Working to Understand the Other Side

There is a debate going regarding how far one should go in their efforts to understand those with opposing beliefs, primarily those with more extreme opposing beliefs. I have mainly heard it lately from friends and others on the left with regards to those Americans who are 100%, ride or die, come hell or high water or any degree of actual facts contrary to their reality, totally in the bag for Donald J. Trump. I have found myself recently quite fascinated with the hardcore Trumpers, at least partially because several people that I know and love are in that camp. I have one very close family member that believes right now that the 2020 US Presidential election was completely fraudulent, that machines switched votes from Trump to Biden, and that there are 80-90 million actual Trump voters out there who are right there with him in these beliefs. On a good day, it sounds like those people are just frustrated and pouting. On a bad day, it sounds vaguely like we may be on the verge of some large scale fracturing of our country. When I ask for actual evidence, he often withholds, saying that that I would not like his sources. When I ask about the 80-90 million, he says that it just his estimate. I have thought about “estimating” a slightly larger number of fake Biden voters, and following it up with absolutely no evidence, but something tells me that he will not accept that.

Now, for anyone who knows my and family, let me say that this person is not my father. I am not throwing the old man under the bus. My father is getting on in years and doesn’t really enjoy spirited debate these days, nor am I really sure if he ever did. But I will say that this person is close to me, that I love him dearly, and that I find his views on a lot of recent events very interesting.

So I have heard from people on the left that there is really no point in trying to understand these viewpoints, that those people have completely abandoned facts for feelings, that they are completely comfortable with a pseudo-strongman taking charge and protecting them, and that they do not really care that their guy seems to have no regard for Constitutional boundaries, established precedent, or even any level of common decency. Their position is that those people are not going to be reasoned with on any level, so there is no reason to waste your time trying. I recently listened to a great episode (#174) of the podcast “Stay Tuned With Preet” during which Preet Bharara interviews journalist and professor Jelani Cobb. I have really enjoyed everything that I have seen of Dr. Cobb’s work - he was interviewed for the movie “13th,” and he has done some extensive work reporting on the police, including a very informative Frontline special. Dr. Cobb analogized our current situation to the building of a house. If my memory serves, he stated that people can argue with one another over the type of materials used, what color to paint the walls, and where to place the furniture, but if someone is running around tearing down load bearing walls, you should most certainly not take the time to stop and reason with them. You should waste no time trying to figure out why they are doing what they are doing. You should just stop them.

I do really like this analogy, but I feel like it doesn’t hold up past a certain point. First of all, I have spoken with several people on the right. In addition, for the past several months as a result of the recent election and the added bonus of the Senate runoff in Georgia, I have had the pleasure of receiving anywhere from 1-5 flyers a day clearly and boldly outlining the views of two of the most extreme-right and absolute Trump-suckling Republicans in American government right now. And I can say with absolute certainly that a lot of them believe (or espouse the belief) that Democrats are dead set on doing everything that they can to trick the public, gain absolute power, and then destroy America. Regardless of the side that it comes from, thinking that the logical end of your opponent is simply to destroy everything is just a stupid, oversimplified point at which to start, and it gets us absolutely nowhere toward improving anything.

Secondly, how is anyone proposing that we actually stop them? This is group of people who are screaming that they are the ones who have actually been marginalized and ignored by society and the government. I worry that any outside efforts to stop them are only going to give them strength, kind of like Godzilla. I just don’t think you will ever be able to regulate or legislate out terrible ideas. It is better to play nice as much as you can, do your best to make sure that everyone is in situation where they are able to have an open mind, and then present them with a better idea. I am now immediately regretting my previous Godzilla reference, because it just sank in that you absolutely cannot reason with Godzilla.

Also, I fully acknowledge that there is a point at which reason and discussion is no longer an option (looking at you, Hitler!). I just don’t think that we are at that point yet in America. But if both sides keep acting like obstinate assholes and refusing to talk to one another, we are almost certainly heading that way.

I hold to a somewhat unusual belief that a person is not their opinion. I really don’t know where I got this idea, and so far I have not been able to really support it with anything factual. To be honest, it really may just be a garbage idea. I am just tossing it out there now to see what people think. Feel free to chew on it, tear it down, and spit it back in my stupid face if you would like. I guess my thinking comes down to a belief that a person is what they do, not what they believe. Of course, I completely acknowledge the connection between the two. I just believe with a little effort, you may actually be able to change what a person is thinking before it manifests itself as action. Because of this belief, I lean more toward fascination, or at the very least interest, rather than disgust or offense when someone presents a belief that others around me may find annoying, stupid, or even dangerous or reprehensible.

