A New Desiderata

A New Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember, if you cut, to paste.

What peace there may be in silence

Is improved by music.
As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all curates;

for you may have to eat the egg.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; for no one wants to hear it.

And listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant;

they too have their story, and doing so will teach you patience.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

even yourself, if you be loud and aggressive.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,

So receive the spit, be not the spitter.
For always there will be taller and shorter persons than you.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

When asked how you like it, remember to mumble.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

When you think you’re being done a favour

it could well be someone taking the mickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
The bullies and powerful also strive for high ideals,
Even if they are more shams than reals.

Be yourself; it’s too hard to be someone else.

Especially do not feign affection;

though people do prefer it to feigned dislike.

Neither be cynical about love:

Why else would FB show puppies and kittens if not so to prove?
For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass,

Which soon will be legalised, thus ending its criminal farce.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

Particularly if accompanied by several beers.

Gracefully surrender the things of youth;

too much facial surgery looks uncouth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

60 proof is best, and 25 year single malt if you have a fortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Light fantasies are far more dire.

You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;

And entropy will affect you too,

which is why there are so many bars.
You have a right to be here. And a left.

Whether or not it is clear to you,

depends on whether you have cleaned your glasses yet.

No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

But in another multiverse it’s still no good.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him, or Her, or LGBTI, to be.

(Or none at all.)

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

keep peace with your soul, or, if you have no soul, your internal processor.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Imagine you’re a baby; maybe all you need is a change of nappy.

With apologies to Max Erhmann

"Left" and "Right"

What people mean by "left" and "right" is such a spectrum of opinions that I find it increasingly unhelpful to try to use the labels. I'd much prefer to look at values. 

For me: respect for the individual as against the state, responsibility of the community (through levels of government) to create a level playing field re education, health and minimum wages, fairness and equity in the legal system and the polity, fair taxation recognising that people gain wealth because of the way society is structured, and therefore we all need to pay our fair share, a foreign policy that fosters friendship over fear and recognises that trade is the way to enrich the world. 

A specific example: decriminalising drugs. so as to treat addiction as a health not a legal problem, empty our prisons, reduce crimes that fund addiction, and reduce the corruption of our police and legal systems. This would save the community hundreds of millions of dollars, some of which could be used to treat the causes of addiction.