The Function of Poetry

"X, F(X), thou
Art like good health; I never knew till now
How precious, till I lost thee. Now I see
The beauty whole, because I yearn for thee."

Everybody has an 'X' to yearn for. A place, a country, a person...

Me too.

From private to public puritanism

Back in the sixties, JFK's affairs were not disseminated easily and widely, even though they were well known to the reporters. There was a kind of decorum in public news, especially when related to officials. Indeed, voters had the right to know, but not at the expense of privacy.
The mass-media culture eliminated privacy. Now news consumers (not voters) have the right to know every step of public people. When the Tiger Woods' scandal exploded in late November, 2009, in just few days he lost not only his wife and stainless reputation, but also contracts for about $90 million (see: WSJ "AT&T Severs Ties With Woods").
Puritanism is still strong in American society. The society is still sensitive to cases of adultery and insincerity (see also Clinton's case). In contrast, in one big Central European country the former Prime Minister could cheat to his wife for severalm months and then change her for a twenty-something years old girl, and... nobody cares. "It is his 'private' business", it is said ('private' here means not intended to be published).
Some degree of puritanism may be healthy in democracy and public life as an incentive for virtue. However neither private nor public puritanism is a virtue: prudence (the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs) and temperance (the practice of moderation) are the missing virtues.

New Year's sound of silence

Have you ever heard silence? Yes: silence. To hear "silence" is different than to hear "nothing". You hear silence when you are expecting to hear something, but instead you can't hear anything. That's exactly what happens to non-Americans in America during New Year.
In some big cities like New York, LA and San Francisco there are public celebrations (simple by any measure). However, most Americans celebrate at home, with a bottle of champagne and watching a movie. At midnight no music, no people on the street, put aside fireworks, which are forbidden in California. Silence.
What's missing here? Alas, the celebration of New Year should be very PC...