If there is any classical analogy to our present day predicament, it has to be the apocryphal story of Nero playing his violin while Rome was burning. It's a symbol of the political ineptitude and indifference we now face. Here we are waiting slightly fearfully for the next pale-faced maniac with an AK47 and nothing is being done. McConnell sits firmly on the levers of power in Congress, his campaign workers busily counting NRA money. Hats off to the young of Hong Kong who are out on the streets trying to stop China's communist Gestapo worming their way into the political and judicial framework of their city. We on the other hand, do nothing.

The burning analogy is particularly appropriate given next year's cutbacks of water from the Colorado, the continuing ten-year drought, the fires and global warming. And we do nothing. We're like the frog in the pot of warming water, getting used to the temperature. Perhaps we should all learn to play the violin. We've got blinders on. I suppose we just have to wait until Phoenix resembles Bagdad and then we can say to our grandchildren, "Whoops! Perhaps we could have done something a long time ago but we were busy. We're so sorry."