Frequently, I'm known to be reflective about the world around me.
Of late, I have become increasingly pessimistic and cynical about the state of the world around me.
Why is it that the demise of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears takes precedence over real and serious topics that are impacting or will impact our lives?
Speaking of blonde bobble heads, I'm utterly disgusted by the women of "The Real Housewives of Orange County". As has been the trend, these are the women that will live on in syndication around the world espousing the American dream! These are the bobble heads that make Americans look badly to the rest of the world. One of the bobble heads went on a family trip to Hawaii with her fiance' George and a passel of children. I seriously doubt that any of the families depicted on this show really know or understand what the hell is going on in the rest of the REAL world and just how lucky they really are to live behind those fancy iron gates in Coto, California. Why not take a family trip to East Los Angeles, Ciudad Juarez, a small village in China or even Lagos, Africa to see the acrid, horrid, violent condition that most of the people on earth have to face each and every day. Then, you would understand why people scratch and claw their way into this great country of ours. I'm not a proponent of illegal immigration, but why not make it easier for everyone to become legitimate, tax paying US citizens?!...and for those of us who are natural born US citizens, seeing how things are in the rest of the world would definitely make you appreciative of what we have. Yes, there's dysfunction and idiot bureaucracy, but at least we don't' have to herd our children together and lock them in cages each night to keep them safe from pillaging pedophile warlords. Yes, that's actually happening in Rwanda.
Why am I picking on the poor rich, pampered stay at home housewives? *sigh* Because it seems to me that most of them are happy to be myopic and simply focus on getting from McDonald's to soccer practice or making it to their pilates class on time and their kids are more concerned about how many friends they have on their MySpace page. *sigh* A nation of bobble heads is raised.
So, what topics should we be concerned with right now? Water, Fuel and Transportation.
You don't have to be a Rhode Scholar to ask yourself, "Who is in charge of water in the US?" and "Who is in charge of fuel in the US?" Answer: The US Department of the Interior. Start there and start digging for the answers. Talk to your co-workers, family and friends about these3 topics? What happens when the water runs out? What happens when we run out of fossil fuel? What happens when the vehicles we use to transport our goods are not compatible with fuel sources?
TRANSPORTATION is king! It's how the rutabagas make it from the farm to the grocery store. It's how iPods are transported from China to the US. It's not magic.
I mean that's why we are really squabbling with the Middle East...OIL and Fossil Fuel.
Why not free ourselves from our fossil fuel dependency like Brasil has already done? I blame Cheney and Bush (figurehead) and all their oil company cronies for all this. We can easily free ourselves, but the politics behind doing that are all tied to M O N E Y! Honestly, I don't understand how these schmucks sleep at night!
You see the semi-trucks that haul the produce and products that we enjoy on a daily basis use DIESEL fuel. At some point, SOMEONE will have to figure out an alternative fuel and retrofit these semis so that the food keeps on moving. Otherwise, all those lovely housewives will have to learn how to FARM in their backyards! *gasp* or pay $10.00 for a rutabaga! No more soccer practice! No more pilates! Why? It will cost you $500 just to fill up the tank of your fancy Mercedes convertible and no matter how rich you are at some point somethings gotta give.
Nevermind, that if we don't figure out alternative fuel sources quick fast and in a hurry, life as we know it will come to a screeching halt! Like walking?
WATER! Thanks to global warming and general misuse, potable water is fast becoming a luxury. It's already at critical mass in 3rd world countries and is fast approaching critical mass in areas of the US. Did you know there's a guy in Texas who is buying up all the fresh water masses he can get his hands on? Did you know that someone can buy the mineral rights to your land and start digging for water, oil, coal or some other mineral whenever they want and however they want? Wake up! Stop trying to keep up with the Jones', educate yourself and start teaching your children about what's really going on in the world so that they can get involved with saving their world....because after all they are the ones that are going inherit the woe that is barreling down upon us.
I am, also, dismayed at the treatment of our valiant soldiers. The deplorable status of the Veteran hospitals and the utter incompetency of the Veteran's Administration are heartbreaking. Wounded and maimed soldiers are caught in limbo waiting for some bureaucrat to push some paperwork around. *silent scream* Meanwhile, the soldiers rot in decaying hospitals worrying about their future.
So, what can you do? Pull your head out of the ground and look around you. Pay attention to your congress. Visit www.congress.org and keep an eye on what your congress persons are voting on. Pay attention to what's going on. Tell people. Write letters. Raise a stink. Blog about it. Google to find out how you can lessen your impact on the environment and how you can help others make a better life for themselves.
Since I don't have children, I don't have to worry about the world I'd be leaving for my children or my grandchildren. Ideally, I'll make my escape before things get really bad and retire somewhere serene with my fabulous gay friends (I'm straight) and die a happy death with only my housekeeper to mourn me. *LOL*
Thank you for this rant. I'm reminded daily that people are ignoring the world around them. So instead of taking action, they choose to obsess over things like Anna Nicole and Britney.
ReplyDeleteSing it loud, sister. They work for us. Hold their feet to the fire. They can only get away with the baloney as long we're distracted by the bread, circuses, and bimbos.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent and well thought out rant. You are a woman of wisdom, Carmen.
ReplyDeleteDear Carmen
ReplyDeleteIf only there were more people in the world like you sister, I wish you were in Parliament in our Australian Government, way back in 07 you said these words, yet here I sit down under in South Australia where the life blood of our country the River Murray/Darling system is dying and you may as well say - just about dead. This once great river has been wasted and treated with contempt and "irrigated" off to grow unsuitable crops like cotton and rice - or stolen to water the upper class golf courses of the rich in the cities for years. The Murray River flows through New South Wales, accross the top of Victoria and down through S.A. (3 large States) where it meets the sea at Goolwa (southern Aust.) and the Coorong and a system of lower lakes that were homes to many near extinct birds, fishes, turtles and other wildlife. These lakes are now DRY. Mainly because US HUMANS, Government included, have mismanged and wasted this great resource for years.
Please, please all of you take Carmen's words to heart - because she is right! Here in Australia, we are really in the thick of this global warming thing, and let me tell you, to see a once great river die, to be on water restrictions, not allowed to water your gardens and have to watch them die, to have 4min showers, and to bucket out your 'grey' water from the bath just to save your favourite tree out in the back yard is something my friends in America - you do not want to face. Teach your children to respect this great gift we have and how lucky they are to have water. Teach them to save it - because it won't be around forever.
Annie. (laceatthebeach@westnet.com.au)