It is important in life (and death, probably) not to lose your sense of humor. The great playwright Bertolt Brecht used to push his audience to disassociate themselves from the play’s characters so that the political truth, or message of the piece* would be easier to comprehend. I remember a discussion – in what seems like another life – of ways of creating Brechtian alienation in an audience. You could have them smoke, or create some non sequitur, strangeness, or humor on stage.
Just because something creates jobs does not make it an unequivocally good thing for the land and its denizens.
Yeah, I said it.
I know it’s not the prevailing wisdom. I know we need jobs and industry within our borders. Heck, I’m one of the mob, and at my (unpaid) internship, I see the results of poverty and unemployment every day. But let’s be honest – right now, even the most short-term, dangerous, or downright terrifying ideas are touted as being good for the country/economy because they create jobs. Job creating wins out over every conceivable negative.
Coming up with things to write about during this time is difficult. By “this time”, I mean the state of limbo between taking the bar and getting results, job hunting while almost a lawyer, and generally wondering whether the law degree you worked so hard for is any better than that liberal arts degree you thought (at the time) you were working hard for. I certainly don’t want this blog to turn into a rambling whine-fest about job hunting and running out of money. Which is why you didn’t hear from me last week.