THE SKY IS FALLING

What the hell is going on in the monument world? First, I read the Washington Monument was damaged by the quake, and repairs are underway to ensure its stability, while visitors cannot go near it. Then I see that the National Cathedral in Washington, the main cathedral of the American Episcopal Church, is undergoing repairs at a cost of $25mm. Today I read that the Taj Mahal will need serious and extensive repairs to its wooden foundation and that already cracks are appearing and the domes are slightly tilted.

I think it rather symbolic that these landmarks are in trouble, reflecting the disrepair and decay so prevalent in the economic and political worlds of today. So many of our values and beliefs are undergoing stress tests in these hard times that you begin to feel the impermanence of our world more than ever. All the kings horses and men are having more trouble than ever with all those broken pieces and shards.

And it shows in our fragmented and divided thinking of what and how to do with the world. Republicans are still set in concrete; Democrats are still squabbling among themselves; the President is pushing for a jobs program that doesn't go far enough in dealing with our economic and political problems.

It looks like, at the minimum, we all need a good lube job. More likely, we need a systemic overhaul.

I hear Chicken Little screaming louder than ever.