A lack of understanding

We come to the end of week in which we’ve seen the stock market drop precipitously. The indicators from Asia and Europe point towards another tough day for equities.

Each morning, I get up and turn on CNBC while I go through my morning exercise routine, then, sit down with a cup of coffee and check out the price of oil, listen to a the tripartite host team on Squawk Box and then, it's time to preen and prep for the day.

Interestingly, other than my sister and my wife, no one I have contact with seems to be aware of the gravity of what’s happening in global capital markets.

What do people do with their nonworking time? What will it take to have people acquire an understanding of events that goes beyond Obama/McCain?

There are a few places where the possibilities are talked about, but it appears that people I rub shoulders with are tuned to a different station.

I’ll spend my day at a conference on sustainable growth. The irony is not lost on me. I’m curious to see if Maine’s supposed leaders have any sense of what’s going on in the world, and recognize that subsistence, rather than growth, might be something Mainers are more focused on in the coming months.

Tonight, I'll engage with the bread and circuses of baseball, becoming one of the sheeple, finding pleasure in a simple game.