COMPLICATIONS ON EARTH AND IN THE UNIVERSE

Seems every day this past week my schedule required my arising earlier than I’ve wanted in recent years.    So, I was pleased to go to bed last night knowing I could sleep in the next morning if I so chose.  Now that’s what I call a real retirement benefit – arising and retiring as early or as late as I want most days, especially true with no one else in the household requiring my attention. 

My waking hours do generally include seeking news of the latest happenings in the world around me.   I’ll know I’m ready to depart this existence if the day ever comes when I cease having such interests.  While I care deeply and am committed to issues, my emotional state remains stable, unlike what some describe experiencing as a reason to reject following current events. 

Here’s my perspective, opinion, also rhetorical questions possibly injected with a sarcastic twist on a few recent events.

If you’re one of those individuals who just can’t tolerate any more reference to the current state of affairs, then you may want to skip down to where I transition into thoughts about outer space communication complications.  

Internationally, our erstwhile U.S. leader continues his efforts to disrupt positive relations with our European allies with words that seem to promote his despot idol -- if his actions at the recent Helsinki summit are any indication.    As if that isn’t enough, his recent Putin summit meeting and paltry excuse citing a supposed innocent language mistake for denigrating our country, coupled with his failure to consistently publicly condemn Russia’s admitted efforts to disrupt our elections, our leader again could be thought of as betraying the American people’s best interests.  Maybe our leader needs to review the oath and allegiance he took when assuming his elected office.  

Nationally, reuniting some children with their parents who have been seeking asylum slowly continues.  This follows what has been suggested as one of our leader’s efforts to desensitize citizens into gradually being more accepting of immoral actions, such as the inhumane treatment of others of whom he doesn’t approve -- much as autocrats or dictators do.  Amazingly, some people continue efforts to rationalize this and other of our leader’s illogical behaviors as if his motivations are genuinely intended to be in the best interests of our nation, ordinary citizens and humankind. 

Are citizens justified in asking if our leader’s conflicting words alternately disparaging then supporting our national security agencies actually exhibit treason-like behaviors? 

By kowtowing to the dictator that he admires, while subverting citizens confidence in our intelligence agencies, is our leader behaving in a traitor-like manner? 

Do we want to offer the hospitality of a White House Meeting to a dictator who has meddled and continues to interfere in our elections as our leader has proposed?      

Our Fourth Estate providing factually supported news continues to need our support to remain a bastion of power protecting our constitutional freedoms and democratic republic.  Meanwhile our leader harps on fake news, when he is the one regurgitating such most of the time, to instill confusion and undermine citizens confidence in our form of government.    He has repeatedly offered alternate facts/falsehoods so much, or claims misinterpretation,  that thinking people conclude everything that comes out of his mouth needs to be verified from other dependable sources.   

Verifying media integrity to avoid those with a history of biased reporting such as is alleged against Fox TV, for example, is wise (consider Rupert Murdoch's ownership, his agenda, association with DJT).  Differentiating between fact and opinion, and verifying the reliability of our news sources continues to be critical.  Facebook and Twitter have reportedly been found lacking and, in fact, sources of seeding much dissension adversely affecting the thinking of some of our citizens.   

California courts have ruled the measure a billionaire venture capitalist promoted to divide our state into three states will not be on our November ballot.  The justices wrote in unanimity:

"We conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election."

Locally, our city senior services have continued to proceed with plans to offer an interest group I proposed earlier this year.   I have unexpectedly become involved in the planning when a number of people responded favorably to the idea.   Subsequently, a survey has revealed enthusiasm for a variety of related topics for exploration.   I may well become involved in a facilitating role though I hadn’t planned to assume any group responsibilities since retiring.   I’ll share particulars later as this activity continues to develop for scheduling to begin later this summer leading into fall/winter.  

Reflecting on the divisiveness fostered and admitted by Putin to disrupt our previous election which Russia is continuing according to our National Intelligence figures, (other than the Homeland Security person who parrots our leader's mendacity), I’m hoping that many of our citizens, especially the Congress, will re-examine their support of our leader's positions and think primarily of preserving our nation’s freedoms.  Maybe they need to review the oath of office they took.  

My thoughts go quite far afield sometimes.  Thinking of some people division-inclined on earth, but who are open to the prospect of finding and interacting with life on other planets in space.   I wonder how they would react if life was found somewhere out there?   How intelligent would that life be?  

The idea is incredulous, I think – for example, we earthlings in the U.S.  have numbers of people who resist languages other than English being spoken here, unlike the multi-language speakers welcomed  in many other nations.   Can you imagine that divisively-inclined U.S. group encountering creatures who are possibly of different shapes, colors, and who knows how they might communicate, or what other differences might exist, expecting to establish good relations with outer space beings? 

Do you ever consider the possibility of life elsewhere and how we would react?  

I feel very magnanimous and desirous of offering friendship ..... and then I remember one of my favorite Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" episodes, "To Serve Man".  If you don't know the story an Internet search will reveal links to view the program.  Also, you can click this Wikipedia link for story specifics,  but spoiler alert if you plan to watch the show, don't read about it first.

Music sets the mood.  I just had an eerie thought, do you suppose our current leader haunts a corner of that world?