with the universe by which he justifies his existence to himself. Everybody has to feel they’ re making some contribution to society, if only to maintain self-esteem. Even those who work in a missile factory must rationalize, “Well, the United States needs to have a strong defense.” It’ s an absurd age we live in. Future Shock is already an outdated book. Children whose shoes stay on their feet by the grace of Velcro may never experience the thrill of tying their shoelaces in the dark. They have developed a fast-food approach to perceiving time because all they know is digital clocks. Time goes click, click, and if the power goes off they think that 12:00-12:00-12:00 is appliance language for “Help! Help! Help! Turn me back to the right time! Help! Help! Help!” Kids have lost that certain sense of time in motion, going around and around, eternally. That concept is endangered, just like the whooping crane. But we can all be grateful to the Pacer, for he is the Keeper of the Counter-Clockwise. 7hat is his spiritual calling. But the Pacer doesn’ t have a cardboard box for people to drop money into—he walks around in circles out of the goodness of his heart. kok OF The Mime and the Pacer provide a perfect metaphor for the two- party system in America. The Republicans are like the Mime, standing HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_015187