I am tired of being scared, of being afraid, and of living with a virtual “The End is Nigh” placard on my chest and back. Being scared stiff might be a popular pass time in the US — health, terrorism, global warming, climate change, crime, drugs, gangs — but I am sick and tired, and have been since 1988, which is why I don’t go on an on and on about these sort of popular topics on this blog.
When I moved to DC at the end of the Cold War (I didn’t know it was near the end) I assumed I would be vaporised by a nuclear attack at some point.
The Pentagon sort of looks like a dart board for ICBMs, and I was pretty sure that something would go wrong and I would not survive. Ever since, I really have not been afraid of any of that crap: terrorism, crime, and especially global warming.
What I have discovered subsequent to the Cold War was that it was all bullshit: the Soviet Union as a military power was nearly destitute when I saw it back in 1990 on the way to Nepal.
The only thing to fear is fear itself! I don’t fear these sort of possibilities. It is mostly the fear and idea of terrorism and the fear and idea of global warming that is getting people in a tizzy, not actual terrorism or global warming.
There isn’t a lot we can do about either of these things short of worry and make a dozen personal changes in our lives: use less energy, recycle, drive less, telecommute, buy smaller houses, insulate, drink filtered tap water instead of bottled, etc. Do you best, consider the consequences of your actions, and try to keep small.
There are so many “socially conscious” backpackers who spend a lot of their year on commercial jets, traveling the world. There are so many “socially responsible” celebrities and politicians who own big homes, own private jets, run a column of cars, have multiple homes, and do a lot of traveling. I live a pretty simple life, myself.
Yes, I do own a BMW sedan, but I don’t commute in it: I own a company that is completely virtual. I don’t drive, I don’t commute to an office, I don’t own a lot of electronics outside of my laptop and a TV, which is usually turned off.
Oh, and a radio and XM. My apartment is small, fully-insulated, is a basement, and keeps super cool based on just one window-mounted AC.
Living in the ground is great insulation, and my apartment’s ceiling is actually 6-inches of poured concrete.
One of the reasons I am interested in moving to Berlin is because I won’t even need AC there. None of the hotels in Monterey had AC because they don’t need it.
In Berlin, however, I guess I will need heat. Luckily, I can only assume that I am not above wearing lots of sweaters and socks to compensate for the cold. Too many people insist on being able to run around during the middle of winter in nothing but a t-shirt and boxers.
Dude, it’s winter!
