Finished with a pile of paperwork and stepped out to balcony to get some fresh air. There is a sizable construction project with supplies strewn about in an unfinished section that is nearest to my balcony. As I took in the fresh air I saw a security guard walking around with his flashlight in the dusk and carefully inspecting things right down to the fence around the project to make sure there are no openings. I've seen him before. It is almost dark by the time he starts walking to a different section. He is a man of about 60 with darker skin and probably younger than he shows.

He’ll be repeating this every couple of hours until morning. As he walked away I was thinking he makes $12 an hour, give or take, and assuming he works full time he is among the many working poor here in this affluent ‘liberal’ area. He is likely periodically unemployed. Probably suffered a long period of unemployment before he found this gig. For all I know he sleeps in his car or at best at some poor dwelling with a few others; if lucky, his family.

He is not likely to have any decent healthcare unless he’s managed to get Covered California, no retirement benefits, no job protection or rights to speak of, and another few years into old age out of luck with ups and downs of the economy.

A good portion of the world is in this situation. And they are the lucky ones relative to endless streams of refugees from Africa, Middle East, and other places; who are yet luckier than poor souls boarding unseaworthy ships as a last desperate effort only to sink and drawn near various Mediterranean coasts.

The world our children will live in is only going to get more desperate for more people except to the accounting of snake oil salesmen and panacea pushers of Sand Hill road. Yet hoping for and chasing those illusions is the norm; and no tragedy, disaster or mayhem seems to bring about a collective awakening.

It is easy to see why god and faith run so deep among the poor. There seems to be no worldly option to the ever growing, ruthless and mindless destruction of this planet and worship of all things material; giving credence to many biblical parallels.

"We've returned to the Golden Calf" pope Francis.