Screwed? You did it to yourself.

Heh, heh. Get it? 

From an old friend of mine. A rant that has a whisper of desperation and a certain acceptance of what will come:

“I am so bummed out about the state of the world, humanity, the different continents, countries states or provinces, cities counties neighborhoods. I am so disappointed that religions, politics, political parties candidates are so inept that they cant steer us in the right direction, instead of being steered by a perception that will keep them in power or job. A country of the people by the people for the people. Hmm. Will it be here for my great grand children.? Do I need to stock up on greenbacks, gold and .223 or 7.6 mm's? a real true leader not a wannabee at every level. Where are the John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincolns,, Wilson, Roosevelt (2 times), Winston Churchill's of today??? Where have all the flowers gone??? Long time passing? Just saying!”

 And the answer is very clear. Yes, your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are really, really screwed. In so many ways it is painful to enumerate but part of my answer to him was this: “----the grand kids are screwed. By the frozen assholes in Washington ignoring poverty, wage disparity, resource raping and of course climate change we have doomed our next few generations to wallow in some serious shit.”

 And more. The world has ignored warning after warning about population growth and water and land pollution. It has ignored the pleas of the “wacko hippie tree huggers” to conserve the fish stocks in the oceans, and the old growth forests, especially the rain forests, and to reuse and recycle. And more. Drastic cuts in spending for medical research and world health problems. And more.

(The following references "you" several times. I want to make it very clear that the "you" I am talking about is NOT my old friend quoted above, but the rest of "you". This is not aimed at or intended to be a diatribe for my friend.)

And now we have come to the place where warnings are too late. Earth, air and water are seriously damaged. The environment is rapidly changing, with weather patterns changing rainfall locations and amounts. The air is changing to allow more heat to reside in the oceans and atmosphere. Not “WILL CHANGE” but “IS CHANGING”. Get it? The warnings were right and now by not heeding them we, yes all of us, are screwed. SOOOO SCREWED. So don’t whine and cry about the conditions of the world. Suck it up. You allowed this to happen by inaction and either not voting at all or voting for the science-denying religion-spouting assholes of the world. You did this. You.

And you will, if you are unlucky, live to see the consequences. And the more? Only the loss of freedom. Desperate peoples give up freedom for security. You are doing that now. Too late, folks. Just too late.

Image: http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Damn_8b112b_584520.jpg

And There’s Nothing I Can Do About It Now

Coming back from the best performance of Les Mis I have seen to date we slipped Willie’s album, A Horse Called Music in the dash. An old, old friend and we know every song by heart. The play? Well, sum it up this way: I started to choke and tear up in the first 2 minutes and didn’t finish until after the final “curtain” went down (the theater has no curtain, more like in the round). The theater is one of a few they have and it is a small venue. Maybe 200 seats? We were in a 4^th row from the stage and slightly above the stage, which was the floor of the theater with some low risers. The music was live and the cast was a mixture of local Orlando talent and Broadway veterans like James Beaman, David Gaines and Michael Hunsaker. It was unbelievably real. I doubt that we will ever see a mere “play” done like this again.

And on the way home we listened to Willie. Many of the songs he does express some of my philosophy, and this one has not one but two punches. The first couplet is this:

                          And I could cry for the time I've wasted
                          But that's a waste of time and tears

I once worried about time wasted, but as the line goes, that is a waste of both time and tears. Why? Because there’s nothing I can do about it now. Learn, modify or not, and move on. It took a while for me to learn that, but it sunk in in the last 30 years of so. This is one reason Sally and I take life as we do: Don’t wait. Do it now.

The other couplet is this:

                          I'm forgiving everything that forgiveness will allow
                          And there's nothing I can do about it now

I have forgiven and asked for forgiveness for all I can, and from whom I can. Some was easy and some was very hard. But after you forgive yourself, in order to live at peace, you have to give and ask for forgiveness. Ah, but there are some things in life, at least in my case, that forgiveness will not allow. Those few things remain unforgiven or unasked. Still, I let them go, mostly.

Why? Because there’s nothing I can do about it now. But I can do this: If any reader has been harmed by me, I beg you to forgive me. And if any reader has harmed me, I forgive you. As I age, my memory necessarily fades a bit, so forgive me if you can, for not remembering any slights, intended or perceived.

1. Willie Nelson - Nothing I Can Do About It Now Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Image: http://lindsaykriger.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/forgive1.png