When I engage in discussion with the family member that I mentioned earlier, I often get the impression that he thinks I am trying to trick him in some effort to win an argument. Don’t worry - I can firmly say that I know I am not going to be able to win anything in these situations. But, I have so far been very unsuccessful in making him understand that I am not actually trying. I am truly interested in his beliefs, why he holds them, whether or not they stand up to scrutiny, and whether or not he will accept it if they do not. And, I am also interested in his take on my beliefs. Put your ideas out there and let people have a good look at them. If your ideas are worth anything, they will survive. If they are garbage ideas, you are going to need to change them or discard them altogether. But this will only work if everyone can agree to some common ground, and that is only going to happen if people are communicating and disagreeing civilly.

I think that in this country today, we are suffering right now from a distinct failure in ability to put oneself in another’s position. So many people seem to be thinking that THEY are the assholes, not me. I am going to let you in on a little secret. You are almost certainly an asshole. And even if you are not, maybe act like you are and work on trying to improve that, and everyone can benefit. I have come to love the phrase “there but for the grace of God go I.” During any discussion with others, I would encourage you keep that phrase in mind and accept the very real possibility that, given the right set of circumstances, you could easily be standing on the other side of whatever disagreement has presented itself. Be respectful of one another, do your best to try to find some common ground, and work hard to truly understand the position of the people with whom you disagree. If you do this, I think that we will all be better for it. If we are going to make any progress, we cannot just abandon the importance of working to understand the other side.

Thoughts on Autumn

Sometimes, I think I may have seasonal affective disorder. Well, mainly it just centers around one season. I always seem to start feeling down when autumn comes around. I find it a bit unusual, as there is so much that I enjoy about the Fall. I enjoy the colors as the leaves change. The cool weather makes it easier for a fatman like myself to enjoy the outdoors for longer periods of time. I get to revel in the knowledge that I am mowing my grass just one last time this year. College football Saturdays are definitely some of my favorite times of the year.

I actually think college may have a lot to do with my autumnal moodiness. I remember it being a pretty rainy fall when I came to Athens my Freshman year. Grunge was the music of the time, so everyone seemed to have their ample share of what I am sure they felt was well-earned moodiness. I remember so many people wearing loose clothes - baggy jeans, Doc Martins, t-shirt, and flannel were my standard outfit. And while admittedly the most comfortable fashion style in my history, and perhaps ever, it also seemed to help foster a strong sense of just wanted to chill out on the couch, maybe play some Goldeneye, and lose all foreseeable hope for happiness by just listening to Pearl Jam’s “Ten” on repeat. Or maybe you were a Soundgarden or Alice in Chains fan. Also acceptable. That actually does bring to mind the old adage about grunge musicians: Either kill yourself early or live to see yourself grow completely insufferable. And yes, Dave Grohl is obviously the exception to the rule that I am pretty sure I just made up. If not, someone let me know so that I can attribute it properly.

I typically don’t do well in social situations, so it took me a while to get to know the guys on my hall freshman year. I do have to thank the aforementioned Goldeneye for playing such a significant role in that, and I am so glad that it did, because several of those assholes have since become some of my best friends in this world. A good number of them were also fairly forgettable. Some were notable for different reasons and were therefore able to carve out a little spot in my memory. A would-be rap star across the hall who partied loudly through finals week and ultimately left school early that year to pursue his dream. A slightly redneck kid who I remember often made it his goal to try to ruin acid trips. An unusual fellow who only communicated in grunts prior to noon and also had the distinction of first introducing the rest of us to the concept of the booty call. Coming to know these guys throughout the year was a great experience, but I spent most of that fall just quietly keeping to myself, thinking about my girlfriend back home, working in the dining hall, and going to class. The job was my first foray into food services, so as anyone who has worked in this field can confirm, the people were interesting weirdos while the work itself was pretty terrible. The relationship with the girlfriend, which had actually always been a long-distance one, just wasn’t working. It ended with me asking for some time off, her one-upping me the following weekend by saying she was not really down with time-off, and me responding by essentially saying, “well, I guess that’s done…” And classes, as is so often the case, were challenging a lot of the beliefs that I had grown up with. Looking back on it, a lot of things were just…cracking. Maybe the memory of all that discomfort is why fall makes me a little sad.

