First off, thanks to Stephen and AMR for weighing in on the events of these times … we need all the help we can get!

Second, did anyone else notice the spike in the stock market when Massachusetts was effectively voting down healthcare reform?  Could the battle lines be drawn any more clearly?

First off, let’s stop calling it healthcare reform … it’s insurance industry reform.  Oh, and as Joe Lieberman’s behavior attests, the industry ain’t happy about it.

That’s where I see the battle.  It’s between democracy and capitalism – with capitalism- run-rampant coopting our democratic processes and winning at the moment.

So the question is, can democracy and capitalism figure out a way to happily co-exist?

Well, first off, our democracy needs to find its feet and get back some traction.  Voters need to stop voting their fears and allowing themselves to be manipulated by the corporate world.  Can that happen?

I feel discouraged about it at the moment.

Another possibility would be for the bankers and insurance executives and oil tycoons – all those CEO’s, CFO’s, COO’s and other capitalists (who are, after all, human beings) to realize that some of the lessons of kindergarten, like playing nice and sharing, actually should apply to adult life, too.  Can that happen?

I feel discouraged about it at the moment.

Oh, and the press and politicians and pundits need to stop being opportunistic and manipulative, ammassing votes like money, via whatever means possible.  It would be good to actually start seeking solutions and telling the truth.  Can that happen?

I feel discouraged about it at the moment.

But then again, there’s this … which I try to keep in mind …

After 5000 years of recorded human history, you wonder, What part of 2,000,000 sunrises doesn’t a pessimist understand?

Robert Brault