Straight Edge Life

Eugene is a good place. I don’t give Eugene nearly enough credit. Actually, I bitch about it quite a lot. I probably shouldn’t.

Get this… I was down at my current job site today, having a meeting with some of the bigwigs when we started casually talking about how messed up “the system” has become. Specifically how that, due to recent cuts in budgets and changes in legal statute, accused criminals can actually be rewarded for doing things that previously they were punished for in court. I won’t say what exactly because every meth cook in town will take advantage of it and run around with boxes of sudafed under their arms… but I assure you it’s NOT COOL.

I sat in awe as they discussed the ethics of making these loopholes public. Yes, technically it’s in the criminal’s best interest, but it’s also basically the same as dodging the court system entirely. Is it ethical to make this information available?

To add to the madness of this conversation I realized that letting the accused in on the loophole may be in best interest of the accused but not in the best interest of the people in the room with me. For financial reasons. It was a heavy conversation. I suggested that I program an ethical decision making matrix that would always round up. Luckily the folks in the room got the joke and we moved on to more important subjects.

But my whole point in this is that things are always more complex than we think. Especially in Eugene, Oregon. You think you can save money by cutting a “bloated” budget for the DA’s office. You ask the local newspaper to solicit a poll about which crimes should be prosecuted and which shouldn’t. You go to the voting booth and make a mark in a box. But you don’t know, the voter doesn’t know what they are doing or what the implications are. And you can’t figure it out from TV ads or voter’s pamphlets. You have to be smart, you have to listen, and you may just need to be in the right place at the right time.

Well, this is how I feel about Eugene. It’s the right place at the right time. Frustrating, awe inspiring and complex. Yes, Eugene is full of morons just like any other town. We’ve got our share of all kinds of idiots, trust me. I deal with them everyday on the roads. Don’t focus on that though… open your ears and you will hear conversations. People talk about things here. The place is small enough that people can stay in the loop without too much trouble. Just open your eyes and eavesdrop on that conversation next to you at the cafe. You’re probably listening to a judge or a prominent politician. You’d never know by looking at them, but this town is small. You probably have more influence than you realize.