I’m so glad that I chose to boycott Target. I never replaced it with a comparable retailer. So, political motives aside, my choice has freed me from the constant stream of disposabilia that one purchases in such stores. No more crap plasticware, or household items, or unneeded DVDs. And now that so many months have gone by, I really don’t even have an interest in those items. It makes me realize that the cumulative impact of just plain old consumerism can outweigh the sting of sharp slaps of hate politics that don’t actually affect my life in a meaningful way. Both are wrong, but one is more directly burdensome. Perhaps the politics of the trash can trump the politics of the bedroom after all.

It fascinates me that people believe there is some sort of contrast between the “inspiring” messages of Steve Jobs, like his Stanford commencement speech, and his ruthless, destructive style of doing business as reported in and around his newly-released biography. There’s no difference between Oprahfied messages about pursuing your dreams and radically self-serving behavior. Maximize one, and you maximize the other. If you’re going to sanctify self-involvement, don’t criticize it for attaining its natural outcome.