nothing in particular

This, That, and the Other, in no particular order....

The other day the elites were writing over at Professor Leiter's reports about how great it is to be a philosophy prof.

I couldn't read that. Oh, yes, I have some sympathy for the young person who wanted to know.

Am I bitter? Well, not exactly. At this point in my life, I regard my Philosophy graduate school experience as, above all, an American experience. That is to say: I find this society unfriendly and alienating, and I suppose that my unhappiness as a student (a graduate student, a college student, and a high school student) was due to the society at large, and my place in it, more than the actions of any particular individual.

Nonetheless, as universities are being rapidly down-sized.....it seems a bit odd (to choose an inexact expression) to engage in a lengthy public celebration of the pleasures of having one of the better jobs in a world of shitty jobs.....

Of course, in Prof. Leiter's defense, he certainly is careful to provide information about how bad the "job market" is...... So, perhaps, the broader picture he supplies is much more accurate than I seem to suggest.

Locally, I continue to be trapped in this hell: this city, this country--both my personal hell.

Family obligations keep me here. And nothing else.

El Paso, Texas continues to be ugly. Too many cars. Too much flatness. Nothing to look at.

A complete lack of the life which makes a city a stimulating place. No stimulation here.

Nothing better to do than lock myself in a sound-proof room with a good book. No reward from leaving the room or putting down the book.

Somewhat more globally:

Two friends recently rented a car in order to drive across the large expanse of Texas and visit a relative. Rented a car? How superfluous! What a waste of money! Well, public transport and trains are not found here, so it makes sense. Yes, a certain sort of stilted sense. Just think: there are countries where it is not necessary to rent a car. It is possible to travel in a train and then upon arrival, travel via various forms of comfortable public transport. (Ah yes, "comfortable"? Is it really comfortable to ride in a car? You have to crawl into the cockpit. And then you have to crawl out. And there's the constant need to monitor other drivers, etc., etc. I really do prefer public transport, where I can sit or stand.... But it gets crowded you say? Oh, yes, and there are no traffic jams if you have a car?)

But I don't expect to convince anyone. I'd rather just leave this land, never to return.... to escape, finally, once and for all....

Appendix

"THE UNITED States' infrastructure, because of when it was first developed, is all centered around the automobile. The layout of cities and so on, unlike other developed countries--which developed earlier, not around cars--is predicated on cheap gasoline, with far less public transport provision. That's why it's been one of the most intransigent in all of the international climate change negotiations.

While on the other hand, Europe can see that it can obtain an economic advantage by pressing things more. Not because they are a more far-sighted set of capitalists or anything. But they can see a competitive edge where they're better able to adapt their industry, to be less carbon intensive than the United States is."

--Chris Williams

The above quotation was cut and pasted from "Is it too late for Planet Earth?" in SocialistWorker.org, 20 July 2011.

http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/20/too-late-for-planet-earth