Someone pointed out the other day that adults are still asking kids the same question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Thoughtful answer, of course, is "Happy!" But if adults ever heard such a flippant (in their mind) thing coming back, they'd say "Yes, but,..." and procede with a lecture.

'tis a gift to be simple
'tis a gift to be free

When I return from the small Latin American country I visit every year I'm always stuck by the inherent craziness of American life. Yes, we most definitely are hyper-individualistic and going along with that we tend to be narcissistic. After all, the advertising culture here has encouraged that, hasn't it. The citizens of the country I visit laugh a lot and don't go around with blank or sad looking faces like so many do here. I never wanted to father children in the United States and didn't because I have always thought that this was not a healthy environment for children to grow up in. I'm convinced that the multitude of psychological problems experienced by many young people here are the result of the dysfunctional culture and growing up in disturbed nuclear families. You don't find many kids on psych meds in my other country, because the surrounding culture is much healthier. But the biggest obstacle to confronting and dealing with this situation here is the passivity and incuriosity of most of the people here. I don't really blame ordinary Americans for that--its the result of cynical manipulation over decades by the fascistic elites here through government and corporate propaganda.

Why don't you people just put the TV away as there's nothing worthwhile to watch? And why not give different people of different parties and ideologies a chance instead of being stuck with two asshole parties of the "conservative" ideology? Build your own organizations and think tanks and interact with one another. That's how you'll eventually win and tear down the over-commercialized bullshit. Don't count on "President Obama" to help you on that.

I don't WANT to know my neighbors because they surround themselves with nasty and noisy dogs.

Doesn't anyone read Karl Marx anymore? The crisis of production? Alienation? Hello? Is our future merely an intellectual incrementalism because no one can mention the evil, red doctor while validating his every thesis?

If focussing is work, then entertainement is retardation.

The comfort of a home is my number one goal.
Something that I can be myself in.

Everything else is a perk.

The type of person who lives for things and amongst things is not unique to America. Simplicity is not absent in America either. But the thing-hungry have been defining the world lately, and denuding the existence and respect of those who dont have.

For these folks, dogs are great companions because thye cant stand a difference of opinion.
Or their spouse.

Read the most excellent book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver, about how her family went back to living off of the land and simplifying their lives as a result. It's a deeply spiritual memoir in addition to being a fascinating tome about food, what we eat, how we eat, why we eat and how agri-business controls what few foods we've become accustomed to eating instead of having access to an unlimited variety of flavors that come from rare heirloom varities of vegetables, fruits and animals. I highly recommend this book for a good summer read as we go to our local farm markets to sample the local foods grown in our areas. Very thought provoking, to say the least.

Yep. People haven't read Karl Marx. Actually, most USA folk don't read at all. I slogged through almost 900 pages of Karl's Das Kapital Volume 1. It gets a bit easier to read beyond half way, after all the terms are defined. Surplus value indeed. The only thing that matters to those that own the means of production is the money-to-commodity-to-money process and vice versa, that produces surplus value. If we workers, commodities to the feudal lords, cannot produce surplus value for them, then we are useless, to be disposed of. This is why the owning classes revile entitlement programs that benefit the workers, i.e. they are the reverse surplus value. Best we should die. Why give workers, the infirmed, the old, the disabled, anything at all. Now, corporate welfare is another matter altogether. It is the ULTIMATE form of surplus value for which no raw materials need be expended. In other words, it is theft of the workers collective labor. Karl Marx, if alive today, would be the first to say, "I am not a Marxist". Dwell on this for a bit. As for the ruling class, they use Marx's book for analysis and then take the criticism of capital and project onto the working class. As an example, Right Wingers are always accusing the Left of fighting class warfare, but it is in fact the Right Wingers engaging in class warfare that project onto workers the accusation of doing it. As for the joys of life, "Live simply so others may simply live". That is why I have a problem with Mr. Green, Al Gore, spewing tons of jet exhaust flying around the world telling us to reduce our carbon footprint. Check out Al Gore's mansion and his monthly energy use. It is glutinous.

jozef wrote: "Actually, most USA folk don't read at all." Ah crass generalizations about people you don't even know. Gotta love it.

