watching

It is hard not to be affected by what is going on in the world, even on the other side of the world.

We are witnessing the end of something and the beginning of something else, and the terrifying thing is that no one but no one knows what or where all of that will end up.

Once you unleash the wild animal, no one can know exactly what will happen.

In art history we spend a lot of time studying ancient Egypt. For centuries Egypt was the center of the educated world. Art and culture flourished, even as the life of the average Egyptian was not so good.

We have to respect those who want to change things for the better and we have to understand those who believe that the current way is the best. When those can only communicate through shouting and screaming and violence, things can only get worse, and that includes our own dear country.

America, it seems, is usually (some say always) on the wrong side of these things. If our motives and our needs were simple it would be easier to categorize them and do the correct thing, but our needs and wishes are often at cross purposes. Sometimes we support governments we should not support, but they help us in our short term needs. We suppress ideas and people we should defend. And it is easy to determine all of this, decades later.

At the same time, we wish all countries could have good government. Some would say “like we have.” Others, myself included: “like we could have.”

Right now there is not much we can do but watch and bite our fingernails, and hope and pray.

The world is full of people who are basically good, but follow courses that are self destructing. Countries do that too.

Right now the Muslim world is shaking, as well it should. They, like us on occasion, have been led or pushed by the zealots who are only intent on their own narrow agenda.

You and I are basically powerless. We just watch.