#259 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday January 27)
Good morning,
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
--Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
This is one of my favorite quotations. You will find in on the headstone of a certain young man at Mt.Sinai Memorial Park. Sisyphus was condemned to roll a stone toward the top of a hill. Each time he neared the top, it would roll back down and he would have to start again. This was to continue for eternity. Most view the struggle of Sisyphus to be a curse or punishment. Camus believes the story has been misinterpreted. Camus, an existentialist (who did not like the limited characterization of his philosophy), believed life is in the living and not in an eventual goal. We all need something to do and purpose. Sisyphus wasn’t condemned by never reaching the top. He was rewarded with purpose and mankind’s ultimate challenge—to continue to try and to confront the struggle toward loftier goals.
THE THIRD ACT
A number of folks have commented on the idea that a “third act” awaits us in our latter years. I had asked in an earlier Musing whether we all are “one hit wonders” and our contribution to the world is relatively limited and defined. As an aside, Paul Kanin noted that Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, may be another of the “one hit wonders.”
In a different observation, Alan Rosenbach notes that most genius is achieved before age 40, whether or not it is one or multiple “hits.” Alan cites Paul McCarthy, Stevie Wonder, and Salman Rushdie. I would throw in some whose success was even at a younger age, folks like Mozart, Alexander Hamilton, Lafayette, Alexander the Great (he was winning battles at 18—the same age I was struggling to introduce myself to girls at parties). Here’s one for you—Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein exposed Watergate when they were in their late 20s. Regardless, Alan questions how the 99.99% of us who fail to be brilliant even once, never having created a work of genius, should feel as life slips away and that greatness is extraordinarily unlikely.
My response to Alan is simple. There is only so much “room at the top.” There are those who are willing to devote the time and energy to achieving at the pinnacle. For the rest of us, through not a little work and effort, may have achieved some accomplishments on a small scale. But we have contributed nonetheless. The question is not, of course, whether we have produced the most work product or amassed the most money, but what we have done as a result of these more basic—yet important—pursuits. It is how we have raised children, mentored others, contributed in our time and treasure to institutions doing good in society, that we will be satisfied and achieve something that will outlast us.
As to the greater scheme of things, my father was fond of saying that in a hundred years or so, people will not recall whether he was the father and I was the son or vice-versa. We will all blend into history in the same way that sepia photos of 19th and early 20th century relatives are nearly indistinguishable from each other. Whether one believes in the great beyond when we die or the extent we will be part of the memories of our progeny several generations from now doesn’t really matter. What matters—and that gets us back to Camus—is what we do with our time while we’re here.
WHY MUST IT BE SO DIFFICULT?
Why is it so hard to get affordable housing in Los Angeles, particularly for those living on the streets? There are so many reasons, but here are some:
Systemic Problems. The system is made to make progress difficult. There is a “weak mayor” system that is have enshrined in the City’s Charter. But it’s also the 15 separate fiefdoms of City Councilpersons, who are quite effective at blocking any development they see as not in the best interest of their constituents. Then there are the neighborhood councils, a formalization of the “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) movement that paralyzes solving problems.
Permitting Problems. Apparently, some effort has started to move the needle on clearing the path for building permits and waiving various aspects of a cumbersome process.
NIMBY’ism. People want solutions; they just don’t want them in their back yard. It makes me wonder whether the “VandeBunt Plan” is the right solution. Everybody’s going to have to pitch in to solve the problem. Appoint a commission to make rational decisions about distribution of low -income housing, mental health facilities, etc. across the Council districts.
Unions and cost. Most people don’t realize that most construction in America is not done by Union labor. Odds are that your house was built with non-union labor, your renovations were done without union labor and virtually all private apartment projects are built with non-union labor. I’m all for unions as an important part of our system to protect workers, maintain safe working conditions, and lobby for employee benefits, but in this case, they make the economics of solving our homeless problem that much more difficult to make work.
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives: