WHISTLING PAST PATHOLOGY
An inordinate number of under-educated and rough-hewn African Americans populate an inordinate number of penal institutions – within, reputedly, one of the most advanced societies in human history. In our zeal to put the real cause of this anomaly behind us, once again we pretend that we are not a society built upon centuries of degrading and shunting to the margins a considerable portion of our population.
Charles Darwin showed how species of living organisms develop physically and mentally in response to their environment. During the Second Punic War, Hannibal outmaneuvered the Romans by going through the Alps. As he was losing many of his men and most of his elephants in this audacious act, he was further impeded by savage tribes raining down rocks from above. Some of those rock-throwers became the Franks, who later developed the French Civilization.
The populace of the Japanese Islands was so culturally inbred and isolated, that we trained upon Tokyo the guns of a warship and bade them join the world economy. These were delicate and unified people who managed their impacted living through ritual ceremony and exaggerated courtesy. After we disturbed their slumber, they became such a nemesis to Russia, the Philippines, Korea, China – and ultimately ourselves – that we were required to make them the protagonists of a most terrible Kabuki play of our own production.
In contrast to those hapless, incarcerated African Americans, there are others of their lot who better survived the centuries of degradation and marginalization. Even while recognizing the relative difference in their survival, these lawyers, surgeons, scientists, educators and artists realize that the chain of that centuries-long bondage of mind and spirit is not easily broken. The dilemma is the difficulty in transmitting that reality to those still-in-denial descendents of those who brought it about.
Voilà, the pathology! Our society is the patient. In order to cure ourselves, we shall have to overcome that which is, thus far, unthinkable and unutterable. That is why the Attorney General called us poltroons; deep within, we know we have this malady, but we cannot summon the courage to confront it. Beyond the noble, but feeble efforts of the coffee magnagte, we must seek a more formal and enduring effort. Notable in that regard are the Truth and Reconciliation Committees established in South Africa after its own, devastating experience in the satanic art of Apartheid. Nothing will be resolved if we continue creeping through this field of landmines, instead of calling in the minesweepers and clearing the field.
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Pathology gotin quite late.
It put out a snack on the plate.
When it turned around,
Sans even a sound,
Its other self everything ate!
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, EARTHLIKE STAR… WE CAN KICK YOUR ASS!
Away, out there – way, way in the cosmos – a thin, little light doth appear.
According to our Keplar eye, by remote osmosis, Earth's long-lost space image is here.
Oh, what a great wonder that is to behold, among the grand matrix of stars!
A similar planet – one quite right to plunder –
Hell, who needs that musty, old Mars?!
So what, if it's peopled? -- the better for us.
That means that it's steepled – could one, out there, cuss?
No matter, no matter – that's not in our plan; the point is to make our own laws.
You ask what would happen, should they make a stand?
Are you blind – can't you see our claws?
Should they be more powerful, then, humbly we'd creep.
We'd study their power tools, then, we'd make 'em weep!
But, what of the squeamish amongst us, here on earth?
They'd utter, nay, no, that's not fair!
We'd say that our planet needs a second birth – that we're fast depleting our air.
But, they retort, why not conserve now; one should not steal from abroad.
But, then, we'd say, Christ, dude, holy cow! Stealing's the same – from a guy or a broad!
If, what you say, is on the dime,
If we have actually screwed this one up,
It means this world has run out of time;
So, let's just go next door with a cup.
The answer comes back: We've got to be fair.
We can't spread our sack of ashes out there.
But, what's to do? That little guy's waiting, paniing to make himself known.
Well, hoop-de-doo, he's certainly not fading.
Barely has his little light shown.
Let's stop this fantasy, here and now.
Light years are too many to count.
No one's even halfway clear, how a project of this sort we'd mount.
We'd best tend this marble on which we all roll, and leave the space-garble – it's not even droll
We have sufficient air, water and power.
To last as long as we need it.
It's up to us that they all don't go sour.
Let's seek renewal, rather than bleed it.
Twinkle, twinkle, earth-like star.
Soon, we'll be right where you are.
Yes, a star we know you're not;
You run cold and you run hot.
But, there's one thing you should know,
Before, one day, we do show:
We're a world of diverse men:
Mo'fo – We're the scary ALIEN!
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NOTE: The discovery of Planet Kepler 452-B caused a sensation within the scientific community. Although the Kepler telescope has discovered other earth-like planets within the, "habitable zone," 452-B is the closest so far. For a "mere mortal," this may seem to be (what it is) -- a highly remote supposition. The Kepler telescope measures a shadow the size of a pin-prick according to the amount of light it displaces while passing over its sun. The scientific conclusion is based on further measurements and extrapolations. The dot is so small that the existence of a moon or moons is undetectable. At any rate, there is no immediacy about this discovery. Kepler 452-B is 1400 light years away. One light year is more than five trillion miles!
FUELING PARIS CONFAB: HOMO ERECTUS ON STEROIDS
How arrogant, this creature, "Human",
So soon after its recent birth,
To think that wee I and you can
Control the air and sea and turf!
