Typhoon on Mind

–

Rain blown by the typhoon wind is beating the window.

Water is flowing down like a cataract on the outside of the windowpane.

This made me smile.

I am in a hospital room waiting for a cataract operation.

The view through the window is thus double blurred.

But I can see the crowds of houses and houses to the horizon.

Street trees are swaying like crazy.

And thoughts began raging on my mind like the trees.

–

A while ago a hospital accountant came and showed me an estimate of the fee I’d pay for the operation.

The fee is ridiculously low. The amount is almost that of my pocket money.

“The figure seems to be quite small.

“Does this include the three days of my hospitalization?” I asked the accountant.

“Yes, it’s for everything.

“The government will pay a lot more on that amount for you,” she said smiling and went out.

–

“The government will pay a lot more…”

Her voice kept echoing on my mind like the typhoon wind.

The government does not have any money of its own. “How can it pay?”

It’s the misconception of the accountant that the government will pay.

The misconception is not of her alone but of the public in general.

On many an occasion, this misconception was the root of my deep anger.

–

The government is responsible for supervising the money collected as taxes, fines, etc.

It’s not the government’s money.

But government officials nowadays seem to think the money collected through taxes, etc. is money they have earned.

–

Down through the window, I see an ambulance flashing red rides speeding in.

It may be carrying someone injured under a tree fell in the typhoon wind.

Or some having a heart attack or something in one of those houses.

This is a state-run hospital.

Anyone needing immediate medical attention would be brought in.

Ranking public officials would be transported by big cars on the same drive way just like anybody else.

I often hear the news of some officials accused of misusing the official money being hospitalized.

They are suddenly taken by illness, and people think it’s a feigned illness.

But doctors say the officials in such cases tend to fall ill without feigning.

–

When high ranking officials allocate the money against the will of the majority of the people to promote industries linked with militarism, it couldn’t be a laughing matter.

There is no lucrative business like the war industry.

There are countries in the world whose economies depend on making weapons.

I see our country is joining such countries and moving toward the old-time militarism again.

The government is gaining power to amend our No-War Constitution.

The constitution belongs to the people, and when the government gains the power to change it, that’s dictatorship.

The young men and women of our Self-Defense forces are already beginning to be trained to use weapons overseas.

This is under the new government-sponsored bills rammed through the parliament last year.

The Self-Defense forces are likely to be reformed into full scale armed forces complete with the court martial.

In such a case, the men and women of the forces will be trained to kill or to be killed.

–

A nurse will soon come to take me to the operation room.

My cloudy eye lens will be replaced with some artificial lens.

I know people who have gone the same experience.

I’m sure my eye sight will be back to that of my young days.

Then I hope I will be able to see what’s going around us more clearly

–

The fee I’ll pay to the hospital is so small, but actually it is not.

The accountant said the government will pay the rest.

She is wrong. Actually, it is only paying me back part the premiums I have paid to the national insurance scheme which aren’t all that cheap.

(AshiAkira, Aug. 2016)

 

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