As for Al Gore's mansion (there's the answer: pick on Al Gore), do some research to learn how he and his wife used their own money to retrofit the mansion to be more energy-wise.

Now jozef ... tell us what you've done today or in your life to make the world a better place, other than to slog through a 900 page book.

There's a difference between living and just surviving. Life's short - why waste it pleasing the corporations?

"I don't WANT to know my neighbors because they surround themselves with nasty and noisy dogs."

So, get to know the dogs!

This article has a lot of valid points i remember visiting a friend of mine who had four plasma TV's and was up to her ears in debt thinking "why the hell would you do that to yourself?"

Do Americans overconsume? the answer is obvious but what i really don't get is this "back to nature" attitude that some enviromentalists are adapting. Guess what i have visited countries living "with nature" i can say with confidence that it really sucks. Overconsumption in a modernized world might be bad, but it's much better than living a simplified lifestyle where getting a mosquito bite could get you killed.

I never had a professional job or the need to commute untill after the age of 40. It's now 12 years later and I have to say, I don't read the big thick intellectual books that I used to read back when I was poor and had no TV. I don't think the deep thoughts or take the wild flights of fancy that I used to before I became the Queen of Multi-Tasking. I used to have time for nature too. My brain has this new conditioning in it that I don't like. I have zero time to focus except for the 3 times a week that I swim laps. The thought of being in this place till I retire is depressing sometimes. I do have an at large community that keeps me sane but none of them live on my street. My sister who's lived in the same place for 20 years is surrounded by her friends in one of those "bitter" communities which is something I envy. My community is non-local. Cyber even!
Here's one step I might take. See if I can find a job where I live and then give my bosses an ultimatum. I get to telecommute 2-3 days a week or I'm gone.
Guys, lets take back our culture while we're working on taking back our politics..

josef wrote: "Check out Al Gore's mansion and his monthly energy use. It is glutinous."

Al Gore's house is sticky? Is it made out of that rice?

As long as we leave our McMansion,
Get in our SUV,
Drive to Wal-Mart,
To aqquire Chinese crap we don't need,
With a credit card representing,
Money we don't have,
We've left the simple life behind.

We are broke and don't know it.

I haven't gotten to know my neighbors in more than a passing "hello," but have befriended their dogs and cats. When I go into my back yard, the dogs come to the fence and whine for my attention.

My world is simple. I have little, but I have all I need, and for that, I consider myself rich indeed. I find peace in my small yard that's filled with growing things, and the little creatures I rescue and watch over. My veggie container garden is growing well, and already providing for me. I enjoy the hummingbirds that come right up to me if I'm out, and the sparrow family that's been with me for five years now; all are constantly teaching me something new.

I love to read, although with our libraries here closed for the past year, I don't get to read like I once did. So I write my own stories to amuse myself and keep my mind active. Except for the grocery store once every week or two, I haven't even been shopping in at least two years.

There was a time in my life, living in western New England, when friends, acquaintances, friends of friends, would gather in groups. Sometimes we gathered for meditation, sometimes for music, or poetry, or political talk(or action), or any variation and combination thereof. We felt we belonged to a broad community of like minded explorers spontaneously gathering for any number of reasons. Sometimes a small group of us would listen to a piece of music in someones living room, then talk for hours into the early morning. It just seemed like a natural way to be. We'd gather together, cook, talk, play, listen, analyze, contemplate. When children started to arrive, many continued to gather, but as time has gone on, we no longer take the time, and I don't know why. But I miss it. Is it that we were young, and that's what the young do? Now we gather here anonymously typing on a keypad. It's just not the same.

WILMOOR: I honor your lifestyle choice. Twenty plus years ago I determined that to pay high taxes AND child support would leave me with about as much as staying home (as a Mom) and freelance writing/tutoring. I never went back.

