Somehow, my post in support of the repositories of books, on a writers forum, where virtually everyone has raised on high the virtues of books, or at least of some books, has generated 37 posts, almost halfway to alleycat’s predicted 80. From this end, it feels a bit like going to an American Legion bar in your uniform and getting shot at. Well, I’ve been shot at before and I suppose that I can easily survive this virtual situation.
After others introduced the political as a sore point, I tried to be as logical as I could in making my points. It is possible that I was a tiny bit dismissive of rita’s first post. I do not, however, feel compelled to apologize. Statements so broad they are unsupportable except as subjective idiom (including “We are the most spoiled and coddled nation on the face of the earth.”, “Politics aside, the nation as a whole is bloated and self centered.”, and “A little suffering is good!”) make objective refutation impossible. They are the forum equivalent of the political sound bite or the political tactic of the “big lie.” Don’t shoot me yet, rita, it’s easier to agree with you later, after you’d thought about it.
And, in fact, my refutation of those subjective sound bites was less than proficient. I guess that is to be expected. Nothing had really been said yet. I was replying to ghosts and it showed. I hate it when I do that. Still and all, I felt I had to point out that people suffer everywhere and that rita probably was not one of them, since she was unable to feel the pain of the sufferers.
Brokenfingers then helped rita by placing some subjective statements under her sound bites. At the same time, he seems to indicate that his life was very hard, so he certainly understood suffering, but that he disliked whiners. I’ll let the illogic of those two thoughts pass. I think I understand what he was trying to say.
He goes on to intimate that his experience in the area of world suffering exceeds that of everyone else, and therefore his authority is not to be questioned. Well, I’m willing to bet that for at least one of us, he is incorrect. I have just under four million air miles under my belt. I’ve seen it too. It is indeed bad, but so are parts of our country. Being a single mother anywhere is not easy. Having cancer anywhere is difficult. Having an incurable neurological disease any where is not fun. Again, on those last two items, I have much real-world experience.
In generalities, however, the points made by both rita and brokenfingers have at least semi-valid underpinnings. Americans tend to forget Canada and Sweden and the Netherlands and Switzerland and the other countries of the world that rank above us in most categories, but most of the world is worse off, at least materially. Whether or not material considerations are truly paramount is questionable, but will have to wait for another time. Simply put, Americans often talk the talk of anti-materialism but walk their walk at Walmart.
I am not impressed with jingoism. Nor am I impressed with negativism. So up to this point in the tread, nobody, including me has said much. That is often the way these things go. Still, I was raised very poor, under the shadow of the projects. I learned to enjoy the variety and there was plenty of that. It’s easy to get a world view in an American ghetto. I learned a lot about my fellow man there, on both sides of the discussion. So I have seen poor people here and on five other continents. It may be worse elsewhere, but it not exactly great here.
James then blamed the closing on poor library operations and bad management. The Republican economy is not to be blamed. It is only fair that I point out that the Democratic economy is not to be blamed either, especially since the Republicans dismantled it. I am somewhat disturbed that he finds the “population type” in Salinas to be less deserving than his “population type.” In truth, libraries are doing well in places like Johnson County, KS and Seattle because both of those places have a wealthy tax base. Very few wealthy people desire to live in Salinas, even if they’ve earned their millions there.
Alleycat then makes several good points, mainly involving the benefits of an involved and upscale public in things such as libraries. The same things benefit schools. I consider those to be excellent things, except that they do not exist everywhere.
Then, after some static, rita relates the commendable story of the local library here family founded and in which she still volunteers. It is clear that she is living the library idyll. Then she repeats the suffering generalities, and noted earlier. But she does make excellent points about how these things work in her world. Later, I am forced to indicate that much of the world is not like that.
Then brokenfingers returns with another post about dismissive posts. I have not yet seen anyone dismiss anyone in this thread to this point. In fact, the arguments are getting more and more meaningful on both sides. That does not make anyone dismissive, it just makes our points clearer. I read what I had posted very clearly and did not fond it dismissive of rita. I do find that brokenfingers is very clearly dismissive of me. <shrug> So, while I love brokenfinger like a brother, as he does me, I cannot help but notice his dismissal.
I then try to make a number of cohesive points, as referred to above, indication that a single approach, no matter how well it works in a spot or two, will not work everywhere, or even in most circumstances. Then I say that suffering works much the same way. It is relative, experienced differently in different circumstances.
Next, Lee Ann (sorry if I’ve been writing that wrong) makes a great deal of sense across a variety of points. In the end, it is close enough to be a rock version of the First Amendment. A bit later, she asks a pointed question about why rita is so outspoken about the general question of whether of not I had been to Singapore. However, it appears that she has deleted the post containing her concern. Next, I reply to the now non-existent concern about my worthiness to comment on Singapore. Hmmmph.
To reiterate, I have tried to post in good faith. As I said way up at the top of this post, I didn’t expect it to turn into a fracas. I was just trying to express my sorrow at the closing of libraries. I find that the sorrow remains. I am sorry that many of you do not share my sorrow and would rather politicize what is essentially, to me, a simple sorrow. But, please you are entitled to your own views on libraries and books and turnips, and everything else, so say on.
I, too, will continue to say on.