Desiring Machine

The world seems awash in poker metaphors these days. These are interesting, often trite, but meaningful nonetheless. I don’t have much to add to the discussion but it is a topic that has consumed me for awhile. The sheer poetry of poker is a fundamental theme in American culture. The song that best captures it for me is “Loser” by the Grateful Dead.

All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars,
and I could pay you back with one good hand.
You can look around about the wide world over,
and you’ll never find another honest man.

This line sums it up for me. The promise of the next moment. The turn of the card. The eternal optimism of the loser. Whatever the consequences, this seems like the most correct way to live life and it is quintessential to the spirit of americana. Or maybe that is just a silly romantic notion I just can’t shirk. But when you have been down so long you only have upwards to look. And what can be better for the soul than a spirit of renewal and rebirth, an opportunity to start over, and fix things anew? That is how I feel about this upcoming political season. Frankly the Bush presidency doesn’t have me down anymore. I know that 2008 will bring a turn of the cards, and all it takes is one good hand and this country will be back on track.

Others have criticized Bush and compared his actions to a desperate gambler. Kos blog makes pretty compelling poker analogy about the Republicans and the war. But I don’t think this is giving enough credit to gamblers. These metaphors while seemingly apt, are a little too pretentious to me. Bush certainly is a degenerate gambler, but I don’t think he encapuslates the more positive aspects of the game. And it is a shame to draw the analogy. Bush and the behavior of his cronies strike me more as assuming the characteristics of card sharps, the deck is stacked and they behave with such arrogance because they truly know the next card in the deck. The people are being taken for a ride because they are operating under the assumption of a fair deal. There is another side to it. The election cycle represents a reshuffle of the cards and a reinvigorated determination on the part of the American public.

Don’t you push me baby
because I’m moaning low
I know a little something
you won’t ever know
Don’t you touch hard liquor just
a cup of cold coffee
Gonna get up
in the morning and go

And that is it isn’t it? “I know a little something you won’t ever know…” Only experience can reap positive benefits. There is a moment of truth in this experience. An appreciation of the randomness of life. A reassertion of positive determination. No liquor and distraction for me, just some cold coffee and I am going to refocus my efforts and get up and go.

This is americana and this is what makes this country great. It is not the cynicism, the cheats, and the desperation. It is the people who look at things with a clear head, redouble their efforts and work positively towards a new, brighter future. There is a little gamble in everything because the future is unknown. But there is something positively constructive about this American optimism.

I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines
Come to Daddy on an inside straight
I got no chance of losing this time

Ok enough rambling on my part. I will leave you with an early performance of Loser by the Dead.