February 02, 2012
Daniel Defoe wouldn't have been inspired to write the great novel without knowing his story.
Neither would William Cowper have written the great poem:
"The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk," which gave us this stirring line:
“I am monarch of all I survey..."
The real life "monarch" was onboard the Cinque Ports, an explorer ship, visiting an island, in an uninhabited archipelago of Juan Fernández, off the coast of Chile.
He had grave concerns about getting back on the ship since he didn't think the old "bucket" would last another journey.
Apparently, he couldn't convince his crewmates, since he was left marooned with only his sea chest and bedding, shouting from the beach for mercy.
He was a mess the first year, surviving on shellfish, scanning the ocean daily for rescue, scared to move inland since he heard "strange" noises.
Then a stroke of luck.
Hordes of raucous sea lions mating on the beach drove him inland.
At first he was tormented by vermin: “the rats gnawed his feet and clothes whilst asleep” but he tamed cats to keep them away, and goats, “to divert himself,” with whom he “would now and then sing and dance.”
Selkirk found fresh water and food, a few of his "dance partners" for protein, and plums for vitamins.
After almost five years, his rescue occurred in 1709 courtesy of Captain Woodes Rogers, captain of the Duke, (and famed pirate hunter) who referred to this wild-eyed man with a long beard, dressed in goatskins, as "Governor of the island."
If you’re in the neighborhood do visit his Island, now called “Robinson Crusoe Island.”
As Journalist Richard Steele, who interviewed Selkirk, put it at the time in “The Englishman:"
“This plain Man's Story is a memorable Example that he is happiest who confines his Wants to natural Necessities; and he that goes further in his Desires, increases his Wants in Proportion to his Acquisitions."
Though I'm not recommending being a castaway, there is a lesson in this tale somewhere.
This topic reminds me of something I read years ago that happened at the end of World War II.&nbs...
Feb. 02, 2012 7:33 AM
I am still on the return trip from yesterday's topic.
Didn't have an island to get lost in, but I did hang out yesterday in my own somewhat secluded yard.
Perfect weather.
Pleasantly quiet.
Simply got lost in my own thoughts.
"...lost in Philly for a week, one night.." I think I read that here a few days back......and that takes me back to the formulae of humor; a story of an older man at his Dr's office, being told the worst- - a mere few weeks to live- - - and given this advice "find yourself an Amish(or your personal choice)Lady, and get married and move to St Louis"- - -Incredulously, the man asked "why an Amish woman and St Louis?"- - The Dr replied- - - It'll seem like thirty years.......ba dump,bump,shsish....dont forget to tip the waitress.....try the veal.....we're here all week
Can I design my own Man Friday?
The rats gnawed his feet .... the word recognition generated small ads on the left of my screen are currently four ads for pest control and one for Premier Inn. Are they trying to tell me something?
RE: 4:01AM, why wait?
At the Dew's Corner Drug Store next to the Soda Fountain was the magazine stand and I am quite sure it was there I spent two bits from my shoe shine job to purchase Robinson Crusoe as a Classics Illustrated. I had a spot by the creek bank where I could chew on a piece of grass and there read and muse. My favorite bible story was about Baby Moses placed in a basket and set afloat on the Nile, a castaway of sorts prompting me to quote Crusoe-Thus we never see the true State of our Condition, till it is illustrated to us by its Contraries; nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want of it.- In the end our challenges define us and in them what stuff we are made of....meanwhile on Gobbler's Knob Phil & his Shadow predict 6 more weeks of winter.
This topic reminds me of something I read years ago that happened at the end of World War II. When the war ended, G.I.s had the right to be discharged wherever they wished. Some had been around the Pacific quite a bit, and opted to be placed on remote and deserted islands. They were warned that it was unlikely that a ship would be by any time soon, that they would be isolated. In most cases, it was at least a couple of years until the Navy checked up on these folks. After the first few, they made it a point to retrieve all of them. And they were all, without exception, stark raving mad. We are really not made to live alone. Tom Hanks' movie "Cast Away" is good, but rightly shows that the protagonist is willing to do anything to get rescued. I've done silent retreats for three days, and that is about enough. And recent studies of extended solitary confinement in prison, all too often isolating prisoners for years, simply results in permanently people. This practice is being called into question as being truly inhumane.
more on the honor rollJournalist Richard Steele's point: to want necessities or to want what one has rather than to have what one thinks he wants, is very nice and all but imagine the power that message would carry if... Mr. Selkirk had demurred.