Fall also has the distinction of being the season in which I lost my first parent. My mother passed away just over a year ago on September 23, 2019. I actually just looked it up and realized that it was the first day of autumn that year. So at this point, I guess I need to say to my beloved mother, thanks a lot for completely ruining an entire quarter of a year, mom. She had been physically sick for most of my life, and she had been doing somewhat poorly the past few years. She had been prescribed some pretty strong pain medication, and she absolutely did not like to be hospitalized. I was worried that the meds might mask symptoms of an illness until they got too severe, and that coupled with her very headstrong desire to stay away from the hospital would probably lead to her demise. Needless to say, every time I parted ways with her over the last few years, whether it was just a visit with her, family vacation, a car ride, or some other get-together, the thought definitely went through my head that this may be the last time I would see her. And of course, eventually it was.

But I am not here to try and ruin your Fall. Misery loves company and all that. Actually, I don’t really know why I am here today. And I am not miserable. I would say it is more like a low grade depression. Melancholy, maybe? It is definitely not infinite sadness, just in case you wanted to think about some more music that makes you want to kill yourself.

Autumn is a season were a lot of visible change happens. The leaves dry up and fall off the trees. Things start dying. Birds pack up their belongings and just flee. Bears start severely overeating in preparation for a long winter’s nap, which basically just makes me jealous on multiple levels. If Spring is birth, and Summer is life, and Winter is death, does that mean fall is like some shitty adulthood when things are just starting to die? Maybe my seasonal affective disorder is just the Autumn constantly reminding me of both the discomfort of change and the inevitability of death. It is probably just complete nonsense, though. Really, what are the odds that a disorder involving low grade depression also just happens to spell out SAD. Ridiculous.

Well, I guess that’s it for today. Honestly, I feel a little better now. Thanks so much for helping me work this out.

Some Thoughts on Trump

I have been meaning for some time to put down some thoughts about our President, Donald Trump. Let me say first that I do not blame the man for the state of things in America today. I don’t think he is the source of most of the problems that we are experiencing. We have been heading this way for a long time. I do feel that he has taken advantage of a lot of the negativity in this country and that he has successfully surfed that wave right into the office of the most powerful man in the world. When he was elected, I took some solace in the fact in the belief that the President is not nearly as powerful as a lot of Americans think that he is. I still feel that way, but I can honestly say that the man has surprised me with what he has been able to do. But, more on that later.

First of all, let’s give him credit where credit is due. There is a tendency that I have seen in people to very often turn their opponents into cartoon characters, to overstate their worst qualities, to undercut their achievements, to never see any possible good or any logic in anything that they do. I do not like this tendency. On it’s face, it is just an ad hominem attack and holds no value. It is also a dismissive tactic that demonstrates an unwillingness to look objectively at a situation and base a solid opinion on actual facts. People thought that Barack Obama was a secret Muslim who was trying to destroy America from within. He wasn’t. People thought that George W. Bush was a complete moron. I just don’t think that is the case. But Trump pulled off something pretty amazing to counteract this tendency: he leaned in. Put simply, the man just is a cartoon character. His physical appearance is outlandish, from the unusual hair and the poorly applied spray tan to the gigantic ties that his company has made for him by tiny, adorable children in China. His demeanor is ridiculous, including his posturing to get in front of other world leaders for photographs or making a point to speed up and walk in front of the Queen Elizabeth, who I don’t think I have to point out is a very, very old woman. The man simply dares everyone to try their best to make him into a cartoon character. I don’t think political cartoonists have ever had it this easy. They really just need to draw a realistic-looking picture of him doing something that he was actually doing, and then they can just collect their check and call it a day. It is pretty amazing.

He is also bold. I think in some weird way, he may have become the embodiment of the the way the world sees America. Overblown, bombastic, openly lying about things that are easily verifiable, taking credit for things that we had very little to do with. In a lot of ways, he is like a fun, obnoxious guy at a bar, just engaging in complete and utter bullshitting. And I hope that you know that there is an art to that. And he is damn good at it. Also, another thing to point out - he doesn’t drink. Weird, right?

The man successfully hijacked almost an entire political party. I am not well-versed on presidential history, but I cannot quickly recall another President who was able to accomplish that with so much success. The man was a registered Democrat for most of his life. But he decided at some point to just switch parties and then directly take on the Republican establishment, and despite clearly not being the man that any of the party leaders would ever pick for the job somehow he convinced them to rally behind him. Now, I will probably write another blog-entry at some later point regarding my frustration with current state of the Republican party, but for now, let me just say that what Trump did to them was very disturbing, but also quite impressive.

