in regard to those pesky “rights” government often finds so annoying. Persecute the tiniest infringements of nebulous laws – then resistance against large intrusions on public and private rights will be much less. Alas, that seems to be working as well .

The final meeting place of this is naturally the famous “what is not mandatory is forbidden”. Law and order folks are fine with this as long as the law is on their side. After all, they are the “decent” people .

A problem with “broken widow policing” is that it raises the bar of criminality, as law enforcement knows. A suspect internally certain of being killed will shoot it out rather than ever surrender. We already see most horrific crimes as expansive suicides .

And there is always the age-old human adjustment “might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb”. If I’m going to be harassed for saying something “bad”, I might as well go into all out rebellion mode and do something drastic .

Society is a complex brew of ever-changing adjustments and one shot simple solutions rarely work for long.

Modern Whigs

In the 1850s, the powerful Whig party of America broke up into factions and disappeared forever. The main cause was slavery, aggravated by regionalism and leaders who were unable to cope with the divisions .

I’m not sure which party will break up and vanish this time, maybe both. The formal cause will be work and wealth. There are wealthy people who work very little, and – as always – poor people who work very hard. But increasingly not only will working harder not make you wealthier, but the divisions between the classes grow sharper simply in the normal course of events as capital concentrates.

I await the equivalent of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to crystallize inchoate feelings into actions. But both parties seem very Whiggish, unable to formulate exactly what they are for, trying to tie together things that resist unity. It’s quite likely we emerge into an unrecognizable new era, hopefully without a destructive war .

The main battle cry on one side will probably be “security and opportunity”. On the other “liberty and merit”. The new plantation owners against the almost but not quite comfortable proletariat. And machine intelligence throwing monkey wrenches everywhere – like the telegraph, railroad, and repeating rifles in the earlier conflict .

Nobody seems to want war except for a few firebrands on each side. Each singing the same songs and nearly identical slogans .

Big Eyes

“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach” is an admonition to would-be gluttons surveying a feast. Maybe children eyeing mounds of candy, maybe revelers drinking champagne, maybe elder vacationers at a cruise ship buffet .

The implication is that short-term hedonism and overindulgence will lead to eventual pain and misery. All of us know that this is true in daily life, although unfortunately it is quite easy to ignore common sense .

Ultra-powerful magnates now suffer the same illness. They believe they can do anything of which they conceive. And no matter what visions their eyes view at the moment, their imagination conjures more. More. Bigger, longer, stronger. Candy without end .

I suspect indigestion will follow. Unfortunately, the ultra-powerful can affect us all. The present may be lean as they gobble their resources, but it is entirely possible civilization could collapse in the aftermath .

Most of those industrial paragons are macho males. One wonders if they ever had mothers who warned them about their “big eyes”. Too bad .

They are having their monstrous feast. The rest of us can only fretfully wait for the inevitable outcomes, and the nasty cleanups to follow .

Golden Goose

Traditional children’s fables often contain valuable nuggets of adult lifestyle philosophy. They were, when created, a form of pedagogic knowledge to teach alongside the somewhat confusing and stern biblical narratives .

The story of the golden goose is easy enough to understand, whether in short form or embroidered. Its overt message is basically not to mess with a good thing, especially one you don’t understand. Its deeper implication is to avoid letting short-term greed destroy long-term bounty .

Perhaps “golden goose” should be a required course for MBAs and venture capitalists. They all seem hell-bent on mashing our current culture – which most of us believe is (or at least was) pretty good – so that they can extract the underlying value of anything in which they have invested, or destroy anything in the way of their economic triumph .

Like the man who killed the golden goose, their blind greed may be threatening everyone’s prosperity and happiness. Some folks admit we are not quite sure how everything works, but at least for a while it has been working .

I’m hardly against progress. It’s just that I’m not sure smashing traditions or killing culture is the right way to achieve it.

Democracy

Anyone who has ever served on a committee of a dozen or more people knows pure democracy does not work. It’s why we choose leaders, more or less representative, somewhat expert, to take on the roles of leadership. The only real check in a democracy is the periodic elections, if actually free and fair .

But what do we mean by “representative?” The founders had clear ideas. In the US, the House would be composed of men from the mob, the Senate of men from the elite, and the president a paragon selected by the elite. We have come to decide that all positions should be filled by persons from the mob, chosen by the mob. We naively believed that in a well educated free society the mob would actually become the elite.

When I was schooled in civics back in the 50’s public school, “representative” meant something like a person who shares my views and judgment – emphasis on judgment – and acts more or less as I would if I were in that position. Lately, however, it has come to mean a rigid avatar, a cartoon image of what I think I want, who always votes as I think I should (not, mind you, as I really do because – hey! – life is too complicated, and time is short) .

Like the founders, I do not trust the mob – or rather the mob mentality – even my own. But with instant communications, mob rule is here to stay as long as civilization can handle it .

Basic Work

Let’s define “work” as any individual activity that helps a society. Then it is possible to tier the various “entitlements” of wealth that various actions bring .

The first level is staying out of trouble and respecting the norms of the civilization which you occupy. That should, in a modern “abundance” culture, give you access to free, unhassled, minimum food, clothing, shelter, emergency medical aid, and opportunity. The basic food can be nothing but fortified bread and water, clothing second hand, shelter a warm room with a roof, medical treatment for trauma, and opportunity an internet connection .

A higher level would up some of these rewards in return for community service. Hours of watching playgrounds, working at common stores, and so forth – things that simply require normal common sense and human interaction .

Only after that is “work” as we now recognize it. The chance to earn luxury and a better lifestyle than others, including high level medical. And that “work” should be taxed at a transactional rate of 50%, to support everything else .

Would people still work? I think so. Supply and demand would still apply. And, in fact, such a scheme is not that much different than what goes on in the idealized “nuclear family” which everyone claims to appreciate .

Martyr

A martyr is useful to any cause. Religions are known for them. Joan of Arc saved France by dying – which she never could have done had she lived. The republicans now manufacture them by the bushel load – every victim of a crime becomes canonized in their political arena . The democrats not far behind.

The current champion of martyrdom is, of course, our president, who has managed to pull off the feat of becoming one while still alive. Instead of being seen as a shady lawbreaker with petulant grievances against anyone who opposed him, he has become the persecuted spearhead of a movement. In his mind, of course, it remains a movement of one .

Most martyrs die for a cause. A true martyr KNOWS they are dying for a cause. Historic tales of martyrs are usually gruesome. Joan, after all, was burned at the stake .

These “gentle” and affluent times require no such effort among the elite. If you are wealthy enough, you can designate yourself a martyr merely by having someone say something against you. And for the rich, such a designation has become an emblem of honor, proving that they are on the side of the angels.

Completely sane people have rarely been true martyrs. At least that hasn’t changed