"Say, listen, I can't thank you enough for stopping by but, you know, that whole hot bath, barbering, de-lousing, toilet tissue, medical and dental care, human companionship, afternoon tea not to mention same species sex thing is all so overrated that I think I'll just stay here."
"I'm good - really."
WILSON!!!!!!!
Seen Baylee?
http://youtu.be/zAVESNguFUc
Are not prisoners held in isolation because they are seen either to be at risk in the general population or pose a risk to it?
There are times, especially being the square peg people have patiently (and often not so patiently) been trying to push and shove and shoehorn into that round, round hole, when being alone with one's thoughts and ideas is really appealing. However, sometimes we really need to be with people. People who can invigorate us; people who can add spice to life either by argument, concurrance, friendship or, most of all....love.
Aloneness can lose it's appeal quickly when forced upon people. We've all, I'm sure, been in the company of an elderly person who's family is gone, children forgotten, so starved for the company of others, that they will do anything to keep you there.
I think that this village serves a purpose in that regard. We're never really alone.
ANDY perfect! After a lifetime of commotion, sturm und drang and 24/7 insanity, I found myself alone in a hole of quiet. Recuperating from surgery and not really mobile, suddenly it was me and technology. I cannot even imagine being in Selkirk's situation, although I know I would have done a lot of singing. Kidding aside, isolation can be a terrifying prospect. I have come to appreciate a quiet life and it is much fuller and more populated than that first year, but I would probably have not come to the Village without it. That first year I dipped my toe in and started to participate and then ran into tech problems and had to stop. I am so happy that I rejoined a year ago. Thank you all, Village friends. And of course thank you Mr. Peterman for creating a unique environment in which serious and silly exchanges of educated opinions can be exchanged. I learn something every day. Luxury!
PAOLOS Thank you so much for the Bailey link...just great! Dreams do come true.
Chef Deb ~ Having solitude, solitary confinement in a way, thrust upon you when not quite ready, is hard. It happened to me as well....sudden retirement...ugh! But, it does have some advantages and Mr. Peterman, the Eye and the friends found here would be one. I watched for a bit before joining; a little intimidated by the great minds. It's just that we need people at times, live conversation and if the phone is not an option, it can be difficult. The word itself, "alone" resonates with feelings of despair.
Andy, good points, on how aloneness can lose it's appeal, I grew up in an extended family; my mother design her home for 10 people; to include quarters for my grandmother, who was a piano teacher, bedroom, bath, and living room. It is wonderful to have generations of people, in your home. Surely, they helped each other, and all the family members were great cooks, too! As I got older, I balanced my grandmother's stroll on the church sidewalk, so she wouldn't fall...I gave her all the time in the world to take her up the stairs to the entrance of the church...I would collect the grocery store, "green stamps," being the stamp collector in the family,( my Aunt, a stamp collector, too, from Argentina sent me South America stamps, I enjoyed removing the glue and placing the gluetag perfectly centered on the back of the stamp and located placement in my Stamp Collectors Book; remember way back when there was a contoversy over whether to take off the glue; I was sure upset?) and then I was so proud to select a pin for my grandmother...out of the Green Stamp Catalog, you see, i loved her so much...i did not buy something for myself...When she recieved her gold floral pins every year it made her happy; i saved enough money to buy her Women's Day Magazine subscription, too. Who Bought this...i found this in the mail....., "Ginger Did!" ; ) ..
"Ginger, if you can not have it large, or live large then get it in miniature!" my artistic director for my theatre troupe was so talented...he was president of the Pittsburgh Miniaturists Society for 27 years and was the Window Display Disigner for Saks Fifth Avenue and Gimbles for 40 years!You can live large,through miniatures...here is my first link on my posts...New England Miniatrues Are you interested in a George Washington Swivel chair or an Ashley Table? I have a collection of miniatures...
newenglandminiatures.com ****************************************************************I posted my miniatures of water pot collection picture.
Hmmm....didn't Oscar Wilde have something to say about necessities and luxuries?
Seems he did…
“We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.”
Oscar Wilde
Some people are wise, witty, intelligent and able to express it all in words. Others are blessed with the ability to recognize, enjoy and appreciate it. I think I fit in the latter group. Thanks , gang for making everyday a brand new, stimulating and exciting insight into the human equation.
