A Day Full of Prognostication

I don't need some furry prophet telling me what's coming. Not being able to stomach all the cloy hype surrounding the Groundhog Day festivities, I turned off the television and looked for some portents that I could claim for myself. I came out of my burrow, and, unlike our little furry friend...

...I saw my shadow.

I didn't have to go far. In fact, the first bad omen that caught my attention was the rubbish (that's New Englandese for "trash") spread along every foot of the bus route between my apartment and school. Soda bottles, a variety of cigarette packs, tie wraps off of some pallet or box, a few more cigarette boxes (I've counted four different brands so far), scratched off lottery tickets, napkins, cigarette butts a plenty, and other sundry refuse. There wasn't a point during my trip that I didn't look out the window without being able to see something that someone had neglectfully dropped on the ground.

As I reflect on events that I saw in the news this morning, I feel myself waxing more prophetic. In particular, the harbinger that a facebook.com group playfully calls the "Mooninite Invasion" has really got my vatic juices going--not that someone would have to possess cosmic powers to shed light on the rationale behind the publicity stunt for a cartoon made for adults that features such fine morals as "We don't listen to people who don't like us" and "We do whatever we want whenever we want, at all times." One needs only to see footage of the press conference with the Boston men detained for distributing the suspicious devices throughout the city to see that they harbor no remorse. These grown-up "kids" act as if the whole thing was just a game--see them laugh and crack jokes about a junky hairdo.

What do I see in these trashy tea leaves and arrogant advertising? An America where the average citizens want accountability from the government, from their neighbors, and from big business, but is not willing to lay any responsibility upon their own shoulders. My crystal ball shows me a world where it's okay to cast blame on others when they have erred, but where no apologies are offered for personal wrongdoing.

What? You think we're already there? You could be right, but I'll stick (for now) to my optimistic view that the "average" citizen is still not so blasé about their personal responsibility to make the world a better place, or at least maintain the status quo.



On a lighter note, here is a comic strip that made me laugh:
Ph.D. Comix