This Is A Concern

I'm now part receptionist at my new job. Each morning from 7:45-9am I answer the phone and greet visitors, offer them coffee and so on. This is perhaps my busiest time of day (yeah, work is still flipping boring- am I not challenged enough being a secretary?) and one of the tasks I get to do is listen to the voice mail of what accumulated from 6pm the day prior. On Friday, I received a message from a gentleman running for the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which as you know, has been on my mind before. Turns out, the elections, the first in, oh I don't know, probably history, were supposed take place back in June, but one thing lead to another and they just couldn't get around to it. So they've given themselves an extension (how does this work? Iraq does this too, why can't we do this?) until the end of the year. Needless to say, the man who called was hoping our little Fourtune 500 would give him some money for his campaign. I'm guessing the answer is no, but it was a very interesting message to receive. Anyway, I have very little hope for a fair election out there in the DRC, as getting to a polling place will be, oh I don't know, impossible for most people. I hope things work out for the best.

I'm also a touch concerned for Colombia. Apparently, in Colombia it's ok if you want to break into your neighbor's house and hold them hostage for a given period of time and for no apparent reason. If you'd like to blow something up very near to where people live, this is ok too. And if you're a cop, it's alright if you want to accept bribes to turn the other way. Living in Colombia is no piece of cake, even if you're theoretically successful. Georgie has been chatting it up with Presidente Uribe to get the drug thing cleared up and a bit more attention is being paid to the South American country. Hopefully people will start noticing that civil war.

Thirdly, I have not lost track of Afghan and every single other Middle Eastern country where women are being treated unfairly in the name of religion. Islam is an endlessly intriguing religion, and I don't blame it fo the cause of the troubles so much as I do the men who are constantly, in every religion, interpreting it incorrectly. Let's not forget the Afghan women.

Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, I'm freaked out by this country. Apparently it has become acceptable to stay on your presidential vacation for a few days while things take care of themselves down south. I could go on, but it's late, and my list of things that make me cry at night is growing ever longer (anti-choice justices, exhorbitant healthcare costs, anything having to do with immigration and national security, and so on). It's important that if any of this intrigues you, that you Wikipedia it, or Google it, or cnn it. Knowing what's happening outside of your little social circle of the couch, the tv, and yourself, is inherently important. So do it.