Protests and New Clothes

Yes, there's a cat sleeping in that planter.

The world seems to be going crazy at the moment, doesn't it? Not only do we have the madness of civil war in Syria and muslim sectarian bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have rampaging Buddhist monks in Myanmar, violent protests in Turkey and huge numbers of people swarming the streets in Brazil. It seems like such protests are often triggered by a small thing, like a bus fare increase or the taking of a public park, but that's not really what they're about. People are pissed off. As the New York Times pointed out, the protests relate more closely to the Occupy movement -- general anger about inequities in resource allocation and decision-making.

If I were part of the one percent, I would be taking notice. No one is secure when resources are concentrated among the few at the top of the ladder.

Thus endeth my political analysis for the day.

I actually ordered some new clothes yesterday -- shock! I've been talking about it for months, and finally I got online and replaced the tattered khakis and jeans that I've had since I lived in Manhattan. They were at least four years old, some more than that, and they looked it. Now I can dress appropriately when work resumes this fall. I still need to get some new socks and other small things. I'm thinking I might do that when I go to Florida in less than two weeks. (Where does the time go?)

Is it ironic that I'm grousing about wealthy one-percenters and then talking about buying new clothes? I suppose I'm not doing that badly, personally. I have a job and some savings. But I also don't face the economic pressures of a lot of the dwindling middle-class, like raising and educating children, and I still doubt that Dave and I will ever be in a position to buy a home in London. My new pants don't change the fact that the system is broken.

Maybe I need to stop reading the news and spend my time like that cat.