Zeno’s Republicans

Zeno's Paradox may be explained as follows. Suppose I wish to cross the room. First, of course, I must cover half the distance. Then, I must cover half the remaining distance. Then, I must cover half the remaining distance, again and again and again. . . and so on forever. The consequence is that I can never get to the other side of the room. In other words change (movement in this case) is impossible.

Barack’s Paradox may be explained as follows. Suppose Barack Obama wants to create health care reform for the benefit of the American people and the salvation of the economy. In other words he wants to move our nation from where we are to where we need to be.

But before he can cross the legislative finish line he must debate the matter with obstructionist Republicans and compromise a little. Once that compromise is achieved and Obama is ready to move forward, the Republicans find something else to debate and demand another compromise. And once that compromise is achieved and Obama is again ready to move forward, the Republicans find something else to debate and demand another compromise.

This procedure goes on infinitely in the US Senate and effectively prevents change from ever occurring, once again proving the wisdom of Zeno and the depths to which Republicans will stoop to protect the insurance companies (their masters) at the expense of the American people.

Plantation Earth

Imagine a world in which most of the human race is owned and controlled by robots. Imagine further that robots own and control the world’s food supply, its water supply, its energy, its defense system, its educational systems, and its economy. In other words, imagine that most of the human race is almost totally dependent on robots for their very existence. Does this sound vaguely familiar so far?

A Few are Free
Granted, there are a small percentage of humans who sit above it all, owning and controlling the robots that in turn control most of the human race. This small fraction of humans, control the robots by controlling the “programmers” who in turn feed the robots the information that their owners want the people to have.
Thus, by virtue of employing/controlling the programmers, the owners of the robots determine what the masses are allowed to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. In other words, by controlling the programmers, who control the robots, that control the people, the robot owners can sit atop their luxurious penthouses looking down on their respective corporate plantations, with modern wage slaves working feverishly in mass produced cubicles, while they control people in ways that chess pieces have been historically controlled on a chess board.

Exiled from the Plantation
And when it comes to turning the tide on this dire situation, most wage slaves are helpless because they can’t see, they can’t hear, they can’t touch the plantation owners even if they had a mind to. And if a wage slave wakes up and rebels (thinks for himself/herself), they’re immediately exiled from the plantation on which they and their family depend for their meager livelihood.

Recognizing Imprisonment Before Breaking Out
In the 21st century this form of exile is known as unemployment. And unemployment can easily lead to homelessness and starvation, a two headed monster with whom the modern wage slave is totally unprepared to do battle. It’s much easier to avoid thinking. It’s much easier to avoid seeing. It’s much easier to avoid rocking the boat. To quote Cervantes/Don Quixote, “You must first recognize that you’re in prison before you can break out.”

Thinkers Anonymous

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then -- to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I told myself -- but I knew it wasn't true.

Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunch time so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"

One day the boss called me in. He said, "Listen, I like you, and it \hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job."

This gave me a lot to think about.

I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking ..." "I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"

"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."

"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!"

"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently. She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama.

"I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night.

As I sank to the ground, clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting.

At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home.
Life just seemed ... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me. Today, I registered to vote Republican.