JMO - I wonder

There are days, listening to NPR news and interview shows, reading the newspapers or talking with people, I wonder if...

listening to the story of the Palestinian shooting students in a seminar and the Isreali Army firing rockets into the Gaza Strip we'll ever have peace in the Middle East.

listening to the story about the Washington State Legisltature trying to pass a toy protection act, regulating the degree and amounts of contaminants in toys, passing the House but being defeated in the Senate because the toy companies and importers hired lobbyist at $50,000 a day to convince Senators the bill is poison, we'll ever really decide that the future of our children is more important than money or politics.

reading about the warrentless surveillence laws in Congress, and our President demanding it be passed to fight terrorist or face bombs in the US and then the NSA, CIA and FBI release announcements that they've abused the existing laws, violating people's rights and protections, that we'll ever really see it's all a hoax and if we don't change direction to restore human rights, civil rights and protections and our democracy and republic, we'll find the corporations, military and intelligence agencies have taken control of our government.

reading about the nearly $1 Trillion deficit we have with China, we'll ever see the folly of our decisions decades ago and discover there is nothing we can do anymore except spiral down into becoming a world power as a second rate ecomony.

reading about the NSA monitoring our use of the Internet, we'll discover they've already read our computers and thinking about something - where it's just on our computer - is against the law.

listening to the history of the stories about the quality of water in the Puget Sound and the rivers flowing into the Puget Sound, and all the predictions of declining water quality that have come true, we'll ever stand up and say how stupid we've been not to protect the Puget Sound and have to admit we've lost the fight to save the Puget Sound.

reading the story about the photograph taken in 1988 of Helen Keller with her teacher Anne Sullivan, we'll realize the value of film.

thinking about poverty, will we ever learn to find answers and solutions.

thinking about guns, will we ever grow up and learn to deal with the issue so everyone feels safe without them.

thinking about the homeless, we'll find homes for everyone.

thinking about children, we'll realize they're our future, and we'll learn to do what it takes to provide the education, health care, welfare, safety, security and freedom to be children.

reading about the war in Iraq, we'll learn peace through war isn't an answer but only begets more wars, and we'll learn peace begets peace.

thinking about the environment, we'll realize that acceptable levels of pollution means we've lost the goal of no pollution, and we'll learn the planet won't be same ever again.

listening to the story of the ocean becoming deserts of life, we'll realize the movie Solylent Green was right, the oceans will die long before we discover life is dying.

thinking about the diversity of people, we'll learn to just let people be themselves and we won't need laws protection minorities.

thinking about people, we'll learn to judge people "by the content of their character."

reading about the Bible, we'll realize it's not a fixed document but an ever-changing, living one, and we'll learn it's not historical fact but just stories.

thinking about religions, we'll learn they're all basically the same, about being human and a good person.

and thinking about it, I'll think of more wonders and what ifs.