I think there is one thing that Obama has in common with most common men and that is that he liked the idea of being President without ever really considering the actual responsibilities he would have and the rights he would have to give up. I don’t think there are many people who can truly comprehend what being President is all about until they’re knee deep in the crapstorm of hard decisions, moral ambiguities, and a general lack a sleep. I suspect that Barack Obama regrets being President, but his pride and ambition prevents him from resigning. Either that or Pelosi won’t let him.
As a self-proclaimed anti-Utopian, I marvel at my ability to believe that if this industry was deregulated or this tax system was removed or changed that things would be perfect. I have to remind myself that there is no perfect world because it’s populated by sinners like myself. No matter how you design the system, there will always be some a-hole to muck up the works. The same thing happens in software development, only everything’s inanimate.
Speaking of software development and system development, one thing I have learned in software development is that the simpler the program, the less buggy and more efficient it will be. Unfortunately, most systems have to be more complex than that. I guess the same is true with designing a system of government. And like software development, instead of replacing a section of code or completely re-writing it when faced with a flawed design, you merely add in an additional layer of complexity due to either constraints in resources or just pure laziness. Ever wonder why we have 15 intelligence agencies and why Bush’s fix for it was to just appoint an overseer with unchecked authority? I suspect that’s why.
One thing I’ve learned while serving on the Vestry in my Anglican Church is that not much ever really gets done in comparison to how much is talked about being done. When I see my boss going to all these meetings and generally being unavailable most of the time as well as having attended many of these meetings myself, I’m willing to bet that this is how it is pretty much everywhere.
When I was younger and much more naive, I believed that there was some grandiose plan for my existence. These days, I’m content with who I am and have no desire to move up the corporate ladder, unless I get to continue to develop software. I’ve see what the boss does and frankly I hate it.
Today I spent almost three hours shoveling snow. It really was nice to get outside and do something that mattered, even it only mattered a small amount to my wife and myself. More importantly, it is good for a white collar chump like myself to get my hands dirty and to get a little sweaty from hard labor. Too bad the pay sucks or I’d do stuff like that for a living.
One thing I’ve learned about dealing with sin is that if you do not deal with the little things like lustful thoughts (and actions), then you will fail when the big crap hits you. Each and every little victory over a minor sin should be celebrated as though you kicked the devil in the balls and got away with it. And every little failure, which will happen, must treated like a great tragedy. We return to our slavery to sin when we shrug the small stuff off like it’s no big deal.
The elderly in America despise the young for the most part. If they liked us, then they would stop receiving Social Security and find a job. I remember John Stossel interviewing a bunch of elderly with regards to Medicare and the sheer level of selfishness they were exhibiting was astounding. While I am happy that they have reached the age of retirement and can more or less do what they want, I do not like seeing a huge percentage of my money going to pay for their pointless doctor visits. Why do the elderly have to be put on a pedestal and the young are spat on by everyone? The elderly in America, by and large, have done nothing worthy of respect and they will be the first to go once the Democrat’s health care plan is passed. And nobody will shed a tear for them when they pass. I guess that would be the real tragedy in government health care.