The Crazy Years

My little tribute to Heinlein

This post is dedicated to the strange things I’ve noticed out and about; reality’s little inconsistencies, if you will. It’s a little tribute to my favourite Sci-Fi writer, Robert A. Heinlein. In the forties, Heinlein speculated about the future and predicted that the ’60s would be The Crazy Years. Well, it started then, but wow, we’re knee it ’em now!

What are The Crazy Years?

Well, to make it brief, it’s a time period when you’ll actually need signs like “It is forbidden to drive on the sidewalk” or “Caution: Ice is Slippery (or the modern version on all coffee cups: Caution: Coffee is Hot)” because common sense and the capacity to reason would erode proportionally to population growth.

So here are my personal Crazy Years observations, because, honestly, some things seem very, very odd to me in the world we live in.

1) We get a “This program contains mature subject matter” warning before watching The Simpsons, but not before watching the News.

2) More people have killed and done evil in the name of God than in the name of Satan. Yet, God is considered good, religion considered moral, and Satan is considered bad

3) The more a right-wing politician proclaims his anti-gay points of view, the greater the odds he’ll get caught screwing a transvestite in a dirty bathroom stall.

4) A golfer having an affair gets more media attention than 10,000 children dying of starvation in Africa everyday.

5) We’re in 2010 and the majority of Americans still don’t really believe in Evolution.

6) Somehow, politicians think they have the right to state a scientific opinion. I.e.: I don’t think global warming is real.

7) Croupiers at the Montreal Casino get paid more than Montreal teachers.

8) There is a debate in the US: Is free universal health care a good thing for the population? And, believe it or not, U.S. citizens are divided on the issue!

9) Governments cut funds allocated for education but spend billions of dollars debating the definition of ‘Marriage’. Perhaps if they hadn’t cut funding in Education, this wouldn’t be so difficult a question for them.

10) It costs Corrections Canada $150,867 to keep a female inmate in a maximum-security institution for a year. (2006 data, Source CBC) Average income after tax of a single female in 2006? $26,000. (2006 data, Source Statcan).

11) The Post-Olympic 2010 Canadian Government spent millions debating whether of not to modify the lyrics “In all thy sons commands’ in the Canadian anthem because it’s ‘sons’ not ‘sons and daughters’… That being said, at that exact same time on the news, but less important, snippets really: teachers are striking, there’s no more room in hospitals, there are not enough nurses, not enough doctors, suicide rates in Quebec are through the roof, etc… Please, please, Government of Canada, perspective, perspective! Fix poverty, fix education, fix health care, fix the suicide rates and the homeless situation, you do that, and then we’ll talk lyrics, perhaps over a beer, eh?

12) “The Internet is free, it’s ordered, it’s calm and comforting. It’s my country. We live here. Why are so many people online? Because the real world is crazy!”

… (More to come! I’m sure of it!)

PS: If you have your own Crazy Years observations, let me know! Leave a comment!

PPS: A little tip, include your twitter handle when you leave comments! It’s a great way to get to know really neat people. Because, honestly, if you‘ve read this post you somehow found your way here… And admit it, you’re not normal. You’re neat.) Continue reading →