WhatWeBethinking

We're all Born for Things This was a brief conversational interlude that went on at Franklin Park as I was trying out my bare-foot jogging. This event weaves through some of the main ideas of this entry. "Doesn't that hurt running bare-foot?" "Yes m'am." "Why are you doing it than?" "I've heard it's good for my feet if I do it enough..." "Do you really think you'll be conscientious enough to keep this up, you don't seem like the type of individual that would." "You're probably right m'am." "I don't know why you're running that way than. It's silly if you ask me and you probably need some direction in your life." "Thank you mam." "You look a little foolish you realize and you're also going at the same pace as me because you're in so much pain and I'm just walking." "Thank you M'am, I just misplaced my sh

So two stories come to mind that remind us evermore that the reaper's scythe is hanging ever closer to the vital organs of our ability to engage as a citizenry. NPR's voracious and longwinded Tom Ashbrook peers into the depths of a gorging swell of micro-labor , tasks, jobs, and other opportunities for work ranging from professional , to degrading , to "I'd rather wallow in frothy, vat of bile  before I work like this for such little pay". From the other end, we're seeing our Supreme Court debate and ejaculate arguments as to whether the Health Care reform law is constitutional, lining themselves up ideologically, and spending time, effort and resources destroying more things sanctimoniously.   We're seeing the nature of work and employment become more schizophrenic; more experimental, but more inhumane, more removed from our public sphere's scrutinizing eye; we're seeing some piece of safety net being eroded by the forces of special