Welcome to Opinion8ed’s Issue
No. 12. This time around there’s the usual assortment of political, social,
and cultural commentary with a healthy portion of miscellaneous musing mixed in but as I sit here just five days out from
the mid-term election, perhaps the most significant turning point in American politics in recent memory, I can’t get
my mind off the many potential scenarios we face on November 3. The extremist
Tea Party controlled Republican Party has whipped up the political climate, injected it with fear, pledged to revoke progressive
legislation accomplished under President Obama’s first two years and threatens to bring the second half of Obama’s
first term to a screeching halt. They speak with one voice when they say they
do not plan to compromise knowing full well that will create complete gridlock and will then turn around and blame the Democrats
for not getting anything done. You can’t make this stuff up. Read more on this if you can stomach it in, What’s On the Menu for the Tea Party?
This issue’s theatrical double header turned out to be (quite by accident) an excellent thematic juxtaposition.
David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre
is the story of two alienated actors who can’t find the art in their work while Lee Hall’s Pitmen Painters tells the true and inspiring story of a group of workers who find art: Art for Art’s Sake.
On a lighter note, I encountered a new-old technique for creating product loyatly, i.e., saving bonus points
which can then be cashed in for a Pot of Gold at the End of the Internet
Rainbow. Reminiscent of the days when I agonized over wheter to spend my hard
earned coupons from the boardwalk Skee Ball concession right away on a set of jacks or save them for something more substantial
like a water pistol. I never seemed to have enough for anything of real value like a baseball glove or bat.
This past month we saw a rash of suicides by gay teens after being taunted and bullied. While this has been a tragic and somber wakeup call, it has also led to an outpouring of positive support
with the theme, “It Gets Better”
