Tom Desrosier
Much of what we believe about ourselves, our world and our politics, we learned from someone else.
Sometimes, years later, we still cling to this stufff, long after its proven wrong.
Go figure...
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A Fictional Respite, Complete with life-Lesson
look.
I’ve been sort of a jerk of late; what with all those ranting blog posts about ethics newsletters and DIGG scams.
Let’s be off. A little fiction to soothe the furled and overwrought brow.
Attend.
“You’d be late for your own funeral!”
(A common lament by those who have ever waited…
And waited…)
A rather solemn occasion.
Soft, ethereal music emanated from somewhere unseen; the air heavy, thick and pungent, from the overwhelming scent of too many fresh flowers and bouquets. And dark, conservative furnishings; two warm, inviting chairs in subtle flower print; and between them, a small table with lamp, casting a soft and somber glow. And there, cloth-padded wooden chairs, all set in neat rows. Yes, a dark and melancholy place; a place to contemplate, to reflect, and to feel bad.
Shhhhhh… It’s Ed’s funeral for crying out loud! You know, the Big, loud guy with cheerful, warm heart? The one who seemed never to be on time?
Shhhhhh. Sit in quiet celebration of his beautiful life! Sit in the warm glow and companionship of others who, just like you, mourn his passing.
Many fidgeted in their seats anyway. A look of confused concern; eyes darting this way and that; hushed whispers now…
“Where is he?” Aunt Maggie, tissue at the ready, blurted out in dismay.
“I can’t believe it! Is he late for even this? Inconceivable!” This time, from his sister Sue, a look of astonishment…
“What do you think happened?” Now his nephew Pete… Indeed, one of Ed’s Pall Bearers…
“Did we come to the right funeral home?” The preacher who would soon read the Eulogy exclaimed!
And so on.
“Hey! Sorry I’m late!”
(The usual retort from those who have kept you waiting… And waiting…)
Oh, who’s this?
He hurriedly made his way to the front of the room. Bare feet, soundless across the richly carpeted floor; a crisp blue suit; a white carnation in the lapel; dark hair combed meticulously, a touch of make-up on his cheeks…
“Sorry I’m late.” He demurred, picking his way through the final row of seated guests.
And reaching the awaiting casket, he clambered in, straightened his jacket and tie, folded his hands across his chest, and finally, closed his eyes.
“Better late than never.” He murmured largely to himself; a smile barely discernable upon his waxen face.
And having uttered his final words, passed blissfully, peacefully away.
Yes, behold Ed, recently deceased… And just as many had prophesied, Ed had indeed been late for his own funeral!
Damn Ed!
“Better late than never.”
(Paul’s final words)
An absurdity for sure; an amusing distraction, and perhaps even worse… A wholly inappropriate and blasphemous depiction of such a serious aspect of life…
No, not the picture of Ed’s passing… What could be more basic to life than our passing? Such will happen to each of us; and indeed, it is less consequential than we would often surmise, since each of us lives for eternity.
No, I speak of something far more controversial, and seemingly far more crucial in the affairs of our species… I speak of the almost comical reverence in which we behold “Time”!
Time… A source of stress and dissatisfaction to many! The all-important underlying structure in which we would live out our lives… In silent desperation, we watch our clocks, we mark our calendars, we consult our “Blackberries” ™ and again and again, we run out of day long before we run out of the things that needed doing! For we have each concluded that there simply is not enough “time!”
Perhaps it’s “time” we had another look.
Time… But an abstraction, a specter; as if eternal beings such as we, could run out of it!
Time: an opportunity to gauge the difference between yesterday, today and tomorrow. Perhaps a means to catalog and separate this experience from that; a measure of our growth and progress towards perfection.
Time: an all important construct necessary for the existence of matter.
Yes, time… It seems to be working out perfectly, ensuring matter gets to exists; but seems to be failing miserable orchestrating what we should be doing every day.
And so this message of hope… For those who would think that time is running out! For those who would believe that they have missed their biggest chances in life. For those who lament that their lives have been largely wasted, lived without purpose, consumed without service or value. And yes, to those who would be late for their own funerals…
Better late than never!