I bought a VERY modest dwelling and my combined electric/sewer/phone run about $100 a month. I write articles/books from home and don't have to commute anywhere, and eat VERY lightly (90% vegetarian, some fish). I almost never buy anything new... consignment shops have fine quality furniture & clothing. I do not feel I NEED anything apart from food.

It's true that living simply feeds the soul and the sense of peace & freedom thus delivered are priceless. My children are more influenced by media and one of them is a yuppie... I see the coming fiscal tsunami that will invert everything she's worked for, but do not want to take the wind out of her sails. If the s--t hits the fan, my children have a place to stay that's near a water source, where we grow some fruit/vegetables. I recently bought a sailboat for a song and can use it to get out in the Gulf to get fish if needed. No fuel for the most part required.

The talk on CD about environmental collapse (seemingly in effect, as seen in California fires & Midwest floods), added to the decimation of the US economy, added to the general dark cloud of karma likely to boomerang on our land, added to the growing fascism, along with the "end of oil" ALL point to changes in our lifestyles whether we LIKE it or not. Better to scale down before the wave hits!

REBEL NOW: I know exactly what you mean! In college there was so much of that, and when I moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico there was a fabulous community of highly creative, independent-thinking American expatriots, and I had a recent taste of it in Singapore.

For economic reasons I moved to a more right wing Bible belt area (I love nature here), and thus would not have too much cause for mental affinity with locals. Fate was kind and sent a younger man so my nights would be less lonely, but what a trip as his family are right wing republicans and sometimes he and I cannot talk politics at all. It ruins any chance for horizontal agreement.

Don't you think the fundamental problem is brainwashing through advertisements which prey on our intrinsic desires to conquer, hoard, and have sex ? We are told nearly all of our waking hours that we need more/bigger/improved products to make our lives better. Some of the advertisements are insidious. Some are so outrageous they are laughable ... for some reason I'm getting Entertainment Weekly, and on one of the first few pages of the most recent issue is an ad for some cherry flavored vodka, the bottle is placed between two women in profile, their hyper-inflated lips holding cherries, loosely resembling genitalia. What does this mean ? If I drink this vodka I'll be having sex ???

Each successive generation is subject to more frequent, and more sophisticated, advertisements, therefore each successive generation becomes increasingly gluttonous.

wilddog, you pretty much summed it up !

Siouxrose, I just started a book and thought you might like it. It's called "The Woman Who Watches Over The World", by Linda Hogan. Linda is part Chicksaw and it's her memoir. I'm not sure if your name is indicative of Native American heritage but regardless I think you may enjoy the book.

The article from a mid-sized VA town newspaper is actually quite good on the surface. It's kind of wishful thinking that if only things could be like "Andy of Maybury RFD" … you know a simpler time and slower pace. Fact is even that is selling a fiction – small town life in the US has always been fraught with "tribalism" mentality and viscous gossip and the like. But the image at least is comforting compared to the horrors of contemporary life. Bill McKibben, referred to in the piece, is actually a well respected environmentalist with some good ideas. But the real problem is that most of the "fixes" these folks come up with are in reality nothing but Band-Aids applied to a massively hemorrhaging patient. They may slow down the blood loss a bit, but in the end the patient still dies.
What is so completely predictable in American public discourse on fixing this or fixing that is - NO ONE will ever mention the Elephant in the room in plain sight. THAT is strictly a taboo not permissible in the USA. The elephant being Capitalism. This form of gov't/economy is simply predatory and cannibalistic – it devours people and spits them out like so much useless garbage all in the name of "profit" for the fatcat owners of capital. It should be apparent to even the blind what capitalism really brings about by now – a completely polarized class system of haves and have nots, a population increasingly dependent upon pharmaceuticals just to function day to day, a news media which dispenses soft propaganda to keep the masses tranquil, an entertainment industry which panders to the most primitive instincts and a completely alienated society which keeps voting for "smiling shit peddlers" who promise things will be much better if you only vote for me. Capitalism will ultimately be the stake thru the heart of humanity and until the environmentalists and do gooders come to terms with that fact things will continue on as usual

