Surrender, Dorothy!

I always enter the new year with hopes of better things, and here's one already. Has anyone other than the NY Times (and me) noticed that CNN has finally dropped the crawl? That constant stream of news across the bottom of the news, letting us know, since 9/11/2001, that there was something going on so much WORSE than what the reporters were talking about that we had to be told immediately, is gone. I remember 9/11 (and 9/12 and 9/13) all too well, especially the feeling of helpless fear that kept me perched on the arm of my couch, afraid to take the time to wash the ashes from my hair, listening to CNN and watching the crawl, sure that if I averted my gaze for just a moment....

Since then, because of fear, or the determination never to be afraid like that again, we have entered wars, tolerated torture, expected (and sometimes gotten) the worst from people who were not like us. And why are we so afraid? Mostly because people are so busy convincing us that we OUGHT to be, which is no way to live. It's nice to see some of the frenzy die out, even if it is just that running text below the reporter that makes you gasp with apprehension, no longer knowing where to direct your attention and how to protect yourself.

What does this have to do with dogs?

Well, lately we dog club types seem to have been spending a lot of time discussing the dangers that abound in the dog world. The idea of working together to accomplish things is scoffed at, and met with great lists of every thing that COULD go wrong in this bad world. I, for one, am tired of people who make their points by trying to make others afraid and who, rather than presenting a reasoned argument, warn me that if I am not careful my dogs will be stolen or, worse, I'll start getting SPAM in my email.

It's Locke vs. Hobbes all over again. Is man a noble savage, capable of accepting the give and take of the rule of law, or a savage beast who must form alliances in desperation to gain protection against the other (nasty, brutish, short, not like a spinone at all) savages? Well, some people seem to prefer to live in a world where the preemptive first strike is the only option; I don't, and playing upon my fears is not the way to make me change. Not this year.