Terminal Condition
Sam Aurelius Milam III
No
human condition endures forever, with the corollary that the more complicated
such a condition, the greater its susceptibility to change.
from the Last Castle
by Jack Vance
by Jack Vance
Imagine
a juggler. Imagine that he's on stage, in front of an audience.
Imagine that he's juggling eggs.
Off
stage, out of sight of the audience, there is a man with a big basket of
eggs. Every so often, the man off stage throws an egg at the juggler.
When that happens, the juggler has to catch the new egg and add it to the
ones that he's juggling. Every time he adds an egg to his act, he
has to throw the eggs harder and higher, to keep them going. Every
time he has to catch a new egg, his act gets harder.
To
the audience, the increment of difficulty with each new egg might not be
obvious, especially if the juggler doesn't want to appear stressed.
Maybe he just keeps smiling.
The
man off stage just keeps throwing eggs at the juggler. The juggler
just keeps working harder and harder. He keeps throwing the eggs
higher and higher. Even if he misses an egg occasionally, he can
still keep juggling. However, every time he misses an egg, there's
another slick place on the floor. When his assistant tries to clean
up the floor, she just gets in his way. Every time an egg hits the
juggler in the face, his vision might become a little more blurred.
Every time an egg breaks in his hand, his grip will become a little more
slippery. Meanwhile, the assistant, trying to help, just keeps getting
in the way. While the audience is enjoying the act, the situation
is becoming more desperate. It can't go on forever. The appearance
of dynamic stability is a lie. The unending growth is unsustainable.
Such a situation cannot remain under control forever. No matter how
good the juggler is, eventually he's going to drop the eggs.
That
is the U.S. economy.
Intolerable in Any Denomination
Sam Aurelius Milam III
According
to the K-House e-news for June 1, 2004, the Muslims in Hamtramck, Michigan,
at the local al-Islah mosque, intend to broadcast their call to prayer
over loudspeakers. The city council has voted to alter Hamtramck's
noise ordinance so that the call to prayer, normally made 5 times a day,
will be considered legal.
I've
complained a lot about Christians who force Christian doctrine into the
awareness of people who don't share it. Displays of the Ten Commandments
in public places are one of my pet peeves. However, what the Muslims
in Hamtramck, Michigan intend to do is even worse. A plaque bearing
the Ten Commandments is visual. At least someone who objects to it
can try not to look. An audio announcement is far more intrusive.
You can't look away from a sound. Attendance in a public place might,
theoretically, be voluntary. However, when a loud noise is broadcast
in a neighborhood, there isn't anything voluntary about listening to it.
I
oppose the imposition of a belief system onto people who don't share it,
whether it's Christianity, Islam, vegetarianism, or anything else.
It seems that Muslim evangelism is just as obnoxious as the Christian variety.
Stray Thoughts
Sam Aurelius Milam III
Think
Of It As Evolution In Action I'm tired of having "the children" used
as an excuse for why I have to put up with something stupid. Let's
repeal all of the "child-safe" crap and let the children learn to be careful
while they're growing up, if they can, like I did. There are too
many stupid people in the world already.
| frontiersman@ida.net | Frontiersman,
1510 North 22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
Also see Pharos at http://www.ida.net/users/pharos/ |
July 2004
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