There seemed to be no permanent damage, at least within one part of my social circle involved in the altercation that I said I would talk about. By the way, this is very separate from the Gold/ Daydream Believer thing. Drama-lama-ding-dong!
Apparently there were angry words exchanged, and a girl I know to be all manner of sweet and kind was hit in the end...I haven't talked to her since Thursday night, but I hope she is ok. I really wish there was something I could do at the moment.
It disgusts me how our humanity curses us to fight. If some of the finest people I know can't even get along all the time, how in FUCK do we expect world peace to happen in our lifetimes, or our children's lifetimes, or beyond...hell, even if we become immortal, I doubt we will ever see the end of conflict. I'm sure even the most non-corporeal energy being/trans-human dealies still find a way to fight. This is depressing.
The other promised feature was how colloquial French was the basis for a very complete philosophy...well, here is the long and short of it: S.M.O. (now styling herself "la petit mort, French slang for 'orgasm'...heads out of the gutters, ladies and gents). If you know French, you'll think "The...little....death?". Does it not make sense that death could be far from painful, empty, or involving cherubs with harps, but instead be one really gigantic orgasm? I mean, it would certainly give purpose to life, were this the case. In addition, it means that life is roughly 80 years of foreplay/coitus/etc. That is a pretty kinky way to look at existence, n'est-ce pas?
Today was not a good day
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scratch that
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Today was a good day
In 'The Will to Believe', William James invites us to consider the plight of a train car beset by thieves. Individually, no passenger would be capable of resisting successfully, but the bandits are outnumbered by their victims. Should no one believe that another passenger will stand up with them, should they choose to fight, then the thieves are treated to a docile car, and easy money. Suppose, however, that each rider believes that the whole car will rise up together, if the opportunity presents itself. Some may be injured or killed in the fighting, but the thieves have little hope of victory. James contends that this was a case of unsubstantiated belief creating a real outcome.
Do I think then, that unsubstantiated belief is warranted? Not at all. Believing that it is possible to fly unaided after jumping from the grand canyon, for example, will not allow one to jump off and fly. Belief is a useful tool, which can embolden people, raise morale, and even motivate a person to die for a cause. No different from other tools, it can be employed for good or for evil; it can cultivate love, or breed hate; create or destroy.
Despite a poor quiz mark in chemistry, a broken headphone, and an attempt to fix the latter getting me kicked out of my World Issues class for the day... can I not believe that I had a good day, and have it be so? "Goodness of day" is subjective enough, is it not? Would it not be a good thing to bolster my mood, which might then rub off on others?
I guess the trouble is, how do I convince myself that I had a good day?
Out-Foxworthied
Perhaps yesterday's vote was not a blow to Stephen Harper at all...perhaps it was the best thing that could happen to him, strategically. Consider: at the breakfast table this morning, pouring over the citizen, I read the list of the MPs who voted for and against restricting the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples. The conservatives that voted against included party higher-ups, such as Peter McKay. At face value, it looks like internal conflict. My parents had their money on 'setup'. The pieces started falling into place:
Stephen Harper has to keep the 'redneck vote', in addition to the religious right, etc. To do this, he had to promise to hold the vote which took place on Thursday. The talk heading up to the vote seemed to be "let's get it over with quickly", which I had mistaken for a move to forestall the vehement opposition they knew the bill would face. Harper is definitely aware that the public outcry would have been a nightmare, had the bill been passed. With the new Liberal leadership just getting started, I think he wanted a way to put them off-balance. Being aware that the opposition would take any chance to shoot down his party's legislation, he hatched a plan. A few conservatives would vote against the bill, but just enough to ensure it was soundly defeated. Harper delivers his promise to the rednecks, religious hardliners, and assorted homophobes, he avoids the massive protests, and creates the appearance that there is some dissent in his ranks, where none actually exists. I am tempted to call it a master stroke.