The other day I pulled into a parking lot at the mall at the last minute the car I was following kind of meandered. I decided to go around him, as I did a car coming my way detected that I was in his way. He sped up to confront me before I could get out of his way. He started spewing epitahs, his face purple with rage. I wish I could say I took it kindly but I have been working six days a week and have very little tolerance myself so before he sped away I screamed out my window FUCK YOU!!! Later, I thought here we were two strangers who under different circumstances probably would have got along. It says something about our society that for many of us all the joy has drained out of our lives as much as the money is being drained out of our pockets with $4 oil. It shouldnt be this way!

Daniel David-asking kids what they want to be when they grow up is a "lazy" question. Much like the one most of us ask each other: "What do you do?" Feeling snotty, one day I replied, "I'm bringing sexy back" (Justin Timberlake reference).

wilmoor-how AWFUL that your library is closed. I'm president of our local library (that would be an UNPAID position-one of those community first things McKibben speaks to). Libraries are fabulous in the diversity of the patrons. Old, young, poor, rich, black, white-I love a library.

My own experience is that the sheer amount of noise in modern, american life makes the simply joy of thinking as I go about my business far more difficult than it needs to be. In another example, I find it incredible that human beings can work by the millions in stores into which banal music is endlessly piped.

arkitekton -- you are right and we totally misunderestimate the effect of environmental noise on our physical, mental and emotional well-being, it's like we're just supposed to tolerate everything in the sonic environment no matter what . . .

i was just reading about the Russian Orthodox churchbells which have been at Harvard after being rescued from being melted down by the Soviets and are now being returned to their home church in Russia, and wondering what they would sound like in a post-industrial soundscape . . .

a mature species is aware of the effects their sonic environment has on them, so i guess we're not there yet . ..

Juliann:

First off. Do your own research. But, I'll guide you a bit. See: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-11-18-reading-decline_N.htm on USA reading levels. As for what I have done to make the world a better place, how about I start with 33 years worth of teaching. Does it matter that I donated a kidney to save a human life? Stop throwing stones while living in your glass house, my man.

I went to a county fair today. I saw green tomatoes the size of dimes. Mine are about the size of of a two day chick embryo. I saw planter herb garden planted by a third grader with rosemary, sage and thyme. I saw a thirteen year old girl riding an old grey gelding.
I have lived in a city and now I live here. I live in paradise with foxes, badgers, bears, deer, rabbits, toads and mosquitos the size of 747s.
But there is wrenching poverty here in my rural heaven, and alcoholism, drug and child abuse.
My point is simple: Start seeing the life around you. That is where happiness and sanity is.

It IS true.

People used to socialise much more. Play games, tell stories... and more. Play was part of the education. These days people tend to fix themselves on the TV, and they begin doing it from a young age.

People used to listen to what others have to say. These days, a pearl of wisdom is nothingness unless it came from the source of all wisdom, the TV. Oh what willing worshippers we all are.

jozef said: "That is why I have a problem with Mr. Green, Al Gore, spewing tons of jet exhaust flying around the world telling us to reduce our carbon footprint. Check out Al Gore's mansion and his monthly energy use. It is glutinous."

There's nothing wrong with using alot of energy and, in fact, the capitalists probably have it right that we will continue to increase our per capita energy use in perpetuity.

Gore's focus is on not producing alot of CO2. Turns out, you can use up alot of energy WITHOUT producing alot of CO2. Suggesting otherwise just plays into the neocon criticism that what liberals 'really' want is to hamstring our economy, NOT merely reduce CO2.

"The talk on CD about environmental collapse (seemingly in effect, as seen in California fires & Midwest floods), added to the decimation of the US economy, added to the general dark cloud of karma likely to boomerang on our land, added to the growing fascism, along with the "end of oil" ALL point to changes in our lifestyles whether we LIKE it or not. Better to scale down before the wave hits!"

