Leave It to Peever

by Bruce Weik

--- Bumper sticker of the week: We're just tattooed white trash.---

Quote of the week: ''No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.'' --John Donne---

I've been thinking about creationism. Some of the right-wing Christian folk are intent on having the story taught in schools as science. I'm wondering which of the tens of creation stories it is that they want taught? In all cultures, there have been mythological stories about floods, virgin births, the beginning. To concretize these stories is to take away their most valuable spiritual meaning: that basic spiritual motifs reside in the human psyche-- through all times. Christians have a way of thinking that our story is ''the'' story. That would seem to be something of a blunder.---

Most relevant quote of the week: ''Creationism is not the alternative to evolution, ignorance is.'' --Charles Darwin---

The number of persons in prison, on probation, or parole now numbers 5.9 million. This represents 3 percent of the adult population, or one of every 34 adults. This points to an unqualified failure in the justice system to come to grips with the ill-conceived ''three strikes you're out'' law and our failing drug policies. The war was lost. Clearly no one has a handle on the situation. Doing things the way they did in the 1890's is about as creative as any of these people can get. Building prisons, which places an exorbitant tax burden on us, remains their only answer. We should be ashamed. And it's amazing how most of the inmates are poor and/or minorities. If only they'd behave themselves.---

E-bay, the auction service on the Internet, has created a whole new way for people to cheat one another. I've used the service about 20 times. About a quarter of the time, I did not receive the product as described. One seller called a broken handle on a coffee grinder ''unique.'' I won't say what I called them. Another insisted that I report damaged goods to the U. S. Postal Service, even though it was obvious it was not done in the mail. They prayed that I wouldn't give them negative feedback. They wasted their time. One guy skipped out all together with my 30 bucks. He ended up taking about ten people. Oh well, I guess it's all part of the Computer Age. Now instead of getting screwed locally, I get screwed internationally. Oh the joy!---

There will be a time in the distant future when they wonder just how uncivilized and ignorant we were:--

Why is it that everyone was allowed to own any type of gun they wanted? They must have considered gun manufacturers as gods. Owning one gave the common people a link to their power and prestige. Guns must have made people feel special.--

Apparently these people thought they could do anything they wanted in the name of profit. Money seemingly took precedence over everything. They exploited the earth and everything that it put forth. There was no end to their stupidity. We suffer greatly for their arrogance and lack of foresight. They did not think about future generations, only themselves.--

They doled out health care like it was a commodity. The have's were well taken care of, the have not's suffered. Compassion and the simple act of caring for one another seemed absent. We cannot determine why this occurred.--

They verbally and in writing seemed to be committed to their children, but this did not play out in their actions. Millions were malnourished and allowed to succumb to preventable illnesses. Educational opportunities remained poor for many. They seemingly were unwilling to move forward in helping disadvantaged children. It is very hard for us to understand why.--

Government seemed to be very authoritative and the leadership seemed to want to draw from the past rather than look to the future. They wanted things the way they were rather than wanting them better for everyone now. They called themselves right-wing Christian conservatives. We call them foolish.--

It was an interesting time. They had so many opportunities to move forward. They looked at previous generations and laughed. We look at them and cry.---

By the way, today is 9/9/99. That won't happen again for a while. Take advantage of it.



Uploaded to The Zephyr Online September 7, 1999

Back to The Zephyr