Victoria S. Hardy

Victoria S. Hardy

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Doom Mongers, Truth Tellers and Illusion Spinners


There’s a lot going on in the world these days, the doomsayers expect the end to come any day and it seems many of us have trouble seeing what the future holds. The television news drones mindlessly, as real issues go undisturbed and Britney, Paris and Lindsey are still grabbing the headlines.

Government officials seem to be jumping ship with a new resignation each week, troops have been deployed to Washington DC, a huge war protest in Kennebunk was ignored by the national media and million dollar put options have been gambled on our stock market in anticipation of an upcoming collapse.

I see these things, first as rumors, then as facts, but I have little energy to write about them anymore. Perhaps it’s writer’s block, I hear it happens to all of us from time to time, or perhaps I am disappointed with my ability to change the world or at least, a few minds.

Some say reality is what we make it, others say we are perpetually at the mercy of others and still others say, everything is fine, what are you worried about? But this generation has been traumatized by the events of 9-11, just as my parent’s generation was affected by Pearl Harbor. The illusion is gone; we know a big, life-changing event can occur, because it has occurred. So we wait, expecting the worse, hoping for the best and attempting to numb our fear through a myriad of outlets.

We have been taught war from our youth and even I played with Army Men as a child. The wars rage everywhere, yes, on the battlefields in foreign countries, but also here at home, as we debate and gossip about who is better. Harley vs. Honda, Ford vs. Chevy, Gay vs. Straight, Black vs. White vs. Brown, Male vs. Female, Fat vs. Skinny, Vegan vs. Meat Eaters, Tattooed vs. Unadorned, Rock vs. Rap vs. Country vs. Soul vs. Pop, Conservative vs. Liberal and once we throw religion in, the wars swirl even more.

Why must we elevate ourselves by knocking others down?

The thing about facts is that they change. We’ve all seen it, what was common knowledge, a fact, in one generation, will become an old wives tale and a fallacy in the next. But people bet their money, balance their belief system and attack their peers over these “facts”. Facts that next week, next month or next year will no longer be truth.

As I read the headlines, websites and forums and I see so much energy invested into these facts, whether the fact is about how George Bush is the greatest president or the worst, or how the economy is great or awful, or how our health care system is the best or a huge deception and I simply know that I do not know. We can only guess at our truth and we can only follow the signs that we are given.

I will continue to watch the doom mongers, truth tellers and illusion spinners, seeking inspiration and “facts”. I will continue perusing headlines attempting to discover patterns to make sense of all things. And I will continue to watch nature longing for the signs that always come, but the simple “fact” of the matter is, my truth and yours will always be different.

Keep Seeking

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