June 21st and 22nd Guitar, Lauren, and John Quincy Adams in 2016

The remainder of the 21st at Miyachu was rather uneventful. I was asked to do the last 15 minutes of Inori Sensei’s 4th period, but I totally forgot. I felt terrible for that. I ate lunch in the office instead of with kids. Partly for stomach issues, partly because I didn’t want to deal with the 3rd years. I’m more and more convinced that Inori and Ebihara don’t like me due to how little their kids respect me. Well, that’s life, I suppose. At least I have Tateishi. Anyway, I had 5th hour with Tateishi. I guilted the kids quite a bit because their pronunciation is slipping. That was, really, my biggest contribution. I did the last 15 minutes of Inori Sensei’s 6th period. Really it was a waste of everybody’s time, but, I’m glad to help when I can.
I finished James Monroe and moved onto a book on John Quincy Adams. Sadly, it’s by the same biographer. There were two other biographies that looked informative, but one was over $20 and the other sounded SUPER politicized. So I got the lesser of three . . . well, if not evils then certainly disappointments.
After school, I tried to check out the peninsular island, but I couldn’t get a good angle to see unless I got out of my car, and that wasn’t going to happen. The rain will stop completely, then it’ll come down again in unannounced torrents. It’s . . . horrible. At least, if you’re caught outside in it.
After that, I played a lot of guitar at home. I want to do that plus ukulele tomorrow, so, I hope this works out.
I begin to suspect that the computer power plug issues may be humidity related. The power charger doesn’t seem to have connected last night in my . . . study, I guess? It did, however, connect the night before in my bedroom. Where there’s AC. It keeps working and then pissing out today. No idea what to determine from that. Other than maybe water is condensing on the metal? But, then, it keeps working randomly today. No idea. It could be anything.
I got dinner at Wai Wai again, which was tasty. I tried to order the full dinner, but I made a mistake, and I didn’t get it. Which was, honestly, for the best. The owner’s sons came to talk to me, and that was adorable beyond words. I love those boys (they’re both at Eshin). One asked me if I’d be in Satsuma forever, and he seemed sad when I told him that I wouldn’t. My job and my life, while not quite as ambition fulfilling as could be wished, are full of the sweet and meaningful moments that make me love Japan. Maybe it’s possible elsewhere. I don’t know.
Then, more guitar. A bit more YouTube watching than I ought to have, but, nothing overtly terrible. Then ukulele. My fingers hurt and my callouses are getting to be just . . . impressive. For me, at least.
I talked to Lauren nee Gee yesterday. We talked about life and writing. It was incredibly nice. I wish I had had more time to talk.
I slept relatively well, for me, and that was the end of that.
This morning, I got up feeling exhausted but a bit more well-rested than I had been of late. (I am currently avoiding eye contact with Tateishi in hopes that I’ll get to keep writing and hopefully talk to Lauren a bit more). Now, I am at my desk hoping to get to write a bit more. Tonight is Sam’s birthday party. I shouldn’t have had café aulait for breakfast, but . . . I’m super hungry. I was shocked to learn that I didn’t put on much if any weight during my recent sickness. I was a bit over 89 kilograms, and, seeing as I was a bit over 88 before (and rising stupidly) that seems . . . pretty okay.
Hooray, Tateishi took off without me. Presumably there’s more testing today as he never neglects to invite me to a class. Even when there’s nothing of value for me to do there.
Inspired by JQA, I think I will start to write a bit about politics and current events here. So, let’s attempt this.
The Democrats recently had a fourteen hour filibuster to force a Senate floor vote on gun control. I don’t particularly object to this. I certainly am happy that there was a vote on it, but I’m a bit on the fence about filibusters (especially with how overused they are). Filibusters are a good way for a vocal and entrenched minority to set the agenda for everybody else in the room. Sometimes that is necessary, sometimes that is damaging. In this instance, it was probably necessary. That having been said, I was rather bemusedly annoyed with the response of my friends on Facebook when the vote lost. Because of course it did. It stood no chance. Frankly, I’m amazed that people supported it.
