Rehumanize Yourself

We are an angry nation.

Why is this so?

One could write several doctoral dissertations on the topic of how humanity coped or did not cope during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, I am reminded of a tweet that I saw and saved for posterity a few days ago on 8/26. Josh Moon said…

“One thing that about this pandemic that I’ll remember forever is the way many people got irrationally angry at people who were trying to help them. Angry at scientists. Angry at teachers. Angry at doctors. Angry at anyone who told them helpful info they didn’t want to hear.”

He is not wrong. This underlying anger, fueled by fear and hate, serves the darkest angles of our natures. The anger, fear, and hatred are real. These emotions need to be acknowledged. Emotions are a natural, human response; we all have them. It is, however, what we do with them that defines us. Is our reason swept away, robbed from us by serving some mob mentality? Or do we ask ourselves the deceptively simple question, “Why?” We, as thinking, rational human beings must search ourselves and ask the hard questions, why am I angry? Why does what I do not understand frighten me? Why do I hate?

If we can examine ourselves, if we can be honest with ourselves, and if we can reason for ourselves, then we can channel these negative emotional responses into something better – something positive. This takes an act of will, an act of humanity on the part of each of us. Do we join the unthinking mob, or do we join humanity and ask ourselves the hard question of “Why?”

We need a mass re-humanization, sooner rather than later. As human beings, we have the capacity to be so much more than what we are. The capacity to look beyond ourselves, beyond our own needs & desires – to look and see how we can lift others up instead of tearing them down, to help instead of hinder, to do what is right for everyone and not simply for ourselves.

Here, in the United States, our humanity has been compromised by politics. The simple act of wearing a mask and getting a vaccination to help stop a world-wide pandemic that has claimed over 4.5 million lives – 637,280 of them right here in the United States – is questioned by those who have chosen the whims of the mob over betterment of humanity.

Those who cry, “My body, my choice!” I hope you remember that phrase when it doesn’t only apply to your own situation – your own ‘needs’. I’ve seen some ugliness from people who have only been thinking of themselves for the last year and a half – we all have. Today, you could make that choice to rejoin humanity and do what is best for all, instead of acting or not acting out of selfishness due to anger, fear, and hate.  The excuses only go so far - the vast majority of them have no footing in reason.

It is past time to grow up.

It is not a political issue. It is a public health issue.

The Delta variant is filling hospital beds, taking such beds away from others who need them. Vaccinating would ease this pressure. It would be good for you, good for them, good for everyone. The mob destroys, humanity builds.

It is time to build.

Rehumanize Yourself.

"It Belongs in a Museum"

“Archeology is our religion, yet we have fallen from the pure faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am but a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me. To push you out of the light." – Rene Belloq

Belloq said that to Henry “Indiana” Jones Jr. FORTY years ago today. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is one of my all-time favorite films. The prequel and the sequels are fun (although Crystal Skull has some…issues), but there will never be another, Raiders. I remember begging my family to see it. My dad relented and 40 years ago cinematic history blew me away.

This original movie poster hangs in an undisclosed location – somewhere in the bowels of New Jersey…

Principal photography for Indy 5 started earlier this week in Northumberland, UK. The working theory is this one takes place in the sixties. The fifth installment is being directed by James Mangold and not Steven Spielberg. Mangold directed “Cop Land”, “Walk the Line”, and “Logan” – he is Indy worthy. I’m rooting for this project – Indy deserves an excellent closing act.

Harrison Ford will be 80 years-old when part 5 is released. I hope that they play to the character’s age – Indy’s is supposed to be 37 in Raiders, 39 when he and his father thwart the Nazis in “The Last Crusade”, and 58 in “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, which takes place in 1957. Using this as a baseline, Indy is going to be in his sixties in the sixties. Not only do I hope they play to his age, but I also further hope they remember that Dr. Jones must lose an eye (as per, “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”). Continuity matters.

It turns out that Harrison is, at this moment in time, 78 years old. George Hall, the actor above who played a 90 + year old Indiana Jones, was 74 when he shot his bookend scenes for “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”.

However, it pans out, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” Raiders is in my top 5 films of all time. It has a bit of everything and proudly wears its Saturday morning cliffhanger cereal roots and fedora at the same time.  I can't wait for opening night.

Happy Birthday, Indy.

 

Fear and Loathing

A member of the GOP recently said...

"Democrats want to use the criminal process against president Trump because they fundamentally fear him running in 2024, obtaining the republican nomination, and reasserting his time in the White House."

I saw one Twitter user, Stonekettle, answer quite appropriately...

