SIgns and Symbols

           This is a response that I offered to a person on the Occupy Wall Street forum, in response to their idea that we might embark on changing our economic system by removing the NYSE sign, as a changing of the guard.

           The process through which we promote Democracy cannot embody the same ethos as that which we are trying to correct. It does not make sense. Taking down symbols is a superficial change. The biggest change is that which has to happen in our minds and it has to be a collective action of honoring each other above and beyond what the status quo chooses to honor us. It means recognizing a persons intrinsic value and valuing labor, their talents and what makes them unique, as well as just like everyone else. It means sharing what needs to be shared. It means not valuing ones stature and occupation above another person. It is not simply unemployed people who are marching, but those who realize how precarious their own circumstances are even with a job and a home. What is the value of a job, a title, a salary if it could, has been and likely will be taken away from you? Conversely, is the high premium that we all place on money and stature the reason why people work so hard to hang on to this ideal and amass wealth...even if it is to the detriment of so many people?  Probably.  It is not until more people realize that this movement is about them, about questioning the value of what they do for a living and questioning how it truly serves them and the world they live in, regardless of how much money that have.  It is not right that money is used to exploit and bully people, but this is not new to the human experience.  It cannot continue to be enough to a person to have a secure job...and this is a great time to shrug off this veneer. People will have to be willing to do different jobs and perform different tasks. In the developed world the ideal lifestyle that is promoted is largely artificial and divorced from the human condition. The status quo is arrogant, it is a ruse. According to Mayor Bloomberg and his ideal economic order, the super wealthy are the creative class and other people work for them...as vague as it is absurd. Clearly they are not creative enough, because we would have functions in society that were worth a damn. What they are good at is taking and destroying. Creativity is about creating and giving. When the NYSE sign comes down, if it comes down, it would be better if it goes down not as a ceremonious attack, but because of its basic lack of utility that is understood by the greater society.  It might come down for the purpose of seeing more of the sky...then again I don't even know where this sign is.

Money Changes Everything...

