Sometimes I feel like I’m living in parallel universes.

One universe is what you might call the “mainstream” universe. In the mainstream universe, the sun rises and sets each day on a life that is pretty good. Someone I’ve never met delivers a paper to my doorstep each morning, and I get up and to take the bus to work. I work a full day with good, dedicated people; we generally avoid political discussions, knowing that we are on opposite sides of a divide that probably cannot be easily bridged. Every two weeks I bring home a paycheck, and I watch my savings account grow. There is a mall nearby that is absolutely jam-packed with worldly goods; any time that I discover something lacking in my material life, I can get in my automobile, and be back with the item in less than an hour. Gasoline prices fluctuate up and down, but I am not especially dependent on my car, and I don’t pay that much attention to fuel prices. In the mainstream universe, I serve on a jury, and come away impressed by our system of laws that apply to everyone, rich or poor, black or white. In this universe, there is violence and economic disparity, but it is far away, and easily dismissed as the bad choices of those involved. Every Wednesday my family and I go out for pizza at the best pizza place in town; it’s a long-standing tradition, and we don’t want to change it. In this mainstream universe, it’s easy to believe that this existence, largely free from want, though not free from work, is my birthright. It will go on forever, and I will pass it on to my children.

Then there is what I call the parallel universe... the parallel universe is rarely observed, for it is not directly reported via any media outlet. You have to look for it, but it is there.

In the parallel universe, John Ashcroft is busy assembling the tools of tyranny. Rabid Republicans attempt to bring about a slow-motion implosion of the federal government by passing huge yearly tax cuts for the rich. Democrats stand meekly aside or snipe timidly from the sidelines; they don’t have much issue with the policy, it seems, just the unseemly and overt way it is being implemented. In the parallel universe budgets are balanced, when they are balanced, on the backs of the poor and mentally ill and the too young to vote. Otherwise, wherever possible we push off on our children and grandchildren the consequences of our profligacy.

In the parallel universe the world seems to be divided into white Americans being served by brown-skinned laborers that speak another language as they go about their duties in the restaurants. Overseas, other brown-skinned people are subjugated and taught how to conform to our notions of democracy - all the while enduring the privatization of their water and other natural resources. It is only right that we should do this for them, as they are innocent children unable to grasp the intricacies of politics and power.

In the parallel universe, I pick up any tool in the hardware store, and see that each one is labelled “Made in China.” Friends that I used to work with call me up and ask if I have any news of employment that they might apply for. A giant credit bubble threatens to swallow the economy. The price/earnings ratio is still inflated by 50%, but the stock market is poised for a rebound.

In the parallel universe, up is down, and black is white. We go to war to preserve the peace. Not finding weapons of mass destruction just confirms how devilishly cleverly those weapons were hidden. Saddam’s capabilities to harm us are fearsome, but the war will be cakewalk. A strong dollar is desirable, but a weak dollar is just fine, too. The stock market is looking for good news, but too much good news makes the stock market go down.

Lately I can’t seem to escape the parallel universe. It is everywhere I look.



Kurt


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