Thank gawd, I can still dream.

I'm not so sure that I like living in the Information Age. There's too much information. Much of it bullshit. I'd rather live as my ancestors did. In and around the tiny village of Kashofen, in the German Palantine. Neighbors knew each other. But contact didn't go much beyond that. Even before that, my ancestors were hidden away in the Swiss Alps. Sure, they had to eek out a living. Maybe at times pretty much hand to mouth. But they weren't burdened by world events. Depressing stuff. Like some wild-eyed Christian clergyman burning 200 copies of the Islamic Koran. Sure, the world has always been full of idiots. Assholes. But my ancestors knew only of the idiots and assholes in their immediate environs. And they could choose to ignore 'em. They didn't do any harm, really. Because idiots of the day moreorless talked to themselves. Their antics didn't get reported worldwide. Now every idiot has an outlet. A forum. Because of a 24-hour news cycle. We keep reporting what's happening in the world. Even the crap. The bullshit. The rantings of crazy people. We are subjected to a constant drone of babble. We no longer have the luxury of silence. Oh, for the days when we didn't have television or radio or newspapers or, for that matter, the Internet. We were able to live in isolation. In our little hovels. Yes, we were able to live in cocoons. In relative peace and quiet. Now there's virtually no escaping the bombardment of information. Much of it useless information. And depressing information. I hear Republicans. And Democrats. The same idiotic rhetoric every day. Unceasingly. Even when I wear earplugs. The sound comes through. Because it's so loud. Only when I sleep and drift off to Paradise do I get a break. A welcome relief. Oh, yes, I may be living in a dream. In Paradise. But thank gawd, I can still dream. It's my salvation. --Jim Broede