WHO?

 Ever look in the mirror, intentionally or not, and feel stunned by the reflection? Just who is it there within that piece of glass? Looks remarkably like your mom or your dad - but how can that be? With a shake of the head you realize the truth - that is you! But what happened to that 18 year old starting out in life? Inside, ignoring the physical issues, of course - you feel the same, So who is that  reflection? Who are you? Who am I?

The problem today is that most of us no longer recognize the days of youth, the idealism of it, and have gotten lost in a sourness of life, wallow in disappointments and look to blame someone, anyone, but certainly not you. Certainly not your fault! 

As a consequence of that attitude we begin to lose the recognition of others, the vagaries of life, the hard work necessary, and the failure to attain goals. We feel cheated. We feel demeaned. An ugly human trait then emerges in force - the need, the driving need to blame someone, any group of people who are lower than you on the ladder of society, but seemingly, somehow, have some secretive power to destroy all that you hold dear and near to your heart.

Hence the great divide. Not a river or mountain range or ocean, but the mental divide, the one that turns humanity into a THEM and US reality, a reality based on immature behavior and denial of obvious facts.

Thus it is not my fault when an election is lost. Nope. Rigged. Cheated out of your so deserved victory. So, you then reach out to other damaged souls and delude them into thinking you are a messiah, to ignore your oh so visible defects, and you then plan your own rigging. Search out high and low, mostly low, for abettors and enablers, and figure out how to unfairly influence, gain control of the election process. Plot the destruction of your country, for no longer is there loyalty to flag and country, but to individual, to master of life and death, to a life wherein you will get yours - or so you hope. All others will be destroyed, one way or another. THEM vs. US.

A most destructive way of life. Nothing positive. All negative, cynicism and falsehood valued above all. Justice corrupted as judges, incompetent and already spoken for, are appointed, while other candidates are besmirched with so called calumnies - communists, socialists, Leftists, traitors. Opposition grows to nonsensical levels, such as one nasty yokel who talked for eight hours, surviving on sweet candy, all to block a bill which would benefit most of US and kick start an end to the tangled chain of supplies, get people back to work, and recognize that society must be humane. We are not to return to a time when people below the upper wealthy of society were deemed worthless, other than for what they can give to those elites. All are peasants, peons, serfs, with little right to anything. Hunger? Homeless? Education? Upward movement for children? All in the negative column.

We were warned today that there could very well be revived volcanoes in our country. Scary. But the volcanoes in reality are already here. We are doing a great job of destroying ourselves and our planet way before these dead to live volcanoes manifest themselves.

"There is no them. There is only us."

                          (Luis Alberto Urrea)

If only we could internalize that. If only. We could then look at that reflection and know that we have done our best, failed and succeeded, and others are not to blame.

      THERE IS ONLY US.