Six Years!

Good grief, can another entire year have passed so quickly? Morialekafa has now completed its sixth year. Last year on this date I published a list of what I think were the most interesting essays, short stories and reviews of that five year period. Not much has been added since them, three short stories, a few book reviews, and my usual ravings, mostly about Republicans and their unrelenting idiocy. While Republican idiocy is a never ending source of both amusement and wonder I am tiring of writing about it, especially as it just continues unabated. It’s much the same with the “war” in Afghanistan, about the most useless enterprise ever undertaken by the U.S., a “war” that never should have been, should not be continuing, but does year after year, now the longest war in U.S. history. Having repeatedly tried to point out just how absurd it is, I am tired of writing about it. Similarly, I am tired of carping about the war crimes of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al, as it seems certain that no one in a position of authority cares about war crimes or accountability. And speaking of war crimes always leads me to the crimes of Israel against the helpless Palestinians, a subject on which I have expressed myself often. I am also opposed to unregulated capitalism, privatization, offshore oil drilling, ultra-large corporations, banks “too big to fail,” our “empire,” environmental degradation, biomass produced energy, and, above all, nuclear energy, to say nothing of many other aspects of human stupidity that are leading us, in my opinion, to eventual oblivion. I have become much more inclined towards socialism than I would ever have imagined.

I continue getting the same “hits” from all over the world, mostly from people interested in “Being an Only Child,” sardines, pig’s feet, and “Women and Ice Cream. ” Curiously, at least to me, the few essays I think might be my best get no attention at all. Similarly, short stories are ignored. I don’t know if this is because they just don’t like my short stories or because short stories in general seem to be passé. I remain absolutely mystified by the internet and think getting connected with people in even the remotest parts of the globe is quite unbelievable. I love it!

I am not stupid or egotistic enough to believe that things I want to happen are necessarily going to happen soon or perhaps ever, and I am aware of having grown increasingly cynical over the years, especially recent years. As I am not interested in violence or sex, I virtually never watch motion pictures anymore, what passes for popular music these days sounds to me like noise, and I have stopped watching television entirely except for the Rachel Maddow show or an occasional cooking show (even these have badly deteriorated). I think the 24/7 news business is essentially useless as it is far too repetitive, there is little in the way of what I would consider genuine “news,” and the so-called news we hear here in the U.S. is so biased and distorted as to be hopeless. When the corporations figured out that “infotainment” was easier and cheaper than news, journalism died and has been replaced with stenographers who simply regurgitate what they are told to say (with rare exceptions there are no serious foreign correspondents anymore, they are too expensive). In short, I think I have reached the point where I am no longer of much relevance to contemporary society and culture. I really do believe that things were better and people in general were happier when I was younger (perhaps that is simply because I was younger and not yet so cynical and disappointed in my species).

In any case, I have been finding it increasingly difficult to write a blog most every evening as I feel I am just flogging the same dead horses over and over, and as I am not as creative as I once was, I am running out of things I want to say. I am thinking of giving up Morialekafa, but not quite yet as I at least want to witness the outcome of the coming elections. I might even get energized enough to finish my “Journey to the West,” however unpleasant that may be. For the moment, however, I am going to take a week off and think things over. After tomorrow night (a book review), unless something really unusual happens, my next blog will not appear before August 1st. , In the meanwhile, try to be of good cheer and do not forget entirely those concepts we used to at least pretend were important: democracy, hope, goodwill, community, fair play, brother and sisterhood, empathy, sharing, and of course, peace (if anyone actually remembers that bizarre idea).