I took this photo a few years ago at Machu Picchu. I intended on posting it as a nice break from politics. You know, cut a little slice of beauty from all the muck and anxiety that currently surrounds us. Get away from it all and forget. I even stole the title from my favorite Orwell novel, which has a similar theme.

But it just isn’t working. Something about those llamas conjures up images of low-information voters. Maybe it’s the expression on the white one’s face. Serenely content and a bit dumb. And notice also that they’re lounging on the ruins of a dead civilization. I see chomping consumers. I see shopping carts and a Wal-Mart parking lot. I see on-ramps and off-ramps and endless freeways that go nowhere. Heaven help us!

Hey, I tried. I really did.