I attended a political event today. Good speaker, good candidate. Gets it. I don't mean to suggest that I agree with everything he will ever say or has said. His heart seems to be in the proper place. Our prayers are with him.
After the candidate's speech, we had an opportunity to ask questions. One of the questioners, whom I'll call Farmer, has proven himself at other lunches to not be the most succinct questioner. I enjoy his digressions, and much of the more tangential information Farmer includes with his questions. Nonetheless, there were two other questioners (not me) waiting, and so when Farmer's digression turned into a more tangential digression, I interrupted.
My interuption included a viewpoint I have been voicing for years, and have not heard repeated by anyone other than me. I don't recall any evidence of a clandestine disservices agency providing this opinion of mine to an author who used my intelligence to improve his bank balance.
Farmer was making a good and valid point about the importance of literacy. I mentioned that a century or so from now, the literacy rate might well return to traditional levels, e.g. ten or twenty percent. A small segment of the Earth's population might, as throughout most of recorded history, be the only folks who read and write.
A person at the next table, whom I'll call Mr. Polite, kindly reminded us that there was a speaker, and the speaker then motioned to the first of the remaining two questioners. The remaining questions were asked and answered, the lunch ended, I was collecting the song books.
Whilst gathering the songbooks from Mr. Polite's table, I thanked him for reining me in. He became a bit agitated. He seemed mostly upset that, in a 20 minute conversation, I might concern myself with what might happen a century from now. I apologised repeatedly, and when I tried to explain myself, he repeatedly interrupted and began speaking louder. Eventually, he turned and walked away, complaining that I didn't appreciate that I was wrong.
Mr. Polite won that argument. He won because he talked over me. He spoke louder, interrupted me more, and, even when I tried to calmly ask him if I could finish my sentence, interrupted me again.
One lesson Mr. Jobs taught me is one ought not want every customer. One wants only quality customers who will improve one's product, and appreciate well-executed reliability, with less liability. Adding the most ignorant algorithms to Apple's algorithm helps no one. Hate breeds hate.
If customers just want a device to convey a voice over the Internets, they can buy that. Apple ink doesn't want those customers. We want people who appreciate less is more.
If one is running for political office, a typical successful candidate wants every vote. This is not meant to apply or not apply to the speaker I heard today. I am referring to my own American political candidacy, or, more accurately, my excessive candidness which has led to my lack of political candidacy.
No matter how misguided, ill-informed, immoral or ignorant a voter, most successful political candidates will court their "base". I didn't get that from Pastor Shaver. I got the sense of a man who knows who he is, what is decent, who does what is right, not wrong.
He will make mistakes. If he doesn't, a man of his youth and vigor might not be trying hard enough. I don't wish to try too hard. Those days for me have passed. I hope. Moreover, I realised today, if some people voted for me and I won, I will lose. We will lose.
