Perhaps the news has taken over my subconsciousness, which is the only reason I can come up with for a strange dream that I hazily recall, in which the discussions about the fiscal cliff were happening at this location in Tanzania that I visited three years ago:
It is the Sea Cliff Hotel, and the photo easily conveys the explanation for the name of the facility.
The Indian expat couple, who picked me up from the airport and hosted me for two days, took me to this restaurant. It was a wonderfully scenic location, yes. But, it felt so stiflingly colonial in that almost all the patrons were non-natives, and the staff, including the waiters, were all locals. I felt so much out of place.
Perhaps the Sea Cliff hotel does have a parallel with the fiscal cliff, in that if the Democrats and Republicans cannot constructively agree on the restructuring of revenue and spending, then life for those politicians or the affluent won't be affected one bit--it is the average John and Jane Doe whose lives will be immediately messed up. The politicians are like the expats at Sea Cliff, sometimes even talking pejoratively about the lower and middle classes even as they are being served by the very people.
Anyway, back in Tanzania, the day after this visit, I walked around, as I always do when I travel to a new place.
It is a good thing to back away from the cliff and get back to the firm and level ground of reality.
If only we can get the politicians, who we elected to serve us, to come down from that cliff!
No comments:
Post a Comment