Complacency and Stagnation: The Demise of Man

All you must do to see the slow degradation of Man's mind is to listen, only for a moment, to someone near you. The slow slip of Man into stagnation shows up in the momentary groan you make when someone makes the all-too-familiar trite comment they've repeated for years. The ease of Humanity to find comfort in those commonalities and phrases show a lack of expansion of the mind, a lack of growth, and importantly, a lack of wanting to grow.

(un)Growth: The Loss of Risk/Reward

 Children ordering chicken nuggets at McDonalds, chicken tenders at Olive Garden, or chicken crisps at Red Lobster are perfect examples as well. Some may commend people for knowing what they like and sticking to it, but it raises the simple question: how do you know what you like is indeed the thing you will like most? The person who remains stagnant in their desire for a burger or a desire for french fries everywhere will never get to know the delicious flavors of Middle Eastern food, they'll never try expertly-crafted sushi and they'll never have the gumption to enjoy exotic fishes served in exotic ways. The astounding fact is, once again, that not only will people not enjoy these things that they may enjoy more, they revel in the fact that they aren't enjoying something new. People are completely complacent with where they are or what they want without ever choosing to expand that.

Think of this little experiment as a social metaphor. From the age of childhood we decide that we like something, therefore, we will continue to get that something because it makes us feel good. We learn that experimentation could result in us not liking something, a risk that has high reward but high consequences. Instead of risking it and having the chance to experience something amazing, Man takes the easy route and follows the same path he did before. By the time we reach adolescence we have compiled a comprehensive, yet small, list of things we like, the list of dislikes based solely on the fact that these things are not the things we like. (As an aside, the setup of a binary system where one side is only revealed to be the negation of your side is also an archaic means to view life: you=not me; they=not us; red=not blue; good=not bad). The insistence of Humanity to not recognize shades of gray in their decision making process shows a fundamental lack of what epistemology actually is. The idea that there is a single absolute knowledge of the world is fine, if you base your view of the world solely upon your interpretation and nothing more. Unfortunately, this is not realistic; your image (especially in the twenty-first century) must be compiled from myriad options and vantage points. Look at the division of news networks. There is a red news, a blue news, an off-blue news, and an off-red news. Stagnancy believes that you can view one and receive all you need to know. Knowledge (and therefore growth) states you must view them all. Knowledge dictates that you must view all points of view, growth dictates you must interpret and understand those views. In order to grow you must do something that many people fear and rebel against: you must think.

Loyalty: The Death of Innovation

Many minds exist solely for taking-in and subsequently ignoring information they receive. The minds that rely upon the easy way of "chicken nuggets" or referring to your childhood as "walking up hill both ways" are the culprits. Those who lack the originality (and therefore effort) to move beyond these commonplaces only serve to solidify the measures in place that reinforce the behavior of the commonplace. Current business practice relies upon the notion of gaining loyalty over the more important virtue of innovation. Your product only has to be good enough to be considered "reliable". It doesn't need to excel, it only needs to do its job well enough to be viewed as usable and good. So many counter-measures are in place (especially in this country) where innovation is sacrificed at the point of reliability. People stay with a specific car company out of the nostalgia of their first car (which seemed great in retrospect), so why should they go elsewhere and take the risk?

For example, a person who has dealt with the same building contractor for decades and built up a wonderful friendship, needs to have a new office building constructed. One day a new up-and-coming contractor offers a new type of construction (which is stronger, longer-lasting and cheaper) to the prospective client. Instead of following the course of innovation, the client follows the course of reliability and loyalty even at the cost of his business. In ten years, the building with sub-par construction will fall, and the client will explain it away as an "act of god" or that "the building needed to go anyways", using complacency and pushing the responsibility away from the only party who deserves it: himself.

This type of decision making that sacrifices innovation at the sight of reliability and comfort is the plague upon this nation. In fact, to call such an act "decision making" is to falsely state that someone does something by consciously weighing all (or at least some) of their options before choosing. Instead, under the current philosophy of choice, the decision seems already made. Equal weight, time, or thought is never given to all sides. Thus, Humanity continues to slip back into a complacent and stagnant lifestyle that refuses to grow with the growth of knowledge.

The flame of inspiration and innovation is being put out in the rain, the intuition of Man is to stomp it out for fear of change when they ought to shelter it and strengthen it. Innovation is not something to fear, innovation is a process and a philosophy that should be followed and nursed, but not blindly followed.