*****
Anyway. My brother Paul is seldom on time; an issue which he receives him many a rebuke and admonishment; and of late, even from me. And its high time I gave this whole thing some thought.
Ok. I thought about it.
Tom
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Ethics for the Sanctimonious at Heart
Do any of you guys get this newsletter?
I started reading this author’s work after reading one his books, entitled, "How Good People Make Good Decisions." Good book - I recommend it. Lots of real-life examples of how our ethical breakdowns put us in a terrible mess.
Anyway, I started reading his newsletter some years later.
Even though most times it sucks.
Of note in his Newsletter this week, which I’ve linked via the excerpt above, is a story about how the New York Times is whining about Israel not giving them open access to their war efforts against Hamas.
And that’s it.
The Newsletter’s treatment of the issue is subtle of course- just the tiniest hint of a moral breakdown on the part of Israel. You don’t realize what they’re saying until you do one of those mental double-takes. That’s when you get the full implications.
Of course, our Ethics Newsletter fails to mention that the New York Times wants access so that they might destroy Israel in the court of public opinion.
I’ll do that for them here.
Nor did those sanctimonious bastions of the moral good,mention that Hama’s indiscriminate launching of missiles into Israel in the middle of a cease fire,might be, from purely an ethical standpoint, rather questionable.
I’ll do that for them here too.
You know, I get tired of all those arm chair ethics experts. Cardigan sweaters, round glasses, fancy diplomas, that fiercely accusatory stare… They are all quick to tell us how damnable our behavior; how reprehensible our actions; how shameful our conduct.
But, I guess I’m just a lower life form or something. I think at some point, morals should be reserved for those not actively trying to kill you. Yeah, how about that for an ethics idea: "It is permissible to suspend treating someone ethically who is at that very moment attempting to kill you."
And I’ll go way out on a limb here: "It is permissible to refuse open and honest access to your inner workings, to those trying to undermine you, during times of extreme danger."
Its just irritating; people who probably have never walked danger’s walk, being so damn quick to accuse and adjudge; as if everything we do must be decided behind the polished granite halls of some elite institute’s snobatorium.
Tom
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Reformation of Legacy Media
Some of you might recall my writing about how I thought digg.com was being scammed by liberal opinion writers; how I thought they were gaming the system to ensure their stories made it to the front page. I was suspicious at the time about how HUFFPO and the like always seemed to get daily front page coverage of their latest anti-Republican rants.
Here’s my original post:
and an update I did a few weeks later: Someone saying something about how digg users are simply "liberal"; and that’s why all the front page coverage.
Well - it seems my suspicions were correct. .
Take a look at the link below. Beware the associated link to the video, it uses a few vulgarities in its commentary; otherwise it does a remarkable job of revealing what’s going on at digg.com.
Apparently this video caused somewhat of a stir, prompting Kevin Rose, a senior representative at Digg to say this about the little uproar this unsettling news was causing:
Got it?
Just in case, I’ll summarize…
Digg is one of those multi-million hit sites whose claim to fame is that the reader decides what content should be displayed on the front page. Readers do this by giving submissions an up or down vote. Consequently, the stuff most popular migrates to the top (or front page), while stuff not as popular is relegated to obscurity.
A few people figured out that by forming huge networks of "friends", they could propel their content to the front of digg at will. Some of the more unscrupulous, not only powered themselves to the top of the heap, but did so with content stolen from other digg submitters.
Meanwhile, the guy in charge, Kevin Rose, said he has allot of hard working people at digg who now have hurt feelings; and we should just get over it and get back to voting on digg as if it really mattered.
Here’s why I won’t get over it.
Because digg is achieved, perhaps unawares, the thing that made legacy media most despised and untrustworthy. Digg has delegated to a handful of content providers, who may or may not be truthful or honest, utter control of its website’s front page, and hence its conversation. Indeed, what was supposed to be a noble experiment in meritocracy, and a lofty ideal of democratic process; has been reduced to just another corrupt legacy media outlet.
I am saddened by this terrible loss.
And so it begins anew… Old media antics, machinating a biased and slanted message, while sporting a brand new doo! Could it be? Could it be?
Ah, yes, congratulations Digg - not the big web revolution we all fantasized about, but merely York Times 2.0.
Tom
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