Whose Responsible for the Economy?

(This is what I would say if I were running for president.)

My friends, I know we are all worried about the economy right now, but fear not. Yes, we are experiencing one of the hardest economic times in recent memory, but things are still good. We still have food to eat and are coming together to make sure we all have a roof over our heads. It could be worse. Remember this.

Now I won't stand here and say that the economy is hunky-dory and we are doing just fine. Everyone from the investors on Wall Street to the corn growers in Iowa know that we are being effected by the bad decisions of a few institutions.

I will tell you this, however it is going to get better very soon. America cannot be kept down. We will bound back and be even stronger than ever.

Now in order to do this we much all stand strong and stand together.

As president, I will do my part to make sure that the government is watching out for its citizens. I will make sure that our workers, with every color collar, do not go without the basic things we need in life. To ensure a healthy democracy we need healthy people out there doing what needs to be done.

That said, I want you to know that the huge businesses that helped cause this mess will likely not be around much longer. The government will help the people. That's its job. But we will not provide a free pass to those who cannot create a stable marketplace for our investments.

This is what I will do. While we are concerned about specifics right now, I promise that this spirit will be in whatever economic plans I support.

Now this isn't enough however. I need, We need, America needs you all to be patient. It is hard right now to sit back and watch the news and the rest of the media sound like Nostradamus soothsaying or investments away. There is the temptation to pull your money out of the economy. Don't do this.

Your savings in your bank accounts are insured. The government will pick up the slack if it came to that, but that is not an issue thanks to FDIC. The reason we insure your accounts is so that you can keep your money in the bank. This keeps the banks strong. If you were to take back your money and put it in a hole in the ground then the banks would have no way to play their parts in the economy.

Along with staying calm I ask for us all to spend the next few months living frugally. This doesn't necessarily mean tightening our belts, but it does mean simply paying attention to what we are spending our money on. If you want to make sure that your money is safe start with looking at how most of us loose most of our money, living beyond our means.

If we simply spend wisely and save over the coming times we will soon be able to bring our economy back to where it was not too long ago.

You do that and I will keep of my end of the deal.

You probably already heard this...

Here is a great interview with Slavoj Zizek. I love listening to this guy.

Birthday Thoughts

I recently turned 22 and have a lot to think about in terms of what I want to do in life. But here are a few things that I would love to do:

Join the Peace Corps - I would love to be able to be some place new and exciting while doing good work. To me this really does seem like the best way to do just that. I am not sure if I have the moxie to do that or the ability to leave the ones I love for two years though.

Teach my way through grad school - If I could spend my time doing research with some interesting professor while doing my own studies and teaching in some capacity I would be happy. It is all a lot of work. More than I have ever had before, but I think I could do a good job of this and maybe give up a bit of the leisure time I actually have so much of now a days. I just need to find a place where I could do this.

Write a book - If I starting really doing research and writing more full time I could very quickly produce a book that would change the world. My ideas and the things I am looking at go so deeply into the way most of us (here in the West) interact with the world. All I need is to put my mind to it.

Have the confidence to be happy - There are times when I go to bed or wake up with the feeling that I am not doing anything in my life that is meaningful or that will make me happy in the long run. While the majority of the day assuages these feelings, I still worry sometimes. To find the confidence I need I just need to be willing to set my mind directly on the path in life I am walking and accept that no matter which direction I go everything will be wonderful.

Sarah Palin and the McCain Campaign

These people just make me feel dirty.

Pop Culture and Religion

Why would you preach a message inspired by a movie that you tell your parish not to see? I only ask this because it seems like one man is.

This guy claims to be trying to reach out to people by simply getting their attention with the movie stuff, but in even joking about them and dressing up as the characters isn't that endorsement of the movies?

Now, as a student of popular culture who gets most of my academic direction from a theologian and religious leader, I have no problem with the idea of the church and the megaplex sharing a common ground. I will gladly tell you that we live in a world where the movie theater is the church, the DVR is the confessional, and the convention is the hajj.* The problem is when you try to use one to boost the other even if that boost is based on something that is condemned.

