![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/031222-LIT.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe past three weeks of 24\/7 shock and awe sh*t, war-war porn on our flat screens, smart phones, tablets and computers took me back to similar dark times 50-years ago, when I heard a fellow boomer\u2019s tune on my FM radio as America\u2019s first televised nightly news war crescendoed half a world away in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
That we\u2019ve become a nation of violence porn addicts still shocks me in that unlike those long-ago days, practically none of us today has or perceives they have any real skin in the game now that America\u2019s draft conscription fell off the table for good back then.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, erstwhile progressive anti-war types in Manhattan are trashing Russian immigrant-owned businesses, museums, restaurants, firing ballet dancers and opera singers. That used to be called bigotry. Now it\u2019s patriotic solidarity. Sheesh, how did we Americans lose our innocence and way so badly?<\/p>\n
A belated tip of the hat to Jackson Browne and his “Doctor My Eyes”:<\/p>\n
Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
\nAnd the slow parade of fears without crying
\nNow I want to understand<\/p>\n
I have done all that I could
\nTo see the evil and the good without hiding
\nYou must help me if you can<\/p>\n
Doctor, my eyes
\nTell me what is wrong
\nWas I unwise to leave them open for so long<\/p>\n
‘Cause I have wandered through this world
\nAnd as each moment has unfurled
\nI’ve been waiting to awaken from these dreams<\/p>\n
People go just where they will
\nI never noticed them until I got this feeling
\nThat it’s later than it seems<\/p>\n
Doctor, my eyes
\nTell me what you see
\nI hear their cries
\nJust say if it’s too late for me<\/p>\n
Doctor, my eyes
\nThey cannot see the sky
\nIs this the prize
\nFor having learned how not to cry<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Is there a doctor to diagnose and treat us? Some prescription medicine for us to take? Will our crusted eyes and burning souls return to normal after having seen too much? Is American idealism gone forever?<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, let\u2019s stop importing vodka and caviar. That\u2019ll show \u2018em.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2022 My Aisle Seat
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The past three weeks of 24\/7 shock and awe sh*t, war-war porn on our flat screens, smart phones, tablets and computers took me back to similar dark times 50-years ago, when I heard a fellow boomer\u2019s tune on my FM radio as America\u2019s first televised nightly news war crescendoed half a world away in Vietnam. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-island-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23429"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23433,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23429\/revisions\/23433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vicsocotra.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}