Arm's Length

Grey Area - Why I Feel Good About Being Unemployed

The great thing about Justin Trudeau tampering with the Canadian Senate, that upper chamber of sober second thought, who so craftily consider all the legislative proposals that potentially impact the day-to-day affairs of all Canadians, is that the seemingly impulsive meddling neatly exposes the convoluted machinations of this bloated institution through the media fallout. I'm hardly the constitutional expert to weigh-in on such parliamentary matters, but as far as ballpark figures go, I feel confident in quickly estimating that a typical Canadian senator earns on average, somewhere around $700 / hour for the hard work they do.

If you've never played chess against anyone who knows how to play chess, you may not know that it's necessary to think several moves ahead in order to keep your opponent guessing. Sometimes unpopular and unprecedented maneuvers are made in the political arena to gain long-term leverage. A transparent politician is an oxymoron of the highest order, and a good political analyst will pay closer attention to what the stock markets are doing, rather than what our elected talking heads are feeding to the media party. Follow the money - evidently, it's why people get into politics in the first place.

I play chess on occasion, and I cut my teeth playing against artificial intelligence. A computer is incapable of negligence. To beat the machine, it takes a combination of vigilance and creativity.

As an unemployed 37 year old who lives in his Mom's basement, I'd be lying if I said that I have no regrets. I've squandered opportunity, wasted money on self-indulgent substance abuse, and generally made an ass of myself - both in public and online. All of my little gaffes though, seem to quickly pale in comparison to a justice system that serves the criminals, a welfare system that enables the lazy, and a parliamentary system motivated by gold-plated pensions. These things are all made possible by ordinary tax-paying citizens who pay no mind or get paid to keep their mouths shut. I find it all unconscionable, and have sacrificed the good life in order to free-up precious time to pay close attention to current affairs.

What I love about Canada and the Commonwealth is the freedoms it provides. With enough hard work and persistence, almost anyone can realize the white-picket dream, complete with 1.7 children, two vehicles, a three bedroom home - complete with a three-tiered tax burden that paves the way for corrupt politicians, career criminals, and lazy druggies. Any Canadian can live out their entire lives with their head in the sand - without any concern for where the world is heading, or how politicians are spending a fifth of your salary, but I've seen too many hard-working people wind-up fucked before they're sixty. I've always been hesitant to jump aboard the conveyor belt.

Me? I don't like the idea of contributing to greed and criminality. I never quite understood the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't feel like I need a car or a cellphone. I think Stephen Harper is a lesser of three evils. But until such a time that I deem our parliamentary house and state of affairs to be in some semblance of order, I'll continue my personal vigil. I won't get married, I won't buy a car, I won't pursue gainful employment... unless I absolutely have to. Why should I bust my ass for a taxable $20 / hour while some lazy retard is getting the same for doing little more than picking his/her ass all day long? Just as someone is free to happily work until the age of seventy if they want to, I'm free to not do so!