And now I'm going to sing the doom song

Ah. Today is the last day of November, which means I will have officially have completed Nablopomo! But not until I talk about what's making me cranky today.

DOOM.

DOOMITY DOOM!

The world! With the TSAing and the John Boehnering and the Sarah Palining and DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Alright people. I am not going to argue that the world has problems and we need to address them. HOWEVER. Throwing up your hands in despair and talking how you don't give a darn because the world is clearly too messed up to fix is not addressing the problem. That's the opposite of addressing the problem. Short of actually becoming Sarah Palin, it's probably the worst thing you can do, and totally contributes to the problem.

I know it's hard. I get "give-a-crap" fatigue and just need to curl up a blanket, a pillow and HGTV myself, sometimes.  I have definitely taken news hiatuses and been the better for them.

And the news definitely promotes the doomy doom way of thinking. From squirrels to flip flops to nuclear weapons, all of them are given the same "do you know the dangers that lurk?" treatment. Apparently, flip flops are bad for you feet and the squirrels have sold N. Korea plutonium, your children are going to get fat because you allowed them to have a pop that one time and everyone is committing suicide due to gay bullying. That's bullying of the gays, not by the gays. Kids! They're meaner than ever!

Now.

These things are serious issues. No one should be bullied, not for their sexual orientation or anything else. North Korea is kind of crazy. Flip flops have no support. Squirrels will someday rule the world. Except that they won't, because some people find them delicious. The first squirrel uprising will end in stew. And kids? Kids have always been brats.

The world is not worse than it used to be. There are still things that suck. There are always going to be things that suck. This is what we call reality. Not to be confused with the "reality" which can be found on various tv channels at any time and which comes with a script. The source of the suck may change, but its existence remains the same. Maybe, someday, all of these things will be untrue, and we'll live in a society where everyone can hold hands and sing kum bah ya. Until then, try not to panic. Turn off CNN, turn off MSNBC, heck, turn off the Daily Show. Pick an issue, write your senator, think about what you can do, and do it, and let the rest go.


And remember, by the time the second squirrel uprising comes, the world will probably be ruled by cats anyway.