Questions

Were you one of those kids who drove her parents nuts with constant “why” questions? Why is there dew on the grass in the morning? Why do leaves turn red and fall to the ground? Why do horses whinny?

I was one of those kids. And really, I’m still that kid—always wondering why, forever curious about, well, just about everything. Whether by nature or by nurture (probably both), I possess a seemingly bottomless well of inquisitiveness. But I know that having a thriving curiosity is a good thing for one’s brain plasticity, so I’m glad I have it.

Sometimes I still wonder about natural phenomena, such as dew on the grass and the number of stars in the skies, but every day I have many other “whys” crossing my mind. Here are a few:

Why can we watch Syrian children coughing, frothing, gasping from a chemical attack? Why can we watch nursing babies being ripped away from their mothers at the U.S.-Mexico border? How can we watch this on the morning news, turn off the high-def television, and drive to work or the gym or anywhere and not be out on the streets pouring out our outrage that this is happening to children anywhere in our world?

Why do we go to supermarkets and push our carts like Stepford wives and husbands, making selections from the meat department, while knowing how factory farms and slaughterhouses treat animals using the most abhorrent practices, completely devoid of compassion? How can people fill up their carts with meat obtained in such a manner?

Why do we condemn the homeless while people born with silver spoons in their mouths jet and yacht all over the world leaving mammoth carbon footprints and squandering resources that could provide for countless people in our communities where unhoused developmentally disabled people, mentally ill people, physically ill people, traumatized vets and others attempt to find shelter from the elements and food to eat (not to mention appropriate places for unavoidable human functions)?

I know I’m not the only one with why questions. What has you wondering “Why?”