Siouxrose,

This is happening here in Maine as well, and it appears all around the globe. I think people intuit that there is some serious change coming down the pike. I am changing my lifestyle as are people I know. Others sense the changes coming, but are paralyzed. Others still, deny that change is coming or that it is even necessary.

Along with the sense of impending change (doom), I think there is a source of hopefulness. Hopefulness that at long last we might have the opportunity to break free of the corporate system that has driven us all to distraction. There will be much discomfort in the coming years, but there will also be comfort in connections made that have long been broken - connections with others that will herald a time of interdependence instead of cowboy independence. Hopefully we will realize once again that we need each other.

As the Hopi elders wrote: The time of the lone wolf is over.

by the way, speaking of the Hopi, here is the book that just about covers it all:

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Hopi-Frank-Waters/dp/0140045279

I first read it in 1967 and it changed my life.

"Turns out, you can use up alot of energy WITHOUT producing alot of CO2."

That may be true once fusion energy is developed.

But even then, our transportation infrastructure (I know, that word glazes people eyes over), is going to be completely differnet from today.

In particular, any viable form of long distance aviation that does not emit CO2 is likely an impossibility.

And yes, dear ubrew, if by living simply and sustainably, it means "hamstringing" the capitalist economy, I am looking forward to it.

USAn said: "even then, our transportation infrastructure (I know, that word glazes people eyes over), is going to be completely differnet from today. "

www.mopedbus.com

drbkirwan 5:15

Thank you for trying. I fear the blogosphere is rotting what's left of our literacy. It's hard to tell the typos from the genuine ignorance.

For those of you who don't get it: glutinous does mean sticky, as in having much gluten. I believe josef meant to say gluttonous. Please proofread, people.

And learning about humility might not hurt either.

"For those of you who don't get it: glutinous does mean sticky, as in having much gluten. I believe josef meant to say gluttonous. Please proofread, people." Yah. Yah. Love the spelling checker. Now then, how about commenting on what I was saying. You know what I meant. And by the way, gluten comes from wheat. But if you really want to be THAT PICKY, then here: "Rice itself is gluten free, but enriched rice is rice that has been sprayed with a vitamin coating and some fear that the coating could contain a gluten based grain." Oh, and speaking of being picky, it's JOZEF, not JOSEF, so, "Please proofread, people". It's not "josef" either. The "J" is capitalized. :) As for humility, well now, speak for yourself. That said, I prefer it around 65% myself.

When I was about 12 or 13, there were a few songs about having "My home on my back." I loved this way of thinking at the time. I was reading Kerouac's books, Vonnegut, Edward Abbey, The "Electric Acid Cool-Aid Test", Catch 22, Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Herman Hesse's Siddartha, and so on. All these books had a lot of influence on me and I have re-read many of these later, when I was more mature and able to take in a different meaning. This was also a time in my life where I was surrounded by friends at school and in the neighborhood, as we played sports or hopped trains seeking adventure. It was also a time when pot wasn't so strong, and we could all get together and pass`along the joint or joints. It was a shared experience. We almost never watched television.

By the late 70's, I began to notice more and more kids walking around with headphones on. I began to notice a change in many people towards shutting out the world and turning inwards. As the 80's rolled on, more and more gadgets came along and everything seemed to turn towards a much more material view of what was important in life. In "84, I moved to Spain, and for the first time I saw the USA from the outside. An argument I had once about Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada opened my eyes about education and how we are taught. I experienced a much more adult like young population, and began to see the materialistic, superficial way the USA experienced life (I know I am making broad generalizations).

I am by nature, a quiet person who does prefer to be alone or to do things with a few people. I'm not really into crowds yet I still can enjoy many things with a large group of people. But at the end of the day, I know I need other people in my life. I don't need more things, although it is nice to have some "things". I'm not completely against material possessions, but I do believe it is a mistake to rely on material objects to satisfy our lives. We don't need television, although it is a great thing to have for a good movie, programs such as Bill Moyer's "Now", or a major sport event like the Olympics.

