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It’s all so scary. I’ve written about this before, but it doesn’t go away. Maybe my mind is the culprit (!). What I mean is, here I am living in a so-called developing country that looks to the so-called developed countries for guidance, example, enlightenment, know-how, assistance, and so on, yet we see a world in turmoil, which INCLUDES the developed countries. So, I ask: How can these developed countries give so much assistance to other, less-privileged countries that is non-physical? What can we teach the Colombians or the Indonesians or the Ugandans, just to name a few countries that are supposed to be developing? That a free country having all those kids born out of wedlock is normal or completely acceptable? That you can be a ‘rich’ and developed country, but tolerate all those blighted and abandoned areas and neighborhoods inside practically each one of the nation’s big cities? (Does Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal have these? It’s hard to imagine they do.) How to build and maintain a rat race? How to grow up to become a nation of too many single-parent households? For the young people to throw so much of their energy into a Herculean effort to become a profit-making artist or entertainer, yet nearly ignore the importance of excelling in a science or math area either in secondary or post-secondary studies? (I’m envious of this about the artist or entertainer. Who wouldn’t be willing to be a rich artist or entertainer if we are honest with ourselves?)

Anyway, to say something even more specific, it’s going to take a long time to recuperate the moral authority our nation has allowed to become lost and/or damaged. And this loss didn’t begin with the current Administration, but earlier. Many think we have seen its escalation, however, in the current Administration.

I realize that we must have ready access to the oil we need as a large nation in order to continue developing, earning and occupying our envied position as ‘No. 1 world power’. But we could have waited before invading at least two countries that we have preemptively invaded. We could have waited for a more real threat or action to deny us our accustomed purchase of oil. Because we do buy it. It’s never been a gift. And that’s why Middle Eastern nations today can talk so big. Petrodollars, they’re called. Petrodollars we, ourselves, created. Thanks for reading.