I've made several drafts in the past two weeks, but my current funk has prevented me from finishing any posts. My head is not in a good place right now.
I've played one session of poker since my return from the road. Truth be told, my only poker desire right now is to play more Razz. So it will be back to Stars at some point, since no live Razz is spread within 600 miles of here.
But my funk is deeper than poker right now. I've always been a "disaffected voter" - alienated by the political landscape. (BTW, I do vote.) I feel as though our political machine is broken, and the only way I can help fix it is to make oodles of money and buy my way into a position of influence.
I'm also alienated by our media - especially our advertising media. I feel like I'm inundated by advertising, and it's getting harder to filter out the ads from the content. It's so difficult to watch or listen to any programming. Even the sporting events I love so much are plastered with ads. (Yes, call me a hypocrite for having ads on my blog.)
Back to our news media. Every issue is either polarizing or sensational. "This just in - Everything might be bad for you - Stay tuned for our special report at six". The PSA test is no longer considered a good indicator of prostate cancer, but I still have to pay out the wazoo for one - or so says my health care professional.
Our nation is at a crossroads. Beyond morality, we are now legislating behavior. The government is deciding if I can (blank), where I can (blank) and when I can (blank). They're also considering taxing my (blank) and recording all of my (blanks). How far away are we from legislating bigger things like religion (or other belief systems)?
Shit, we couldn't even legislate the metric system in the 1970's.
This also used to be a country where people could make a comeback from a mistake. Not anymore. P.T. Barnum and Colonel Sanders would have horrible FICO scores, and we never would've had KFC or the Tom Thumb review/circus. Would Thomas Edison have enough venture capital left over after his cement pianos failed to make the light bulb or phonograph?
The dreaded "permanent record" is actually here, folks. Don't think that thing you did way back when can't be re-discovered.
I actually feel sorry for the children growing up in our world. They have Wii at home, but they also have school shootings and amber alerts. They fight obesity and sub-standard public education. The cost of college degree will be astronomical and will not guarantee job security. I never want to bring a child into this world I find so disappointing.
Are there still 1000 points of light? I'm still looking for the rays of hope in our land. If it really came down to "love or leave it", I think I actually would leave it. The only thing really keeping me here is family. If my family ties were to be broken, an expatriate I'd become.
[ETA: (blank) = SMS text message, not whatever you were thinking.]
