Life, The Universe...And Trying To Stop The Bleeding
This is what happens you play fast and loose with kitchen utensils
[T]he GOP did not conjure the current national receptivity to alternative facts out of thin air. They are taking advantage of one of the periodic waves of anti-intellectualism that have swept the popular mind since the days of the Salem witch trials. The present wave began with the rise of politicized Christian fundamentalism in the 1970s. Some reckoned that the tide was ebbing with the election of Barack Obama, but that was clearly a false dawn.
It is all very well to wax indignant over Republican politicians who routinely lie about the most elementary facts and denounce scientific consensus as a hoax. But they are routinely re-elected by an American population whose attitudes on evolutionary biology are closer to those in Turkey than in developed Western democracies, and who also believe in the paranormal, and in angels and the demonic.
Over the past few days, I’ve had a good deal of time to ponder life. Having been rendered hors de combat by a kitchen utensil and unable to write, I’ve found myself considering and reconsidering the nature of several different topics. From the personal to the political to topics for this website, I’ve had a lot on my mind.
Things became complicated when I accidentally sliced off a small chunk of my right ring fingertip on Monday. I do most of the cooking during the week, and Erin recently got me a mandolin (the kitchen utensil, not the instrument). Having never used one before, I grabbed a carrot and rather carelessly began slicing…without paying attention to where my ring finger was.
One thing led to another, and…who knew there were so many nerve endings and so much blood in a fingertip?? I’ll spare my gentle readers the messy details, but it looked like I’d sprung a leak. I’ve spent most of this week with a bandage on my finger, but at least as of today, I can type without bleeding on my keyboard…though my fingertip still hurts like a #@$%&.
Enough about my carelessness. There are a couple of things weighing on me, as well as a bit of general housekeeping.
As I’m writing this, I’m staring at a frightening weekend forecast. The high tomorrow (Saturday) is forecast to be 104, Sunday is supposed to be 111, and Monday is set for 104. This might not seem unusual if the subject was Las Vegas or Phoenix…but I live in Portland, Oregon.
And it’s June, which in the Pacific Northwest is often sweatshirt season.
The all-time high temperature here in the Rose City is 107, and our hot season usually comes in late July and/or August. I’m not a climate scientist, but it’s easy to wonder if this heatwave is a function of climate change. It turns out that no one knows, but what seems indisputable is that we as a species are approaching a point of no return. If we keep doing the same thing even as we expect different results, the resulting insanity will leave us in a place no one wants to consider.
What then? Or are we just going to wait until it’s too late to consider the possibilities?
As if I don’t already know the answer.
I also wonder if Americans will ever again agree on something that should be basic- truth. We can’t agree on who won the Presidential election, though there’s absolutely no evidence to support the contention that Joe Biden stole it from the former guy. Instead, millions of Americans have come to believe in the “Big Lie"- the idea that widespread fraud is why Biden’s in the White House.
Much of the Right-wing media is heavily invested in pushing the Big Lie. Even without concrete evidence, the Big Lie has been repeated so often that millions are now convinced of its veracity. How do we counter a narrative based on dishonesty and lack of integrity? How are we supposed to have an honest discussion with those whose worldview is so firmly grounded in dishonesty?
Surely I’m not the only one who wakes up some mornings feeling the need to check the calendar to make sure it’s not Germany circa 1933?
It’s difficult to shake the conviction that in America circa 2021, the biggest threat to America is…America itself. I could riff about the cult of selfishness that continues fueling vaccine hesitancy…or outright refusal. Or I could discuss the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. How close did we come to losing our democracy? Who knows? The sad thing is that we’re even in the position where discussing it seems appropriate.
Then there’s our broken government, in which one side (the GOP) seems hell-bent on preventing the other side (Democrats) from accomplishing anything of value for the American people. Power is now and an end in itself. Accomplishing something positive is now merely an afterthought.
I should exercise caution here; because every generation thinks that their world is going to Hell in a handbasket. If you go back through American history, you’ll see that our democracy has always been messy, contentious, and often quite ugly. That said, the past few years have had a particularly malevolent edge to them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if that’s about to change any time soon.
Despite the challenges it’s faced, America has always been a place of optimism. We fought our way out of two world wars and a (not so very) civil war, so believing that we can find our way out of this mess doesn’t have to seem like a stretch. Except that in this case, America is its own worst and most dangerous adversary.
Yes, we’ve seen the enemy…and it is us. I can only wonder if we’ll be able to find the strength to overcome our own worst impulses and put things back together.
Stay tuned….
That seems like enough doom and gloom for one evening, eh??
As for the housekeeping part of things, I’m still trying to puzzle out exactly how to make this work. My goal in doing this was to create a site where I can produce some quality writing while also finding a way to monetize it. It’s been a slow process so far, in part because I’ve been more focused on the writing than the business end of things.
Substack’s subscription model seems workable, but it’s too early for me to draw any conclusions. I may also decide to use an NPR-style fundraising model every couple of months, but I’m open to ideas. If you have ideas or suggestions, feel free to email me at yuppieskum@gmail.com.
For now, know that I appreciate your support, whether moral and/or financial. I hope to make this site valuable to my readers by promoting a diverse range of ideas.
Until next time….