Head in the Sand Time
10 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Saturday, September 13 at Saturday, September 13, 2008.
This is a combination of public announcement and call for help.
First, the public announcement part. As of yesterday, I have made the vow to not read, watch, listen to or discuss another word about American politics until after this election is over. Despite being pretty important for the world (although less important than people think), I just don't care one bit about what happens between now and November.
Everything of importance that needs to be said, has been said. All that will happen for the next two months is an idiotic cycle of manufactured ups and downs and repositionings. There will be scandals, outrage, missteps, gotchyas and great rhetorical victories. All this stuff is irrelevant, and I don't care.
Second, the call for help. The other side of my resolution is to spend the time I would spend reading and thinking about the election on getting under the skin of other things of pressing importance to the world that I know nothing about. So far, I'm thinking I want to get some clues about Japanese and Chinese politics, Hindu nationalism and Russia.
My plea: if you are immersed in some topic or idea of flaming importance to the world that you think people don't spend enough time thinking about, let me know what it is and where I can read about it. As Rumsfeld famously put it, I'm talking about "unknown unknowns" here, things I don't know about and don't know that I don't know about them.
Disclaimer: Unless there is some new take on things vastly different to the one commonly thought of, I don't want to hear about the environment or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bombs away! I'm thinking that given most of the people who read this blog are geniuses of some description, you'll all have something to contribute to my quest to stop caring about one thing and begin caring about something else....
First, the public announcement part. As of yesterday, I have made the vow to not read, watch, listen to or discuss another word about American politics until after this election is over. Despite being pretty important for the world (although less important than people think), I just don't care one bit about what happens between now and November.
Everything of importance that needs to be said, has been said. All that will happen for the next two months is an idiotic cycle of manufactured ups and downs and repositionings. There will be scandals, outrage, missteps, gotchyas and great rhetorical victories. All this stuff is irrelevant, and I don't care.
Second, the call for help. The other side of my resolution is to spend the time I would spend reading and thinking about the election on getting under the skin of other things of pressing importance to the world that I know nothing about. So far, I'm thinking I want to get some clues about Japanese and Chinese politics, Hindu nationalism and Russia.
My plea: if you are immersed in some topic or idea of flaming importance to the world that you think people don't spend enough time thinking about, let me know what it is and where I can read about it. As Rumsfeld famously put it, I'm talking about "unknown unknowns" here, things I don't know about and don't know that I don't know about them.
Disclaimer: Unless there is some new take on things vastly different to the one commonly thought of, I don't want to hear about the environment or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Bombs away! I'm thinking that given most of the people who read this blog are geniuses of some description, you'll all have something to contribute to my quest to stop caring about one thing and begin caring about something else....
The parlous state of Christian communities in Jerusalem and the reasons behind their continued decline. You can start with William Dalrymple's excellent 'From the Holy Mountain'.
...just a thought...
How about the influence of Iran on Southern Azerbaijan?
30 million Azeris live in Northern Iran, 8 million Azeris live in Azerbaijan. And yet Tehran is still the one holding court in the region.
The reason: higher-powered TV broadcasting capabilities.
Here's a link: http://www.rferl.org/content/Azerbaijan_Gets_Taste_Iranian_Soft_Power/1182664.html
It may not occupy you for too long, but it may open the door to other stories in one of the world's least-talked-about regions (well, had it not been for Russia's invasion of Georgia).
Enjoy.
I would be happy to expound on how biased and ridiculous western media coverage and government rhetoric abt the Russian "invasion" of Georgia was... I'm still in a lather over that every time some ignorant fool mentions something...
or you can digg into politics in europe and figure out how come no EU goverment can make it till the end of their term (well a lot of them anyway)
and if you want something crazier then the elections, try figuring out when and how the hungarian economy will collapse (ps: and accept me turning up at your dorrstep around that time)
you could reflect on the immolation of the NSW Labor party and solve the mystery of how, even in this environment of failure, the Liberal party is still a non event. This is up there with string theory in degrees of difficulty.
Want a nicer, more obscure election to watch? How about the Canadian one, coming this October. You'll see how, after years of Liberal party rule, the Conservative party is stealthily working to realign the Canadian political scene, claiming the moderate center and pushing the Liberals to share the left and moderate left with the New Democratic Party, Greens, and Bloc Quebecois.
Skool thyself son: www.ted.org every lecture a gem guaranteed.
Highly recommend:
- William Kamkwamba
- Ze Frank
- Hans Rosling (New insights on poverty and life around the world, but any of his stuff is great)
- Vik Muniz
- and just for kicks Keith Bellows.
BTW, I totally couldn't do what you're doing. If I didn't have John Stewart and Stephen Colbert I don't know what I'd do.
join uuuuuuus...
www.indecision2008.com
hmmm. The game of "what has Gara not read extensively on?" is a game played best by the bold and the speakers of languages other than English.
Batting .5 on this one but I'm ready to throw down. Multidrugresistant bacteria: tuberculosis, staph, malaria.. although you probably have that last one covered. Freaked me out with I was studying microbiology, and my medical friends say things have not gotten less terrifying.
peace.
Dude, watching the US election and thinking of you not watching the US election. I hate to say it, but this one is almost too good to miss. Perhaps you can allow yourself a little bit of guilty pleasure just to enjoy some Palin interview excerpts. It's not every day you get to see a global empire at it's most embarassing.