Four glass glints found. She grinned.

Three fine red leaf falls.  She dined.

Two splendid silk shards.  She winced.

One salient blue sigh.  She belched.

“Stuff and nonsense!” my grandmother would have said.

They are trying to do it again.  Call us “tax and spend liberals”!!!  Those damned, Bush-loving, run up a trillion dollar national debt, start another war anywhere, give tax breaks to the super rich, right to life in the womb but no health care for the children of impoverished tax payers, Republiscum, right-wing nut cases.  It makes my blood boil when I hear a candidate – speaking as a compassionate conservative – advocate bombing Iran and putting girls who have abortions in jail.  When I read neocon pundits talking about a strong economy – that means outsourcing the entire manufacturing sector to China – I am tempted to take a flame thrower to Wallmart’s clothing department.  Every time I watch TV reports about the private lives and political dealings of Vitters, Craig, DeLay, and all the rest of those hypocrites, I just want to go throw up in the porcelain bowl.  And don’t get me started talking about Charles Krauthammer, Sue Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, or Billy Kristol.  Impeach!  Impeach!!  Impeach!!!

I made that paragraph up all by myself.  I could have taken it from hundreds of the online comments posted to Internet newspapers and political blogs. 

That paragraph is a working definition of the word, apoplexy.  Apoplexy is rage and righteous indignation run amuck.  It can be a license to kill or a sufficient reason for revenge.  [Stewardess on intercom: “We are approaching our destination, the state of Justifiable Homicide.  Please have your passports and weapons ready upon arrival.  We hope you enjoyed your ride on Air Apoplexy and will travel with us again soon.]

How does anyone get to such a crazy state of mind?

Consider that many religions describe human life as one based in freedom and nonattachment, a state of existence in which each person can live in spontaneity, compassion, acceptance, a sense of unity with everything, and love.  This is a state of no name and no form. 

Still how does one get from a state of no name and form to apoplexy?  How does one go from a state of existence in which one can act with spontaneity, compassion, love, et al. to a response charged with judgement, righteous indignation, and justification for aggressive action?

What strikes me when I read the online papers, blogs and reader comments is the use of labeling.  Name calling.  Justification based on over simplification.  As though if I just put a label on someone or some action, then I can understand the critical factor about the person or the action and respond accordingly.  [Q: Mr. President, if you knew then what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq?   A: We had to do it.  I’ve said this before.  This administration will protect the country from terrorist attacks.  We have to win the war on terrorism.]

Somewhere in the human journey of experience, of stimulus and response, the moment of labeling the stimulus becomes the turning point that allows one to become attached to a desired outcome.  It’s part of making sense of how the stimulus relates to me.  It’s making stuff of the nonsense and getting what I want out of the possibilities.  It’s avoiding the silk shards after I remember that the last one gave me a bad cut.  It’s wanting to have more glass glints to break the sunlight into rainbows.  It’s the way I fall into picking by habit the outcome I am convinced I need to have occur in order for me to be happy.   Once I’ve picked out my plan of action, it’s the emotional attachment that cements my actions to the successful accomplishment of the only outcome that I believe to be the right one.  And, it’s the fear and anxiety I have that things won’t work out the way I need them to. 

Of course there are always other possibilities, other responses, other possibilities.  [Q: Mr. President, if you knew then what you know now, would you have invaded Iraq?   A: Probably not.  We really misread the intelligence.  The war is costing us an arm and a leg.  Oh well.]

Interesting nonsense such stuff.