So Let Us Change the Currency That We Trade

I was downtown visiting the bank, making out a check to my landlord. She is a decent person on the whole, but I can't help think how I am investing in the artificial value of real estate here in Austin. My landlady likely bought the place when housing prices were higher and she is reluctant to sell because she will lose on her investment. This is where the renter class becomes so valuable to bankers and property owners, to bolster the artificial value of the product. Not to mention that if it were not for the globalized economy, housing prices would not be nearly as high as they are today, because people would not have access to the occupations and the sums of money that are made, by a minority of people, which increases the value of homes. If multinational corporations are hiring and people are moving there, the real estate is valuable. This is what makes college towns vital, the LACK of a local economy. If and when we do have local economies, local currencies are vital to protecting the local economy from being undermined by the global and corporate interests that aim to siphon off cash from communities that they take from, impose on, but do not serve.  Money is about faith and trust in the value of a standard unit, but also faith and trust in what it will buy us. While Martha Stewart was thrilled when her stock went up and she became a billionaire, most people are concerned with being able to afford food, shelter, gas, and clothing. When the value of my work, that earns me those paper dollars, seems to afford an increasingly lesser quality of life, and when there is not money to give to people for their labor, when it is being hoarded and misused, it undermines the value of the currency.  It begs the question, why do we work for it, the money? Why does it not work for us? These were the concerns of U.S. citizens in the beginning of the creation of this nation. They did not want to be slaves to the papered aristocracy.  In a post WWII era, after which the mantra was to promote security and to eliminate the need for war by increasing the fluidity of the market between nations, the fix was locked in. If you read Candy Bombers by Andrei Cherny, it is discussed how the Russian's reluctance to join the allied forces economically after the war was for fear of being slaves to Wall Street. It is also highlighted how the decimated cities of Germany could have just as easily been cities of the U.S. like Detroit or New York. A notable observation today, as one of those cities has been decimated by the business practices of Wall Street, while the other has been worked politically to be part and parcel of Wall Street and to validate it's existence therefore.  Global markets and their peacekeeping fluidity are a quaint theory, except what we are dealing with now is the lack of fluidity of money that is caused by human vice, the seven deadly sins if you will...and maybe a few others have evolved that we do not have a name for. Banks have come to a place where they are allowed to behave and believe that they are self sustaining and valid entities and they are not. THEY ARE NOT. They only have this power because our government offers this legitimacy to the major banking institutions...it is vital that we ask WHY? Then again, we all know why. It's because it is intoxicating to the ego to have access to so much wealth, access that was legislated over time but not understood and accepted and debated adequately by the people who ultimately had the most to lose from these policies. That is what so many politicians conveniently forget when they are being wooed by lobbyists, that they are there to set public policy that works for the people, not for the profits of the few. It is amazing how they perpetually forget this and how they fail to recognize how their lack of governance will ultimately undermine their own influence, as it already has.  But back to my previous point, about what money is. There are so many euphemisms for what money is, love, energy and that is what it can be, but what it is in todays' crude economy is power.  It is this way because money buys the things we need and want, be it clothes, shoes, homes, housing.  When banks and politicians and interest groups decide that they want more, it means that We the People, will eventually get less...if not immediately. Our streamlined currency has made it easy to siphon off the value of labor to the point that it practically and factually undermines the value of labor.  No one can make 500 plus million dollars in a year with honest toil,  which begs the question, what in the world has traditionally made them think that they are so special as to believe that they are intrinsically that valuable? Well, the cops are the first ones, then it is our elected officials at the local level, then it is our Federal Government and in the meantime it will be Xe, formerly Blackwater,  a military contractor known for nefarious deeds in Iraq who is readied on the payroll of the U.S. government to attack U.S. civilians if they should, and we should, defy the corrupt and unjust system with which we deal.  