Dark rainbow over Pdx

In a city known for rain there are also a lot of rainbows most of which are of the standard breathtakingly beautiful kind you see when the clouds blow away and the sun returns. This one, however, reminded me of a dream I'd once had where a rainbow appeared in a night-dark city sky. The colors were wrong, portending some huge and dangerous event. This time it was a rainbow before a storm and when the storm arrived it was ferocious, uprooting trees and taking out power lines all over the city. The transformer near our place was struck by lightning and the post supporting it lay in the street for hours afterward.

There are a lot of things that strike me in a similar fashion when I look at what's going on in our world today. How is it that Bush and Cheney haven't been impeached? Why is the American military still in Iraq? Why was 911 never properly investigated? Why don't millions of Americans have health care? Why is it that 70% of the population is in favor of all of the above and nothing gets done?

For a long time I kept hoping that events and disclosures would force a change - that Abu Ghraib, the Downing Street Memo, Guantanamo, Enron or Something would force a turnaround. We've witnessed outsourcing, economic meltdown, infrastructure collapse and multiple massacres under the current administration and things only appear to be getting worse. Nothing has been enough so far to produce some kind of shift and the marines haven't landed on the White House lawn carrying fresh orange suits for the occupants.

There are a lot of desperately poor people in this country as well as far too many who are preoccupied with taking more than they need. Divide and rule is the name of the game. It's so much easier to channel people's anger towards others who look different or who have different beliefs than it is to take on the real problems. I'm afraid that when the storm hits this time it will take out a lot more than a few trees and lamp posts.

This does all sound pretty negative but considering that the metaphorical train is still building up speed and the track has almost run out, my only option was to get off when it slowed at the last bend and wait in resignation for the inevitable result. In the meanwhile I'll do my job, donate as I can to chosen charities (including change to the guys downtown), read, paint and keep on trying to influence a few hearts here and there.