By Sniffles
It's hard to believe that tourists in Sicily would gawp at an erupting volcano at close range until — well, until they've suddenly figured out that they might be in, um, danger.
Mount Etna blowing its top today is reminiscent of the history we all know about Pompeii, whose eruption probably seemed curious to local citizens until the pyroclastic flow started. It buried the city at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to go back in time and warn everybody — not just in Pompeii but also in nearby Herculaneum. Recent research has shown that the victims in both cities didn't vaporize immediately, but rather died slowly from heat, suffocation and toxic fumes. Ugh.
The moral of the story? Anything can happen any time — so, like the Boy Scouts, be prepared.
It seems like Americans today are decidedly Not Prepared. Trump 2.0 has been violating the Constitution and bending the rule of law to such an extent that we're in a volcanic-eruption-type emergency — but because it doesn't affect their daily lives, our fellow citizens are, so far, unconcerned. Other people are getting arrested by ICE. Women we don't know are being tracked by authorities if they seek abortions. National security experts are having their clearances revoked. None of this seems to have anything to do with the price of eggs, does it?
But pretty soon, the pyroclastic flow will catch up with all of us. Maybe Republican Senator Joni Ernst drove it home this weekend with her callous "We're all going to die" comment. Maybe Social Security recipients are feeling increasingly vulnerable, and checking their deposits every month. But sadly, human nature decrees that most of us don't care about public policy until it affects us personally.
Attention, everyone: The pyroclastic flow is coming. Let's not get caught in it. (Here's how not to.) We cats HISS.