Above all, the blind following of any philosophy, innovation or stagnancy, is the evilest of ways. Thought should rule over your lives, situations should be dissected to see their workings and consequences should be fully explored.

May the flame of innovation, inspiration and reason remain ignited and burn strong, for it is in the most dire danger, now more than ever.

How Mad Men is Right.

Image from www.amctv.com

"Who is Don Draper?" This enigmatic question begins the fourth season of Mad Men and for the first time, I found myself wondering the same question. Through four seasons of Mad Men I accepted Don. I accepted Don as the primary protagonist (and sometimes antagonist) who spent his days napping, drinking, philandering and urging, albeit harshly, his employees to do better work. Don is dishonest, a drunk and selfish. Very rarely will he realize his own faults and acknowledge them, even fewer times does he say "I'm sorry". In any other media, Don would be a classic villain, yet I trust him. I would trust my company with his creative prowess because of three simple facts: Don Draper is me, Don Draper is every man, and Don Draper is the truth.

Buried within every episode is some profound conversation or piece of advice that showcases Don's understanding of life. He really gets it. He is not some sort of idealized white knight that comes to save the damsel in distress, he is a man, simple as that. He has his own tragic faults, but he is brilliant at what he does. Beyond that though, there's random moments where he's not only a brilliant ad man, he is a surprisingly insightful philosopher.

"If you don't like what is being said, change the conversation."

The context of the quote isn't necessary for any of these that I've chosen, the context is life, the actors are you and I. But what does it mean? It's a comment on disarming a conversation; if you don't want to talk about it, don't. Move on, talk about something else. But beneath the surface there's something more profound than that. Inherent in the quote is a confrontational "Prove it." I want you to change the conversation, but prove you're worth it, prove that what you're saying is better or worth my time. If you don't like what I'm saying, if you don't like what is being said, change the conversation. Alter the conversation. Don't switch subjects, switch perspectives, change the emphasis and check your premises. I also think that what he truly means in this is: "if you don't like the world, change it." Though he is pragmatic (if not pessimistic), there is a glimmer of hope that what he is doing matters. Don is searching for his place in life, the place that he belongs and the place that he matters. "If you don't think you matter, go somewhere where you do."

There are times when I sit and watch an episode and feel just as some of Don's clients do: that I am too dumb to understand the genius of every line. I sit there and wonder what Don's pitch on life is going to be today, what nuggets of truth will he bestow on me. Sometimes I feel that he is my best friend, softly sprinkling wisdom, other times that he's my grandfather, pedantically pointing out my foolish lifestyle. I feel the harsh condescending tone of someone who knows more than I do, a world-weary traveler who has traveled everywhere, but his own heart. At times I wonder if Don even knows what he says or is doing, yet, as much of a mess he seems he always pulls through. One way or another he merely escapes some form of death or destruction, but never unscathed.

"You want some respect? Go out there and get it for yourself."

Don Draper is America. He is proactive, smart, quick-witted, and even quicker to anger. I remember watching Don matter-of-factly tell Peggy this and for some reason it just resonated with me. Don is encouraging her to make her own way and make her own name for herself. Don isn't some sort of over-mind authority out there to make you feel better about yourself, he's a self-made man who only cares about himself. In a way, I recognize that and wish I could emanate it. So many moments in life you're approached with choices that are easily tucked away by passing them off to someone else and so many times have I done that. The true meaning of Don's statement is simply don't do that; don't shirk responsibility for ease, carry it with you as a badge of honor. A bad choice is better than no choice at all, a negative respect is better than no respect at all. Whether you're known for your ruthlessness or your excellence, at least you're known - a thought that Don Draper would accept as well. The comment focuses on the fact that no one is here to hold your hand, you must go out and do what you want for yourself, no one ever got anywhere by free-loading on the backs of those more fortunate than themselves; if they ever did it was never something to be proud of.

That's another great take away from Don's character: pride. No matter what follies he makes, he never once deviates from who he believes himself to be or discounts his work. He is, to a fault, completely dedicated and proud of his work. He knows that he is exactly where he should be and that everything is okay. Which leads into the last quotation of his I picked out:

Image from www.amctv.com

"Advertising is based on one thing: happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay."

