Looking through a glass onion...to see how the other half lives. Remember the Beatles song? I think about it whenever I have to submit to long lines of waiting in third world countries. As an American there is always (almost) the hope of genuine freedom and relief waiting for you somewhere at sometime, afterward. The native is subject to this sort thing all his life. The lines and waiting make me think of it...as I often find myself in places where waiting is the only thing you can do,...and where I found myself a lot during this past week. But long suffering patience is just something you need to practice...it's not the real suffering. The ignominy of waiting for endless hours along with crowds of hopeless and penniless supplicants, expecting "help" begged at the hand of some low level bureaucrat and dependent on their whims and humor is humbling indeed. When it comes to having to do this with your own children and knowing that their suffering (and relief) will come from the same capricious source is beyond humbling. Do I recommend experiencing it? Well, yes and no. The thing is, once you've really lived it(or lived through it) you realize there are no "bragging rights", no self congratulatory expressions to garner appreciation or awe or...whatever props a vacationer or short-term "resident" with pockets full of dollars might look for after a bit of hassle at the foreign bank or border crossing. The reality is that's it's just plain hard and so wearying and tedious that you want to forget it ever happened- like a shameful jail sentence or an embarrassing disease. It's no flag to wave that's for sure. But, I believe, there is such thing as gaining a little insight into that glass onion that might, just might make you a better person for it. Anyway, I hope that's the case. Lots and lots of people, beautiful good people, from all around the world suffer at the hands of oppressors like you and I will never know. You see, there's a reason Communism, Marxism, Socialism et al. are bathed in such horrifying terms when their reality comes to light. Whatever system (or lack thereof) that leads to the oppression of people should be resisted at all cost. Living under the rule of oppressors is like having to watch your own family violated...day after day. It never ends. This is an evil far greater than most of us imagine. It stymies the intellect and quashes almost all desire and hope for good. Of course there is more to pain and suffering than just having to wait but it is in those long lines, especially where people are sick and have hurting children with them, that you get a glimpse of an existence that's far from noble. A three hour wait at the DMV only to be turned down because you didn't sign in before closing time might give you a little insight...especially if it happened to you everyday! The peaceful painting pictured here is of a west Texas prairie / desert summer sky. I've had to be in Texas lately so there should be more where this came from in the near future. It's being offered on auction for 10 days.
