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Chris, I figured I'd be speaking your language
here, and we both now our own limitations. That's why I like you.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 3:13 PM
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tweedhead, now that's an idea
but how big will these worms have to be?
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 3:11 PM
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Jemmie, I can't say if it will
all in the end be futile, but I look to ISAIAH-IN-A-RAGE who made what I thought was an excellent comment on this same post. Keep at your friend and if he doesn't pick up his trash, do it for him.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 3:10 PM
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It's a sick world
I am always amazed by your prose. Your writing style is so lyrical and compelling.
This post, while wonderfully written, does bring up such negativity. Not a fault of your own, but rather of the world in which we live.
We (as a whole) are such apathetic and selfish beings. We think only of the here and now, but what of our children's future? What of our great-grandchildren's futures? Will our planet become a wasteland--more so than today? Will it be able to support life? Or will the futures of Science Fiction novels be what the future generations have to look forward to?
I know someone whose apathy irritates me. He'll leave his fast food cups in parking lots, giving the excuse that if he didn't do that some janitor would be out of a job, so he's just looking out for the common worker. Bull crap I say! But no matter how I argue with him, he never changes. It's odd too, because he loves the outdoors. Wouldn't he want to see the beauty last?
And it's even more sad because this person is not alone in his thinking. There are millions of people like him. Sometimes I wonder if it's futile for me to argue anymore.
posted by
Jemmie211
on January 5, 2005 at 5:52 AM
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worms...we need more and hungry worms.
posted by
tweedhead
on January 5, 2005 at 5:16 AM
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Cynthia
Yes, it's a shame the human race has evolved into little more than a well organised plague of parasites. And the best thing about it is nothing's going to change because we either can't be bothered to change our ways or we don't know how. You know, I think along the same lines as you, but I don't think twice about putting petrol in my car...
posted by
chris2303
on January 5, 2005 at 5:09 AM
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word.smith, what drives me crazy is
that I can't seem to control myself. Especially when buying stuff for MY KIds and MY grandkids. In spite of the great needs of others who have far less.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 4:52 AM
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And Jimmy, I screw up spelling
in comments all the time. Thanks for reading.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 4:50 AM
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Isaiah, You spelled out
in this comment exactly, EXACTLY what I believe we are in for over the next 4 years. I think why we really lost the last election was the fact that not enough people are yet in enough pain. That combined with the fear factor and there you have it.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 5, 2005 at 4:49 AM
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whoops...unfortunately...
posted by
jimmy68
on January 4, 2005 at 11:53 PM
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Unforyunately I think you'd be under there for decades...
or else I'd be staying in bed 'till it's over as well...
posted by
jimmy68
on January 4, 2005 at 11:52 PM
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You have provided
some food for thought. We do consume so much that sometimes it's disgusting to think about. Sometimes I wonder about things like whether there will there one day remain enough trees to produce paper, again for us to consume.
posted by
word.smith
on January 4, 2005 at 7:02 PM
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Wonderful post, Cynthia
It will be hard to keep up our spirits over the next 4 years. We ain't seen nothing yet -- the deficit will continue to climb as social programs are slashed to support the military; environmental regulations will be further gutted; working people will find themselves out of jobs and without health insurance while compensation for corporate executives goes through the roof; the anarchy and chaos in Iraq will only get worse (perhaps even degenerating into civil war) -- with more of our soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice...
So where is the hope? You mentioned it -- think of the gains we made in the environmental movement, in civil rights, in women's rights. Yes, there is retrenchment on these fronts, but we won't go back to having barges dumping our wastes in Boston Harbor (or the East River, in my case). And I genuinely believe (call me naive) that the longer Bush remains in power, the greater grows the potential for FUNDAMENTAL change. By the time he gets through thoroughly screwing all of us, we will be so hopping mad that there will be a great surge of people driving a round of movements as profound and positive as those we saw in the 60's and 70's: there will be a movement for universal health care; for the right of all to high-quality, affordable education and training throughout one's lifetime; for sustainable development throughout the globe; for a fair and equitable allocation of economic resources, as reflected in a reformed, progressive tax code; for a social security fund that actually provides security... on and on -- movements expanding the possibilities and resources for full human development.
I think the country will be so hungry for basic change after the Bush nightmare is over that we will have a truly progressive candidate who has the courage to stand up and say: "I am a liberal. I am proud of that -- it means that I want the best for all the citizens of this country, not just the elite few." She will have the courage of her convictions, won't back down under villainous reactionary assaults, and will consistently be a voice for the disenfranchised and disempowered. It's happened before in this country after dark hours, and it will happen again.
In the meantime, I'm going to "tend my garden." I will try to lead a simple, focused life of meaning -- and do my part not to get sucked up into the empty materialism promoted by a mass market society. Next time you go down the street, just pick up what trash you can and chat with a neighbor rather than despairing of the mounds of garbage about you and people's apathy. Maybe that will help you cope with it all...
posted by
Isaiah_in_a_Rage
on January 4, 2005 at 5:18 PM
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fw, if we who feel the connection
could, would only do more.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 4, 2005 at 4:27 PM
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kingmi, right- we can only
act in the moment, but we should have some ability to reflect on the consequences.
posted by
Cynthia
on January 4, 2005 at 4:16 PM
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wonderfully expressed
thoughts
i agree esp. with your last thoughts on the hiding of body bags and refusal to make connections between what we choose and what is happening.
posted by
beezus
on January 4, 2005 at 8:42 AM
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Cynthia...wow..
...that's an amazing post..full of truths..full of sadness for a planet in distress.
posted by
ginnieb
on January 4, 2005 at 8:13 AM
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Very insightful ...
Some people can look at the down at the impoverished with a sense of smug superiority, while others begin to suspect that they have so much only because others have so little.
posted by
fwmystic
on January 4, 2005 at 7:52 AM
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Cynthia, yes, very different. Thanks for reading me.
Sadness and depression are also forms of misery, but very different from that all-consuming, obsessive, insane, self-destructive form of madness that makes one resent other peoples' happiness and success. A sad or depressed person yearns to find happiness (or to die) and a person afflicted with that Evil Syndrome takes pleasure and satisfaction in others' misfortunes.
posted by
WHAMENATOR
on January 4, 2005 at 5:04 AM
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Cynthia, we all feel this way. But we can only do for today. Good post!
posted by
kingmi
on January 4, 2005 at 5:04 AM
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