What
|
the
|
syndicate
|
wanted
|
to
|
do,
|
in
|
other
|
words,
|
was
|
turn
|
my
|
comic
|
strip
|
into
|
everything
|
calculated,
|
empty
|
and
|
robotic
|
that
|
I
|
hated
|
about
|
my
|
old
|
job.
|
They
|
would
|
turn
|
my
|
characters
|
into
|
television
|
hucksters
|
and
|
t-shirt
|
sloganeers
|
and
|
deprive
|
me
|
of
|
characters
|
that
|
actually
|
expressed
|
my
|
own
|
thoughts.
|
On
|
those
|
terms,
|
I
|
found
|
the
|
offer
|
easy
|
to
|
refuse.
|
Unfortunately,
|
the
|
syndicate
|
also
|
found
|
my
|
refusal
|
easy
|
to
|
refuse,
|
and
|
we've
|
been
|
fighting
|
for
|
over
|
three
|
years
|
now.
|
Such
|
is
|
American
|
business,
|
I
|
guess,
|
where
|
the
|
desire
|
for
|
obscene
|
profit
|
mutes
|
any
|
discussion
|
of
|
conscience.
|
You
|
will
|
find
|
your
|
own
|
ethical
|
dilemmas
|
in
|
all
|
parts
|
of
|
your
|
lives,
|
both
|
personal
|
and
|
professional.
|
We
|
all
|
have
|
different
|
desires
|
and
|
needs,
|
but
|
if
|
we
|
don't
|
discover
|
what
|
we
|
want
|
from
|
ourselves
|
and
|
what
|
we
|
stand
|
for,
|
we
|
will
|
live
|
passively
|
and
|
unfulfilled.
|
Sooner
|
or
|
later,
|
we
|
are
|
all
|
asked
|
to
|
compromise
|
ourselves
|
and
|
the
|
things
|
we
|
care
|
about.
|
We
|
define
|
ourselves
|
by
|
our
|
actions.
|
With
|
each
|
decision,
|
we
|
tell
|
ourselves
|
and
|
the
|
world
|
who
|
we
|
are.
|
Think
|
about
|
what
|
you
|
want
|
out
|
of
|
this
|
life,
|
and
|
recognize
|
that
|
there
|
are
|
many
|
kinds
|
of
|
success.
|
Many
|
of
|
you
|
will
|
be
|
going
|
on
|
to
|
law
|
school,
|
business
|
school,
|
medical
|
school,
|
or
|
other
|
graduate
|
work,
|
and
|
you
|
can
|
expect
|
the
|
kind
|
of
|
starting
|
salary
|
that,
|
with
|
luck,
|
will
|
allow
|
you
|
to
|
pay
|
off
|
your
|
own
|
tuition
|
debts
|
within
|
your
|
own
|
lifetime.
|
But
|
having
|
an
|
enviable
|
career
|
is
|
one
|
thing,
|
and
|
being
|
a
|
happy
|
person
|
is
|
another.
|
Creating
|
a
|
life
|
that
|
reflects
|
your
|
values
|
and
|
satisfies
|
your
|
soul
|
is
|
a
|
rare
|
achievement.
|
In
|
a
|
culture
|
that
|
relentlessly
|
promotes
|
avarice
|
and
|
excess
|
as
|
the
|
good
|
life,
|
a
|
person
|
happy
|
doing
|
his
|
own
|
work
|
is
|
usually
|
considered
|
an
|
eccentric,
|
if
|
not
|
a
|
subversive.
|
Ambition
|
is
|
only
|
understood
|
if
|
it's
|
to
|
rise
|
to
|
the
|
top
|
of
|
some
|
imaginary
|
ladder
|
of
|
success.
|
Someone
|
who
|
takes
|
an
|
undemanding
|
job
|
because
|
it
|
affords
|
him
|
the
|
time
|
to
|
pursue
|
other
|
interests
|
and
|
activities
|
is
|
considered
|
a
|
flake.
|
A
|
person
|
who
|
abandons
|
a
|
career
|
in
|
order
|
to
|
stay
|
home
|
and
|
raise
|
children
|
is
|
considered
|
not
|
to
|
be
|
living
|
up
|
to
|
his
|
potential --
|
as
|
if
|
a
|
job
|
title
|
and
|
salary
|
are
|
the
|
sole
|
measures
|
of
|
human
|
worth.
|
You'll
|
be
|
told
|
in
|
a
|
hundred
|
ways,
|
some
|
subtle
|
and
|
some
|
not,
|
to
|
keep
|
climbing,
|
and
|
never
|
be
|
satisfied
|
with
|
where
|
you
|
are,
|
who
|
you
|
are,
|
and
|
what
|
you're
|
doing.
|
There
|
are
|
a
|
million
|
ways
|
to
|
sell
|
yourself
|
out,
|
and
|
I
|
guarantee
|
you'll
|
hear
|
about
|
them.
|
To
|
invent
|
your
|
own
|
life's
|
meaning
|
is
|
not
|
easy,
|
but
|
it's
|
still
|
allowed,
|
and
|
I
|
think
|
you'll
|
be
|
happier
|
for
|
the
|
trouble.
|
|
Bill
|
Watterson
|
Kenyon
|
College
|
Commencement
|
1990
|
|
|