Noise

Ahhhhhhh.........wouldn't it be wonderful if no one had a complaint in the world. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the ratio of good to bad news in the newspapers was more like 15 to 1? Wouldn't it be wonderful if senators fell asleep on the floor of congress due to the lack of necessity to pass endless bills, since we finally fine tuned everything and it's all running smoothly? Wouldn't it be wonderful if the terms "genocide", "famine", "epidemic", "hunger", and that all time favorite, "terrorism", were hardly ever heard? Wouldn't it be wonderful if teachers and policemen and firefighters got paid what they were worth and Corporate CEO's made what THEY were actually worth? Wouldn't it?

Well, that ain't the way it is. Far from it. We are no closer to solving these age-old problems than when they first became ensconced in our cultures. Yes, it seems that all of us are very good at bitching and moaning about all these failures, but considering that most of us have very little control in the greater scheme of things, I think we are doing our jobs quite well, thank you very much! It's not our fault that those who DO have some influence in these areas seem to have no real motivation to take a serious effort at solving these problems. Considering that many of the problems that plague the common man actually profits those in power, is it any wonder that nothing ever seems to change? In one fell swoop, George Dubya could start an initiative rivaling the moon shot to ramp up production of solar, wind, and other alternative technologies that exist right now and put a serious dent in our energy crisis, weaning us off imported oil altogether and alternately adding a great boost to our economy with the jobs alone. If we are going to continue to build cookie-cutter subdivisions, imagine the power that could be generated and pumped into the grid if every one of them had mandated solar cell roofs. Imagine if the codes required genuinely effective insulation in every household. The cost? Give me a break! Economics of scale would drastically reduce that impact, as would tax credits, and so what if some rich bastard gets an off-the grid capable mansion instead of gold-plated bathroom fixtures? We could give him a tax break on cheese to go with THAT whine. But, since Dubya is an oil man at heart who was groomed by Haliburton to run for president, all that would be personal suicide, so don't hold your breath.

So what good is bitching and moaning? It keeps the pressure on. It informs your friends, your neighbors, your own family that even tho the sky might not be falling, it's getting awful shaky up there. How can anyone get off their fat asses and even NOTICE that things are as bad as they really are if everybody pulls together like good conservative, patriotic Americans and keep their eyes wide shut? The squeaky wheel gets the grease, my friends, but we need a damn sight more than grease, we need serious attention to these problems by the people we elect.

Some of us in the blogging community have fallen victim to the idea that complaining about things is akin to a character flaw. Some of us feel that it is effecting our ability to love life and appreciate the good things we have. First off, I believe it IS imperative that we embrace all those good things in our lives, to enjoy whatever good fortune we feel we have, and not allow the overall state of things to get us down, for there lies hopelessness and despair. All I think is necessary in order to find peace with ourselves is to not allow our comforts to blind us to the injustice and tragedy that exists all around us. If we ramp up the noise level, we can drown out the denials, and perhaps get the message across that as long as this administration continues down this mad path, down that path to personal destruction goes all of us, and we have no intention of going quietly.

Sometimes I get into a funk, and nothing comes to mind that seems worthy of a post. Sometimes I feel that all I have to report is an ongoing crisis. But, when I sit here and think about it, I also have great things to say. I have met some wonderful people thanks to blogger. I look forward to their bent on their world and their view of the world around them. I have a wife. Not just any old wife, but one who has stuck with me thru thick and thin, and let me tell you, it's been thinner more often than thicker all throughout our 13 years of marriage. She's not everything I could want in a woman, but, if she was anyone other than my Gail, I would have been single again in no time at all, not by MY choosing. I am certainly no catch. But we have become a team, and considering the difficulty of our own personal olympics, I'd say we'd take gold against most any others in the same circumstances. My job, remuneration wise, sucks. If I were to measure my self worth by the respect given me by my employers, I would have no choice but to blow my brains out, that's just how valued I feel. But my nurses, and my patients, remind me daily that things might not have been as good for any of them had I not been there. I suppose that has to count for something.

So, if you feel that bitching, moaning, or complaining is a deficit when it comes to blogging, I suggest you reevaluate that belief and ask yourself if what you're bitching about needs to be said. If it does, then dammit, say it! We are all listening. Maybe, by some miracle, someone in a position to do something about it might be listening too. You neeeeeeeever know...........