Every day, I watch the news for signs of hope and everyday I seem to be disappointed. Young men and women die way too early miles away from their loved ones and their bodies are returned bent, broken and lifeless. Innocent civilians are being slaughtered in numbers that seem to go up on a daily basis. I don’t even want to think about those who are maimed and injured.

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that falls down from the sky
It makes its way into the ground
To be consumed by you and I

I don’t know where the outrage went. I guess much of it had to do with the posturing of our elected officials in a vain attempt to steal votes in the recent elections. The anti-war demonstrations that used to be a daily occurrence have become a novelty at best and unless something happens that hits close to home, most folks have seemed to turn a deaf ear towards the goings on.

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that flows out of our taps
or comes in plastic bottles
adorned with childproof caps

We got an e-mail forwarded to us from one of the soldiers stationed over there the other day. It didn’t go into much detail but what it did say spoke volumes. You could almost feel the frustration making its way out of the words when he said that he was over there trying to help people who don’t want our help. While it’s nice to hear he is safe, who knows how long that will last?

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that each of us must drink
Some kind of hidden poison
that affects the way we think.

I keep hearing things like we must “stay the course” and that we are on some kind of noble mission and I can’t help but smirk to myself. Normally I’m not one of those self righteous kind of folks and I try and see things from both sides of the equation but for now, I can’t see how we’ll ever “win” this thing. Vice President Dick Cheney (remember him?) came out from under his rock the other day and said that the insurgency is in its “last throes”. Since then, there’s been another wave of suicide bombings and assassination attempts on various officials in the “New Iraq”.

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that makes it seem impure
When the rich get richer everyday
and give little to the poor

Large oil companies such as ExxonMobil and their kin have declared yet another record quarter for profits and the price of gasoline and heating oil has gone through the roof. I hear that the world is a safer place now that Saddam Hussein has been removed and I wonder if that pertains to all of us or just the shareholders in these nameless faceless multinational corporations. Oh yeah, what ever happened to these guys?

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that we flush out to the sea
Through pipes and toilets and sewers
that comes back to you and me

I don’t want to even know the financial cost that the war will take on those who will come home after leaving a piece of themselves over there. The emotional cost will far outstrip it anyway. Yes, unlike Vietnam vets who were hardly acknowledged, these men and women will be treated as hero’s and deservedly so. I’m just wondering what happens after the applause dies down and they are left to their own devices. I can’t imagine that my friend who is over there in the thick of it will be the same smiling man that left us a mere six months ago when he makes his return.

Uhm. there’s something in the water
when everything is “cool”
When the guilty act the innocent
and the wise man acts the fool.

No, we don’t like to talk about stuff like that. We like to hear about “runaway brides” and the recent coverage of the trial of Michael Jackson and his penchant for sleeping with little boys. If that’s how we quantify our so-called freedom, we have a long way to go. A long way indeed.

Uhm, there’s something in the water
that they won’t tell you on the news
It must be something “classified”
‘Lest we all become confused

With the recent revelation of the identity of Deep Throat, I keep hoping that somebody is doing some digging into the goings on inside the Beltway. I want a little more of the 60’s and 70’s when people felt a sense of outrage and activism rather than cooperation and complacency.
Oh, that’s right, my bad. We have a place for that already.
Note: Sorry for much of the self-referential stuff in the this w/u but it’s the only place I have.
Peace!

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