<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Requiem for a Literary Giant 

I wanted to mention with great sadness the passing of author Michael Crichton, losing his unpublicized battle with cancer. For nearly 40 years, Crichton’s novels have entertained a national audience, beginning with The Andromeda Strain. While Crichton’s body of work spanned the length of time from that seminal 1969 thriller up to the present, he achieved his greatest measure of fame for 1989’s Jurassic Park and for creating the drama ER, which has been running since 1994.

Michael Crichton’s work had a big impact on me during my formative years and greatly influenced my perspective on life. Back in 1997, a trip to the hospital prevented me from seeing the movie massacre adaptation of The Lost World with my friends, so they purchased me a copy of the book instead. I polished the tome off quickly and enjoyed every minute of it. I then moved on to the original Jurassic Park. In the books, Crichton portrays the hubris of humans who believe they can control nature, and expounds upon the natural world’s resiliency. Crichton’s philosophy was naturally applied towards the subject of global warming in 2004’s State of Fear, but the perspective I gained from his books influenced my thoughts on global warming long before he directly addressed the issue. Moreover, Crichton warned of the religious aspects of scientific ideas, where limited sets of data can be turned into a dogma that cannot be refuted in the minds of its adherents.

Crichton also earned a small deal of infamy for attacking the internet as a tool for research. In my younger years I may have agreed with Crichton’s critics, but as I moved into college, it became clear that the internet was 1) extremely limited as a source of in-depth information, and 2) littered with speculation and conjecture, unidentified sources, and flat-out misinformation.

Most importantly, Michael Crichton should be remembered as a brilliant man who took a hard look at the ethical ramifications of science and technology, then boiled those issues into immensely-entertaining books for the masses. He will be sorely missed.


Tuesday, November 04, 2008

United States of Omerica 

As the vote totals trickle in, it appears that Barack Obama has turned a close popular election into an electoral landslide, completing his historic candidacy. He did so by addressing the fears of a restless electorate, adhering to his message with discipline, and staying cool under pressure. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention my condolences on the recent passing of his grandmother, the women who raised him into the man he is today.

With all that being said, I'm not turning into an Obama-loving sycophant like so many conservaitves have during this campaign (Christopher Buckley and Colin Powell, to name a few.) I am not auditioning for a position of favor in an Obama Oministration. I remain committed to individual liberties, free-market capitalism, and limited government. I do not believe that President-elect Obama shares those values. While my expectations for his presidency are not very high, I pray that he may have the divine guidance to govern fairly and justly, and to seek concensus even when unilaterlaism is the easy choice.

I don't have much hope in the Obama Oministration, but I can't say it will be all bad. No administration is devoid of virtue. If nothing else, it gives the angry liberals who spent the last eight years complaining a chance to put their money where their mouths are. Let's see if they can do a better job. And because the buck stops at the top, they can't lay the blame for their failures on the previous administration.

I will be sustained over the next four years by my unfailing belief in the work ethic of the American people. America is great because of the people who perform the work of the nation each day. Ordinary Americans are going to keep plugging away, largely apathetic to the empty suits who fill the halls of power. America has endured times far worse than those we're currently embroiled in, and America will remain as strong as its people.

With music as my guide, I drift into the night listening to "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who and "World" by Five for Fighting. The Who warns us, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." An angry electorate has cast its lot for the ill-defined notion of change, and I'm afraid to find that change is meaningless without direction. The revolution has created a new beast, just as ferral as the one it just slew. America got fooled again. As John Ondrasik sings, "Be careful what you wish for. History starts now."

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?