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dickinsg@stripe.Colorado.EDU (Kronos Traveller) wrote:
> my vision of utopia
> is not likely to come about with regards to the human race. It is however, an
> ideal with which to focus my energies. Hence, I hope to be an educator.
engaged activists do not need any more political idealists at this time.
there are a number of openings for those well-grounded in realpolitik. but
our strategic plan calls for laying off most of those few remaining in our
job category of Wide- and Dewy-Eyed Visionaries.
however, i understand the Revolutionary Communist Party might have some
current openings for political idealists; albeit there is no hope of
advancement, these are reasonably stable, long-term positions; your job
security will be virtually guaranteed, i think, as it seems our national
defense apparatus still funds them at a subsistence level, to preserve
their own job security.
> And if
> a.cp readers decide that activism is a virus to be avoided then so be it.
paleo-punks seduced by digital technology might never warm up to the idea
that some people don't enjoy their centuries-long dominance of tribal
organization.
but engineers and programmers don't need to be convinced that the world is
full of problems to be solved, and that we can have an impact, cos that's
all we do all day long. and we don't need to be convinced that how much
impact you can have depends primarily on understanding of the tradeoffs--we
eat that for breakfast--& hardly at all on grandiose visions.
and in all seriousness, we don't like to be reminded of the young idealists
we accidentally hire every so often & then hafta lay off a couple months
later cos, sorry, they freaked out when they got a glimpse of reality at
mission-critical time.
but that's no cause for despair, KT. remain calm. everything is under
control. ok, so its not. but tell yourself it is when things get bad. it
works for me.
> Technical boy may not like my brand of activism, but in my version of utopia
> that doesn't matter. His ideas are just as valid of my own.
i'm not disputing that. i'm disputing that political idealism can be
effective, that it can produce measureable results, that it is a survivable
strategy for lowlife wireheads with gripes about the postmodern hell we got
going here.
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