Has there ever been a time when your pet dog caused a flea invasion of your home? One begins by trying cures that are simple: bug sprays, washing the dog, sending rugs to be cleaned, etc. The manner by which we proceed down this path is measured by how inconvenient the supposed remedy is to our daily routine; each succeeding method requires more inconvenience. The fleas persist. Finally, you are forced to move out of your home for two or three days, incur the cost of inconvenience and the disorientation of driving to work, eating and managing the necessities of life while an exterminator ‘bombs’ your sealed home with flea killer chemicals.
The history of mankind provides evidence that convenience is the primary motivation for invention. One simple example: listening to the radio. One no longer is required to read the newspaper – just listen to the news; one no longer is required to go to the ball park to watch a game – just turn on the radio. Will a smartphone replace becoming educated at an institution? Will a smartphone allow interpersonal communication without the ‘personal’ part? Why visit Mom when you can see her on a smartphone screen? Convenience is a powerful motivator.
Folks, our governments have a flea infestation. Federal, state and local, fleas have replaced statesmen. All the government fleas do is bite us continuously. They bite us to sustain lucrative lifetime careers sponsored by sources that do not have us in mind.
We have tried leaving the issue to special interests like political parties, religious organizations, corporate profiteers and money grubbing interests like banks and oligarchs. This is a convenient method but still the government has fleas.
As a result, you make sure to cast your vote (if you have one) in the next election – that’s not too inconvenient. Somehow, no matter who wins the primary and election, they are fleas. The rare exceptions are such a minority that they have no effect on the state of government.
Now, inconvenience becomes the primary detractor in what to do next. An overlooked inconvenience is to stand behind a publically known statement you made. In today’s interpersonal culture, taking a legitimate stand in a responsible way is a form of inconvenience – different from informal bitching and complaining. The difference is making a telephone call to a flea to officially state your preferences. Talk about inconvenient!
Still faced with a flea infestation, inconvenience may well cause you to give up and become a permanent cynic, have a limit on future wellbeing, and think about moving to another country (chances are that country is worse, not better; Canada doesn’t want you).
A strategy that maximizes convenience is to buy your way instead of suffering inconvenience. For citizens who are satisfactorily endowed, a healthy stipend to your cause can help. Mind you, the word ‘healthy’ was mentioned; whatever your first instinct was, quadruple it.
Hmmm, least inconvenience… Instead of trying to kill one flea at a time, how about joining a group that wants to disrupt an environment that allows fleas to exist. For example, eliminate gerrymandering; that’s a big one! Mariner notes that group participation seems a horrible inconvenience at first but quickly becomes a habit – perhaps it is the experience of talking to actual three-dimensional folks.
Finally, if one has transcended the matter of convenience, consider public speaking, attending rallies and campaigning – even door-to-door.
When one returns home after a flea bombing, flealessness is bliss.
Ancient Mariner