Today I decided to delete some people from my twitter feed.

They weren’t unintelligent. They weren’t inarticulate. They were wasting my time.

Some dudes continually hold forth on twitter about how “unnatural” capitalism is, as though just because it doesn’t occur to them that profit might be important, it won’t have occurred to anyone else.

Now, I have a lot of sympathy for them – I had the “money is unimportant” mindset found in most of academia until the real world kicked me in the pants and I realized it is awfully unhealthy to think that way. But the way to make a difference in this world is to first take a realistic look at what you can and can’t change overnight. You aren’t going to get the world to switch over from capitalism instantly, and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. So if what corporations are doing concerns you, climb the ladder to where you can make a difference: be a 10% stakeholder and veto bad policies, or be a corporate speaker and inspire leaders to make ethical decisions. Or be a legislator and push for new environmental restrictions, if that’s the aspect of things you’re concerned with.

Do something that interacts with reality. Don’t sit around and say “This is corrupt, that is corrupt, I can’t do anything, I reject the whole system.” Then you’re really only making excuses for your own inaction.

So I’m a bit mystified by people who hate suburbia. It always seems as though a place should be loved or hated for its actual features, rather than the postmodern/hipster deconstruction of illusions that people have about it. I mean, people love Denver for the skiing and the snow. They hate the Arizona desert for its dryness and heat.

What physical features of suburbia qualify it for one’s unbending wrath? Strip malls?

You forgot the part of yourself that wouldn’t forget me.