For example, if I were at a nut allergy conference I would not dress up like Mr. Peanut for the first half of my talk only to take off the monocle and say, "Seriously though, don't eat nuts." The whole point of the gentleman legume is to sell nuts. Likewise, the jokes of white guys playing black guys is about getting people to go see the movie.

This isn't hypocriticalism. That would be much more obvious to see. It is actually a kind of disillusionment. It is a feeling that you can take things from the culture at large and apply them to your pure religion while still condemning them for existing.

This is partially my complaint about Christian Rock. While yes "rock and/or roll music" is a genre that is defined by a distinct sound from its fast tempo to its ability to be complex or simple, it is also carries a distinct philosophy. That is it is all about being subversive. The problem is that Christian Rock doesn't seem to be subversive at all.

This is because of one of two things. First, it could be that no one seems to notice this dichotomy. I doubt this. There have been plenty of louder voices than mine shouting about this. We all know that these two things should not go together when described like this. But there is always the off chance that everyone is really just as dense as this idea would suggest.

The second is much worse than the first. What if rock is no longer subversive? Clearly, it isn't subversive now, but was it ever? While there is always the old joke of the dad banging on the door telling his kind to turn off that shitty music, this stereotype is dieing. Instead we are getting a generation of kinds whose dads are banging on their doors demanding that they return their shitty music.

I might enjoy sitting back and listening to Led Zeppelin with my dad, but in doing so I am admitting that I (and my generation by extension) am neither rebellious nor subversive in the way his might have been.

This worries me because it might mean that we have reached a point where we must redefine rock music, admit that it is mainstream, and realize that the young culture of today is the culture that even the gray feel that they are a part of.



*Yeah, I am sure this is an imperfect analogy. So enjoy it as humor.

The End of Summer

Well, this is the last night before the end of summer for me. I enjoyed it and feel that it was mildly productive. Spending most of it in LA was pretty much awesome, but the parts that were just here in Arkansas were fun too.

With school starting I hope to be getting into a more writerly mode of operations. This means that the several posts I have started on here might get past the draft stage and will become interesting discussions. I also hope that I might start to post sections of my actual thesis here as I work them out. All and all I want to just have more content here.

All said I hope you all had a good summer.

LA is almost gone...

In about a day or so I will be leaving LA for the desert city of Las Vegas. From there I will stop by the Grand Canyon to get a post card or two, then home to Arkansas. Most of this will be driving down I-40, but I have never shied away from road trips.

I won't be sad doing this. When I get back to AR I have plenty of catching up to do in terms of videogames, friends, and rainfall. I also won't miss the horrid parking or at least having to pay to park anywhere that exists out here. There is also the excitement of moving into a house just off campus with some of my best friends that is also less than a block from my sister's residence. Life is waiting for me to get back there in other words.

While I have been out here my time has been fun. I have gone to the beach a few times, been in neighborhoods looking at houses that cost more than the net worth of most people I know, attended a filming of The Price is Right, eaten chicken and waffles at the same time, eaten Pink Berry, eaten Chinese food in a crowded restaurant in which Hannah and I were the only people of Western descent, seen famous movie houses, and over all just been around some of the most awesome places in the world. All said, it has been good in getting a feel for LA.

In terms of productivity... I wrote a bit for my thesis. It needs way more work, but in the pages I have written so far I have the ball rolling with my thoughts. I have read just about everything published by Chuck Klosterman. A man with whom I feel a certain bullshitter's connection. I have read a few other things as well, but nothing to point out. While I wish I had read and written more overall, there is nothing too specific that I did not do that I wanted to.

So while I go off into the future in the next few days I will be ready for it. Soon school will be starting and I will be forced to go into heavy work mode, something I forget that I am capable of doing during the summer but seem to fall right into the moment I find I have dozens of pages to write while studying for that many tests while trying to have a life and be an active Honors person too. It makes me wish I was going to be a PA again...