Back Down to Earth

I really enjoyed this little baseball-induced hiatus, I must tell you. Watching my favorite boys of summer throw a big pie in the faces of all the supposed experts was very, very satisfying. Watching Jeff Weaver's moment in the sun, shutting down his old team to deny them the World Series title they seemingly felt entitled to was absolutely priceless. Yes, I enjoyed this quite a bit.

After having spent the past month in ostrich mode, burying my head in the sand of the baseball playoffs and pretending that our nation wasn't being transformed for the worse and the scary around me, I've come to a better understanding why a lot of people live their entire lives this way. It's just plain easier on the nerves. It's easier to submerge yourself into your own life, your own interests, family and problems and not let all the external ugliness bother you than to worry about events out of your personal control. Life is short, right? There's enough stress to go around without going out looking for more of it. This was the most relaxing and soothing month for me mentally because of that. It helps to unplug from all the ugliness we're seeing in the world and in our government and rejuvenate one's self. This month really drove that point home for me.

But guess what? We can't afford the luxury, folks. Not for long we can't.

Someone once said "May you live in interesting times," or something to that effect. I had always taken that saying as a kind of toast, wishing for excitement and dynamism in your life. I'd never considered it's darker implications and the reason I hadn't, I think, is because until recently I didn't consider the times we live in to be particularly interesting. Well, lo and behold, we are indeed living in interesting times today and now that they're here I feel forced to reconsider the whether that seemingly harmless wish was a toast. When you look back through history the most interesting times to read about are the ones of great suffering for the people who lived through them. They're engrossing and entertaining for the reader, no doubt, but hell on wheels for the actual participants. So this wish is actually a curse.

We as a nation, as a generation, are experiencing the beginning of our own "interesting" time and it is being ushered in with our own unwitting, blissfully ignorant consent. We cannot allow this to continue. We do so at our own peril So, I for one am coming down off my high and delving back into this darkness.

Don't misunderstand me. I know I'm a political, social and intellecutal nobody in the grand scheme of things. I have virtually no readership or influence to do much of shit other than shake my fist at the wind. But I will shake this fist with everything I have and I will join with others who see and feel the same things I do. If that makes me less fun at parties then so be it. This exercise will at least reach the small group of people in my own circle and, if nothing else, provide an outlet to express these concerns and preserve my sanity. Any additional benefits will be considered a bonus.