tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post3208979450296560098..comments2023-12-29T15:25:46.925-05:00Comments on "THE VIEW FROM OUTSIDE MY TINY WINDOW": Post No. 186: Why We’re So Anxious in America, Debate the Role of Government, and Ministers Suggest God’s PissedInspector Clouseauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09373932797333038561noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-64604570131448836022013-01-05T16:45:44.558-05:002013-01-05T16:45:44.558-05:00Thanks much as always, Bulletholes. This is the l...Thanks much as always, Bulletholes. This is the line which jumped out at us in reading your comment: "I feel pretty good just being clean and sober and showing up every day." <br /><br />That's a very powerful statement, to which many people in the workplace can relate. Individual citizens now have a very different set of expectations about what they do to generate income than they did 20 years ago. Best wishes for the New Year.InspectorClouseauhttp://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-37230899832797192252013-01-05T14:53:57.987-05:002013-01-05T14:53:57.987-05:00Interesting piece at TWKIWDBI two weeks ago.
http:...Interesting piece at TWKIWDBI two weeks ago.<br />http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2012/12/life-in-denmark.html<br /><br />Me? i was a chef for 25 years. I used to say that "If I take care of the work, the money will take care of itself".<br />but then I got burned out and quit being a chef and started trying to be a tile setter. I found out that this noble attitude didn't translate too well to being self-employed. Haha!<br />These days I'm just a lowly clerk, and my job doesn't define me at all (when i was a chef, i thought anyone with a job that didnt define them had a major defect going), and I feel pretty good just being clean and sober and showing up every day.Bulletholesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-51053303575700869162012-12-27T13:10:28.012-05:002012-12-27T13:10:28.012-05:00That song always struck a chord (no pun intended) ...That song always struck a chord (no pun intended) in me and sometimes brought about a sad thought that I might not take risks and be a success because I had something to lose... or thought I did.Douglas4517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-34151274925958301512012-12-27T10:32:39.069-05:002012-12-27T10:32:39.069-05:00Pearl, why you little.... Thanks for checking us o...Pearl, why you little.... Thanks for checking us out. Starting civilization over again from this point in time would be an interesting venture.<br /><br />We know that you are very familiar with the ins and outs of public transportation. You just reminded us that we generated a couple of earlier posts where the bus was the background for the Shakespearean drama being played out. Please invite you to check out <i><a href="http://theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.com/2011/03/post-no-160-we-finally-figured-whats.html" rel="nofollow">We Finally Figured Out What's Wrong with the American Education System</a></i> and <i><a href="http://theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.com/2011/03/post-no-162-ass-whupping-wuz-bout-da.html" rel="nofollow">An Ass-Whupping Wuz 'Bout da Take Place.</a></i><br /><br />For those of you unfamiliar with Pearl, we visit her blog on a regular basis. Reading her posts always bring a smile to our faces. It is guaranteed entertainment. <a href="http://pearl-whyyoulittle.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Check it out</a>.InspectorClouseauhttp://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-31288585365105470002012-12-27T09:11:16.621-05:002012-12-27T09:11:16.621-05:00I wrote a comment, and now it's gone!
Shoot.
...I wrote a comment, and now it's gone!<br /><br />Shoot.<br /><br />Sorry...<br /><br />PearlPearlwhyhttp://twitter.com/Pearlwhynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-36937452329893854442012-12-27T09:10:01.963-05:002012-12-27T09:10:01.963-05:00Well ain't that the truth.
I regularly play a...Well ain't that the truth.<br /><br />I regularly play a game on the bus, wherein civilization is reborn via the commuters present.<br /><br />I've come to the conclusion that 24 times out of 25, we find ourselves quite unprepared.<br /><br />Enjoyed this point, Inspector. :-)<br /><br />PearlPeggy Vork-Zamborynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-79724689722513208942012-12-26T22:27:04.444-05:002012-12-26T22:27:04.444-05:00Thank you Douglas. We're pretty much on the s...Thank you Douglas. We're pretty much on the same page. You detected an ambivalence in our position regarding what the individual can do, and what the system or structure (factors much larger than the individual) forces us to do. It's all about how we respond.<br /><br />What we hoped to convey is that individual citizens have a choice.<br /><br />When the Institute was located in Los Angeles, we found it necessary to take many a taxi cab to conduct business efficiently. Most of our taxi drivers were Russian. We had many a discussion about the differences between the former U.S.S.R. and America.<br /><br />One cabbie summed it up this way. If you were ambitious and highly motivated, the U.S. was a better place. If you were satisfied with the basics and having your family's essential needs met, the U.S.S. R. was a better place. Every society is composed of a substantial number of people of each group. The issue is the proportion.<br /><br />Right now, we suspect that insecurity has "paralyzed" lots of people because security is safer. We've often said that it takes some sense of security to take a risk. But then again, according to one songwriter, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose...."InspectorClouseauhttp://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439647783347819362.post-61962323493588292542012-12-26T22:08:41.213-05:002012-12-26T22:08:41.213-05:00Well written, Inspector. I would take issue with t...Well written, Inspector. I would take issue with that assertion that "[v]ery few voluntarily chose the route of the 47%." I think many, if not most, choose it. We often accept what we perceive as our "lot in life" without fighting it because we think we can't, that we are what we are born into. Those people that went off into the frontier didn't simply accept that "destiny", they struck off on their own... to make their own destiny, to seek their own life. We call it the "pioneer spirit." I saw something of the other side of man while in the Navy, the side that stayed behind, that eschewed the risk in favor of the familiar. Guys who came from the inner city, or poverty, or a future of repetition in a factory to spend a few short years in the military for the adventure (which turned out mostly to be boredom and drudgery) only to return to the perceived safety of "home"... as sad as it was. They chose it. They saw a different road but chose not to take it. I think most of us are like that. We choose the familiar, the life we know, rather than the risk of chasing a dream or opportunity. In my blog post today, I talked a little about my fear of failure and mentioned/realized I also had a fear of success. It is those two fears which send us toward that 47% life. Well, as I see it anyway.Douglas4517noreply@blogger.com