...and leave the net out for those unfortunate few...
"No man is an island entire of itself; every
man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed
away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death
diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never
send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton
a new BREEZE is always nice, welcome!
I've been thinking about our topic, and remembered that modern hermits (usually living in a small cottage on the grounds of a monastery) are required to come in to the abby for worship once a week and are required to meet regularly with their spiritual director. I know there were times in early Christianity when people took to the desert and a monastic life of total isolation. I think the modern rule reflects our knowledge that this is not healthy.
yes, ChefDebbreeze, where are you blowin' in from?
Errata time ~ Credit where credit
due department
Chef Deb ~ It was Stoney, not me.
Miss Blue ~ How did you hook up
Thomas Merton with John Donne?
I once infuriated a British man of
letters, who quoted never send to know for whom the bell tolls
to me during a short trip on an elevator, by asking him if he enjoyed reading
Hemingway. That got his hackles up. Damm
I'm good, if I must say so myself.
On another note, if you didn’t seen
Miss Bebe’s late night retro rant on the
working primaries topic, it’s worth the
trip back in time. Talk about petards,
that girl loosed a cannonball.
If you didn't seen. Talk about errata.
for a better example of this, I offer rush hour traffic; many cars with only one person inside...you can look out and see others,possibly on either side of your own vehicle, and know that many,many,many others are having that exact same experience,at that exact same instant,stuck in a traffic tie-up,not moving, and trying NOT to think about waterfalls,lakes,tall cool glasses of bevridge,with those beads of moisture on the frosted sides,moisture dripping down that glass,to a puddle on the.....oh good, traffic is moving again
My favorite line of Mr. P's introductory tale is he tamed...goats, “to divert himself,” with whom he “would now and then sing and dance.” Ah, yes, that old reliable song and dance.
I have, when my husband was away working on a film, become desperate enough for conversation that I would pop down to the drugstore to chat with the clerk. Just being surrounded by people was like a balm to my soul.
On those days, the 3 minute drive home would take forever, back to my fortress of solitude.
ChefDeb~When I moved to Los Angeles (almost typed 'loss angeles' - how freudian of me), I lived like a hermit for the first year. I had a 3" eggcrate foam mattress of the type usually placed under a sleeping bag, a coffee table purchased at a garage sale, and a lamp. And that was it, in my one bedroom apartment.
I recall that time with great fondness - I still had interaction with people during the day at work and at the stores - but at night, I would walk in, shut the door, and be silently with my own thoughts to let 24 years of life unwind itself. I would read, volumes and volumes. It was enough.
bebe was awsome.....I caught that alst night .and who the hell is ChefDebbreeze?paolos,as one who had a goat herd for 20 years...........ewww
Paolos, I
believe Merton wrote No man is an Island.
A quote of his,
from another work, came to mind, but it took a while for me to find it. It's
pretty relevant to our conversations here of late.
"If the
salvation of society depends, in the long run, on the moral and spiritual health
of individuals, the subject of contemplation becomes a vastly important one,
since contemplation is one of the indications of spiritual maturity. It is
closely allied to sanctity. You cannot save the world merely with a system. You
cannot have peace without charity. You cannot have social order without saints,
mystics, and prophets."
It's very
hard these days to hear myself think. I can't wait until our boat is on the
water and I can spend a lazy day in contemplation on my sandbar.
what is with this formatting today?
Miss Blue/ Paolos Looks like you are both correct - John Dunne wrote the original poem which Thomas Merton then used as the title for his book. At least that's what Wikipedia thinks. I'm a huge fan of John Dunne, if one can be a fan of a poet who has been dead longer than the nation I belong to has been in existence. My favorite of his, is 'A Valdection Forbidding Mourning' - specifically:But we by'a love so much refined
That our selves know not what it is,
Inter-assuréd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.
Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to airy thinness beat.
If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two;
Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.
And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth roam,
It leans and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.
Ah, Firefox, you have thwarted my attempts at formatting yet again...
STONEY sorry for miscrediting the Bailey link,, thank you for it!
PAOLOS Miss Bebe's posts are always worth going back a day for!
Errata......
cassiepants
I quoted Donne,
and referenced Merton in my initial post....paolos
retorted ( can't get a damned thing by HIM) with the Hemingway in an elevator
remark....resulting in my quoting Merton again....all echoing the same universal axiom...No
man is an island....which ties in with the pretty picture at the top of the page
and today's topic.
