Glazed Over

As I'm hiking through the forest I stop and focus on a single bug on a tree, which slowly moves to the top. It's just one little insect in this vastly alive and complex world we live in. SO WHY ARE WE KILLING IT AND THE WHOLE WORLD WITH IT?

Is it just me, or is everyone getting crazier? Or is my perception just different as I get older? We, as humans, argue endlessly over everything as civilization, overall, sinks. Has it always been this way? Are we evolving, or just going in circles?

Most of what I hear in the news every day are what I call equity battles. People of different races, religions, genders, nationalities, economic classes, and geographic regions are arguing about EVERYTHING.

And then there is social media, which bombards us constantly, until our brains go idle and we just shut down. How can I, Todd Daniel, scream and get a message out above all the background noise? I know that few people will even read my blog, so I think I'm writing for the next intelligent species that may come along. Or maybe I am just venting, sending my words out into deep, dark nowhere.

Glazed Over
Most of us are going through life in a zombie trance, just trying to survive, while others are focused on their selfish desires. Many people are addicted to accumulating nice crap, which makes us feel better. Others pop pills while others escape through religion or another avenues. No one appears to be home any more.

Politics
American politics have gone from being partisan and vicious and have spun into a new world of insanity. The whole world stays focused on Donald Trump's next Tweet. It's drama at its finest. Both sides of the political spectrum blow everything out of proportion and create their own augmented realities. No one really knows where the real reality is at. The Conservative Right wanted to rebel against the establishment and elected Trump, and the Liberal Left seems like a rudderless ship. Everyone is walking in circles. It's fucking weird.

The Point of This Blog
I created this blog in 2013 because, well, I thought the name sounded cool. I needed a place to hammer out my thoughts and to figure out where humans are going wrong. For instance, why can't we just identify a problem and then come up with a plan to fix it? Doesn't that sound simple?

Gun Massacres
The mass shootings are the pinnacle of our insanity, and after the Las Vegas slaughter I figured I needed to start writing again. The U.S. Congress is supposed to write laws that protect us. They are quick to write laws governing a woman's uterus, but have no problem when an insane psychopath goes to a few gun stores, buys an arsenal, and then begins randomly murdering innocent people. Hell, we've become used to it. The flags fly at half mast, a few people hold a candlelight vigil, and then it becomes business as usual again until the next mass shooting. Not even the slaughter at Sandy Hook could stir the NRA zombies or the impotent do-nothings in Congress. It seems that all the gun whackos like to target groups, so if you are in a group you are in danger.

Environment
Well, this is a topic for my other blog, We Live on A Planet. I'll just say that the killer hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes seem to indicate a problem. But, once again, we zombies just continue on with our lives. What we should be doing is changing our lifestyles to reduce carbon and pressuring our Congress to promote a clean energy economy.

As I hike I love the sound of the crackling twigs and leaves at my feet. I love the ever-changing terrain as I walk up and down hills. I breath in and smell the various forest smells. Deer come to greet me as if I'm Snow White. A yellow butterfly flutters by. Squirrels hustle in the distance and shoot up trees. In the distance, I hear an owl. Man, I'm alive. In the woods I'm really alive and I feel like I'm part of this ecosystem. I don't have to hear the crazy news reports. It's all peaceful out here. I'm alive, I'm alive.

— Todd