Who are we?

Who or what the U.S. is has been a reoccurring theme that plays out every day here and abroad. The world is asking that question more than ever before as the U.S. retains the dubious distinction of being ‘the last great super power’ in the world. Historically, that is far from the position the U.S. has sought. Most of our history is isolationist in nature. Even the Monroe Doctrine was of a similar bent. It placed the new world off limits to European super powers.

The U.S. Has never truly been a homogeneous culture. The melting pot theory stands at one level and the ‘City of Neighborhoods’ represented by major cities like Chicago stand at opposite poles. Acculturation has always a two edged sword here. The melting pot crucible was the ascendant power until recently. (The swing is strange because the ethnocentric political leaders are cavalierly proposing limiting income for their group by challenging the melting pot.)

Individualism has maintained this bipolar aspect of our society. It dates from the Boston Tea Party and the flag “Don’t Tread on Me” days of our founding. It was alive and well when DeTocqueville made his visit in the 19^th century. And it is as apparent as ever today.

The recent movement to political correctness is the antithesis of all that has gone before. The UIGEA is merely another manifestation of the paternalism that society seems to seek today. Change has also been part-and-parcel of our culture. Change also brings mistakes that can take time to sort out. We’ve often ignored basic instincts for ‘the greater good’ for society and ended up paying the piper. And, time has always brought us back to the central path – just a bit to the left or right of where that path traveled before.

As the resident old fart, I remain an optimist. Yes, my ox of the moment has been gored and the outcome has resulted in something totally different from my expectations. The constitution planned for it. It knew we wouldn’t always get it right and provided the mechanism to correct things. It is what legislative, executive and judicial — and voting booths — are all about.

After the first of the year, outside influence from the WTO will enter the mix and impact the UIGEA. Outside influences are part of every event today. The UIGEA seems an ideal test of the change makers of today — who wish to make us something that we don’t wish to be. In some sense, the outcome goes far beyond our poker mindset.

We have always been a corrupt society in many respects – saint and sinner. The PACs of today are no different from the taxation aspects that brought about The Whiskey Rebellion of early times or President Jackson’s illegal Trail of Tears. Injustices happen but, to this point, have managed self-correction. Not as quick as they should but they take place.

History has proven that empires (super powers) will fail. The Roman collapse brought about the dark age that last for centuries ”” the pessimist can make the case we are moving to similar changes from our past strength toward a totally different outlook. The British empire’s decline was done with some grace on their part and, while changing things dramatically, left the nation intact. Are we to be as lucky? Well, like I said, I am an optimist. All of my life has been a series of sine wave swings and the basics keep returning life toward the middle road.

The UIGEA has impacted us more than the rest of society. Will society respect our views? Will the sine wave start returning us to the center? It will require statesmanship instead of partisanship. Stay tuned…

ADDENDUM:

Congrats to Linda for her suckout on the river in her limit game, last night. Yes, those are sour grapes from yours truly. I usually end up the suckoutee rather than the suckoutor at limit. But, then, I am a total donkey at limit and have said that too. It is strange in a way because I gotten hot on Omaha High which is suckout city. I’ve played it at Stars, Tilt, and Doyle. The limits I play at (only up to .25/.50) limit, pot, and no limit are a succession of suckouts. It is the description of OH; if you frown when they happen, you’ll have a new wrinkle line when you leave the table. The players are gamblers. It doesn’t make any difference if it is a short table or not. You will find people seeing just about every hand. And an hour of reading the Cloutier and McEvoy book will make you a better player than 80% of those at the table. It is just about impossible to find a OH table that isn’t juicy. But play at a level or two below your holdem comfort zone – there is more variance. And, in non-limit games, it is a good to use half buy-in technique. It is easy to lose a buy-in and then come back strong. This is an empirical view but I think you can make more BB per hour at cheap OH tables than multi-tabling limit and with less bankroll at risk. But, that’s a easily challenged thought to have. It is a very empirical view.

Iggy and I do have something in common.  We are both readers of The Register.  It is a geeky, tongue-in-cheek look at the world.  It confirms that English diverged — you may want to hire a translator at times.  I will beat Iggy to this one.  You’ll never look at bad beats the same way again.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 24th, 2006 at 8:28 am and is filed under Journal, Misc., Poker Thoughts, poker legislation. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.