Play the Odds

[mishalak]

If one sits in the right spot (metaphorically) nothing we do or that happens to us matters. The universe is huge and everything is mortal. Even immortal works of writing eventually do dwindle and die with the civilizations that sustain them. They are just not as short as our lives seem to us at times.

A person cannot live in a mental place like that. If you become too wrapped up in the big things you'll miss out on all the wonderful little things. I believe in living somewhat like a Russian. Live for this moment because tomorrow may never come. You've got to do that in moderation as if you do that to excess tomorrow not coming becomes a much more likely possibility.

Voting, to me, is like this. Sure all the polls say that things are not going your way. That's just like life in general. It can be all against you and you're quite right in thinking that you're likely going to lose. But if you don't play you are more likely to lose. There is no chance if you don't buy a ticket, if you don't keep trying, if you don't give your vote a chance to make a difference. So take a chance, you never know. This time the polls might be wrong. And even if they are not, there is still some excellent vodka (or little pleasure of your choice) to drink and bread to "borrow".

And someone remind me of this when I'm being a gloomy gus.

Comments

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

. I believe in living somewhat like a Russian. Live for this moment because tomorrow may never come.

This was a change in thinking that was happening in the later 1950s through the `60s. A-bomb drills, 'end of the world' movies, all the big mainstream magazines such as Look and the S.E. Post with similar serialized stories - like On The Beach.

After a few years of that people, especially the kids growing up, started thinking that there might not be a tomorrow...

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I think there was a difference in my generation though. It seems like children of the eighties were all aware that we could die any minute, but we were not as troubled by this. It seems like children growing up in the sixties were more worried/frightened.

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

I would agree with that. It may have been due to the time elapsed since the start of the treat, people were ignoring it. It could have been from the difference in exposure, for the boomers nuclear war stories were everywhere - magazines, books, movies, TV. Drills, bomb shelters including building your own, the nuclear trefoil symbol on larger building where there were shelters, Cuban missile crises, and so on; plus the unrest of the civil rights movement and the related riots. The 80s had The Day After and one other that I forget the name of (but the war wasn't shown, the start of it was just past the end of the movie), and a couple of riots where only the LA one got real news coverage.

But I do think that the possibility of unexpected death had something to do with the changes of that time period. Wasn't much sense in saving up to buy the fancy car or build the back-yard pool if you might go up in a fireball before reaching those long term goals.

And one could argue that the result also shows what happens if you overdo the turning away from long term goals.

[gomeza.livejournal.com]

Yep, yep, yep, right on, and I agree.

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

You might (or might not) have noticed I have been FAFIAted for a while. Trying to get back into LJ again. And I was quite delighted by your post here. Maybe it is the difference from not having gotten to read your writings for about six weeks, but it seems to me that for you, this is practically foaming in the streets demanding revolution! Good on ya!

Did anyone ever mention to you that political events can be a really good place to meet mates? :)

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but if I met a mate a political even he's be all political at me. That's like going to meet guys at bars. Unless you also like going to bars you're not going to find a guy who does the same things you like to do. <grin>

I may have been caught up in things a bit. For me that is. I might even get a little flag and say, "_Rah_".

[neonnurse.livejournal.com]

I hear you. But maybe you could find a group of people who are, say, political for gay rights. Or something like that you could get into. The thing about finding a group where people are passionate about something is that it gives you a clear sign that here are people who KNOW how to be passionate. Someone who can be passionate about a cause is very likely able to be passionate about a person as well. :)

However it works out, though, I am glad to see you feeling stirred up about life in a positive way! You are far too special to go to waste!

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's not "playing the odds", but you have to live with yourself, and sometimes (in non-sexual activities) "playing it safe" isn't the best way to go. If you don't vote for X, and Y wins (and turns out to be horrible), your conscience should bother you. A lot more than if X wins and turns out to be mediocre, actually. And even if you live in a state where The Bad Guy is bound to win the Electoral College vote, there's a certain moral pleasure in being part of the Popular Marjority that voted against him and/or for the Good Guy.