Things seem dire right now, and I understand how hopeless everyone is feeling.  I get that way often when events are pile up around me to prevent me from realizing how good things actually are.  

I’m troubled by any narrative that the United States is devolving into some sort of developing nation.  It’s all about perspective at the end the day.  People feel like they are struggling because there are challenges now that did not previously exist.  That’s not what struggling looks like.  That is what a slight decrease in privilege looks like.  Maybe that’s patronizing.  I’m sure there are people who are having a rough time in 2024… materially.  There are people in every time that struggle, but that isn’t the majority.

Anti-democratic sentiment has been on the rise for a while.  That is motivated by fear.  But I don’t think the response to that fear is to talk about how horrible things are.  That feeds the anxieties and it also obscures the good things we have.  While I think journalism is extremely important, I also think that media companies have an incentive to panic their audiences.  It’s good for their bottom line.  The good things in life don’t get airtime.  They are boring.  And the fact that we all live in a 24 hour news cycle is not healthy.  It’s a problem for everyone, and even when we try to shut it off, we still somehow get the information through our social media or friends and family.  It’s all too much all the time.

We have a lot to do, and nothing in recent weeks really changes what we know must happen to preserve our democracy.  A ruling by a court rarely changes a person’s mind on who to vote for, or rather what values to vote for.  And I think it’s more important than ever to realize that if you are living in the United States, you represent 4% of the global population.  Look at how people are living elsewhere, check global poverty rates and jobs numbers.  Then get back to me on how bad things are here.

This might be extremely cliché, but what if instead of doom scrolling people went outside.  Put your phone in your pocket & go for a walk or just go hang out at the park with friends.  Talk about the weather & think about the good things in your life.  Listen to the birds.  Be present in your own life.  Neither doom scrolling nor walking outside will change how a person votes in November, but the latter will make you feel a lot better than the former.

[Walk #111]