Weekend Assignment: Are You Independent?
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, July 4, 2008
Karen asks on this anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: How independent are you? Is it a good thing?
I work as a freelancer, which is about as independent as you can get. It's a good thing and a bad thing. The good is that I can set my own hours. While Chris was in school I had time to run down and watch him in a play or help inside the classroom. If he ever needed a breathing treatment I was close by. I also have asthma, so it's nice to be able to drop everything and go to the doctor if I need to without fear of retribution by my employer. (Yes, I worked at a place like that once.)
One of the best things about my job is the commute. Two cats in the hallway is the heaviest traffic I encounter on the way to work. I can work from the bed or the couch if I want - and I have at times when I've hurt my knee.
The downside: The work isn't steady. It seems to be either feast or famine, and right now with the economy the way it is I'm not getting a lot of new work right now. That will change. It always does. I don't have health insurance, but Paul has a good plan. If he didn't, then I'd have to work outside of the house.
The biggest downside is the fact that I can work from anywhere in the house. It means that if a client has a problem, I'm here to fix it, even if it's late at night. That doesn't happen very often. And, of course, if I get a brilliant idea on something I'm writing, then sometimes I'm at the computer half the night. I sometimes have a real problem separating my work time from my leisure time. But (again, a plus for working at home) if I get fed up I can walk away from the computer any time unless I'm on a tight deadline.
Extra Credit: If you were to write some sort of Declaration today, what truths would you hold to be self-evident?
Sadly, it would be that all people are created equal. I say "sadly," because some people are still more equal than others. I suppose that even in a democracy that's bound to happen, but gender, skin color, or income (or a dozen other things) shouldn't be a barrier to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Another truth I'd have to declare is that we have a Constitution, and the Bill of Rights guarantees our most precious freedoms, the foremost of which is free speech. I'd also like to point out that it should be evident that we're a nation of laws and that this is not a police state. Photographers are treated like terrorists. And let's not even get into warrantless surveillance. Frivolous lawsuits abound. While the truth is the absolute defense against defamation claims, people still have to pony up the money to defend themselves in court, which (IMO) means that the truth is for sale to the person with the most money. Yes, a journalist or blogger has a moral and legal obligation to tell the truth, and we all have a right to protect our reputations. It's simply my opinon (and I'm not pointing to anything or anyone specific here) that the sheer number of these suits has a chilling effect on free speech. Free speech shouldn't be for sale to whoever can afford lawyers. Nothing against lawyers, or the fine folks at the EFF who fight for free speech every day. But it does seem to me that free speech is rapidly falling into the exclusive provence of those who can afford it. That, my friends, is not what the founders of this country had in mind.
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Karen Funk Blocher said:
I answered a phone survey last week that was entirely automated (press one for "very favorable"). It was mostly liberal vs. conservative questions. What shocked me was that it asked two questions about whether I'd be in favor of scrapping the US Constitution and starting over. What???!!! Scary stuff! In fact, I think I'll go write about that. I feel a rant coming on myself!
Date: 7/4/2008 8:11:46 PM
Date: 7/4/2008 8:11:46 PM
Karen Funk Blocher said:
I answered a phone survey last week that was entirely automated (press one for "very favorable"). It was mostly liberal vs. conservative questions. What shocked me was that it asked two questions about whether I'd be in favor of scrapping the US Constitution and starting over. What???!!! Scary stuff! In fact, I think I'll go write about that. I feel a rant coming on myself!
Date: 7/4/2008 8:11:46 PM
Date: 7/4/2008 8:11:46 PM
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