Crazy times. Politicos in Indiana must be reading George
Orwell and picking up on the perverse ways language can be used to turn logic
on its head. Indiana’s “Religious Freedom” act is designed to allow business
owners to discriminate against same-sex couples, though what this has to do
with religious freedom I don’t know. I guess it’s too upsetting for Indiana’s
pious Christians to dine alongside same-sex couples.
Will this weirdness never end? Same-sex couples don’t bother
me in the least. What bothers me is the fact that the United States is still
mucking around in Afghanistan, fourteen years after invading the country in
search of terrorists. I’m also bothered – but certainly not surprised – by the
lack of media coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis. Millions of people have
been displaced, uprooted from their homes and livelihoods and kin. It’s an
enormous human tragedy, particularly for children. I’m bothered by the fact
that the US penal colony at Guantanamo Bay is still operating, at enormous
expense and dubious benefit. I’m bothered that a nitwit like Ted Cruz thinks
he’s presidential material…that the man holds a seat in the US Senate is
insulting enough.
My list of grievances is long. Fools and fuck-ups are at the
helm and steering us straight at the iceberg. Everyday they write another tale
of ordinary madness. We bleed from a thousand wounds without realizing we’ve
been cut.
The thinking that landed us in an
economic-environmental-political-military shithole is not up to the task of
getting us out. Time to change the music.
Is there any realistic chance of this happening? Probably
not. The ruling elites are very well entrenched and content with the status
quo. One look at who the likely presidential candidates are in 2016, Hillary
Clinton and Jeb Bush, a pair of tarnished political retreads, is proof enough
that significant change isn’t in the cards. Our political leaders keep doubling
down on failed – or stupid – ideas, all in the name of maintaining their power.
Closer to home, and of more immediate impact, California’s
governor has finally called for mandatory cutbacks in water consumption. Why it
took Jerry Brown this long to act is curious, but late is better than never.
When I was in Riverside last weekend, a waitress serving my breakfast brought a
tall glass of water that I didn’t request, and while I was driving along a
suburban street I saw a man washing his car in his driveway, an image that
shocked me. Don’t they understand the magnitude of our situation? All anyone
has to do is look at the nearest creek, river, or reservoir.
*With a nod to Allen Ginsberg
No comments:
Post a Comment