I probably shouldn't be writing this now, as I'm in a pissy mood, but, alas, bitter, sarcastic, disappointed people always make better conversation.
Anyhoo, I just got back from my yearly dose of happiness (yes, I was at band camp, and no, it didn't go how you're thinking you sick bastards.) It was a lot of fun, and reminded me what it was like to have goals and dreams, not to mention conversations with kids my own age outside of the "so, that was like, wicked awesome, man." My goals aren't really prodigious, (or even extend past the just-let-me-make-it-through-high school-without-facing-jail-time), but camp did help me re-establish the fact that a lot of things are wrong with the world and maybe, possibly, I can help. Don't worry, my ambitions probably won't surpass the terrifying hold this town has on my psyche, but you never know, they might even make it to next week.
For two weeks, while I was away in happy land, shit happened. Big surprise there, huh? I was enclosed in my insular world of camp, (which was very exiting), news continued to pour in, and I continued to not know what was happening. We discussed politics and world issues, of course, but the daily death statistics weren't there to make us all cry and cry. When I got back to sad world again, though, I decided that I probably needed to read a few newspapers and catch up how people are screwing over each other and the earth.
So, intelligent me read selections from the New York Times, a local but fairly large newspaper, and the Burlington Free Press, and this is what I discovered.
You know that it's a bad sign when you can't stomach the news. Article after article poured in, often repeating each other, securing the fact that this small planet is not just facing war, an economic recession and sickness, but the FUCKING APOCALYPSE. If you ever want to diet all you have to do is read at least two newspapers all the way through, and you won't be able to look at food for the next day. Let's look at some small selections:
Egypt: A dentist in an upper-class neighborhood has been reportedly taking his female patients, putting them under anesthetics, sexually assaulting them and then videotaping it. Woman who figured out what had happened to them didn't want to go to the authorities, because, in Egyptian culture, sex is so scandalous that even rape victims are dishonored. What the fuck? You don't prosecute victims, you don't dishonor people whose worlds were ripped apart, and you don't RAPE WOMAN AND TAPE IT. Christ, learn some self-control, or, wait, what is it, that thing everyone is supposed to have? Oh, riiiiight, a SOUL, or, what's that other thing, oh yea, MORAL DECENCY. Christ.
AIDS: For this article, the statistics are enough to send you into convulsions. Up to half a million Americans are either unaware that they are HIV positive, not receiving treatment, or both. Ninety percent of the 40 million other people infected with the AIDS virus do not know that they are infected and have little chance of receiving treatment. The result is that by 2010 there will be 20 million children orphaned in Africa, or nearly 6% of all kids under 15. Now, here's a question. If the statistics show that there are going to be intense casualties by the year 2010, and it's 2002, why aren't we doing something silly like, uh, planning ahead, maybe? Let's see, eight years to try to solve a problem instead of worrying about other irrelevant issues that the general mass seems delighted to be involved with. Hmmm. Twenty million kids wandering in the streets? Meh.
Airplane pilots: The House voted to let the newly named "federal flight deck officers" carry guns as a line of defense against hijackers. Oooh, and while we're at it, let's give taxi cab drivers automatic weapons in case a criminal is trying to make an escape in their car. They're almost as well trained as airplane pilots, but they'll have to be called "federal automotive officers" to make sure that the public knows they're trained and competent in not only doing their real job, but also in the use of deadly weapons.
Oh Crap: Scientists at the State University of New York at Stony Brooke have re-created the polio virus out of publicly available genetic information and mail-order DNA. And you know what else is great? If terrorists weren't smart enough to do that before, all they have to do now is read the New York Times! Ah, swell.
And my favorite, Bangladesh: In order to get its people off of drinking pond water, the Bangladesh government urged its people to tap into the abundant under water aquifers. Even though their people were all drinking the new water, no one thought to check the aquifers for arsenic, and so for the last ten or so years the eighth most populous nation has been poisoning itself. Even now, though they know that there is arsenic in the water, people are still drinking it and slowly shriveling away, as it takes 2-10 years for the poison to eat away at an immune systems. Of course, the arsenic is going to have to compete for the country's mortality, as 91,000 children under the age of five die from pneumonia each year and 61,000 people die from diarrhea. Note to self; when trying to stop people from dying, make sure to avoid encouraging them to drink poison infested water instead.
And you know the really sad part? I could do this all day long. There's so much material out there that makes me want to hunch in the fetal position it's sickening. But you know what I really think is the cause? Bush. Let's blame everything on Bush. It's so easy and reassuring that he's always there to take the blame, and that's what this country really needs. Thank you, Mr. President, thank you.
A nice relevant quote: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin, 1759