Friday, August 3, 2007

WHAT COMES FIRST

You can still find sections of the roads that the Romans built two thousand years ago. Clear away the brush, two thousand years of plant debris, replace a few stones and they could probably be used today. In some old cities you could probably use the old sewers and water systems. For all I know, some of the old towns still are using them.

Over five centuries ago craftsmen built cathedrals to the glory of God and perhaps to their own genius. Most of those cathedrals are still standing. Most of those cathedrals will probably still be standing five hundred years from now. If we don’t blow them up in a frenzy of self destruction or sheer stupidity.

A freeway bridge built forty years ago, pronounced deficient in 1990, collapses “unexpectedly.” The gist of state officials explanations is that “nobody told us it was that bad.” I don’t know what to do first; laugh, cry, scream or pray.

Laugh, because somehow I’m not really that surprised. Cry for the drivers who depended on that bridge and assumed it was safe, scream because I suspect it didn’t have to happen, and pray not only for the families left behind but for ourselves.

If your house has a leaky roof or termites you deal with the problem and repair the damage. Well, this country is our "house." It's time for the government (us) to tell the elected hired help to quit playing idealogical games and for us to get our heads out of the sand. The house is falling down around our ears.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice image...our country as our "house." --Cin

Anonymous said...

Yes this country is our house -- can I go stay with the neighbors???

xx
Russ

Anonymous said...

Yes...it's interesting how we have the money to go all over the world "spreading democracy" but can't find the funds to renovate our aging infrastructre.  Perhaps it needs to be explained to Bush that the Interstate freeway system was hatched during the Eisenhower Admnistration in the interests of national security...  Lisa  :-]