Nowtopian

But wait! The shit is hitting the fan all over… There’s a huge historic moment unfolding in Mexico where we will know in a month or so whether or not the old oligarchy can steal the election just like Bush’s gang did up here… the Israelis are attacking Lebanon and Gaza… the mundane but inexorable collapse of the health care system (and let’s face it, that’s just scratching the surface)…

So maybe you’re not paying attention? Can’t blame you. It’s the summer doldrums and though there’s plenty going on, you’d never know it by reading the daily press, and certainly not be watching TV nooze (is that nooze around your neck or are you just feeling suicidal?)…

I want to point all my pals to some worthy readings I’ve come upon lately. First of all, Billmon has been back for a month or two (again), and today he has a good revelatory post on the state of the health care industry as a failing capitalist business–not to mention its effects on the rest of industry or any of us who actually are sick and need some care.

The Mexican election story is far from over. The near blackout in U.S. media won’t stop the real battles from unfolding down there. As little as we know about Lopez Obrador, and frankly, I presume he’d be a lot like Lula or Kirchner if he were to actually prevail, you gotta feel hopeful about millions of people refusing to let the PAN steal the election outright… And the pressure from below that the Zapatista Other Campaign has helped fuel is a complete wild card, politically and historically. Ojala!

And the Israelis have decided to further demodernize Lebanon, holding the government responsible for the non-state attacks by Hezbollah. With nuclear bombs and saber-rattling towards Iran, the terror in Mumbai, and the escalating resistance in both Iraq and Afghanistan that has tied down the U.S. and increasingly NATO in Afghanistan, things are spinning closer to the edge than ever…

Did someone say catastrophic climate change? The warmest years of the past 300,000? species die-off? ocean life collapsing?… oh never mind! Let’s go for a drive!

Sip that latte, down that glass of wine, and enjoy the (maybe) final moments of these easy days… Life as we know it is ending. What will take its place, and how long will it take for that to emerge? No easy answers, and so far, it’s quite possible to go on day-to-day and barely notice how deep the cracks are growing in the unstable facades of our so-called modern life. I would say ‘brace yourself’ but it really won’t matter. Maybe we’ll keep bobbing on our waterbeds into our dotage… probably not!