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Intellectual Quicksand
Jun. 19th, 2006
12:48 am - I am not a Danish but I wouldn't mind being a Berliner
So, since Amsterdam (which could quite accurately be described as a bit of a haze), we made our way to the city of Copenhagen in Denmark, which was a very nice and scenic city, but was all-in-all a tad boring. Sadly, the highlight of the trip there was easily the Carlsberg Brewery's bar at the end of the tour, and the ferry ride across the North Sea (which carried our train!) was probably a close second. The problem was probably just that we had too little time and too few obviously touristy things we wanted to do, so we drank overpriced beer (the exchange rate was awful) and didn't do too much. And the people there were only marginally friendly, and basically kept to themselves (though I suppose tourists could be considered by some to be worse than certain varieties of plague, so I suppose it is understandable).
Berlin, by contrast, has been awesome for all 30-odd hours we've been here thus far. Yesterday, we headed for Brandenburg Tor, where they have a ton of big screens with the World Cup matches on, and just thousands of cheering fans drinking and having a generally merry time. The German police have been out in force though, and while historical overtones may make a cynic raise an eyebrow at me saying they make me feel more comfortable in the city, they have been very helpful in general and the country is just really well-organized to handle such an insanely crazy event (which I promise it is). The biggest disappointment in Berlin so far has been the fact that BUDWEISER is the exclusive official beer sponsor of the World Cup, and while their commercials might be funny, paying 3,50 euro for a Budweiser is brutal. As such, we'll probably end up bringing our own from now on, since there are NO open container laws almost anywhere in Europe and it's WAY cheaper in supermarkets. Speaking of good beer, last night Hayes and I met up with Derek from CMC (who's here for the summer doing work in a Chem lab), and we went out to this bar that served mead in ram's horns (you know, like Vikings), and that was definitely one of the more delicious drinks I've ever had (Hayes even reported that it didn't taste bad coming up when he puked all over the U-Bahn on the way back).
Today, we took a great 8-hour walking tour that was probably the best single touristy activity we've done so far, because of its combination of educational value, fun, sightseeing, and exercise (plus it was quite a beautiful day, though it was originally expected to rain). Afterwards, we walked to Checkpoint Charlie and the Reichstag, which has a great view of the city from the top. Sadly, I still haven't fully developed my real walking legs, and I was certainly aching by the end of the day. Meh, isn't that why one comes to Europe in the first place? In any event, my impression of Berlin is quite positive, and the history associated with the Cold War here is legitimately engaging and interesting. Anyways, the next stop is Prague, and I'm sure I'll have more to write by then, but for now, I'm going to take a well-earned pass-out (if I do say so myself).
P.S. David, if you're reading this, I'm going to try to reply to your comments soon, but internet time is quite literally money, so I might wait til I get back Stateside to really give them the attention they deserve.
Jun. 12th, 2006
05:44 pm - Long Live the Kingdom of Orange
Well, we got into Amsterdam yesterday, and suffice it to say that it has been the best part of the trip thus far (with much more friendly charm than Paris or Bruges, but more of a youthful, excited atmosphere than London). The World Cup frenzy has certainly taken the town, and seas of orange jerseys flooded the pavilions all around town (overlooking one of which is our hostel for tomorrow night, The Bulldog). I couldn't resist buying now fewer than two solid orange Amsterdam shirts, and am considering a hat as well, consituting both my official claim of support for Amsterdam in the Cup and the first real "souvenirs" I've bought on the trip. (Hey, orange is my favorite color; can you blame me?) I wish I could have bought more, but I expectably overpacked, and have almost no room for additional baggage to lug around. At least I can probably lighten my burden on my parents in July (heh). Oh well, lessons for next time...And I am sure there will be a next time.
Jun. 5th, 2006
08:07 pm - Eurotrippin'
Ok, here's the first of a series of posts I'll write on my extended Eurotrip. Before I get into it, please excuse any blatant typos, as the keyboards here in France are absolutely ridiculously set up (i.e., 'a' and 'q' are switched, as are 'z' and 'w,' while periods and numbers require using the shift button and the odd symbols don't)!!
In any event, Hayes and I just arrived in gay ol' Paris, France this afternoon via the Eurostar (Chunnel) train. London was a great city, if super over-priced, given the exchange rate with the pound. It was rather deceiving, since prices would have been good deals had the prices actually been in dollars, but at double the price, it became costly. While there, we saw the main attractions, including: Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery (with some sweet Salvador Dali's and others), Tate Modern (another fantastic museum), Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral (great view from the wayyyy top), the British Museum (which houses part of the Parthenon), the British Library (with a copy of the Magna Carta, some of Shakespeare's original folio, and Beatles' manuscripts to name a few), and more. One of the nicities about London was that almost all the museums were free, though the church stops all required a fee and still solicited donations...damn greedy churches. We and also saw the Producers' the first night, which was a faithful, if unoriginal, rendition of the Broadway version, and also caught up with my cousin Mason later on, which was a great ol' time. I wasn't blown away by the beer in England, but the food was consistently tasty (sort of an ironic inversion I suppose), and it was real easy to get around on the Tube. The hostel we stayed at was pretty decent, but there was some sort of sewage issue and the room soon smelled (a problem we could not alleviate by opening a window, sadly)...but it worked out OK. Incidentally, the hostel operated a bar called Belushi's, which was great for the name and mediocre for the drinks (though I am a fan of the Strongbow).
