In one Big Bang.

Minnesota’s state government has been shut down for 5 days now. Because a Republican Legislature and a Democratic governor can’t come to terms over the budget. Which I think is ridiculous. Because one would think that politicians could compromise. And meet each other at some between point. But that’s not the nature of American politics. It’s no compromise. And downright dirty politics. A take-no-prisoners sort of thing. Each side is out to screw the other. Royally. Like we’re right. And you’re wrong. Of course, that’s why we have wars. Wars that could easily be prevented. There was no need for World War I. Or for World War II. Or for the Vietnam War. Or the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. We are accustomed to war. And feuding. And bickering. Figuring the only way to resolve our differences is to kill each other. Unless the other side acquiesces. Completely. It ain’t gonna come to war in Minnesota. But still, it’s coming to unnecessary hostility. Because of a lack of goodwill in the political realm. That’s the way politics is played. We train for hostility. Beginning on the local level. Then on up to the county and the state and national and international levels. So that when we finally reach the top of the pyramid, we are fully capable of launching wars. Devastating and obscene wars. Because that’s the way it’s always been played. It’s custom. It’s the routine. We never learn. World War I was supposed to be the war that ends all wars. But it was only the beginning of far worse conflagrations. We keep learning how to kill more indiscriminately and effectively. From a distance. We send in drones to kill people. We don’t need combat soldiers any more. We can kill effectively with robots. So we don’t have to see the blood or innocent people with their heads blown off. It’s only a matter of time before we find a way to wage a war that obliterates the Earth. Ends our civilization in one big bang. But then again, isn’t that the way the world was supposed to have started? In one Big Bang. We'll go in and out the same way. –Jim Broede