Nothing is permanent?

According to Buddha, nothing is permanent. With apologies to the Buddha, a more realistic statement would have been that almost nothing is permanent (loopholes are always a good idea).

Such a loophole would account for the endless basketball season.  When we tack on playoffs , tournaments and something called March Madness to the regular  season it seems like playing basketball goes on forever. Everyone is currently busy making brackets ( including POTUS) and the racket is driving me nuts. I guess that's what March Madness is all about. Just when March Madness is over, we will be ready for the NBA playoffs.  In all fairness, Buddha should be forgiven for not anticipating March Madness and the NBA playoffs. How was he to know that the world ( at least the world according to the U.S. of A.) would one day allow itself to suffer the burden of  an interminable basketball season.

And then there is the campaign for President of the United States. We hardly finished Campaign 2012 and Campaign 2016 started.  Although nothing is permanent about presidential politics, election campaigns are permanent. Not ever having run for office, Buddha the teacher can be excused for not predicting the permanency of presidential election campaigns.

Buddha the warrior does not get a pass for not making an exception of wars when he proclaimed, "Nothing is permanent". War is right up there as one of the most permanent events in the history of mankind and Buddhism has done its share to promote it along with Christianity. Islam and Judaism.
Even wars to end all wars have not succeeded in removing the stamp of permanency from wars. We have learned to live with wars and with the help of the NRA we will put an assault rifle in every home to insure that mass killings are more homey.

Another thing upon which I cannot give Buddha a pass, is his failure to take into account death and taxes. Death and taxes are cast in concrete. Of course Buddha might argue that death is merely proof that life is not permanent. As for taxes, if he were around today he would defer to The Tea Party.

I must bring up Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indians mascot. Evidently he is as permanent as they come. We are coming to terms with same sex marriage but still put up with this racist caricature. If only there was a Buddha to give the team owners a karate chop to the balls for their obstinacy in not freeing the Chief.

Then there is the weather. As winter drags on, it's comforting to think, thanks to Buddha, that lousy weather is not permanent. Today being the first day of Spring I could argue that the change of seasons is a classic example of nothing being permanent.  Just as death and taxes are certain , the weather is uncertain. Global warming may eventually make the foregoing moot, but in the meantime I will enjoy the arrival of Spring, even though it looks and feels like Winter and hope that Summer is kind to us and that Fall takes its time arriving.