Isn't that what we all strive for? To live free of fear? To get all of the things we want? To know that no matter what we do, we're fine? For that short time I spend in front of the mirror every morning looking into my own eyes, I wonder if I'm doing everything right, if where I am is where I should be. Every time you go to the store and hold that movie, feel the fabric of a new shirt, smell a new perfume, every time you stand in that check out line wondering if the item you're holding is one you want, or one that you need, every time you tell yourself you're okay and you're doing it right. Your paycheck was smaller than the past one, but that candy bar holds a specific happiness, the delicious taste is one thing, but the freedom to purchase it, to say to the world "I am economically able to buy frivolous candy and not feel bad about it" is the feeling I feel. It's my way of saying, I'm okay. And isn't that the point?

Happiness is the smell of a new car. Happiness is that look of envy from those you pass by, and happiness is the pride you feel in knowing you did something for yourself. Every turn of that key, whether it's an Audi or a beat up Ford Pinto, gives you a reassurance that you made a choice, one that is good for you. Happiness is piece of mind and courage to accept your choices and their consequences. Advertising is based upon happiness, about showing people the way they should act to be happy, the things they should buy and the things they should do to reach that piece of mind that is happiness. But it's more than that. It's not just advertising. Life is about happiness.

Life is that constant manipulation of minds for objects. You have a Thing 1, but your friend has the Thing 1.1. Your Thing 1 no longer appeals to you, it's no good, you need a better one. You go out and buy the latest and greatest Thing 2. But why do you do it? Is it envy? Is it fear? Are you afraid you're falling behind, that you're going to be lost in the dust of innovation? Isn't that the point of advertising and objects: to innovate, make better, make cheaper, make more popular? The real hope is to cater to a specific market, the market of people who will not rest until they have the best, the people who pride themselves on their self-worth and know that they "are okay." That's all they want. Some find that solace in writing, some find it in musical composition, some find it in materialism, others find it in a spiritual lifestyle, but no matter what Humanity is destined to find the place that it feels okay, the reassurance that whatever it is you're doing is the right thing for you and the thing you should be doing.

"You are okay."

And world? You are doing okay. You're doing it right. The timeless quote of a fictional 1960s ad man has the same relevance on this day, November 3, 2012, three days before the presidential election, as it did for the fictional 1960s it applies to. As millions of people head to the polls on Tuesday, no matter your choice, know one thing: you're okay. No matter how dire it may seem, that billboard of a smiling woman showcasing product X for your purchase is smiling at you, smiling at your life. Every second you take a breath of that new car smell, whisper to yourself that you're okay. Every moment you lay in your bed at night, wondering if the monster in the closet or your tax man is coming to get you, open your eyes and read these words: "you are okay."

It's not hope I'm telling you, it's a mixture of sadness and sarcasm. Every moment of your life is a chance to thwart the encroaching pessimism that threatens to ruin that very fragile facade of "you are okay." The smallest pebble can shatter that foolish facade of okay. But what can you do about it? Do you adapt your life to fit your means, or do you live the life you wish you could for the happiness of consumerism? Where does happiness end and hoarding begin? And when was happiness ever about getting things?

What I'm saying is, you've been duped world. Don knew it, so should you. Don is in the business of lying, of putting a hood over the consumers' head and telling you what you should have, should do, should want. The happiness he speaks of is the lie we tell ourselves every morning when we wake up: "you are okay." You're not okay. Every person has that nagging thought that something is askew, so what do we do? Bury it. We mound up what we're told will make us happy until the unhappiness is buried beneath layers and layers of false happiness, the happiness we are fed on a daily basis.

The life you should lead shouldn't start with the acquiring of goods, or achieving social rank. A life of experience and relationships is one to be sought. Personal wealth isn't necessary unless you have someone to spend it on, someone you care about, someone who has earned their respect, someone who can start their own conversation. This is the part where I come full-circle, explain to you that the whole purpose of this post is to show the inter-connectivity of philosophical thought in Mad Men. Instead, I'll leave you with one more quote, one more thought that I won't detail, I won't explain, and I will leave you to your thoughts:

"I hate to break it to you, but there is no big lie, there is no system, the universe is indifferent."

For those of us who rather read than politic.

The busy street buzzed with activity, even at this late of an hour; not that he could hear it anyways because of the pounding noise blasting from his headphones. In a kaleidoscope of light the street lights before him fluttered from green to yellow to red. The cautionary orange hand remained solid, though it was safe to cross. He stepped from the curb onto the pavement, walking briskly across the street.

He hadn't been walking long, but his shoulders ached under the immense weight of books and his computer. His head pounded from the noise, yet he did not turn down his music, it gave him piece of mind: an attempt to overthrow the loneliness. The dull orange street lights lit his path forward; every where he was bathed in the unclean light. It loomed above, oppressing and belittling him. It startled him from time to time, the multiple shadows it threw seemed dangerous, his ashen doppelgängers waiting to overthrow and convert him to a shadow.

