I'm OK, you're OK. Right?

I went on a hike yesterday to Mt. Donald McLean, 15-minutes drive from our house. I fancied the mountain was named after the American folk singer, so I sang "Bye, bye Ms. American Pie; drove my Chevy to the levy, but the levy was dry ..." while I hiked. Come to find out, the mountain is named after some boring land commissioner, yada, yada, yada. Sometimes it is better not to ask.

The hike (called tramp by the locals) did yield breathtaking views of the ocean and, thus, great pictures (though I was unable to capture the grandeur of the place on film -- actually, digital).



My last post generated more comment out of the blogosphere that it did in it. I have received several e-mails expressing concern over my mental health -- asking whether I am depressed, etc. Maybe so, though the pharmacopoeia I ingest daily are designed to prevent such things. I have been doing more reflection and soul searching than is good for a person. My mind is a scary place and it is best not to go in there alone.

The opinions I expressed in the blog have been there for a long time, but are best kept to one's self in Texas. Such attitudes are grounds for a good old-fashioned "ass whooping" by some less-than-understanding redneck whose "granddaddy fought for the freedoms [I] enjoy in the good ole U.S. of A." -- just not the freedom of speech.

I blame the outburst on two things: (1) it was written during a bought of insomnia at 3:00 am; and (2) Kiwi's are notorious complainers and I may be picking up that cultural trait -- unfortunate though it is. Given my lifelong propensity towards petulance, that is the last thing I need.

Still, the situation in Israel does require thoughtful consideration by all, no matter your political leanings. I am going to plug another blog I frequent, whose author is in Hafia, Israel under shelling from Hezbollah right now. Also, I think these home videos from both sides are poignant: Israel Attacks, Haifa Bombed, Bombing of Bekka. These others are stark and disturbing (something you will not see on major US networks): Disturbing Photo Montage; From the Mouths of Babes.

I think it telling that Israel is calling this offensive "Operation Just Rewards" -- which seems to indicate retribution for more than Hezbollah's capture of 2 Israeli soldiers or even the shelling of Haifa.

After seeing some of the bloodshed on the internet, I wonder why our media (US and NZ) is so watered-down. If the public is going to support something it ought to be shown what it is supporting and how its tax dollars are being used, limbs and all. I hear the retorts now of "what about the children" who, wrapped in the ample bossom of Lady Liberty, ought not to see such violence. First, they already are not only seeing violence but participating in it on the Nintendo that mom and dad bought so that they wouldn't have to parent. Second, these are future voters and taxpayers. Third, what better chance for mom and dad and little Timmy to have a "teachable moment" -- psychobabble for actually parenting. I could go on ad infinitum.

What about being real about what's going on at home and abroad -- not only with our children, but with ourselves. Nothing screws a kid up more than an apple being called an orange. Worse yet: "Apple, what apple? I don't see an apple." Come to think of it these two examples seem an apt description of American foreign and domestic policy.

I wish there were a "superpower" whose diplomatic response is always "War is Bad," which it is. It is hard for the US to say this when we are fighting our own war of questionable motives and fuzzy logic. Unlike other armed conflicts that come immediately to mind, it is increasingly hard to tell the good guys from the bad.