I'm
exhausted.
....and I my
own benignity.
Back to "stir" for me.
Miss Blue, I’m all good. I'm not gonna start anything today.
I know how you get once those petards start flying. Why it’s like something out of Tennyson…petards to the right of me, petards to the
left of me, into the jaws of petards rode the six hundred.
And who is it what said...he's
a peninsula?
ChefDeb ~ my favorite MissBebe quote is always followed by …Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My9I8q-iJCI
I will approach this topic gingerly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvlGLdBaZ-U
p- Goat Taming. Nearby there is a town with the nervous goats who fall over with a mere clap of the hands. Makes me think of Gene Wilder in Woody Allen's classic Everything You Always Wanted to Know................ Afraid to Ask. The film had him in a strange relationship with a sheep. Ranked with Kentucky Fried Movie (Is KC watching?) for college days party time. And The Men Who Stare at Goats had the Guvment considering New Age stuff in certain ops. Play me Simon and Garfunkel's I AM A ROCK. Haunting. A rock feels no pain. And an island never cries...
We are made to need human contact, but I do not want it 24/7 for months on end. I need to be alone. That means ALONE but not solitary which means basically cut off. If I'm really alone I don't need to wonder if someone is going to open the door and ask a question or make a noise in another part of the house reminding me that though I have privacy I am not alone.
Ah, Miss Blue -Thanks for your kind adjustment to my thinking. And sadly, I misspelled John Donne's name - and you also kindly avoided a completely appropriate correction on that point.
I love the youtube links which find their way to the Village. Thank you all for sharing them!
PAOLOS to quote the Beeb again bwahahahahaaaaaaaa!
I too caught bebe's late night entry on the primary topic. It was well written and well thought out. How do we create Utopia? I guess that's been something the civilized world has been grappling with since there has been a civilized world. Yes, we want to help the downtrodden, but not so much that they expect it and quit trying to help themselves. Sigh.
I still consider myself a liberal, but am very frustrated at all people who take advantage of every system, loophole, gimmick--the wealthy do it too. My question is what is the bigger evil? The poor person who takes advantage of the welfare system or the rich person who uses loopholes to get out of paying taxes? Both are legal. I think the poor are easier to stigmatize. And I think there is no single solution. We all just have to keep working on trying to make our world a better place. I happen to think that uncontrolled capitalism is not the answer any more than a purely socialist model. I don't trust a corporate entitiy whose sole mission is to create wealth. I don't want to have to live in a gated communith to feel safe and I want to make sure there are still safety nets and opportinities for people who were not offered the same opportinities as I have to make a comfortable life for themselves. Sounds very liberal right? But there is no easy answer. I don't want to give away all my money either.
I'll get off my soapbox now. I'm pretty sure most of you don't agree with me, but that's ok, because we're all a group of thinking, caring people. We all pretty much want the same things for ourselves and our loved ones. I'll just say one more thing, to quote my husband, there are a lot of happy, successful people out there that were born on third base that thought they hit triples.
On today's topic, I don't have much to say. I never read Robinson Crusoe, John Donne is way over my head--my taste in poetry is pretty much limited to Lewis Carroll. The idea of solitary confinement sacres the bejesus out of me. I like to be alone, but only when I want to be alone.
Good day for the ladies without whom, no matter what brought you here, this would be a very lifeless place indeed.
paolos ~
Thanks for the tip. I had not saw bebe's late posting.
bebe ~
That was a powerful, heartfelt tour de force and I am so proud of you for doing it.
You're right nothing disappoints like betrayal.
Interestingly, those now calling for: "Everyone to pay his fair share," will be squealing when it hits them and it will.
I m ~
"I don't trust a corporate entity whose sole mission is to create wealth."
You would do well to shield your mutual fund managers from that information. They spend all day looking for corporations able to reward investors with higher stock value and dividends… that is where much of that created wealth goes.
Of course there is always government a net consumer and re-distributor of wealth.
The current administration has added one hundred and forty thousand full time positions.
Don't know about you but I am not feeling the improvement although a good groping at the airport is worth something.
Stoney, you have a knack for seeing through the BS.