Further ahead he reached a small pathway running through the city. The bike path was rarely used, the exhaust of the city long ago claiming the lungs of cyclists and walkers alike. He paused for a moment at its mouth, its black emptiness spread far ahead fading into to the horizon. Shifting his gaze from the dull dashed line to just above the horizon, the ghostly orange light dissolved into the perfection of the government building. Surrounding the building were stark white spotlights, their beams stopped by the immense thunder clouds holding their fire. The spectral beams of light remained vigilant awaiting the moment the clouds would break when they could shoot their blinding light to the heavens.

Photo credit: Dori, Taken in Madison, Wisconsin

Once more he began to walk without purpose, the sight causing him to shake his head and carry on, his head down. He reached for his music device and absent-mindedly switched to a random song, luckily one of his favorites. The beat changed drastically, the slower melody gently caressed his eardrums. He entered into the cold orange light once more.

A few blocks later before he were to turn, he opened his mouth and breathed in a gulp of the chilly night air, the cold tingling down his throat. He wiped his running nose and rubbed his numb ears, hoping to kindle some sort of warmth in them. Then he rolled his neck, the weight of his pack still tugging on his shoulder and neck muscles. With his head inclined, the soothing tension momentarily released, he noticed something he had not seen in months.

In the patch of sky he saw there were no planes, no stars, and no beautiful sky from horizon to horizon. In its place stood an enormous bank of thunder clouds, the same clouds over the government house. Yet, something was different. These clouds were different. Their blackness was not pierced by the orange oppression, by the white destruction. No, they were untouched by the likes of man. They slowly rolled, one edge nearly undecipherable from the others, their blackness was so full and complete; it was pure.

A singular lance of lightning dashed across the sky horizontally. The earth shaking crack of thunder followed rapidly; the wind begin to slowly whip up and twirl loose leaves on the sidewalk. He looked down and realized he had been standing in awe for an unknown amount of time; he could not recollect how many times the light had changed at his crossroads, how many times he had disobeyed the command to walk. He lowered his gaze to his shoes as if urging them to move when he saw the struggling flap of a maple leaf, red and withered, attempting to join the fray of fluttering leaves. His shoe was resting on its stem, restricting its movements. He felt a sympathetic twinge for the leaf and lifted his foot, the leaf immediately launching into the sky with a renewed vitality he had never known.

All at once a jagged line of lightning shot across the sky, a tremendous boom rattled windows, and the welled up waters of a dry summer let loose in a torrent of rain, drenching him almost immediately. He methodically stopped his music, removed his headphones from his ears, put up his hood to cover his head and stood for a moment longer. He looked to his left, his destination merely blocks away, then he looked forward. His feet moved of their own volition. They carried out the will of the boy, whether he knew it or not. He walked towards the looming thunderhead, he walked to the chaos of pure darkness, he walked away from the oppressive orange: he walked forward.

The (un)Reality of a Perfect System;

Or, In Defense of True Extreme and Working Capitalism

I'll get this off my chest now, I know it, you know it: we're going to disagree. I'm going to ask you to make a jump incredibly difficult for most people, I'm going to ask you to momentarily suspend your disbelief and allow me to pander in theory, to claw at a substantial understanding of reality through a more in depth grasp of theoretics.

I hear you ask me, "why would you do such a thing? Why be an obtuse intellectual who doesn't recognize he lives in a real living world?" And I would answer simply, "I know you're smart and I know you pay attention, so why is it you live in the same fantasy world? Why do you let yourself be led every which way by empty words?"

I want to spend my time today on the politician's need to cater to the lowest possible intelligence of voter, in specific the rallying cry of "Tax Cuts for the Rich". I understand the need to avoid pedantic financial dribbling on national television; of course your ratings will drop and you would never get reelected. But far too often do people get so swept up in the emblematic rallying cries that they forget that they're only meant as leading off points. The moment a Democrat hears someone even hint at uttering these words, they all grab their pitch forks and torches ready to toast any union-busting Scrooge McDuck. But for a moment, suspend your disbelief with me and open your mind, check your preconceived notions at the door and think.