We should not be docile peons eager to "be competitive in the job market." What for? So we can eek out a meager existence for the purpose of making a handful of of people wealthy? So that the Federal Government can print out more artificial money to pay for the unethical wars we fight in? This is not in the interest of We the People. So much of what we are dealing with is our own lack of esteem and self esteem, as we have intimated the factual inferior status that we enjoy in this society. As Emmanuel Wallerstein explains in one of his works, The Decline of American Power, we live in a hierarchical society that is based on sexism, racism, ageism and classism.  We pretend to want to chip away at the former, but we do not and cannot, because they are integral tools to upholding classism. First Lady Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson explained on Charlie Rose how he and his sister were told by their parents that, simply because someone may treat you like you are less because of their prejudice, that they did not have to intimate this.  This surely was not the advice that their  forefathers gave to their offspring. They couldn't because racism was an institution by law and fact. Today, racism is employed by fact and is inextricably linked to class. For all the trite discussion about race not mattering in America after electing a black President, let it be admitted that it is the white half of him that had access to private education, as his white grandmother was the main stability in his life. It was the white half of him that was elected as President of the esteemed Harvard Law Review.  He likely would not have been so chummy with a bunch of white guys who had an affinity for Constitutionalism were he not privileged in his own right and it is the white half of him who was and is privileged and who was elected President of the U.S.A. Barack Obama explained candidly that he did not empathize with the angst of the Civil Rights movement...no surprise there, but that doesn't mean it was not real for those who endured those turbulent times. Perhaps Obama knew how detrimental it would be to lend credence to the real, perpetual and obvious disparity in African American communities. That said, no one tells their children that just because they are poor that they do not have to behave that way, as poor is apart of rich, they are labels used in the institution of classism.  Yes, the myth of the classless society has been promoted for the purpose of taking the focus off the policies that have been employed to make classism increasingly rigid.  It's a joke, as people with half their wits about them don't feel intrinsically inferior to anyone because of money; and certainly not to the mass produced "stars" that are churned out on reality t.v.  We understand that ones superior wealth has to do with luck and for some hard work and intellect.  The latter are sometimes beneficial to society, but not always and sometimes not at all. Am I to think someone who makes a fortune exploiting child prostitutes is laudable? No, I do not, but the money they make from this unethical and illegal act gives them power and freedom. The major banks are not different. Their gains are ill begotten and therefore illegitimate. The people of OWS who are in the streets raising awareness about this are far more integral than the dubious currency...if only because the people who need it the most have been cut off from it. Get a job! Yeah, right, so I can be exploited as a cog? Corporations need people, people do not need corporations. If the banks can use our elected officials to design an economy that works for them, why can we not use our government to make an economy that works for us? In the meantime, let us look at the businesses in our communities and ask what they do for We the People. Please, spare us your low wage and benefit free jobs, as what we are in need of are dignified systems of work for us and that do not chip away at our dignity, our integrity and our autonomy.  We do not want to be identified as fodder, as mere workers or consumers, but as humans and citizens in a Democratic government. With work and luck we'll get there. The first step is for us to change our minds about who we are. As Harriet Tubman is supposed to have said, the greatest challenge she had in freeing people from the bondage of slavery was in convincing them that they were slaves. What is curious is about the slavery of our current corporatized economic system is that it makes slaves out of all persons.  Some are just better paid than others. Maybe we can enlighten the bankers to the finer things in life, that which is finer than needing to assert ones superiority and anothers' consequent inferiority. In the mean time, it is time for us to stop buying into the mantra of hierarchy...it might take some time.

