There is a kind of madness to be seen at night by anyone driving the Hana Highway from the entrance to Baldwin Beach to Paia.

There are so many reflecting traffic signs that one thinks that one has entered Vegas.

Similarly, the madmen at the “Department of Roads” have now covered the roads of Haiku with speed tables.

But why is one surprised? As above, so below. As within the consciousness, so the condition, surroundings and body of the man.

Since the world, as manifested proximally and globally; and nature, as manifested, have tended toward madness, why should one question the sanity of one’s neighbor?

We each contribute to the world’s chaos, instability and hysteria, and we each receive one’s share of the karma.

Foolish consumers have financial problems. Corrupt politicians become the targets of ridicule, hatred and illness. Sin-soaked clergy suffer from self-disgust, impossible repentance and disrobement.

Perhaps the worst manifestations of our imbalanced, unkind, fearful world are the acts of the unqualified wielding power. Whether behind a counter, a desk, or in front of a flag-draped background.

Raphael O’Suna
Haiku