But the problem is the way in which he did it. He disparaged Mexicans in the very first moments of his candidacy, setting the pace for a strong trend of doing his best to stir up fear of immigrants, especially those with a darker complexion. He has done his absolute best to capitalize on fear and insecurity. In his current effort to salvage his presidency, he is doing everything that he can to scare the ever-loving crap out of white people so they will vote for him so that he can protect them and their property somehow. They are coming out of those evil, crime-ridden, Democrat-run cities, and they are going to take over your suburbs! He has completely eroded trust in the government and scientists, which really has a tendency to come back and bite you on the ass when there is a global pandemic that you have to deal with. But at least he has stuck firmly to his game plan and continues to insist on calling the virus names, because that is certainly good for America.

I do feel that the man is a drawing salve. I mean that his actions have a strong tendency to pull infection up to the surface, most evidently the racism that still exits so strongly in America. At the beginning of his presidency, I thought that it was probably a good thing, that sunlight is the best disinfectant, that it is better to deal with terrible ideas out in the open rather than letting them hide in the shadows and gain strength. I am wondering now if I did not just completely underestimate how racist a lot of American people remain. Based on several conversations that I have had, people that I know and love now seem to be much more racist than they were a few years ago. I guess it is always possible that they are now just more comfortable being open about it, but I obviously still find that to be quite troubling, Honestly, I am still up in the air on whether or not he has actually made people more racist. I guess it is always possible that he just pulls to the surface something that was always there.

His game is division and anger and mistrust and conflict, and I’ll be damned if it hasn’t worked for him a great deal of the time. He screams about Fake News and the Liberal Media while giving interviews on the most popular, and clearly conservative, news channel in America. He has stirred up a pretty disturbing level of obsession with conspiracy theories on the right. I have heard it said that he has engineered a situation in which facts and truth simply no longer matter, and that can get you into some pretty scary strongman/dictator territory if you don’t look out.

But his game is just not working right now. American’s are getting sick and dying because we can’t seem get on the same page about science. All the racial mistrust and the frustration with the system is coming to a head in so many of our cities (and everywhere else) right now, and his proposed solution is not to acknowledge that maybe we have some stuff that we need to come together and work on, but to march Federal troops into those cities. I find that to be absolutely terrifying, and it astounds me that no one on what I thought was the small-government-loving right seems to think so.

I think I am going to wrap this up for today, though this may be a topic that I revisit at some point. I can honestly say that I find Donald Trump to be a fascinating person for so many reasons. And, I can respect many of the things that the man has been able to accomplish, though I strongly disagree with both his means and his ends on so many of them. The man has powered his way to the top, and he is shaping the course of American history right now. Honestly, I think it has the potential to be a positive thing that he, his beliefs, and his supporters are providing such an amazing pressure test of our system right now. But we have to remember that the point of a pressure test is to identify the weaknesses and then do the work to fix them, not to just blow the whole damn thing up.

There is Hope...

It goes without saying that America appears to be strongly divided right now. I heard a point made on a podcast the other day that, based on approval and disapproval ratings in both parties, Donald Trump is the most polarizing President in recent history. “Wow, Jon,” you may be thinking, “that is quite the surprise. I had no idea.” Hey, buddy, why don’t you just settle down and let me finish this thought, okay? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. They went on to point out that the previous holder of that title was Barack Obama. And before him? George W. Bush. Now I am clearly not the smartest man in the world, but that certainly looks like a pattern to me. I have recently spoken with several people on the right regarding the state of things in America right now, and there are murmurings of a potential civil war brewing in this country. Now, not unlike most of the conspiracy theories that a lot of them seem to be so fond of these days, a slight scratch at that surface does not turn up very many credible facts. But I believe that the fact that the thought of civil war, no matter how actually unlikely it may be, is being kicked around among people, is definitely further evidence that things are very sharply divided right now.

