The World Burns

These are the days I wish that I did not have the New York Times on my Kindle. 

The news from Norway is hard to read.  The coldness, the meticulousness, the sheer evil that Mr. Breivik put on display in the bombings and shootings that he carried out is more horrifying than anything I can imagine.  My understanding is that Norway, under its current penal code, can only sentance him to a maximum of 21 years.  I certainly hope that  that they do something about that; I don't think this man deserves to see the light of day ever again. 

The rest of the headlines?  They speak of continued anxiety over the debt ceiling crisis.  They speak of war, of death, of hardship.  They speak of a civilization and a world that has seemingly lost its way...but then you wonder if we ever have indeed known our way.  Some say that western civilization is in decline.  I can't help but wonder at times if we ever had apex. 

But hey, you shrug it off, yeah?  Bad things, horrible things, happen all the time, have happened all the time, and will happen all the time.  But we all have things to do.  We must grieve, yes, certainly.  But then we must shrug it off, and quickly, and try to find what beauty in life that might still be left for us. 

Having read through the front page section I was getting ready to do just that.  Have another cup of coffee, head off to Church, and get on with life.  But then there was the straw that broke the camel's back.  I pressed the "next" button and saw that Amy Winehouse had died. 

I lost it.  I don't know why.  Ms. Winehouse's death was certainly not unexpected, it pales in comparison to the other items in the news, and I liked her music but I honestly wasn't a huge fan.  But I guess one can only take so much, and maybe becuase I've seen Amy Winehouse, at least on TV,  there was suddenly a sort of image for the sorrow I felt that surely was only partly due to her demise.  Much as Eastern Orthodox Christians use Icons as a conduit for their prayers to God, Amy Winehouse became a focal point for my own grief over the state of the world and so many other things.

When someone tries to get you to go to rehab, you say "yes".  A couple more days like this, and I imagine all of us could use a little rehab ourselves.