Even in Paradise, I'm restless.

I'm becoming restless. About the way the world operates. Politically. Economically. Socially. I don't like the systems. The problem is that I don't know what to do about it. I feel powerless. So I have tended to withdraw. And get on with the rest of my life. Falling in love. Moving to Sardinia. To live with my true love. In a Sardinian village. Not far from idyllic Mediterranean beaches. Therefore, maybe I have no reason to complain. About politics. Especially American politics. Because I will have fled from the USA. With no hurry to return. I consider myself lucky. For being able to find Paradise. In the midst of all the turbulence and turmoil in the world. I guess that if I were younger, in my 20s or 30s instead of my 70s, I'd become a revolutionary. I'd join protest movements. I'd work for political change. And the narrowing of the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. Seems to me that as a society, we Americans have lost track of the common good. We automatically think that the common good means individual freedom. To make money. To become rich. To accumulate far more than what one really needs. Even if it's at the expense of the rest of society. I don't buy that. But I also acknowledge that the global economy has helped to raise the overall standard of living in some poor countries. And maybe lowered the standard a little in rich countries. Maybe that's good. But most annoying is watching the rich get richer. While much of the middle class loses ground. That ain't right. That tells me the common good isn't being truly served. And that makes me restless. Even when I'm living in Paradise. --Jim Broede