Elephant in the room time, folks. (How to reference George Orwell’s classic essay with a single word 101: Bang! Look it up yourself—I have a 250 word limit!) Anyhow, I’m aware there’s a thing referred to as “the mine” which arises in local conversation, and often dominates it entirely. Let’s examine this thing called “the mine”, shall we? See if we can’t grok it?
Oh, before we begin—have you heard of Socrates? Fairly unpopular chap? Forced to drink hemlock? Executed for “seducing the youth with ideas” kind of thing? Back when the Athenian empire was collapsing from corruption? Well, if you haven’t heard of him, you might be in for an excellent adventure.
What is “the mine”, really? First, it doesn’t actually exist. Nope—you can’t deny it. There is no mine, I have not seen it there with my own eyes. Secondly, those who claim to support “the mine” actually behave in such a manner—economically, socially, and politically—that it guarantees there will never be one. Third, those who claim to oppose “the mine” act in such a manner, collectively, that it’s going to bring a mine here anyway if at all possible. Fourth, Japan is paying Haines to sacrifice its entire real economy to a nonexistent bad idea because it’s in their national security interest. Fifth: the going rate for self-inflicted economic damage appears to be roughly one half turnip per $1,000,000.
Oops, 240 already! But no problem—I’m already at a loss for words.
Chris Palmisano