We should be careful what we become attached to. I can't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, but human contact and interaction is a necessary part of life if we are to develop normal, social connections and not become, to some degree, a sociopath, or at the minimum, antisocial. We need each other for so many reasons. We don't truly need the material gadgets which isolate us and distort our perception of the world around us. What we do need is each other. There are also many other things we need in the USA right now, and it would be great if we could get these done, but there are other groups of people who see things differently and want the status quo to remain.

We need each other but we are not all heading in the same direction, unfortunately. The world is sick right now - has been for a long time, and somehow we need to make some changes. It seems that the Earth is soon going to force us into making some basic changes whether we want to or not. And then maybe the task of making the world a more livable place for all will be easier.

Yes, we need each other, even to proof read! I wonder how many mistakes my writing has in it. I always miss something.

Re" noise pollution. I find that right about up there with light pollution when it comes to things that have ruined our day-to-day quality of life. My solution to the former is ear plugs: this may sound radical to some people, and indeed it is, because by blocking out 90% of the ambient noise I also block out potential interactions with people who might have something to say to me. If that happens, I just smile sheepishly, point to my ear, remove said earplug and explain my motivation in isolating myself from the inescapable aural junk that has become all prevasive over the past few decades. Most of the time, I get a positive reaction from people once they realize what I'm blocking out is muzak -- not them -- and they often say they're going to go out and buy themselves a pair.

Yes, it's sad to have to isolate oneself from the environment in order to move peacefully through it, but for me it's become a necessity. Not only does it keep out the sounds of intrusive re-cycled pop "classics"; it keeps me from being subjected to cell-phone conversations, screaming babies, etc., that othewise make even the briefest of trips to the supermarket an ordeal. Not only is this constant muzak annyoying; I find it hard to concentrate and forget what I'm shopping for; even realizing that this is what it's designed to do, I still find myself drifting dazedly from aisle to aisle, picking up one thing after another I don't need from displays arranged in order to facilitate "impulse buying". What I wind up doing is spending ten minutes or so emptying the cart of the useless extra items I've collected on auto-pilot under the influence of supermarket-trance muzak.

What's even worse to me, however, is light pollution. I remember when I was young and growing up in a small town in Texas, I could look up every night and see hundreds or thousands of stars, lying on my back in the yard, speculating and wondering about the magic an majesty on show every night. Now I think of stars and want to weep because they're all gone, at least where I live (in a "highly desirable" area on the California Riviera" coastline of Southern California. Here, I'm lucky to catch sight of a few minimal, anemic stars and a tepid moon. I hunger for stars like I hunger for real food, but know I'm unlikely to see them again more than a few more times in my lifetime, unless I move to the middle of the desert or the mountains, which is beyond my means. I feel so sad for children growing up who have never seen the night sky in all its splendor; but then, they are so engrossed in video games now that it can be almost impossible to get them to go outdoors for any reason whatsoever.

As someone else pointed out, it's not just illiteracy that afflicts the Americans now; it's much bigger than that. I see it as lack of curiosity: about anything, anywhere, anytime or any place other than their own, highly-circumscribed micro-culture: most visible of all among adolescents, who have always been afflicted to some degree or another with the desire to conform to what is currently "hip" and to be in the know with their own crowd. Still, during my own, ancient adolescence, I remember being interested in everything -- in other cultures, all forms of music, films from around the world, people from age 6 to age 96; in history and science and philosophy and literature, etc. Now it seems like those I come in contact with (I am an older graduate student surrounded by students in their late teens and early twenties), haven't the slightest interest in anything other than celebrities, hip-hop music and culture, fashion, and each other. The wider world, both physical and cultural, historical, political and intellectual, has not the slightest interest for them.

