1. The Rubber Duck
What do you believe sums up the 20th century? Why not email me and tell me what you think at matt@interconnected.org	The Twentieth Century has seen the emergence of leisure as a valid expression of our political freedom. Before this glorious hundred years, leisure was decadent - a rude gesture of superiority from the upper classes to the working classes. It was a symbol of derision, a kind of 'Look at me, I can afford to do nothing.'      Now, life is different. Leisure has become a right for all our citizens. It is no longer wasteful, but rather a particular way of contributing to the workings of this market driven society. Leisure is, in itself, a method of participation. It is a just expression, and a symbol of our freedom. Nothing sums this up better than the rubber duck. A bath, initially, was a necessity; a way to stave off death by keeping clean from dirt and infection. Now that, too, has become leisure, on top of this we place toys and games.      How insulting to those in our past where when they fought the Plague with the bath, we fight boredom. Or perhaps, not how insulting, but how thanking we are. Each bath we have serves as a testament to the work done by those before us, on whose labours we stand able to live, and to play. The rubber duck is the altar at which we worship our ancestors.      Let us pray.     Front page      |      Exit