A Question of Politics

Today I got mail from the Illinois Republicans urging me to vote here in a few weeks. I reckon I will, since I most usually do, but like so many Americans, I often feel that voting is an exercise in futility. I have several friends who are committed Republicans and some who are committed Democrats, although usually they are more likely to be conservatives and liberals rather than particularly passionate about either party's offerings.

Which is, at least part of, the problem: both parties are full of rich, successful people who want to continue to be rich and successful. Servant leadership, as exemplified by, say, Jesus of Nazareth, is not something we expect to see at either the national or state levels of government. Now, I'm not asking all of my politicians to be Christian (I'm not sure how that would even be possible), but I would like to see one who was willing to sacrifice more than they asked of their constituents. I'd like to see someone who truly cared about us. But, of course, those people become school teachers and social workers. To succeed in politics you have to know how to cultivate power and influence, and wield it to maximize your gain. Governments are foci of power, and people who care tend not to be as experienced at handling power as those in the cut-throat world of commerce.

So maybe it's for the best that, regardless of the party, the same basic type of people always get elected. Perhaps the people I'd like to see running things--kind, caring folk with a vision for sustainability, a heart for all, and a willingness to expend themselves completely in service to the public good--maybe these good people would fail miserably when given all that power. Maybe in a world where Foucault's postmodern analysis of power games rings true, maybe we need our leaders to be Machiavellian.

Maybe that's a bit over the top, too much gloom and doom. Does government have to be evil? Is Lord Acton correct about power and corruption, and is Machiavelli right that we need that? Is there an invisible hand that guides politics like the one Adam Smith posits for capitalism? Do we trust the system to balance self-interest with the greater good? What, exactly, is "the greater good" and is right to expect government to help actualize it (heck, is it even a possibility, or just so much pixie dust in my eyes as the clock approaches midnight?)

Enough for now. Most of you are more politically savvy than me, so help me out here already!

Work, Work, Work

Well, on the work front we've been celebrating this week. Our founding librarian turned 100 this month. Well, she would have if she hadn't died back in '88. I guess this makes this more of a centennial than a birthday. We've had cake in the library (horrors!), balloons, door prizes, and other miscellaneous fun (matching red shirts... I feel like I should be careful beaming down.)

Tonight, under the auspices of the student life committee and the President, we'll experience the first Library Slama Jama. What might this strange confusion of words mean? For one hour they're going to try cramming as many students as possible into the library. I'm coming back out to watch this from the safety of my office. It'll either be Highly Entertaining or a Big Flop.

My reading has been slowly drifting back to the kind of stuff I read in graduate school. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe, I should be looking at this "divorced and only getting to see the kids sometimes" thing as an "opportunity" to, I don't know, stop being so lazy and consider doing something with my brain. Not that I'm a super-genius like Wiley E Coyote, but given the canonical six D&D attributes, intelligence is likely my highest stat (for those curious, if I were a D&D character: Slacker - 0 level magic-user - Neutral Good - Strength 6; Intelligence 10; Wisdom 9; Dexterity 8; Constitution 7; Charisma 8 - Hit Points 1 - AC 10) The largest barriers are fear and laziness, neither of which should be my master.

Anyway, just musing. Until then, I'll just play in my little pond and keep blogging.

Repentance

So... I stopped blogging. Needed to move on. Couldn't explain why, but felt the time was right. My friends offered me many kind words. And now... I'm back. I was gone for all of a week. Heck, my old blog would sit that long without any posts. Third time lucky, maybe?

What occasioned this return? Couldn't tell you (I know, for a guy who's studied logic, I'm pretty haphazard in explaining myself. "Why'd you stop?" Because I felt like it. "Why'd you come back?" Because I felt like it.)

In truth, I'm an addict: a conversation addict. I'll ramble on to myself, I'll have whole discussion groups going on in my head (with more than one participant), I *have* to think in dialogue (even before I'd heard of Hegel...) Hopefully some of you will rejoin the conversation. Once I get an incoherent thought formed, I'll rant and hope for the best. Worst case: I sign up for two or three more blogger accounts and let the inner conversations come out.