Structural Obedience

What is it about something mechanical, something square, that delights the human mind?

Why is it, that mass produced products are valued beyond items of intensive human artistry?

Why is it, that the younger teachers of today allow themselves to fall into the trap of academic dullness? That takes away from the independent voice of individuality that existed only just yesterday, or the day before?

To write a teacher-friendly essay, is to dull oneself. To write, so that your views do not differ from the norm is the best way to gain yourself an undeserved "A". And yet that is the circumstance facing young people of today, who are supposed to be the "voices of tomorrow". How can they be, when their educators won't allow them to voice their thoughts, and when everyone is afraid to be the odd man out?

But the most horrid quesiton of them all is this: Is voicing yourself worth a "Fail"?

Under such pressure, how can people be free, to use their rights in so clearly stated in the Charter of Rights?

They can't.

Gossip

I don't think I ever quite understood why people, including myself, enjoy gossiping so much.

I never considered myself a gossiper until last night, when I had nother better to do but to think. To think about nonesense, and to mock the ironies of life in general. Inevitably my mind traveled back to a certain conversation I had listened to and participated in. The subject was about a relative of mine, who unfortunately lives in a very dysfunctional family.

The trouble with this is the fact that conciously, I detest gossiping, and yet I seem unable to not do it. It is one of the fastest conversation starters, most dramatic topics to talk about, and most of all, it somehow made people feel better about themselves.

I guess that's really the trouble: gossip allows us to feel better about ourself by secretly agreeing with others about how so-and-so is such a screwup.

This brings up an interesting point: when is it really gossip? What is the line that separates gossiping from story telling?

This is a question I have yet to understand. The answer eludes me whenever I seem close to grasping it, and unfortunately, this is one question that might prove too difficult for me to answer.

Sequence

I have recently realized how annoying speech with others can be when the speech itself is absolutely in shambles in terms of sequence. The kind of sequence I am talking about is not the random insertion of thoughts that completely stray from the topic, but a converstation that goes constantly around an enormals circle: and when it seems like one's finally broken from it, one is slammed in the face with a single sentence which could have resolved the converstaion about, what, five minutes ago.

Then you think: there goes five minutes of my life.

The thing about it all is that most of the time, these people are relatives, which is a very unfortunate thing. These relatives are perhaps cause the most anguish when you talk with them, simply because of the fact that in one way or another you are infact connected by blood, and that their stupidity must also, in one area or another run through your now polluted veins.

If being related at all isn't bad enough, here's something else: you care for these relatives, these people who constantly humiliate you both mentally and physically. Therefore you have but no choice but to put up with all the constant noisy chatter that never stops. You have to put up with the converstation that goes nowhere, the interruptions that will not cease, but most of all, the repition, the sequence, the sequence!

For example, I called my cousin today, who, god bless her heart, is a wonderfully talented girl. Unfortunately, she is all confidence and no awareness of herself, of circumstances, and of others. My motive to call her was out of worry: I had just recieved news that she had joined her school band, with the teacher believing that she could not only play the piano very well, but also that she was a very good at reading music.

In her mind of course, she absolutely believed she could play the piano: and technically, yes, she could. She could play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. One thing she did admit though was her ineptitude at reading music. So I warn her about the difficulty of even a simple band score, and erged her to pick up a music book and start learning with a small guide I had made her the last time I visited.

But that's my sister's, she says.

No, I gave it to both of you.

She's stored it away in her bedroom.

Then go get it.

But it's hers!

No, it belongs to you both!

At this point I decided to speak with my cousin's sister, who was about seven. Within a minute, I had the whole matter resolved: or so I thought. When my dear cousin returned to the telephone, we at once begun another dialogue which only ended with a shockingly stupid phrase:

Wait, I think we've already lost the paper.

My god! The Sequence! The Sequence!!!

My Bike Seat

Someone stole my bike seat.

Despite this sad turn of events, I find myself taking a curious, and almost optimistic view about this incident. The first things that passed through my mind were the thoughts of anguish and mainly, surprise. After a while of self pity I came to quesiton the reason behind this theft.

Why did they want my bike seat?

The first answer to this quesiton came to me as I was walking home from school, while my good friend rode my bike for me: perhaps this thief was a victim. Maybe this thief has had a previous encounter with a thief as well, and therefore decided to replenish his/her stolen items by stealing from others.

There was also the possiblity that the person who stole my bike seat was simply a prank-pulling teenager with nothing better to do with his life at the time.

With a mind full of drama however, I pursued the first train of thought. What I didn't know was that both trains would have eventually came to the same station:

Why steal at all?

The first stop I made was at the monetary issues. Maybe this thief was poor, and did not have money to replace whatever item that is no longer in his possesion. But then I thought about it some more and realized that this was not only a theft, it was a symbol.

This thief was a symbol of abuse, of parental neglect, and of simply bad education. Through years of being the victim, this thief now takes pleasure in confounding and causing misery to others. The objective is to allow him/herself to be able to forget his/her aimless lifestyle for just a precious moment before he returns to his/her heartless house of harrassment, of torture, and sometimes absolute ignorance.

And after making this significant discovery, I found myself sitting back into my comfortable armchair, soaking in all the good things I have around me. One thing is for certain though: there will come a day when my bike seat will be unmovable.

~Kit Han

Summary Piece: The Great Depression of Canada

The post-World War One period, or so-called the Golden Age, proved to be a great economic success for both the Americans and the Canadians. During the next decade, both countries experienced immense wealth, with a low unemployment rate, a higher ratio of profit vs. losses, and a basic rapid growth in the economic status. However, this short time of prosperity all came to an end in the October of 1929, when the mighty Wall Street Stock Market crashed, and burned.

In one night, companies all across the North American Continent fell into bankruptcy and debt, creating an all time low in income, and stock value. Many shareholders were left with little valuable stock and simply sold what little they have left in hopes to diminish their losses.

During this period (which lasted a decade, from 1929, to 1939), the Canadians suffered mass unemployment, 50% reduction in stock values, and national productivity diminishing to a phenomenal 43%.

The most affected, however, were the Prairie Provinces, where the main business was agricultural trade. With consumer consumption low, and cheap labor, due to the cause of the market-crash, trade with foreign countries also fell to an all time low at a reduced rate of 50%.

Unlike the American government, the Canadian government did not intervene in the original process of creating profit, therefore, was not blamed for the depression, while in the U.S. government officials were being blamed for not controlling the rapid economic rise. But, one thing in common with both countries was the fact that neither was prepared, or really thought that a market-crash such as this could ever exist, and that it could ever happen in their countries. After the Great Depression, the Canadian government changed its policy, and took control, creating minimum wages for workers, safety nets, and standard work schedules.

The Depression did improve around 1933, but continued on until 1939, with Hitler's declaration of war. With World War Two on the rise, a sudden need of war materials sprouted, thus saving the North American Economy from total oblivion.

~Kit Han

Sources:

Stock Market Crash, Government Canada, 2005/9/7

http://canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/1929_39depression.html

Stock Market Crash, Government Canada, 2005/9/7

http://canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/1929stock.html

The Great Depression of Canada, The Educationally Funkalicious History page, 2005/09/17

http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/canadianhistory/depression/

depression.html

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Welcome to Kit's Shorts, a small Journal dedicated to my short stories, essays, oppinion pieces, and general feelings towards the world.