Like I said, I don't want to give away my money. We need balance. Government with all of its inefficiencies at least is supposedly somewhat accountable to the people. Corporations are only accountable to the stockholders. Though I enjoy the profits, I don't want them running the show. I appreciate the money, I earn my own money too and I work for a corporation. But I feel that corporations need to be kept in check. It's got to be an ongoing struggle. There is no right answer. Once something is fixed, someone figures out a way to get around it and it needs to be fixed again. The floor becomes the ceiling.
And another thing, it used to be that inventors put money into a company that sold a good product and made a profit. With all the wierd investments out there, it's more like gambling than investing.
I promise I'll try to stop now.
I'm sorry, I can't shut up.
I know a few people with government jobs. Most are looking for early retirement or have retired. They used to feel good about their jobs and what they did. Now the entire government workforce has been stigmatized; these folks had good jobs and they did contribute to society. Like the engineering corps, prison workers, postal workers (don't laugh). A lot of them don't feel good about what they do anymore. It's very demoralizing.
Now I really am done... I won't apologize for my outburst or Ivan will yell at me. He hates what I'm saying anyway. Love you Ivan! Peace and love to all.
"I feel that corporations need to be kept in check." How? What's your suggestion? And who should keep them "in check?"
You won't like my answer. It's not really a good answer, but we need to continue to have government regulations. The people need to keep a watchful eye over each other.
Ok, so I'm turning off my computer now so you don't have to listen to my liberal do gooder idiology anymore. I know I'm naive.
I hope you all have a wonderful evening.
No, I don't agree. Less regulation is my answer. We don't need overseers. We're not cattle. We're thinking human beings. We are capable of making our own decisions without the government cracking a whip and telling us what to do and when to do it and how to do it. Self reliance, small government - that's the way to freedom. Keeping a watchful eye over each other - quite frankly, that sounds a whole lot like "if mommie is a commie then you gotta turn her in." And that's not life in these United States - that's elsewhere, somewhere close by to a place called Hell.
Speaking of good groping -Old FLETCH comes to mind- Drop your pants and bend over Mr. Babar...........Moooon Riverrrrrrr...***Vonnegutism- "And I apologize to all of you who are the same age as my grandchildren. And many of you reading this are the same age as my grandchildren. They, like you, are being royally shafted and lied to by our Baby Boomer corporations and government." ****I try to make a few small decisions everyday that are the most moral and noble things I can possibly do. I have such a long way to go- An old Capitalist Hippie that loves a good cause and would love to be half the man his grandpa was. Yep like Tom Robbins I want to travel on a train that smells like snowflakes.
I want to sip in cafes that smell like comets.
Under the pressure of my step, I want the streets to emit the precise odor of a diamond necklace.
I want the newspapers I read to smell like the violins left in pawnshops by weeping hobos on Christmas Eve.
I want to carry luggage that reeks of the neurons in Einstein's brain.
I want a city's gases to smell like the golden belly hairs of the gods. Those desires wil be around after all the governments and corporations are gone.
"Each of us is all the sums he has not counted: subtract us into nakedness and night again, and you shall see begin in Crete four thousand years ago the love that ended yesterday in Texas.
The seed of our destruction will blossom in the desert, the alexin of our cure grows by a mountain rock, and our lives are haunted by a Georgia slattern, because a London cutpurse went unhung. Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years. The minute-winning days, like flies, buzz home to death, and every moment is a window on all time.
This...is a moment...:"
one, one thousand, two, one thousand, three, one thousand, four...one thousand. I love the smell of snowflakes, too, TT.
I like dem apples. a sweet moment lasting 40 thousand years. Now that's the ticket.
Darn.... I came here all dressed up for a Three Hour Tour with Gilligan, The Captain ( I'm still an Allen Hale Sr fan... Not so much the Jr. Who captained this adventurous voyage that went off course)', Mary Ann and of course Ginger.... But it seems to have turned a bit more serious here so I shall see if I can find my "thinking cap"....which I seemed to have left somewhere when I was on a ladder painting, and dig around in the past to see if I can find something to contribute.....
And I was going to play the bongos......
Have a good evening if I don't show....peace out
Read the political post, Bebe. Well done!
Bebe' s political post never ever ever showed up on my screen--no matter how many times I went back to older posts or refreshed my screen.................which confirms something that I've suspected for a while.....sometitmes I feel like my posts don't show....and now...Bebe's? I think the only solution is to click on her name and see if that pulls up the relevant post. I was curious last night after Peter Lake mentioned a 9:20 posting and I had one from her on my screen at 9 something else......but no matter how many times or when I refreshed, I didn't get that posting. Sooooooooooooooo......I'm going to do a little time travel back to yesterday, click on her name and see what happens................hope my trip back isn't too long---ya'll know I think coming home is longer......