Arbeit Machs Frei?

Arbeit Machs Frei is the metal sign that reads above the Aushwitz Concentration Camp, one of the camps in which 6 out of the 9 million Jewish people in Europe were systematically murdered.  "Your work will set you free."  Is it not time to question the power of authority? 

 If it were not for the Occupy Wall Street Movement, there would be no voice for the disenfranchised. It should come as no surprise that people are in the streets demonstrating, as this is an age old manner of practicing solidarity with others who share the same plight. Today, it comes as a surprise that more people do not identify with OWS, only because the problems that have plagued us will not go away on their own.  We can no longer take comfort in the pretense that wealth is defined simply by capital accumulation, because this philosophy leaves so many people all over the world impoverished and I do not mean this in the material sense.  What is the value of any wealth if it is built upon tenuous structures?  It amounts to nothing.  We have an economic system that should be mocked if not condemned, but instead it is promoted. While the average salary in the U.S. is estimated to be in the mid 40's (estimates that include in its averages the top one percent, which is a mistake in calculation therefore), a minority of people are given the freedom to make money out of money.  How is this possible? It is not, it is a fabulous fiction.  Money is currency that is meant to be a standard unit for trading goods and services, it is symbolic of an advancement public trust.  That public trust has been broken and the American people have been duped.  We were told that lending billions, if not trillions, of dollars to salvage the financial institutions that perpetrated fraud would "save" the economy.  If the money was not granted, the sky would fall, loans to businesses would not be offered, and so on. Here we are in the midst of massive unemployment, but more importantly, massive underemployment.  Work and money are at the core of everything we do, everything we say and who we believe ourselves to be and yet we also have been duped into not honestly discussing what money is really worth, what it should be able to purchase and what it should not.  Not to mention, what is the value of what I get for what I give? That a person feels entitled and needy of hundreds of millions of dollars is not only a travesty for how it has served to denigrate the economy, but a travesty for how it, outrageous fortune, has been used to denigrate the value of life itself.  Unemployment is not simply hovering at ten percent and if these jobs that were created were so fruitful, there would be more transparency about how much they paid and in what sector.  If it were  announced that Wall Mart added more jobs, this would not be something to cheer about.  Then again, if Google were to announce adding more jobs, it might not be either.  That is because in this world of business and corporatization, there is little culpability, that is, they do not need to justify their existence, they are allowed to be and to prosper without measuring what their actual value is.  While the First Lady campaigns to battle obesity, the President visits a burger and fries franchise that is deemed an American success.  Why is this decided to be laudable? Because it is financially rewarded and everyone needs money in order to survive as a cog in this dysfunctional machine. Nevermind that half of all our potable water is devoted to raising livestock, which is a bad investment, never mind that the creation of monoculture in agriculture is not a good idea, but that if the profit motive dictates it, the behavior will be adopted and potatoes abound. Are we not sentient beings that have the capability to adopt sensible economic choices that might offer a sustained level of prosperity, one that incorporates social equity with environmental equity?  That is the fix, though, equity and reciprocity, if they have ever mattered they matter the most to those who are lacking and the least to those who believe that have the lions share.  How long the legitimacy of this alleged wealth will last, who can say.  The question remains, what is the value of wealth created out of disparity?  What is the value of work that only promises to ensure more work with less reward? What is left for the rest of us, yes, the 99%? It is clear that there is a wide variation of economic experience, as people still have jobs, some people still have decent paying ones.  By decent I man at least twice the national average and preferably two incomes in a family.  For those who do not have jobs, we are told it is because they lack the skills and that food service and laundry service require a specialized skill set, in addition to offering low pay... and you thought Google was exclusive.  The facts are purposely obfuscated.  When President Obama offers inspiration for the value of a collegiate education, he fails to mention that what he is promoting, or being told to promote, is not education, but specialized skills, the value of which is dubious.  When President Obama speaks about creating jobs and improving infrastructure, he fails to mention that the tax payer monies will not be going to creating American jobs entirely, as Chinese companies are profiting off of these infrastructure improvement projects.  It is estimated that, in order to bring unemployment levels down that 300,000 jobs would need to be added each month for several years.  What is the value of employment if it does not offer an increased quality of life?  Employment is not enough, we must be working not simply to keep people busy, but to allow people to have the choices, the knowledge, the access to resources that makes life precious.  Salaries and wages become trivialities when the value of work is increased.  Simply because it is a job that pays hardly means its a good job, no matter the benefits, the perks, the stature. What matters is the value of the work to society and community.  Mission statements be damned, we need results and positive ones at that. Funneling money, our weightless paper currency, into the coffers of the already wealthy is not the solution, its the problem. The President's green energy initiatives are creating huge solar farms in deserted land across the nation and these subsidies go to benefit already wealthy corporations, like Goldman Sachs.  When President Obama claims to understand the plight of the average American worker, he betrays his woeful ignorance when he says that "Americans are living pay check to paycheck."  No, that would be an improvement, dear Mr. President, as it would imply a level of security. I am not a Republican, for the record, I voted for Obama and I will again, maybe, but I am beginning to think the Presidential elections should be called off.  It would save money and We the People would devote less energy to the bru-ha-ha of pageantry that has become to awful campaign for the White House.  We the People need to stop believing in the value of top-down administration of power, be it through out workplaces or our governments.  This is not Democracy, this is oppression and we can only make our souls, our person, stronger, if we refuse to be made inconsequential.  This is what makes the Occupy Movements not only valuable, but an absolute necessity for preserving the value of our lives.

