A decade after this interview, aigh wunder: whud's za use ah words? While crystal glasses clink an' compu-screens blink, writing seems curiously hollow. A growing part of me believes in silence though another part delights in each keyboard click . . . Post-Bubble Eco-Perspectives: JOHNNY COLLEGIATE SPEAKS John Collegiate is a part-time poet and freelancer as well as a former Rhodes scholar at a university in the southwestern USA. His essay on structural rigidity received kudos from several senior faculty and was even quoted in a recent issue of The American Journal of Economics. This interview was conducted at a bar near his condo in Flagstaff, Arizona in June 2004, shortly after his graduate studies were completed. He was half-sober during the interview and mainly intent on some grunge music. TN: How would you rate the government's ongoing reform efforts? JC: Well, they could make a better beer. Especially when things heat up, a good lager helps cool things down. TN: Do you think current pension reform measures are adequate? JC: That depends on the notion of adequacy. It is certainly adequate for the rich. Could I have another pitcher, please? TN: But don't you think an income tax hike is justified, given the grave financial situation at hand? JC: Hmm, people have such interesting ways of justifying what they do. I can tell you this beer goes down mighty smoothly. No justifications are needed for that. TN: You aren't taking this interview seriously! JC: Roger. Do you think any of my opinions matter? Do you believe anything that I write or say actually matters an iota? Get this straight – you and I are basically irrelevant. The system has a pre-set trajectory, which at this point to oblivion. Your entire life is simply a bubble in this beer! TN: That's a cop out – don't we have a genuine impact on how the world turns? JC: Get real: your existence is but a quantum fluctuation and entire lifespan a mere ephemera. In the big picture, you're basically insignificant. So shake off your notions of "importance" and enjoy a good beer. The greatest wisdom is to cherish the brief moments that appear. Be kind-hearted and share your suds with those around you. Soon enough, there will be no barrel, no brew, no self. TN: No one will take such talk seriously. JC: Do you think ordinary conversation is serious? TN: Well, anything worth saying? JC: (crunching on a cold cucumber) Yah, interview some mountains, trees, or rivers. They are wiser than us. Those in power should listen to them more. ================================================================================= from _AmeriSong: Poetry, Art, & Dialogs about Amerika_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: A pseudo-interview with an economics major about political invigilation and an inquiry into the value of writing. KEYWORDS: structural rigidity, government reform efforts, post-modern politics Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 1998 in Kihei, Hawai'i / Finished: 2015 in Tokyo, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/serfs.htm TOC http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/index.html NEXT > http://www.tnewfields.info/AmeriSong/usoil.htm