Gainfully Unemployed: January, 2017

I am at a new crossroad of my life. Recently 56 years of age, recently laid off from the employer I served for nearly six years, I must chart the way for my next career landing.

Give me a spirit that on this life's rough sea Loves to have his sails filled with a lusty wind, Even till his sail-yards tremble, his masts crack, And his rapt ship run on her side so low That she drinks water, and her keel ploughs air.     -George Chapman

Can we be Real Liberals Again?

...Before Franklin Roosevelt, “liberal” described policies emphasizing liberty and individual rights. He, however, pioneered the politics of collective rights — of group entitlements. And his liberalism systematically developed policies not just to buy the allegiance of existing groups but to create groups that henceforth would be dependent on government.
Under FDR, liberalism became the politics of creating an electoral majority from a mosaic of client groups. Labor unions got special legal standing, farmers got crop supports, business people got tariff protection and other subsidies, the elderly got pensions, and so on and on.
Government no longer existed to protect natural rights but to confer special rights on favored cohorts. As Irving Kristol said, the New Deal preached not equal rights for all but equal privileges for all — for all, that is, who banded together to become wards of the government. [Excerpt: Voters, are you bluffing?, George Will, 30-Aug.-2012]

And so here we are, circa 2017, a divided country of those who want their rights as bestowed by Government and those who want to be real liberals with their rights bestowed of a higher purpose and being.

In the Next Life: Would You Be a Duck?

I don't think of reincarnation as a possibility in the after-life. Simply can't fathom it. But...if it were possible to occur...and you could divine a way to secure your next being...assuming I wasn't eligible to become human again for past transgressions and shortcomings...and should it require that I earn my way back....

Can I choose to be a duck?

My rationale: Ducks have command of land, sky, and water. There I am as a duck, I have my cool suit (if I'm a Mallard) and I can strut the ground as long as I want. If it gets dull, I'll take flight. While flying 'round, should I spot a nice pond, it's an easy swoop... for an amphibious landing... and live the life aquatic.

But wait, there's more! When I'm tired, I sleep securely. How so? I can turn my head 180 degrees back. That's right...I can see you coming...don't mess with me...I'm sleeping.

What's the downside? Well, I have to avoid being hunted. There's those phony duck calls and an Elmer Fudd or two hiding in the scrub who want me as a trophy or possibly dinner. But even then, I'm not a cheap plate of food. That's right...I am a delicacy.

Have I convinced you? No matter. It's just a daffy post.

An Irreverent View

My near-sighted view of life in-these-times. To be continued....