Not a rant
Friday, September 2nd, 2005 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seraiReally.
A lot of people are ranting lately. Can't blame them. Things are bad. Lots of eloquence I'm seeing. Lots of splendidly argued points, and I agree. I've commented a time or two.
But I'm not going to rant. I'm not going to get into this at any length. Surprising? Maybe. But I can't, because I would just get Too. Fucking. Angry.
My house has no TV connection, and that makes me happy. Being a pagan, I believe very deeply in watching what you do with your energy. Good energy is an excellent thing, very useful. Bad energy can be terrible, but also useful. Pointless energy is the worst, because it does nobody any good. Other than sending money, I can't have an effect on this kind of situation, so I tend to keep myself away from the news. I know what's going on; I see reports online. But I refuse to wind myself up in the hysteria and ugly crap, because my distress wouldn't help anyone.
And distress, yes. That's why I won't rant. Because I can feel myself approaching Too. Fucking. Angry. And if I go off, I won't stop for a week, and I'll end up sick and no use to anyone. So no, I'm not gonna go off. It won't help.
I will say this, though:
A lot of people have been saying "This is not my country". They're upset at the behavior being shown by numerous factions and people. As am I. (Shoes? SHOES??? Someone please get out the guillotine!) They're saying, "How can this happen here?" and "This is not America!" Folks, I have news for you.
THIS IS YOUR COUNTRY.
This is it. Right here. This is America. This is fourty years worth of spiralling selfishness and greed, government turning ever more crabbed and bullying and nepotistic, ever more concerned with the wallets of its richest and less with the stomachs of its poorest, increasingly uncaring that its own land is falling apart when there are other countries it can pummel for the sake of money. This is fourty years worth of a culture telling its members that all that matters is their own personal comfort (their TVs, their SUVs, their gourmet pot pies, their Martha Stewart fripperies, their calorie count, ad nauseam), their own SPESHUL problems. Fuck the citizens, fuck the country, fuck the Other Guy. Sacrifice it all to the Great God ME.
Well, this is where you end up. All it takes is one big ol' catalystic stomp from MOther Nature (who, unlike the cooing pet owner some people like to think God is, does not give TWO SHITS about humanity), and this is what we devolve into. Of course we all pulled together after 9/11. That was a great big explosion that killed 3,000 people in the middle of a city of millions, with a robust infrastructure ready at hand to deal with the crisis, coming to the aid of one of the richest areas in the world. This is NATURE. She has unlimited resources that make our puny efforts look pathetic. And it took place in an area that has nothing but history to matter to the rich, wiping out pretty much all the local infrastructure, such as it was. And we end up here.
This is what we are, people. This is what we've become. Take away our toys and supply lines and our energy sources. Take away our cops and our firemen and our armed forces. This is where we end up. This is America. Land of the Free - free to steal, rape, pillage, murder, because those who are supposed to be taking care of things can't be bothered to do their jobs. Home of the Brave? Not so much. Call me a pessimist of you like, but although I am angry, outraged and appalled, I cannot say that I am surprised.
But I'm not going to rant. Really.
ETA: Fantastic rant over here, though. Please check it out.
A lot of people are ranting lately. Can't blame them. Things are bad. Lots of eloquence I'm seeing. Lots of splendidly argued points, and I agree. I've commented a time or two.
But I'm not going to rant. I'm not going to get into this at any length. Surprising? Maybe. But I can't, because I would just get Too. Fucking. Angry.
My house has no TV connection, and that makes me happy. Being a pagan, I believe very deeply in watching what you do with your energy. Good energy is an excellent thing, very useful. Bad energy can be terrible, but also useful. Pointless energy is the worst, because it does nobody any good. Other than sending money, I can't have an effect on this kind of situation, so I tend to keep myself away from the news. I know what's going on; I see reports online. But I refuse to wind myself up in the hysteria and ugly crap, because my distress wouldn't help anyone.
And distress, yes. That's why I won't rant. Because I can feel myself approaching Too. Fucking. Angry. And if I go off, I won't stop for a week, and I'll end up sick and no use to anyone. So no, I'm not gonna go off. It won't help.
I will say this, though:
A lot of people have been saying "This is not my country". They're upset at the behavior being shown by numerous factions and people. As am I. (Shoes? SHOES??? Someone please get out the guillotine!) They're saying, "How can this happen here?" and "This is not America!" Folks, I have news for you.
THIS IS YOUR COUNTRY.
This is it. Right here. This is America. This is fourty years worth of spiralling selfishness and greed, government turning ever more crabbed and bullying and nepotistic, ever more concerned with the wallets of its richest and less with the stomachs of its poorest, increasingly uncaring that its own land is falling apart when there are other countries it can pummel for the sake of money. This is fourty years worth of a culture telling its members that all that matters is their own personal comfort (their TVs, their SUVs, their gourmet pot pies, their Martha Stewart fripperies, their calorie count, ad nauseam), their own SPESHUL problems. Fuck the citizens, fuck the country, fuck the Other Guy. Sacrifice it all to the Great God ME.
Well, this is where you end up. All it takes is one big ol' catalystic stomp from MOther Nature (who, unlike the cooing pet owner some people like to think God is, does not give TWO SHITS about humanity), and this is what we devolve into. Of course we all pulled together after 9/11. That was a great big explosion that killed 3,000 people in the middle of a city of millions, with a robust infrastructure ready at hand to deal with the crisis, coming to the aid of one of the richest areas in the world. This is NATURE. She has unlimited resources that make our puny efforts look pathetic. And it took place in an area that has nothing but history to matter to the rich, wiping out pretty much all the local infrastructure, such as it was. And we end up here.
This is what we are, people. This is what we've become. Take away our toys and supply lines and our energy sources. Take away our cops and our firemen and our armed forces. This is where we end up. This is America. Land of the Free - free to steal, rape, pillage, murder, because those who are supposed to be taking care of things can't be bothered to do their jobs. Home of the Brave? Not so much. Call me a pessimist of you like, but although I am angry, outraged and appalled, I cannot say that I am surprised.
But I'm not going to rant. Really.
ETA: Fantastic rant over here, though. Please check it out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: Friday, September 2nd, 2005 07:33 pm (UTC)*hugs you*
*would hug New Orleans if she could*
no subject
Date: Friday, September 2nd, 2005 09:09 pm (UTC)I hate stupidity, I hate arrogance, I hate greed, and most of all, I fucking hate cowardice. Bush and his cronies are hiding in the sand, doing their business-as-usual dance, refusing to face up to what's going on. It's disgusting.