I read my brother's blog tonight and in the process learned about his trip, with his wife, from Houston to Austin, El Paso, Indio (CA), The Willows (CA) and, ultimately to Portland, Oregon. I envy his status as retiree and his financial security...but mostly his freedom to make such a lengthy trip. He and his wife started in Ajijic, Jalisco (Mexico), then went to the Guadalajara airport and flew to Houston. They headed north just as I was beginning to get excited about heading south to visit them.
They'll be back a day or two after I get to their house, where my wife and I will meet another brother and a sister the day before Christmas and Christmas day, respectively. Our trip is almost a repeat of last year, but we've added one day to the trip...or is it two? In any event, we're going to Mexico to unwind, relax, and relish the company of family. We had a much shorter visit with one of the brothers who will join us in Mexico, along with anothe brother and another sister, over Thanksgiving. One day, and it shouldn't be long, we'll have to arrange a longer visit with all the family.
A friend of mine...not a close friend, but a friend nonetheless...frequently shares his views on issues that parallel mine to an astonishing degree. Take a look at this post, for example. Or, take a gander at this piece that deals with our own election night in November. Jim Karger, my friend, writes most of his comments from his home in San Miguel de Allende. He has invited me to visit, but I have never been to see him there. I think the fact that he sees, right there where he lives, the angst that comes from un-earned poverty and unmet needs, helps him convey his messages in ways that I simply cannot, because I've only imagined many of the ills that befall the impoverished in Mexico...he has seen them.
Every time I think about Mexico and my desire to go there, I think about the inequities between the rich Americans and the poor Mexicans (and, for that matter, between the rich Mexicans and the poor Mexicans). A just society or, more appropriately, a moral society would solve the problems. They wouldn't simply talk about them. A moral society would enable all its citizens to comprehend the righteousness of reaching out to help those less fortunate. A moral society would teach its people why 'more' is sometimes much, much less in terms of happiness.
It's when I have such thoughts that I really consider turning into the hippie I never was; dropping out and living off the land, or what's left of it. I sometimes think to myself that there are wonderful teachings in many churches. If only we could pull them out of the religious mileu and polish them and place them in the classroom...but even that won't work. We need to turn the classroom back into a place of learning. It's become a day-care option for the middle-class, I'm afraid. The unwashed middle-class. The uneducated middle-class. The unimportant middle-class.
Enough. Tomorrow morning I will indulge myself in a way that goes completely counter to what I have been saying here. Tomorrow morning, I will buy a cup of Dunn Bros. coffee on my way to the office, but I will make a point of throwing in $5 to their collection for the needy. God, a $7 cup of coffee. No wonder this society is fucked up.
No comments:
Post a Comment