Day 2639

There weren't any blueberries when I went to the store this weekend, so I substituted blackberries in my morning smoothie today. I think I like blueberries better. Do I go out and look for some more blueberries tomorrow, or do I just live with the mix of blackberries, strawberries and bananas for the rest of the week? Why do I concern myself with such minutiae? Probably because it allows me to avoid the frustration of thinking about larger issues.

I could be thinking about globalism vs. nationalism. It's certainly a hot topic right now. I prefer blackberries vs. blueberries because I can actually make a choice about things like this. Larger issues just become abstractions that nobody really understands. If you really want to know, I think nationalism is better than globalism. Not for the reasons you might think though. Nobody seems to take the long view on these type of issues. It's not national pride vs. cheap flat screen TV's for everyone. I tend to think that globalism is a recipe for the extinction of the human race.

A global society is the ultimate too big to fail entity. If a global, unified society fails, who's going to bail it out? Small redundant systems are much more resilient. The natural world works this way. So does the internet. When you have thousands of independent connected servers, it doesn't matter if one goes down. The signal just gets rerouted to a different server and everything stays connected. Wouldn't a world consisting of thousands of small independent countries be better? Lots of small countries, each developing their own rules, traditions, and culture would give the world the genuine diversity and redundancy it needs to survive. If a few countries screwed up, it wouldn't really matter.

It is ironic that we even talk about diversity in a global society. The whole point of globalism is to maximize efficiency and standardize everything. This destroys diversity. If there is a Starbucks in Beijing and your food comes from Argentina, choices gradually diminish for everyone. When everything is one big giant system, the repercussions from failure are enormous. Remember, when the world becomes too big to fail, who's going to bail us out when it all starts to crumble?

I don't know why people can't understand this. Lots of small, weak countries that manufacture their own stuff and create their own traditions is a better recipe for long term survival. If the European Union fails, it is probably a good thing. The United States should probably split into several smaller countries too. We just aren't smart enough to create a unified world where everyone follows the same rules. With lots of little, isolated, self sufficient countries, you wouldn't have to worry about world wars as much. People would still fight, but it wouldn't really matter if nobody had any power.

It is hard to even explain this concept, because this is not the world we live in. Humans seem to operate on two emotions: fear and greed. When a country gets a little more powerful than it's neighbor, they become greedy. The temptation to gobble up the weaker country becomes overwhelming. That's how the world became the way it is. We just can't leave things alone. I take the long view. Democrats vs. Republicans is just a minor distraction if you're convinced that the human race will be extinct in 30,000 years.

So, this is why I spend my day talking to dogs and wondering whether blueberries are better than blackberries. The larger issues are like the wind and the tides. I can't change things. I can't even articulate what I am seeing. I just watch and wonder, thinking that something has gone horribly wrong.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2518

It's been a long day. Dash had an upset stomach last night and kept us up half the night taking him outside. Janet took him out once, and I took him out two more times later. Dash doesn't do his business quickly when he has an upset stomach. He races around the yard like a maniac for up to thirty minutes at a time. You can't just leave him out on his own, because he'll probably find another dead bird, or whatever made him sick in the first place. There are a lot of feral cats in the neighborhood and they're always dragging disgusting things in the yard. There was a light rain last night, but even that didn't speed up Dash's weird ritual. After several tries Dash finally pooped and we were able to get back to bed. While I was locking up the house, Dash stole my place in the bed. It was that kind of night.

By the time morning arrived, everyone was already tired. We tried to sleep in late, but that didn't help much. Dot, who slept through all the commotion, started barking for her breakfast and we all had to get up. Our morning walk was late. Breakfast was late. I didn't feel like doing weekend chores at all. By the time I finally got organized to go to the grocery store, I figured that I'd given Dot plenty of time to poop. I took her outside three times and walked her around patiently. She did nothing. Not surprisingly, when I returned from the store, she had made a mess in her bed and eaten most of it.

I think I've finally figured out this election. Nobody really likes either candidate. They are just avatars representing the globalists and the nationalists. The globalists would like to see a world where borders have become irrelevant and people just consider themselves citizens of the world. The nationalists feel like national identity is more important and that open borders will be the end of civilization as we know it. This isn't just a battle between Democrats and Republicans. It is going on all over the world. Europe is being torn apart by this clash of ideas. To me, it is ironic that the people who see the world as a big blue marble populated by citizens of the earth have not really brought people together with their desire for open borders. Instead, they have caused a resurgence of tribalism. We now live in a country where people show more loyalty to the tribe they identify with than to the country as a whole. The desire for a diverse society is actually creating the opposite. Real diversity occurs when lots of of very different countries are independently pursuing their own agendas. This is what makes politics confusing. Nobody really says what they mean. Personally, I think nationalism makes more sense than globalism. Lots of little countries without much power is a lot safer, and ultimately more creative and productive than a world government with infinite power to impose it's uniformity on all of us. Maybe the world that globalists like George Soros envision is what you really want. Not me. A world without borders is an Orwellian nightmare I'd like to avoid.

What I'd really like to avoid tonight is a repeat of last night. Dot has already had her final pooping disaster for the day. We've just finished cleaning her off with the hose and replaced all her bedding.  I think she's good for the night. I'm not so sure about Dash. He hasn't done anything since noon. It might be a long night.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day