“Humanity has been stripped from the virtual world: deliberately, maliciously. The goal is to make humans less human. Less imaginative and more callous; more desperate and less kind. Less demanding of authority, but ruthlessly demanding of ordinary people who hold neither leverage nor power. Memes and mantras replace contemplation and compassion, rendering humans indistinguishable from bots.”
On the eve of the election, one of my sons noted “We’re either cooked today or cooked in three months” – meaning either T would win, or Harris would win and T would stage another coup since he was never held accountable the first time. Writer Sarah Kendzior often said Biden was only intended as a placeholder between T administrations, like this interview less than a month before time proved her prediction correct. I wish I saw it when I wrote last month’s post about AI since we have similar suspicions about the intention of breaking rather than supporting human connections. As for her election predictions – so often dismissed as alarmist only to come to fruition – people often reference the doomed prophetess Cassandra, but Kendzior isn’t psychic. Just well-informed, though I don’t always agree with all of her assessments of the information she gathers.
The only thing worse than fearing what he’ll do now that we have even fewer rail guards in place is the certainty of having to continue hearing about him on the daily…not that he would have gone quietly had he lost. I can’t even drive to other towns and cities without passing a house that now has his face emblazoned over the U.S. flag. TDS is real but not suffered by his detractors. It’s normal to dislike politicians. Especially if you have to hear about them every single day. It’s not normal to worship them. I know not everyone who voted for him likes him. Even his fans grew tired of his unhinged ranting. They’re just willing to overlook his crimes and declining mental health for the noble cause of…saving a few bucks on groceries (unlikely.)
Kendzior offers helpful advice for tuning out the T show, but he’s just a symptom of a larger disease. Some of us learned early and often not to place undo trust in people and institutions. Betrayal isn’t new, nor is it unique to the federal government. Neither is hiding and perpetuating past wrongdoings, even by victims. Some people hate others more than they like themselves or their so-called loved ones. I don’t understand, but I can’t pretend I haven’t witnessed it. It’s easy to blame TPTB or “politics” for driving people apart, but today’s oligarchs didn’t create hate; they just profit from it.
I don’t end relationships over politics. I’ve never had an affiliation, but modern Republicans in particular have always made me nervous. My husband was registered as a Republican when we started dating but largely apolitical. He changed affiliations sometime between Obama and T. He describes us as liberal. I remind him progressive is more accurate, but I’m not a fan of labels in general, which are more useful for propaganda than communication. It doesn’t matter what people call themselves, anyway, only what they do and say.
I do limit interaction with people who insist on putting themselves and others in boxes, especially “left”, “right” and “center” on or offline. As Kendzior observed, people who rely on memes and mantras – empty platitudes as I think of them – become indistinguishable from bots. I also limit interaction with people I distrust. It’s personal not political. Then again, the personal so often becomes politicized. In any case, I’m short on time, money, and energy.
My priority is my kids because I’m responsible for bringing them into this scary chaotic place. I never want them to doubt my love and support. We don’t talk about politics unless they bring it up, and usually just to reassure them (we’re oddballs in our small rural town), and to reinforce our own values: chief among them, honesty, integrity, and kindness. One son knows more about geography, world history, and global politics than most adults. Also astrophysics. The other doesn’t share his brother’s scholarly interests, but inherited my BS detector and righteous indignation. Neither is easily influenced by peers nor do they have much use for social media apart from Snapchat.
It’s been fun watching my sons grow up into such unique and strong-willed individuals. I want them to have fun fulfilling lives. The only thing standing in their way is not boogeymen like DEI or CRT, but a wealthy powerful elite who can never be sated, and want to maintain an impoverished working class that can’t challenge or threaten their authority. We’re at the mercy of mad men.
Honestly, I don’t get how anyone can bemoan ‘financial insecurity’ or the ‘new world order’ with a straight face after basically handing the keys to the nation’s coffers to the richest man in the world. Others will cite their pro-life stance, but I’m not buying that, either. Not long after I saw someone complain people were “lying” about women being denied life-saving healthcare, a third woman died in Texas for that very reason. I don’t trust the media, but I do trust grieving families and the many healthcare professionals who share and confirm these stories.