I also notice, when we're all watching older, classic films in class (I'm in Film Studies) that most of the time when those films are shown, the younger students are either surfing the web on their laptops, writing instant messages, listening to music on headphones,flirting with each other, or -- if they're actually paying any attention at all to the film being shown -- giggling inanely at the most inappropriate times, as if they are utterly incapable of imagining themselves in any context other than their own, in which people might dress or behave or act (in terms of performance style) differently from people in films currently showing at the multi-plex. Not only do they have no empathy, they have no interest in what people from other times, places or cultures were/are like. To me, this is sad beyond words, and augurs poorly for the future -- especially because these are the very people who are majoring in broadcast journalism, film production, directing, cinematography, history, etc. If THEY have no interest in the history and craft of their own field, what may we expect of them when they are the ones making the films, broadcasting the news, ten years down the line? But then, we know what to expect: more of the same frightening virtual reality that has turned them into virtual people.

I remember a film from the late 80's called "Thunderdome" -- part of the "Mad Max" franchise -- in which everyone lived in an underground environment beneath a huge indoor dome. That's how I feel much of the time, when I go out into the world of Southern California: as if I'm living inside a giant, artificial dome where the real sky is invisible, where a panorama projected above is supposed to give the illusion of living in the real world.

It's eerie, living here: both people and landscape and skyscape alike all feel virtual, and it's hard to find any tangible evidence of actual earth beneath the concrete, sky above the smog, mountains past the endless rows of identical housing tracts and malls that make up this world. And this is considered a highly desirable place to live! The only way I survive is by focusing on the micro-climate, the small evidences of the natural world still left; I do this by paying very, very close attention, and by shutting out the artificial distractions of noise pollution and primary colored signs like alphabet soup that proliferate like a cancer metastazing over the body and bones of the land underneath.

A friend of mine remarked the other day how he'd recently come to the realization that "This is the worst things have ever been, and this is the best they're ever going to be." God help us all.

By the way: to those who criticized Jozef for having used the word "glutinous" rather than "gluttonous"; too many times I've seen typos used as an excuse for ad hominem attacks against people whose only crime was to have relied on spell-check (which would have passed either word) in lieu of proof-reading.

I edit every email I send, not just in comments I write in forums such as this, but in less formal contexts as well (such as letters to friends, who are fortunately quite forgiving of my errors). I read through my prior posting, and found two or three typos I missed. None was quite as egregious as Jozef's, but then none was nearly as funny.

Rather than engaging in one-upsmanship, or carping about careless spelling/grammar, etc., why not consider such errata in context, and ignore obvious boners such as "glutinous"; especially when, as in Jozef's case, the meaning is obvious. I suspect those who raked him over the coals were not so much bothered his error as by his ideas. I found the substitution of one word for the other hilarious. I'm willing to bet Jozef knew the difference between the adjectives and their correct spelling, but, being merely human instead of a spell-check program, was afflicted by temporary amnesia in the heat of the moment, in his drive to get the message across.

I went through a bout of temporary dyslexia a while back; it progressed from reversing numbers to reversing letters to substituting entire words for others completely unrelated (such as glutinous and gluttonous) or inventing spoonerisms. Once I got beyond worrying about possible incipient Alzheimer's, I actually began to enjoy my mistakes, precisely because they were so outrageous! It was fun being unpredictable to myself; I never knew what I'd come up with next. (And before anyone asks, no, I didn't leave them in, but edited them out in case those who I wrote to did not find them as amusing as I did).

I have a friend who has a girlfriend who's subject to such mistakes all the time -- especially spoonerisms. My friend's compiled an ongoing collection her more extreme examples. Those within our circle of friends eagerly await the arrival of the next installment of her "Wit and Wisdom"; it gives us all some much-needed laughs.

I don't mean to presume, but I imagine you, like the rest of us, are also human and therefore prone to error. So the next time you're about to criticize someone on CD (or elsewhere), try addressing your remarks to the substance of the comment rather than the typos therein; your respponse will carry more weight as a result. Berating another writer for negligent proofreading comes across as a cheap ad hominem attack; it's distracting, and lessens the impact of your real criticism. It makes it seem as if you don't have the grounds to make a cogent objection, and you come across as carping rather than witty. It obscures the point you're trying to make, and carried to an extreme, inclines others to dismiss your remarks as petty -- even vindictive -- rather than substantive.