Carol ~ You have heard of cyberspace, formerly known as the
twilight zone? That’s where all the naughty posts go. Try the bottom of this page.
http://www.petermanseye.com/curiosities/politics/9541-primary-politics
Peter Lake ~ I tried to get the ship back on course at 2:30
but by then it was too late. The petards were flying. I am not
about to take the fall on this one. If I hadn't read your 9:20 post
previous, I might have missed Miss Bebe’s work also. One can’t stir the pot and then duck out, can
one?
George ~ ME TOO!
Carol ~ I too have read a post alluded to and not been able to find it -- strange.....lost in cyber space somewhere???????
The aforementioned post comes up loud and clear on my little laptop in Wales. I have no opinion one way or the other, but it's interesting to hear what other people think. Today .... marooned. It's a lot better being lonely on your own than with somebody who delights in tormenting you. Thank goodness for you people. Nos da, my dear people. Eeeewww~ it's cold. Hot water bottle and cat under duvet tonight.
Haha! Small ads on my sidebar: Royal Navy now recruiting,
Best I could do on short notice....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edvMfdV9CEw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Bebe's excellent comments are to be found: February 01, 2012 9:20 PM.
I agree in important ways with fellow Badgers I marjorie and Park4.
Some in business are so lacking in virtue and morality that regulation (rules propounded mainly by non-elected officials) are not sufficient to deter wretched excess.
Case in point: investment banks bundling sub-prime mortgages (loans undertaken by persons not likely to repay them) selling those and turning around to make more money by betting against the success of those securities.
Any kid from a nice family would recognize the wrongness of it but it did not run afoul of any regulation or law.
That here even has to be one is pretty sad but there it is.
There should be staggering fines and prison time preferably in the company of unpleasant men whose parents lost their homes.
Paolos,........ Where you a Ginger or Mary Ann fan? And why was the professor on that cruise anyway?
Sometimes the pot boils over if it isn't stirred for sure.
Be well
There is no price that can be placed on the 2-3 year period when I wandered with no place to go, when my possessions were few, and when I was shipwrecked on a deserted island in the middle of a sea of people testing my philosophy. Things happen for all sorts of reasons. I came out changed like Mr. Crusoe, like The Count, like Hondo and speaking of Mr. L'Amour's wisdom- “Adventure is just a romantic name for trouble. It sounds swell when you write about it, but it's hell when you meet it face to face in a dark and lonely place.”
To have government involvement, or not to have it.......sadly that is a question where the answer was taken out of our hands back in the days of the industrial revolution when manufacturing and many other of the bigger enterprises reigned supreme as in the world was their oyster, and no one told them how to run their business......and they did just that. They got a little carried away and screwed the golden pooch by becoming totally enamored with the skies the limit profits that were easier to maintain in an environment where the end justifies the means.
In other words, we had our chance and blew it.
The only reason we have child labor laws was because children were working in factories, doing dangerous work, for as long as it took to get the job done.
The only reason we have OSHA and Labor Laws because employees were treated like cattle, if you were injured because of dangerous working conditions or not able to work double shifts for weeks on end, you were immediately replaced by someone else until they too become burnt out.
EPA.... 'cos it took decades to clean up the mess in the great lakes where all the chemical waste was disposed of, because cities became so polluted from all of the harmfully emissions that were never checked or questioned
........if we had only attempted to treat employees with a little dignity, protected our children, considered the safety of the processes and their long-term affect on the environment without being forced to..... We would hardly have any regulations., because businesses could be trusted to do the right thing.....
And they/we have been paying for their arrogance for over a century now 'cos once government got involved, the pendulum that defines the business environment did not seek balance in the middle, but instead has been swung over to the opposite side to create an environment that cannot compete in a global market.
The cure of a few needed regulations became a plague of over regulation. Government replaced the greedy folks that caused intervention and became even worse that the original perpetrators.
Today's robber Barron's wear ties and build their riches using other peoples money....which was fine until they too screwed the pooch by following the slippery slope of the end justifying the means.......... And so the vicious cycle continues.
