And the wall cracks...

As we stumble toward the five year anniversary of 9-11 (I never forgot), all I can see is a civilization slowly tearing itself apart. War has been the name of the game for America since The Two Towers fell. Our government tells us that the death & destruction has been quite manageable, and to be honest, our current death & destruction campaigns have been relatively benign when compared to the wars of yesteryear. Over two thousand U.S. soldiers dead, over ten thousand injured. All in the name of freedom, security, and other broad chest pounding concepts.

And the wall cracks...

The atrocities keep coming in little bits and pieces, which make them easier to swallow. It turns out that our military violated the Geneva convention by torturing, maiming and killing prisoners. This was done in the name of getting information (of course, no one really speaks the same language). It turns out that the federal government has been wire tapping and spying on anyone & everyone without permission from the courts (of course, it's all in the name of safety & security). It turns out the Vice President's company is getting paid for the wars we currently fight (I love no bid contracts when I get them) while he goes quail hunting in Texas and bags himself a lawyer.

And the wall comes tumbling down...

With all this protection in the name of safety & security, good old mother nature stripped away the facade and drowned the city of New Orleans. No terrorists, no weapons of mass destruction, no fanatical religious zealots running the show. Just wind & water. So much for protection. It's six months later, and the 150th Mardi Gras has begun. People are celebrating, throwing beads, and pretending that all soul of that town hasn't been flushed away. We haven't rebuilt anything there. We haven't really improved anything in the last five years.

Do as I say, not as I do.

The United States military is killing & dying in Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of democratic freedom, and we refuse to recognize the democratically elected militant group Hamas because they kill & die in the name of Palestinian freedom. We are in an uproar because Iran is refining Uranium which could be used to make a nuclear bomb. The United States has thousands of nuclear bombs. No child will be left behind, as we slash education funding in favor of military spending. I guess all children can join the military together. The president can praise Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King all he wants, but that doesn't change the fact that George Bush does not care about Black people.

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign...

The common man really has no time for all these calamities. We've got bills to pay. The administration outs its own CIA agent. Whatever, rent's due. Gas prices double and oil companies make more money than God. Oh well, we're addicted. What can we do about it but fork it out? The media fabricates news stories, memoir writers exaggerate their lives, and the government misleads, lies, cheats & steals. They can't help it. It's in their nature. Everyone wants to hand us a big sucker, and if we take a lick, they are sure to remind us that we are what we eat.

All things to everyone, run run away.

I see it happening, this deterioration. I recognize the errors in our ways. Signals are everywhere that we have already seen our best days as a representative democracy if we don't change our ways. We are not helping our fellow man. We are not innovative or progressive. We are out for the capitalist buck & protecting are fragile way of life. Every day, the dinosaur gets older, clinging to its old ways: war, oil, nuclear weapons, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine, rising gas prices, corrupt power run amok. I'd swear it was the 1980s all over again, but I don't feel like I'm ten years old. It's a vicious cycle we've got ourselves stuck inside, and I want off this Tilt-a-whirl. Who do I speak to about that? Who's really in charge?

Chris Jungle is currently on hold with the wizard behind the curtain.