"OR Maybe it's because he's a goddamn criminal."

Circa 2015, when asked about what real power was, candidate Trump said... 

“Real power is – I don’t even want to use the word – fear.” 

And that, at the end of the day, is what he inspires his devotees to do, to live unquestioningly by his example and try to spread fear.  He gave them a permit – a license to intimidate. This is why we have seen such an upswing in white supremacy, Nazis, domestic terrorism, intolerance of people of color & LGBTQ+ citizens. 

 People were given the go-ahead to let the darker natures of themselves out to that the darkness could see the light of day and spread like a cancer. Fear? Perhaps. Men do evil things. But there is good, too. “Fear” of what another Trump presidency would do to our citizenry, his cult, domestic terrorism, our sensibilities, our ability to reason for ourselves, reality, our constitution, the rise of an autocracy which replaces our republic, our very union through violence or seduction of those who cannot or will not think for themselves or treacherous souls who wish to scoop up some of that “power”. That is what scares me. 

We should all be terrified of these things. It is a testament to candidate Trump’s words that this manipulation has worked so well and so far. He inspires those who want to make others fear and by doing so elevates himself. This is how he has always been. Some contractors don’t get paid for their work – no problem, I’m too big to touch and those around me will be able to brow beat them down. I have bigger lawyers. I don’t pay my taxes – “I’m smart,” and my brain-dead minions will say out loud, “Trump is sticking it to the government!” I don’t win a legal election for the Presidency of these United States. “The election was stolen and I am going to march down to the Capitol and let them know that – who’s with me!”

- Real fear of being sued out of business because you can’t afford the lawyers that Trump can.

- Fear used as a tool to manipulate people into thinking not paying one’s taxes is the “smart” thing to do and – amazingly – the concept that “Trump is for the little guy!”

- Real fear of our democracy crumbling due to insurrectionists defiling the Capitol & fear as a tool of manipulation to control a mob just waiting to be told what to think – what to do next.

Yes, fear has been used quite effectively by Trump. There are two all too real quotes from two fictional characters that come to mind. Simply because a character is not “real” does not negate that power of their words, the power of myth – the power of story…

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Master Yoda

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over and through me. And when it is past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. When the fear is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – Bene Gesserit teaching, the Litany Against Fear

Fear is a natural emotion and like any emotion it is up to us to determine if we have the emotions or if our emotions have us. Fear easily leads to anger, hate, and suffering. We must be mindful of not only the fear in ourselves but also the fear in others for we do not know where they are on the scale; is their fear passive or active or rather, is the outside world affecting them or are they affecting the outside world? Has anger and hate brought suffering? Were you the recipient of the suffering or the one who caused it? Emotions can lead us to be motivated and manipulated. We must, as the Litany Against Fear states in its mantra-like way, make a foothold against fear so that we are not swept away by it. So that we face it with our minds instead of being obliterated by the emotion itself.

So, back to point. Rule by fear is what tyrants and dictators do. Trump is still - even after losing a legal election - a wannabe tyrant and dictator. Those who do not see this and support him are either easily manipulated or are people who want to be the tormentors or oppressors themselves – to scoop up those little bits of power wherever they can find them. That is the character of today’s Trump supporter – from those in high places to the hundredaires who defend the billionaires with their Trump flags-a-flyin’. Fear brought them to where they are now and power by fear is that little thrill that they need to keep feeding – from the low to the high. 

I don’t buy into what they are selling. Those who pedal in fear are usually very afraid and emotional themselves. They will call you a “snowflake” or accuse you of being, "triggered" whenever you say anything against their regime or their perceived power. They crumble when faced with logic or reason. As an effort to save face they will emotionally exclaim, “fake news!” or “Bengasi!” or “her emails!”, still to this day. As a squid releases ink to escape a predator a Trump supporter will start spewing agitprop when confronted with reality. They do so in fear. They do not like it when the predator becomes the prey.

I wouldn’t mind if their ideals and goals didn’t mean the fall of decency, our republic, and democracy but here we are.

Until such time that critical thinking returns to a populous that chooses to use reason and reality as a base of operations, I will keep the Litany Against Fear close at hand. I will fight against tyranny, fascism, and ignorance of fear with the meager tools at my disposal – my voice and my keyboard. 

I will support the oppressed and not the oppressor. 

I will be part of the future and not a slave to the past. 

I will try to make things better not simply for myself but for my/our children and my/our children’s children.

We need more kindness than we need brutality. This is how you fight fear and tyranny. One must “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Deeds, not words. I don’t have to change the world, I need to live a life that inspires by example, that builds people, ideas, and concepts up instead of tearing them down, a life that was worthy of being remembered for more of the good and less of the bad. Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world and bettered the tradition of mankind." At the end of the day that is my desire.

