The Oppenheimer Report 10/2/17

This Could Happen To You!

I think it’s time to stop watching the news! What does the preponderance of horrible news do to the human organism? So much information, and I fear we are only reporting the worst of mankind. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, as I watch disaster after disaster unfold on the news. People say not to dwell on the bad news, but I can't seem to ignore it. And today was a good day for bad news.

The disaster of the moment, which is presently eclipsing the tragedy of hurricane destruction in Puerto Rico, the potential for civil war in Spain, the human rights crisis in Myanmar, Donald Trump’s latest foot-in-mouth tweet, etc., involves a disturbed and heavily armed man, who last night murdered 58+ people (as of this writing) and injured over 500 more when he opened fire from the 32 floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. He fired into a crowd of about 20,000 concert goers attending a country music festival, and this is being called the deadliest mass shooting in U.S history (to date). As I watch the 24-hour talking heads yammering on about what happened, I suspect we will learn a good deal about this latest human time bomb within a day or two; except maybe why he did it. ISIS, Shmisis, we spend so much time talking about our enemies abroad, but there are apparently plenty of homegrown enemies right here in our own backyard. 

I can’t help hearing all the bad noise coming out of the world over the past week – Trump’s ongoing public relations blunders and his never-ending war with just about anyone in the media, the most recent natural disasters all over the world and the subsequent struggles to rebuild. We were just talking about Houston and all the terrible flooding that Hurricane Harvey caused, and no sooner did that happen when Hurricane Irma was the big story, and the cameras pointed in a different direction. Then, in a short period of time there were more hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires. The latest (reported) human atrocity seems to be in Myanmar where the Buddhist majority appear to be “cleansing themselves” of their Rohingya Muslim countrymen. I find it remarkable the bad things we humans do in the name of our religions. Add to all of this the bad news from Syria, and the civil unrest in Spain, the political problems in Germany and the UK, and it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t look back lest ye turn to a pillar of salt. 

Last Thursday, we drove down to Toronto for more doctor’s appointments, and maybe it’s just me, but I felt a palpable tension as I approached the city limits. Drivers seemed more inconsiderate and aggressive, and Toronto in general seems to be becoming a more hostile city from the one I moved to 24 years ago. It’s as if  there is anxiousness in the air we breathe. As for Shauna’s health problems, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, so far – and she has been tested for a myriad of diseases – she has tested negative for all the obvious neurological disorders. The bad news is that there has been permanent damage to the vision in her left eye. We’re hopeful that her condition will improve, but we don’t know, and we still have no idea what caused it in the first place. In the back of my head is the gnawing realization that ill health is somehow related to our environment. It seems simple enough: more love, less hate.

“Time just seems to swirl up like the leaves in a blow

So much spinning out of my control

And I want to solve the problems of this oh so troubled world

But I can’t even seem to solve my own  

The changes they are coming, this I surely know

And I’ve got find a way to ease this troubled soul

And outside, the wind begins to blow.”  (from The Wind Begins To Blow  c2002)

Tom Petty, wherever you are, I have loved your songs for over 40 years.

 - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED