National Suicide

Earth'd up, here lies an imp o’ hell,
Planted by Satan’s dibble;
Poor silly wretch, he’s damned himsel’,
To save the Lord the trouble.
--Epigram on a Suicide, Robert Burns

Don't let the sun blast your shadow
Don't let the milk float ride your mind
You're so natural - religiously unkind
--Rock 'n' Roll Suicide, David Bowie

Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash
--Money, Pink Floyd
______________

A few thoughts on money have been knocking around in my head.

Some reports indicate that the damage resulting from the 9.11.01 New York City attacks is +/- $20 billion. Current reports estimate rebuilding costs in Haiti will run upwards of $10 billion. Consider that disparity: a couple of building in NYC cost more than rebuilding the entire region of and surrounding a nation's capital.

Further, consider only the costs of maintaining the 4,000 Marines sent recently to aid in the Haitian recovery and reconstruction effort. If they remain one year, the cost will be approximately $4,000,000,000. This alone is some serious cash, yet is just a drop in the bucket for U.S. efforts in that country.

To that money, let us add the 35,000 troops surging in Afghanistan. An additional $35 Billion per year (somehow, without all those zeroes, it looks like less.) But still, not chump change. Congress has yet to authorize it, though that is the amount.

Where does all this money come from, and where does it go? Is it hot off the press? How does it affect our economy? Why does this not seem to concern the average citizen?

This is not sound economic or military policy. It is a slow form of national suicide.

The Haitian Patient

I just want to celebrate another day of livin'
I just want to celebrate another day of life
--I Just Want to Celebrate, Rare Earth

They disguise it, Hypnotize it
Television made you buy it
--Hypnotize, S.O.A.D.

It's amazing how fast the world can go
from bad to total shit storm
--Zombieland (2009)
_________________

Ranger wonders why he is unaffected by the nonstop newsfeed of death and suffering in Haiti after last week's earthquake.

The barrage of painful imagery is ceaseless, yet the pain and suffering do not even register on my personal Richter scale. My mind completely blocks out and disregards the entire incident. I don't care. The only question is, WHY?

The event falls under the general rubric, "Act of God", when actually it is simply a natural disaster, a geological phenomena known as strike-slip fault, an event which was predicted last year. No gods at work here, though there sure are a lot of dead people.

Are we to mourn such natural events, resulting in large casualty rates paraded incessantly by our eyes, inhabiting our television sets? These events are unavoidable and predictable, and only good national pre-emergency planning could have alleviated the post-event suffering.

Meanwhile, the television in my living room has been disgorging catastrophic photos of an elective earthquake called the GWOT since 9-11-01. This discretionary disaster delivers daily death and destruction which cuts scythe-like through Afghanistan and Iraq, yet we cheer on and praise this deadly endeavor. Our movies are often violent death-oriented orgies paralleling our real life. Death has become our constant companion.

We have killed, wounded and destroyed as much as has this earthquake, but we revel in the glory of it all. We -- the U.S. -- are portable earthquakes awaiting our next victim.

This must be why my humanity is dulled, and nothing advertised during the news breaks will alleviate this fact. The man-made earthquakes in Afghanistan and Iraq have blunted the trauma and zombiefied my soul. This must be why the zombie movie is making such a fantastic comeback today.

We are the zombies, and Ranger is their leader since he feels nothing and doesn't even care. The Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) has sucked me dry.