Lighten up, and laugh as much as you can! The times are far too dire not to enjoy every bit of humor that comes your way.

I did just as suggested. Took a lower paying job with a short commute near family after being in industry. I can walk and bike to work. That was a big criteria for me when finding a different job. It's all fine unless there are medical bills. Then the less money makes for a big problem. I think that we need to get medical costs under control as has been done in other countries.

It is called voluntary simplicity. Taking on this idea that buying things makes one happy; that I doubt, mainly due to experience. This belief system has been around for awhile and when enbraced, forces one to examine why, how and what to spend hard earned money on. If the purchase doesn't bring something other than basic necessitites of life (food, water, shelter, medical care, simple clothing, etc), then why buy it? Voluntary simplicity encourages savings and using a value system for purchases. The system forces one to rethink relationships and our place in the world. Try it, it works!

Rockerbabe1-and Voluntary Simplicity seems to encourage questions from family and friends which leads to more people making better choices and looling at their priorities. NWEI (Northwest Earth Institute) does a fantastic Voluntary Simplicity course that you can probably set up with your local library.

The European peasant worked no more than half the days in the year. His life may have been nasty, brutish, and short, but his circular concept of time and his concept of his place in relation to nature, God, and his fellows made comparisons between his life and ours impossible.

The American dirt farmer worked himself to death in an effort to "improve his lot".

A golden opportunity was squandered in the first half of the twentieth century. Machines could provide everyone on the planet with life's necessities without the need for anyone to work more than four hours a day.

Madison Avenue to the rescue! God forbid we should come to know the members of our own families, or see our neighbors as extended family rather than competitors. Now we work harder than ever for less and less, lose our souls in the process, and for what? iphones, cell phones, hand held calculators. Marvelous gadgets to be sure, but God, at what price?

The very word "progress" gives the lie at the heart of this good article. It cannot possibly mean anything unless you have a carefully articulated GOAL against which to measure "progress." What is the goal of Christianity? The end of the world and punishment of those "we" hate. What is the goal of capitalism? Free (captive) resources, predictable consumers who must buy, and slave labor---no wonder nobody can or will say it out loud. Look back at the longest continuous period of peace and development on Western record in Minoan Crete (over 1500 years)---a steady-state economy without slavery, without war, with the highest average living standards of its age---that was nonetheless constantly creative and explorative (because people are), and a spirituality focused on being in harmony with the great cycles of nature. CYCLES, circles, life here and now, not suffering and sacrifice for a mystical lie nobody can speak....We're not going forward until we go back to the beginning and find out what we were doing RIGHT....http://ancientgreece-earlyamerica.com

Classact writes,

"Doesn't anyone read Karl Marx anymore? The crisis of production? Alienation? Hello? Is our future merely an intellectual incrementalism because no one can mention the evil, red doctor while validating his every thesis?"

I agree. We should read more Marx. At the same time the stigma against Marx is understandable given the oppression that has occured at the hands of "Marxist" regimes. Should we fight this stigma-- probably.

I think that it's important for us moderns to think for ourselves. This means not simply relying on Marx's theses but creating our own. The world has changed, capitalism has changed and the mechanisms of power are different and, I think, more complex than Marx initially thought. So while I think we would do well to read Marx, this generation must create its own Marx.

REBELNOW, SIOUXROSE, HYBRIDOMA2001...excellent comments!

LEISURE ELF...extraordinary, insightful commentary!

Hyper-individualist "solutions" proposed for mass, generalized societal problems will never work. American environmentalists are stuck in this conundrum. Only a democratically planned economy on an international scale could provide hope for a relatively clean, sustainable, balanced environment along with decent living standards for our species. Anything less, offered as a "solution" to environmental crisis perpetuated by capitalism is hopeless utopianism or cynical nihilism. Yes, that "democratically planned economy... " is another way of saying democratic socialism. Oooooh. Be afraid. Be very afraid! But it's the only way out of this mess we're in.