Fear happens. It is part of being human. It is what we do with that fear that defines us. Who do we want to be? 

I choose the light.

I choose to let the fear pass through me.

We have a serious battle ahead of us in the 2022 mid-term elections.  The GOP must not take control of either the House or the Senate.  They have taken major steps to ensure that their proto-autocracy grows akin to a cancer.  They are doing so through voter suppression laws and through gerrymandering.  They do not wish to live in a representative republic or a democracy - they only crave power and they have stacked the deck in their favor by exploiting voting laws in individual states.  The Supreme Court of the United States has already said that they will not hear any case on gerrymandering, placing the onus on the states themselves to be fair.  This is giving the wolfs the key to the hen house and, rest assured, the republicans will carve up districts that do not represent the people but will only represent their lust for power.  What is happening is disgusting, corrupt, and - literally - un-American.  Our vote is our voice and they want us silenced.  

During the last administration, decency, reason, reality were all sacrificed to the object of their worship or for most of them, a means to an end.  That's what Trump was to the career republicans in the House and Senate.  It did not matter how low everything sank, how close to fascism we came, or even when their very lives were threatened on January 6th during the insurrection of the Capitol - as long as they remain in power they don't care who the next republican demagogue is in the oval office.  Presidents come and go but a gig in the Senate can be lifelong.  

Yes, term limits should be a thing, too.

Fear is healthy.  It is natural.  But it is what we do with that fear that makes or breaks us.  Now, we must prepare to VOTE come 2022 and that means getting people excited about voting in each and every election from schoolboards to sheriffs to fire chiefs, to representatives on a state lever, and to representatives on a federal level.

"Our vote is our voice."  

Use it now for there are those who want to take it away and they are known as republicans.  

One Year Ago, Today

I wrote this on my calendar one year ago today...

My daughter and I happen to work in the same building within the same organization.  We were sent home from work early on March 16th, 2020 for an undetermined length of time. 

I have been keeping a journal since this - the coronavirus started - widespread, here in the United States of America.  This is my entry from, exactly, one year ago today...  

“3/16/20

Disneyworld shut down last night due to the threat of the Corona virus. Today, there were 80 more cases diagnosed in New Jersey. The governor put in place a soft curfew of 8:00 pm for people to be home. The casinos in Atlantic City shut down at that time, too. Restaurants and bars are switching over to take out status and closing earlier. There are several closings—come to think of it tonight, at 8:21 pm, my supervisor texted our group saying that if we were, “non-essential” personnel, that we did not have to report to work tomorrow. So, in other words, my job has been postponed due to COVID-19.  My daughter and I are off until further notice. When we return is anyone’s guess.

This shutdown makes sense. There are those who feel otherwise, but they are wrong. The best way to contain this is to, “flatten the bell curve” and to practice social distancing (limiting one’s own movement and avoiding public spaces). The spread can be slowed but people must be open to making this happen. The universe has given us time off so that we do not contract and/or spread the virus. Who are we to argue with the universe?”

My daughter and I now work from home.  It is the same with my wife.  My wife is looking forward to returning to her routine and her office.  My daughter and I, however, are happy working from home.  But all that is a tale for another day - a different journal entry altogether.  

That journal, by the way, is now over 3,300 pages long.  A lot has happened in a year's time.  I thought that I would document it as best as I could.  You should know, Gentle Reader, that it is not all me and a lot of it is not fit for human consumption.  There are hundreds of pictures and articles - all sited mind you - and, of course, there is commentary and observation from yours truly.  An everyman's view of this time in history.  It has grown long but the work must continue.  It will continue until I feel that we have either placed COVID-19 behind us or we have adapted to a "new normal" where COVID-19 remains with us, but due to vaccines and personal responsibility it will be kept at bay.  Personally, I believe it will be the latter.  There is no magic bullet for the coronavirus.  I believe we will have to adapt.  When we do, I will call the journal complete.  

There are better days ahead.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.  We will get there.  

Until then, get vaccinated.  Wear a mask.  Wash your hands.  Practice social distancing.  Be good to each other.  Perhaps if most of us can do these simple, unselfish things, I will not have to write another 3,300 pages come this time next year?

Stay safe.

Today is a Good Day

After our democracy was tested its breaking point – both figuratively and literally – Joe Biden has become the 46th, President of the United States. 

“Today is a good day.”

