Ahoy from the 10th Parallel

Blogs have come in gone in the life of me. It started with www.stonerdiaries.com, but I think someone forgot to pay the bills so don't even bother checking. My second attempt was as a desperate young man hovering near pulling the plug on everything external. Outside hurt too much, honestly. I would love to say that I was strong enough to shrug off the ugly world and the ugly people but I have bled like a razor cut. As Calvin once asked Hobbes, "Are people basically evil with a few good traits...or basically good with a few evil traits?" Perhaps I've never been accused of starry-eyed optimism but deep down I've always had a opportunistic sense of humor and tried to bear an honest smile at life's trials. I wish that were still the case. It may require something drastic to convince me that Bill Waterson (full name William B. Watterson) was incorrect in Calvin's former assumption. For every person helping their fellow citizen there are two trying to make a quick buck at society's expense. I wish I could say I wasn't disgusted, but then I would be lying. Capitalism is a great idea but, sometimes, I feel like man and woman will eventually devolve it a base form of communism as politics, along with money, has come to define power. Federalist 51, James Madison: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." Maybe I should take off the quotation marks, but you get the gist of it. Well, here we are with companies taking advantage of people at every turn to gain an monetary advantage. Eighty bucks a pop for an AP test? Where's the competition in that? You either pay the money or you don't take the test. There are no alternatives, no competitors. At USC, it's $12 bucks to get an official transcript. Guess what they do.....ready? Type in an ID number, ctrl+p, space bar. "Twelve dollars, please. We only accept cash." You know why? Because they can. Every employer and grad school requires this piece of paper; some schools (hi Stanford, how's it hangin'?) require two. The point is that everyone is jonesin' at the opportunity to take someone else's money with as little effort as possible. Brilliant system, yes, but it brings out the absolute worst in people. So.....back to communism. Why work hard if you're guaranteed something by the a central power? Why make 50 t-shirts when you can make 48 and take two of your neighbor's? Why bust your ass and make 52 shirts? Are you going to get anymore money, food, shelter, pleasure? In our society this translates into the following: why actually provide a quality product, promote competition, value the individual when it so much more convenient to cut corners, monopolize, and promote efficiency at every turn? The answer is there is no good reason. So do whatever it takes to promote yourself. Run red lights to maximize the work day. Lobby officials at all costs. Hell, promote your own candidate. You don't think this has happened? Why do I KNOW it has in my OWN party? Or, at least, what used to be my party. Regardless, captitalism encourages people to short cut morality for the purpose of promoting self interests. And yes, I do know what the difference is between ethics and morality; I got a BabyRuth last time some sketchy professor asked that. I don't know what America will evolve into. Damn, I love my country but I fear the worst if we can't figure out a way to balance self-interest and the common good in the near future. In the meantime, I have my designs on International Waters. Join me, anyone?