There's something i notice, reading "the latest" on some days: the more bad political news there is, the less easy it is to eat rationally. Or rather, the easier it is to go get a glass of wine and something to nibble with it. If i choose to ignore the temptation, i continue my day with an increased sense of weariness.
Lesson: hopelessness is a poison.
Strangely enough, one of the presentations i look forward to hearing from the AHS2 is that of Richard Nikoley. I disagree with him on a number of issues, but agree on a few. He's speaking on how our modern sociopolitical situation is out of step with the systems with which our species evolved (my paraphrase). In this limited concept, i agree heartily; i just wonder if he has any ideas on how to remedy the problem besides the old hippie dropping-out thing.
What DOES one do, when one's world is fubar? I haven't got a clue. I haven't got the ambition or the gifts to enter politics and "change things from the inside" [snort: we all know how well THAT works]. I haven't got the energy and passion to march and chant and carry a placard. I haven't even got the stubbornness to debate things in writing, though that's more my metier. I can only marvel at the stupid behavior and (lack of) reasoning in people i could have sworn were smarter than that.
So i block the most obnoxious on FB and resist blocking those who are more of a benefit than liability despite their occasional disconnect from reality, and refuse to follow up on their idiocies. (I also sometimes satisfy myself with a little fantasy, picturing them in the world they would consider ideal, and their subsequent illumination....) I do a little chakra balancing and take a deep breath, and try to clear the psychic air around me.
But, DAMN!!! It's no wonder so many people feel the need to medicate.
Cant touch politics myself. Too extreme now. Every revenue or regulation is branded "communism" by the right, while every moral value expressed is branded "theocracy" by the left. I see no room for reasonable discussion any longer since the semantics has been highjacked. No one seems to be able to observe behaviors without the prism of labels anymore. These labels/filters seem to be some kind of a trap. Or maybe Im just nuts. *shrug*
ReplyDeletereading your comment, i had an interesting "brain-flash". "these labels/filters seem to be some kind of a trap" -- it all seems to limit the discussion by limiting ways of seeing different points. what jumped into my head was the menu-system of telephoning or emailing a large company; you HAVE to choose these broad, usually-inadequate categories of comment or inquiry. if your issue doesn't fit into a pre-defined niche, then "it doesn't exist." :-( all subtleties are bleached out of our mental processes this way. talk about dumbing-down....
DeleteI donate to the Institute for Justice, the nonprofit law firm that is helping Steve Cooksey over at diabetes-warrior. Like you, I'm not suited for politics and debate.
ReplyDeletethat's a good one!
Delete[nodding] my donating goes into a constantly-narrowing group of "helping" entities nowadays, too.... my son being a small farmer in VA, my pet these days is the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. :-) he and his wife have consulted them, a few times.