The wish, “May you live in interesting times,” is assumed to be an Ancient Chinese Curse because “interesting times” typically meant war, rumors of war, and loss of economic and political stability. Regardless of whether it really is an ancient curse, when you read and/or watch news of today’s events, you’ll see just how many of the factors that make times “interesting” are present today. Here’s a partial list:
- In the Mid-East, we have ISIS, an on-going war, the destruction of ancient cities, and millions of refugees.
- In Europe, we have millions of refugees seeking a place they can live in peace, and ongoing terrorist attacks.
- In the US, we have the craziest pre-election political maneuvering experienced in many years—perhaps ever.
- Also in the US, we have either more antagonism between (or perhaps among) the races than we’ve had in a long time. At least we have more visible antagonism, and it is hard to tell whether that it really is more or whether it’s more a matter of better media coverage.
- The gap between the “haves” (those with wealth) and the “have nots” (those without) in the States has been increasing since the 1960s and is about at levels seen in France, Russia, and China before the revolutions in those countries.
- Regardless of what you believe about the causes of Global Climate Change (AKA Global Warming), the evidence for climate change is making itself obvious through warm winters where they should be cold, tornados, melting sea ice, rising sea levels, and plant, insect, bird, and animal migrations.
- And everywhere the Internet is available, we have unsolicited spam, malware, and computer-based theft.
I have been concerned about and, to the best of my ability, have been following these issues and attempting to understand them. Although I could rant about any of these problems (and probably others as well), what has motivated me to get back to blogging is a personal experience with Internet theft. I logged on to check to see if my tax refund had been deposited in my bank account electronically. I discovered that a debit for more than $5,000 had been transferred electronically out of my account. Adding insult to injury, it had been done with a debit card, and I don’t have one because I had read that debit cards often lead to fraudulent charges.
This kind of electronic theft happens often enough that banks carry insurance to be able to restore money taken fraudulently, and it happens often enough that no one should simply assume that it can’t happen to them. I am reminded of the old saying, “Put all your eggs in one basket, and guard the basket very carefully.” I certainly will start checking my bank records more carefully and more often as a result of this experience.
All things considered, however, my banking problem is a minuscule part of the larger global upheaval we have been experiencing. It is, of course, easier to get upset by the personal than it is the global. My loss is minuscule compared with the losses experienced by those forced to flee their homes because of war. Personal loss, however, focuses attention acutely, whereas global losses tend to overwhelm the senses and become an intellectual awareness rather than an emotional experience. We also tend to be more aware of problems in our neighborhoods and towns than we are of similar problems that happen at a distance. While that is understandable, we need to remember that the microcosm is increasingly becoming the macrocosm. The concept that we are all in this together is, for better or worse, becoming increasingly true.
My sense is that those of us who are both conscious and caring should be doing as much as we can to stem the tide of undesirable change. Edmund Burke is usually given credit as having said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” While I don’t think that I can do much, I intend to do what I can.
