Minor Annoyances, Major Disappointments

You can see the little unfinished nubs

An informal survey of people buying Hanukkah candles this year, revealed I was not alone in feeling like the standard grocery story twisty candles were somehow defective. Turns out I wasn't alone in needing a nut pick, a metal implement that close resembles that thing your dentist uses to scrape off tartar, to get the candle remains outta the little cups so you can put a new candle in. And even then, you had to heat the bottom of the candle just enough to get it to stand up straight in the cup. This yielded a mess every night. 

In years past, the candles burned all the way down, leaving just a bit of wick in the cup. Each night the new candle went right into the cup, no problem. Of course, once you went through the torture of having to scrape out the damn cups every night, the candles still looked lovely as they burned. They do, if only for a little while, light up the room. I understand we observe Hanukkah in the winter in this hemisphere, and I know Hanukkah is a summer holiday in the southern hemisphere, but when the sun goes down at 4:30 in the afternoon in our half of the world, the glow of the candles is a welcome break from the long night ahead. 

As some of you already know, Hanukkah isn't really a religious holiday, so much as it is a civil holiday, a rare thing on the Jewish calendar. We celebrate the miracle of the oil, but did that really happen? I have my doubts. But we do celebrate the rather zealous family of Matthias Maccabee and his five sons, Judah included. These guys were your basic guerrilla warriors. There is no work prohibition as there is on other holy days, and even the story of the oil only appears in Talmud as an explanation as to why the holiday is important. 

The really important takeaway from the Maccabean revolt is that you fight for that which you believe. If your way of life is threatened, you don't wait for disaster, you get up and do something before the disaster arrives. One would think we learned that lesson in the last century, but alas....

But here's the really hard part: people disagree about what is important. There are lots of people out there who truly believe masking and vaccines are federal government overreach. They believe with all their hearts that the Constitution gives them the right to walk around locked and loaded. They believe with their entire being that federally provided healthcare is not a fundamental right. This might all seem to fly in the face of what seems to be survival or at least self-interest. Do these people not get doctor bills? Do they not see the danger of people being able to whip out a gun and shoot before asking questions? Do they not understand the danger of any pregnancy, let alone the result of rape or incest, to a young girl's body? Where is the moral compass?

Well, they believe they are acting according to their own moral compass. Now, do not get me wrong; I am not defending this behavior; I am merely saying that it exists and it has a firm hold on a large part of this country. Short of secession, these are voters who will continue to elect voices that differ dramatically from the ones you might be used to hearing. We listen to their words, wonder why they want to infect each other with a virus that kills while refusing to vaccinate themselves and their children. Sometimes, that reminds me of the stories about child sacrifice. Why would any parent offer a child up to death? It's not like they believe it's gonna appease the flu god. Yet they choose to expose themselves and their families to a disease that has empirically proven itself to be a killer. 

But let's set that aside for a moment. How about the part where parents, like the couple in Michigan, not only armed their son, they refused to recognize the kid had a problem when the school tried to warn them? Like their son, they are in jail on murder charges. Why weren't they the grown ups in the room for this kid?

Clearly, lots of people don't see a problem with parents arming children. Take Kentucky's 4th District Congressman: Thomas Massie. This guy has the most bizarre voting record ever. He and his wife not only armed their family, but they asked Santa for ammo.

What would Jesus say about that Christmas card? I have a pretty good idea what his mother woulda said. She was, when it's all said and done, a Jewish mother. 

If this is what We, the People, of any state are electing to represent us in Congress, is it really any mystery as to why this might be a problem? People: 76,400 other people liked that picture. Any possibility there's a cryptic message in there somewhere?

Here's the thing, though: guns are not an answer. Name calling is not an answer. The hateful rhetoric is nothing more than playground taunting that does no one any good whatsoever. There will never be useful discussion,  much less hope of any sort of middle ground, if the hate continues. We are heading into the midterms, and then the Presidential Debacle. If We, ALL The People, don't get a grip on the trash talk, we will lose this country. There WILL be a civil war. 

I am not saying don't debate the issues, but the trash talk in the streets, in public venues, in our homes, and most  of all, in our legislatures must stop. Save trash talking for the basketball court or the hockey rink. Don't sully the dignity of running a nation with garbage mouths. Be better than that.

Not like I'm gonna convince anyone or change any minds. I know enough people on the other side of the political spectrum who believe any time I say stuff like this I'm being a libtard. Yeah, you read that right. And that makes me really sad because that's exactly what I'm railing against yet the label is used and persists. It's okay to call me names, but accuse any one of them of promulgating hate speech and I'm the evil name caller. This is a classic example of how the chasm never closes. 

The separation is not diminishing; instead, it feeds directly into the chasm that will eventually split the nation into separate nations. Once upon a time, I thought that was a horrid and ridiculous notion. These days, I'm not so sure. Maybe if the US separated into two or three countries, we might have a fighting chance of having at least one socially responsible nation working toward the good and welfare of its population instead of a nation on the brink of social disaster. With the continuation of a two-party system there is no chance for any sort of coalition government and frankly, we are getting nowhere fast. 

Honestly, I'd be fine if Texas got the ball rolling with secession. 

Still, I can't help but continue to wonder why people who lack basic services like available health care and standard education requirements continue to fight against those things. I'm sure they have a reason, much like parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids have reasons, to stand firmly against any program that would improve their conditions. One might think after the spiraling death count of COVID-19 and its variants, including but not limited to Omicron, they might see the wisdom in being able to access health care. Or not. 

Whether we want to admit it or not, these here United States are falling farther and farther behind in caring for our own citizens within the concept of a social contract. This will eventually be that which splits the country. I'm certain of it because health care has become politics. As long as a significant portion of the population is okay with dying from purely preventable diseases, we have to respect that choice. Separation, the removal of those who refuse to vaccinate, and the closure or borders might be the only way to slow the next pandemic.

As Ziggy woulda said, "Think of it as evolution in action." 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you are unfamiliar with The Darwin Awards,

do yourself a favor and remedy that. 

You'll will have a much better scope on 

just how stupid humans can be.