T.G.I.F.

It has been an interesting week. Usually, when I say 'interesting,' what I really mean is frustrating, puzzling, irritating or some mish-mash of them all. Things happen, one deals with them, at least if they are within one's sphere of influence or competency, and life goes on. Then there is another week ahead, hopefully not as frustrating, puzzling, irritating, etc.

My frustrations usually arise from waiting endlessly for something promised to take place, or from someone doing something stupid, and then having to fix the situation. In either case, it is the lack of being able to control the situation beforehand that is troublesome to me. In theory at least, had I had control in the first place, I wouldn't have had to deal with the fallout afterwards.

In the life of any human or of any business, situations like this are only too common. We can let them wreck our lives or shrug them off and carry on. I try to do the latter. Sure, I may mutter a bad word or two under my breath, but I recognize that I can't control everything and have long reconciled myself to the imperfection of human beings, myself included.

I read a lot. I read news stories, commentary, and numerous blogs. Although I am libertarian by nature and philosophy, I read stuff written by people of every political stripe. I am amused (and amazed) at how things are perceived so differently by people, depending on their political or philosophical point of view. It makes for interesting discussions over coffee or a drink.

I have found (contrary to what the great unwashed would like us to believe) that the least tolerant individuals are on the left side of the political spectrum. The further left, the less tolerant. I am speaking, of course, not of tolerance for any particular action or event, but for those with opposing points of view.

I have no affection for the ideology of either left or right. Libertarianism is neither left nor right and doesn't really fit on the conventional left-right political axis.

One thing that bewilders me is how the left has this abject hatred of capitalism. As a capitalist myself, this could be worrisome to me if I let it be so. Why this hatred? All capitalists want to do is to sell goods and services that people want or need, and make a few bucks in the process.

Socialists hate capitalists, and want to tax them into poverty to pay for all of their social programs. On the other hand, capitalists hate taxation, but tolerate socialists. They are, after all, consumers of the goods and services that capitalists provide. Communists want to kill capitalists and have done so, very efficiently, for about 100 years. Capitalists don't care about communists, as long as they are out of range of their guns and pogroms. I am speaking here, understand, about activities within a given nation, not about one nation versus another. In international conflict, the situation is somewhat different, but the political and philosophical differences between the adversaries are much less important than perceptions of how one nation might be interfered with or threatened by another.

I guess in the larger scheme of things, my petty frustrations are of little consequence. I recognize that. So, enough puzzlement and frustration for the week. I'm going home soon. After supper, my son and I are going to go to the Ilderton Fair, a few miles from our home in London, Ontario. We'll eat some junk food, take in the sights, and have a good time. Now that is something to look forward to.