I recall hearing those words before and for the very same reason that I use them today. It was 11/7/20. The time was 11:28. My wife had been wanting to go out, after all it was a beautiful day, but I was working in my journal that I have kept since the beginning of quarantine and I had my eye on the Electoral College numbers. Was today going to be the day?

“Come on,” she urged, “Get ready. Let’s go. I want to head to the bank, and they close soon.”

“I’m just finishing a thought…” I said as I typed away. “…There.” I said, let me get dressed and we can go.” I went into our room so that I could get dressed. I was just pulling up my pants when she exclaimed from the other room…

“The AP called it!” she said, “Biden is the winner!”

And so, he was. We both sat down at our computers to glean as much information as possible. God knows the states had been careful in counting and, therefore, had not had a clear winner until 11:28 am. My daughter came downstairs and joined us. Linda found a linked site on CNN with the banner, “BIDEN WINS” in large font across the top of the page. 

We watched, Van Jones started speaking, live to the world. What he said, brought me to tears because in two minutes he was able to describe and give a glimpse into the dystopia that the last four years have been. A two-minute microcosm of TRUTH. With all the noise, chaos, and shameless lies being on the menu these past four years, hearing the truth brought me to tears. It did so because the last four years have been bad. Worse than bad. Across America the spark of our negative impulses, hatreds, and inherent selfishness were kindled to near conflagration by the occupant of the White House, 2016 – 2020. Now the occupation of the People’s House – the White House, was near an end. Mr. Jones’ words hit me when I saw them happen live. Later, I took the liberty of transcribing his words…

“It’s… um… Well, it’s easier to be a parent this morning. It’s easier to be a dad. It’s easier… It’s easier to tell you kids, ‘character matters’. It matters. Tellin’ the truth, matters. Being a good person, matters. And it’s easier for a whole lot of people. If you’re Muslim in this country, you don’t have to worry if the president of this country doesn’t want you here. If you’re an immigrant, you don’t have to worry it the president is going to be happy to have babies snatched away or send dreamers…. Back for no reason. This is vindication for a lot of people who have really suffered. You know, “I can’t breathe” – you know, that wasn’t just George Floyd – that was a lot of people that felt they couldn’t breathe. Every day you’re waking up and you’re getting these tweets and you just don’t know, and you’re going to the store and…and people who have been afraid to show their racism are getting nastier and nastier to you. And you’re worried about your kids and your worried about your sister and can she just go to Walmart and get back into her car without somebody saying something to her. And…and, you’ve spent so much of your life energy just tryin’ to hold it together. And this is a big deal for us – just to be able to get some peace. And…and to have a chance for a reset. And the character of the country matters. And…and being a good man matters. You know, I just want my sons to look at this – look at this. You know, it’s easy to do it the cheap way and…and to get away with stuff. But it comes back around. It comes back around. And it is a good day for this country.

I’m sorry for the people who lost. For them it’s not a good day. But for a whole lot of people, it’s a good day.”

Your vote is your voice.

The noise and the lies have been rejected.

I am not exaggerating, Gentle Reader, when I say that I feel lighter. It is as if a weight has been lifted. The occupation is over. The hate that has been a hallmark of the last administration has been exchanged for HOPE.

I am not gloating. I am telling you the truth. And the truth is something that we have grown unaccustomed to hearing. God knows we have problems, but the first thing one must do is acknowledge them so one can do something to fix them and move on.

The reset button has been pressed.

I’m ready to for better days.

The First Step to Recovery

One of my closest friends posted on Facebook concerning it being Martin Luthor King Jr. Day, that we have major underlying problems with racism, and that the problem is worse than normal & has been emboldened these past four years.

He is not wrong on any of these points. The mob mentality of certain disappointing Venn diagrams of people I know has been eye opening. It is one of the reasons I have cut back as much as I have concerning Facebook – the people. Now that I have seen their true faces – the ones that they used to hide – I find I cannot tolerate them for extended periods of time. If their transgressions are too much they are banished and blocked, which is mutually beneficial I don’t miss them and they don’t miss me. Is this how echo chambers happen? Sure – but I am DONE with entertaining flat-out racists & radicles. If that means I’m in an echo chamber at least I know its not in theirs.

But, getting back to my friend’s post…

I used to think so much better of us. I thought that we were better than who we are as a people – as a nation. I thought that people were treated fairly no matter what shade of the rainbow their skin was. It turns out I was in a cocoon – a comfortable, white chrysalis – wearing my rose-colored goggles. I was wrong. I didn’t know any better. I grew up. I matured a bit and was able to see the cracks in everything around me & I began to question myself about those cracks & everything I took as indefatigable truth. The world is a much larger place than the one we are presented with as children or adolescents.

