The Rollercoaster of Citizenship in America

Many years ago, I told my doctor that I was an Optimist, but that I was a Depressed Optimist. We both laughed. Yesterday was a really grumpy day. So, I remembered this cartoon, and thought, "Yes! I am a New Optimist!"

My Horoscope today:

"Before you let yourself get worked up over a situation, remember that you carry your emotions on an atomic level. That is to say that every atom of every cell is encoded with the feeling."

Hmmm? The ouchy feeling is really the mitochondrial, or gut, reaction to bad news, which has become a daily onslaught. Is it time to "draw the latch and sit by the fire and spin".

You remember this, right? That old "Cross Patch. Draw the latch. Sit by the fire and spin" rhyme that children taunted the grouchy old ladies with in the past?

But then, I thought of this:

The Guilty.

This is a story that was told in a book I'm reading. It's about two men, brothers, who stand to inherit a little boy's fortune should he die before they do.

The first uncle comes home and finds that the little boy is upstairs in the bathtub playing with his toys. The uncle goes in and decides to hold the boy's head under water until he stops breathing. And dashes out, unseen!

The second uncle comes home almost at the same instant as the first uncle is dashing out the back cellar door, and sees the boy under the water. He has not done anything to him but realizes that he is drowning but does not come to his aid or try to revive him, or even call 9-1-1, because he knows he will inherit that fortune, remember?

The philosopher who originally posed the scene, thinks that both are guilty, the one who committed the crime and the person who fails to act.

There is no way out of acting. We can't let this criminal enterprise, characterized by a very astute human being as Predatory Capitalism, or Vulture Capitalism, take over any more of your country's wealth or spirit. We have to fight for our rights and for our children. We just can not let such people win.