through a glass ...starkly

Alas, after generations of happily peeping out at the world through rosy glasses the country is beginning to suffer the effects of age and pathology. Our vision is failing. What formerly was a seen clearly, with just a tad of wishful thinking, is now becoming distorted. We can no longer see the reality of what lies before us. We have developed a bizarre form of national macular degeneration.

Our collective eye on the world resembles a computer screen where scores of pixels are black and only bits and pieces appear normal but clump up at random.. We can make out parts of the picture, sort of, by squinting and straining but only in fragments and then, just barely. If this happened to an individual, it would be off to the eye doctor post haste.

But a society is less amenable to criticism and more defensive about failing sight.
So this debility manifests in strange ways. A case in point being the War on Terror. Viewing a map of the middle east through pixilated vision gives our war lords odd views of the enemy. The pixels reveal a cave in Afghanistan and an intersection in downtown Baghdad, not much more can be seen by our leaders. Aha, they cry. The enemy must be in a cave somewhere or else over there in Iraq. In go the troops, people get killed and the pixels line up elsewhere. Maybe Iran, squint, squint. See anything in Pakistan? Having trouble with the big picture fellows, keep looking. But,alas, all they see is little pieces of the big scene.

How to pay for all this never ending scouring of the planet looking for evil-doers? Check the balance sheet. Whoa! These pixels are a real mess. Can't find any cash and everything is in red ink. Big gaps on Wall Street and what's the treasury balance? Anybody here read Mandarin?

Okay, whew, a few bucks left in the vault, let's make sure we are energy independent again. Sick and tired of pretending to be friends with all those creeps to get their stinkin' oil, anyhow. Let's see the charts. Turn up the lights. More light. Can't make head or tail of these energy sheets. See a bit of Texas, not much oil left there, some gas though. An old nuke plant in Pennsylvania, that's good, oh, oh, short life span remaining. AH, Canada. Old friends and true. Oil sands in Alberta, what a mess! Geez. Thought they were neater than that.

It ain't easy trying to see the world clearly with skewed eyesight. Wonder how long this has been going on. Old age and faulty vision has a way of playing tricks on "the folks with kaleidoscope eyes." Sorry, Beatles.