We have a MAJOR underlying problem of systemic injustice right here in the United States of America. COVID-19 exposed a great many of our most dirty secrets. Fears, superstition, racial injustice, hidden hatreds, civil rights, healthcare, science denying, selfishness, conspiracy zealots incapable of maintaining a baseline reality, domestic terrorists – yeah, this is America. Not all America – but the America that we are presenting to each other and to the world. When people do not feel as if they are in “control” they are susceptible to wrong thinking – susceptible to falling for opinions rather than thought; because, if anything, social media has taught us is that opinions are so much easier to have than thoughts. BUT there is hope. I truly believe that this is a time where we can do something we need to do as a society – recognize that we have problems – SERIOUS problems; because if we can recognize that there are problems – identify what they are – then we can do something about them and start to build a nation where we can TRULY say that we stand for “Liberty and justice for all”. That words such as, “We The People” stand for ALL people, because they must or they mean nothing. We need the courage of our convictions. Not the situational ethics that have suited us for years.

Things are changing – COVID-19 saw to that. Our dirty secrets are not secrets any longer. They have been laid bare. Since they are in the light let us work together to make them better, to fix them – all people of good will working together for not simply our own benefit but for the benefit of all. We are at a unique point in history where we can & must recognize these issues – our problems and do something positive to change them. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our country, we owe it to the world, and most of all we owe it to the future – to our children. This was part of Martin Luthor King Jr.’s message, “There is nothing to keep us from remolding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood.” That is from his book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” I’ve had enough chaos. It’s far past time we started truly building that community.

Common Ground

There are agents of chaos. To them – the true believers, the ones who have embraced hatred to the point that they wish to commit violence for no rational reason whatsoever against our fellow citizens. Stop. Think of what you are considering over these next few days. It is not hard to see on social media, I mean there are some of you who are not even bothering to cover your tracks, which in itself is a cry of desperation. The truth of the matter is none of these threats or plans that you have made need to happen. There is no sense in it.

You may be excited to be going to the “Rally for Trump” but 1 + 1 still equals 2. He lost, at this point we are looking at basic math. 60 lawsuits later – each without merit. He lost. I do not say this to gloat. It is what it is. Four years ago, the Electoral College voted him in, and he won. Four years later, the Electoral College voted him out and he lost. As I said, it is what it is. It is not the end of the world and, you never know, perhaps things will not be as bad as you expect them to be. I hope that is the case. I hope for another one of the pillars of our democracy to work as it has these past 244 years – the peaceful transfer of power.

We have consisted on a diet of lies & fantasies told by madmen and manipulators for far too long. Some of these claims have been repeated and accepted by some to the point that they are not only believed but taken to heart as gospel truth. We cannot base such serious actions, which are being discussed openly on social media, upon these delusions. We cannot. We are better than that. We must unplug from the big voice that reassures us, that keeps us warm and safe in our comfort zones – telling us what we want to hear. No, the voice must be rejected.

“What are you talking about?”

Smoke and mirrors are what I’m talking about. The illusion may be comfortable but there are two things that I challenge you to do: 1., Think for yourselves. This is not an insult – this is a calling. Voltaire said, “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” We need a baseline reality that we can all work from. For that to happen we must think for ourselves. 2., Think of others. It is not all about me or you. We share a world with a great many different types of people in it. Wanting to hurt, maim, or kill others because they don’t look, worship, or vote like you or I do is not only illegal, but it is also ethically bankrupt. Doing so to any level cheapens whatever cause you believe you are fighting for. We are Americans & entertaining such plans is at its very core un-American. We are better than such things. We have more in common than we don’t. But, in order to see that, we have to consider that there are other people in this world and, thankfully, here in the United States of America it is this diversity that continues to make us all the stronger.

My girl lost and your guy won in 2016. My guy won and your guy lost in 2020. It is what it is. Society and our representative republic need come to a baseline reality – a balance that we can mutually accept as the truth. We need at least two political parties who can abide by reality. This is not an insult this is real. Denying reality only goes so far until reality doesn’t move any longer to fit our own personal narrative. Let us seek the truth together – standing on common ground. Let us work together for the betterment of all. We are all in this together, Americans – We The People of these United States. Together we can make a better world for our children and, at the end of the day, I think that is something we can both get behind – it is that common ground.

We are in this together – as we should be. Great things are possible if we realize the potential in ourselves and lift those around us to realize theirs. Hope is one of my favorite four-letter words. Let us be the people we are called to be and move into that future together – a future found on common ground.