Thoughts upon thoughts upon thoughts...

This is potentially going to be an extremely long post. I apologize.

I've been reading Fates Worse Than Death, a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's speeches and other random writings set in a autobiographical setting. In chapter 14, he spends some time talking about Alcoholics Anonymous and about how a worse addiction in the world today is those who are addicted to preparing for war(note, this book was written in the early 90's). He talks about how dangerous it is to have an addict like this, or any addict, for that matter, in public offices and wielding power. I would ask him to consider the following:

Although people who obsessively prepare for war are constantly promoting death and destruction, it is important to recognize that there are those who are obsessed with a more dangerous liquor called money. These are the people I watch out for, the ones who exploit the environment and other people so they can make more money. These are the ones to be afraid of, because they don't have a war where their orgasmic release of arms-building is rewarded. They keep going, keep screwing people over, keep drilling for oil in national parks, and keep destroying the rainforests. The only end for them is when those resources are gone, then they head on to a new resource, and the cycle starts over again. All this, friends and neighbors, so they have achieve the high they get from having another dollar in their bank account.

Mind you, this sounds like an attack on the capitalist system, and in a way it is. I don't disagree with the capitalistic system, but like all things, it shouldn't run unchecked. Moderation is the key to life- it's ok if you drink, just don't go to far. It's ok to make money, just don't go too far with it. That's why I have a hard time stomaching any form of extremism, up to and including a two party system. Life can't, nay, shouldn't be constricted to polar opposites, despite my mantra of "life's too short to make things complicated" I have to admit that you can't oversimplify things that far. It just doesn't work.

Perhaps I am being biased, and trying to promote my views on other people. This is probably true. My response, well, it's my blog, and I'll type what I want to type. These are my views, and if you don't agree with them, that's fine. I would only ask that you try to see things objectively, which is again, promoting my own personal views, which, as a red-blooded American, I have full right to do.