....the world around me

I’ve had a lot of company over the past few days…
family…
people I miss when they leave. I was kept very busy though, so no time to post here until now…and no time to catch up on reading other blogs til now.
I’ve pretty much stopped watching television news…once in a while I watch Democracy Now…and I listen to FSR and read a few blog sites online to keep me aware of what is going on in the world.

Seems today the great debate is rather or not we were all manipulated into feeling joy at Susan Boyle’s moment on Britain’s Got Talent????
And rather or not the USA’s use of torture is a an understandable and forgivable offense.

Many cultural pundits say those who welled up while watching Susan were somehow weak for feeling emotion and shedding tears,...we should know it was a set-up, nothing that good happens in 'real' life......
and political pundits are saying that torture, if done at the right time for the right reason might be ok. Even if it’s not ok there should be no prosecution of the people who set the practice in motion....
that indeed we should look forward, forgive and forget.

For some reason these two topics of the day leave me wondering if indeed we are a culture who look upon people who feel touched by someone living their dream as silly and weak....
but those who torture are doing good for all humanity…
or at least should be forgiven for bad judgment.

I’m sure there are a whole bunch of folks sitting in our prisons who are hoping the being forgiven and moving forward view catches on….but I’m thinking that will only apply if you’re in a position of power and can plead that your crimes are for the good of your nation.

I think we are a nation of people who do follow the law of the land and expect the same from the people who write them,....and I do think we care about one an another and feel fine about expressing our humanity,,,,,but for some reason we aren't loud enough or maybe no one is listening.

If an innocent father of a family is delivered into the hands of error, of passion, or of fanaticism; if the accused has no defense except his own virtue; if the arbiters of his life run no other risk in killing him, than that of making a mistake; if they can kill with impunity by a simple decree; then the public outcry is raised, every man feels he is in danger, one can see that no one's life is in safety in the face of a tribunal set up for watching over the life of the citizens, and all voices in unison demand vengeance.

Voltaire