What…is even happening.
Since my last post, I have moved back to NH, started a part-time job, helped Elle launch approximately 2,856 websites, formed a new band, released a demo for that band and a debut album, and adopted a seven-month-old African Grey parrot, among other things. I’ve played a lot of Magic, done a little hiking, and re-arranged our tiny apartment a handful of times. Mostly, I’ve been pretty productive. Things have been pretty good.
Well, personally, anyway. In that same time, wars have raged worldwide, bombs have disrupted major events, someone revealed about the government what we suspected all along, and civil rights seem to be caught in some one-step-forward-two-steps-back limbo. Rape culture (ahem) appears to grow stronger by the day. Oh, and the economy still sucks.
If I opt to take an extreme big-picture view, I might tell you that all of this, good and bad, is in keeping with the relatively normal trends of human interaction. These events, or events like them, are nothing new, and we are not approaching some high-water mark for improvement nor regression. As long as humans exist, so, too, will all our shitty, self-involved actions — even the ones that are horrifyingly detrimental to others.
I prefer a slightly time-adjusted view. Technology sprints ahead exponentially, so why shouldn’t my expectations for civilization as a whole? Why shouldn’t I expect that a modern industrialized nation embrace equal rights instead of ban them? Why shouldn’t I expect that the president I voted for protect rather than alienate his constituents? Why shouldn’t I expect basic human decency toward all genders, and failing that, an understanding that sexual assault is among the most abhorrent of behaviors, much worse than the exposure thereof?
It’s asking a lot, I know. To have a moment of peace, not only literally, but intellectually. To a certain degree, I will never fully expect a moment of intellectual peace. Progress and the satisfaction of accomplishment are pretty uncommon when things are intellectually peaceful. Fortunately, the human condition provides hurdles in spades, the least of which not being depression. The least we could do, as a whole, is stop hurting each other over our preferences.
But, hey. What do I know?