Medicine and healthcare providers have followed this self destructive path too. And once again the cure is worse than the disease.
Government involvement should be avoided as much as possible. Business, like so many other enterprises that once operated on the 'honor system' has unfortunately not been able to maintain the high road without some guard rails.....But they should not be strangled to death by too many regulations.
Either way, it seems that we still don't know how not to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Geeez louizeee......I'm going' back to playing' the bongos.
I have been reading and rereading Mr. Peterman's tale at the top trying to
ascertain the lesson hidden therein. I'm lost. Maybe Stoney can help, I mean
if you want a story with a lesson, where do you go? To Stoney, naturally. As
best I can tell the lesson of this story is simply this: You've got to miss a
lot of sea lions before you find your old goat. Maybe not.
WILSON!!!!!!!!!
maybe it's as simple as
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM_p1Az05Jo
according to the Homeland SecurityRegulations, those bongos need to be groped,patted down, and x-rayed, before being allowed in the lounge
I enjoy my quiet times; selected by me and deliberately designated as MINE. Moments of solitude are so necessary in this break-neck paced world we live in or else we'd all be headed for the Prozac/Lithium bubble. News, usually anything but good, politics, NEVER good and then the usual family turmoils and conflicts we somehow manage to get involved in at some point in time. TIME OUT!! Off to my sanctum sanctorum. Me, the four cats,( three Italians and an Irishman), *grin*, shut the danged door and serenity at last. Of course a wee smidgeon of Bailey's Irish Creme helps too, kinda gets the mood set. Here's to all you solitude lovers. (Raising her glass on high)
ChefDeb ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2BMTlNmLsY
Skulduggery and Monkey Business in high places. To low places with juke boxes that The Hollies- Air That I Breathe- Women dance in their stocking feet and sweet nothings are really something.
I think I'll just stay here today. Enjoy a little R and R, whine a
bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4VQzsRA4as
Thank you Park4 for your 5:21 comment. I didn't reply because I had promosed to stop, and I had to leave. But I thought about it all evening. I think Peter Lake addressed it well in his 9:17 post. But my initial thought to reply to you was that I realize that you have a much higher opinion of the human race than I do. You think that left on our own, people will do the right thing. I think that too many people do the wrong thing to be left on their own.
And the pendulum will continue to swing.
Thanks everyone for an interesting day.
That's not exactly what I think, IMarjorie. People are a pretty disappointing bunch, on the whole. I think it's my own experience with owning manufacturing companies and the responsibilities inherent therein that makes me a believer in the best this country has to offer, and that's opportunity - I believe that this country offers opportunities for creating a life of your own design, and there's no country like it in that respect. I (my husband and myself) began one company at age 30, and then lost it 15 years later - our own mistakes led to the loss - and then at the not so young age of 45, we began another, and we learned from our previous mistakes, worked really hard, continue to work, will continue to work - but it's the work, the loss, the set back, the living on a very short shoestring after living comfortably - I believe in hard work, self reliance, and the old adage "If you want a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm" - I don't think I'm unique, and I think it's this work ethic that has made this country what it is, and left alone, to the free market, I think this work ethic will surface again. ..... I Marjorie, we might not agree on idealologies, but so long as we both believe in the same end result, then I think all is cool. I hope so, anyhow. Please know that I wish for you nothing but the best, whether we agree on the specifics or not. p.
PS: I shouldn't have said "people on the whole" are disappointing. I think there are more well intentioned people than ill intentioned people. But the ill intentioned people are really tenacious and can make life miserable for the rest of us. (Okay, I'm done. Really.)
Doing the right thing always trumps the best of intentions.....but good intentions are a good start.
Peace out fellow people of the EyE. The lamp is lit in theSepia's club car so it is way past time to stop kicking and dragging that poor dead horse of this week's political hot potato topic around and enjoy a sunny, fresh scented breeze in the air from the mountains, fields, and shores evening and weekend.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the friendships and comraderie that attracts us to this place.
Even if just for a short while,........ Don't let worry rob you of the good times we have.
Northsider, please save me a seat by the window but not too far from the fire place.
Many thanks for the very kind comments..................I could not have ben inspired w/ out the specific posts of PARK, MISS BLUE, & PL...................they lit my fire....................( I fear that I sound like some second rate beauty queen contestant in Vegas..........sorry........)
been, doh....................
Bebe... I looked you up in my book and it says you are totally First Rate.