Groupon Unveiled

Or sort of. They kind of went public yesterday, offering for sale a limited number of shares. I can recall being told by a relative who worked on Wall Street how the stock market is not gambling, it's investing. Truth be told, it is a gambling kind of investment. This is perfectly described in the PBS Newshour interview with New York Bureau Chief of Wired Magazine when he was asked if Groupon is profitable and what it's business model is. Groupon, he explained, is on the road to profitability and when people buy shares, they are not looking for immediate profitability, but a future profit. What is the business model of Groupon? They work with businesses to promote their service or product by marketing it at a discount to a high volume of people, the idea being that some of those one time discounted customers will become regulars.  He cited an example of 500 people showing up for a spa treatment that is usually $80 dollars but is discounted to $20 dollars if enough people subscribe to the deal on Groupon. It's real cute when people who obviously have zero small business experience offering a service offer up their own theoretical details that have little relationship with reality. For a person who runs a spa, having someone pay $20 for a treatment that is usually $80 is not a good business move, because it wastes product and creates vastly more work for the person who is likely a one person operation.  The real kicker is how, Mr. Bureau Chief explains, Groupon makes money regardless of the long term outcome of the businesses they do business with! They are acting as a broker, so to speak, albeit in the most simple sense. No huge bridges and being created, this is just a slightly new spin on marketing that is all a buz only because it is founded by an already well to do person.  This epitomizes what is faulty with Wall Street and the publicly traded companies, as they are given clout and value...LOTS OF VALUE...before they ever prove to be a viable business. Facebook has bought up other companies, meanwhile the real value of Facebook, minus the fluff, is not obvious.  The idea that being publicly traded makes a company accountable to the public is a misrepresentation of the facts, as we are now learning over and over and over again.  Groupon might pretend to be servicing small businesses, but they have no skin in the game, since they get paid regardless of the outcome of their service. That Groupon is a publicly traded company only gives it more of a buffer, a $700 million buffer, from the reality of its own failures and limitations.  In this context, a mockery is made of small businesses, the majority of which do not enjoy the buffer of cash infusion...not without putting out work and product and having to measure the losses and gains on an immediate basis. I signed up for Groupon where I reside.  Indeed, a spa treatment was offered, discounted from $195 to $95, provided that 20 people sing up. So far only 4 people have signed up for the service. There is a substantial service discount for spider vein laser treatment that has attracted 130 people, likely due to its huge discount.  Terms and conditions apply to this deal, which I have not read.  While I am not certain, I am familiar with human nature, which is to skimp when your are skimped on. Simply put, you get what you pay for. The idea for the businesses is that some customers will become regulars.  In truth, when you are marketing non essentials, the people who are looking for discounts will not be the ones who become regulars.  With the current economic trends on Wall Street, the amount of disposable income that people will likely have to spend on luxury items, be it going out to eat, spa treatment, recreation, yoga, shopping, etc, is being diminished.  One does not have to subscribe to Adam Smith's ideal to understand the reality of his ideology that has taken hold: in capitalism, there are always fewer masters than workers, which is why the masters will have the upper hand.  Wall Street seems to be a mystified method for overcoming this intrinsic limitation.

Ode to the Coffee Joint

              How do coffee shops maintain themselves as havens for work and socializing?  Like any other business, they must create an ambiance that is customer friendly to whatever demographic or clique they choose to cater to, the great equalizer being those who are willing to spend money.  In my former home town, an allegedly coveted coffee shop, once famous for hosting a beat poet or two, folded.  The naive bleeding heats of Boulder, mostly newcomers to the town, claimed that the landlords were greedy to have asked for more rent.  Perhaps, but this is beside the point.  What is the value of a benevolent landlord, or a charitable coffee shop, for that matter? The business, Penny Lane, may have been a cool hang out back in the day, but it had deteriorated into a loitering spot for people who liked to play chess for hours without spending money.  If commons such as these are so valuable, then all interested parties, do set up a not for profit hang out that accommodates this practice.  I have been to one, in or around Half Moon Bay, Ca, and I did find it very charming for its books and casual, if not downright lackadazical service.  The cashiers were charming and smart and the baked goods were good; not free. The scenery was the ocean, an unbeatable commodity.  Penny Lane, however, was a throwback to a bygone era in Boulder.  It smelled bad, the service was average at best, and there were not enough spaces for reading or studying as much as there were dark corners for lurking.  There was also a stage for local performances, which was a plus.  Clearly, there were not enough paying customers to support this business.  The landlords, a Greek family that had roots in the city that  doubled the amount of time that Penny Lane did, found tenants who could pay increased rent.
             Another highly idiosyncratic business establishment which is, or was, a small but global chain based out of SF is Espresso Roma, colloquially referred to as "the Roma."  The title betrays the seemingly predatorial quality of its patrons, in that they very closely resemble vagrants.  The space is, one would imagine, prime real estate while the proprietor has not seen fit to repair the rotting would floor.  The attitude among the last crop of employees reflected a certain disdain for the status quo and how it had left them, and the seemingly pitiful place where they work, out of the loop of prosperity that is enjoyed by other establishments.  The style of service aims to be cool by being offensive and oblivious to their function as a shop that professes to serve coffee and baked goods.  You see, when you approach a counter and are asked, scornfully, "what's up," it leaves room for so much verbal abuse that it is almost arresting.  What is up? What is up, j-hole, is that I am standing here waiting for you to take my order.  A simple "hey, what can I getchya," or even "what do you want," would be delightful.  "What's up" is that you are a douche who will not be garnering my hard earned money.  Not even a quarter, you self important ass face...yes, I realize how my attitude may be apart of the problem:)
           Experiences like those are what makes people who aim to avoid the maladjusted and unskilled barista for the overworked and under appreciated Starbucks employees.  I appreciate them for their professionalism and simple gratitude.  It becomes less charming when they push their baked goods, which are unhealthy and tasteless.  Their assemblage of corporate music compilations exude the soullessness that they profess to decry.  The most charming employees are those who look exhausted by the grueling routine and have a hapless look on their face.  My heart goes out to you as well as my tips, thier tips rather, as infrequent as they may be (since I am not a regular coffee drinker); but they are not paltry, I don't think. 
           Then there are lovely places where the people and the product are complimentary on the whole. The thing is that, in a place like Austin, TX, in a time such as July, the establishment should have air conditioning that is at least equal to what one has at home.  Otherwise I am inclined to stay at home and drink and eat for less.  Who needs to be distracted by the chitter chatter of people, the noise of music that other people choose, or the person sitting next to me who is fond of beating on his bare foot to the rythym of the music.  Whatever happened to Bobby McFaren?  Is he still alive, tapping on the soles of his feet alongside a symphony orchestra somewhere? Stop it, just stop.
            I finally left, after reading only a small portion of what I intended to, having become bloated, yet unnourished by the sugary, milky, watery drinks and ice tea that I was compelled to order to justify my visit.  I went home to enjoy a real meal in the cooler air conditioning of my place...but I miss the company.

