From Iraq, to Shiavo, to the gas situation, to the economy, Social Security - you name it, and the government has repeatedly shown itself to be totally out of control. And their delusions are growing daily. How do sane people begin to combat such an insidious force? They don't argue with facts, or logic, just their view of 'morality' according to their narrow religion. And the militant left aren’t much better.

My daughter was extremely frustrated recently after a professor (!) at her college pointed out during class that "pedophiles and homosexuals are the same." She didn't know how to respond to someone who didn't care to listen to reason. And the right says colleges are too liberal!

More and more I feel like an outsider watching the country self-destruct, but still having to deal with the consequences. I hesitate to speak out when someone in my town makes a particularly inane comment because I really hate to alienate people, but how else will change happen? My husband and I have discussed Plato’s The Cave at length, and feel it's an apt metaphor for much of what goes on today. But if we can't bring people out of the cave, and they still control our world, how do we deal with the outcomes? A self-sustaining cabin in the woods is more appealing every day.

I rarely watch TV news anymore, either, and while I feel obligated to read the daily paper to keep abreast of issues for my assignments as a freelancer, I think it's starting to depress me. I read Time magazine, NY Times on-line, and some Yahoo headlines, and that's more than enough. But I'm also afraid of what may be happening in the world that I need to know about - not that there's really much I can do about any of it - but I'd hate to be caught unawares by something major.