The Beginnings of a Bad Idea

Crisis is a term for the shortsighted. This blog is about opportunity. Is our economic system in peril? Absolutely. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Oh, it's awful in this moment, nobody denies that. But this moment can be a tremendous opportunity, if used correctly. President Obama has already shown this, using his stimulus plan as a way of furthering his agendas. This recession was not caused by a lack of renewable energy sources, but the presence of those sources may very well be its legacy. Rahm Emmanuel has exactly the right idea: "Never let a serious crisis go to waste." In the spirit of that quote, I have created this blog.

My background is theater, specifically theatrical direction. And as a director, one of my favorite tools was the bad idea. If I give an actor the assignment to think of one brilliant action, I generally get crap, as well as a psychologically damaged actor. But if I tell the same actor to perform ten bad actions quickly, without thinking, one of them tends to be brilliant. This blog functions on the same principles. I'm leaving this country to join the Peace Corps. I've been told my departure date is sometime early next year. Let's assume I have 50 weeks. On average of twice a week, I will publish a post detailing a truly stupid idea about how America can move forward. Moving forward could be defined as creating jobs, improving infrastructure, bettering our youth, reducing crime, or improving the environment, to name a few. Most of the ideas will attempt to encompass several of those definitions. As prefaced by this essay, and the title, generally the ideas will be bad ones. So please, feel free not to respond to one of my blogs by saying how bad an idea you think it is. You will be mocked. (unless you have something truly funny to say...in which case fire away). However, if one of the ideas intrigues you, let me know what you think. Adjust, tweak, and reinvent all you like. But in the spirit of this blog, never, ever, suggest that an idea is too stupid to be put forth and discussed. At the end of this year, perhaps one of these ideas will prove to not be so bad after all. If that is the case, where we go from there is largely up to you. But remember, we are represented, at any given time, by dozens of different people who need our support. It is not just right for them to listen, it is their duty.

A final note. In writing these entries I will do my best to research thoroughly and give credit where credit is do, if I indeed borrow anyone's words, ideas, or sentiments. However, I may very well propose an economic plan that, unbeknownst to me, Ralph Nader has been agitating about since 1981. By all means, bring that to my attention. But please, do so as an addendum, not as a refutation. There may well be no new ideas left, just new combinations. What may have failed in the past may work now, and there is no reason why this blog cannot be a dialogue with philosophies and systems centuries older than us. But while it is important that you know I am not a plagiarist, it is also important that you know I will never stop advocating a bad idea simply because it has been brought up before, or shot down before, or was in fact brought up yesterday morning on The View. I'm not writing this blog for credit or fame, and so none can be removed from me (I wish I could say the same for my dignity).

Well, so much for the foreplay. Now, light up your cigarettes, turn on your turntables, and prepare for the Ed Wood of public science blogs. Because what I lack in quality, I hope to make up for in quantity.