EXTRAPOLATION NOTATION
The video, an ad for the video game 'Red Alert 3: Command and Conquer' came up when I was crusin' You Tube. In the game, from what I can gather, the crumbling Soviet state is collapsing under its own weight, and are falling behind the Western collective (I am guessing), the Allies.
In a desperate move, three key members of the Soviet gov't go back in time to eliminate the man responsible for the military and technological advantage of the Allies - Albert Einstein! They accomplish their mission, return to set out against the Allies.
Meanwhile, as the two superpowers are engaged with each other, the third political force emerges, 'the technological cult, the Empire of the Rising Sun'! And worldwide conflagration ensues!!
While many other science fiction/futurist writers have described such a future, for my money, George Orwell and Alvin Toffler (as well as headache inducing Ayn Rand) are pretty much who I go by.
So everyone is blaming the Unions for the automakers plight, along with a inferior business model ... okay, about the business plan, but THE UNIONS? Look, I am not the only one who read Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle', am I? That is what we would be looking at without unions protecting the workers. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A 'MIDDLE CLASS'. You either have, or you are sedated enough by what you can scrounge up in your ceasless, meaningless spinnings (said for dramatic effect!!) to be distracted from what the ruling class, those who sit above the fray, are doing.
Instead of making a case for how I think Western culture has been in 'decay' since Athens, and other gobbedly-gook that I didn't feel like researchin', I just arrived at the end point of my 'trip', by saying that I think the Big Three should get their help. Though I may agree with your 'ring strategy', Ken, I disagree with the benefits of bailing out the financial sector. I understand that it may perhaps have been necessary, but I don't think it is that much more necessary than keeping American's working. One begat the other, and in Ayn Rand's world, it is the man who can, not the man who can figure a way to make money off the man who can.
So in the route that I took simplifying my 'rant', led me to the 'bail out the workers' conclusion to save the illusion of the middle class. Normally I save this kind of stuff for a paragraph or two on some of the more insightful journals that dare to venture down the rabbit hole.
I have stopped doing that kind of thing. I want to get married. I want to go back to school. I want to see my daughters get married. I don't want to get caught up in all that kind of stuff. That was what my college years/pre-KT & Lexxie twenties were for.
Winston Churchill intimated that when you are a young man, you should be exposed to taking on such fanciful flights of the mind and acts. But should you survive into middle age, you should grow more conservative. For me, it means 'DUDE, YOU THINK TOO MUCH!'
So I don't think 'so much', so much. Besides, I have trouble remembering why I came down the stairs, and have to walk all the way back up to catch that remnants of that thought...
... and you want ME to explain why I feel the why I feel about the economic meltdown (oh, and that IS what this is)..? I think not! Tomorrow, I plan to get up, ride out to Tee Jay's house and leave some flowers for her, go out to Royal Oak and check out the Astoria on Main Street, then take my freezingly cold self home to watch the Texas Tech - Oklahoma game(please, oh please, let State upset State!).
Sunday, I am going to start reading Tony Dungy's book, 'Quiet Strength'. Did y'all know that he had to coach and work thru his son's suicide before the Super Bowl season? Don't even have the ability to imagine ...
Finally, looks like one of my fave shows, 'Millionaire Matchmaker' is going to be on ... good since 'Eli Stone' and 'Pushing Daisies' are doing just that ... pushing up daisies. Thought about watching 'Real Housewives ...' but each time I have turned that show on, my soul begins to weep!
As to that 'boxing strategy' I agree with you on Ken, that is for the other journal!!
8 comments:
I knew about Tony Dungee... It was so sad. He is an amazing man!! I am not sure that I could have done what he did....
As with many institutions (not sure if Unions should be considered such, but for my purpose here, they are), the original intent and purpose was pure, provide safeguards and protection for the working man (or woman). Unfortunately, they have morphed into some sort of strange organization, guarantees for everything and nothing out of pocket. Certainly management and the business plan are mostly to blame, but as the recent strikes show, especially in difficult times, everyone must give, or all will lose:o)
Hope your ride this morning was not to cold. The bakery is always fun, and the football will be played in the cold today.
Beth got Tony's book last year, she has not read it, but your entry may inspire her to do so.
Have a peaceful day today :o)
Toffler wrote Future Shock didn't he? I remember reading that in high school.
Yes, as Ken mentioned, Tony's book is on my (very big) list to read. I admire him greatly, and his players all talk about his quiet strength, especially when he dealt with his son's suicide. A very admirable man.
Hugs, Beth
ayn rand is....wordy.
you may be right about the middle class just being an illusion since most middle class people only own their debt at the end of the day and are really like you and me, living from check to check, they just have nice stuff to show for it.
my work is not a union shop and we have a good principal so life is good. it would of been nice to have a union when the archdiocese closed all those schools a few years back, but we did get a pretty good severance package and help getting a job in another school if we were highly qualified according to NCLB.
i have also been in a union and was a supervisor in a union shop. at the end of the day we all had to work together for the common good if anything was to get done.
being at loggerheads never gets anything done and this is what i see with the congress/ big three. i am still waiting on one of the auto reps to ask one of the congressmen who pays for their hookers after the private jet comments.
xxalainaxx
I certainly respect your views about the auto industry Mark and you are living in the heart of it so to speak with where you live; we see it peripherally; you see the big impact there.
I do hope you enjoy Tony Dungy's book; I think the only way he was able to get through that time (and I can't imagine ever going through such a time like that) was because he drew his strength from his relationship with God. You could see the anguish in his face though and you knew he was suffering, but he continued to do the best he could with what he felt he needed to do in his coaching; a true inspiration for us all :)
betty
I hope I'm not missing the point... sometimes I feel sorta blonde when I read your blog (and I'm not blonde!)
But I will say this... having grown up in a blue collar environment where all my schoolmates parents either worked at the Ford plant, the GM plant, Eastern Airlines (defunct about 20 years now) and Delta airlines... it always seemed to me that unions were elitist. My dad has worked for the same company for 42 years but never commanded the same salary as those guys who were working the assembly line - even though my dad is tops at what he does... the unions priced their products out of the market. People like my dad - a non-union member - couldn't afford the latest greatest Ford rolling off the assembly line. He had to try to keep his ten year old clunker running. People like my dad weren't so worried about when the Eastern airlines workers went on strike - we couldn't afford to travel.
I guess the point is that yes, there was a time that unions were necessary to eliminate horrific labor conditions... but when unions began to negotiate salaries that far exceeded the value of the work that was provided... and negotiated benefits that were not on par with the average worker... they priced themselves - and their products - out of the market.
Same deal with banks and insurance companies that need bail outs - my company does not require a bailout - we are making less of a profit than usual but we are still stable - because we invest conservatively.
We are where we are because at some point the American dream stopped being a family of four with a modest home and a car and maybe a color tv... and instead became living like the Vanderbilts on a modest income. We made up the difference between what we could afford and what we thought we deserved by buying on credit. It was inevitable.
Always a pleasure visiting with you...
*hugs*
heather
Mark; come and see me on my journal when you can; I left an award there for you
betty
I have read the "Jungle" several times, it is one of my favorite books. As far as films go, like him or not, have you seen "Roger and Me"? It reminds of what is going on now, but on a larger scale. I hope for the best for the "Working Class Americans"!
Thanks for your entry,
Wes
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