To the spirit of Terri Schiavo: I hope you're enjoying your new journey. I bet you're glad that your old body has finally been allowed to die. No more leftovers in baggage claim here so you're free. Bon voyage. Blessings to your children here and to your former mate as he tries to complete his own mortal life here. May the rest of your family find the peace they seem to have resisted for so long. Namaste.

Easter weekend at Home was terrific. I had a sleep over with two of my teenage nieces. We did some very mod egg decorating, went out for pizza, watched Finding Neverland to drool over Johnny Depp as well as have a good cry. I also got in on some Easter basket action as well as hiding eggs for the kids. I whooped and hollered with several family members during the NCAA basketball game which Kentucky eventually lost but man oh man it was exciting! It's always always always good to see my family, and also good to come back to my home again. It's all good.

The rest of this post is ranting. Feel free to bail out now.

Terri Schiavo
If God ever had a hand in her particular disposition, I dare say it could well have occurred in 1990 with the original cardiac arrest that left her brain dead. I don't see God's hand in anything that has happened since. I could be wrong. I don't know the mind of God. Neither do Schiavo's parents, neither do all the protestors, nor Florida legistators, nor the freakin Congress of the United States. Judging by the sound-bite mentality the masses have shown to have in the past, I'd wager that 99.9% of the people crying foul have NO idea of Schiavo's actual medical condition which emphatically shows she is gone. I don't know what should or should not be done in Terri Shiavo's case, but I do know that her husband has the legal responsibility for making the decision and everyone else is butting in. I also know that if I end up in a similar condition, I want everyone to just let my body die. I assure you, I will have already moved on. Yes, I have informed my spouse, parents and siblings of my wishes. I recommend everyone do the same. And, I for damned sure do NOT want any branch of the government deciding about me and my life or my death.

The Pope
He made an appearance at the window of the Vatican and sucked air like a goldfish out of water. I stand by my prediction that he is on his way out, very soon. I stand by my opinion that the Catholic Church may use that opportunity to make a big, much needed change. I stand by a choice to do just that, being Francis Arinze from Nigeria, who would be the first black pope. Although he may be conservative, his very skin would open a lot of long-closed and rigid minds. The Catholic Church will change or die. This is the same choice they handed out for so long. It's their turn. Paybacks are hell.

Resurrection
What an enticing drama. People seem to love diving into the woeful tale of an innocent Son of God dying a horrible death to save them. What a guilt trip too. I think they're missing the real point. It's not about the death, it's about the life. It's about how Jesus lived and how death did not mean the end. I believe he was trying to demonstrate the divinity available to all, living and after death. But, as is often the case, we've made a huge deal about the messenger and missed the message. As I've said, we seem to have trouble looking where God is actually pointing because we're so doggedly focused on his finger. woof

You scored as Fall. You are FALL. You appreciate all that you have, and are willing to share with others. You are a friend in the truest sense of the word, and can easily focus your attention on those who need you, placing yourself on the back burner. You make sure your responsibilites are met before you allow yourself 'free time'. Fall 85% Winter 70% Spring 55% Summer 50% What Season Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

Not a coincidence, it IS my favorite season.

I sometimes marvel (and chafe) at the excesses of American consumerism and our Capitalist drive toward bigger, better, and more expensive. I mean, part of me thinks: Couldn't every person in the whole world have proper food, clean water, protective clothing and shelter, if we didn't have a relatively small segment of the global population obsessing over the biggest house, the coolest toy, the shiniest bling, and the swankiest outfit?

But then I keep stepping myself back to look more objectively at how things really are, or more particularly, how humans really are.

I always thought Communism or Socialism looked really good on paper, with each person getting what they need and working as best suits their interests and abilities. From the schematics, it looks like an efficient machine. The problem is that in practical application there must be a governing engine and the cogs don't always want to do what works best for the whole machine. There must be a group at the top who "knows what's best" but they never really do, or power corrupts original intentions and they never achieve fair distribution of labor or goods and services. The real injury beyond failure to provide is the serious curtailing of freedom.

Though on paper Capitalism seems very selfish, advantageous to only the most ambitious, it actually comes closer to achieving the goals of Communism or Socialism, in practical application. And what about Democracy? Democracy and Capitalism must go hand in hand. Without Capitalism, Democracy has no economic structure to support goals of provision. Capitalism must have Democracy because it must have a free (ungoverned) market system.

