This is the day that finally determines an outcome of the U.S. presidential election from November of 2020. The two Senate seats from Georgia will likely be resolved now, at the end of a bitter, bitter, crazy, unthinkable year of theats, insults, and violence strewn across the political and urban American landscape. Wow. I have never seen (70 years) such a disgusting mess of people acting badly. The late sixties saw a bit of this, as folks rose up against oppression and politics fought back, a bit of this happened in the early fifties/late forties as labor fought against oligarchy and the owners of everything fought back. This time, everyone seems to be doing it at the same time, from the tiniest wacky person to the most wealthy and the most powerful. Twitter, Facebook et. al erupt with assaultive language at the tiniest imagined infraction. In the New York Times, everyone is shouting. A self-righteous, immature child carried an assault weapon onto the streets during a political demonstration and murdered someone who was unarmed. A fellow loaded his camper with explosives, parked on a downtown street and blew himself plus half the neighbourhood to tiny bits. A lone-acting pharmacist deliberately destroyed vaccine at the height of a pandemic and the President of the United States urges violence against his fellow americans, calls them enemies.
At some point and soon, this will die down. Either a formal stand-off, a deadly storm of violence or just plain being bored with the game will settle things. It probably won’t be a good outcome no matter which of the combatants accesses their throne of choice. In any future I can imagine, things are going to get worse for most of us. Period. That’s right. You and I are not going to have what we had before. There will be fundamental changes in economics, liberty, culture near future. That this was going to, will occur could have been foreseen. We have gobbled up too much of what is useful on our way to some illusory earthly heaven. A romantic notion of milk and honey has held the carrot before us until the dangling vegetable broke free of it’s cheaply made, capitalist string.
The trees are gone, the wildlife gasp for breath, the water is a deadly poison that threatens to wash away the low-lying doorsteps. The snow and cold weather, the spring and thaw, the summer and mildness — all of that is changed. Aggressive, world wide reaching corporations have driven down wages, refused to pay taxes, destroyed the earth and impoverished whole societies. Willing, honourable men and women with bold ideas for repairing and furthering life, society, the planet have abandoned the corrupt world of power and politics. Integrity is as rare as a lottery win. Guns, bullets, fire, brimstone — the rape of decency takes a place on the front page of everywhere, every day.
Sigh. Yeah. The great pseudo-Greco-Roman western society is hanging on it’s own ropes. Well, then.
At this moment I have before me, a lovely cup of tea. I ate one hotdog (no bun, since I am trying to regain my youthful figure) and I am about to eat an apple. I have enough to eat. It’s cool here because I am making an effort to both save money on heat and save energy/help the earth. I paid some bills with money I earned or saved from my earnings. I did not buy anything frivolous, made less garbage than I have in years past. The garbage I did make, I sorted as best I can so that less will go on the heap and more will be re-used. Later, I will take a walk down the yet safe street and I will relax. I can and must let go of the maelstrom milieu. I can only do what I can do. I can do my best with the knowledge I have. I can change. Being upset, disgusted, horrified – that doesn’t save me. Being angry and marching, burning, pillaging…that won’t save me and won’t save another. I must let go. The New York Times and CNN aren’t the whole picture. They are part of it, true. There is turmoil and doom. There are bad people doing bad things. All of this is playing out on the little or big screens for the most part. Myself? in my world? I do not have covid (knock wood), I voted according to the rules and my own sentiments. I didn’t rape, kill, steal or authorize another to do so in my name. That I am able to live this life, the lovely one I have, means that I have been one lucky duck. I accept that with gratitude. I know, in my heart that the best thing a soul can do is live forward and for the day, be good to as many folks as possible, try to do what is the right thing. I don’t need to be told what is the right thing, it is innate, human to know. Later this afternoon, I am going to start writing and playing a song with a friend. The friend has survived some rough times. He is ok now. Cheers, mates…if you have half a face remaining, you can smile with it and carry on.
Robert On The Air 