Volcano Erupts. Thousands Dead. News At Eleven.

I was reading the news online today. I really don't know why I bother. I see why the networks pump us with stories about Britney, Paris and Amy Winehouse. The news is bleak. The world is dark. The news is depressing. A few of today's international headlines:

• US HIV rate 'higher than thought'
• Parents forget child at airport
• Congo groups 're-arming' in east
• India temple stampede 'kills 140
• Afghan bomb brings wedding carnage
• 11 Climbers Reported Dead on K2

It makes you wonder why anyone would want to bring a child into this crazy, messed up world. On a daily basis, the news implies that the world is coming to an end, WWIII is on the verge of starting, an asteroid is on it's way and a terrorist is going to blow you up on your way to work.

In spite of everything being stacked against us, humans instinctive feel the need to reproduce and populate the earth regardless of the odds of survival. I guess this is why it is burned into our basic human core and biological clocks. To assure the survival of the species when most logical thoughts lead you in the opposite direction.

I can only image past generations have sensed the same sense of futility. Cavemen would have had dangers in their everyday lives:

• Tyrannosaurus Rex eats family of four
• Pterodactyl attacks local watering hole. Five missing.
• Flooding drowns caves south of lake
• Asteroid crashes in west. Smoke everywhere.
• Ice melting. Water rising. Mass exile imminent.

Yet here we are, years later pondering the same crap as our predecessors. Our only advantage is we have reality TV to help us mindlessly veg out and forget about the human condition and the world around us. Some of us won't even go as far as the world around us - those will stay in their local towns and neighborhoods.

There really isn't an end to this post. Just stuff I was thinking about...