i read a lot of news. the thing is, often i come across stuff that i just can’t process. i don’t know what to think, or how to feel. it’s easy when i’m outraged, or sad, or gloriously happy. but there’s life in this world that just makes me feel all mixed up inside. where i know i *should* feel outraged, or sad, or gloriously happy, but instead, it just all washes over me in a confusing wave.

african widows’ “cleansing” ritual in the shadow of the aids epidemic

“Here and in a number of nearby nations including Zambia and Kenya, a husband’s funeral has long concluded with a final ritual: sex between the widow and one of her husband’s relatives, to break the bond with his spirit and, it is said, save her and the rest of the village from insanity or disease. “

the horrifying photo which captured the vietnam war

“Even now I call her once a week – she lives in Toronto, Canada. We are like a family now.”

south africa – democracy ten years in

“It’s an old truism that South Africa is a land of two realities. It has never been more than a short drive from lush gardens and shopping malls to tin shanties and open sewers. Today, the contrast remains blatant…”

And specially for J: see, government *is* the people, and we are the government. the problems inherent in government are not the result of some externally imposed evil. the problem is us. we impose them. and if our governments are too often tools of oppression and corruption which kill and starve, they are equally a symbol of hope. they *can* change, because we can change them. we can change ourselves. power to the people, man.

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