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Tony, congrats on the half-century!
posted by
_dave_says_ack_
on October 26, 2006 at 2:42 AM
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Thanks, y'all
MC - I don't get much chance to sleep at the moment. But that's another story! However, I do tend to stay up later than most!
Blanche - I've decided to address this very question i posed below, to some extent, in today's sonnet which I'm about to write. I don't think the political system I envisage would be that far from what you advocate. I certainly am not arguing for a centralised state with tremendous powers as regards controlling capitalism or free speech, and like you think that communism, or even socialism would be a backward move. Watch this space.
Jacenta - Hi, thanks. I do try to pack the sonnets with my ideas in a better way than they can be expressed in prose, because poetry is more multi-dimensional and suggests rather than defines.
posted by
Antonionioni
on October 25, 2006 at 9:42 AM
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Tony...
Your concept is expressed well in your unique sonnet. Good job.
posted by
jacentaOld
on October 25, 2006 at 6:03 AM
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Tony what time is it for you?
Do you ever sleep???
posted by
marieclaire66
on October 24, 2006 at 6:35 PM
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tony, I agree with you...
we have to do what we can within our own little sphere of influence, human power is limited but God can work miracles. A little faith goes a long way...well we try.
posted by
marieclaire66
on October 24, 2006 at 6:34 PM
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...heavy karma all around... mother earth will get tired of it....
and shake hard like a dog ridding itself of fleas... continents will sink and new ones will rise... happens about every 12,000 years or so... then what survives will start over again....
posted by
MasonGarrett
on October 24, 2006 at 5:08 PM
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I disagree, Tonyzonit, in every country where the government has attempted
to "retrain the masses" namely China, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the result has been spectacularly unsuccessful economically and socially. I think it's stil a personal responsiblity issue, how that is to be "enforced" I'm unclear on, but I"m very clear that I don't want to live in a socialist state, more of a mixed capitalist/progressive state.
posted by
Blanche.
on October 24, 2006 at 5:00 PM
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Hi Marie-Claire
I agree. I'm not blaming the government. It springs from us and our desires. Because those desires can't be stopped, because they are human nature, we need a government that can control those desires. We are unlikely to get such a government until we recognise ourselves that another type of government is what we need. The first change needs to be within ourselves, and from that a suitable government might follow. It will take a long time before that change takes place within ourselves, if it ever does. Maybe, therefore, we need a government that rules wisely in spite of what we might want. This is a major problem for the democratic ideal of government. We are in a new era where democracy itself has to be reformed into a paternalistic state. I have no idea how this can be achieved, but we should start thinking about it, because if we don't, it will never happen.
posted by
Antonionioni
on October 24, 2006 at 4:50 PM
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tony, it is also up to us, we cannot blame the government for everything.
After we put them in power. We have to live by our own values not just talk about. It is our own contradiction we should be watching first before we point the finger...I am speaking for myself in any case.
posted by
marieclaire66
on October 24, 2006 at 4:20 PM
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Hi Blanche
It's human nature to want more, especially kids - they're the worst! It's up to the governemnt I guess to force a less materialist society. Then parents will teach their kids differently. In a democratic system, though, capitalism always comes out on top. Are we prepared to give up the freedom to be greedy, for the greater good? Probably not voluntarily!
posted by
Antonionioni
on October 24, 2006 at 3:11 PM
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More is not better, you're right, Tonyzonit, except quality
Handmade crafts that used to last a family a lifetime and be handed down for generations don't exist, in this Walmart-saturated world. Insatiable, and kids pick it up so early, competing with each other, and demanding the latest of everything, even if a parent wants to stem that, it's inculcated by their peers. What's the answer, I wonder, without making a pariah of a child?
posted by
Blanche.
on October 24, 2006 at 3:03 PM
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very nice Tony
posted by
star4sky5
on October 24, 2006 at 2:35 PM
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Thank you, friends!
Yes, I think humour is often a good way of treating serious subjects without sounding holier than thou. Especially as I'm not free of this same vice. But we still need to recognise what we should do - that's the first step to doing it, even if we need to be forced into it by the government - but ultimately from peer pressure, the most important pressure of all...
posted by
Antonionioni
on October 24, 2006 at 2:21 PM
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Tony
The light-hearted solution by creating a chasm of the sexes by sending them to Mars and Venus, making businesses bleed rather than we, supported by the suggestion of the scientists, makes it both funny as also enjoyable. A good job. Sometimes a neutrality created by the non-serious I find refreshing.
posted by
Bhaskar.ing
on October 24, 2006 at 1:16 PM
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Agreeable
Truly, this might not relate to your poem, however, people are spending money on something that won't help them in the future... example, celebrities rather buy fashionable clothing or vehicles rather than investing the money on business.
Anyway just making point.
Very wise sentiment.
posted by
coolacen
on October 24, 2006 at 12:35 PM
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tony,
We live in a society that is bent on spending, the pressure is immense. Unless you switch off all the ads, and keep aways from all shops, the temptation is irresistible, but then I am a woman... Credit cards are the biggest evil of all times, because now there is no limit on how much we can spend. We push the boundaries, I think credit cards are a testimony to our greed, (I do use it on occasions but as a last ditch resort not for entertainment). I give what I can when I can. I used to put off giving till I had enough money, but then that never happens. Giving is an act of will, unless there is a little sacrifice involved it has little meaning, it is more blessed to give than to receive, it is true but how many of us truly apply that to our lives? Giving does bring joy but it does not always come naturally in the me-first society. It is also important not to judge by appearance if we do that, we apply subtle pressure on others to keep up with the Jones. I hear it is worse in your country than ours so my brit friends tell me. Not meaning to sound superior, this is an observation made by your excompatriots, not me.
posted by
marieclaire66
on October 24, 2006 at 12:31 PM
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Tony
- We DO spend, spend, spend – I mean how much stuff do we really need???
- Although clearly there is a raising awareness we doing a darn good job of killing this planet. No question there.
- I’d miss the boys if they were on Mars. Think I’ll stick to trying to working on the gap…. it’s a lifetime job, but what the heck.
You and your wild sonnets – they bowl me over sometimes. Yesterday’s poem for Najwa was stunning, Tony!
posted by
Troosha
on October 24, 2006 at 12:09 PM
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what a happy conclusion that would be... and never the twain shall meet!
posted by
marieclaire66
on October 24, 2006 at 12:04 PM
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