FilmOnDeepWater

Philadelphia, PA                                                                                    2 September 2005

Hi all,

Finally, I have reached outrage fatigue.  Hope a second wave hits soon, of outrage I mean.  We will need it.

The race and class wars are not over in this country yet.  Those wars were subsumed by the so-called war on terror.  They’re back for yet another generation to wrestle with.

And the ruthlessness that snarls just behind the smug mask of compassionate conservatism is now showing its sharp teeth, its well-manicured claws.

For a quarter century now we have heard a constant drumbeat about the power of the individual, and how little we need of government. 
We now see what happens when the basic governmental responsibilities have been systematically abdicated, outsourced and privatized.
And we now know again (as if for the first time) what happens when we do act as if we are islands after all, entire unto ourselves. 

We have yet to count the casualties. 
We have yet to see the true level of carnage.

The complete calculus of suffering is still undetermined.  Once the human loss is calculated, and the disease threats have been assessed, and the property costs tallied, many will think that is that.

There are others, though, with hearts larger than most, who will return to their cities and then continue with the calculations.  They will take notice of...
        how many pets were sacrificed
        how much wildlife was unable to flee
        how many trees are lost forever
        how many of the details that make up the tides that shape their everyday lives          were swept away
            the barber, who knew how to cut your hair without asking, is gone
            the dry cleaner, who got that stain out that you thought was permanent,                      does not open her doors again
            the corner grocer, whose family was starting over here in America, is now                    starting over somewhere else here in America
            the car mechanic, who checked your brakes even when you didn't ask him                      to, his garage is closed
            the girl down the street, who could watch your kids for an hour because she                     is the girl down the street you once were at her age, she is not down the                     street anymore

And when we believe we, as citizens of this wounded nation, have completed these calculations, then maybe we can find our third wave of outrage, as we continue to do yet even more arithmetic.

Much love, and be careful out there.
Edd