It Could Be Worse

Lacking a positive topic de jour, I will write about a few things that could be worse in my life today. 

While I am adamantly against excessive government intrusion at all levels such as: the militarization of our local police forces with ridiculously overpowered SWAT teams (400 cops made 4 prostitution arrests by the SeaTac airport last week);  NSA evidently tapping all electronic communication; Occupy Wall Street protests being made illegal; and countless incessant reductions of our Constitutional and civil rights in ways large and small; it could be worse.  At least our government has not attacked our citizens with nerve gas like the Syrians have allegedly done.

The war on file sharing and copyright violations is escalating at the behest of our corporate overlords such as the RIAA consortium.  While the RIAA and others with lobbyists want to criminalize file sharing, it has not yet reached putting citizens in prison like was done over the last 40 years in the war on drugs

While our President wants to attack yet another country in the Middle East, it has not happened yet.  He is at least seeking Congressional approval to attack Syria next.  However, the military-industrial-congressional complex rarely sees a potential boondoggle that doesn’t merit further funding.  Boeing has plants or offices in nearly all Congressional districts.  It is a no-brainer that the US will soon be wasting weapons on yet another 3^rd world country LDC in the name of “humanitarian efforts”.

I am in a better mood than my morbid gratitude writing is reflecting.  Nonetheless it would be good if we could do more with butter to help the less fortunate than we do with guns to protect ourselves from prostitution, file sharing, phone calls, emails, and crazy LDC politics that have featured warring tribes since the dawn of history.

I am extremely grateful that I do have a peaceful sane community that manages behaviors with social expectations instead of 400-man SWAT raids to arrest 4 hookers or lockup local copyright violators or federal government that uses nerve gas to silence dissension.  That makes for a lot of anxiety that I don’t have to endure. Life is tough enough without that kind of help from our government.  Thank you Bellevue for being a peaceful sane corner of the Universe.  It is good to live in a functional community.