another letter from a friend...

I tried to respond to the "essence," but it requires a logging in and the attempt to create an account bugged me so I'll respond this way.    I think every American, in some way, passes these or similar thoughts through their heads and I'm inclined to believe that probably all humans, regardless of country, probably deal with these same issues.    Unless I'm totally wrong, what I hear is you dealing with the universal mystery of humankind. What, how and why are we here.  Religion is born of these questions. All the major religions offer a believe system that takes the questions you're asking and gives answers.  Example: Who made the world?  God made the world. Oh. Since God always was and always will be, and God made the world, we can stop asking how the world started. Religion calls that "faith."    If religion doesn't have it right, maybe the philosophers, writers, quantum physicists have a better answer. (BTW - a new film called What the Bleep do we know is appearing at the Avon theater in Providence and the Loew theater in Boston - you'd love this flick. Try and see it before it leaves town. http://www.whatthebleep.com/showdates/#MA)    Stage theorists, such as Jean PIaget and Gail Sheehey (sp?), offer us a series of stages that we would pass through on our journey through life. And, as you point out, there is a group of older people (by which you mean older than you) who have passed through the other stages and there is a group of people at your stage.  Each of those groups and all the other groups (or stages) live together on the planet and bounce off of one another like molecules.  Example: There was a time when I liked my music loud and thought that everyone should. Now other people's music annoys me, especially when it comes from a car passing my house.  Does that make me wrong/bad/old? I think not. It simply means I have finished with the loud music stage and rather enjoy the quiet sounds of nature stage.    Somehow I find us to be a collection of upright bipeds divided by geography, thence by customs, religion and language.  The geography piece is beginning to be less relevant because we can get around it so much quicker, but the customs and language part still divides us clearly.  In addition to these divisions are the economic and power divisions. That's where the real fun begins. Religion was the first to figure out that power led quickly to riches and religious power can trump political power. It did, and it does.    All rich people are not bad. They are, however, wealthy and their wealth allows them to purchase products you & I can't afford. People is a product they can purchase. A maid, a gardener, a private pilot, boat captain, or soldier.  They can also purchase workers such as factory workers who, in turn, produce more wealth.    America has it's constitution and proudly declares that all men are created equal. However, it does not address equality of wealth. That is where the disparity begins. The wealthy, and those born into wealth, enjoy perks from their beginnings - even pre-natal with access to specialized care, pampering, preparation.  The rich profit handsomely from the poor. The rich need the poor.  The war in Iraq is not about Saddam, it's about money and the rich need the poor (soldiers and undereducated Iraqies) to accomplish the larger objective - Money.    We walk a journey through our years. We dream, we wish, we produce, ... we live. Others impact our living, as does nature. We are not, and can not, be completely "in control" because we share the planet and the universe with others. You and I can't control the impact of an asteroid, the path of a hurricane or the path of an oncoming car. Mostly those things miss, but every day someone is whacked by a car. Even Princess Diane. Who do we blame?    OK, this has been fun. Enjoy your next decade. I'm going to enjoy mine.