But that's the thought of this species –
Unfortunately, yes, it thinks –
The last biped of the series;
Its skull enclosure never shrinks.
It wandered, with trepidation;
It crossed the savannah en masse.
Unseen mental stimulation
Propelled on this special class.
The earth's four winds did they follow,
Adjusting to the changing climes.
They hunted, shared and borrowed,
And tired soon of being mimes.
Caves, too, got old – they built structures.
Seeds, they found out, bring tasty fruit.
Finding some food, though, caused ulcers,
Which better weapons soon made moot.
For nature's gifts they'd find a use;
'Twas plentiful this proffered horn.
The creature, now, had no excuse –
On to that for which it was born!
Great cities, ships and iron steeds
Proliferated 'round the globe.
The wonder of these human deeds –
Magnificent, a royal robe!
But, that's all well, for what it's worth;
It's surely not the whole tale told.
The other part is not all mirth –
Or none! – if one should be that bold.
Yea, they're many, spread far and wide.
There's jealousy for others' vaults,
For things others treasure and hide.
To get them, there's no end to how
This treachery may come about.
It may be a pig or a cow;
It may be a well-armed redoubt.
Of course, this coveting drew blood –
And that which one would fain not speak.
Barbarity became a flood;
The strong laid siege over the weak.
That still exists, though with controls –
Self-preservation to the fore.
There're bridges built, and then there're trolls.
There'll always be those who want more.
Having conquered most of the earth,
And having put the birds to shame,
The creature sought another berth;
Outer-space set its heart aflame.
With baby-steps, they reached the moon.
Their eyes are now set on the stars.
They've done all this, and all so soon.
Their lengthy fingers now scratch mars.
With all this done – yet incomplete –
You'd think the creature would relent,
And sit awhile and rest its feet.
But, no; with earth and space in hand,
The creature's ego goes unfilled.
Like Lear, it launches a demand;
That wind and earth's old bones be stilled.
It challenges the very sun,
Whose power makes the earth go 'round.
Could all this be a cruel pun –
A creature, thus, so loosely bound?
It's leaders, now, in Paris meet,
To save the earth – or all be damned.
Unblinkingly, they mount this feat,
Before the door of time is slammed!
How arrogant, this creature, "Human",
So soon after its recent birth,
To think that wee I and you can
Control the air and sea and turf!
O’BIDENAMA HEADS FOR THE MOON
President John F. Kennedy utilized the concern of the American people over the nascent Soviet domination of space to toss an unprecedented, ten-year, lunar “Hail, Mary.” President Barack Obama, borrowing the bold visualization of Kennedy’s moonshot, and building upon Vice President Joe Biden’s impetus and passion over the premature cancer death of his son Beau, and that of similar sufferers in the nation, finally was able to rouse a recalcitrant Congress to join him and Joe Biden in a far-reaching and humanely noble closing of their administration.
In the last “State of the Nation” address of his presidency (probably while internally flinching against the possibility of vocal “slings and arrows” from the floor), President Obama announced a seeming pie-in-the-sky, cancer, “moon-shot” initiative he would be presenting to the Congress. Lo and behold, before the end of this very same year, and with unprecedented, bipartisan approval, a revivified Congress sends up a six-billion-dollar-plus, ten-year, “21st Century Cures Act”!
The new law intends to hone in on the fight to cure cancer by combining and strengthening all of those forces already involved in the battle. Cancer is not the only scourge upon the human body, mind and soul to be included in this sweeping legislation. Finally eking its way out of the dark recesses of the past, diseases of the mind now will be given a full hearing. Highlighted in this struggle to normalize the study and treatment of mental health is the vast, new-century spread in the use of opioids.
For just an idea of the scope of this massive assault upon a wily opponent, it will include:
• Expanded range of research and study
• Speed-up in the approval of new medicines and medical devices
• Acceleration in the study of cures for Alzheimer’s
• Mapping of the human brain
• Search for genetic disease cures
• Pediatric research
• Improvement in digital record-keeping
• Increased efficiency in human resource acquisition and retention
• The collection of medical data from a large swath of the population
• The creation of prizes to advance medical research
• State grands to prevent drug abuse
The new bill is not without its critics. Some have expressed concern over excessive latitude in the involvement of “Big Pharma” and manufacturers of medical devices. They feel the speedup in human research trials and approval of new medicines and devices might be counter-productive. Of course, for years, there has been the obverse complaint about excessive slowness in that regard.
As was seen, this explosive news about love conquering all between the President and the Congress, in the waning days of both their tenures, was all swallowed up in the weirdest dénouement of any U.S. presidential election. Nevertheless, “21 Century Cures” will be around a lot longer than the next president or congress. It will be recognized in the next century and beyond as a brilliant, shining moment, when previously stalemated representatives of the American people ignored their antagonisms and came together as a force for the betterment of humanity!
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Oh, look, oh, look, what we can do,
When I am I and you are you,
We have come to see
You and I are we.
Thus, we do what we’re meant to do.