and she said.. "how you interpret the dream is probably more important than the dream itself"

On free markets and mediocre politicians. On how to achieve more forward-thinking societal decisions from a mass of mind-numb citizens.

Perhaps the sheer mediocrity of our public officials, which we ostensibly choose, is but a reflection of the sheer mediocrity of our society right now. We don't demand better, we allow the market forces to dictate what is available without geniune resistance. And perhaps it is our genuine resistance that woud allow one to use the market to generate any kind of rational distribution of goods and services and energy usage.

If people would REALLY demand quality, not cheapness, but quality and fairness in the production of goods perhaps it would be reasonable. If we demanded a long term approach to resource usage, or if we based our consumer decisions on how it effects the quality of life of our children.....perhaps.

Isn't this what green energy and stuff like that is all about? I know here in Maine you can choose to buy more expensive energy "credits" from the power company, etc, that comes from green(er) energy sources and thereby make a positive choice in the market to go with the higher quality product (in this case greener energy).

Still, to this day, there are quality products - if you want a high performance, quality motorcycle then you can spend a little more on a Ducati or an Aprilla.. If you want a more aesthetically pleasing computer than you buy Apple over Dell.

The bottom line (the problem, really) is that our society is made up of a bunch of dumb trashy fucks. I hate to be harsh about it, but, hey. That's just The Way It Is (tm).

Is it our TV culture? Is it the speed at which society and technology travels now (quickly, with new products coming out as fast as they can design them and old products quickly becoming obsolete).. Maybe things are so fast that people see little point in buying quality and lasting products when they will want newer products so quickly, anyway. Even houses are not built to last, made with chintzy plywood and inferior design. Nobody goes the extra mile anymore.

I don't think people actually think about these things in any sort of concious way, usually, but this is the mindset.. no? Can you fix this? No? This is a bigger cultural problem then you or I can fix, that is for sure. It will take a flash-flood radical shift or a glacially-slow cultural movement but it will take something that is not you or me. It will take a mass of people, en masse, deciding (whether thoughtfully or not) to change the short-sighted approach we now embrace.

An optimist will tell you that this movement is already happening. More people are more aware of global warming, more inundated with global warming facts, and more thoughtful of environmental impact every day. But not enough. It doesn't happen over night and it doesn't happen because of one man. The question is whether we can make it happen quickly enough to beat the clock or if we'll end up just out of time.

And damn, that is pretty depressing, even for an optimist.