Today, we got into Paris, and our accomodations aren't all that posh, but they're a steal at 36 Euros/night for both of us. Hayes and I did a ton of walking, and got up on the Arc d'Triumph, got to the Eiffel Tower, almost saw Napoleon's Tomb (it was closed), and ate an awesome first meal. Having almost no language skills here is frustrating, and the French can be a bit withholding with their English, but it will hopefully get easier as we get used to it.
Anyways, my internet time is almost out, so I'll post more later.
May. 20th, 2006
12:54 am - It's the Means, Stupid
I read Anthony Burgess' masterpiece A Clockwork Orange last night in a single sitting, representing the first book of which I can honestly make that claim. The book was utterly amazing, as the movie led me to predict, but it was much better than the movie because it dropped hints as to how Alex (the protagonist) found existential meaning in the conflicts and challenges in his life, and became apathetic when these challenges were too easy to overcome or no longer present (especially exemplified in the book's last chapter which was omitted from the original American printing of the book, and from the movie as well). This theme of needing conflict to overcome to establish meaning, presented so brilliantly in the novel, has been one on my mind since finishing my thesis, and it was somewhat coincidental that the book was so directly applicable to the question of how we create meaning in a time of plenty and certitude. It reminded me of Chris Hedges' book War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning; if the title didn't give the book away, I will say that Hedges was a reporter in Kosovo during the conflict there, and witnessed the human response to conflict, and how it made life more significant and important, and in some way satisfying to be risking one's life for a set of ideas one believes in. The same sentiment has been echoed throughout the ages in philosophy and high thought, but today, we Americans find ourselves at an all-time low (rivaled only perhaps by September 10, 2001) in competing ideas or external threats to our way of life.
Think about Fukuyama's now-debunked, but still present thesis about the End of History. Does it strike us as really that far off to say that our current generation does not have a real ideological battle to fight in this day and age? Is religious fundamentalism reallly a threat to our system of ideas? Are we really worried about being wrong about the legitimacy of liberal democracy compared to any other form of government, or that the U.S. is threatened by another, better way of life? The answer, lamentably, is no. The Western world is increasingly comfortable and smug in its successes, and has been devolving into the lazy, obese, and capitalistic polity that Rousseau first began to worry about in the 18th Century. Without some arbitrary cause with which to focus our energies and achieve virtue (even if subjective in aim), Rousseau worried that we would rely on science and commerce to focus our energies and attentions, but these fields were meaningless and could be exposed as such. Nietzsche, of course, followed up on this theme, fearing the possibility of benign acceptance of all philosophies without a critical examination of one's own.
Indeed, Americans today lead the most philosophically unexamined lives in our nation's history; this sad fact is reflected in our political discourse, our public knowledge, and our provincial attitudes towards complicated matters of foreign policy and the United States' role in the world. In the past, Americans have had to fight vigorously to sustain democracy and its unique conception of right in a world hostile to its ideas, with the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, World Wars I & II, Korea, Vietnam, etc. The threat of Communism may have been predestined to self-corruption, but America needed some foe throughout its history to threaten its existence and bring out virtue in its rule. Look at the example of Winston Churchill; Churchill had failed as a politician for several years before being elected Prime Minister, because Britain needed to face the threat of Hitler to be able to elect a man as virtuous as a Churchill. Populations need challenges and goals to focus their ideological efforts. Otherwise, political life devolves into a power and money grab, as perfectly exemplified in "earmarkings" (pork-barrel spending appropriations).
Indeed, Americans need to have more respect for the process, which was instilled in the 1960s with the advent of television bringing real-life experience into the living room. However, commercialism killed that means of information conveyance as well, by supplanting the public's attention in current affairs with sitcoms, medical dramas, and combinations of the two (Grey's Anatomy fans, you know who you are). However, maybe this is unfair to those shows; producers respond to market signals, and the lack of political importance and meaning precipitated shifts in taste far before the media had such an effect on people's attentions. Indeed, the unipolar world is a tough one to live in, if one hopes to establish virtue, while mainting a comforable lifestyle as we Americans are so apt to support. Indeed, our desire for comfort may very well be what most fundamentally undermines our current empire; our aversion to violence is currently undermining the credibility of a military strike against Iran, we create massive deficits so we can spend on all we want while footing the bill to later generations, and we elect politicians on the basis of whether or not we'd like to have a beer with the guy, rather than whether or not the man is conscientiously concerned with the goals of government set out in the Preamble to the constitution: providing for the common defense, promoting the public welfare, establishing justice, and ensuring domestic tranquility. Indeed, that sort of virtue might rquire a bit of effort, and democracies are the most lethargic type of regime. The bumper sticker had it right when it said: "Regime change begins at home." America has to organize its own priorities and opinions of liberty, freedom, and virtue, before it can pursue those same goals on a global scale. Today, it seems as though the public is more concerned with its interests than its values, a sad symptom of democracy, recognized by one of its foremost advocates, Natan Sharansky.
America's history of being the greatest nation in the world depended on its alignment of both interests and ideals; America had worked to promote democracy worldwide for both security reasons and reasons of human rights and liberties, and this mission has demonstrated the power to energize the polity to eliminate the meaninglessness commercial life has created. We were seen as the liberators of Europe, the heralds of a new world order, ruled by reason and freedom, not by arbitrary oppression and private interests, yet today we violate the very freedoms we promised to protect, whether in the Abu Ghraib prison or in Guantanamo Bay; Americans have adopted a Hobbesian sense of the primacy of security, and have dropped the need for virtue, as a result. Liberalism is a double-edged sword, and if one edge becomes dull, it is only a matter of time before that powerful benefit becomes the greatest possible liability: complacency.
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