OUTRAGE MISPLACED

If one relied solely on the corporate, mainstream media for their news, they might come to believe that the only story worth following is the leak of military plans to a journalist. With pundits on cable news and attention-hungry politicians stoking endless outrage, it's easy to get swept up in the frenzy.

But I’d wager that for 99 percent of Americans beyond the political bubble, this story barely makes a ripple. What's truly disheartening, though, is the complete absence of outrage over what these leaked plans actually reveal: the further escalation of an unwinnable war against the already devastated, poverty-stricken nation of Yemen.

An Unpromising Future?

Our seemingly perpetual state of warfare based on a misguided and exploited paranoia is causing me to become progressively disenchanted with the current state of our political system. Our government and the acquiescent mainstream media have successfully shifted the public’s focus away from the country, which is literally crumbling before them, to terrifying and cruel criminals in faraway foreign lands that contain huge supplies of oil.

President Obama has been an improvement over his predecessor, but just barely. It appears that he also is going to bear the legacy of leaving the country in another military quagmire. And the leading presidential prospects, as of this writing, promise more of the same.

I've lived through some tumultuous times, Vietnam, Watergate, and 9-11. But I must admit that, right now, I’m having the most pessimistic feelings about the United States I've ever had during my 57 years of life.