Mosh of Stuff

I don’t know about you, but a weight is building on my chest, my mind. So many things are in our daily news basket. So full of terrible things. So full of challenge. A call to action at every turn. So many things to focus on the choices are blithering.

Looking back at that first paragraph, a linguistics analyst would peg me for my current age within 2 years. He/she might even identify the regions of my upbringing! Dated language, I know. Still the meaning is clear.

We are in deep doo doo.

Plain words for clear meaning. We find ourselves in a collective shitcan of trouble. How much of this do we absorb before deciding to do something about it?

International relations: Russia is reaching for its old territories to rebuild the Soviet Union. So far, they are unopposed by other powers, just the small nations within Russia’s reach. China is militarizing the oceans bordering her shores. She has designs on expanding her borders and to recapture Taiwan. China also has bought or enslaved many small nations (mostly in Africa) for their rare minerals needed in Chinese manufacturing. South American nations are battling autocrats in place of democracies. International interference abounds from many directions to ensure supply lines to natural resources needed in foreign markets. African nations are open to similar poaching of their natural resources, not just from China but from other nations, too. The US has its history in this as well.

Public health remains aboil with COVID mutations and rapid spread to large population blocks. The divisive issue of personal choice regarding vaccinations and mask wearing, is a huge distraction leading right back to the delicate balance of protecting public health.

Human rights are always a hot topic. We have state rights ideologues building hateful pogroms against anyone who is different: gay, transgender, lesbian, queer, brown, black, Asian, indigenous people; you name the difference and there is a hate group ready to spring. Individual freedoms have never been more hideously apparent and destructive.

Church rights versus freedom from religion is yet another. What I believe ought not affect you, and vice versa. Do not lay on me your beliefs, creeds and prejudices. Live your own life by your own flag of passion; just don’t mix it in with me. Leave me with my own gestalts.

Freedoms versus greed is another spin we ought to discuss. Is my freedom to live my life taking something away from you? If so, do you need that something to live and prosper? If so, then my want insisting to be fulfilled amounts to my greed for your something. That is not right. In any social philosophy that is simply not right.

On top of it all is the existential threat of climate change and our planet’s failure to survive. That topic should trump all other topics mentioned above. But it doesn’t, at least in public discourse. Perhaps it is too large a problem to get our heads around? Perhaps we feel powerless to do anything about it? So, we ignore it? We spend our time engrossed in the other topics.

Seems to me our priorities need tuning. Duh! That is so obvious I feel cheap in even mentioning it.

April 29, 2022

 

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