Monday, December 21, 2009

Personally, I'm most unanimous

And what—you might ask—am I unanimous about? I'm totally unanimous in my belief that the concept of unanimity is ideal, say, for a couple deciding whether or not to get married... but it's utter nonsense in most other real-world decision-making situations. What I mean to say is, even those silly old guys in red don't insist upon making a unanimous decision when they're electing a new pope. And jeez, that's an awesome decision, because the selected fellow becomes the chief representative of God himself on our planet. Sure, a priest is not supposed to go ahead with a marriage unless there's unanimous approval from the congregation. This means that an old boyfriend of the bride or a disgruntled parent or even a loudmouthed fuckwit could theoretically veto the ceremony by yelling out no. But I think that, unless he or she had highly pertinent breaking news to reveal, the naysayer would run the risk of getting thrown out through a side door of the church. [My example has a distinctly Christian flavor. That's because I have no idea how other religions handle the concept of nuptial unanimity... and, as they say in certain spiritual circles, I really don't give a shit.]

In any case, I'm unanimous in considering that it's outrageous to use the United Nations approach, based upon unanimous decisions, when it comes to making plans to save the planet Earth. Something will have to change fundamentally in the decision-making process to avoid the risk, in the future, of wasting the time and energy of heads of state and environmental experts from all the nations of the globe. While they're at it, maybe it would be a good idea to take a close look at the logic (or lack of logic) that enables a tiny country such as Tuvalu, say, to speak with the same weight as a great nation. You will have guessed that I've never been wildly enthusiastic about the concept of democracy... although it's difficult to imagine a sound system to replace it.

2 comments:

  1. You must be snowed in William - you are thinking too much and trying to apply logic to things that don't make any sense. Curl up in front of the fire with dog, a good book and a glass of red wine.

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  2. Now, that's the sort of sound Shakespearean advice that I like.

    Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
    He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.


    Since early this morning, a tempest has been blowing at Gamone. It removed the snow magically, and I was able to drive out to post some stuff this afternoon. But tempests have always anguished me. They make me feel like I'm going crazy. (I believe that strong winds affect many people in this way.) Besides, I hesitated before lighting a fire. And, without a fire in my living room, the house doesn't feel right. So, I guess that accounts for my bizarre talk about unanimity. Finally, though, I did light up a fire, and I found a TV channel showing Chaplin's Modern Times, which was even better than a good book. It has made me feel much less lean and hungry inside...

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