Awoke to a chilly thirty degrees, but the promise of blue sky and manageable wind led me to a two-hour walk while Rod gathered clothes donations to take to Newton on Wednesday and Judy accompanied Karen to physical therapy. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch, played a game of Hollywood Gin, and then Karen and I spent part of the afternoon bending wire. We are pleased with the results. While walking, I started thinking about Aldous Huxley's book, Brave New World. Besides the stratification of society, the masses were pacified with a drug called Soma, which was designed to keep the citizens under control. It occurred to me that entertainment is our current Soma, namely March Madness. We Americans are mesmerized by this pretend gladiator clash while the citizens of Ukraine are pelted by live ammunition. The only thing similar about the two is that there is only one winner. It doesn't take much imagination to believe that a new world order stands in the balance. It's quite possible that the Chinese are nonplussed about America's hegemony. Our record in the last eighty years is spotty at best. Further, they've clearly been making preparations to change that world order. In my conspiratorial head, I can easily imagine an alliance between China and Russia. Couple that with either the cooperation or coercion of the people benefitting from China's Belt and Road initiative and the military expansion into the China sea, it's conceivable that China has designs on being THE leader of the modern world. If we assume that there can be only one winner on the geo-political stage, it's hard to see a solution that doesn't involve real conflict. We'll know some of the answers soon. If China backs Russia in any significant way in the Ukraine enterprise, that should be a clarion call for the Western world. On that chipper note, you can all hope my imagination is just that: the fantasies of an old white liberal. In the meantime, remember that most of us are lucky enough to make life what we make it, and that is good, especially today.
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