Iraqi Sunnis accuse Maliki of crackdown, tensions flare
Why scandal-tinged Berlusconi still beloved of many Italians
South Africa’s soothing Ramaphosa leads ANC charm offensive
Gunmen in deadly attack on Ivory Coast security targets
Tribal violence kills 39 in Kenya
North Korea charges detained American with crime against state
Analysis: Allies to lose socialist patron if Venezuela’s Chavez goes
North Korea says it has detained a US citizen
Syrian rebels attack base near military factories Islamists, opponents clash in northern Egypt
Pope takes anti-gay marriage stance to new level
And just to show I realize over here in the States, we have our fair share:
6’8″ transgender plays for girls
Stocks set to tumble
Michigan charges suspected highway shooter with “terrorism”
Four men accused of trying to sell weapons of Saddam’s family
U.S. Marine convicted of urinating on corpses of Taliban insurgents
Missouri Lawmakers’ Solution: Armed Teachers in Classrooms
Obama video on gun violence petitions: ‘We hear you’
Apocalyptic Weather Hits Across United Statesx assaults rise at US Military academies
Police: Man torments girlfriend by killing hamsters
Now, any who know me also knows I’m not a doom-and-gloomer. And I might note that there is also – especially at this time of year – hundreds of heart-warming stories out there that serve to offset the horrifying ones, to some degree. But. The balance is shifted between the two sides like never before.
I remember when I was a child, I experienced the same phenomenon as any kid – hearing my dad lament about the “good old days” when life was simpler, things were cheaper, people didn’t do such crazy things, and so on. And I also recall thinking “what’s he complaining about? It ain’t that bad.” That’s because dad, like any good father, shielded his kids from the atrocities lurking in the world, at least until it was time to educate us a bit on what was waiting.
Now, as a parent, I fully understand why. Reading the news – or walking down a city street – today is not for the faint of heart. I’m not going to enumerate further the various horrors any one of us can experience at the drop of a hat. All of you are more than aware. What I WILL say, though, is I believe it’s happened because we as a society have swung away from two things that taught us how to be basically decent beings: God and family. The Ten Commandments laid out a basic set of rules by which you couldn’t go wrong as a person. And the parents taught how to live by those rules.
Now, much of life is learned by a child’s peers, or video games. Sad.
We’ve made a mess of our world, we surely have. And now, as I sit here sipping coffee and breath my own somewhat dramatized sigh of relief that I don’t see a wall of water coming toward my window (although there ARE 15 hours left in the day), I’ll say a bit of a prayer, giving thanks for what I have, and for what years I have left.
By the way, anyone who has read the bible and perused the part that mentions the Apocalypse realizes that no one – not even the angels – will know when it’s coming. God will simply decide it’s been enough, lean over and hit the BRS (that’s very old computer techno jargon for Big Red Switch), and that will be that.
No, he’s not doing that today – but could anyone blame him if he did?
Thomas Rydder 