House of Cards

If it was on HBO, it'd be the biggest show on television.

Ambition and intrigue, the linchpins of modern life. Throw in a little gossip and you've got the local office as well as the White House. It's universal. We're all trying to get ahead and get along.

But there are early adopters and those who go with the flow. And reporters who want to be famous and those who just want a paycheck. And you only get famous if you tell a story everybody can relate to, and the paycheck comes from serving those with the biggest agenda. So people don't want to report the story of Netflix's series because so many people still can't stream, they can't fathom being delivered 13 episodes all at once, they need to be behind the curve, not in front of it.

I have two friends without smartphones. They think they don't need them. The truth is we only need food and water, and a little shelter, but if you want to play in this game, you need the tools.

And a smartphone is only one of them.

The others are cogitation and the ability to get along and gain information.

Life is a game, enjoy it while you're playing it.

If you think it's about money, you're too busy keeping score.

But no one remembers who wins the Oscar, but they do remember seeing the film.

Your life is a movie, you'd better enjoy it.

And the truth is many people never figure out how to play. The sour grapes patrol point to their upbringing and some bad breaks to explain why they're not where they want to be. Whereas winners lose, pick themselves up, dust themselves off and get back into the arena.

Like Frank Underwood.

We like a linear story. We like "Rocky." You start nowhere, you triumph, and then you live off your endorsements and good will.

But the truth is life is more complicated than that. You don't get laid by every person you proposition. You invest with people you trust and you lose everything. If you haven't been left holding the bag, you haven't played.

Yes, it's scary.

But thrilling.

And that's what "House of Cards" is all about. Staying in motion, playing to your own agenda, seeing if you can move ahead on the board.

Pledging fealty to the corporation is so 1950s. Everybody knows the corporation is no longer to be trusted, your ass will get fired and your pension will be stolen. The story of America is it's every person for himself.

But we don't like to believe this, no one likes to say this. And those who know it want to keep the lid tamped down. That's the main worry of the rich, not that you'll expose their assets, but you'll figure it all out, how they made it.

We all want to make it. Our goals might not be similar, but the nature of life is you start here and you want to go there. How do we achieve this?

You can experience tension in a spy film.

But most people are never going to be spies.

Fantasies are good for escape.

But what truly rivets us is that which we can relate to, which edifies us.

The people on "House of Cards" are imperfect. But they're trying. They understand loyalty and manipulation and there hasn't been anything this good on television since the "Sopranos."

Just like newspapers cling to their old model of print and advertising, despite classifieds going to Craigslist and news being available instantly online, many people cling to the past, fearful of the unknown future.

We all come along eventually, but the early adopters pave the way and if you want to play, you've got to pick up and move. Used to be you could wait, but no one buys a car with crank windows anymore, electric ones don't break, everything works from the first iteration.

So sign up for Netflix, just to see this series.

And when we get together for a drink not only will we discuss plot points, but our own personal choices, how we see the game we're playing, how we're gonna get ahead.

Admit it, that's what you want.


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