If They Wrote Soap Operas Like This . . .

If they wrote soap operas based on the news of the day, no one would purchase the scripts.

Reason? Too unbelievable. The news is enough to make any person wonder if they have fallen down some Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit hole into an world so imaginary, you couldn't dream this stuff up in a month of Sundays.

The stock market's Dow has fallen almost 500 points this morning. Watching it gyrating around so much is enough to give you whip lash. Unspeakable poverty and children die by the thousands in a tragedy beyond words to describe it.The Syrian dictator continues to slaughter his own people. Gorbachev says Russia is sliding back into USSR days. One of the candidates running for president denys climate change - after all, his state produces more carbon dioxide emissions than any other state. And the Tea Party lady from Minnesota will bring back $2 gas when she is president.  Need I go on with the list?

A trip to the grocery store restores my sanity. Fully covered Somali women push their carts pass products to please Hispanic shoppers. Background sounds of languages from eastern Europe and southeast Asia are reminders of people who have come here seeking better lives. Along with white folk who have never been in downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul, whose ancestors came here for the same reason. Every one is civil to each other. Tall people help shorter people reach goods from top shelves.No bumper-car wars with shopping carts. No protesters trying to hammer their particular ideology into people's minds. Just ordinary folks with families to feed, jobs to worry about, and young children to educate - too young to have heard they are "different."

If I were choosing, the world I would design would look like my local grocery store. A place where everyone is welcome and there is enough food to go around. A place where appearing different is not an immediate indicator that "they" are to be feared. And where "appearing different" has nothing to do with respect, decency, and honesty. Because all of us are ordinary people.