The players converge...

It is time. It is far past time. I am never going to claim that there are easy answers or that I have the answers. The battle has been going on for centuries. It is not a battle of epic forces. It is not a battle between an ancient tyrannical order and the populous. That would be far too simple. It is a battle of the human spirit.

Power has continued to shift from group to group throughout our history. There is not some strange Illuminati that has been able to maintain it for millennia. Some dynasties have lasted longer than others, but in the end we are humans and can be thrust from power or gain it.

We now stand in the center of the empire. An empire of abstracts. Although many will disagree, we have created a system wherein privilege is synonymous with wealth and wealth can be obtained.

Here is where the battle lines form. Some would read the statement above and assume I was saying the playing field was level. Those individuals clearly have not read my other blogs but the possibility of acquisition is not a reflection of probability.

If anyone wishes to know how likely it is for a child from the ghetto to accumulate power, I leave you to the math. Calculate events such as NBA, NFL, and MLB contracts awarded by income bracket or neighborhood, winning lottery tickets based on former socioeconomic group, record contracts that went platinum compared to familial income, etc. You will find ridiculously low odds, but you will not find division by zero.

By and large, your socioeconomic status at the end of your parents will be the same as your own. This has been true from the dawn of time. If it is slightly less true in the United States in the 21st century, it is an indication of how far we have come.

Yet, here we are assuming that a very small segment of the population has the power and always has. Only the first part is true. We also assume that those with power are corrupt and must be dethroned. This is part based on the first assumption. Whether or not power does actually corrupt, the simple fact is that in any group there will be individuals that are corrupt. If you took those at opposite sides of the economic system and switched them, you would have an initial period of great upheaval some positive, some negative. This would be followed by leveling out and eventually a situation that was basically the same as the current situation.

And this is where we arrive at the ultimate confrontation. Does each of us seek more power? Do we have a particular limit on how much power we seek? If given the power, how easily would we relinquish it? And can we say the same of future generations? If we were to actually be able to choose a group of people that did not seek power, would they be able to wield it successfully? If we gave the power to those that did not seek it and they could wield it well, would we have to find another group when they began to retire? Would they be able to look upon their children and wish a worse life for them than they currently have?

This is, unfortunately, the set of hypotheticals we are actually investigating. If you actually believe that it is possible to find said group of people, simply extend the scenario to the next generation. The simple truth is that for better or worse humans have always been either predators or prey. Those who would relinquish their power will never acquire any. My fellow predators were able to fight back the other predators and provide a safe place for those that would prey.

Yes, I referred to myself as a predator. Choosing not to hunt and/or kill does not make one prey, it simply indicates an intelligent predator. Homo sapiens have never been a prey animal. We are consider a "super predator" and one of the most successful species this plant has ever seen.

And so, it is time. It is time for those who wish to overthrow power to choose. They must choose leaders. They must choose the predators they feel comfortable unleashing. This will not be the final struggle. This will just be a power shift. Human nature will guarantee that over time another power shift will be necessary. All predators will eventually hunt.

They can choose to be a random collection of individuals. They can choose to fight a battle without commanders. In a word, they can choose to accomplish nothing.

In the interim, we will stand by. Those that are part of the system and successful. Those that have not forgotten where they came from. Those who love this country and are grateful for our successes. Those who realize that success can not be won unless it is won honestly. Those who realize that we have what the current power base wants. We will await a call to act. We who yield the swords will protect you with our lives, but we also have a lot to lose. We have no interest in losing it unless we think it will make a difference.

We are harsh. We are pragmatic. We are not some sort of strange middle ground that has no thoughts on the subject. We do not lack belief. We believe that the system has merit. We believe it can be improved. We will not just throw it away. If you wish to have us on your side, just let us know what side you are on.

A lttle bit self-destructive...

There were many cliches penned by those who feared everything. One of them comes to us as "Idle hands are the devil's playthings". There are times when even the most spontaneous of us feel ennui. This is to be expected as are the myriad things that come to mind as activities for the bored. Those activities by and large are short-term, produce endorphins, and are not productive.

One can choose activities which have more redeeming value. These activities generally require more effort, and in many cases more time and organization.

And by and large what we find is these activities are in some way self-destructive. Chances are that the time used was taken from a more useful endeavor.

But we have our little distractions, our games, pastimes, etc. But eventually these things get in the way and we must get back to work.

The other city...

I am a Philly boy. I have left the city now. I inhabit a single home on Main Street in a little town. Whether the town is a suburb or not is pretty immaterial. It had an industry of its own at one time. It no longer does. Let us just call it annexed. The definition of suburb is not my post to write.

I say "the city" and mean a metropolis of roughly 2,000,000 people covering 140 square miles founded at the point where the Delaware River and Schuylkill River are closest to one another. The city was named after a far more ancient city which in turn got its name from the ancient Greeks.

Directly to the east of this city is the state of New Jersey. Here, the phrase "the city" morphs. Roughly 80 miles northeast (as the crow files) of my city in another. A city of 300 square miles and over 8,000,000. Most of this distance lies within the state of New Jersey and 100's of thousands of people commute from New Jersey to both these cities. As a result of this proximity and our shared neighbor, numerous comparisons have been made between the 2 municipalities. As both also trace their founding back to the 17th century (Philadelphia: 1682, New York was originally New Amsterdam and was founded in 1624) the comparisons continue. Both were capitals of the United States, New York in 1785 - 1790, Philadelphia from 1790 - 1800.

But you will notice a pattern. Whether we like to admit it or not the City of Brotherly Love has a bigger, older brother. Outside of the United States, Philadelphia is considerably less well known than the city of 5 boroughs. This has led to some unfortunately named editorials.

The phrase "the City" is generally only used by those outside of it regardless of which metropolis it refers to. It is by-and-large a suburban revision of the phrase "in town". Natives tend to refer to it by name or refer to certain areas within it. In my little world, Philadelphia is often crossed, entered, passed through, etc. and so "going" there seems like an odd turn of phrase and so I would say rather that I went up to New York. We parked at 30th Street Station.

Let me first state that these 2 cities are only 80 miles apart. This increases to approximately 100 miles on usable roads. As a result, the trip is well traveled and various modes of transportation can be used. I, however, have chosen to travel by rail nearly every time I have made the trip. I recommend this to everyone for a number of reasons. 1) Driving in New York can be challenging. I will not dwell on this, but I think many would consider that an understatement. 2) The trip can be made in 70 minutes via rail. If anyone has ever accomplished this while driving, it qualifies as reckless endangerment. 3) There is a train leaving every hour if not more frequently. 4) Have you ever ridden on any train Amtrak runs through the Northeast corridor? Just do it, at least once.

Once there, I attempted to act appropriately. Walking and cabs are the modes of transportation. We, of course, spent the night. New York, in my limited experience, has adapted to the night unlike its younger brother. I am certain that a "day trip" to New York is possible. I will never make one. Although I usually do not have a hotel room, I never leave before dawn.

And so, once again, I breezed in and out of New York. I was merely one of thousands to do it this weekend and 1 of millions to do it this year.

Like all of my trips to the Big Apple it was memorable. This time I actually slept in the city that doesn't.