I watched Syriana for the first time last night. It was quite epic inn scope and it did make me feel like some of the problems in my life are quite petty in comparison. It also did a good job of dishing a lot of guilt onto me. Guilt in the sense that the comfortable life we have in this country is built on the backs of other people's suffering and violence in the world. It also made me think that we as a society don't have the ability to see the consequences of our actions until its to a point of crisis. I haven't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" yet, but M told me that there's this bit...

M (1:25:34 PM): anyways, theres a bit on there about a frog in hot water.
M (1:25:48 PM): if you put a frog in a pot of hot water, the frog will leap out.
M (1:26:11 PM): but if you put him in the water before it's hot, and then slowly raise the temperature.. he'll get cooked.

And I guess that's the human condition too. We don't do anything until there's impending doom. I don't really know what to make of the situation in the Middle East right now. I guess its because I don't have enough diverse friends to share with me their perspectives, so all I know is what I get from the news. Its strange that just when things seem to be looking for the area that shit gets thrown down and then suddenly everything is thrown back into turmoil. Dr. P and I were talking about it this morning and while he points to religion, I really just think its more basic than that. Its selfishness. When I look around, selfishness seems to be the main motivator of people, but at least most know their limits. They don't go overboard to the detriment of others. And if they do? I guess that's what we're seeing play out in large parts of the world.

Meanwhile I get to enjoy our supposed calm that most don't realize is really borrowed time, I guess. I realize I'm lucky and I'm trying to appreciate the fact that I'm afforded the opportunity to look inward and don't have to struggle to put food on the table and keep a roof over my head. I mean, I do have to keep a pretty dull job to do that but its nowhere the level of the strife and struggle my parents went through when they were kids in the motherland which was a third-world or undeveloped country.

I find its strange that I'm living in the world's superpower capital and yet, I trudge along with my little life and really having no effect on the grand scheme of things. Sure I guess I know people that are but I guess I'm feeling a bit insignificant and also lacking a lot of foresight. The only thing I can think of that has shown some foresight is my wife's push to get a hybrid car 2 years ago. With a barrel of oil today pushing another new high at 78 bucks and all the new turmoil in the middle east, at least we're doing something to 1)emit less carbon dioxide and 2)fill up less on dino-juice.

I guess this isn't a happy return to the blog, but at least I felt like writing something.