Two things are causing Americans to suffer an inexorably declining standard of living in my generation:
1. No one thinks about the long term anymore. We only think short term.
2. No one thinks about the common good anymore. It's only "How can this benefit me?
Look at any sign that the overall quality of life in this country is declining, and it can be traced back to those two dynamics. Guaranteed.
I'm not speaking of individual citizens. I'm thinking of the leaders that guide the institutions that affect us all: government, business, labor, and so on.
It's what's killing us.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Random post-Nepal thoughts
Lots of good ideas from browsing the latest "Daedalus Books" catalog.
- The lesson from "Timbuktu, The Sahara's Fabled City of Gold," is that a city that prospered 600 years ago by trading in everything from salt to gold, and which then led to impressive schools and libraries, and which then gave the city a wonderous repuation, resulted ultimately in "invasions and plunders that precipitated its decline," according to the book's summary. And there's a lesson for us all. Fly too high, and the bastards will inevitably come after you. It happened in Timbuktu, which today is a sad outpost, even as its reputation for exotic magnificence lingers on in our collective consciousness. I think that's another lesson: with the right name, a reputation can last a lot longer than reality. Take note, marketers.
- Paradox alert: A book titled "The Well-Made Book" is all about an American printer, Daniel Berkeley Updike, who set the standards for book design in the 20th century. So who designed this? What kind of experience was that? Also, kinda sad to see "Outwitting History," a book about a guy who saved a gigantic number of Yiddish books from being lost, now in the remainder bin for $5.98. (Published price $24.95.) We just don't read books anymore, do we? Archaic form.
- With that in mind, I would like to follow through on the notion of creating an extended work of fiction in Twitter, and see how that goes. Add it to the list!
- I am becoming fond of instant coffee. This can't be good.
- The lesson from "Timbuktu, The Sahara's Fabled City of Gold," is that a city that prospered 600 years ago by trading in everything from salt to gold, and which then led to impressive schools and libraries, and which then gave the city a wonderous repuation, resulted ultimately in "invasions and plunders that precipitated its decline," according to the book's summary. And there's a lesson for us all. Fly too high, and the bastards will inevitably come after you. It happened in Timbuktu, which today is a sad outpost, even as its reputation for exotic magnificence lingers on in our collective consciousness. I think that's another lesson: with the right name, a reputation can last a lot longer than reality. Take note, marketers.
- Paradox alert: A book titled "The Well-Made Book" is all about an American printer, Daniel Berkeley Updike, who set the standards for book design in the 20th century. So who designed this? What kind of experience was that? Also, kinda sad to see "Outwitting History," a book about a guy who saved a gigantic number of Yiddish books from being lost, now in the remainder bin for $5.98. (Published price $24.95.) We just don't read books anymore, do we? Archaic form.
- With that in mind, I would like to follow through on the notion of creating an extended work of fiction in Twitter, and see how that goes. Add it to the list!
- I am becoming fond of instant coffee. This can't be good.
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