The world is scary

I live a pretty good life. I get pissed off about bad things going on in the rest of the world but it usually seems so distant. At an intellectual level I see that it's bad but I don't get emotionally involved. A bunch of people get blown up in a cafe in Israel. Oh well, it sucks, but shit happens. Peasants in North Korea can barely get enough food to eat. Oh well, it sucks, but shit happens.

But every now and then I really feel something. It usually happens when I forget to turn the radio off at night and the BBC World Service gets beamed directly into my dreams. A couple of months ago I really felt the Beslan siege. Holy shit I felt it. I remember being a sleep and every now and then barely coming into consciousness and hearing about hundreds of children being killed and hearing mothers scream with grief. It hurts. It hurts so much to hear that. I can't imagine going through that.

Last night I really felt the fighting in Falluja. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a city with a war going on around me. Most of the people there want both of the belligerents to get the fuck out of their city. People there are starving and until a few hours ago had no hope of getting aid. I sometimes try to imagine what it would be like if there was a war going on here in Seattle and I had to deal with that kind of stuff. It kinda makes me want to stock up on canned goods the next time I goto the grocery store.