Thanks to Rolling Stone

While the cover of the last issue of Rolling Stone features a "pop icon"with a beautiful ass, the most beautiful picture is within the pages that offer a photographic record of the brutality that soldiers have indulged in.  It is a gross indulgence, a total compromise of the human condition, it is sub human.  It is more egregious when we consider how arrogantly our media had, from the start, asserted our superior grasp of Democracy.  The mere sight of the word exudes a sadness.  Politics is not just pragmatic, it is also spiritual.  The movement to desensitize us, all of us, to what matters in this world, to the necessity for compassion, is fighting and winning, even though they will never win the spiritual battle.  I look at the photographs of these soldiers who pose triumphantly above the mutilated body of a young Afghan male  They betray the enormous weakness of their being.  It is not simply the obvious cruelty, the overwhelming cowardice of the soldiers, but how they will never triumph. I know I am naive and ignorant to their pain, the pain and suffering of the soldiers.  It is perversion that causes one, or, in these times, many, to overlook the innate value of life.  Life, today, is a politicized concept in the for profit model.  A premium is placed on the brand new life for its maleable quality, for its helplessness, for its delightful distraction, its beautiful folly.  Who speaks out for the value of this young man?  Who speaks for the value of his self determination, or for anyone's, when we have the raw proof of what will become of human life on earth? 
This human corpse, bloodied, mutilated, has kept the evidence of its beauty.  Its a handsome face that resembles someone I used to love.  This is the face of someone whom I could have loved, I could have met, and now I will not be able to.  He is beautiful, I cannot emphasize this enough.  Maybe this is why they could only take away his pinky..if only they had the sense not to kill him, or any of the others...who is being foolish now?  They are soldiers in a wholly unprincipled war, it is a battle not for principle, but for resources, a purely political battle. Killing is the order of the day and what we see in these pictures is the best of it. Over here we can barely uphold the veneer of a concerted hatred for any one enemy. One day it is Al Qaeda, the next it is the Taliban, it was weapons of mass destruction, and there are those very uncreative people who try to incite a mindless riot about Muslim Extremists.  It is an absurd task, the one of developing propaganda.  It becomes dangerous when people, especially policy makers, become so incensed as to devote too much time and attention to this when the massive violence and destruction wreaked across the globe is the destructive force of the most powerful war machine on the earth.  It is wrong that they would abuse this privilege...no, it is wrong that we the people have offered up this privilege so readily.  War is a crime and it reduces people, humans, to corpses and sub human creatures. 
I can only look at the beautiful face of this dead body.  There is beauty in death, in weakness...there is beauty where brutish and artless violence is not. 

