I need to find a new battlefield.

 

I spend my days in commerce; it keeps me interested, satisfies my need to be useful by employing my talents such as they are and, to date, has saved me from being a financial burden on others.

I need a new way of achieving these three objectives; I'd like to share the reasons why I believe this.

Commerce. The very unpretentious dictionary on my laptop defines commerce as: noun. 1 industry and commerce: trade, trading, buying and selling, business, dealing, traffic; (financial) transactions, dealings.

And that's OK I suppose; except in my experience commerce is very few of those activities. And no matter what price I paid I don't suppose I'd find a dictionary that defines commerce as I've come to experience it: talking about doing business; meeting; planning, without executing; being careful to never offend imagined sensibilities; allowing everyone to have, no matter how little talent, experience or competence, equal say in making important decisions; confusion about purpose; obfuscation; and lack of conviction and commitment. There is more but what's the point in listing more, if these realities don't eventually kill commerce I don't know what will.

It's just possible that the idiom let's not do anything in case something happens may have become an unspoken mantra for many in commerce; when things happen there are consequences - and consequences represent risk.

So for me, as an aging warrior, I need to find a new way of remaining relevant.

I need to find a new battlefield.

A humble orange.

Don't let an old person move into your body

I'm a worrier.

That's right. I'm a worrier. 

And although I've read quite a few books about how to cope, and I've listened to a lot of advice - I still worry. For instance I'm three hours into a nine hour flight and I'm worried about the batteries in my various devices; even though I left them charging until a microsecond before I left home. And I'm typing this on my tablet; and Willie's voice is alternately rasp- and honey-like in the Sony buds connected to my smart phone. What happens if my batteries die? How will I last the rest of the journey?
 
This is not a new phenomenon; in the early days of cell phones I had a housebrick-sized unit and I had three batteries just in case; this was in about 1988 when in Australia almost no one, but no one, called mobile phone numbers. I watch the little battery indicator with sinking feelings as the charge percentage sinks from 90% to 30%, and this is all while the phone appears to be doing nothing. And when I wake in the morning I am in a fury when I discover that for some inexplicable reason it's only charged to 68% - why? 

As I watch the Australian desert slide below and I wonder whether my phone will have enough battery to keep taking photographs. And how about my emails - what will happen if I can't check them the instant we land? 

Like I said I worry. Battery panic. Device deprivation. Just two of the multitude of new causes for concern in the twenty-first century.

Escaping 2013

Does it say something about our current social environment that I am escaping by reading an adventure story that begins in Asia during the chaotic and dangerous days of World War II?


Reading The Persimmon Tree by the late Bryce Courtney. I love it after just reading the short Amazon sample and I've bought the book. At the same time I'm reading the John Lanchester novel Capital which I'm enjoying. But The Persimmon Tree talks to my heart and my spirit - not so Capital even though it is a finely told story and I'm engaged with the characters. So what is the difference? Is it the setting, or the era, or the story, or the characters, or the language? Does Courtney's restless spirit somehow ensnare me as my eyes traverse the text? Do I have a particular empathy with the characters for some reason? Is it that recently I spent a few days on the island of Java where the story begins? If only I knew the definitive answer it would revolutionise my unfulfilled aspiration to write; it's not so much about whether my stories could make money, it's about wanting them to be enjoyed by others.

There was a time when paper texture, the heft, or the binding had influence over what I selected and purchased but sadly these influences are now but a footnote because I mostly read Kindle books. Not perhaps the most elegant volumes, but very transportable.

So. What influences you in the selection of a work of fiction?

'A candidate who trims himself to fit the notions of every group will soon whittle himself down to nothing'.

I am astonished by modern politics; that said I am not a student of political science so maybe I just don't get it.

I write this post following the re-election of President Obama.

I have always understood that the divide between political parties is characterised by their differing beliefs, and thus policies.

If this is true, why would supporters of President Obama and his policies, and politics, now anticipate that consensus and collaboration by both major political parties should prevail to help implementation of policies that are not universally embraced? Politicians who do not share the views of the elected government are typically said to be in opposition because in general they more oppose than concur with the policies of the elected government.

So why, for the 'good of the country' as so many Democratic supporters now want to claim, should Republicans now defer to Democratic party policies? Wouldn't that be a complete betrayal of their convictions? The same question is relevant for political parties in any democracy.

John F Kennedy's speechwriter and special counsel Ted Sorensen wrote: 'A candidate who trims himself to fit the notions of every group will soon whittle himself down to nothing'.
 
Perhaps in today's disposable world convictions no longer matter? Perhaps the willingness of past politicians to set aside their convictions has led to today's environment in which no clear and strong leadership from either political parties or individuals emerge? Is this why politics is now driven by charisma and spin?

I could understand that if a significant majority were unified behind one party then the policies of that party could be considered pre-eminent; but if such were the case would not the entire machinery of government be in the hands of a single party? But such is not the case in America.

So what has the political situation in America got to do with me? As an Australian should I care? I believe I should for two reasons.

Why I care #1. I care because the affairs of America, like it or not, influence the entire globe and thus my own future rests to some degree in the hands of some people and successive governments that have contributed to accruing a 16 trillion dollar debt; and this newly returned government in America will almost certainly continue to increase this unimaginable, and ultimately unsustainable, debt. That, folks, is going to affect all of us, irrespective of where we live and vote, at some time in the future, and a future not too far off I suspect.

Why I care #2. I also care because the Australian political landscape is tainted with a circumstance similar to that of America. Our own government, an illegitimate minority party government, is continuously pleading those in opposition to support the implementation of policies which are clearly not consistent with opposition policies. So why then do government ministers continue to browbeat opposing politicians into supporting policies for which they have no stomach? And why do populist commentators and numerous citizens continually criticize the leader of Australia's opposition party for opposing government policies that he does not believe in, or agree with?

Now lest you believe I am just being politically partisan I should clarify my core concern, which is that politicians, of any political persuasion who are without conviction, are diminishing the essence of democracy .

I see a future in which conviction is no longer part of the political process. I fear for the future of democracy. I fear for Australia's future as a democracy.

'Thank God I'm on the way out and not on the way in. '

This was emailed to me yesterday; I think there's some very important issues worthy of the widest consideration:

Bill Cosby says: "I'm 76 and I'm Tired"

I'm 76. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National
Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some serious
health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly
40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as
though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy
to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I
can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and
Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques
and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand ,
UK , America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to
fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other
Arab country to teach love and tolerance..

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting
caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and
early 20's be-deck themselves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making
themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 76.. Because, mostly, I'm not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for
my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not
on the way in.