GM, Holidays and Roger

The markets opened with a buzz today on the IPO of GM, which is trying to liquidate its government bonded debt. I found myself with a bit of a yawn at this prospect because IPOs are for the institutional players that get first crack at buying the stock where average retailers and traders get to trade the stock after those institutions see significant spikes in the first day of trading. I noticed how this works a couple times when I attempted to get into IPOs at the open price, but the stock wasn't even available until the price shot up 15-20% from the original offering price. So I have over time shifted away from this style of investing in quick gains in favor of more long term approaches.

The holidays have returned and this year is different for me as I have not been watching as much TV as I used to do. Thus, I have been somewhat of no-mind regarding the latest toys and gadgets advertised. Yet, I cannot escape the bustling shopping fever and holiday decor that is supposed to get people in the buying frenzy that is the staple of this season. Unfortunately, or otherwise, I am feeling a bit not interested in buying gifts like I have in the past. As well, I am not really interested in putting up a bunch of decorations outside only to put them back a month later. I guess my impression of the holidays have dwindled over the years as I see what is supposed to be a beautiful time with generous attitudes about humanity turn into gluttonous materialism that promotes "ME ME ME".

This may also have some roots in the latest album that I have purchased entitled Amused to Death by Roger Waters. I have heard the album before and thought it was ok, but I was not truly listening to the work until now. As a fan of Pink Floyd, I find this better than the Final Cut and in the realm of The Wall. The album has music the uses familiar riffs and chords from Pink Floyd work as well as the familiar angst against social issues (in this case, fallacy of materialism, evangelical religious orders, and remote-controlled war). I was impressed with Jeff Beck playing a superb guitar and in a similar style that David Gilmour would play in collaboration with Waters. Thus the album sounds incredibly like what should have followed up The Wall instead of The Final Cut.

Yet, with my satisfaction with the album, the lyrics reveal what I have been thinking in terms of religion and materialism. The irony of this album is that we have to "purchase" this and many of us are guilty of the same ironies, fallacies and actions that Waters is singing. Waters tells the story in a narrative from a perspective the "monkey in the corner" and the "alien comic" that observes these traits of humanity. The idea that no matter what religion traditions teach us about love, faith or humanity, those same traditions have been bastardized by evangelicals (of any religious order) in addition to capitalist ideas that promote a superior sense. That whatever one minister proposes that God wants, God gets. From love to a "clean fight", from crusades to jihad. God especially wants money. One could almost laugh at how much people will use religion to make up stories or to justify a means that has no other logical purpose. We could laugh if we did not also see how dangerous this has made people with respect to each other (especially between different cultures). "Germans killed the Jews, Jews killed the Arabs, the Arabs kill hostages..." What we call "miraculous" is a matter of degree of perspective rather than a truly spontaneous event.

To say the least, Roger Waters does not paint a friendly picture about society, but the point is that people have allowed religious, military or political figures to define what we believe as true regardless of how accurate that viewpoint is. Given the rise of religion in American politics, that illogical social perspective is playing beyond just material interests. The speed that people are expecting results is following the trend of instant access, which some would call a miracle. We still have to decipher information, question these grand assertions and we still have to do work in order to see miracles. If we continue to use religious assertions in law, we are destined to ignore basic and fundamental truths.