What I don’t like about the proposals floating around is the idea that people can be stopped from buying guns based on suspicion, under a system whose rules we do not understand. The same people who criticize the no fly list as a warrantless, arbitrary, revocation of due process support using this same system to stop people from buying guns. It’s flagrant hypocrisy and blatant opportunism. The hope was to split the Republicans by making the debate about national security and, if that didn’t work, to try to boost the Democrat’s credentials on an issue where they always lose out to Republicans.
Of course, the whole thing got me to thinking: What do I think about the no fly list? I am a pretty big supporter of gun rights (though I’ve never used and don’t want to use a gun), and I resented the idea of people’s due process being taken away. Yet, I’ve usually been a qualified supporter of the no fly list. So, let me examine my own hypocrisy and see what I can determine.
Guns are important because they are the American reset button. For all the people who say that Americans would never be able to take on their own military fail to see just how easily the Afghans have managed. As I see democracy more and more undermined, I believe in the importance of being able to theoretically restore it at some future date. Any political statement or belief which is not backed by theoretical (or actual) force is doomed to the dustbin of history. There need to be reasonable checks to make sure that guns don’t fall into the wrong hands, but it’s who determines what hands are wrong that worries me. In a world where “words hurt” and people you disagree with who talk at your university are labeled as terrorists, I can’t help but wonder who will be declared an enemy of the state when these people come to power. People who have been convicted of violent crimes obviously forfeit their rights to weaponry, but what about suspects? And suspects of what? It’s a tricky issue and a slippery slope. I don’t have a clear answer. That’s why I like the broad interpretation of the second amendment: some things need to be determined on a case-by-case basis, and when that happens, I think that we should look favorably on a person who can probably be trusted. Of course, I’ve never lost anybody to gun violence, so it’s all theoretical to me, but if I could only opine on my own experiences, I’d have very little to think/talk about.
The no fly list ignores due process and refuses to publish its criteria. I can understand the refusal to publish criteria because, frankly, a lot of the information and how it’s gathered could be detrimental to US safety. That having been said, I’m concerned that we don’t know what qualifies someone as a danger. And I don’t like not knowing who makes these policies. I want to trust in the courts to take care of this, but, I don’t really trust or rely on the courts like I’d like to. They’ve become something of the oligarchy that the Jeffersonians worried about. A no fly list, right now, is pretty similar to a no gun list right now. We’re all reasonably safe from Big Brother. He’s busy on a date with Europe at the moment, and he doesn’t have time for us. But it’s the future where I’m concerned.
The solution is, of course, populism. More popular representation in government. Broader representation of the wishes of the people. Fewer entrenched interests. The greatest transparency possible. People we know, trust, and know we can trust. Populism. As it stands, I think that this is a difficult thing to take sides on, but, I think that the no fly list needs to be reformed or clarified before its able to be applied even to its own purpose. Let alone any others.
Along the lines of populism, I’m watching the EU referendum with great interest. My heart goes out to all of the Brexiters who are hoping to restore their country. I don’t like the EU. I never have. It’s a top down instrument of homogenization that wants to restore old world aristocracy with a new name. I don’t like officialdom. I love Italy’s Five Star Party’s declaration that only those who have had real jobs can be their candidates. I really hope that I see the breakup of the EU. Their constant undermining of democracy needs to stop. If integration is to happen, it must happen willingly, though a mandate of the people. Not through such BS as the Lisbon treaty, forced down the throats of the Irish, and, by extension, everybody else.
Somebody tried to kill Trump the other day. Doesn’t seem to have made much news in the US. This is worrisome. Sargon of Akkad mentioned that people like Trump and the Gracchi tend to end up the same way. I have found similar historical patterns. I think that Scott Adams’ Hilary endorsement is also rather telling. Progressives have waged a war on conservatives and liberals. And it’s becoming literal. I live in interesting times.
Hopefully this has been enlightening, and hopefully my biographers will find much to praise in it.
Goodnight.