Sunday, March 11, 2012

Dream a little dream of me. (Or better yet, for me.)

I have never considered (and may never consider) myself politically motivated. Politics confuse and frustrate me and my gut reaction is not to invest time in understanding it, but instead to almost ignore it. Not honorable, but it has so far been my way. My understanding of politics (the campaigning, the decision making, the budget distribution, the national debt, our involvement in the affairs of other countries and what motivates it), is that it's all incredibly complex. It constantly reminds me that there is no such thing as a quick fix, or even a right answer. What upsets most people about philosophy is the same thing that upsets me about politics. 

We keep asking the same questions and stumbling upon the same problems decade after decade and rarely can we carve away at the issue delicately enough and diligently enough to find a solution. 

Or maybe we do find one. But fast-forward a few years and what once seemed like the perfect solution becomes the new issue at hand.

I wish political decision making could be based purely on moral grounds. Some people might say they are, at their roots. But that's a tough pill for me to swallow. There is too much money, bribery, scandal, and ego involved. (I'd like to clarify: I realize that even if decisions were made purely with the intent of moral soundness, we would still be caught with our heads spinning because there are as many core, moral beliefs as there are slow, aimless wanderers in my path on the streets of NYC when I'm running late to catch the train to work. But I'll leave that qualm for another post.)

I'm still not sure if things are truly as complex as they seem, or if the outlets from which I observe "politics" are more distracting than they are helpful to someone like me. 

That's enough of my brief tirade. I guess it's more of a rant. Or even just a concern. I'm too timid to really deliver a tirade, even on the internet. 

This is the video that got me thinking about everything written above: 


I've never been the biggest dreamer. And I worry that most everyone else is the same way. 


All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night 
in the dusty recesses of their minds 
wake in the day to find that it was vanity; 
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, 
for they may act their dream with open eyes, 
to make it possible. 
-- T. E. Lawrence

3 comments:

  1. I am reading Hillary Clinton's book "Living History" and I don't care if you're democrat, republican, independent, or otherwise, it adds insight to the complexities of the political process and the frustrations of any politician who believes that they are in it for all of the right reasons. I would highly recommend this book.

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    1. Thank you!! I just finished a book, maybe that will be my next one. Did you purchase it, or are you borrowing from someone else?

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    2. I'll send it to you when I am done. Auntie Pat sent it to me.

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