The Value of Facebook

It was curious to hear President Obama cite Facebook as an example of a new and innovative company.  Sure, money is being made and money is being spent on the services that the social networking site offers, but to describe the business as "innovative" seems like a stretch...a big one.  I did a little bit of digging around to find that Facebook makes it's money off of advertising, as well as an estimated 100 million on "virtual gifts" that people like to gift their friends with.  Frankly, if a "friend" of mine were so foolish as to spend money on a virtual cupcake as a token of their affection for me, I'd be annoyed.  That is what snail mail is for, so that you can offer a person something they might actually use and enjoy.  To be fair, FB did not invent the world of virtual merchandise, they merely capitalize on it.  I suppose innovation today refers to anyone who is able to make money, lots of money, in this increasingly polarized economy.  While Obama claimed to want to offer increased praise for science fairs as we do for athletes, it is curious that the man who developed the drill that eventually helped to free the Chilean miners, received diminutive praise, despite the truly innovative and amazing feet that was accomplished.  Facebook, regardless of what it has the potential to be, is a vastly effective marketing tool.  The site itself is cumbersome and it is not inconceivable that a better product could and will be created.  It is noteworthy how the majority of FB business lies outside the U.S., since people within the U.S. have been deluded into believing in the intrinsic American character of businesses that might have originated here, but do not necessarily have provenance in America.  It is of greater importance that the media has caught wind of social networking sites and their function as tools for democratic protest, as we are witnessing in Egypt.  It is of paramount interest that Goldman Sachs has chosen to invest in Facebook...what is Goldman Sachs' commitment to free and fair elections and a transparent and accountable government?  It's a good question.  While Facebook has great potential, just as the internet itself has offered tremendous potential, the lucrative quality of the business and the way it makes it's money are not keys to it's innovative quality.  In a world that is plagued by disease, hunger, war, poverty, and an energy crisis to boot,  pointing to Facebook as an indicator of innovation seems a callow gesture of paying homage to a business that is innovative only insofar as it is capitalistic; and like so many other huge money making ventures, it could not have been realized without the true innovation that came before it, which, like Facebook required the collusion of many people, but instead of it being commandeered by one person, it was offered up to the public at large, free of charge.  Facebook is free and it always will be, says the slogan, however this is a dubious claim.  Why wouldn't one charge at least a nominal fee, given how FB has cornered a market and people are attached to the product? Beside the money, though, Facebook and it's story, as depicted in The Social Network, offers up a world of not so human interaction, where the participants are likely to behave the way they would in any public forum, where, in order to fit in and be accepted, posts ooze with positivity (or something like it)...and at least a little egotism, of course.  How else could a bunch of people be convinced that it is a good idea to offer up pictures and anecdotes of their intimate lives?  Read the fine print, these memories are property of Facebook.  How truly innovative to dismantle the right to privacy, but Facebook is not the first to do this, either.  It just makes it seem fashionable instead of sinister.  That goes for the user, too.  Fail to step out of line and use the marketing site for things that might not be lucrative to investors and...who knows, you might not have access to the social networking site where it is best to just tell your Facebook friends about your latest hike, dinner outing, or concert...not that pesky rally for free and fair elections...where's the money in that?  Then again, the joke is on all those who fail to recognize the intrinsic value of civil society, which was built upon through struggles and efforts that can not be commodified because they are far too valuable.  In this brave new world of Facebook, let us not forget what is really valuable in life, that is, actual friends, not just virtual ones, and the sharing of earnest and concerted reflection, as opposed to the shallow act of listing the fun facts about ones' day.