I once had a job as an operations supervisor in a computer installation. Back then, the big mainframe computers needed operators to feed them the jobs that got the work done. We pretty much all operate our own computers these days, but back then we needed specialists.
To be an operations supervisor was to be on the lowest rung of the management ladder. Even so, part of the job was to treat the operators as children. I was struck by the fact that these adults, many with children, and maybe even grandchildren of their own, were not considered to be responsible people with the ability to get to work on time and do their jobs without management's stern, watchful eye, aided by the punching of time cards.
In this country, where we deny the existence of social class, there are many strata. I wonder about the folks at the top, and how they see the rest of us.
We are often told that an educational system that is strong in math and science makes America competitive in the world. But does the emphasis on math and science to the detriment of art and music programs really reveal an attitude among the upper class that the purpose of public education is to provide them with a competent workforce? Is the appreciation of the finer things merely for the children of the elite, who have the leisure to enjoy them? Should the cogs in the machine really be bothering themselves with the higher intellectual pursuits?
I'll admit that I have not studied the super-rich. They may be a peachy keen bunch who wish us all well. But people who have more money than Mike Tyson could squander in a lifetime probably experience the world as a place full of people who either work for them or serve them in other capacities. Do they value our inner lives? Do they know we have them? I wonder.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Santorum's Sharia
I don't suppose anyone will be able to dig up any dirt on Rick Santorum. He seems to be the real thing, a rule-abiding advocate of theocracy.
Once upon a time, conservatives were against abortion, on the grounds that it is murder. It's a sensible position if you believe abortion is murder. Nowadays, though, some elements of the Right want to get rid of birth control, on the grounds that... it violates God's will. I believe that I've rambled on about this subject before, pointing out that, by that logic, airplanes, medicine, and perhaps the squashing of cockroaches violate the will of a God who did not give us wings, who did give us diseases, and who didn't anticipate our aversion to certain of the less agreeable animals.
In any case, I wonder how long it would take, in a right-wing Christian theocracy, before special government agents began to make sure women were not wearing makeup. I choose this particular example, because an Iranian friend of mine told me this was one of the little things that happened under the Ayatollah.
Once again, I say, don't scoff at me for comparing an officially Christian nation with an officially Muslim nation. The impulse is the same.
Once upon a time, conservatives were against abortion, on the grounds that it is murder. It's a sensible position if you believe abortion is murder. Nowadays, though, some elements of the Right want to get rid of birth control, on the grounds that... it violates God's will. I believe that I've rambled on about this subject before, pointing out that, by that logic, airplanes, medicine, and perhaps the squashing of cockroaches violate the will of a God who did not give us wings, who did give us diseases, and who didn't anticipate our aversion to certain of the less agreeable animals.
In any case, I wonder how long it would take, in a right-wing Christian theocracy, before special government agents began to make sure women were not wearing makeup. I choose this particular example, because an Iranian friend of mine told me this was one of the little things that happened under the Ayatollah.
Once again, I say, don't scoff at me for comparing an officially Christian nation with an officially Muslim nation. The impulse is the same.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Please tell me I'm wrong. And why.
The recent unearthing of Ron Paul's racism, as well as some of his recent comments about the 1964 Civil Rights Act paint Libertarianism as a "whites only" concept. Or, rather, Libertarians feel that other groups getting the right to exist as human beings in our society infringes on their right to live their lives exactly as they choose. What rights have been lost?
A former co-worker of mine, a Libertarian, explained to me that he should have the right to choose who he associates with. If a person doesn't want to associate with people of another race, he shouldn't have to, he reasoned. Problem is, in order to not associate with people of other races, you have to exclude them from your workplace; you have to exclude them from your neighborhood.
Libertarianism would seem to be Libertarianism for the few. No one will ever force you to admit a person of another race into your home socially, or to go to lunch with co-workers you don't want to lunch with. I believe that that is as far as one's right of freedom of association goes.
A former co-worker of mine, a Libertarian, explained to me that he should have the right to choose who he associates with. If a person doesn't want to associate with people of another race, he shouldn't have to, he reasoned. Problem is, in order to not associate with people of other races, you have to exclude them from your workplace; you have to exclude them from your neighborhood.
Libertarianism would seem to be Libertarianism for the few. No one will ever force you to admit a person of another race into your home socially, or to go to lunch with co-workers you don't want to lunch with. I believe that that is as far as one's right of freedom of association goes.
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