Taxes: How They Are Now

The Middle class, making no more than $70,700 but not less than $17,400 for a married couple are paying 10% taxes (or $1,740) on the first $17,400, while every penny over that $17,400 is taxed 15%. For instance, if you are a married couple making $65,000 a year, you would pay approximately $1,740+($47,600*.15)= $8,880 in taxes. This equates to 13% of your gross income.

The Upper class, or those making more than $388,350 are charged $105,062 in taxes no matter what then an additional 35% on every penny over $388,350.

That means that for every dollar made over $17,400 for the middle class citizen, the government receives 15 cents. Likewise, the upper class individual gives 35 cents to the government for every dollar made over $388,350, or over 1/3 of their income.

Then you hear plenty of people slinging around the idea of equality, equal this and equal that. Most importantly equal taxes for everyone. There's but one exception to this: no one knows what's equal, no one wants to be the great decider of equal taxes for everyone. Before you have the chance to double back on what you want, let's just explore what equal taxes for everyone would entail.

Scenario 1: Equalization to the Lowest

You're in the middle class, so you don't particularly like your 15 or 25% (the next bracket above 15%), but you can make it fine if those greedy rich people paid their "fair share". So Let's make them. Since it would be terrible to make those in the lowest tax bracket pay as much as you do, let's level the playing field and make it truly equal. That means that your tax rate is lowered to 10% of your gross income like all American families; equality then must mean that you would like the upper class to pay their equal share: 10% of their gross income. Let's throw some numbers up.

Let's say your rich cousin, Rick from Toledo (because why not?), makes $500,000 as a salaried CEO for a crazy explosive Facebook app. So his base tax is $105,062 in the normal 35% bracket we are in now. On top of that he would be charged an additional 35% on the excess over $388,350, or a taxable excess of $111,650. Thus, under the current tax system, your cousin would pay a total of $105,062+($111,650*.35)= or a total of $144,136.50. That means that under the current system Rick pays 28.8% of his gross income out in taxes

Under the Equality of Taxes Bill (brought up by middle class Americans, like all of us), your cousin Rick would pay a blanket 10% of his gross income, just like you do.

You, making $65,000 a year would pay $6,500 in taxes (what a deal!), and your cousin Rick would pay $50,000 in taxes. Sounds like a lot right? Well, when you're looking to reduce a national debt in the trillions tax reductions across the board is not the way to go. "but that's not what I meant!" you exclaim. Okay, well let's look at it the other way.

Scenario 2: Equalization to the Highest

You are a die-hard red, white and blue blooded American who wants nothing more than to enjoy those six packs while fireworks shoot in the sky and your pants are made in America. You're willing to do what ever would make your country great again. So, when the legislature announces their new Equalization of Taxes Law, you jump at the chance to participate as much as your rich neighbor. You and your wife make a nice amount of money to fuel your multiple vehicles and recreational vehicles, a sizable $90,000; slightly above average. Your rich cousin, Gerald Maygood, owner and CEO of Maygood Enterprises, makes $1,000,000 (yes, one million, a good paying job!). Under this new tax law equal taxes has been placed at 35%, the tax level for those who make more than $388,350 a year.

Come April, however, your initiative in this great patriotic pursuit of yours falters when you see the government take its just dues, a whopping $31,500! Under the normal system you would only pay $9,735+($19,300*.25)= $14,560. You're not as big a fan of this tax plan as you thought you were when you see more than a third of your income go out the door. Soon those recreational vehicles are on craigslist and those gas guzzling made in America SUVs are gone, replaced with Vespa scooters for the pair of you. Your cousin on the other hand is paying his 35% on his $1,000,000, or $350,000, his lifestyle doesn't change.

Now you're lying there on your cardboard box and newspapers because you couldn't afford the Equalization of Taxes Bill in the latter, or you're enjoying your enormous wealth you've gained in the former. Well, until China or whoever calls for the United State's debts (which with the lowered tax rates have rocketed) and then your country has just defaulted on the largest loan in the history of the world.

This is the part where you suspend your disbelief, this is the part where you take a moment and check your premises because I'm about to unload a massive bomb on you.

Scenario 3: True Capitalism

The impossible and far-fetched never happening idea of Capitalism. A system that attempts to maintain two different policies: capitalism for those who can afford it, socialism for those who can't, is doomed to fail at both, especially when the two systems oppose each other. Instead let's try something different for once, check your premises and move past the flawed logic. Instead of trying to restrain growth, instead of enforcing a system that causes those who can afford it to hide their money away in Swiss Bank accounts (OH NO!), give them reason to invest here.

