"Brahouna! Brahouna, Takaru!"

While reading my novel of the month, "Player Piano" by the infamous satirist Kurt Vonnegut, who also deserved an Academy Award for his appearance in Back to School, if you ask me. There is a character known as the Shah of Bratpuhr who refers to the common working man as "Takaru," translated in his native tongue means "slaves". For those of you who would like more backstory on the Shah of Bratpuhr, pick up a damn book. Or, since I'm in a good mood, I'll give you a crash course. He visits America to find ways to improve the life of his country, but finds that the more he sees, the more citizens he classifies as "slaves". In his country there is no word for citizen.

But on to today's lecture, kiddies. Why, in a world of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do just about whatever you want (within reason of course), should we live as proverbial slaves? Why not break free of the mold once in a while. I'm not saying we should abandon the social norms, start a revolution and raise hell the likes of which have never been seen... But I am to an extent, the more I think about it. You can go about your life through the usual 9-5 grindstone, and live a drab life, and not do anything, or you can live.

The Shah of Bratpuhr told the average everyday worker to live, as demonstrated in the passage: " 'Brahouna!' cried the Shah cheerfully. He waved. 'Brahouna, Takaru.' 'Live,' translated Krashdrahr." (Player Piano. p. 169). He cheerfully calls to the citizens, who he sees as slaves, to live. Is that so much of a challenge that we can't do it? Must we simply live our lives through our work, as the characters do in the novel? Slaves to our industry?

Learn to love life. Because without a joie de vivre, you might as well chain yourself to your work, and that's not living... That's turning yourself into a slave.

So get busy livin' or get busy dyin', either way, you're gonna end up in the same place; just a matter of if you enjoyed your trip.