Flawed as it is, Capitalism works. It works because people are flawed too. Human nature is more often greedy and ambitious, not charitable or fair-minded. It's driven by self-preservation and fear of loss, plus selfish interests in comfort. Although the vast majority of humans might help their brother in need, they are not as likely to help strangers, especially at their own expense. They will give generously only from their excess and Capitalism is all about striving for excess. Capitalism literally capitalizes on human tendencies, making the best of the worst. Oddly enough, I think it really is a case of two wrongs making a right.

I know it sounds a bit like Brave New World, but Captialism and the consumerism upon which it feeds is actually beneficial to mankind. Classic 'planned obsolescence' is a miracle for making last year's goods and services available to the masses. Sure the manufacturers are always changing up their product for more market share and bigger profits. The engineers are doing it to push the technology envelope. But, the end result is that more people in the world can afford a TV, for instance, because there's a market for the latest and greatest out on the leading edge. That leaves the older styles available for everyone else at a lower cost. Jobs are created to make the new toys, but jobs are still there to produce the old ones too, because there's always a lag between invention and market saturation. And by golly as long as there's a market, the capitalists will capitalize on it. The process of acquisition (consumerism) is the actual energy between the poles of supply and demand. It is natural for people to want more, different, and better. Using this drives them to make more, different, and better.

How does this benefit mankind? Let's look at TVs, a seeming luxury, although most of us in the First World cannot fathom life without them. Well, there's more to television than entertainment, it's a communication medium. Even while the entertainment scatters around the world, it builds common ground. That's what communication IS at its base, finding common ground. The more we do that, the more we come to understand each other, the more we can find commonalities to overcome our differences, then the more likely we are to get along with each other. The computer industry and the Internet is the current leading edge of communication. In some ways it's making television obsolete but again that makes television more available, and so on. As the Third World gets wired, they move closer to the First World in knowledge, experience, and opportunity. The playing field may become a bit more level.

I don't think everyone will ever catch up, because the bar is always being raised. But, step by step the whole world is lifted gradually BECAUSE of the excesses of a few, BECAUSE of the drive at the 'top'. Precisely BECAUSE of the avarice and ambition of a minority, the majority can eventually acquire what they need and find work that suits their talents and abilities.

Reagan's Trick-Down Economics caught a lot of flack, but the theory works. Yes, in a perfect world it might be better to distribute wealth and goods differently, but this world is filled with imperfect beings, as part of our individuality. So why not capitalize on that and ultimately make our worst tendencies work for the greater good?

I've said it before but I must say it again --- Reality shows bear no resemblance to reality... and neither does the news. Surely most people realize the reality shows aren't real, but what the news media presents is just as distorted, and I'm not sure folks realize it. If a 'news' event was a usual and customary activity from everyday life, it wouldn't make the news. They only report the sensational, and unfortunately they seem very fond of the negatively sensational. I wish the news hounds would chase good news as doggedly as they sniff out bad news.

The media doesn't talk about ordinary life but by plastering the anomalies on the evening news people are misled into thinking their lives are full of these anomalous events. They aren't. We hear about murders in the news daily, but how many real peoples' lives are actually touched by a murder ever, much less daily? I'd like to see the news reported more realistically, in context. If they report one school shooting, I think they should be required to report the number of schools that went through the day with no shooting. I'm not saying that we should discount lives lost or affected by such events, but give it some perspective, instead of making it sound as though these things happen on everyone's doorstep, all day, everyday. They don't.

It would get really boring really quickly if the media had to report the statistics, if they had to reveal the actual percentages of the incidents they report relative to the actual experiences of the rest of the six and a half billion people living ordinary everyday lives on this planet.

But it's not the media's fault. It's human nature to get all caught up in drama. We really need to get over it. Addiction to drama is what causes dramatic events, whether we're committing them or revelling in the reporting of them. For heaven's sake... for humanity's sake... read a freakin book, watch a movie, have a nightmare. Get yourself a good cry or knee jerk reaction or shiver of fear or fit of rage without actually doing damage or waiting for someone to do it so you can drool over it or feel better because it didn't happen to you.

We now have the capability of synthesizing human experience so convincingly that we don't have to do the actual harm necessary for getting the adrenalin fix. Sheesh Can't we start doing all this crap to each other from memory, getting the emotional fix virtually if we need it, then just move on? Let's skip the vicarious thrill of feeding off the real-life tragedy of a few. It's twisted. We should have evolved past this.

The plot is worn. I don't need the drama. I don't understand people who do. I feel quite alive without it. And when I don't, I write myself a little story or find one to suit, then go on living my real life.