Those are the words on a notice given to those who have moronically, selfishly, endangered the integrity of an entire building via their unlicensed, unthinking, uncaring behavior. Unfortunately, this behavior, this selfish attitude seems to be a growing problem within the Village. Apparently, we also have the delinquent unit owner, generally, though not always, an absentee owner and/or an owner of multiple units, in one or several buildings, who has either found himself under water, or just doesn't get it, does not understand or want to understand the responsibilities of the individual to the Association.
It seems to me that the warning on the red tag goes much further than the Village. Increasingly, we see a red tag of sorts, literal or figurative, growing in numbers and severity. Not to buildings per se, but rather, or also, to the 'buildings' which hold up this country, which keep it standing and safe. More and more of our institutions are falling by the wayside, eaten by rot from within, by those serving the wishes and needs of individuals rather than that of the nation. Tis indeed a great pity, for once there is rot at the roots and disseminated throughout, there is no repairing. Patchwork is a guaranteed failure in time. So what is the answer? Beats the hell out of me. I fear that we have run out of answers, at least simple ones, the situation now demanding heavy handed methodology unpleasant but necessary.
To this situation we can add several pithy phrases which taken together delineate the pretty crappy situation, no, make that plural, in which we have so thoroughly enmeshed ourselves. Today we read of the "toilet tree", growing out of a toilet bowl, an invader par excellence, guaranteed to literally bite us in the posterior, a sneak attack, which is not really so. I mean, surely, you gotta' see the tree before it reaches top of the bowl! Seemingly not so, and that toilet tree threat is comparable to the trees growing in the wrong places in life in general, trees biting us in our collective rears because we simply have not paid attention or ignored, denied what we did see. Easier in the short run but oh so bad for the long run. Feel those bites, those deep scratches.
"Get out of the water." Heard more frequently, lifeguards and beachgoers scream to the swimmers and waders, as those definitely frightening fins make their way closer to the food source - uh, that would be us. The background thrum - "do do do do" remind us that Jaws, our not so friendly white shark and relatives are waiting not out there so much as right here, in the shallows, where we 'think' we are safe. Uh-uh. Think again. And while you are thinking, try to understand why this has become a growing problem, with severity and consequences far greater than we had thought possible.
We clambered into those waters, attacked the waves, the forces of Nature, challenged Mother Nature, ignored the warning signs, and well, we all remember those Parkay ads, the iconic line - "Not nice to fool Mother Nature". The power of the wrath of a woman scorned. Even so we ignored it all. We piled in, tampered with the natural flow of rivers, the rhythms of Nature, are almost out of water, out of land, out of time, way, way over our heads in deep and dark waters. At the commissioning of a ship, the Commander said, "You either fight and win, or you swim". How right he is. We are now swimming. For our very lives. Too late, way too late, to get out of the water.
Swimming will not be enough. We have tainted dry land as well. We have paved over life giving tracts, swaths of land. We have been brutal in our attacks on the very air we breathe, kinda' important in life, ya' think! We have moved into spheres we were not meant to be, so up close and personal. We now find deer and bears in our yards, looking into our windows, seeking the human and its detritus. We have gained entry into the abode of animal borne diseases to a degree such as never been seen before. Diseases once limited to a certain country, or able to be controlled, have blossomed and bloomed thanks to our manifestly stupid behavior.
Thoughtlessly, we invaded and now the invaded are fighting back. They are increasingly entering our world, once sacrosanct for the most part, but no longer. They eat us, attack us, challenge us, defend their homes and territory, bare their teeth at us, refusing any longer to lower their heads and eyes before us. Humans are no longer seen as superior; they can be destroyed. We certainly can. Heck, we are doing a bang-up job ourselves!
Monkeypox is now a common term. Is it too late to counter that? Quite possibly yes, and more of the like will be coming down the pike right to our doors. We opened those doors, invited them in, left them doggie doors into our world. So why then do we wonder just how this happened? We know the answer and playing dumb is certainly counterproductive. One pandemic after another, morphing into an endemic rotten situation!
Jim Jordan, the human skunk, tells us the GOP should not, will not, cooperate with the Democrats on anything. Such a responsible remark! Of course. Why take care of our vets grievously sickened by burn pits? He's got his lifetime care so screw others. Manchin now crows over a bill he sneak attacked before and forgets his 'cousin' Sinema waiting in the wings. We have major criminal investigations going on, all pointing to their common head honcho, the prior unworthy resident, of the Oval Office and his rats now deserting the ship even as they all write their memoirs. Screw them!
Our personal liberties and rights are being stolen away from us, by our own Supreme Court Justices! Six Catholics imposing religious viewpoints upon us all, passing judgement on and condemning, even criminalizing lifestyles not their own. We question ourselves if this whole mess is either incompetence or nefarious - and why not both!?
The governor of Kentucky mourns his dead and missing, those who have lost everything. He warns that "We're going to be finding bodies for weeks." The family of a young pilot who inexplicably walked off the plane in midair, says, "We'll figure it out, I suppose."
Unfortunately, we are going to be finding more and more bodies in our increasingly challenged world, becoming more perilous every day. From animas doing what animals do, to humans who act as if they are the animals, depriving all else of the right to live, to be other than what they are, be it Russia and Ukraine or bigots and incompetents, mentally and morally challenged individuals - certainly we will find more bodies. Will we figure it all out, in time with doable answers?
Sink or swim, I guess. Anybody's guess. but watch out for those sharks - human and not.
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