Juxtaposition

I love that word.

Juxtapositions conjure up contradictions and opposing views that somehow mesh together into a whirlwind conglomeration of life as we know it.

And if you alter the letters of juxtapose just a little the resulting homonym, ‘just suppose’ is quite thought provoking.

Just suppose that all the peoples of the world worked together as one.

Just suppose we treated the Earth as our home rather than our garbage dump.

Just suppose we all had the common goal of making the universe our backyard.

Just suppose we were able to put all the great minds together to find cures for all that ails our species as well as others.

Just suppose those great minds could instill the desire in current and future generations to become great.

And finally just suppose that we all realized how stupid it is to be fighting wars in the name of peace.

Juxtapositions have been around since before the dawn of mankind and will be here when we are long gone.

But don’t think they all have to be bad.

The inventor of the compound trinitrotoluene, aka TNT was Alfred Nobel of the Nobel Peace Prize!  In other words he gave us the means with which to blow ourselves up and an award for not doing so!

But reality is what it is and ‘just suppose’ is juxtaposed on it every day.

The news fills our lives with stories of new and amazing advances in medicine juxtaposed against those showing our troops searching for terrorists who live like moles in caves.

We see extravagant life styles with lavish parties thrown on yachts or at mansions while millions upon millions of Americans wonder where their next meals will come from.

We witnessed the financial meltdown in Europe that caused citizens to riot over increased educational costs while being told how important education is to our collective futures.

Financial cable shows point to people buying luxury items as proof the recession is over only to broadcast the next story about skyrocketing oil and gas prices that will cause the economy to tank.

There are weather related stories showing record droughts; floods; extreme heat and major snowstorms with bone-chilling cold all blanketed against claims that climate change is a myth.

And speaking of myths there is now a theme park with Noah’s Arc showing man and dinosaur cohabitating, an oxymoronic juxtaposition in and of itself.

Law abiding hard working productive members of society who love each other are barred from being wed at any cost while the World prepares to watch the spectacle of yet another so-called Royal Wedding in London, paid for by whom?

And finally people who have been unemployed for years due to the wrong doings of others and now in need of assistance are used as pawns in a power struggle to help millionaires and billionaires keep even more of their easy earned cash, many of whom caused the problems in the first place.

Now juxtapose all the above with year end celebrations that traditionally bring people together hoping for peace and good will toward all mankind.

So as the final juxtaposition comes and the famed ball drops in Times Square we say goodbye to father time and the dying 2010 while saying hello to the baby that shall become 2011.

Will this finally be the year?

Just suppose!

Happy New Year

My New Years' wish is a simple one. But I am certain that many people I know will not be happy with it. And they know who they are.

Aside from an economic recovery and the usual obligatory 'World Peace' I wish that everyone gets what they deserve!

Of course I have no supreme power to see to it that this wish comes true but on this annual day that boasts "The Twilight Zone" marathon would it not be great to see it happen

Let's see who would not be happy:
The entire exiting team that was the Bush administration.
Quite a few members of the company for which I worked loyally these past 15 years.
Bernie Madoff.
Countless CEOs.
Spammers and the bastards who create and distribute computer viruses.
Terrorists the world over, at least in our eyes. (It's my post so I decide.)
And many, many more.

Please feel free to add to the list but do not be too specific lest your mother-in-law actually read this blog.

Occasionally we read about the slow wheel of justice finally turning in the right direction, even if it is for the wrong crime, right OJ?

So to those I consider my friends I give you Tiny Tim's wish and repeat my wish and add a hearty heart-felt wish for your health; wealth and happiness in the New Year.