08-17-2009, 01:17 PM
No need to fear. We are the Government. And if you don't like the way it is presently constituted, you can change the Government, if you believe in Democracy and Government in the first place.
If you believe in anarchy, may I suggest what's left of Russia? They have a completely unrestrained free market presided over by gangsters, murderers and mobs, all organized along the lines of a corporation. You might also like the border areas of Mexico, where the right to bear arms has been taken to its fullest expression, unless, of course, you count that guy sitting with a fully loaded gun outside the US President's town hall the other day.
I reflected on the difference between government, less government, and no government today. I was in a copy center and a guy ran out with a customer's wallet that he left on the counter. The victim was too stunned to think, so I called 911. Other witnesses saw the guy leave in a faded blue Volvo. The law responded immediately --one came to the store and an APB was put out on the Volvo. The manager ran the surveillance tape, the perp was caught a few blocks away. He claimed he took it by accident. A jury will sort that out.
That is so much nicer than "Oh, please, oh please, oh please.....I hope the police respond" as you sometimes have in Hawaii. The difference?: Government. When it is done right, Government IS public art.
When corporations persuade us to be cynical about government, to eschew it, to deride it and to dismiss it, they are persuading us to give up the only power we have to control our destiny as a district, a state and a nation.
As for actual public art in Hawaii, I am against it. Here's why: 1) The uglier the location, the more public art is needed. Hawaii is beautiful -- it would only detract, 2) The Hawaiian climate is hard on BBQ's, much less public art, 3) All that money needs to go to the police and more substations in Puna.
If you believe in anarchy, may I suggest what's left of Russia? They have a completely unrestrained free market presided over by gangsters, murderers and mobs, all organized along the lines of a corporation. You might also like the border areas of Mexico, where the right to bear arms has been taken to its fullest expression, unless, of course, you count that guy sitting with a fully loaded gun outside the US President's town hall the other day.
I reflected on the difference between government, less government, and no government today. I was in a copy center and a guy ran out with a customer's wallet that he left on the counter. The victim was too stunned to think, so I called 911. Other witnesses saw the guy leave in a faded blue Volvo. The law responded immediately --one came to the store and an APB was put out on the Volvo. The manager ran the surveillance tape, the perp was caught a few blocks away. He claimed he took it by accident. A jury will sort that out.
That is so much nicer than "Oh, please, oh please, oh please.....I hope the police respond" as you sometimes have in Hawaii. The difference?: Government. When it is done right, Government IS public art.
When corporations persuade us to be cynical about government, to eschew it, to deride it and to dismiss it, they are persuading us to give up the only power we have to control our destiny as a district, a state and a nation.
As for actual public art in Hawaii, I am against it. Here's why: 1) The uglier the location, the more public art is needed. Hawaii is beautiful -- it would only detract, 2) The Hawaiian climate is hard on BBQ's, much less public art, 3) All that money needs to go to the police and more substations in Puna.