So what can we do about all of this? My beloved co-host, Dick Loverboy, is thoroughly convinced that Joe Biden absolutely has to win this election, and to certain degree I agree with him. I think that a massive amount of fear and paranoia and anger, racial tension, bullshit nostalgia, tribalism, and frustration with a system was stirred up by Trump and successfully capitalized on when he ran four years ago. And since that time, and he has done nothing if not to double down on all of it. I am thinking that he has burrowed himself way too deeply to the right at this point, and I am hoping that the American voters will push back against it in November. But I honestly can’t be sure. I do think that even if he loses this election, which is most likely the best course for the future of this country, all of that shit is still out there. I heard it pointed out the other day, I believe by Neal Brennan, that whenever a law such as the 13th Amendment or the Civil Rights act is passed to correct an injustice, it does not just suddenly do away with the thinking and the conditions that led to that injustice.

That part is on us. That is our responsibility. So what do we do?

Step back. Try to get good facts from an objective source. Sometimes that means multiple news sources, and I accept that it can be frustrating, especially for our parents, who grew up in the days of a very few, mostly trusted, nightly newscasters. I like the BBC news for a good non-partisan view of the big stories in America at any time. At this point, do not trust television news. It is almost across the board bullshit these days. Also, please note that if your news source is constantly railing loudly against something, there is a very good chance that it is bullshit. Try your best to read your news, and Facebook absolutely does not count. Social media has learned what you react to, and it feeds you those two things: what it thinks you agree with and what it thinks angers you. And also animals being cute, woodworking videos, and humans hurting themselves in stupid ways. Okay, maybe Facebook is not all bad.

Converse. Regularly talk with people who have different opinions than you. Seek out people who are smarter and/or more knowledgeable than you and engage with them. Feel free to civilly disagree with people on things, and stop taking disagreement so personally. Understand that having your beliefs challenged will ultimately make your belief system better. Recently, I have seen close friends and loved ones cloister themselves intellectually and surround themselves with only those that agree with them, and I am almost always saddened by it. It feels like I am watching a decline or an atrophy. I am hoping that way of thinking is not just a side-effect of getting older, but I guess we will see. Also, very importantly, LISTEN. Don’t just sit there waiting on your turn to talk, like an asshole. If you are just interested in spewing out your take on things, you should probably bypass the conversation and just start a blog.

Laugh. Do whatever you can to find the humor in life. It will make things better. I feel that this is of exceptional importance and also extremely challenging in the time of Covid, but you can do it. I believe in you 100%. Humor will make you feel better about things, and it will hopefully lessen the likelihood that the person with whom you are currently disagreeing will attempt to cause you serious bodily harm. Accept that life can just be funny sometimes. I think that there is certainly a debate to be had, but to me some of the strongest evidence in favor of the existence of God is the fact that we fart. It is just a naturally occurring joke that never fails to make me a little happier. Maybe that is the indicator that you are taking things way too seriously. If you are able to rip ass and not find it the least bit funny, then maybe it’s time for you to call it day. Also, lose my number, because you are pretty much dead to me.

I strongly believe that there is hope for this country. I think that its foundations are strong, but I can also acknowledge the serious flaws that have been such a part of its history. I believe that how sharply divided people feel that we are right now is one of those flaws, and we are just going to have to put in some serious effort to work through it. There is most certainly hope. But we the people have some work to do.

May You Live in Interesting Times

It is a Saturday morning in late August near Athens, Georgia. I have stepped outside, and there is a slight coolness in the air that lets me know that Fall is coming. I am currently seated at our kitchen table, which has been converted to my and my loving wife’s work space due to a global pandemic. The sun has risen, the coffee has been brewed, the dishes have been washed, and I have finally sat down to get started on this blog. My brain is already tempting me with other tasks: take out the compost, sweep the floor, balance your checkbook (does anyone even do that anymore, you old, old man?). But no, we are pressing on with this blog.

Hello. I am Jon. I play a character called the Reverend Florist on the hit podcast The Armageddon Afterparty. He is a lot like me, but often drunker and more talkative. But let’s not kid ourselves. If you are here, you probably already know all of that. So what don’t you know, you may be asking? Well that is just a terrible question. I cannot possibly even attempt to guess all the things that you don’t know, stupid. Also, this is not your blog. I’ll ask the questions here.

Okay, clearly we are off to a rocky start. Let’s refocus. Saturday morning, sun’s up, and currently I am being stared at by a very cute and very despondent dog with a cone of shame on one end and a diaper on the other. But those are stories for another day. What I want to talk about are the times in which we have found ourselves.

