Lagom

In between watching video of Christopher Hitchens getting waterboarded and dealing with yet another ongoing non-crisis at work, I came to a realization. It's really all about moderation for health and sanity, and not just cause I'm kinda bi-polar. This idea of moderation can be applied to anything really. Just the right amount is just the right amount, no matter how important or inane. Bear with me while I attempt to make sense.

The other day I biked over to some random party where I knew one person. Shitfaced, had to leave my bike there, got in an argument with some guy who just got out of prison about a kickball game, etc. It certainly hurt my productivity on Monday. Now you may ask, what the fuck dude? Riding a bike 20 miles to drink half a case a beer and smoke a hookah is excessive as hell. But this is exactly my point. Sure it was kind of fun at the time, but I have been hurting terribly all week because of my lack of moderation on Sunday. Chances are my experience could have even improved if I didn't feel the need to polish off wounded soldiers after the beer ran out.

Or take sports -- ie why it's preferable to be a homer in baseball rather than football. Simply put -- the number of games. The Phillies play a ridiculous 162 games each and every year, so there is going to be some wins and losses regardless of how well the team is playing. It's easier to shrug off a loss when you know there are 75 games left to be played, and you can still enjoy a win even if it is without euphoria. The NFL and its 16-game schedule is another case entirely. Philadelphia is not a fun place to be after an Eagles loss, the sense of dread is palpable. Oh no, we're 2-3, only 11 games left. And don't get me started on the moranity that is E-A-G-L-E-S chants. You know how to spell, congratulations.


Or how bout some geopolitical history. During World War II, the U.S. went to war with the fascists in Germany and Italy, everyone knows this. But what gets ignored is that we were fighting on the side of socialism, allied with Stalin and the commies. The New Deal was in full effect. Service and duty were the way. So when millions of young men went off to fight and die, and their wives went out and built munitions, the U.S. was probably further left than at any other point in it's history.

This is not something that some people who call themselves patriots would like to admit. Years of red scares and Cold Wars have equated socialism with evil and godlessness (and these people have not read the first chapter of Master and Margerita I assure you). Distributing the means of production is demonized even though it helped ensure victory in the most popular war in this country's history. Of course it should be noted that the socialism of the New Deal was muted by capitalists making a profit as they do. In fact, you could even say that the corporate interests and FDR's socialist policies moderated each other.


Of course the biggest problem with moderation is it's no fun most of the time. Some might call it being stuck in a rut. To paraphrase a great American caricature -- I want it all: The dizzying highs, the terrifying lows, the creamy middles. You gotta have some excess to live well.