Sometimes, I just shake my head...

I listen to the news. A lot. On the radio, on the TV, and I'm a digital person too -- cnn.com, sfgate.com, a number of international sites, etc., etc. (I also do the New York Times digitally, since I'm a subscriber to their "real" newspaper...)

What I've been hearing and seeing and reading lately just blows my mind. One would think that, after all these years, being the cynical, worldly person that I am, a woman of mature years, I would not be shocked or amazed or even worried about anything I could possibly glean from all these sources. And, truly, I wouldn't say I'm often shocked. Amazed, occasionally. Worried, frequently. But, then, being a student of history, I take comfort in the fact that it's all been seen and said and done before.

What made me just roll my eyes and shake my head this morning was the item (which has been bouncing around for a couple of days, or more) that Mr. Assad, the head of Syria (is his first name Bashar? Bashir?), has or is considering lifting the "emergency" declaration . . . which has been in effect for -- get this -- fifty (50) years. How, pray tell, can an "emergency" last for 50 years? Isn't the nature of an emergency kind of a "right now" thing? I suppose that "right now" could, on the other side of The Great Wormhole, last 50 years, but in our time plane, not so much (at least in my little head).

And, good old Prince Ali (of Saudi Arabia), big-time investor in many US companies, talking on some TV program (maybe yesterday) about how bad it is that women in his country can't do so many things. Yup, terrible, I'm so with you, guy. (So, my friend, what are you doing about it?) Crocodile tears?

And, here in the USA, I am just rolling my eyes and reaching for my Tums every time I see The Donald, talking about his potential presidential bid. Now, I've said many times that I'm outta here if such-and-such happens. The Donald in the White House just might be the tipping point (to use a "today" phrase). The idea that he is even taken semi-seriously, even by the lunatic fringe, is enough to make me go back to eating gluten-containing food. (I figure that the world is going to hell so I might as well live it up for the final few years.) Even if he weren't such a jerk, the idea of a real estate developer in any position in power is frightening. Oh, and today's item on The Donald, on some website, was that Donald says he's worth as much as he feels. OK, then, it's an interesting way to calculate one's net worth. I'm there... Oy!!!

On the up side, my kitties still are their own cute selves, my spouse is just slightly battered and bruised (after falling -- twice -- off the roof of the garage he's fixing, up at the Berkeley house), the children are (as far as I can tell) doing well, my car still runs, there's food in the kitchen, my clothes still fit (they're a little tighter than I'd like), and the black helicopters haven't shown up over my house . . . yet.

It's Good Friday, and Sunday is Easter. I wish we -- in my family -- had some sort of tradition that we could celebrate. Perhaps we'll just have to go with the lifting of the Syrian "emergency" law... You take what you can get, sometimes!

The Great Divide . . . Maybe

Did you all think I had dropped off the face of the earth? Close, but not quite... I looked at my last post, which I wrote in May 2010, where I promised that I'd write soon. OK, from an historian's point of view, this is soon... That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I've been sucked into the Facebook nation, and have devoted much of my ranting to that site. For shame. I promise (for what it's worth) to do better. Perhaps I'll just post links and rants in both places. Perhaps all this sharing and media and social networking is too much. Perhaps perhaps perhaps.

In any event, I'm pasting in, below, a "note" (FB terminology) that I wrote this morning and put on FB, because I got seriously whipped up. This is not something new for me, it's something that's been eating away at me for quite a while... But, this morning, the two stories were too close for me to ignore...

What do you think?

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The Great Divide... maybe...

by Elinora Mantovani on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 9:09am

So, this morning, while munching on my very excellent gluten-free breakfast, we were watching the local TV news. There was yet another episode of a local story -- folks lining up at one of the local athletic stadiums (or is that stadia?), hoping to be able to get in and receive some free medical care. This wonderful group, Remote Area Medical, is organizing the event. I don't know if any of you have ever heard anything about this group, but they are worth supporting. I first heard of them a couple of years ago, I think it was on "60 Minutes". In that episode, the group was off in some "third world" country helping the natives. The next time I heard of them, they were doing the same thing, but here in the US. And, now, again, here in the US.

I just shake my head when I see folks in my own country, allegedly the best country in the world, having to rely on groups like this to afford BASIC medical care -- I mean the most basic check-ups: vision, dental, medical. What is up with us, as a people, that we have let a significant sector of our fellow citizens fall into this situation? It makes me just ill. This is not to say that Americans aren't generous -- we are, on an individual basis. But, as a society, I think, over the past few decades, we've become very self-centered, "me" centered. You know, the whole "it's my money and no one else gets any of it" kind of thinking. I'm not necessarily talking about paying or not paying taxes, or seeking to evade taxes, or the TEA Party nonsense... It's a turning inward that worries me.

Anyway, right after the bit about people waiting on the sidewalk, in the damp, cold, dark night, for a chance to get their teeth checked, their eyes checked, whatever, there was a nice little story on the 2010 pay for various CEOs (including both cash and stock compensation). The pay ranged from about $28Million to about $80+ Million a year. Pray tell me, what in the name of all that's holy could these yutzes do that warrants that kind of pay? Really... I know, I know . . . stewardship of money and the increase thereof is valued far more in our society than stewardship of our children, our resources, our fellow citizens.

This gets me thinking about what's ahead for a society that continues like this. I saw, last week, a re-broadcast of a documentary, "The Crumbling of America" (on the History Channel). Our national infrastructure is rotting, in case you haven't seen that or heard about that, and cities, counties, states and the Federal government cannot afford to fix it. "No new taxes", you know. We cannot afford -- or do not choose to afford -- to ensure that our children have enough to eat, that our schools have enough money to teach our children, that our teachers are paid decently (at least enough to cover all those school supplies and boxes of tissues that they end up paying for out of their own pockets), blah blah blah . . . You've heard all this before.

I studied history growing up, and have continued to study it. This situation does not bode well for our country. At some point, the system falls apart. (Well, some of us think it already has, or is starting to.) (Just look at the state government nonsense that's gone on in several states lately, to say nothing of the stand-off and insanity in D.C.) (Re: Senator Kyl -- of Arizona, I think -- making a patently, fully, totally untrue statement about Planned Parenthood on the floor of the Senate, in connection with funding cuts; his office said, later, that the senator's statement wasn't meant to be a factual statement . . . back in the day, we'd call that a willful and intentional lie.) (Nice guy.)

Anyway, yes, history can teach us lots of lessons. This will not end well. We will ALL have a part in pulling the house down on our heads, if we don't ALL start ensuring that the house will stand the coming storms. But, maybe it will take an economic, social and spiritual tsunami, and resulting death and destruction, to wake us from our selfish, self-centered, morally bankrupt system. Stop thinking day to day, quarter to quarter, and measuring every damn thing in dollars, for goodness' sakes! (I remember, years ago, hearing the news report on some disaster or other, maybe a tornado or a fire, and the only way the newscaster could characterize the damage was "the damage is estimated to be in the millions"... What about the people who died, the families who lost everything? I remember thinking at the time that this way of looking at events really sucked, and it offended me horribly.)

Friends, I urge each of you to think about how you live your lives, what you do to address these inequities, and what you want for your country's future. The answers will be totally yours. I think about this every day, and I am sad to say that, to date, I have not lived up to my own expectations . . . I could do more, should do more, and maybe I can begin by speaking out.

What do you think?