So let’s see…Interesting times….Hey, the United States has elected a crazy person to be the president for a while. I think that even his most loyal supporters would grant me that he is insane, at least on some level. Now I am a person who is typically able to maintain a pretty solid level of calm no matter who is driving the car. And I am speaking both literally and metaphorically. I have discovered that being a super-calm passenger is one of my more unusual attributes. I do occasionally tense up when my wife has to slam on the brakes, but most of the time I feel pretty safe no matter what kind of nonsense is going on in the driver’s seat. I have never been one to overvalue the actual power of the President or to go into any election thinking, as both parties incessantly point out, that this is the most important election of our lifetime! But, I am definitely curious to see how this one turns out. There are some serious problems going on in this county right now, and I disagree with the people that think that our current president is the cause. He has most certainly taken advantage of a lot of racism, fear, and outright lies to gain power, and he has stoked those fires to keep what he perceives as his base motivated, but I lay very little of the issues in America right now directly at his feet. My fellow Americans, we definitely have some things that we need to work on, but perhaps more on that later.

What it’s like (very mediocre beatboxing break) having the Rona: Hey if anyone out there gets that reference, please leave a comment below. Or you can always send an email if you would like to keep your shame private. If your reference is correct, you will most certainly be rewarded. But I digress. Folks, we got a global pandemic going on right now, and it is really starting to wear on people. People are getting sick and people are dying. Folks are limited and locked down to varying degrees. I don’t feel comfortable hugging my dad. Large numbers of people cannot work at all or cannot work enough. Rent is due. The economy is suffering (but apparently not the US stock market, oddly enough). People are stressed out over their kids going back to school. The debate over wearing a piece of cloth over your breathing parts has reached an unforeseen level of insanity and intensity. White people certainly seem to be losing their damn minds, and for some reason, completely disregarding the fact that someone is clearly recording video of them. People are sinking into deep depression over the idea that they will not have the opportunity this Fall to be entertained by unpaid children putting their bodies at risk of serious harm playing a game on Saturdays. My god, we just want to feel some sense of normalcy again!

Covid 19, like our current President, has proven to be a pretty amazing stress test on numerous systems in America. I have always been fascinated by the way that people think, so it has been very interesting to me seeing what this strain has brought out in people, as evidenced by the media, both social and actual, and numerous conversations with friends and acquaintances. I really like an observation made by Sam Harris about the current state of things in the United States. I am not sure when he first made it, but I became aware of it post-Trump’s election and pre-Covid. He made the observation that our current situation feels like people are watching two different movies at the same time. Everyone is getting the same basic facts, but they are seeing two totally different things. It goes without saying that our country has always been divided to varying degrees, but I feel that through the gathering and presenting of facts, through debate and discussion, and through cooperation and compromise we have been able to overcome our differences and move toward what is best. I truly think that all of us have to do some serious work toward getting back on the same page. We have to put some major effort into getting ourselves back to a place where we have the desire and the ability to take part in civil discussion, which of course includes being able to respectfully disagree with one another. I don’t think there is any other way that we can move forward. Also, for the love of god, please just wear a mask.

Folks, we most certainly live in interesting times. I have seen the title of this blog post put forth as an ironic curse, but after some thought, I don’t believe that always has to be the case. I can certainly value some of aspects of what may appear to be an uninteresting and perhaps even boring time period in one’s life. Personally, I really enjoy the satisfaction of completing very basic tasks in my yard: tending to my blueberry bushes, repairing tools, piddling in the garden. (Looking back, that last one looks a little weird. Piddling, or piddlin’, is something that my dad says, and I am pretty that it means letting your mind wander around to smaller tasks without much focus on the big picture. I guess it could also be interpreted as peeing in the garden, but that’s not what I meant there. And, just to clarify , I am also not saying that I don’t pee the garden.) Now where was I?

Anyway, I am going to close on two points. First, you don’t really have any control over whether or not you live in interesting times, so my recommendation is that you just suck it up and deal with it, loser. But, secondly, I would also say that interesting times make your brain fire, and if your brain is firing, that should serve as a constant reminder that you are alive, that you are still capable of learning, and that you have things left to do.

So get up. Seriously, today, get off your ass and do something. Call your parents. Find someone with whom you strongly disagree and have a civil conversation, probably not online if possible. Call a neighbor, check up, and see how they are doing in these weird times. Write a stupid blog. Delete your stupid Facebook app. Get some exercise. Plant something and make plans to take proper care of it. Go and get that dog. Listen to an episode of The Armageddon Afterparty and maybe rate it on Apple Podcasts. Okay, this post has very clearly devolved. Let’s go ahead and close things out for today.