Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Signs And Wonders

This week Mother Nature has bestowed on us the rare favor of thwarting the normal, compulsory routine. Sadly, what started out as a pleasant inconvenience from my perspective has turned tragic and destructive for others. Such is often the case. If there’s going to be an event that disrupts the flow of business and interrupts our sense of control and order, it probably means that somewhere lives will be lost.

A massive winter storm rips through the United States, blanketing even parts of Texas with a respectable sheet of ice. In Australia, the worst cyclone in that country’s history comes right on the heels of record-breaking floods. (I’m American - what the hell is a cyclone?) Many of my countrymen - those of the Foxnewsy persuasion, if you get my drift – mockingly comment how all this must be caused by Global Warming. And funnily enough, actual scientists point out that some of it is indeed caused by climate change.

There is talk of Gaia being pissed. She’s had enough and an ass whipping of global magnitude is in order. One can make an argument for this. Ours has become an ungrateful, reckless species, perversely shortsighted with an impressive capacity for exploiting and poisoning the natural world. I realize that many of my Reality Challenged brethren have been convinced that humankind cannot possibly affect the planet they live on. But I’ve seen the brown smog that blankets the horizon and breathed the exhaust and foul air of industry. My own eyes and lungs can attest to man’s ability to negatively impact the environment. And aside from that, it defies credulity to believe that hundreds of trillions of extra tons of C02 have zero effect on the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, it is a damn fine time to not be president of an oppressed Arab country. If massive changes are indeed afoot on Planet Earth, this - I think - is the real story right now. The powerful force that has been unleashed across the Arab world is one to be reckoned with. It’s the human spirit and its impulse towards freedom, self-determination, and self-respect. Human beings can only be deprived of these things for so long. Who knows where this leads? One can only hope that this, most powerful of all energies, is channeled constructively. It is almost certain at this point that the effects will be far-reaching and dramatic, perhaps the kind that are only seen once in a generation.

There’s a message in these events that is hopefully making it into the consciousness of the elites in all parts of the world. And that is, if you deprive your fellow humans of their right to freedom of being, freedom of self-determination and expression, and the chance at a decent and happy life…there will eventually be consequences. If you insist on having everything at the cost of everyone else having nothing, beware. The human spirit can only be taunted for so long.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's cold Ben, 6 degrees (from prev. article), that's ~ minus15C. The town where I live has ~ plus50F (9C) as it's minimum and that's in the middle of winter.
Kikz tells us that she is experiencing rolling black/brown outs where she is (in Texas I think) so I hope all is OK with you and yours.
I note where a few people (in Aus. and US) have been asphyxiated when they have used petrol engines for warmth/power in an enclosed space - not a good idea.
BTW I liked your closing line - 'The human spirit can only be taunted for so long', isn't that so true. The best way to handle a bully (and nip most of their rot in the bud) is to stand up to them, first off; they usually fold where-as if you let them go on – well look at the world at the moment!.
Tony

Ben There said...

We've only had one episode of rolling blackout and it only lasted about 20 minutes. But this cold is more extreme than anything I can remember here in my lifetime.

I take it you've survived the cyclone without incident?

As Les often says, these are interesting times. Infinitely moreso given this past week.