Politics as my Footnote

We are in the middle of a contentious election. And that is perhaps an understatement. There's lots of opinions flying around, and even some violent displays of opinions. So this is a serious conversation. I don't want to come off like I am taking the reality lightly. But I am doing my best to treat …

How Can We Know What’s Fake?

I've seen a disturbing pattern recently in the way people are reacting to the world. And even more disturbing, I have noticed it in myself as well. And what makes it all worse is that I don't have a great solution to it. But as they say, noticing the problem is always the start of …

The Longest Week of My Life

Many people I know say that time just keeps slipping by faster as you get older. I have never really bought into this theory. It seems just like something that old people say. I don't disagree with the fact that it does happen, just the why behind it. I refuse to believe that age is …

Overcoming Momentum

Momentum is a blessing and a curse, depending on which side of it you are on. I am speaking of momentum in a fairly physicsy way, so I'll give a brief description. The basic concept is that objects want to keep doing what they are doing, and it takes some measure of force to change …

Whoops, I’m Playing Victim

I try not to play the victim. What I mean by that is that I try to act like I'm in control of my life regardless of external circumstance. I am responsible for how I respond to my external world. I don't catch myself playing victim very often. In this case, I haven't been writing …

When to Jump on the Bandwagon

Am I a band wagon jumper? If so, yuck. I don't want to be part of the movement of mindless drones accepting everything they see. And I don't want to be a hypocrite just joining a movement because it is cool. And yet I find myself adopting many things as a latecomer. Why is that? …

Whose Lives Matter?

My fear tells me I have nothing to say as a white man living a privileged life in the United States. What if my words will make things worse? What if it's too little, too late? Well, I don't usually let fear stop me from speaking my mind, so now doesn't seem like the time …

We Can’t Go Back

I've heard a lot of people talking during 2020 pandemic about wanting to "get back to normal". This is my personal opinion, but that normal is gone. Dead. Lost to us. For one thing, our idea of normal is a fabrication in our minds that has little bearing on reality. What I think of as …

Bravado or Acceptance

A few days ago, I posted about the fear pandemic that is sweeping the world. While I am very concerned about the fear that is gripping people, I also want to talk about another way I find myself responding that maybe you can relate to. And that is bravado. What I want to do in …

The Pandemic of Fear

I imagine at this point you are aware that there is a deadly pandemic sweeping the world. Actually there are two. But the COVID-19 one is getting plenty of coverage. The other pandemic is fear. Let me be clear, there is definitely danger to COVID-19, and I am not trying to downplay it. We are …