Tag: politics

The Wandering Hermit: Grounded

   14 July 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Grounded

This morning brought on a sense of calm I was missing for a couple of days.  I slept so well.  My legs felt drained and my mind clear.  Brent has the thermostat set really low, almost too cold to be comfortable.  But it makes sleep easy, and I felt like I could breath all night.  My morning felt hopeful after that.

Last night, I spent hours talking to cousins again.  It’s what one does when they haven’t spent time with people in many years.  It was such a nice talk, but I did keep getting little reminders of how different our worldviews are.  I was already aware of everyone’s fairly—or extremely—conservative views, but sometimes it came up in off-putting ways.  I think the euphoria of the first day needed—demanded in fact—that kind of grounding.  I don’t want to move forward in my relationship with my family members with some kind of façade layered on everything.  They are real, tangible, flawed.  All of that is what I appreciate most about them.  I am all of those things too, and I would assume they’d feel similar about views I hold that oppose their own.  I don’t voice those things though.  I can handle being in a competitive talking environment, but I’m a spectator and not a participant.

We might stay here another day.  That’s fine, but I didn’t pack clothes for that exactly. There is a washer & dryer here, so I could use that.  I’ve been trying to stay here very gently.  I don’t want to take up too much space or use things in the house.  I realize Dad’s cousin is never here anymore, so she doesn’t care.  But I know her.  I know how she is and how she feels about things that I have trouble getting on board with.  It’s Sunday and even in agreement there were guilt trips concerning going to service at her church this morning.  I avoided her and the topic altogether.  I didn’t pack for that, and I’m not really interested.  I still might get dragged there, but I’d rather not.  And I don’t want to feel guilty for that.  I have the reasons I have for the decisions I make.  And I won’t take judgment for that.  So, we’re staying at her house.  I don’t want to be disrespectful when I know me being here would bother her.  It’s a weird position to be in.  She’s always been like that though.  I’m not coming to a new understanding; I’m just realizing what that means when it comes to asking for her hospitality.  That said, she’d give it if I asked.

[Walk #123]

The Wandering Hermit: Don’t Panic—Walk.

   3 July 2024  Leave a Comment on The Wandering Hermit: Don’t Panic—Walk.

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]