Questions for a Drugged Society

What happens when what is right can no longer be done because it has been rendered impractical?

What if, for instance, it were wrong to think that a government should be the source for the validation of the love and commitment between any two people? (It is wrong to think that, isn't it?) But what if that validation were the only way to assure certain benefits and rights?

That's what I would call being trapped by an overcomplicated machine; that's what I would call being smashed between the wheels of bureaucracy.

And what do we do when we are unjustly trapped? What have humans always done in these circumstances? The answer is bloody and profound.

The real question is: When will it happen? (Or, are we too drugged with the opiate of "the way it is" to ever see it happen?)

Isivivable Are Among Women

When I was a boy, I saw Al Pacino in  . . . And Justice for All. Inspired by the film, I decided to be a lawyer when I grew up.

I was good with words, so everyone encouraged that. My mom, who always seemed to be convinced that one had to be handsome to be a lawyer (and seeing through the complimentary glasses that are standard-mom-issue), was sure that I was a double-threat.

What I saw in that film was a guy who was willing to sacrifice a career for what was right -- a guy who saw the flaws in the legal system and decided to stand up against them ("You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!"), whatever the cost. The drama of this appealed to me, too -- as did the dramatic element of arguing a case in front of an audience.

The Men and Women of the TSA, Uncovered

(This ran Wednesday at When Falls the Coliseum, as well, but what the heck.)

I've got it! The solution is nigh. Listen carefully, everyone.

So, everyone is bent out of shape by the TSA's naughty little scanners. And for derned good reason. By this point, you have read enough Internet rants and debates about the issues, so I won't get into the fine points in detail here, but many of them are based on invasion of privacy, implication of guilt, etc. Maybe there is no way out of this. Maybe there is no way out of getting scanned and/or groped in airports. Fine. Here's how we make it fair (and maybe pleasant).