Great American Think Off

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Yesterday, listening to the radio on the way in to work, there was a report about "The Great American Think-Off." I was all ears, not least because of the slightly-ridiculous name. No solemn academic could ever have had the wit to create so inflated and lofty a title ... the title alone has a touch of Monty Python and I like tongue-in-cheek stuff that addresses what may be serious issues.

Back-of-the-cereal box philosophy -- I love it. Ordinary people -- people who often think privately what they do not express publicly -- invited to expound on this year's topic: "Is it ever wrong to do the right thing?" The topic doesn't interest me as much as the circumstances into which contestants are invited: A small Minnesota town; townspeople turning out to listen to the debate that will occur among the four contestants who enter the most interesting 750-word essays; and finally the chance to be crowned (by the audience) "America's Greatest Thinker for 2009." It's ludicrous, it is serious, and I love it.

It has been a while since I had much fun, so today I will try my hand at it all. Trying to keep the Buddhist stuff at bay. Squeezing my blabber mouth into 750 or fewer words. And being utterly willing to lose at something I love. The contest invites entries that come out of personal experience rather than philosophical argumentation and, being the old fart my son assures me that I am, I have a tale to tell, though I'm not sure exactly how much on-topic it will be.

Well, the devil is in the details, so, if I want to get this done before I go to work, I'd better get cracking.

If anyone wants to join the fray, here's the link: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2157796/posts
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