If you want proof that it is intentional, consider that it follows a previous Harper victory: the Quebec Nation issue. He gave them what they were winging about, and it meant NOTHING at all...well, that's not entirely true. Harper shut them down, by giving them what they did not expect to get. If you have ever been angry at someone, and then been more angry when they do something nice? You want to be furious at them, you want to draw strength from your anger, all dark-side style...and then you can't, and suddenly all the rage is directed inward. In this case, the end result is different, but the method was the same: He indeed delivered upon his promise to have the vote, but nothing changed...except now he is no longer beholden to the voters who demanded it. He can say that the vote was held, the will of the people (by proxy) has been declared, and that is a fair, and democratic decision. In either case, further demands require those who make them to openly scorn the government, and even democracy itself. Does Harper support Quebec nationhood, or same-sex marriage? I'm not even sure he cares much about either...but chalk up two wins for him in the house? He's all over it. Congratulations, fellow Canucks: our human rights have just been used as pawns in a political chess game. To quote the AI toaster from 'Red Dwarf': "So what else is new?"
On a chilling note, It seems that the Liberals aren't the only ones who value being in power more than they value actually doing things. This time, it worked to the benefit of the people...we may not always be so lucky. For the Liberals, it was more important to sign Kyoto than to do anything about it; the popular support had been gained already. Likewise, it is far more important for the Conservatives to have a vote, or make an essentially meaningless declaration, than it is to act. Has government become just another business, full of reports, so-called "accountability", and flocks of executives zealously guarding their own posteriors. When was the "olitics" in "Politics" replaced by an "R"?
The truly sad part is this: so long as people allow their opinions to be swayed by such obvious tactics. I'm sure you would not find many people who would say that they didn't think Canada signing Kyoto was worth a damn. People expect a sheet of paper to save them from that which would otherwise befall them. Some might even expect that Quebec "nationhood" somehow empowers the Quebecois. By doing this, you show governments that they can guarantee support without those pesky expenditures on doing things, such as working with industries to create new regulations for GHG emissions. Now, all they have to do is call a flimsy piece of paper a "clean air act"...let's face it, anyone who truly cares about the quality of air won't be swayed to vote conservative by any means. A swing Lib-Con voter just might switch to/remain on your side for the token gesture, however. Given that the swing vote essentially wins or loses you the election, the parties do all that they need to, and no more.
Fantasmagasmic!
I saw "The Crucible" at Lisgar today (closing day, I believe. Sorry people). A one -word review can be found in the title, but I will go into more depth.
This is the sort of play that became meaningful again after 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, and so on. There is always one witch hunt or another on at one time, but the sort which reveal the true depths of humanity do not come so oft. Especially with more reprisals of the Maher Arar case in the news, innocents becoming victims of revenge are all too real, all too immediate. That is part of why the play was so brilliant: it was not a commentary on modern affairs (my mother says it is the Salem Trials in the play are metaphorical representations of the McArthy (sp) witch hunt of the cold war), and yet the attitudes, the chaos, and the fear are real today, and perhaps even always. Kudos to the people who made it happen!
The hat, THE HAT!
I talk to Priestshinigami on the number 8 bus a lot. Should you ever see my excellent hat on one such bus, you will undoubtedly hear something vastly more interesting than the general malaise of day-to-day conversations you are like to see elsewhere. Sometimes she makes me feel guilty for being so privileged, because she deserves better than she has been given in the past. Oh, well...plenty of time to hire her as a deputy when the world belongs to me. I have already given out the ever-so-important jobs of Bra/Breast inspector, and Official Bra Designer (yes, they are separate...what?). I think I would appoint her the head of my Human Rights division (for I shall be a good and noble leader, of course). These jobs will be well-paid, of course (probably in chocolate and other delicious food...money is overrated), and most importantly, It would give her a shot to do something about the sorry state of tolerance in the world. I suppose I am getting ahead of myself, but then it does pay to plan one's moves well in advance.
The other day, a woman praised us on the bus for the discussion we were having. I just heard her say it as I was walking from the bus towards my house, but I believe she found it encouraging that some people our age took an interest in philosophy, politics, culture, and such. I am flattered, quite honestly...there is no greater joy than bringing good feelings to other people (orgasms included, because the words "greatest" and "joy" appear. But they're rather separate from the topic at hand). Good moods, like some great UnVirus, spread amongst people, so one may very well cheer up a crowd by a simple act of smiling cheerfully at a passerby. Instill hope and optimism in someone, and you have no idea just how far that could go. I suppose that wars still happen, so there is a certain range limit, but nevertheless...it's the same feeling I get when people complement me on this blog. I enjoy writing it already...if someone reads and enjoys it, it becomes all the better.
I feel better than I did earlier, so I guess it does work.
It WAS a Good Day...and here are some more pics for your viewing pleasure:
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