Abolish the tax code. Instead run a country of intellectuals in a new (green) industrial revolution. You there, middle class citizen, what will you do with your money you would otherwise be spending on taxes? Will you travel on an airplane built in America and owned by an American company? Or maybe you will go buy a new car constructed in an American factory and sold by an American salesman working for an American car company.

What will the rich man do with all of his immense wealth? Well, he's going to do what he's been doing before the code was abolished, he's going to be spending his money in order to build his fortune higher. Innovation expands and explodes when the restrictions of capitalism are reduced. He's going to invest in companies and services that will ensure the largest returns. The well-oiled machine that is American industry is, as Obama says, fueled "from the middle out", but the economy is receptive and reactionary. When a ripple is sent from the middle out, the rich must make a decision: 1. follow the trend and invest, or 2. ignore it and hope for the best.

If the middle class, all of a sudden begins to go on trips, the demand for aircraft skyrockets to meet the amount of people wanting to vacation. With demand high, intense and complicated algorithms will be used to project the amount of aircraft that are to be made to meet the demand. But with those aircraft numbers rising to meet the amount of tourists, fuel costs rise as well. Any businessman worth his first million realizes that the best way to gain a profit is to remove factors that reduce that profit. What results is an increase in development of green energy, if for no other reason than to reduce fuel overheads. This technology, taken over by large corporations, "trickles down" to companies that find more interesting uses for it, whether it be putting electric cars on the roads, efficient wind and solar power for homes, or power grids that fuel millions of people with clean energy only dreamed of.

Numerous arguments against such an extreme plan exist, but if you only think of how well you work at your workplace when the foreman is buckling down and watching your every move opposed to when he leaves you alone to do your job as you please, you'll understand what it is I'm arguing. The moment the US becomes a beacon of industry across the world is the moment that our deficit slows, halts, and begins to go down. It won't happen in a day, a year, or probably in my lifetime, but sooner or later the leak of jobs, people, and ideas to foreign areas to avoid restrictions must be stopped.

As a final parting remark, I'll leave you with this video a friend showed me about motivation and drive and how economic gain is not necessarily the reason we decide to do our best. It was eye opening and entertaining, thanks Amanda.

A Fresh Start

There are very few emotions in this world that equate to the beginnings of a new project. The sense of elation when the idea sparks in your mind, that urge to continue on and press forward, and the final moment when you lean back in your chair and realize the culminations of your work, the time-old fruits of your labors moment. 

But sometimes, there are those few projects you scamper across in a flurry of emotion and sensation that drive you onward, onward to a destination you do not even realize. Those projects, those recurring ideas that can continue on for years are the ones that that draw and holdfast my attention. My gaze is not drawn to those small Pinterest projects you see everywhere (as cute/charming/simple/beautiful as they are), but my mind is drawn to the projects that spawn those Pinterest copies. My heart yearns for a following of people looking for creative projects to replicate, albeit not nearly as good as the original (the artist in me says). 

To achieve the fame of originality in this generation devoted to repurposing of old images, the slaughtering of classical quotes for our 21st Century sensibilities, and cheap thrills on youtube, to achieve the slightest fame through the originality of my mind is what I hope to accomplish. Maybe fame is too strong of a term, maybe what I seek is a moment of clarity, a moment where I realize that I did the best I could and that I can be proud of it. To be a writer as famed as J.K. Rowling and (unfortunately) Stephenie Meyer, I believe, is every fledgling author's goal, but I know that I do not have a seven book saga as detailed and fantastic as Harry Potter waiting in my mind. All I have are my own thoughts, my own musings on life mingled with my own understanding of the world around me. To me, that is enough. World-renowned? No. Self-worthy? Absolutely. 

This project is for avarice of the mind. Any blogging adventure begins with a person believing that what they have to say is worthwhile, that their project is most important. My pride drives me to write, my arrogance tells me you should read. I am proud of my words and I will stand by them, double-backs and feints are not my style. So, following that logic, I, of course, believe that you should read my postings, but to read is not enough. Read at your pleasure. Read what you will. But if you plan on only reading my postings, we are going to have a problem. I want you to look at my words, comprehend my words, taste my words, but most importantly, after all of that I want you to think on my words. Cohesively explain why I am wrong and we both become the better for it. 

On this inaugural post I will leave my extremely small reader base (me and possibly you, reader) with one last thought. A is A. Let this simple logical rule lead your life to enlightenment and illumination. There will be plenty more on that principle to come, but let it mingle and dissolve in your brain.